Milton Magazine, Fall 2016

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2016

MiltonMagazine

change. brought to you by optimists.

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ta ble of contents

Features

Departments

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A Catalyst at Google In Silicon Valley, Annie Jean-Baptiste ’06 helps Google lead the way in attracting tech talent from every background and creating a work environment where everyone can thrive.

10 Litigating the Right to Marry Chris Dusseault ’87 served as strategist and quarterback for the team that fought successfully against California’s Proposition 8, a case that hastened the legal tide toward the Supreme Court’s ruling in support of marriage equality.

14 What Don’t You Understand?

Making Videos that Tackle the Issues that Confound Us At Vox.com, Joe Posner ’03 creates videos about complex and sometimes inaccessible news topics, helping viewers understand what is happening in our world.

18 Education. Especially Rural and Public.

Rebecca Holcombe ’84 patiently involves all constituents to achieve change in Vermont’s demographically and economically challenged public school system.

Across the Quad

58 In Sight Photograph by

44 Head of School

John Gillooly

The Lived Truth: 60 Sports

When Mine Is Different From Yours

Milton Sailors Set Their Bar and Meet It

45 Board of Trustees 62 Messages 46 Retiring Faculty and Staff

64 Milton Mural

52 On Centre

67 Class Notes

56 Faculty Perspective

84 Post Script

From Fifty to One

When Clutter Gives You Joy

by John Banderob

by Mary McCutcheon ’65

Editor Cathleen Everett Associate Editors Erin Berg Marisa Donelan Liz Matson Design Stoltze Design

Photography Michael Dwyer John Gillooly Kjeld Mahoney Glenn Matsumura Evan Scales Ilene Squires Jeb Wallace-Brodeur Greg White

22 What Is the Real Safe?

Students explored how adults and young people understand and experience the idea of safety in their lives through extensive interviews and narrative performance.

28 Know Thyself: An Approach to Getting There A middle schooler who understands how he ticks can do the best job of successfully navigating those rocky years when adolescent brains are frequently rewiring.

32 Commencement 2016

Milton Magazine is published twice a year by Milton Academy. Editorial and business offices are located at Milton Academy, where change-ofaddress notifications should be sent.

As an institution committed to diversity, Milton Academy welcomes the opportunity to admit academically qualified students of any gender, race, color, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally available to its students. It does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship programs, and athletic or other School-administered activities.

Printed on recycled paper.

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Change.

Brought to you by optimists.

Milton Magazine features change agents in this issue—skilled optimists who have eschewed anger and blame and instead opted for responsibility. They are working on solutions to intractable problems that every day delay social and economic progress for everyone. Milton alumni ask great questions, and they so often shake off the standard responses in favor of unconventional strategies. Dive in, and meet fearless and skillful Milton alumni who are changing some playing fields that matter.

At the same time, Milton students play out projects that allow us to hear and understand emotions that drive our evolving approach to a difficult world.

acro s s t h e qua d

Going on Project Each May, Class I students begin the long-awaited “Senior Project.” A tradition since the 1960s, Senior Projects have evolved, and today seniors’ proposals qualify as: scholarly or academic; community service; internships; or the arts.

The Class of 2016 chose broadly—from immigration to the environment, from stem cell research and business startups through working on presidential campaigns. Students painted, gardened, sewed, prepared concerts and recitals, shadowed doctors, wrote and directed plays, tried learning new instruments and languages, and volunteered at sites all over Boston.

Just before graduation, underclassmen see the fruits of the seniors’ work, at demonstrations, performances, films, poetry readings, plays and presentations at the Senior Project Fair in the Athletic and Convocation Center.

Created 3-D-printed

Examined media bias

Assisted at the Irish

Re-created Jane Elliott’s blue

airplanes

and the presidential

Immigrant Center

versus brown eyes exercise to

election

explore discrimination

◀ Isabella Miller worked at

the Samaritans suicide prevention center, after 60 hours of training on taking hotline calls from people in crisis. She researched and wrote a guide on how to approach mental health and suicide prevention at Milton.

▶ Graham Blackburn, Tarin Karimbux and Matthew Ward launched a t-shirt

business called Oasis. ▲ Simone Hunter-Hobson designed a curriculum

They developed a business plan, created the logo,

for a senior-level, full-year literature course called

learned print screening

Black Voices: The Untold Narrative. She chose titles

techniques, and built a

including James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time

website for online sales.

to more recent works, like Between the World and Me ◀ Finley Cobb studied art at

Milton for four years, and he particularly focused on

by Ta-Nehisi Coates. “I learned that creating a curriculum is very challenging. Teachers have a lot to consider while they’re planning.” ◀ Grace Stanfield, Jessica

landscape painting. “I thought

Xu and Rika Ichinose created

that a series of paintings

a website of recipes using

focusing on Milton landscapes

ingredients from Flik Dining

would be a fitting and fun way

Services menu options. They

to close my time at Milton.”

wanted to educate themselves about healthier eating and create healthier, more delicious Flik lunch options for other students. flikbookblog.wordpress.com ◀ Sam Rochelle created

promotional videos for his middle school, Dedham Country Day. The videos included drone footage and taped interviews, edited into professional pieces.

Taught chess to

Filmed a documentary:

Created a dance

Wrote and published

Wrote an

elementary schoolers

The Student Athlete –

exploring ancient

a Middle East

environmental story

A Case Study

mythology and

policy blog

for children

modern religion

action on e

ANNIE JEAN-BAPTISTE ’06

60%

A Catalyst at Google

23%

Annie Argues for Real Conversations Annie Jean-Baptiste ’06

8%

Silicon Valley, arguably the most innovative corner of the planet, is also famously—and

perhaps resolutely—homogeneous. The Valley’s mostly male and mostly white and Asian tech workforce unremittingly turns out life-changing tools. Can the mix of minds and hearts that created today’s constantly evolving reality come up with inventions that will work for the next billion users, and solve the problems of our battered planet as well?

“Tech companies, regardless of their size, are focused

Made with Code initiative, generating momentum among

diversity programs manager for Google’s Global Diversity

girls for careers in coding. The company also set out to

and Inclusion Team, “and those people don’t look or

“bridge the digital divide,” according to Annie, “offering

live anything like we do. So uniformity of background

‘boot camps’ for smaller and diverse businesses to connect

isn’t a great characteristic on teams looking at inventions

with the power of the web and become digitally savvy.”

for the future.”

Like so many of her peers in Silicon Valley, Annie has

around hiring—“We want our company’s representation to be more reflective of the external market,” as Annie says—

with a willingness to work hard. Tall, vivacious

and also a layered program to build an inclusive work

and fashion-savvy, Annie turns out to be unflaggingly

environment. “Amazing ideas come from everywhere,”

optimistic, even exuberant about the future—and

Brian Welle, of Google’s People Analytics teams points out on Google’s website, making the case for a workplace that

have predicted this career? “Well, maybe not in diversity

fires on all cylinders because each employee owns a sense

programs at Google,” Annie shares her broad, warm smile,

of personal value. “We don’t want any single ‘Googler’

“but I was known as very sensitive: to others’ feelings or struggles, and on my own. My mom is a public school teacher, and my dad a policeman, so they instilled that focus on others. I get validation from helping people, and that was apparent early on.”

In 2012, Google disclosed its own uninspiring workforce Photo by Glenn Matsumura

Looking inward, Google mobilized integrated efforts

parlayed a facile, creative mind and an eye for opportunity

“passionate” by her own definition. Would her parents

LEFT

the next generation of technology professionals, such as its

on these ‘next billion users,’” says Annie Jean-Baptiste, a

to feel that ‘this is not the best place for me to express those ideas,’” he says. The company wants to make sure that “when you come to work, that part of you that’s unique is able to express itself.”

Annie says that Google is “leading the charge” in Silicon Valley—enabling people who work within the company

data, naming a low point of departure as it kicked off an

to thrive in a workplace that capitalizes on different

intensive, public drive to change the playing field. Looking

backgrounds. Google wants its employees to have “real

outward, Google began programs aimed at diversifying

conversations and take concrete actions that will ultimately

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71%

create change,” according to Annie. Google calls its internal

our decisions, moment by moment, day by day, are

work “unbiasing the company.”

processes we’re involved in unconsciously, from getting

“It’s long-term work,” says Annie. “It’s the organic and

often messy process of changing a culture.” Annie claims that it was at Milton where she and her classmates started

dressed and navigating toward work, to greeting people we know, to deciding which project to pick up.

To lead our lives, we rely on unconscious biases,

to talk about race candidly. “I wrote my college essay

positive and negative evaluations that occur outside of

about it.” On an email thread through a student online

our conscious awareness and control. Those biases

conference, assertions and opinions about slavery,

translate to a series of brain shortcuts, so we can reserve

affirmative action, the role of blacks in the United States

our cognitive effort resources for priority items:

spiraled, leaving students and adults confused, angry

more challenging decisions and actions. The shortcuts—

and hurt. “I realized that it was time to stand up and be

convenient as they may be—lead to implicit attitudes

vocal, and challenge people to be accountable—to make

and stereotypes, for instance, the belief that women are

sure that people’s voices were actually heard. Milton was

nurturing, or that police officers like doughnuts. And

a great place for me, because it’s open to everyone’s own

using shortcuts affects certain thinking processes.

opinion, it’s open to questioning, but you learn that you

Hiring, promoting and funding decisions can easily be

actually need to listen, not just wait until you can reassert

shortchanged by the implicit attitudes we might not know

your point of view. You could challenge leadership, you

we have. Unconscious biases can narrow our view or skew

could dare to be true, but you needed to be respectful

our expectations; we can exclude a perfect solution to a

as well. Milton helped me find my own authentic way

problem, or simply reject an unconventional approach.

Google workshoppers also take the Implicit Association

of questioning the status quo.”

Test, a simple and scientific way of measuring unconscious biases across a variety of categories—race, weight, disability, age, sexuality, gender, and more. Brian Welle

“Tech companies, regardless of their size, are focused on these ‘next billion users,’ and those people don’t look or live anything like we do. So uniformity of background isn’t a great characteristic on teams looking at inventions for the future.”

and his colleagues have found that once people take the test, their reactions often follow a predictable pathway: “You’re really talking about other people because I’m not biased,” turns into “Well, okay, I have biases, but I don’t always make biased decisions. It’s only the corner cases where bias applies.” But the relentlessly collected Google data show that even the smallest expression of bias is amplified by similar biases in the room, and that tiny bias can filter up an organization, compromising discussion and decision making.

Once you’re aware of bias, you see it all the time, Annie says, “and our next phase is helping people learn concrete actions to take when that happens. It’s called bias busting at work. It’s awkward and uncomfortable when you

The trigger start for everyone at Google is a voluntary workshop that explains the concept of unconscious bias

expecting that you’ll be able to step up every time, putting

and its impact. According to the website, “to date, more

yourself on the hook is important. Committing even to one

than 30,000 Googlers (over half of the company) have

action is a huge first step. You can start small—like sharing

participated in the 60- to 90-minute workshop, making it

an article that relates to what you saw or heard, and that

the largest voluntary learning program at Google.”

will start a conversation. Or you can ask someone, ‘What

The workshop positions employees in their comfort

did you mean by that?’ which starts a conversation and

zone: surrounded by data—in this case, brain science

puts the onus back on the speaker to explain what he or she

about bias. Called “a journey with unconscious bias,” the

meant. We want to help you find a way of responding that’s

workshop explains that our conscious minds can’t process

authentic to who you are.”

all the data that inundates us each day. The majority of

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see someone acting out a bias, and although we’re not

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

google.com/diversity

/Google

People throughout Google who go through this

@google @google

As recently as this past March, PBS reported the tech industry workforce in California as:

8%

7%

2%

23%

60%

black

other

Hispanic

29% female

71% male

Asian

white

training, more of them all the time, may effectively

when it’s missing. “Google’s all about accessibility,” Annie

change what they observe, the way that they think, or

points out. “To develop products, we need to know the

how they approach their work in a team. But even a

users. How will we build things for visually impaired

stellar professional development effort isn’t sufficient

people, for example, if we don’t include them on our teams?

to change a business culture. To make that systemic

We’re thinking about building for everyone, and we’re

kind of change, Google works department by department.

excited to do that. It makes business sense, and it’s simply

On that level, “there are several technical groups that

the right thing to do.”

I support,” says Annie, “Android, for example. I work

Working in the engine room of organizational change

with the head of that organization, a number of their staff

must be exhausting. “When people simply aren’t ready to

and some HR people to craft an inclusion strategy for

have the candid conversations, so they gloss over things,

that product area.” She helps them think through data

that’s frustrating,” Annie says. “Along with many others,

collection and determine areas where they can make

I’m ready to have those awkward conversations and

progress. Annie works with Streams, Photos and Sharing

we’re hoping to galvanize people. We’re not aiming to

as well. Customizing each department’s plan is key to “understanding what they value in their work, what’s

be punitive, or to blame. But in spite of people’s fear, or their unwillingness to be seen as ‘un-PC,’ we have to talk

important to them, and embedding diversity and inclusion

about things that may ultimately be emotional, and

into the culture and makeup of their organization, rather

painful. Your perspective truly changes when you stand

than adding an appendage afterward.” To achieve

in someone else’s shoes. If you’ve been privileged enough

that, Annie is typically part of a team that involves the

to spend your life never having experienced any overt

vice presidents, becoming part of “the thinking stream,”

bias against you, it’s easy enough to say, ‘I’m not part of

because knowing the business well is critical to crafting

the problem.’ But if you’re part of any minority, you live it,

a successful plan. “What the plan looks like relates

you get it, you necessarily talk about it every day. If you’re

directly to what they’re doing and how they get their work

part of a majority, you almost have a greater responsibility

done,” she explains.

After several formative years in sales at Google, Annie’s

to take an active role, to have these conversations. Why would it not be in everyone’s best interest to work toward

sales skills are assets now: listening well, valuing the

an environment where everyone can thrive, one that’s more

customer, developing trust. “Going in with more questions

secure and resilient?

than answers is how things work best,” Annie says, “understanding what’s challenging, what’s exciting for this product area, and just appreciating being a partner.”

More and more, throughout Silicon Valley, according to Annie, corporations and their leadership are seeing

“Wouldn’t it be great,” Annie says, “if in the future

country? My moonshot is that someday people say, ‘That’s so funny, that they had to think about that—that this was such an effort.’”

concrete evidence of the critical importance of diversity in their business process and outcomes, and the detriment

29%

I’m out of a job, and every company looks like our

by Cathleen Everett

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C H R I S D U S S E A U LT ’ 8 7

Litigating the Right to Marry Chris Dusseault ’87

Same-Sex Marriage The Legal Short Course

JUNE 16, 2008

Same-sex marriage became legal in California. The Supreme Court of California ruled that barring same-sex couples from marriage violated the state’s constitution (In re: Marriage Cases).

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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

You might predict that a debater at Milton and then Yale would turn up as a lawyer.

Chris Dusseault claims an even tighter overlap between his love of music and singing at both those schools and his distinction as a litigator. “Reading your audience, understanding them, what they’re receiving and what they’re not, is much the same as looking a judge and jury in the eye. You come into the courtroom with one conception of how it should go—‘this is what I intended’—but is it working? You need to pay attention to what is resonating and what is not. Because at the end of the day, what matters is whether you reached your audience ...”

Preparing for a career in law, Chris took civil rights courses

marriages state by state, in the absence of a federal ruling

in college, but his focus as a litigator over the years has

on the right of gay men and women to marry. Proposition 8

largely been antitrust defense and a range of other business

was the opportunity at hand. On a tip, Chad tested Ted

issues. “I’ve always been a trial person,” he says. One

Olson of Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C., office about his

winter night in 2010, Chris was out at a movie with his

interest in taking on a case against Proposition 8. Ted—

wife when he picked up an email from a partner at Gibson,

a high-profile, conservative lawyer and Solicitor General in

Dunn & Crutcher exploring Chris’s interest in working

the George W. Bush administration—believed strongly

on a new case that the firm was taking on. “Sure,” Chris

in the right of gay men and women to marry, and he agreed

said without hesitating. Only later did he learn that the case

to get involved. Further, he anticipated the impact of

in question would seek to stop Proposition 8, California’s

including counsel from “the other side of the ideological

ballot initiative that limited marriages to opposite-sex

spectrum,” as Chris says. Ted recruited David Boies,

couples. Even at the starting point of what would be

who led the Justice Department’s case against Microsoft

a four-year legal journey, Chris was “blown away by the

and defended Al Gore in the Bush v. Gore case before the

potential impact of the case. I could see early on how

Supreme Court that decided the American presidency in

right this was. It presented issues that the federal courts

2000. Olson’s and Boies’s firms worked as one on the

hadn’t yet reached, but it was 100 percent supported by

marriage equality case, according to Chris, and they were

the reasoning of existing civil-rights cases.”

joined by the city and county government of San Francisco.

The idea for the case that Gibson Dunn would undertake originated with California film director Rob Reiner and

Their complaint requesting an injunction against Proposition 8, filed with the Third District Court of

Chad Griffin, a former White House staffer who is now

Northern California, drew a response from Judge Vaughn

president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The two

Walker that shifted the character of the case. As Chris

were lamenting the ballot initiatives that were limiting

describes the judge’s thinking, “rather than simply reading

NOVEMBER 4, 2008

California state referendum known as Proposition 8 passed, limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.

United States District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker declared Proposition 8 a violation of the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution (Perry v.

Schwarzenegger). It “unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation.”

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court ruling (Perry v. Brown). “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”

AUGUST 4, 2010

F E B R U A R Y 7, 2 0 1 2

N O V E M B E R 5 , 2 0 0 8 Marriage licenses were not issued to same-sex couples in California.

briefs and granting or denying an injunction, he felt that

The legal team represented four individuals—two

this case involved many issues, at least 18 by his count, that

couples, who would need uncommon fortitude and

needed to be raised and decided in the way that trial

perseverance. Among their challenges was the need to

courts do things: through testimony, evidence and cross-

bare their personal lives not only before the court, but

examination.” Anticipating a potential Supreme Court role

also before the nation. Chris is still close friends with all

down the line with Proposition 8, Judge Walker wanted

four plaintiffs in the case: Kris Perry and Sandy Stier of

to build the trial, to build a record. Not only that; so as not to

Berkeley, and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo of Los Angeles.

delay any further, he set an expedited timeline for hearing

Neither couple could get a marriage license, because Proposition 8 had overturned the California Supreme

the case.

With a trial imminent, Chris’s expertise as a trial court specialist was especially relevant, and he took on “being

Court’s decision that legalized same-sex marriage.

With the petitioners, experts and witnesses ready, the moment came to orchestrate the presentation of

the quarterback for putting this thing together.”

“We embraced the 18 points,” Chris says. “The question

the evidence at trial. One of Chris’s roles was to map out

was, ‘How do we prove those points? How do you put

which witnesses would speak to which issues, and in

together a case that does that?’”

which order, to present the plaintiffs’ case most clearly and

In just 45 days, Chris and the team of lawyers identified and hired 10 experts and prepared their reports for the

powerfully, as well as how to respond to the arguments presented by the proponents of Proposition 8. HBO’s

trial. Taking and defending the depositions of roughly

documentary “The Case Against 8” shows Chris sharing

25 witnesses took another several months. Chris and the

with the plaintiffs the strategic decision to “put all four

team assembled experts that included historians whose

of you up front,” in recognition of the fact that the case was,

work focused on the history of marriage (Nancy Cott) and

at its essence, about people who just wanted the right to

the particular discrimination that gays and lesbians have

get married like everyone else.

experienced in the United States (George Chauncey). A

“The public trial was so important,” Chris says. He

Stanford political scientist (Gary Segura) showed the

remembers telling these two women and two men

disproportionate number of ballot initiatives directed at

who had agreed to undertake what lay ahead, “You guys

gays and lesbians. Psychologists testified on the effect of

are the whole reason for the case. It’s that powerful

legal discrimination on the LGBT community, and the

and that personal. The experts will follow you.” Chris

benefits of marriage, along with the lack of evidence that

defended the depositions of Paul and Jeff, and another

same-sex or opposite-sex parents have any unique effects

partner defended the depositions of Kris and Sandy.

on children. San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders (Republican)

“In a career that I’ve loved, and that has involved some

explained his decision to support homosexual marriage,

amazing, high-profile, high-stakes issues, nothing can

because of his lesbian daughter. Helen Zia, Chinese-

compare to preparing two men who love one another,

American journalist and lesbian, described the prejudice

and want to spend their life together, to be questioned about

she had experienced; and San Francisco’s chief economist,

exactly that: Why do you love the person you love? Could

Edmund Egan, projected the savings for the city if gays and

you love someone else? Questions about how gay and

lesbians were able to marry, especially a lower financial

straight people might differ in attitudes about promiscuity.

burden in mental health costs.

How do you get someone ready to testify under oath

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the case (Hollingsworth v. Perry).

The Supreme Court ruled that the official sponsors of Proposition 8 did not have legal standing to appeal the district court decision. The judgment of the Ninth Circuit was vacated and the case was returned to that court with instructions to dismiss the Proposition 8 sponsors’ appeal.

D E C E M B E R 7, 2 0 1 2

JUNE 26, 2013

JUNE 28, 2013 J U N E 2 7, 2 0 1 3

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A stay of effect was removed from the federal district court decision. Same-sex marriages were able to resume.

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about questions like these? They were so courageous.

“The proponents of Proposition 8,” Chris says, “focused

the Supreme Court, and in December 2012 the Supreme Court granted review. On June 26, 2013 the Supreme Court

on trying to poke holes in our folks’ testimony. We

found that the proponents of Proposition 8 did not have

presented 13 witnesses.” The proponents of Proposition 8

legal standing to appeal the district court’s decision, when

presented just two. Their main witness was David

California’s own officials refused to do so, and dismissed

Blankenhorn, whose task was to make the case for why a

the appeal. The life-changing day that Kris, Sandy, Paul

nondiscriminatory person would be against gay marriage.

and Jeff had been waiting, hoping and working toward was

He had to argue why it was not discriminatory to have the

June 28, 2013: The stay of effect on the district court’s

institution of marriage be a heterosexual thing; to narrow

decision was removed. Same-sex marriages occurred that

the institution to exclude a single group; and justify this

afternoon. Having endured and persevered through the

separate treatment of them. The Proposition’s proponents’

emotional roller coaster of various and protracted legal

argument at trial for why limiting marriage to straight

events from November 2008 through June 2013, Kris,

couples was not discriminatory centered on procreation,

Sandy, Paul and Jeff had earned access to an institution

or more accurately, “accidental procreation.” “Essentially,”

that many adults take for granted.

Chris says, “they pointed to the fact that a gay or lesbian

“Of course,” Chris says, “we had hoped the Supreme

couple couldn’t simply have a baby ‘by accident,’ as a

Court would decide the case on its merits and not on

heterosexual couple could, as justification to make

standing, but the fact that they recognized the constitutional

marriage only for heterosexuals.” A second argument,

right of gay men and women to marry only two years later

Chris noted, was that children are best-off when raised by

was a great thing.” On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court

their biological mother and father. But there was no

ruled that the right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex

evidence to support that conclusion, Chris says, and all

couples by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States

Proposition 8 did was ensure that the many gay and lesbian

Constitution, and that state laws denying marriage equality

couples raising children in California would not have the

violated Equal Protection. All states were required, at

benefit of being married.

that point, to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

On August 4, 2010, Judge Vaughn Walker found in favor of the plaintiffs. Proposition 8 “unconstitutionally

Chris acknowledges that a love of and concern for justice and equality are in large measure what drew him

burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and

to the law. Those passions were well suited to this case,

creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual

he notes. “First I saw it as a legal issue. What I learned was

orientation,” he wrote. The proponents of Proposition 8

how human and how personal it is. This case allowed me

appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,

to use my training in the law, and in litigation, to help bring

and on February 7, 2012, the appeals court upheld the

about change that improves life for thousands of Americans.

district court decision. Judge Stephen Reinhardt noted that

And it simply makes this a better country.”

“Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other

A wave of support for gay marriage is moving through

than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and

the country as pundits try to analyze why. Chris thinks

lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their

the reason is that “when you allow gay and lesbian couples

relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-

that love one another to marry and function in society,

sex couples.” The proponents of Proposition 8 appealed to

nothing bad happens. It’s all good. The parade of horribles, the 30-second sound bites of imminent disasters, just don’t happen.”

“There’s lots of credit to pass around,” Chris says, “and we were a small part of a huge and widely effective effort.

The Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process clause and the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, United States Constitution. All states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

JUNE 26, 2015

By bringing a federal lawsuit, we took an approach and a strategy at a time when it wasn’t popular. Many people didn’t think it was the right strategy at the right time.

But we felt that our clients deserved their full constitutional rights now, and we worked hard to make sure they got them. I will always be proud of that.”

by Cathleen Everett

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J O E POS N E R ’03

What Don’t You Understand?

Making Videos that Tackle the Issues that Confound Us Joe Posner ’03 The first of Joe Posner’s videos to go viral, he explains, was a robust, animated description of Europe’s austerity programs—all in about five minutes. He pitched the project, earned a grant from his alma mater, Brown, and collaborated with political economist Mark Blyth to render scholarly ideas about austerity in an accessible, entertaining video. That was 2009.

Today, Joe’s videos deliver facts-in-context at Vox.com,

“The assembly-line approach [to developing video] is

where his approach to creating video matches the mission

how television works. It’s efficient, and a good process

of the Vox digital platform. Vox.com aims to “explain

when you need to be on all the time, but what you get at

the news and the world around you.” Videos and features

the end is not unique or exciting,” says Joe. “Here at Vox,

also often explore subjects that may not be covered, or

we’ve gone from the mindset of considering video to be

even addressed, by other major media outlets. Vox videos

a supplementary thing, to where we consider ourselves

include, for example, “The Rise of Isis, Explained in 6

journalists. Instead of just adapting some news article,

Minutes,” or “Thin underwater cables hold the internet.

we are the true authors.”

See a map of them all.”

This structure serves the staff—and the viewers—well,

Joe is the director of video at Vox.com, and his team of

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as Vox videos explore their subjects deeply, whether Joe is

video creators work on projects from the idea phase to

reporting on the New York City Marathon while running

the finish. This means taking people out of skill silos and

it himself, or his colleague Estelle is breaking down the

off the video production line. No one on the Vox video team

history of rhyme in rap music with painstaking detail.

does just one thing. They begin with broad expertise

In another case, a colleague proficient in French language

and journalistic drive; animators are reporters, and editors

and culture created a video that translated the Charlie

carry cameras and appear on screen. As a result, each

Hebdo cartoons and the periodical’s mission, in the wake

video has a fresh look and voice.

of a January 2015 attack on its office that left 11 people dead.

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Launched in 2014 under parent company Vox Media by former Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein, Vox explains

this indicates that people do want to understand issues on a deeper level, beyond the sound-bite loop of cable news.

“Among that terrible distrust of people, institutions and

complex issues, and its journalists do original reporting on politics and policies, science, business, culture and food.

facts, there still is a curiosity, and a recognition that some

Joe has been there from the start.

of the more popular forms of media can be misleading and not fact-intensive,” he says. “I love that our most-viewed items are really substantive, hard-news pieces.”

“Among that terrible distrust of people, institutions and facts, there still is a curiosity, and a recognition that some of the more popular forms of media can be misleading and not fact-intensive.”

Always coupling journalism and multimedia, Joe worked on The Milton Paper as a student, and also pursued his interests in music and performing arts. “Being involved in music and performance at Milton and beyond has taught me to relish performing, and that can show up in a lot of different ways.”

At Brown, he combined his interests in performance, art and animation with studies in public policy, and he developed projects that spanned subject areas. Joe took a class taught by documentary filmmaker Eugene Jarecki,

In a time when distrust, or even hatred, of “the media”

who brought in guest documentary directors Alex Gibney

as a whole is propagated by public figures in politics,

(Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief ) and Morgan

sports and entertainment, working in journalism can

Spurlock (Supersize Me).

Eugene Jarecki hired Joe right out of college, and their

be discouraging, Joe says. As people filter their news consumption based on their political alignment, a lot of

first major project together was working on a section of the

conflicting information is pushed out. But Joe is encouraged

documentary version of Freakonomics. Eugene directed,

by some unassailable data.

while Joe worked on animation.

When he was ready to work on his own, Joe secured

Vox’s highest-viewed video on Facebook is an

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explanation of the events leading to the violence and chaos

funding from Brown. “I created my own opportunities,”

in Syria up until last winter, which was posted just before

says Joe. “I had this idea to team up with an international

the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. To Joe,

political economist who had something to say, and come

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up with a new kind of internet video that would combine my

everyday objects (“It’s not you. Bad doors are everywhere.”).

ABOVE AND

animation and the professor’s expertise and presentation.”

In December 2015, prompted by Republican presidential

Hence the career-igniting video condensing Mark Blyth’s

candidate Donald Trump’s inflammatory remarks about

PREVIOUS SPREAD Photos by Ilene Squires

scholarly paper on the instability of Europe’s austerity

Muslims and a call to temporarily ban Muslims from

programs into the video that showed the professor

traveling into the United States, Joe flew to a Trump rally in

interacting with Joe’s animations. Recently, Joe used some

Des Moines, Iowa, to see whether such comments resonate

of the same techniques on a Vox video interview with

with voters.

President Barack Obama.

He used the Mark Blyth piece to land a series at Newsweek,

They do. In the video “Fear and loathing at a Trump rally,” statistics flash on the screen showing the increasing

which is how he met Ezra Klein, who became a fan of Joe’s

American distrust of Muslims, who make up nearly a

work. As he was building his plan for Vox, Ezra recruited

quarter of the world’s population. Clips of incendiary, anti-

Joe, who has been making videos for the site since before its

Muslim speech from cable talking heads appear before Joe

official launch.

interviews Trump supporters who say they feel threatened

For Joe, the next step in the “ambitious mission” of Vox video is continued growth. The talented group of video

by people who follow Islam.

One man, when Joe asks whether it’s fair to say that

makers can only do so much; expansion will allow the team

Muslims are a problem, says, “If you break it down, yeah,

to better fulfill the organization’s mission—helping people

they’re a problem. Sorry to say it, but I can’t help but feel

understand what’s happening in the world.

“We want empowered video creators. I don’t think there’s any other way to make something that’s fun,

that way right now. I don’t feel safe, and I think a lot of the country feels the same way.”

Joe says he was surprised by the level of fear people

surprising and interesting,” Joe says. “Our ideas are driven

expressed, but not by the way it is being played for

by creators. What are they curious about? What do they

political gain. “A lot of this presidential campaign has

know about that’s of use to the audience?

been about taking advantage of people’s fears, and Donald

“We can’t cover everything, so we aim for quality over quantity,” he adds. “There is no perfect way to do this.”

Joe’s recent work for the site includes a video celebrating

Trump does that effectively,” Joe says. “I would like to follow up that initial video. I would love to dive deeper into what is behind those fears.”

Muhammad Ali’s life beyond the boxing ring as a civil rights activist, and an examination of the usability of

by Marisa Donelan

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action four

REBECCA HOLCOMBE ’84

Education.

Especially Rural and Public.

Rebecca Holcombe ’84 The map of Vermont’s school districts—more than 270—on Dr. Rebecca Holcombe’s office wall resembles a patchwork quilt. Rebecca is responsible for this mix of colors and overlapping diagonal lines, this complicated school system. A passionate supporter of public schools, Rebecca became Vermont’s Secretary of Education in January 2014.

“Nothing is more important than public education,” says

Despite the stark realities, Rebecca is steadfast

Rebecca. “If we cannot help children develop their voices

and focused on reforming the state’s education system,

and participate in civic life, help them make good decisions

embracing full citizen participation in decision making

for our communities and give them the tools they need to

and keeping the focus on what is best for all students.

be part of our economy, then nothing makes sense. Public education is foundational to that process.”

Vermont’s demographics are in transition. It’s the second “oldest” state in the country, with its rapidly aging population. The number of people living in the state’s rural

“You can’t go into public education without being a hopeless idealist. You really have to believe that it’s possible to make a better world. And I am still a hopeless idealist,” says Rebecca.

One of her department’s tasks is implementing a new

areas is sharply declining. And as is the case across the

state law, Act 46: a multi-year, voluntary process merging

U.S., a growing socioeconomic chasm “is threatening the

small school districts into bigger districts.

ability of some children to develop the skills they need to thrive,” Rebecca says.

“The logic is that bigger districts share resources and provide stability, but this idea also flies in the face of local

“This state has a strong sense of civic community

identity, so it’s challenging. However, 50 school districts

and high levels of public engagement, but some of our

have already voted to unify. These districts care about

schools have 50 to 75 percent fewer students than they

education, but they also want to make sure that they are

did in the past. That puts pressure on some of our systems

getting value for the dollars they spend.”

and challenges us to think about how we take care

In addition to managing the political and legislative

of our children and create opportunities for them in a

aspects of her department, Rebecca visits schools and

transitioning world.”

attends public meetings to talk with students, parents,

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ABOVE AND PREVIOUS SPREAD

Photos by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

teachers and administrators. “A lot of my job is listening

the person who controls the number in the budget is the

closely to what people are saying and trying to play back

person who can help push powerful conversations about

what I know and see, so when people come to the table, we

purpose and means.”

can figure out solutions. Schools work when people believe in what they’re doing and trust the system. No one wants

Rebecca was a middle school teacher in New Hampshire and a principal at the Fairlee School in Vermont. She

to change or consolidate or do any of this unless we have

also directed the formation of an interstate school district,

to. This isn’t about telling people what they need to do; it’s

which includes three districts in Vermont and one in New

about helping them understand the shared challenge and

Hampshire, a prelude of sorts to today’s consolidation

finding the tools to create better solutions.”

of districts under Act 46. Most recently, she was director of the Teacher Education Program at Dartmouth College.

Rebecca’s department must also oversee federal require­ments of public education. When it comes to mandated

“I fear that when we ask these tests to do things for which they weren’t originally intended, we lose the value the tests do have. None of us wants a test-driven curriculum, because real learning involves risks, inquiry and exploration.”

testing, an area she knows well from her disser­tation research, she is not afraid to go against the grain.

“Federal education programming is driven by testbased accountability. The logic is if you identify the lowest performance schools and target them, then everything will get better. However, our perception is that strong schools come from strong communities. You can’t mandate good schools; you need to provide the structure, the support, the transparency, and the data that enable a strong school to become self-regulating and self-improving. I fear that when we ask these tests to do things for which they

Rebecca didn’t necessarily intend a career in education, but she says, “In one way, shape or form, even at a young

have. None of us wants a test-driven curriculum, because

age, I was thinking about learning.” Her parents worked for

real learning involves risks, inquiry and exploration.

the United Nations, and Rebecca grew up in Pakistan and

Kids need to be willing to take intellectual risks and not

Afghanistan, where she attended American international

worry about repercussions.”

schools. When war broke out in Afghanistan in the early

When No Child Left Behind was the federal mandate, Vermont chose not to evaluate teachers based on test scores,

’80s, Rebecca came to Milton. She majored in history at

20

weren’t originally intended, we lose the value the tests do

Brown University, earned a master’s in education and,

because, Rebecca explains, “that demeans the breadth and

just recently, a Ph.D. from Harvard’s Graduate School of

richness of what our systems were trying to accomplish.

Education. She earned an M.B.A. at Simmons College

We don’t want to discourage our best and brightest teachers

School of Management because she “realized early on that

from embracing the most complicated students in our

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system. Those children need strong teachers the most. We need to make it a privilege to teach those kids and provide those educators with the support they need. Teaching well when all of your students are well fed and have supportive two-parent families is easy. Teaching is much harder when kids are grappling with issues of safety, hunger and family disruptions far beyond their control.”

Taking this approach meant that Vermont had to label every single public school in the state as a “low-performing school” under the federal law. “But that gave us an opportunity. If all of us are low-performing, what does that mean? That was a launching point for a more nuanced conversation about what a good school is, how you know a good school when you see it, and what contexts enable quality education for all children.”

Today’s federal mandate is Every Child Succeeds, and Rebecca is focused on what that might mean. Compared with other states, Vermont’s rate of students moving on to college is low. Increasing that number is important, but Rebecca believes in more than one path to success.

“As a country, we have devalued the crafts and the trades. A skilled craftsperson has high value in the future economy. We want to make sure someone who wants to pursue that can do so, and develop the skill sets and entrepreneurial skills they need. How can we develop an education system that is flexible enough to reward and support many kinds of success, not just the stereotypical paths of success?”

Rebecca commutes an hour from her home in southern Vermont to the office in Barre. The back roads twist and turn through small towns and villages where the schoolhouse was once the focal point of town life. Yielding to the concept of bigger districts changes that way of life.

Rebecca is aware of what is lost, but she believes there is much to be gained over time. In the end, what is best for the students is what matters.

“Good work takes time. Our line internally is that this is a marathon, not a sprint. We can’t improve a school in a day or a year. It takes people who roll up their sleeves and work very intentionally and very hard with communities over time. I need to create conditions for stability, knowing that paradoxically, getting to stability requires making changes, which can be hard.”

by Liz Matson

“Essentially we’re talking about fear that drives this bottomless need for safety.

And that’s the problem with safety: You can always be safer.”

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at milton

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL DW YER

What Is the Real Safe?

In the black box, six students shift quietly about the stage, taking positions to give public voice to the raw, or eloquent, or plaintive comments that emerged during more than 30 interviews. The actors, in their dark or neutral street-wear, recede physically, which isolates and emphasizes their words slicing through the air, riveting the audience. The script, which they sculpted from their transcribed interviews, sketches vulnerability in different shapes and sizes. It uses their narrators’ exact phrases. “Narrators” are those people who answered student questions with startling honesty, gave them personal stories. In total, the narrators show “real safety” as pretty elusive — compromised at best, and often out of reach.

Several months ago these six juniors and seniors set

encounter, he and others began to see that feelings

out to probe the ambiguous terrain of emotional and

about safety were hard-wired to many of the ideas the

physical safety. Bringing to the stage what they found

class wanted to test. What does safety mean to you,

culminates one second-semester project for the course

and how much or how little safety do you feel? “We

Narrative Journalism and Performance. It’s “hands on”;

wanted to offer conflicting perspectives and experiences,”

they learn narrative journalism skills, performance

says Kellie Quinn ’16, “because it’s clear that people’s

skills and peer workshopping, through practice. With

backgrounds and roles lead to different senses of what

their co-teachers, Lisa Baker (English) and Peter Parisi

safety means for them.”

(chair, Performing Arts), they identify, research, write and

Slicing the topic into three areas (physical safety,

perform stories from within and beyond Milton Academy.

emotional safety and “post 9/11 parenting”) researched

This particular storytelling project was to be a

by three, two-student teams, they named their target

collaborative venture. “We filled an entire whiteboard

narrators, and set about interviewing: teachers and

with brainstorming ideas,” Chloe LeStage ’17 remembers,

counselors, campus safety officers and administrators,

“materialism, race, religion, the meaning of love, helicopter parents, lockdowns, depression, the meaning of art, and

fellow students and parents.

Adam Bramson ’16 led the questioning at a panel

how adolescence has changed.” Their previous projects

discussion with Upper School parents; Chloe and Henry

had already taught them how listening well, standing in

Westerman ’17 led the mirror panel with Middle and Lower

another’s shoes and telling his story, can completely alter

School parents. “I know from my own mom how much

your awareness, and create newfound empathy. In this

things have changed since she was a child,” Adam says,

round, they wanted to trigger a new level of discovery by asking questions that held a mirror up to the Milton

“when she basically did her chores and went outside and played all over the neighborhood with her friends.” He

community itself. Peter Parisi recalls that during an intense

found parents chilled by violent events; both empowered

conversation in the dorm one night, after a Republican

and flummoxed by the internet; avidly seeking a “balance”

presidential candidates’ debate, Norris boys turned to him

between programming their kids, striving for their

and asked, “Well, what are you willing to compromise,

achievement, and trying to make sure they are happy.

Mr. Parisi, your safety or your freedom?” In class after that

They each confided having taken a certain course of action,

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“Understanding how much adults on campus have to worry about was eye-opening.”

duty for the dorms. While he’s on duty, he thinks continually of what range of things might happen, what he may need to do­—and what the right thing to do will be.”

David Ball told Kellie that the Boston Marathon bombing stood out as a distinctive challenge in his memory. In the script, another administrator recalls that day: “I got a call from the boarding monitor. I had no idea what had happened, and the first thing he said was, ‘We’re all okay, the bombs went off really close to us by the finish line.’

And I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I remember that moment and then kind of going through the whole process of: ‘All right, so here’s what I need you to do. Give me a good sense of where you are,’ stuff like that, and walking this kid through getting out of the city and back to campus or to places we could actually get to them. That was what we were thinking. There was no … confidence that if you sent them this place or that place that you were going to be sending them away from danger.”

One narrator, an adult pointing to the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels, says, “I don’t think gathering places but not feeling the least bit confident that they might be on the right track. “So immediately in your mind, the

to cause harm.” The same person says, convincingly, “We

world is a really scary place that you need to protect your

don’t hear about the times that guns actually protect

children from, as opposed to the world is an amazing place

someone, where lives have been saved because someone

that you want your child to explore and be a part of,” says

has been carrying a gun. We don’t hear about that in the

one parent. A school counselor’s approach may make good

news—you don’t have the complete picture.”

sense: “I think it is important to learn to fail, to learn

Without attribution, the words in the script stand for

to hear things that are uncomfortable, to know that the

themselves. As Henry says, “Our narrators didn’t need

world isn’t a safe place, and inherently by doing that,

to be worried about being judged. So we can have a debate

you’re building your resilience.” But as another narrator

onstage that never could have happened offstage. People

said, “It’s hard to be a mellow parent.”

would be too afraid to say what they believe.”

Musing, Adam says, “Parents seem to want to teach their own kids now, based on what happened to them,

Crafting the script, students learn that some of its power springs from juxtaposition. Following one deeply

even though things about adolescence have changed.”

held point of view with a counterpoint marks up a reality

Henry can’t help but note the conflict parents are feeling:

we rarely consider—as when this student narrator enters

being against over-scheduling and over-protecting, and

the flow: “When you come from a community where a

yet doing exactly that. “Seeing them changed how I think,”

lot of kids don’t live to see the next day, of course you’re

says Henry, “hearing what and how parents think. It’s

going to tell that kid: ‘Well maybe don’t wear that hoodie’

important that we acknowledge what’s real for them.”

or ‘Don’t stand on that corner.’ Black kids have to grow

“Understanding how much adults on campus have to

24

are safe anymore. … There are people out there who want

up faster. As a kid, I was told, ‘Hey, the police are gonna

worry about was eye-opening,” says Kellie. “Like Mr. Ball

give you a tougher time. You’re going to be seen as more

(Upper School principal) when he’s the administrator on

aggressive no matter what you do or say, so here’s what

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you need to do: When you get pulled over, keep your hands on the wheel. Don’t make eye contact. Only answer questions when spoken to. And whatever you do, do not make sudden movements.’ I think I had that conversation when I was seven.”

Or from a parent anticipating that very encounter: “We have a black son, so whenever I see a kid, or a black person getting arrested, we sit and watch and talk about what that person did right while getting arrested.

‘If a cop comes up to you, take your hands out of your pockets and spread your fingers.’ When we drive by someone who’s pulled over in Milton, my son always looks and says, ‘Oh look, another black guy pulled over.’ I told him the other day that he’s not allowed to cut through backyards. He’s gotta stay on the street because people get nervous when they see kids, black kids, cutting through their backyard.”

“None of this is fiction,” says Eshani Chakrabarti ’17,

understanding real experiences and being open with one another are. The majority opinion is not the only opinion.

reflecting on her classmates’ challenge, sifting through

Some of our best days were spent arguing about what

pages and pages of transcribed interviews to create a

needed to be included in the script.”

script that respects all the voices. “It shows how important

Eshani’s interviews explored language as a vector.

“How would you define political correctness?” she would begin, becoming increasingly aware of what a complicated, simple question she was asking. “I didn’t know where I stood,” she says.

“People are not things,” one narrator says. “They are not statistics. They are not game pieces. They are precious beings and we should treat one another the way we’d have others treat us. Which means not to be dismissed, not to be referred to by a slur, not to be defined as an object

He found parents chilled by violent events; both empowered and flummoxed by the internet; avidly seeking a “balance” between programming their kids, striving for their achievement, and trying to make sure they are happy.

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w h at is t h e r e a l sa fe?, con t.

or a purpose for someone else. I tend not to use that term,

not caring that they did—all of that has a compounding

political correctness, because it sounds like a kind of

effect on your ability to focus on things, like school or

autocratic or totalitarian term or something out of

sports or doing what you have to do. It’s a distraction.”

1984 ... that term is in itself kind of a minefield of ordering people how to speak, when the point of it is to be mindful

around. He was aware then that one boy in the room may

and to listen to other people.”

What does “teaching” mean when those inevitable

26

A teacher re-created an encounter of decades ago, when boys in his class were trading “faggot” comments all have been gay. In his retelling, the teacher turned similarly

comments spill out, when young people of vastly different

degrading comments on each of the boys, explicit to their

backgrounds—naïve, myopic, probing young people—

race or ethnicity. They were furious. “And I said, ‘You see?

engage around a table? As a student narrator said, “It’s

What did I just do?’ And they got it. They got it. They were

not so much physical safety, but emotional and mental

talking in a way that was so offensive to anyone who

safety I am concerned about, just because the community

might—it was offensive to me! I didn’t say, ‘You boys, now’

is largely ignorant. Everything from micro-aggressions

[wagging finger], I wasn’t going to give them a lecture. It

to well-intentioned kids saying the wrong thing and then

was visceral. And that’s what I think we’re lacking now, a

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visceral response. I don’t think anyone today would do what I did then.”

His story connects with another narrator’s insight: “I have a lot of empathy for people who have to walk into rooms and size up if they’re safe. Is there anyone who looks like me here? Is there anyone who seems like I might be able to trust them? Do I have to worry about having to represent everybody who looks like me? It’s a huge burden, and if you carry it all the time, you take it in stride, but it conditions your whole life.”

That “only person in the room” syndrome plays out in many ways: “If I’m in a group, and I’m the only student of color and someone makes a joke, it’s kind of like I have to decide whether or not to be offended and whether or not to state that offense, because the second I do, I’m bringing the conversation to a level that a lot of people don’t want to be on,” says a student. “It makes me feel very uncomfortable, because people might be like, oh, she had to bring it back to race, she always does, but it’s like I don’t have the privilege

“It’s not so much physical safety, but emotional and mental safety I am concerned about, just because the community is largely ignorant.

Everything from micro-aggressions to well-intentioned kids saying the wrong thing and then not caring that they did — all of that has a compounding effect on your ability to focus on things, like school or sports or doing what you have to do. It’s a distraction.”

of not saying something in that situation. I guess that makes me feel unsafe.”

Perhaps the identity issue is captured most succinctly by another student narrator: “As far as unsafe goes, I feel like when you are required to prove something to someone, that is really nerve-racking.”

Now in their third year of teaching the course, Lisa Baker and Peter Parisi have learned that they can be

“As performers, we’re all embodying many personas, making sure we get the language right,” says Cheyenne.

“Every person is represented [in performance] in the

two “experts” in the room, working together, agreeing,

most important way,” says Adam. “We each played several

disagreeing, in real time, collaborating with students to

narrators; we were performing as people I don’t know,

reach high standards of reporting, crafting stories,

or didn’t hear, and wasn’t there, and we had to give each

performing publicly.

narrator his own respect.”

“Ms. Baker brought a focus on how to tell a story,” Chloe

“We tell the kids to own the language,” says Peter. “We

says, “how to get a message across: what to emphasize,

are gifted with honesty. What is the emotional content?

what to withhold, how it moved.

We need to feel and express the emotion.”

“Both teachers were active on every issue over the whole

“Our goal, really, was to encourage listeners, to encourage

course, with good and congruent opinions and differences

people to be more thoughtful,” Adam says. “From Ms.

in opinions. The class was really collaborative. I loved the

Baker and Mr. Parisi I learned that it is amazing what you

interviewing the best,” she adds. “I was able to go deeply

can learn from the art of listening,” says Henry. “This is a

into a subject with someone I didn’t know.”

cool art form, storytelling.”

“I didn’t expect to get such valuable words,” Cheyenne Porcher ’17 says. “Each person was so candid. Then we had to see how to fit it all together. During the interview, we can’t interrupt and disagree. It’s so different from a conversation where people listen just to respond rather

“This story says so much about Milton,” says Chloe.

“There are so many different perspectives. Milton is speaking, but it’s about the world.

“It will be revealing, what sort of impact this kind of storytelling can have.”

than to understand. Then afterward, I couldn’t take something out just because I disagreed with it.

by Cathleen Everett

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at milton

Kn w Thyself

An Approach to Getting There In the student lounge of Ware Hall one morning in late May, seventh graders were piecing together snack “necklaces” to represent what they’d learned about themselves.

They’d just completed year one of the Middle School’s 360 program.

A mini-Saltine cracker meant they knew their learning

week schedule. They use two separate classrooms and

fruit loops in different flavors represented auditory, visual

two different curricula, but the subject areas often overlap.

and tactile/kinesthetic learning. A Cheerio represented

Liz, the learning specialist, helps the students

empathy, and a purple gummy ring was the sign of good

understand their dominant learning styles, whether they’re

time management. A Cheez-It indicated that the wearer

auditory, tactile/kinesthetic or visual. She works with

would rather work on a project than write a paper. More

them on time management and study skills. Nicci, the

than a dozen options were available for the choosing, one

Middle School counselor, teaches students communication

sign of the range of topics covered in 360, a class all seventh

skills and self-advocacy, just as students are expected to

and eighth graders take, co-taught by counselor Nicci King

take ownership of their success, preparing for high school life. Nicci also works with students on mindfulness and

and learning specialist Liz West.

After assembling their edible jewelry, students shared

stress management, and shares tools for navigating the social and emotional obstacles of teenage life.

their stories.

“I learned that I need to manage my time, and I’ve gotten

“We want boys and girls to see themselves as more

much better at that,” one girl offered. “I used to be really

than just students,” Nicci says. “We want them to see their

antsy and fidgety in class, but I learned that I’m a tactile/

strengths—what they’re excellent at—and also those areas

kinesthetic learner, so when I do a hands-on physical

where they might need to advocate for themselves, because

project, I focus much better.”

they may struggle in certain things.”

“I think I’ve become a more reliable friend,” a boy said.

“I know what not to do while studying, and what was

Liz adds that she wants students to consider their struggles as calls for improvement, rather than weaknesses.

Success stories from 360 often begin when a student

distracting me before,” another student piped in.

“I’ve become more aware of what’s going on around me,

realizes, “I need help, and I’m going to seek it.”

For Brendan, time management was difficult before

and how it affects others, not just me.”

The 360 program addresses students’ academic, social

28

Liz and Nicci alternate the sections they teach on a two-

style, and could easily articulate it. Gummy candies and

360. Through the program, he learned that his dominant

and emotional growth—considering how a teenager

learning style is kinesthetic, or hands-on, so when he has

develops as a student, friend and community member—

to build something for one class and write a paper for

during years in which their brains are frequently rewiring.

another, he now knows to budget more time to work on the

Over the past decade, 360 has evolved from an elective life-

paper. Brendan says he intends to put his 360 knowledge

skills class into today’s comprehensive format, a program

to the test in the Upper School this fall, using what

Middle School Principal Will Crissman says “gets better

he’s learned about how sleep, nutrition and hydration can

and better every year.”

support academic performance.

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“I don’t think I can say that I’m completely prepared,

“Life is not perfect. Students are going to struggle and be challenged, so we want that to happen here and now when it’s in a pretty controlled setting. That way we can say, ‘There it is. It happened.

You survived it. And now, what do we know?’”

because the Upper School is a major step up in the amount of work that we’ll have, but I feel much more prepared than if I hadn’t taken 360,” Brendan says. “I’m more comfortable going to my teachers now if I have questions, because I understand that it’s useful, and they want us to succeed.”

The Middle School is a perfect environment for this kind of affective education, Liz explains. While students are going through the constant and major changes of their teen years and taking on the responsibilities of managing their own class schedules, becoming aware of how they learn and communicate is critical. As schoolwork becomes more difficult, the tight-knit group of educators are on hand to help them improve.

Kids start to push away from their parents and tackle challenges on their own—something that can be tough for

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parents. “Kids are going to become less communicative

his peers do the self-evaluation in 360 prompted him

with their parents, and that’s normal,” Liz says.

to think of himself as an individual. Knowing his learning

“Parents can always reach out to us and talk. The

style helped him study more efficiently, but it also created

best thing parents can do as our partners is to let kids

an understanding that everyone has different strengths

know that it’s okay to fail, because failing leads

and struggles.

to opportunity.”

Nicci adds, “And it builds resilience. Life is not

“It takes a burden off people’s shoulders to see others finding out who they are and how they learn, and just

perfect. Students are going to struggle and be challenged,

becoming more comfortable with themselves. Now I

so we want that to happen here and now when it’s in

know that if I am having trouble, I need to ask myself if

a pretty controlled setting. That way we can say, ‘There

there is a different way I can approach the problem,”

it is. It happened. You survived it. And now, what do

Kavi says. “I think that’s one of the great things about the

we know?’”

Middle School as a whole: Self-advocacy is something

Self-awareness serves students for life, explains

that all of our teachers emphasize. Our teachers push us

Will. The program gives students the tools to advocate

to talk to them and understand ourselves as learners, and

for themselves socially as well as academically. The

360 gives us the guidelines for talking to them about

goal is that students leave the Middle School knowing

what we need as students.”

themselves very well.

Kavi, who completed eighth grade in June, said seeing

by Marisa Donelan

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c o m m e n c e m e n t 2 0 1 6

What Dare to Be True May Mean Tomorrow Conor French ’99

because of the multiplier effect. Studies show that women and girls reinvest over 90 percent of their income into their families and their communities. Empowering these women is the smart thing to do because if you look at the future demographics of our global workforce and consumer landscape, this will be critical to a sustainable future economy. Finally, it keeps us safe, because building capacity among women and providing them access to functional economies has been shown to significantly reduce security threats such as terrorism.

You can, and should, care about many different things.

When you find what you care about deeply, roll up your sleeves or get nerdy or do whatever you need to do to make caring about it a priority in your life. relentlessly challenge the status quo

What attracted me to Funding Circle, where we’re re-imagining how we finance small businesses, was the disconnect between small business’ importance to our economy and its poor access to the resources necessary to Daring Virtue

grow. At Funding Circle, our borrowers are Main Street

Let’s ground ourselves in a common starting place. Dare

small businesses; small businesses employ roughly half of

to be true. We’ll try to tackle today what “Dare to Be True”

our American workforce. They have accounted for two-

can mean to you tomorrow. I’ll offer you a notion of daring

thirds of net new jobs over the past two decades. And they

to be true as an elegant composition of four interconnected

serve as critical on-ramps for their owners to broader

virtues: (1) caring is cool, (2) relentlessly challenge the status

prosperity, which in turn helps address income inequality.

quo, (3) stand bold and (4) hard times require furious dancing.

Yet for many of these 28 million American small

For simplicity’s sake, from here on out, we’ll call each a

businesses, the status quo of traditional financing options

Daring Virtue.

isn’t working.

caring is cool

are often targeted by predatory lending practices. Rather

In 2010, I left my law firm after four years to help artisan

than turning a blind eye to the financial exploitation…,

In my current field, small business credit, … borrowers

women in Rwanda lift themselves out of poverty. At Indego

I co-authored a Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights.

Africa, our programs help these women gain market

This Borrowers’ Bill of Rights called upon every small-

access and earn income to meet their families’ basic needs.

business lender to adopt clear baseline industry standards

At the same time, our business and management training

for transparency, fairness and inclusion.

provides them opportunities to acquire the skills to run their own profitable businesses over the long term.

The prevalence of gender-based discrimination means

32

stand bold

A few years ago, I was honored to be named among the

we all share a clear moral imperative to stop it. This is the

most influential young foreign-policy professionals;

right thing to do. Women’s empowerment is also effective

after my initial shock … came the even greater surprise at

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/IndegoAfrica

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the category: they labeled me a “risk taker.” I had always equated risk taking with deliberate imprudence or a penchant for unnecessary peril, like driving without a seatbelt or free-climbing some remote rock formation. It never occurred to me—the importance of taking the healthy, everyday risk of being courageously ourselves.

Sometimes courage drives us toward self-discovery.

Sometimes it challenges us to supplant our hurt or anger with empathy or compassion. Sometimes it spurs us to love another—a spouse, a child, a friend—as much or more than we love ourselves. And sometimes courage requires

I share Joselyne’s story … so that we never forget the

us to face down injustice, even where its very existence

immeasurable depth and power of human resilience. No

may benefit or insulate us.

one is immune to life disruptions, so the best we can do is

hard times require furious dancing

The best we can do is to embrace those things that anchor

not underestimate the vitality of our own human spirit.

Early on at Indego Africa, I learned of a woman who, in

us and lean on them to remind ourselves that, whatever

the face of her neighbors’ death threats during the genocide,

comes our way, we always have the strength to bounce back.

tried to commit suicide by throwing herself into a latrine.

For my wife, it is her faith. For my father, who has

She survived the fall and instead lived down there for five

coped his entire life with depression, it is painstaking

days while people urinated and defecated on her.

self-awareness. For the poet Alice Walker, from whom I

When, several years later, Joselyne Nibagwire, a

borrowed the phrase that encapsulates this Daring Virtue,

charismatic leader of a cooperative whom we’d selected

it evidently is dancing … furious dancing. For me, it is

for an artisan trip to the U.S., sat down with us to pen

shared laughter with family and friends and fellowship

her biography, it seemed impossible that she was that

with people like Joselyne, who never stopped believing

survivor—the same woman who would charm and disarm

in themselves and that what they did mattered—not just to

her way through Amex, Google, and the U.S. Department

them, but to all of us.

of State; the same woman who’d shrug and calmly tell

Someone once told me that it isn’t a matter of if we’ll

a room full of fashion buyers that “if [she] didn’t die in the

fall, it’s a matter of when and how often. What matters then

genocide, [she] realized maybe there was a reason for that,

is that we accept that we will fall and learn to fall gracefully

and maybe [she] needed to move forward with [her] life,”

so that we don’t let the fear of falling deter us.

and then would implore the buyers to go back to discussing the products she’d carefully laid out for their inspection.

Excerpted from the commencement address delivered by Conor French ’99 to the Class of 2016. Conor is co-founder and advisor to Indego Africa, a nonprofit enterprise that partners with cooperatives of nearly 500 female artisans in Rwanda and Ghana. Indego Africa tries to break cycles of poverty by providing women with the tools and support to flourish as independent businesswomen and drive economic development in their communities. Indego Africa supports its artisan partners by exporting, marketing and selling their products— clothing, jewelry, accessories, home décor—online and to retailers like J.Crew and Nicole Miller. Indego Africa pools profits from sales, donations and grant support to fund training in business management, entrepreneurship, technology and literacy for its artisan partners. Conor is an attorney and serves as general counsel for Funding Circle USA.

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com m encem en t 2 016, con t.

College Matriculation, Class of 2016

Dartmouth College 1 University of Denver 1 Duke University 1 Emmanuel College 1 Emory University 2 Fairfield University 1 Franklin & Marshall College 1 George Washington University 2 Georgetown University 3 Gettysburg College 1 Hamilton College 2 Harvard College 8

University of Maine 1

College of the Holy Cross 1

University of Maryland 1

Johns Hopkins University 1

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4

Kenyon College 1

University of Massachusetts, Amherst 1

Lafayette College 2

McGill University 1

Laguna College of Art & Design 1

Messiah College 1

Amherst College 3

Loyola University Maryland 1

University of Miami 2

Babson College 4

Lynchburg College 1

University of Michigan 3

Barnard College 1

Macalester College 1

Middlebury College 3

Belmont University 1 Bentley University 1 Boston College 5 Boston University 5 Bowdoin College 3 Brandeis University 1 University of British Columbia 1 Brown University 8 Bryn Mawr College 1 Bucknell University 2 California Institute of Technology 1 University of California, Los Angeles 1 University of Chicago 10 Claremont McKenna College 1 Colby College 3 Colgate University 2 University of Colorado, Boulder 2 Colorado College 2 Columbia University 6 Connecticut College 4

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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

the talbot baker award On the day before graduation, at the spring prize assembly, four faculty members were honored with the Talbot Baker Award, recognizing excellence in teaching.

Created in 1968 to honor Talbot “Bake” Baker ’25, this award “provides a living memorial based on a confidence in the humanity of teachers and the quality of teaching” that Mr. Baker experienced as a student at the Academy and as parent to Nick ’51, Toby ’53 and Ben ’57.

Sonya Conway (Grade 6) Chris Hales (Mathematics/Computer Programming) Martha Slocum (Kindergarten) Vivian WuWong (History and Social Sciences)

left Juan Diego Jaramillo, Class of 2016 Speaker

Morehouse College 1

Saint Louis University, Madrid 1

Wake Forest University 1

New England Conservatory 1

Scripps College 2

Washington University in St. Louis 3

The New School 1

Skidmore College 1

Wellesley College 2

New York University 4

University of Southern California 1

Wesleyan University 5

Northeastern University 4

Stanford University 2

College of William and Mary 1

Northwestern University 2

Swarthmore College 1

Williams College 1

Oberlin College 1

University of Toronto 3

Yale University 2

Occidental College 2

Trinity College 4

University of Oregon 1

Tufts University 3

University of Pennsylvania 1

Tulane University 3

Pomona College 1

Union College 1

University of Puget Sound 2

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 1

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1

Vanderbilt University 1

University of Richmond 1

Villanova University 2

Rochester Institute of Technology 1

University of Virginia 3

Accurate as of July 18, 2016

above Melody Tan, Class of 2016 Speaker

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r e u n i o n w e e k e n d

by the numbers

731

reunion guests

class of 2011 was best represented

93 62 attendees

donors to their class gift

520

burgers

9,982 miles traveled from Queensland, Australia,

by Ngaio Jamieson ’ 66

495

hotdogs

s e r v e d at t h e b a r b e c u e o n t h e q u a d

$ 392,000

in gifts t o m i lt o n

from the 30th reunion Class of 1986 36

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head of school

BY TODD B . BL AND

The Lived Truth: When Mine Is Different From Yours When my younger brother, Richard, graduated from college, he

worked for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York. Senator Moynihan—a liberal Democrat—regularly had breakfast with the staunchly conservative Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.

Today’s political culture would label these two senators enemies.

Legend has it that the first half hour of their shared meals involved their ridiculing one another’s positions with passion and, often, spectacular humor. Once that exchange was out of their systems, they got down to business. They knew that regardless of their differences— which could be extreme—their responsibility to the people of the United States required that they collaborate, that they work together

commitment to collaboration, and to recognizing the value of everyone’s

through tremendously complex policy issues.

contribution to a collective idea.

Many have heard me describe Milton people as “beautifully

Milton has always been known for helping young people find

opinionated.” Milton students, faculty, staff and alumni are

their voices. Today, they find out who they are, and what they can offer,

diverse—of thought, background, talent, ethnicity and lifestyle—

as team members in project-based group work—tackled by students

and that is a great source of strength for our School. It stands to

in every grade, in every discipline. From debates around the Harkness

reason that the more diverse the group of people who are living

table in history classes, to the “Design Your Own” lab experiments

and working together, the more challenging—and important—

throughout the science curriculum; from sophisticated theatrical

the act of listening and understanding each other is. At its core,

productions to sports competitions; from kindergarten conversations

Milton has always prioritized growing and learning among

about sharing to a senior project on designing a service website. As

individuals who share widely divergent life stories, and respecting

we can see from this Milton Magazine, and others, Milton graduates

each other’s backgrounds and cultures, as an invaluable aspect

apply these attributes and skills to accomplish forward motion that

of a true education.

affects us all.

With “Dare to Be True” as our watchword, how do we effectively, productively, live and learn together when many of our “truths”

Recently, student leaders of Onyx (Milton’s black culture club) and The Conservative Club worked together to create meaningful

are divergent? When intelligent and strong-willed individuals

conversation on campus about the Black Lives Matters campaign. Israel

perceive that their daily realities are different from the mainstream,

Moorer ’16 and Tiara Sharma ’16 co-founded Assad, a publication whose

invisible perhaps, or under-appreciated? Not easily, not perfectly,

mission is to illuminate “narratives around race, class, sexuality, gender,

and not separately. Every day at Milton, we work toward finding the

religion and (dis)ability.” These conversations, among others that we

balance between advocating fervently for what we believe, and also

must address, are difficult. They are fraught with emotion, and they

acknowledging a commitment to classmates, teachers, neighbors

require extraordinary courage. Time and again, students and adults at

with whom we disagree. Doing this well means striving toward ideal

Milton rise to that challenge.

expressions of respect, civility and understanding. It means developing

Educating our students to take responsibility and act on behalf

open-minded self-awareness, integrity, empathy, curiosity and the

of everyone is not only a moral imperative, it’s a pragmatic necessity.

ability to work as a team member—critical skills today and at all times.

Milton helps young people “Dare to Be True” in a modern context.

We work hard to develop these key competencies in our students.

Complicated questions—issues with which we wrestle in classes

Our motto demands the best of the individual, and while we determine our personal truths, we must acknowledge our inextricable connection

and across campus—require nuanced responses, reached only through

to one another. We will continue to struggle, disapprove and

intense, creative work with one another. Many of today’s public figures

misunderstand, as well as coalesce, engage and empathize. Milton will

promote simplistic answers, based in narrow “truths,” as solutions.

continue developing young people interested in, and capable of, finding

Our children, our students, deserve leaders who truly help move

ingenious, practical responses to complex problems. I can confidently

everyone forward. Milton prepares young people to understand how

predict that future Milton alumni will be deeply involved in finding the

to lead when complicated, inclusive approaches to complex issues are

common good, even when that means breaking bread with someone

necessary. Making this kind of progress comes only with a steady

whose “truth” is quite different from their own.

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b o a r d o f t r u s t e e s Retiring From the Board Bob Cunha ’83 Milton Academy Board of Trustees, 2008–2016

Bob Cunha asks tough questions, and he asks them well—a common

MacBook in the other, ready to work. Bob is prepared to tackle issues

Milton trait. Perhaps less common: Under Bob’s curiosity and search

head-on, unwilling to settle for the way “we’ve always done it.” He takes

for truth is a pure heart.

Asking the tough questions made Bob a savvy reporter and editor

commitments seriously and strives to understand things at ground level.

For a time, he had monthly lunches with Milton staff members so he

for the Milton Measure. During board meetings 30 years later, Bob still

could be well prepared for issues that came his way. Bob established a

uses thoughtful probes to get to the bottom of any matter. But getting

scholarship at Milton because it was important to his family; it also lent

there—wherever there is—feels good with Bob lighting the way. He’s

him more credibility, as a friendly yet intrepid solicitor.

devoted to real outcomes, while remaining open and curious. His style

For his approachable and astute demeanor, Bob was asked to

invites greater participation, advancing conversations, never stunting

join the board of trustees in 2008, and he was critical in helping Milton

them. His approach likely was shaped by a lifetime spent on teams.

affirm the School’s K–12 structure. Bob served on several board

Bob was a three-sport athlete at Milton, playing basketball, baseball

committees, including as co-chair of External Relations and campaign

and football. He’s still a competitive athlete, and at reunion, you

planning, as well as working on the Building and Grounds Committee

may find him in an alumni baseball game, keeping recent grads on

and Institutional Brand Council. His leadership as chair of the Trustee

their toes. Bob’s intelligence and athleticism are an important part of

Committee may be his lasting work, however—assessing board

who he is, shaping his approach to problem solving and his outlook

governance and bylaws, recruiting the next generation of committed

on collaboration.

Bob’s efforts have touched many corners of the School: He served as a volunteer for both the admission and development offices; he has

board members, and creating succession plans between chairs. Weighty work, but Bob, predictably, brought moments of levity, too. His sense of humor shines through with fellow trustees, where ribbing is expected

been Annual Fund chair and a 1798 volunteer. He comes to meetings

and always returned. No one could ever be offended, because with Bob,

armed with a detailed agenda in one hand and the latest, lightest

underneath the humor is a discernible, pure heart.

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r e t i r i n g f a c u l t y a n d s t a f f Mark Hilgendorf, History and Social Sciences Department Member of the Faculty, 1982–2016

Of Mark Hilgendorf, one history department colleague

of the classroom, one that resisted conventional notions

said, “He is a master at inviting our connection with each

of authority: He believed in the importance of treating

other around the table,” of encouraging “a radical sense

students as intellectual equals—of empowering them by

of shared humanity.” I’ll begin there, as perhaps there’s no

creating a space where they could trial ideas without fear

higher praise for a career educator. For Mark, though, such

of judgment.

connection was, from the beginning, the goal.

Right away, Mark and Cindy moved into Little House,

He arrived at Milton 34 years ago, in 1982, with his

46

where he would live for his whole Milton career, racking

wife, Cindy, and their two, very young children in tow,

up 30 years as dorm faculty in Hathaway. In this setting,

fresh out of a doctoral program in African-American history.

Tarim and I knew Mark where, along with Sally, Doug,

A committed civil-rights activist and a young teacher,

Laurence and Patrice, we lived our lives aside 30 adolescent

he came to campus with a vision for the relationships

girls. My favorite images of him surface from those years:

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Mark on the tennis-slash-basketball court, late into the

Mark believed that academic learning should underscore

afternoons, hitting or shooting with anyone willing to take

our work around identity, and vice versa—our intellectual,

on this creaky but competitive athlete and coach; Mark in

emotional and spiritual selves in full interrelationship.

the hammock, reading under the blooming, overgrown

Long before it became fashionable to consider this a duty

rhododendrons, reggae sounding through the windows;

of an educator, Mark was committed, in and out of the

Mark riding across the field on his beat-up 10-speed, skull

classroom, to the “whole selves” of his students. This

protected by that silly, unbuckled ski helmet, headed for

commitment so often galvanized his activism; no surprise,

his classroom. The dorm has always been community for

for example, that Mark was one of the founders of the

Mark, as it was for all of us—a work/life intersection so

Transitions Program, initially an effort to address

unique and vital. Here, Mark understood, in this place

significant attrition among black boys, and he continued

where we could come to know the “full adolescent child,”

to teach in the program for the next 32 years.

so much teaching happened.

And just down Centre Street, on main campus, his iconic classroom—its walls covered with student artwork

A colleague remarked on his skill at promoting deep listening and discussion—to wade into big “ideas,” as Mark would say, to ask questions like, “Can history teach us empathy?” and “Can history heal us?”

and images of cultural and political leaders of the 1960s— was a haven for Mark and his students. He taught across the department’s curriculum, with African-American History his signature course, around which he achieved a cult following, his devotees fiercely loyal. Mark remembers the late ’80s as an exciting time: The department was shifting away from teaching history as a series of maps and dates and toward teaching it as a record of cultural and social change. “We were kicking down the boundaries,” Mark recalls, encouraging conversations about race, class and gender—focusing on “humanity in the history.”

Graduates with whom I’ve spoken quickly point to this focus in Mark’s teaching, often praising it as “lifechanging.” One graduate said, “His Senior Seminar class

Our old crew from the dorm gathers, when we can, for a reunion dinner. After all, we lived a lot in that

changed the way I think about history altogether. We

stretch: children born, children growing, relationship

learned so much about how people experienced events and

entanglements, and of course, death—precisely the life-

timeless themes: justice, revolution, democracy.” Another

stuff that reminds us of our shared humanity. Inevitably,

noted that while history has taught her that ugly

when we get together, we marvel over the march of

narratives—injustice, oppression—mark our human

time, how we look up and, suddenly, say, 34 years have

condition, his classes allowed her to discover the ever-

passed. Mark’s not sure what the next chapter holds,

presence of hope and transcendence: themes that cut

though he knows he will live other chapters, likely other

through race and culture, that persisted in the face of

iterations of teaching: counseling, ministry, maybe a

darker counter-stories. A colleague remarked on his skill

journey home to Milwaukee, where he first launched

at promoting deep listening and discussion—to wade into

his teaching career. I think of Mark’s lesson that history

big “ideas,” as Mark would say, to ask questions like,

exposes the persistence of hope. In this light, surely

“Can history teach us empathy?” and “Can history heal us?”

endings here will yield even more meaningful beginnings.

The classroom spilled over into his work with student groups, particularly Christian Fellowship, which he

Lisa Baker

advised for 14 years, and Onyx, which he advised for 20.

English Department

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r e t i r i n g fac u lt y a n d s ta f f, c o n t.

Erica Banderob Math Department and Robbins House Head Member of the Faculty, 1978–2016 Ricky came to work at Milton in 1978. John Banderob

a hand in helping that student overcome a challenge and

was working here already, and as former faculty member

experience success.

Donald Duncan recalls, “Ricky got the job, and it didn’t take very long before John realized that a treasure was

Milton alumni fondly recall her kindness—how she helped make math clearer and easier to understand. She

teaching across the street.” However, Ricky is much more

has made so many students’ lives better, both in the

than the other half of the indomitable Banderob team. She

classroom and in Robbins House. Robbins was home to

stands up for what is just and fair, often looking at a

Ricky for 24 years; first she was a member of the dorm

situation from the student perspective. In fact, it is hard to

staff, and then she took the natural step toward running

imagine the School without Ricky here to ask the hard

the dorm with John. Girls fortunate to have had Ricky as

questions about what we are doing and why. Her attention

an advisor often don’t realize how lucky they are until

to detail is legendary.

years later, when the relationship is still going strong.

As a colleague, we all know Ricky as a ready resource for all School information. She can look at a situation

(Though they immediately recognize Ricky’s baked goods as legendary.)

from many angles and share constructive criticism in an

I will miss Ricky’s love for Milton and her big heart.

incredibly thoughtful way. Through the math lens, she is

As a colleague, Ricky is generous with mentoring time,

generous, ready to discuss curriculum, act as a sounding

recipes, and a listening ear. She always says thank you,

board for a new idea, and be part of the team. As a teacher,

and she is quick to acknowledge strength in others.

no one has more patience. Each of her students knows

Her unwavering gift of recognizing the heart of a matter

that she is on their side, eager to celebrate their successes.

helps all of us remember what matters most: the students.

If you advise one of her students, you know that she is

We treasure the many years that Ricky spent with us,

as quick to share good news as she is to get in touch with

and we wish her the best as she heads off into a wonderful

you when something has gone awry. Never leaping to

next phase of life.

quick judgments about a student, Ricky often reports

48

being surprised by a turnaround a particular student has

Heather Sugrue

made. She would never say so, but she most certainly had

Math Department Chair

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Doug Fricke English Department Member of the Faculty, 1987–2016 Stroll. Amble. Meander. Stride. When we think of Doug, he is always walking with steady purpose—never haste—seeking out two things: good company and new experiences.

Young and old alike marvel at his 500-mile walks across Spain’s Camino de Santiago, but with postal regularity Doug takes to the hallways between classes, always popping in to his colleagues’ rooms, a story, a recipe, a follow-up comment on the tip of his tongue.

humor. Always there, always ready to

I can count on one finger the teachers

Just the other day, he walked to Cambridge

play his role, he made his dorm charges feel

who would tackle in high school tentacled

to join former students for dinner, a trip he

known and cared for. And wonderfully,

monsters like Joyce’s Ulysses. But in his Three

has made dozens of times by as many different

Doug met Anne Neely at Milton, their

Writers course, Doug went for it, concluding

routes as possible. That love of people and

partnership blossoming into marriage in

the venture with a dress-as-your-favorite-

experience, to say nothing of his lifelong

1992, and years of work, home building, and

character dinner party. Of course, the party’s

scholarship, led Doug to Milton, where his

travel together.

success brought the same group of students

students have basked in his warm traveler’s spirit for the past 29 years.

If you ask him where his teaching journey began, Doug will take you back to his public

In the classroom, three decades of students

back ten years later to reprise the dinner and

have come to know Doug’s masterful

raise a Guinness as thanks to their warm,

way around a book: frank, deeply researched,

intrepid literary guide.

and obsessional about craft. To Doug, a

For the English department, Doug’s

library in Rhinebeck, New York, where he,

book is not an idea but a thing, a construction

parting tugs hard, as he is nearly the last

at age 10, was a daily fixture after school, so

that asks to be enjoyed, deconstructed,

of a generation of teachers with distinctive

much so that a gentle librarian passed him

and then enjoyed anew. Without pretensions,

expertise. We don’t want him to go. But

new books until he was reading two a week.

Doug might start a discussion by asking,

he is ready to go. If any were planning to stand on the shoreline and wave white

From then on, he says, he knew he loved

What’s happening here? What’s going

words. In high school he didn’t have Class

on with this guy?­—be that guy Faulkner or

handkerchiefs as he sails out of view, Doug

IV English, but he had Mr. Kelly, one of those

Shakespeare. So naturally connective with

would probably tell us to do something better

magnetic teachers that stand as templates

his students, Doug quickly tags kids

with our time. No moss growing on him

for the future teacher hatching inside the

with nicknames and telltale anecdotes.

now: Doug soon will be on a Madrid-bound

smitten student.

And generations of students have flocked to

plane, and thereafter the possibilities stretch

his playful candor. Doug once joked, “Henry

on and on. Of course, he will stay well-read

at Bowling Green State, Doug came to Milton

James is boring? No, you’re boring!” With

as ever, and there’s talk of food projects,

Tenured as a professor of English literature at 44 for a new life chapter for himself

freedom from collegiate pressure, Doug

perhaps something fermented or distilled

and his children, David and Anna, then 15

taught what he knew so well and what posed

(I’m voting for kimchi, which we mutually

and 11. The School, he remembers, struck

pedagogical challenges. Like the hiker

adore), and moving with Anne between

him as smart, funky and traditional, with a

seeking the steeper route, Doug volunteered

Boston and Maine, where he can be found

slouching ease. All the staircases creaked;

to revamp a sophomore course by teaching

cooking, clearing brush like a biblical force,

everyone was friendly; “I loved it,” he

the oldest literature in the world, like The

and walking to his heart’s content.

remembers. Wolcott, Robbins, Faulkner and

Ramayana and Tang Dynasty poetry. After

Hathaway: A slate of dorms benefited from his

50 years in the classroom, he somehow

Tarim Chung

two decades of faithful, warm service and

has become more adaptive and risk-seeking.

English Department Chair

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49

r e t i r i n g fac u lt y a n d s ta f f, c o n t.

John Banderob Math Department and Robbins House Head Member of the Faculty, 1974–2016 Dare to be true, nothing can need a lie; A fault which needs it most, grows two thereby.

John Banderob embodies our institutional memory, and we’ve relied on his honesty and stories in our daily work. I’ve been privileged to witness John empowering students to be truthful in Discipline Committee meetings. John teaches students respect by being respectful, and to listen by listening. In and out of the DC, students and adults pay attention when he speaks.

In the classroom, John often quotes “If all you have is a hammer, the entire world looks like a nail.” He inspires students to take a new perspective, to try a new approach.

Sometimes he’s talking about math, sometimes not. John’s not shy about tossing out a lesson plan in deference to a class’s need to talk about an important community issue.

Donald Duncan liked to say, “John always puts the heart before the course.”

But, John loves to teach math. He has an infectious enthusiasm for numbers, problem solving, and making new connections. John and I have collaborated to produce many course documents, but for me, this was about process, not product.

John can listen to me jump from idea to idea, just as he hangs in there with every student who is trying to piece together coherent understanding. with Gregg Reilly until everyone at the top

Class after class of Robbins girls have been

compassion in a variety of ways. Many

of Ware is laughing themselves breathless:

gifted by knowing all the Banderobs.

times, he has stood by my desk, mustache

John has helped the math department

twitching, holding out his Zits page-a-

live large.

John expresses his wisdom and

day calendar: “This guy just gets adolescent

Thank you, John, for the laughter and tears we have shared. You are my big brother

On the other side of Centre Street,

and I will miss you, but I will remember to

boys.” John has a sublime sense of the

John has been living his respect for women

ask a question first, format document tables,

ridiculous and practices the fine art of

through his dormitory work in Robbins

and not worry about the thunder.

sarcasm: “If the thunder don’t get ya, then

House. In the house head apartment

the lightning will.” Jerry Garcia quotes,

lies the core of John’s love and loyalty—his

Terri HerrNeckar

irreverent Facebook posts, and bantering

devotion to Ricky, Rachel and Jessica.

Math Department

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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

Fran McInnis Student Activities Office, 1980–2016 purpose. Or at least a piece of candy.

For 36 years, Fran McInnis has played a

renewed purpose. Beyond the tangible, these

critical role at Milton. She has managed more

hearts provide a constant rhythm that keeps

information, essential to the functioning of

the community in step. Fran is one of Milton’s

supported members of this community in

For more than three decades, Fran has

the Upper School, than one can measure.

hubs. Her thoughtful advice, contagious

our ever-evolving work of educating children.

From budgets and the all-School calendar, to

laughter, and sharp wit are undergirded with

Forging relationships as a trusted colleague,

student mailboxes and the quarter-filled

an amazing memory, affinity for detail, the

a sage counselor, a comforting friend, Fran

graduation sock, nothing was too broad—or

abilities to make it happen, and the wisdom

was a source of what we needed, when we

too narrow—a focus for Fran. She has been

to say, “No.” At some point in each of our

needed it. The rhythm of Milton beats strong

situated in two buildings and four different

careers, someone has advised, “You should

in Fran. For all she has done for our School,

offices, always at the epicenter of student

ask Fran.”

activity. She has seen three heads of school—

And when we arrived, we were greeted

her greatest gifts have been the relationships she has built and the support that she has given to us all.

and an interim; nine Upper School principals—

by students hanging out on couches, or their

and an interim; six deans of students; nine

pictures hanging on the wall, a short line of

As Fran heads off to her next set of

student activities directors; and countless

colleagues, and Fran perched (or standing at

adventures, the beats of Milton’s rhythm

Milton Academy appearances in the Boston

her Varidesk) under the “The Witch Is In” sign.

will continue, though they will never sound

Globe. Fran has survived it all.

In our turn, we each received the information

the same.

Every community has hearts—hubs

that we sought (and maybe some we didn’t),

through which essentials of daily life pass:

shared information that we intended (and

André Heard ’93

entering exhausted, leaving refreshed, with

maybe some we didn’t) and left with new

Associate Dean of Students

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51

o n c e n t r e Marshall Sloane ’17 Wins National Championship in Speech Tournament Almost four years to the day after he earned a national title in speech

competed in his category. He earned awards for winning the finals as

and debate as a Middle School student, Marshall Sloane ’17 repeated

well as the entire category.

the feat, this time becoming High School National Champion in international extemporaneous speaking at the National Speech and Debate Association Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Marshall delivered 13 speeches over the course of the tournament, rising to the top of the 250 students from across the country who

“This is a huge award. Marshall has worked very hard to get to this point,” says faculty member Susan Marianelli, Marshall’s coach.

“History means everything to Marshall. Being aware of what’s going on in the world is important to him.” Marshall’s months of preparation involved a voracious study of international current events, along with skills that would help him best connect with his audience and the judges.

During international extemporaneous speaking, competitors are presented with a choice of three questions related to current world events and given 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech that answers the selected question. During their preparation, they may use research materials they compiled prior to the event, but they may not conduct any additional online research, according to the tournament website. The speech is then delivered from memory.

Earlier this year, Marshall and his teammates had great success at the Massachusetts State Finals competition. Alexandra Upton ’18 was named state champion in dramatic performance for her portrayal of Zelda Fitzgerald in The Last Flapper, and Marshall earned the state championship in extemporaneous speaking. More than 40 Milton “speechies” earned bids to the state tournament in 13 categories, and six other students took home honors.

Matt Tabor ’17 Throws Perfect Game Against Lawrence Matt Tabor ’17 accomplished one of the most challenging and

Fossas ’17 and Gavin Baker-Greene ’16 made huge plays that saved

impressive achievements in sports when he pitched a perfect

the perfect game,” says Matt.

game against Lawrence Academy this spring. Matt’s perfect game,

Sam Hitt ’16 says that Matt had “many great outings this year and

which happened on April 30, capped a season full of highlights

has been vital to the team’s winning record.” Sam also described Matt,

for the boys’ varsity baseball team.

who can throw 85 miles per hour, as one of the best pitchers in the ISL.

“Pitching a perfect game is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says Sam Murray ’17. The accomplishment is rare—Coach Matthew Petherick had never had a pitcher throw a perfect game before Matt.

Matt said that he did not have high expectations going into the game because Lawrence was undefeated. Instead, he “was focused on being the best I could be and going out to get a ‘W.’” Matt says it was not until the fourth inning when he realized that the feat was within reach. However, he stayed focused on winning the game, rather than fixating on throwing a perfect game. A perfect game occurs only when no opposing batters reach base.

“It was honestly such a surreal experience, and I couldn’t have done it without the support and play of the guys behind me. Isaac

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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

Matt has committed to play Division I baseball at Elon University.

Campus Safety Director Jay Hackett Wins National Award Jay Hackett, Milton’s director of campus safety and risk management, has achieved the “gold standard” in addressing safety and security issues

“The reason for the Professional of the Year Award is to allow professional leagues, NCAA member institutions, and marathon

at sporting events, according to a national organization recognizing Jay’s

and endurance organizations to honor outstanding individuals

leadership. Jay was included among professionals from Major League

in the field of sports safety and security, for their contributions

Baseball, the National Football Association, and the Federal Bureau

and leadership,” Dr. Marciani said in a press release. The

of Investigation who received Professional of the Year Awards from

NCS4 Gold Standard is an industry benchmark that considers

the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at

safety and security while balancing costs, operational

the University of Southern Mississippi.

efficiencies and staff engagement, all while enhancing the fan

Milton’s campus as a whole was nominated for the National Sport

experience. In his 30 years of campus safety experience, Jay

Safety and Security Facility of Merit award. “Receiving the professional

says practices in emergency preparedness and safety training

award was a big honor, but the one I really wanted to win was the

have improved immensely.

facility award, because we truly are a team here,” says Jay. “Between the

Jay’s team meets the challenges of managing event crowds

campus safety employees, facilities department, athletics, trainers, the

head-on. With campus-wide events such as graduation and

Milton Police and Fire Departments and the Fallon Ambulance Service,

Reunion Weekend, the team works with departments across

everybody is part of keeping things running smoothly.”

campus and beyond to execute an operational plan—which includes

The award honors those who go above and beyond the basic requirements of safety and security, says NCS4 director Dr. Lou Marciani.

traffic management—to make sure everyone is safe and has a great time. “Everything is a team effort,” Jay says.

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on cen t r e , con t.

dilutions

Milton Student Poet Wins National Recognition

It is six in the morning and my grandfather is feeding sparrows on the balcony, grains of rice, bird shit like egg white. He shies from the sky— to look up would be to imagine his son, streak-ebbed to speck of white, a figure careening. All

A “tough contest” is how English faculty member Lisa Baker describes the Bennington

he has left is a handful of granddaughters. This,

College Young Writers Award. But Letitia

watching the birds, is the closest he will come

Chan’s ’17 collection of poems stood out

to saying it. Grandmother and I watch the white

among more than 2,000 entries, and she was

fleck the shrubs. For him it seems the sky has waned— in a house of women, my grandfather cannot look

awarded the first-place poetry prize.

at us. But grandmother says a son lost is the world

Her poems cover topics such as a distant relationship between a mother and daughter

cupped in both hands, the sky in your palms

to a grandfather who favors men over women,

to trickle away—it wells again. Now she holds me

but only has granddaughters. “Most of my

to her sweat and I, girl in her grandmother’s arms,

writing is only partly autobiographical. Often

am not cursed anymore. Grandfather retreats

it is a version of something or an experience

through the door, as if he has realized that birds

I took inspiration from,” says Letitia. She

do not pelt as bullets from above. Tomorrow

gives credit to Ms. Baker’s Advanced Creative

he will stumble out again, hoping for a rainstorm

Writing class and the workshop style of

of sparrows. The sky is brimming with the sweat

the classes where students receive “amazing

of women. The world comes and goes and I must learn

feedback” on their work.

to hold the swell of it in my arms. Grandmother and I take the gloves, the alcohol, and wipe the balcony,

Letitia’s work was also recognized in another national contest, the Nancy Thorp

the shit, the rice. I look at her and she is thinking

Poetry Contest, where she earned a runner-

of all the sons she has never had. This morning

up award.

is bird shit, white, canvas awash with sweat, the smell, nothing she has ever seen, and grandfather turns away, unable to bear women, their sweat, their silence.

Letitia Chan, Class of 2017

Middle School “Speechies” and Coach Debbie Simon Earn National Recognition Speaking, storytelling and bringing to life poetry and prose paid off for the Middle

of events over the course of the tournament.

Six students placed as finalists during

also named Middle School Coach of the Year by the National Speech and Debate

School’s Speech Team, as it was recognized

the tournament, meaning they were among

Association. “The parent body is extremely

as one of the top-five Teams of Excellence

the top six in the nation in their events,

appreciative of Debbie’s tireless efforts

at the National Speech and Debate

while several others earned recognition

and unflagging support of this program,”

Association Tournament in Salt Lake

in the semi- and quarter-finals during

says parent George Alex. “Debbie’s

City, Utah. The students used their skills

the competition.

‘speechies’ learn so many life lessons and

in public address, limited preparation and interpretation to succeed in a variety

54

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

milton.edu

Honors for the Milton team did not end there, however. Coach Debbie Simon was

/MiltonAcademy1798

develop critical skills that will serve them well throughout life.”

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

John Avlon ’91 Kicks Off Seminar Day 2016 What Happens When Centrists Are Marginalized?

“If you’re tempted to disengage from politics

reality in both parties, but more activist and

as a result of this surrealist campaign, don’t,”

ideological among Republicans, especially Tea

students heard from John Avlon ’91 , editor

Party Republicans. The total ineffectiveness

in chief of The Daily Beast and a CNN political

of Congress and the rigged system of

analyst. Ceding political debate to “hyper-

redistricting, where politicians choose the

partisans” is partly to blame for the highly

people as opposed to the opposite, are major

polarized state of Congress and political

factors. When satisfying the core of your

campaigns right now, he explained.

constituency will keep you in office for a

John launched Seminar Day 2016 as the

lifetime, what is your incentive to reach

Sally Bowles ’56 Keynote Speaker. John has

across the aisle? The rise of partisan media,

long advocated for the power and importance

which has allowed journalists to come to the

of political centrism, a level of discourse

table “armed with their own facts,” has fed

that has before and can again generate real

the divide as well.

progress in the United States. He has written

John recalled the “Northeast Republican

and thanks to this fund, students will listen to a wide range of perspectives on issues

tradition of fiscally responsible, socially

critical to the health of society in the United

American Politics as well as Wingnuts: How

inclusive politicians.” He pointed to the election

States and around the world.

the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America. Earlier

of Ed Brooke, a Republican elected in

in his career, John was a columnist and

1966 from Massachusetts and the first African-

followed the keynote address, covering a

associate editor for the New York Sun, and a

American senator. He defeated former

wide range of publicly debated domestic and

chief speechwriter for New York Mayor

governor Democrat Endicott Peabody in a

international issues. Among many topics,

Rudolph Giuliani.

landslide and served two terms. Today, the

students could choose to learn about the

Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change

Fourteen other experts and activists

center right in American politics has been

law and politics of women’s health today;

rhetorically, “Because it’s our job as citizens

forced out of the picture and “being responsible

the direction of workplace automation; the

to get engaged. We know that there are

is a net negative” in today’s campaigns.

economic impacts of digital transformation;

“Why should we be engaged?” John asked

bullies in life, and the best response comes

“When you’re on the fence between apathy

how terrorists recruit and how governments

from responding with strength.” People need

and engagement, go toward engagement,”

can stop them; or whether the giant banks

to stand firm against the politics of division;

John urged students. “Debate with a sense of

should be broken up. Many Milton Academy graduates and several parents were

they need to oppose the “us vs. them” analysis

perspective. We will have real work to do after

of issues. “Both parties are polarized,”

this election. You vote with your eyeballs

among the guest speakers, stimulating great

John noted, “therefore they won’t function,

and your wallet, every day. You have impact

questions and discussions.

as they should, to cool our passions and

and you have an obligation; a leadership

help us govern together, as they have in the

opportunity is being handed to you. … At the

event has been one of Milton’s most important

recent past (witness the Marshall Plan,

core, commit to your independence.”

traditions since 1977. It is named in honor of its

the national highway system, and civil rights legislation).” Mutual respect has dissipated,

John’s keynote speech fulfills the wishes of

Called the Keyes Seminar Day, this lively

founder, former faculty member Peter Keyes,

Sally’s family and friends that speakers come

a legendary promoter of student interest in

and “now we have all the disadvantages

to campus who reflect the intellectual

political process as well as public and

of a parliamentary system and none of the

curiosity and rigor that marked Sally’s

governmental affairs and service. In the Milton

advantages,” he says.

pursuits, as a student and a professional. Sally

spirit of developing students’ confidence and

was focused on big, bold ideas affecting

competence to live by our motto, “Dare to Be

millions of people. She was on the team that

True,” Seminar Day brings to campus

Marking this presidential campaign as “weird, deeply off-center, not without precedent, but a live-fire moment,” John described the

developed the Peace Corps; she helped

individuals who have made compelling choices.

polarization and populism that we are

decentralize New York City public schools;

They are scholars, business people, scientists,

witnessing. Many factors colluded to serve up

she was the director of Medicaid and ran

educators, writers, political leaders and artists

our current “symmetrical polarization,” a

Connecticut’s welfare programs. Over time,

making a difference in the world.

FA L L 2 016

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f a c u l t y p e r s p e c t i v e

From Fifty to One: We’ll Take It a Day at a Time

After 42 years at Milton—24 of those years living in

Robbins House—lots of adjustments loom ahead.

One of these adjustments may not occur to most people as they think about retiring: Erica and I are going from living our everyday lives with at least fifty people to living with just one person: to living with each other.

Fifty personal styles and fifty voices; fifty sets of needs and fifty senses of humor, or lack thereof; fifty cases of fatigue and fifty levels of energy; fifty fans of brownies and fifty pairs of willing ears.

We’ve never had trouble coming up with things to talk about, but how will we do when we can actually finish our sentences—or when we can follow one thought with another that may actually be connected? How will we do when the only schedules we need to organize

Fewer late-night and middle-of-the-night intrusions: when the girl DOES get invited to the prom by the “right” person just before check-in; when a dorm staff person announces her pregnancy to the girls and it

and synchronize and oversee are our own?

elicits a screaming and jumping-up-and-down fest that I am SURE registered on the Richter scale; when some girls come to tell us of a lapse of judgment; or

“Counterintuitively, that very vastness has made the world feel smaller and more connected, as the natural or humanmade disasters in other parts of the world become a lot more personal, because we know someone from there.”

when girls come to talk with us about changes in their relationships with their parents and of realizations about themselves. So many have been happy moments, but the poignant and sad ones have been, in the long run, rewarding as well.

Clearly, we will miss the close connections with students and their parents and the impromptu visits from alumnae, because sharing our home and our lives with so many people has meant that we and our daughters have known people from all over the world and from every imaginable background. We’ve come to a deep awareness of the vastness and diversity of the peoples of the world, in the most organic way: by actually knowing people.

Certainly, some practical advantages will occur to

the world feel smaller and more connected, as the natural

shouting on the quad; speech team people won’t be leaving

or human-made disasters in other parts of the world

at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning when we’ve been on

become a lot more personal, because we know someone

duty ’til 1 a.m.—and the list goes on.

from there.

Getting up and going to bed when we choose!

Locally sourced food: ours!

56

Counterintuitively, that very vastness has made

you: Less noise: no more 6 a.m. fire drills; no 10:55 p.m.

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Among the things we will miss most are the relationships we have with other members of the Milton

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

community, and especially those who have lived or DO live in dorms, and most especially those with whom

and unparalleled for Erica and for me.

If you ask our friends, they’ll tell you that they’re

above Erica and John Banderob

we have lived in Robbins. They are the people who

not worried about what we’ll do when we have only one

understand in their bones the wonderful but crazy lifestyle

another rather than a host of fifty. I’m sure they’re right,

Robbins House

inherent in dormitory living. The shared values, shared

but just like the girls who arrive at Robbins House for

1992–2016

trust and frequent substantive conversations with

their first year at Milton, we’ll need to learn some things

House Heads

these people are an integral part of our lives, and we will

as we go along.

2006–2016

sorely miss them.

Being an important part, over the course of two, three

John Banderob

or four years, of transitions in the lives of exceptional young

Mathematics Department, 1974–2016

women has been an extraordinary experience, formative

Robbins House, 1992–2016

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in sight

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

P H O T O B Y J O H N G I L L O O LY

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

World-renowned photojournalist Lynsey Addario shared with students the challenges and rewards of her work, covering wartime conflicts and human rights issues. Photographs from her award-winning collection Veiled Rebellion—documenting the plight of women in Afghanistan—were on exhibit in Milton’s Nesto Gallery, during her visit as last year’s Melissa Dilworth Gold Visiting Artist. Ms. Addario creates photographs for the New York Times, National Geographic and Time magazine.

sports

Milton Sailors Set Their Bar and Meet It

by Liz Matson

From the shore, sailing looks effortless. Handsome boats

teams earned Mallory spots after qualifying in a New

glide across the water. Milton sailors, however, testify to the

England regional event.

During the regular season, Milton’s sailing program

mental and physical challenges.

“I describe sailing as trying to do sit-ups while going through little hills and playing chess—all with one arm tied

school compete against three boats of an opponent team. In this scenario, last season’s teams were Henry and Peter;

behind your back,” says Peter Baron ’17.

Sailing team coach Patrick Broome says, “Sailing is

Eli and team captain Emily Grace ’16; and Charlie and

intellectual. On the water, you need to figure out where the

Ginny Alex ’17. Milton has a fleet of eight 420s and two

wind is coming from, what the tide is doing, where your

Whalers at a marina in Quincy, where they practice under

team is, what the other team is doing, and where you need

Coach Broome’s guidance.

to be. As for the physical demands, a non-athlete in the boat

“One of our primary goals last season was to qualify

is noticeable. You need good coordination to move around

for the Baker Trophy, which is like the Mallory Trophy, but

effectively in the boat.”

for team racing,” says Coach Broome. “About 100 schools

Milton sailors must have mastered these demands last

in New England have sailing programs, and only six

spring when they had a notably successful season (19-3-1).

to eight schools have realistic hopes of going to the Baker

Off the coast of Charleston, at the ISSA High School

nationals every year. We are fortunate at Milton—the Baker

Doublehanded Championship for the Mallory Trophy,

is a realistic goal for us.” Milton placed fourth in the New

Milton’s A Division fleet racing boat, skippered by Henry

England qualifier for the Baker, but only the top-two teams

Burnes ’17 with Peter as crew, placed fourth out of 20

moved forward to nationals.

boats—the best result for a Milton fleet racing boat in

60

focuses on “team racing,” in which three boats from one

Milton sailors spend the offseason racing individually

team history. Milton’s Division B boat was skippered by

with club teams or together in national and international

Eli Burnes ’17 and crewed by Charlie Hibben ’18. The two

events. During the summer of 2015, five members of

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Milton’s sailing team­—Eli, Henry, Ginny, Peter and Charlie—competed in the International Sailing Federation’s 2015 team racing world championships in Rutland, England. They won the gold medal in their division and took the final gold honors in youth racing—a huge achievement in an event considered to be the pinnacle of international, dinghy team racing.

Christina Sakellaris ’17 did not sail with the team during the spring , but last fall she represented Milton in the single-handled fleet racing New England qualifier for the national event. She came in first place, qualifying for nationals, where she placed 11th. Christina says she came late to sailing, and she didn’t start racing competitively until she was about 14. She must be a fast learner, because Christina excels at the sport. Last winter

Rowers Thrive on Rigorous Training and Teamwork

she traveled back and forth to Florida on the weekends so she could continue sailing with a club team. Now she

In the absence of a Milton-based crew team, a number of interested

is focused on sailing with her home club team based

students are rowing for clubs in the Boston area. Pete DiGiovanni ’17,

in Newport, Rhode Island. She started training under a

Nick Potter ’17 and Jack Robinson ’18 all row for Community Rowing Inc.

coach who is a former Olympic gold medalist.

on the Charles River in Boston. Pete rows in a lightweight 8+ boat,

“Because I started at a later age, I’m still developing

Nick rows in a heavy 4+ boat, and Jack is the coxswain in Nick’s boat.

as a sailor. There’s a lot of experience that comes over

Practices are daily, either early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

time,” says Christina. “My coach encourages me to take a

Before a big event, practices can ramp up to twice a day.

more professional approach and strive for perfection in everything I can control in the boat.”

Christina hopes to race for Milton during the upcoming

Pete says he tried rowing because his father rowed. He discovered that he enjoyed it despite the rigors. “It’s not an easy sport. A lot of people quit because of the physical and mental strain. My teammates

spring season because she says she really enjoys being on

keep me going; I love the people I’ve met. I’ve also learned a lot

the team. All the sailors are hopeful for an even stronger

about myself.”

season next year.

“We had a really successful season and it was actually

Jack says he loves being a coxswain. “A coxswain ties up all the loose ends. They steer the boat, run the practices. The coaches tell rowers

a building year for our team,” says Ginny. “We learned

what to do but the coxswain runs the drills. We execute the race plan

more about our strengths and weaknesses, and we’ve

and provide the motivation. It’s like juggling a bunch of balls and keeping

figured out ways to get better and work out all the kinks.”

them in the air.”

Last May, the three competed in the U.S. Rowing Northeast Youth Championships on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts.

This is a qualifying event for the national championships, and boats must be in the top three of the final races to move on. Pete’s boat placed first in his division final, and Nick and Jack’s boat placed third in their final race.

All three rowers were excited to compete in nationals, which took place on Lake Mercer in New Jersey in June. Although Nick and Jack’s boat did not make it to the A Final, they did win the C Final. Pete’s boat made it to the A Finals and it was an exciting finish.

“In the sprint of the race, we overtook the third-place boat to take bronze in the Men’s Lightweight 8+ event,” says Pete. “It was a humbling experience that I will not forget anytime soon, and it certainly wouldn’t have been possible without my teammates and coaches.”

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m e s s a g e s Emily Reichert, Ph.D.

Emily Reichert is the CEO of Greentown Labs, one of the largest and fastest-growing clean technology startup incubators on the East Coast. Dr. Reichert, who earned her Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University

of Wisconsin, was the Lorax Speaker for this year’s Earth Day assembly.

Businesses that have evolved from Greentown Labs’ Somerville prototyping and office space have created innovative and practical environmental solutions, such as the first fully functional airborne wind turbine and an unmanned “robot boat” that records ocean data and analytics. Dr. Reichert spoke about the value of teamwork in solving our major environmental problems—climate change, energy deficiencies, water scarcity, deforestation and waste management—and explained that the combined fields of science, technology and business can be a powerful force in meeting those challenges.

“You can make a difference. You may not know what that is today, but keep your ears open as you’re learning, as you’re growing, to how you can make an impact. There are big problems out there to be solved.”

Dost Öngür, M.D.

Dr. Dost Öngür, chief of the Psychotic Disorders Division at McLean Hospital, was the 2016 Science Assembly Speaker. Noting the stigmas associated with mental illness, Dr. Öngür described mental illness as a public health issue affecting hundreds of millions worldwide.

Dr. Öngür is an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the author of more than 80 articles on the neurobiology of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Dr. Öngür’s research, using brain-imaging techniques to study chemical abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and other institutions. Dr. Öngür has won awards from Harvard Medical School for his teaching and mentoring of medical students and residents. He also serves as the associate editor of JAMA Psychiatry.

“Mental illnesses are common. They are not a small thing we can ignore, but rather a significant public health issue, and people need help. The best way to deal with mental illness is head-on—the way we approach any other medical condition.”

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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

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Lisa Miller, Ph.D.

A professor of psychology and education, Dr. Lisa Miller ’84, this year’s Class of 1952 Speaker for Religious Understanding, described the connection between happiness and spirituality among children and adolescents. Such spirituality may come from organized religion, nature, or an activity like yoga or music. Dr. Miller directs the Clinical Psychology Program at Columbia University Teachers College and founded the Spiritual Mind Body Institute—the first Ivy League graduate program in spirituality and psychology. Her innovative research into the quantifiable effects of spirituality on health, resilience and thriving has been published in top research journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association. As a clinical psychologist, her work focuses on spiritual awareness and growth for individuals, families, groups and organizations. She has spoken about her work on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and the “Today” show.

“Everyone is born with some innate spirituality. The most important thing you can do as a teenager is to expand this and establish a spiritual core. It will help protect you from the ‘holes’ in life. If you set it up now, you will live that way for the rest of your life.”

“I hear a lot about creating safe spaces, but out in the real world, you have

Armond James

Armond James encouraged students to learn from their failures and spend time outside their comfort zones, urging them to become involved in politics. Mr. James—a 2014 congressional candidate for Pennsylvania and teacher in the Philadelphia public school system—visited campus in honor of Black

to have tough skin. Not

History Month, sponsored by the student club Onyx. Mr. James was born and raised in the Mount

everyone is going to like

Airy section of Philadelphia, and credits his parents for providing him a strong foundation, and

you, but don’t let that dissuade you. Stay true to what you believe.”

teaching him about hard work, respect and the importance of education. Mr. James graduated from Temple University, where he discovered a passion for history and politics. Mr. James, a Republican, plans to run for political office in the future.

ZZ Packer

Reading her short story “Brownies” from the collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, author ZZ Packer explored racial segregation and prejudice among groups of adolescent girls in suburban Atlanta. Ms. Packer was the Bingham Visiting

Writer. She grew up in Atlanta and Louisville, Kentucky, and graduated from Yale University. She earned her master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and her M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa; she has held fellowships at Harvard, Stanford and Princeton. The critically lauded Drinking Coffee Elsewhere was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and a New York Times Notable Book.

“The stars sprinkled the sky like spilled salt. They seemed fastened to the darkness, high up and holy, their places fixed and definite as we stirred beneath them. Some, like me, were quiet because we were afraid of the dark; others were talking like crazy for the same reason.” (from “Brownies”)

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milton mur al

A C U R A T E D G A L L E R Y O F A R T S , L E T T E R S A N D D E S I G N B Y M I LT O N A L U M N I

Mei Mei Boston Inspired Chinese-American cuisine Irene Li ’08 launched her third and fourth

Boston-based food businesses: Mei Mei by Design in the Seaport, a shipping containerturned-lunch counter, and Mei Mei Pantry, a line of Chinese-inspired sauces starring local ingredients. Both enterprises emerged from her and her siblings’ award-winning food truck, caterer, and restaurant, Mei Mei, near Kenmore Square, serving up creative Chinese-American cuisine made from locally-sourced and sustainable ingredients. The food truck opened in April 2012 and was awarded Boston’s Best Meal on Wheels. Mei Mei Restaurant, named Eater Boston’s Restaurant of the Year, opened in November 2013 and serves casual truckstyle lunch and creative and contemporary table-service dinner. Irene was a semifinalist for the 2015 James Beard Award in the Rising Star Chef category and was named an Eater National “Young Gun.” www.meimeiboston.com

LAMPO The lamp that comes in a tube

Inspired by the mechanics of threaded wooden toys and the infinite possibilities of origami, Lindsay Richardson ’00 and partners developed an ultra-modern lamp using materials they love. Influenced by designers like Noguchi and Nelson, they ensure every detail is both beautiful and functional. They set out to make LAMPO something they could afford for their own homes. LAMPO is the lamp that comes in a tube—it can go anywhere and light up any room. It’s made with quality materials and is easy to assemble and break down. Marrying age-old techniques with contemporary design, threaded woodwork and an origami lampshade create a lamp that’s as beautiful as it is smart. www.mylampo.com

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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

The Accidental Agent The Overlook Press, July 2016

The conclusion to the Jimmy Nessheim trilogy,

by Andrew Rosenheim ’72, The Accidental Agent is set in the fall of 1942. In the midst of war, special agent Jimmy Nessheim has asked for extended leave from the FBI to study law at the University of Chicago. But at the university, under the stands at Staff Field, renowned scientist Enrico Fermi is beginning work on what will become known as the Manhattan Project, research that could not only change the course of the war, but change the face of

West of Her

war itself. Drawn into a web of international

Corner Piece Productions, April 2016

intrigue, Nessheim faces his most deadly threat yet. Andrew Rosenheim is the author of Fear Itself and The Little Tokyo Informant.

West of Her, directed by Ethan Warren ’04 , is a film about adventure, romance and a life of meaning. Alone and adrift, Dan joins a mysterious organization, agreeing to roam the country with a stranger named Jane, working by night, laying small linoleum tiles in the streets of towns across America, each bearing the same cryptic message. Dan feels that his mysterious employers—who communicate

Dancing With the Tiger

Eclectic Visions

Putnam Penguin, July 2016

Milton’s Nesto Gallery, May/June 2016

only through Jane—know vital secrets. As the pair travels together, their contentious relationship grows and deepens, until they’re

Lili Wright ’82 published her first novel,

This spring, Milton’s Nesto Gallery showcased

forced to choose between their work and the

Dancing With the Tiger, with Putnam Penguin

the work of talented alumni artists celebrating

possibility of a future together. Filmed across

this summer to much acclaim. The novel is

their Milton reunion. The exhibit was a broad

ten states, West of Her has won many notable

a thriller set against Mexico’s epidemic of drug

collection of perspective, scale, medium and

film festival awards, including three for Best

violence, and the global controversy over

story. Artists include Valerie Claff ’81, Murray

Narrative Feature, one for Best Director,

the repatriation of cultural artifacts. The tale

Dewart ’66, Mikel Glass ’81, Walter Horak ’66,

and Best Feature Film at the 2016 American

begins when a drug-addicted grave robber

Michael Maltby ’66 and Amy Wood ’76.

Film Awards.

unearths an artifact he’s certain is of immense historical and monetary value. His decisions lead to a violent struggle for possession, involving a vicious drug lord, American expatriates, local Mexicans, and heroine Anna Ramsay, who has a complicated back story of her own. Lili writes with a deep understanding of Mexican culture; she spent a year in Oaxaca living with Mexican families, studying Spanish, working as a reporter, and running with the bulls.

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NAME:

CLASS OF:

OCCUPATION:

FAVORITE MEMORY:

WHAT THE MILTON FACULTY MEANS TO ME:

WHY WE SEND OUR CHILDREN TO MILTON:

THE DARE CAMPAIGN IS:

WHY WE GIVE BACK:

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To learn more about the Dare campaign, visit milton.edu/campaign.

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

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/MiltonAcademy1798

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

c l a s s n o t e s 1940 The family of Joan Anderson

Primary Care. He continues to

Belfast, Maine, where she’s been

Smith said farewell on Joan’s

teach part-time about child

since her late husband, Al Moore,

93rd birthday, September 14, 2015.

development at the Children’s

retired in 1984. A widow as of

After a celebration in Florida

Hospital of Philadelphia.

1997, Nell enjoys annual trips

surrounded by friends, her sister

to Seattle and Shanghai to visit

Dorthea Anderson ’38, and four

generations of children, she

1946

her children.

passed away during an evening

Gerry Livingston, Randy Byers,

rest. During World War II,

Smiley Ruggles, Edith Rotch

1951

Joan enlisted in the Navy as a

Lauderdale and Rusty Bourne

Rebecca Faxon Knowles lives

mechanic for PBY seaplanes.

enjoyed each other’s company,

at an oceanfront retirement

Joan’s four daughters—Sandra,

as well as the company of two

community in Maine, and returns

Catherine, Laurie and Carol—

daughters, Cate Livingston

to Naples, Florida, in the winter.

gave her nine grandsons, one

Fernandez and Rebecca Ruggles,

She keeps mind and body busy,

Jacquetta Nisbet ’46

granddaughter, and five great-

during Reunion Weekend. “Being

and she welcomes classmates to

is pursuing the finer reaches of

together, with that memory-

get in touch and visit!

grandchildren.

1942 Henry Moulton is still traveling,

which he loves. His older

experience—nearly bold enough to

Dean Francis LeBaron was

make up for the lack of very-much-

sorry to miss reunion this year.

missed classmates,” says Rusty.

“The most memorable moment

Self-described Adventure

during dinner was when Smiley

doctor at Mass General Hospital,

Ruggles played rustic banjo for us,

New Hampshire.

and his younger daughter, Sara, is

turning a conven­tional Milton

www.deanlebaron.com

a celebrity chef with cookbooks

affair into quite something else!”

between Boston, Florida and

Despite a recent heart attack,

His son, Peter, is a judge in the

Jacquetta Nisbet is pursuing the

Morgan Palmer is in good

New York State judicial system.

finer reaches of Navajo and

shape for 83 years, still managing

Henry has six grandchildren.

Andean four selvedge weaving

the details of his investments,

and teaching in her studio, as well

keeping him in touch with the

as surface design with painted

business scene.

1943

cotton warp on the ancient

Pamela Cottier Forcey is so

back-strap loom. Life in Canada is

grateful for the education she

good with friends, animals and

1952

received from Milton—an

exuberant rural resources.

Charles Walcott became an

academic experience that she

emeritus faculty member in

claims is superior to her

Edie Lauderdale traveled to

neurobiology and behavior at

experience at Vassar! She sends

Europe in April, where she

Cornell University in 2008,

greetings to Girls’ School

saw her first great-grandson.

when he retired as dean of the

classmates who graduated with

She stays in touch with her

university faculty. He still

her in the middle of World War II.

two grandsons and two

teaches, does research, advises

granddaughters. She is quite

students, and serves as

active and doing well.

University Ombudsman and

William B. Carey, M.D.

William B. Carey, M.D., ’43 published, with co-author Sean McDevitt, Ph.D., a second edition of his book Child Behavioral Assessment & Management in Primary Care.

University Marshal. He lives on

published, with co-author Sean McDevitt, Ph.D., a second

in her studio.

Capitalist, Dean shares his time

daughter, Anne, is a primary care

published and programs on PBS.

Navajo and Andean four selvedge weaving and teaching

charged group, was a wonderful

about 170 acres of field and forest

edition of his book Child Behavioral

1949

close to the university with his

Assessment & Management in

Nell (Halsted) Moore lives in

wife, Jane.

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cl a s s no t e s, con t.

1953

1956

Joel Wechsler gave himself

Duncan Chapman has two

year, Tom sailed across the

an 80th birthday gift of a

children and five grandchildren

Atlantic (a bucket list check-off!).

tandem parachute jump last

with his late wife, Susan. The

fall. He says it was quite a thrill,

family lives in North Carolina.

Christopher Owen has enjoyed

and he’s ready to go again! He

life as an architect, traveling,

still works in the travel business

building a family of two children

five days a week and hopes to

and four grandchildren, and

ski this winter.

finding pleasure in art and classic automobiles.

1955

John S. Reidy works with both

Debbie Roberts is still

the Boston Symphony Orchestra

head of performing arts at

and the Boston Museum of

the Jewish Community

Fine Arts. His greatest joys are

Joel Wechsler ’53 gave

Center in Tenafly, New Jersey,

▲ After many years in film and

spending time with his ten

himself an 80th birthday

host to several musical

television, Rupert Hitzig

Harvard students, who come

theater camps each summer,

directed his first stage play—a

from all over the world.

as well as a SummerStage

farce called Acting Mad. It opened

gift of a tandem parachute jump last fall.

professional production of

well and enjoyed a second run

My Name Is Asher Lev.

over the summer—an exciting “new vista and great fun” at his

1957 Alexander “Sandy” Cochran

▼ Margot Parsons Brown

age, he says. He hopes to do a

lives in Corrales, New Mexico,

and Kitty Stinson Carleton at

film on the Cape this summer

with his wife of 55 years. He

their own mini-reunion in

and keeps trying to persuade

teaches part-time at University

Peterborough, New Hampshire,

John Reidy to produce it!

of New Mexico, after 50 years with the Department of Defense

in June. “Last time we were together was our 50th reunion,

Tom Hoppin and his wife enjoy

in Washington. He taught 15

but we connected as if it

their small community, about an

years at military war colleges

was yesterday!” says Margot.

hour from downtown D.C. Last

and spent 2007–2011 studying the 2003–2007 Iraq War. Robert Fuller ’s short story,

“Flashback Morning,” was selected as required reading for a recent conference, Preventing and Treating the Invisible Wounds of War, run by Rupert Hitzig ’56 directed

University of Pennsylvania Law

his first stage play—a farce

School professor Claire

called Acting Mad.

Finkelstein. Robert’s story describes a combat veteran of the Maine National Guard who, after returning from a tour in Iraq, suffers disturbing flashbacks.

Robert served as a member of the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps and is also

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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

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1960 the author of Unnatural Deaths,

Chas W. Freeman Jr. published

at the Boston Conservatory at

a police procedure novel set

his fifth book, America’s

Berklee. She plays team tennis and

in Maine.

Continuing Misadventures in

won the Harvard Club doubles

the Middle East, in May. Chas

squash tournament with the

Philip Rand had two heart

continues to chair the Committee

former Harvard University

valves repaired in March, but

for the Republic and speak

squash captain. Her grandchildren

is now back to full-time, full-

out on public policy issues:

are Reece Donnelly (2) and Cooper

force Ashtanga yoga. Finding

chasfreeman.net/category/

(1). Dina recently completed her

administrative difficulty in

speeches.

second book, a novel, about the protest era of the late ’60s.

being an expatriate, Philip renounced U.S. citizenship and

Sheldon Sturges is working

returned to the U.S. on his

on developing his company’s

Italian passport in July, to see

patented LearningPlaybot

1963

a friend conduct Don Giovanni in

technology. He continues to

Anthony Abeson recently

Santa Fe.

serve with Princeton Future

published Acting 2.0—Doing

Inc., a land-use planning

Work That Gets Work in a High-

organization. His eldest, Beka ’90,

Tech World.

1958

is a landscape architect and is

Georgia Zaborowski ’s daughter

raising a son, Abe. Zack ’93

and family moved in with her

is a lawyer at the SEC, raising

Tim Brooks and his wife, Martha,

spent a combined 80 years

in May. “Multi-generational

two children, Lucas and Daphne.

working in education—Tim in

living is a great thing when folks

Louise co-produced the Best

higher education, and Martha

love each other,” she says.

Documentary at the Sundance,

in special education. Since

And, luckily, all enjoy living in

Rome and Edinburgh film festivals

retirement, travel has been a key

the woods. Georgia spends time

this year. Sheldon married Tatiana

focus for them, as has helping

Chas W. Freeman Jr. ’60

reading, playing Solitaire, and

Popova last December, and the

with their four grandchildren.

published his fifth book,

watching episodes of “Father

two play lots of tennis.

They recently returned to campus

Brown” and “Bones” on television.

to share Milton with their Barbara Russell Williams and

granddaughter. “She was very

her husband are retired, volun-

impressed!” says Tim.

America’s Continuing Misadventures in the Middle East, in May.

teering at their local historical organization, working on the collection, and hiking. Barbara volunteers as a docent at her local botanical garden. They have two grandchildren, Alison (12) and Jack (9), who live in Arizona.

1962

▲ John Bihldorff, Peter Robbins,

▲ Kirk Nelson and Neilson Abeel

got together in May. Kirk was

Jim Kaplan has published

went bone fishing for a week

on a road trip around the United

his 20th book, Clearing the

off the island of Andros in the

States and found Neilson and

Bases: A Veteran Sportswriter on

Bahamas. They have frequented

friends in a house on the Imnaha

the National Pastime.

River in Oregon. The two had not

Bill Vanderbilt and John Grandin

this spot over the past decade, and they enjoy the company of

seen each other since their

Diana B. Roberts (Dina) is

friends and family there during

Milton graduation.

a senior major gifts officer

the winter season.

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cl a s s no t e s, con t.

1964 Charles DeLorme and his

the Houston Yacht Club and has

mother, Eleanor DeLorme, an

passed the U.S. Sailing Club Judge

art historian, have just written

and PRO certification exams.

1969 ▲ Emily Fuller Hawkins and Lisa

their fifth book, The Word Painted.

They recount the story of the

Judy Harkness lives in the

Lloyd Hobson caught up at

Pentateuch, illustrated by more

Rhode Island woods, writing

Sandwich Marina.

than 70 paintings by great

fiction. She and Will Taft

masters. They analyze each

just celebrated their fifth

William Nesto and his wife,

painting, discussing the artists’

anniversary; Will is a retired

Frances Di Savino, have written

style and cultural milieu.

international lawyer and public

their second book: Chianti

servant. The couple is busy

Classico: The Search for Tuscany’s

In March, after 15 years in

with combined children and

Noblest Wine. Their first book,

Samoa, Eleanor Rhinelander

grandchildren and lots of travel.

The World of Sicilian Wine, won

Schofield and her husband,

Judy’s book groups include

the 2013 Andre Simon Book

Walter, moved to the Big

fellow “Milties”: in Rhode Island,

award in London.

Island of Hawaii and are now

Jane MacKenzie Dennison and

happily ensconced in laid-back,

Arria Biledeau, and in Matunuck,

friendly Hilo, in a small seaside

Julie Randolph Sharpe

apartment. The two have begun

and Susan Lovejoy. Contact:

lessons in Hawaiian and hula

judyharkness@gmail.com.

dancing. “Aloha to pals in Kate Hadley Baker ’68 serves as president of the Society

the Class of 1964! Contact me at samoalib@yahoo.com.”

of Petroleum Engineers Foundation, secretary of the American Rock Mechanics Association, and treasurer

John King and his wife, Marcia,

have “graduated” from Hebron Academy with the Class of

1966

2016, as John retires as head of

After a career in consulting

and Marcia, the next chapter

1971 ▲ “As we grow older, attending

school after 15 years. For John

and senior health care, Peter

includes plenty of time with their

Mining, Metallurgical

Roberts retired this year and is

three grandsons in Maine and

reunions becomes even more

and Petroleum Engineers.

planning to spend his winters in

Cape Cod.

essential! Seeing old friends and

of the American Institute of

hearing how they lived their lives

Marbella, Spain (near his wife’s family in France and Morocco),

Jesse Kornbluth is writing

is mesmerizing. How lucky we

and “summer” in Manchester-

another novel and a play. He

were to attend this incredible

by-the-Sea.

is parenting a 14-year-old

school!” says Sylvie Peron. “I was

with no ability to see around

probably one of the happiest souls

1968

corners. “One foot ahead of

at Milton then, and my heart

the other”—wisdom he is living

remains forever half American!”

In retirement, Kate Hadley Baker

by right now.

serves as president of the Society

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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

of Petroleum Engineers

▶ Ann McClellan’s new book,

Foundation, secretary of the

Bonsai and Penjing, Ambassadors

American Rock Mechanics

of Peace & Beauty, will be released

Association, and treasurer of the

in October 2016. She is “branching

American Institute of Mining,

out from cherry blossoms,”

Metallurgical and Petroleum

which she saw plenty of during

Engineers. She is active in the

an unforgettable trip to Japan

Women’s Sailing Association of

in May 2016.

milton.edu

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1973 After a long stint in Washington,

campaign announcement speech

on March 8. Michael is getting

D.C., John Ruser returned to

and served as a senior communi­

well acquainted with Milton!

Boston. In January, he became

cations advisor to Senator Bob

president and CEO of the

Corker (R-TN). He also ran into

Workers Compensation Research

Tom Downs and Nick D’Arbleoff

1986

Institute, a public policy research

at the Fenway Park “Dead

John Travis Marshal recently

group in Cambridge that seeks

and Company” concerts in July.

to be a catalyst for improvements to states’ workers’ compensation

published the book How Cities Can Save the World.

systems. He looks forward to

1980

Wendy Millet runs a 100 percent

reconnecting with old friends

Elissa Kaplan’s son has graduated

grass-fed cattle ranch whose

in the area.

from University of Pennsylvania;

mission is to raise healthy food

one daughter graduated from

on working land, in a way that

University of Maryland; and

sustains the planet and inspires

another daughter graduated from

others to take action. She

1976 Margo McGlade had fun visiting

high school with plans to attend

welcomes San Francisco Bay

Milton with friend Susan Clark

Rutgers University. Elissa

area visitors for a tour!

for their 40th reunion. “Lots of

practices psychology in New

shock at how old we are! Also lots

Jersey, where she and her wife

Chris Perry lives in Lincoln,

of laughs, memories, and new and

reside.

Massachusetts, with his wife,

renewed friendships. So grateful

Sylvia, their children, Simon (14)

to the team that put it all together.”

and Ginger (11), two dogs, and

Stephen Winthrop completed a

Boston Conservatory, which

Wendy Millet ’86 runs a 100 percent grass-fed cattle ranch whose mission is to raise healthy food on working land.

two cats. Chris is involved at the “bucket list” trip to Ireland with

recently merged with Berklee

his wife, Jane, and two teenage

College of Music. He is also a

daughters. Diagnosed with ALS

lawyer at Northern Trust.

in November 2013, his mantra is, “There is no time like the present.” The disease has substantially limited Stephen’s use of his arms and hands, but his slower-than-average

▲ Simon Kaypaghian lives and

progression is giving him plenty

works in Shanghai with his wife

of time to focus on those things

and four daughters. He welcomes

that matter most. Stephen

his friends and former classmates

welcomes calls and visits to his

to visit!

home in Wayland, Massachusetts, from Milton friends new and old.

1981

1978

▶ Swing Robertson welcomed

Gordon Hensley is a consultant

Robertson on October 11, 2015.

son Michael Swing Keating

and writer in Washington,

Swing enjoyed attending his

D.C. He collaborated on

35th reunion, as well as the

Wisconsin Governor Scott

Margaret Filoon Robertson ’56

Walker’s 2016 presidential

pre-tour concert in King Theatre

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cl a s s no t e s, con t.

1991 Amy Hamill and Thaddeus

Bouchard were married in the summer of 2015. Together they have five children, ranging in age from 6 to 21. Life is chaotic and rich and, on most days, manageable!

Mitchell Lucas Jr. married Shelley

Wales in Atlanta on July 3, 2016.

The newlyweds live in Boulder, Colorado, where they enjoy skiing and snowboarding.

▲ Drew Hendrickson, Will

Hutchinson, Will Gardner and Matt Williams earned his Ph.D. in

Luke Crowley met in the South

United States history in December

End for brunch to reflect on their

▲ Former trustee Farah

2014 from SUNY-Binghamton. He

mutual love for Milton and plaid

Pandith and trustee Charles

lives in New York City with his

shirts. Drew (Latin America),

Cheever in selfie mode during

wife, and he recently became a fan

Will H. (Austria) and Luke (South

reunion weekend.

of the Grateful Dead.

Africa) continue to live in and

1996

world. Will G. has stayed closer

explore different parts of the

1990

to home, where he founded and

▼ Andrea Bongarzone ’90 and

Elanor Starmer was appointed to

leads Alma Del Mar, a charter

Claire Mcnamee Poole ’92 get

lead the Agricultural Marketing

school in New Bedford.

together when Andrea returns

Service, a federal agency that

home from her international

handles all aspects of agricultural

teaching career. Pictured

product marketing, including

with Claire and Andrea are

running the National Organic

Andrea’s son Finn (3) and

Program. Elanor and husband,

Claire’s daughter Ava (14).

Kumar, live in Washington, D.C., with their son Kai (2). Her mother, Nancy, and father, Jack (both former Milton faculty), retired this spring to New Hampshire. ▶ Calvin (son of Adam Forkner

and his wife, Claire) loves wearing his Milton onesie—showing Milton spirit at only 15 months!

1997 Kurt Collins recently relocated to

72

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

1998 Lyh Ping Lam and siblings Lyh-Rhen Lam ’99, Lyh-Hsin

Paris, France. There’s a lot of

Lam ’04, Joyce Lam ’05 and

travel in his future, so if anyone in

Grace Lam ’05 started a family

Europe wants to connect, please

business, Fivefork Farms—

contact him: kurt@kurt.sx.

a partnership founded on the

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

siblings’ passion for growing,

Anne Duggan and David Ranieri

Freddy Deknatel married Emily

arranging and selling flowers—

welcomed Matthew Duggan

McGoldrick in New York City on

inspired by their mother.

Ranieri on March 3, 2016.

June 25, 2016. Max McCurdy was a groomsman, and Julia von

www.fiveforkfarms.com

Metzsch, Lindsey Schwoeri and Jessica Resnick-Ault published

Edith Eustis were wedding guests.

her first book, Hess: The Last Oil Baron, and leads oil and gas

▶ David Scardella and his wife,

coverage for Reuters in New York.

Jaime Wendel (of Milton’s

She lives in Scarsdale with her

development office), welcomed

husband and daughter.

their son, Andrew Reed Scardella, on May 31, 2016. David owns

Beth Taylor and her husband,

2003

Matt Weyand, welcomed their son,

▲ Caitlin Domke celebrated her

a general dentistry practice in

Macy Barron Taylor Weyand

wedding to RJ Weiss with many

Duxbury, where the couple lives.

(“Moss”), on February 27, 2016.

Milton friends. From left to right: Philip Pitt, Krista Nylen, Kate

Center for Progressive Dentistry,

1999

Lenehan Perez, Caitlin Domke

2004

Weiss, Erin Morley Costa and

Talia Marie DiPanfilo Walsh

Pam Wildeman is working

Lindsey Schwoeri.

married Christopher James Walsh last year, and the couple

remotely for HookLogic; Roy still works for Cimpress; and their

Beau Rhee directs an independent

welcomed their daughter,

children are 8, 6 and 3. The family

design studio in New York City

Kennedy Jean Walsh, in March.

enjoyed a month-long adventure

called Atelier de Geste. In May, the

Natasha Greene was in the

this summer to visit family in

studio was one of 60 selected

wedding, and now Kennedy

Pennsylvania and Illinois before

among the “best and the brightest

is lucky to have Natasha as

taking off for Mexico.

of contemporary design.”

her godmother!

2002 ▶ Chris Dalton and Kate Walker

got married in October 2015, in Nahant, Massachusetts. The couple met at Milton, and guests included not only those pictured, but also Adam Walker ’05, Emilie Stark-Menneg, John Bisbee ’84,

and many current and former faculty members: Tom Bisbee, Marty Bisbee, Maggie Stark, Paul Menneg and Rebecca Shorin.

Pictured here from left to right: Charlie Bisbee, Jay Deshpande, Lizzie Pope, Jon Magaziner ’01, Jen Doorly Magaziner, Chris Dalton (groom), Kate Walker (bride), Pal Herman, Alex Hannibal, Seth Magaziner.

FA L L 2 016

73

2009 ▲ Caroline Palmer, Amara

Warren and Celestine Warren ’10 reunited in July to backpack

California’s Lost Coast Trail and Trinity Alps Wilderness. “So grateful for our Milton Outdoor ▲ Jason Cincotta and his wife,

2007

Program roots!” says Caroline.

Katherine, welcomed their

Natalie Chapman and Nico

Holly Mawn lives in Portland,

daughter, Josephine Lorraine

Amaro married on June 25,

Maine, where she serves as an

Cincotta, on July 4, 2016.

2016. Lauren Alliegro, John

AmeriCorps member. She is also

Josephine was born as the

Ghublikian, Samantha Yu,

working toward her master’s

fireworks went off!

Cecelia Cortes, Aditya

degree in elementary education.

Basheer, Maggie Cochran,

and Michael Matczak helped

▶ This spring, Allison Rubin and

to celebrate.

Caroline Spahr ’19 teamed up to

Lauren Elizabeth Cohen and

doubles squash tournament and

Aaron Goldberg ’91 perform at

Michael Cohen welcomed

won the women’s open draw by

the Blue Note and in Louisville,

their son, Henry Thibodeaux

defeating the number-one seed in a

Kentucky, at the Jazz Education

McCollum Cohen, on

five-game finals battle. The pair

Network conference—an

June 3, 2016.

also were finalists in the C draw.

2005 Jason Yeager is a jazz pianist in

New York, where he recently saw

compete in the Massachusetts state

organization led by Milton jazz teacher Bob Sinicrope. Jason is an

Trevor Prophet just completed

instructor of piano at Berklee

a master’s program in psychology

College of Music and a recording

and has accepted a research

artist with Inner Circle Music. In

assistant position with the

Jason Yeager ’05 is a jazz

March 2017 he will perform at the

Institute for Leadership at the

pianist in New York, where

Berklee Performance Center in

United States Coast Guard

he recently saw Aaron

Boston to celebrate a forthcoming

Academy. He is excited to start

Goldberg ’91 perform at the

project with violinist Jason Anick.

this new job while continuing

Blue Note and in Louisville,

to coach collegiate soccer at

Kentucky, at the Jazz Education

Connecticut College.

Network conference—an organization led by Milton jazz

2008

teacher Bob Sinicrope.

▶ Baye Elizabeth Cobb Tilson

married Martin Tilson in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 4, 2016.

Milton’s chaplain Suzanne DeBuhr, Rachel Klein-Ash ▲ Julie Ellison Palmedo and

(college counseling and Robbins

Randy Palmedo welcomed their

House), and many Robbins

first child, Roland Robinson

House girls were in attendance.

Palmedo, on May 25, 2016.

74

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

Jasmine Reid will enroll in

Stanford’s Ph.D. program in archaeology this fall, to study museum and community interactions in Johannesburg, South Africa.

William Yu created

#StarringJohnCho, a viral social movement that imagines today’s ▲ On May 27, Victoria Lee,

using painting as a means to

Asian-American actor as their lead.

Ruyi Li, Erin Yang and

empower women and spread

His campaign received global

Natalie Solomon celebrated

awareness of human rights.

media coverage from CNN, BBC,

Commencement day at Wellesley

and the New York Times, among

College, as members of the

Caroline Wall transferred to

others. Visit StarringJohnCho.com

Class of 2016.

University of Chicago, where

Hollywood blockbusters with an

and follow @StarringJohnCho for more information.

she began in September.

2013

▼ Milton reclaimed the

Emily Roberts, Suzanne Gallo,

Alumni Cup in its 35th annual

Cate Littlefield and Connor

match against Nobles.

Handy reunited on Cape Cod

for July Fourth at the Littlefield

front row (l to r):

home with other Milton alumni.

David Walker (parent),

Emily and Cate are roommates

Will Trepagnier ’09,

in New York City.

Michael Campos ’10,

2015

Jake Garfinkle ’03,

Dartmouth freshman Carson

Keith Caldwell ’02.

Dan Sibor ’01,

Spahr was named Ivy League

2011

Rookie of the Year in squash.

back row:

During her gap year, before

Swing Robertson ’81,

Max Hoffman ’05,

Career milestone?

Exciting travel? New addition to the family?

Or maybe you reunited with Milton friends and have the picture to prove it?

Ian Kernohan, fresh off a solo

beginning at New York

Chris Robertson ’83,

jaunt to Scotland, is energized

University, Christina Perry was

Mark Jensen ’08,

Share it with us:

to start a second year with City

an advocate for refugees settling

Seth Reynolds ’90,

alumni@milton.edu

Year New Hampshire, serving

in Maryland. She has also been

Zac Trudeau ’05.

in a fifth-grade classroom as a mentor and tutor.

2012 Hannah “Henna” Auerbach

recently graduated from the University of St. Andrews with a degree in neuroscience.

In August, she began the fellowship program of the American Hebrew Academy.

75

cl a s s no t e s, con t.

◀ CLASS OF 1946

(l to r): Smiley Ruggles Jr., Gerry Livingston, Edith Rotch Lauderdale, Rusty Bourne, Randy Byers.

▲ CLASS OF 1951

front row (l to r): Donald Phipps, Polly Phipps, Ellen Wadsworth, Oliver Wadsworth, Alvin Crowell. back row: Liz Ward, Andy Ward, Christine Navez, Andre Navez.

▶ CLASS OF 1956

front row (l to r): Christopher Owen, Bob Bray, Rupert Hitzig, John Reidy. back row: Josh Lane, Phil Robertson, Robby Hallowell, TB Robbins.

76

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

◀ CLASS OF 1961

front row (l to r): William Hitzig, Lawrence Coburn, Tim Bolton, Kenneth Horak. second row: Joseph Hull, William Joplin, Candy Reiter Midkiff, Faith Howland, Jane Page Mallinson, Charles Howland, Robert Morse. standing: Francis Woods, William McKenna, Paul Schmid, William Coleman, Ralph Pope, Peter Talbot, Stephen White, George Cushing, Peter Wilder, Roger Reiser, Michael Eaton, Joseph Knowles, Roger Sullivan, John Cooper, Gorham Brigham. not pictured, but in attendance: Walter Mack, William Burgin, Robert Devens.

▶ CLASS OF 1966

front row (l to r): Walter Horak, Marian Gram Laughlin, George Maltby, Mia Beale, Richard Kornbluth, Joel Bard, Anne Brewer, George Buffington, Nancy Haydock. middle row: Russell MacAusland, Sally Hepburn, Paula Thompson Woodhull, Joan Coburn Casini, Catherine Cinelli Hendriquez, Ngaio Worfold Jamieson, Deborah Black Drain, Elly Lindsay, Deborah Thaxter. back row: Thomas Turner, Warren Chase, Sam Perkins, Bill Maclay, Dan Gerrity, Mac Dewart, Fred Fiske, Goran Lundgren, Mark Page, Camilla Ware von Bergen, Cathy Ives Cornell, Kippy Dewey, Anne Fiske.

◀ CLASS OF 1966, OFF CAMPUS

front row (l to r): Marian Gram Laughlin, Elly Lindsay, Kippy Dewey, Debby Saltonstall Twining, Sue Thomas Boddington. middle row: Anne Fiske, Anne Brewer, Sally Hepburn, Holly Gardiner Burnes, Camilla Ware von Bergen, Mia Beale, Sally Serrell Young. back row: Nancy Haydock, Susan Cary Nicholas, Susie Perkins Graseck, Cathy Ives Cornell, Debbie Black Drain, Ellen Saltonstall, Catherine Cinelli Hendriquez, Joan Coburn Casini, Paula Thompson Woodhull, Deborah Thaxter, Ngaio Worfold Jamieson.

FA L L 2 016

77

cl a s s no t e s, con t.

▲ CLASS OF 1971

(l to r): Phil Suter, Fred Ames, Sylvie Peron, Ogden Ross, Russ Lyman. ◀ CLASS OF 1971, OFF CAMPUS

front row (l to r): Phil Suter, Sally Clark Donahue, Margaret Trumbull Nash, Betsy Bergan Altman, Clara Richardson, Sylvie Peron. back row: William Straus, Russ Lyman, George Hackett, Colin Maclaurin, Christopher Pope.

▶ CLASS OF 1976

front row (l to r): Sarah Lockwood Wright, M. Jeanne Thrower Aguilar, Ellen Panarese Gibson, Margo McGlade Epprecht, Susan Clark, Drew Moseley Kristofik, Jonathan Sibley, Serene Charles, Sarah Whitely Ferguson. second row: Thomas Fitz, Lisa Fitzgibbons, Emily Cox Sinagra, Joanne Montouris Nikitas, Hamilton Johnson, Robert Macomber, Terrence Tedeschi. third row: Deborah Leggat, Elizabeth Stockwell, Lisa White Spellman, Julia Simmonds, Sturtevant Burr, Jeff Piazza, Gil Kliman, Henry Carr. back row: John Hynes, John Toulmin.

78

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

▲ CLASS OF 1981

front row (l to r): Elizabeth Dakin, Susanna Humpstone Michalson, Jessica Hallowell Lindley, Lucie Rice, Frank O’Boyle, Swing Robertson, Kevin McDonough. back row: Matthew Moore, Ken Goldberg, Sierra Bright, Douglas Kliman, John Sullivan, Margaret Harding. ◀ CLASS OF 1986

front row (l to r): Kathryn Moran Collins, Shin Hirose, Barry Korn, Chris Perry, Grady Clouse, Ruta Brickus, Becca Pecore, Reni Dulos Cadigan, Kathleen Weiss, Kristin Frederickson. second row: Todd Chayet, Heather Ewing, John Thompson, Lewis Gilman, Lucy Siegfried, Grace Chan McKibben, Steven Bordonaro, Farah Pandith. third row: Will Chaffey, Scott Stikeleather, Richard Walker, Larry Donahue, Adam Peirce, Brian Paul, Karen Euler. back row: Robert Ball, Carl Prindle, Adam Bookbinder, Roger Travis, David Yas.

FA L L 2 016

79

â–ś CLASS OF 1996

front row (l to r): Kristin Lewis, Alexa Gilpin Janssen, Omayra Ortega, Alicia Sinicrope, Aaron Raphel, Colin Cheney, Eric Hudson, Clark Freifeld. second row: Jessica Gemm, Moriah Musto, Daniel Cubell, Alice Burley, Ted Maloney, Raj Mitra. third row: Sander Cohan, Jonathan Alschuler, Laura DeGirolami, Alexis Scott, Barbara Targum, Laura Burnes, Adam Forkner. back row: Brendan Burek, William Taylor, Christian O’Toole, Gregory Loftus, Brian Tobin.

80

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

◀ CLASS OF 1991

front row (l to r): John Corey, Anne McManus Hurlbut, Meg Foley Burke, Tamsen Caruso Brown, Tiffany Claflin, Amy Hamill, Vy Horwood, Mike Laznik. second row: Megan Stephan, Adriana Clancy, Erin Sheepo, Matthew Hennigan. third row: Penn Lindsay, Kate Brooks Leness, Tom Siegfried, Matt Pottinger, John Avlon, Kathleen Carr Foster, Ellen Hummel, Spencer Hoffman. fourth row: Jeff Courey, Courtney Drohan Monnich, Erika Cooley, Priscilla Elliott, Cindy Talbot, Rob McCloskey, Jefrey DuBard, Elizabeth Kettyle, Henrik Brun, Sarah Millet, Stephanie Pare Sullivan. back row: Susan Meagher, Leonora Zilkha Williamson, Luke DiGirolamo, Andreas Lazar, Michael Douglas, Simon Clark, Chase Arnold, Nicholas McQuaid.

▲ CLASS OF 2001

front row (l to r): Alda Balthrop-Lewis, Elyse Nieves Mahatha, Maggie Kerr, Nate Bliss, Pete Fishman, Maria Kamenetska. second row: Mark Lentz, Frances Weld, Amanda Harrington, Caroline Browne Adelman, Hernan Ortiz, Alex Weiss. back row: Brian Higgins, Danae Pauli, Meghan O’Toole, Sarah Pease Murphy, Hannah Flint, Tim Churchill.

FA L L 2 016

81

Who gave you the will and the skills to be the best you could be? To choose your own pathway? To weather the ups and downs of asking great questions and crafting a life?

Alumni so often name invaluable faculty mentors at the root of their success. Nearly half of Milton’s faculty will retire in the next decade. Support Dare to make sure that the most talented and devoted educators will call Milton home, today and tomorrow.

www.milton.edu/campaign

â–˛ CLASS OF 2006

front row (l to r): Amanda McCafferty, Kim Thorpe, Andrea Dregalla, Max Stratouly, Stacey Harris, Katherine Marr, Laila Ameri, Jamie Mittelman, Madeleine Macmillan, Simin Lee, Alex Rodman, Zoe Jick, Stephanie Richards. second row: Jacob Roundtree, Caitlin Barry-Heffernan, Shellonda Anderson. third row: Kristen Rubin, Ross Bloom, Jordana Lopez-de Silva, Kathy Han, Alanna Hall, Sasha Kamenetska, Sara Bakkar, Nelson Fernandez, Josh Kay, Annie Jean-Baptiste, Bailey Carroll, Nathaniel Obler, Greg Chase. back row: Henry White, Alex Heitzmann, Sam Sadler, Noah Carson, Carlon McPherson, Ned Littlefield, Mike Bechek, Mike Greenberg, Marland Hobbs, Jonathan Coravos, Dan Charness, Nathaniel Anschuetz, Jim Frantz, James Fee, Winston Tuggle, Sam Mansour, Nate Danforth.

82

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

In Memoriam Class 0f 1933

▼ CLASS OF 2011

front row (l to r): Sophie Panarese, Sarah Alliegro, Chelsea Mehra, Sloan Devins, Marco Barber-Grossi, Joycelyn Yip, Jenny Chen, N’dea Hallet, Jovonna Jones, Andrew Nwachuku, Zakiya Lewis, Solana Davis, Kahdeem Ralph, Ashley Bair, Olivia Irving, Aylin Feliz, Nicole Meyers, Nikhil Bhambi, Connor Johnson, Ben Hawkins, Robert Bedetti, Wayne Chang. second row: Claire Whitman, Isabella Frontado, Reed Palmer, Michael Berke, Rebecca Deng, CJ Ganss, Sophia Sopuch, Sam Shleifer, Alex Healey, Sidney Chiang, Phil Alves, Anais Rodriguez-Thompson, Richard Kong, Tory Trippe, Elias Dagher. third row: Lydia Green, Emma Borden, Jaclyn Porfilio, Kunal Jasty, Sam Karlinski, Doriane Ahia, Samantha Noh, Shannon McHugh, Josette LaRochelle, Daniel Schwartz, Shan Lin, Alex Stratouly, Farzan Vafa, Arianna Williams, Nico Gendron, Josh Berman, Isabelle Lelogeais, Sofia Silverglass, TJ Schneider. fourth row: Brian Rawn, Gregor Seidman, Cam Bowen, Andrew Beaudoin, Danny Lamere, Josh Jordan, John Bailey, Pat McNally, Jake Turrin, Andrew Strang, Sam Ames, Dan Merenich, Chloe Michaelidis, Conrad Taylor, Mike Godwin, Sam Madden. back row: Sarah Costello, Charlie Malone, Kathy Woodhouse, Audrey Keathley, George Pantazopoulos, Sarah Lyn, Tyler Edwards, Caitlin Dutkiewicz, Kasey Caine, Jaclyn Coffey, Aaron Deutsch, Sean Dougherty.

Class of 1949

Colonel Francis Gorham

Bridget Birdsall Cooke

Oakes Ames Spalding Jr.

Brigham Jr.

Class of 1935

Class of 1952

Eleanor Blackall Read

Jonathan Field

Class of 1937

Class of 1954

Charles P. Edwards

Katherine Maclaurin

Marion Chester Read

Staples

Alanson Hall Sturgis Jr. Class of 1955 Class of 1942

Frederick C. Cabot

Rev. Edmund Knox Sherrill Class of 1956 Class of 1943

Margaret Sheffield

Thomas Hale

Honorable George

Lyman Whitman Smith

Class of 1944

Class of 1964

Rockwell Sprague

Julia Sturges O’Connor

Donald Gibby Paige

Ethel Thurber Ortenburger

James Arthur Pappas

Class of 1945

Class of 1972

Judy McCook Banning

Paul J. Hanley Jr.

Andrew Griscom Former Faculty & Staff Class of 1946

Mara Lane Cary

Harry Johnson Collingwood

Elinor S. Griffin

Martha Farrar

Thelma Gloria Lake

Estelle Dallas Rose Lawson

David Roak

Johnston

Pamela Steele White

Class of 1947 Constance Merrill Cameron Richard Peter Crumbly Fitzgerald Henry Weil Lauterstein

FA L L 2 016

83

post script

BY MARY MCCUTCHEON ’65

When Clutter Gives You Joy That infernal book by Marie

a Match.com for these lonely singles. The other day,

best-seller list for months. I

I was putting a fresh pillow case on a pillow when, lo

haven’t read it. I haven’t opened

and behold, a sock popped out. With absolute rapture, I

its cover. I haven’t touched it.

located its mate there in the drawer. I was delirious with

I haven’t even seen a copy, but

self-satisfaction.

I am already barricading

Then there’s the wrinkle cream. A walk through the

my mind against its painful

aisles of CVS transports me into an imaginary world where

message: decluttering.

I am radiant and my skin is clear and free of all sags and

When I first arrived at Milton in 1962, I had one

creases. The L’Oreal packaging with its gold lettering, the Revlon and Olay labels with their far-fetched promises,

Samsonite suitcase (no wheels),

make me dream of the new me. I furtively pick up the

a portable typewriter, and

product and put it in the cart. Meanwhile, back in the

a copy of Webster’s Sixth

medicine cabinet at home are the jars and bottles from my

Collegiate Dictionary. Aside from children’s books and teddy

previous trips to CVS. No matter how much of this stuff

bears, the only other thing I owned was my nascent and

I slather on my face, whose surface area grows greater and

growing collection of airline vomit bags. These treasures

greater as the wrinkles become deeper and more numerous,

stayed back home in Illinois.

I can never use up my enormous inventory before the

Now 54 years have passed and I am moving to what I call my “Old Age Home.” I built it across the street, with all the handicap-accessible gizmos I will one day probably

products lose their potency and become rancid. And can I toss them out? Well, not yet.

I could go on and on with a self-conscious inventory

need. My worldly possessions, once fitting loosely into a

of my abundant stuff, but it brings out a degree of guilt

Samsonite suitcase, have somehow turned into boxes and

and self-torment that I’m not ready to cope with. Though

boxes and boxes of stuff. How did this happen? Is it time to

this essay is an exercise in self-defense, there is still plenty

call the hoarding task force?

of ambivalence.

One day a few years ago, my uncle Shaw McCutcheon

If I have problems parting with my clutter, I’m not alone.

(Milton Class of ’39) sent me a huge box of books and

When my great-great-Aunt Bessie died, she left a large

papers and things with a cover letter saying, “It looks as

collection of snuff bottles, hundreds of bars of French soap,

if you are now the family archivist…” I gulped with a

sexy nighties, and three or four silk parachutes she

mix of pride and dismay. I already had possession of

took on her trips to France to allay her fear of flying. My

my grandmother’s diary and this gave me enough mixed

grandmother often wrapped these things up as gifts.

feelings as it was. My grandmother always told me that

My brother loved the parachutes, my sister liked the soap,

the minute she “popped” it would be my job to burn her

and I wore one of the nighties for years.

diary. When she did pop and I acquired the diary, I briefly considered how and where I would start the promised fire. Somehow the match never managed to get lit and here is the diary still in my possession. The box Uncle Shaw

My new house will be pleasantly cluttered. Marie Kondo is not going to be invited over.

In one of these boxes of stuff, I unearthed that longlost collection of airline vomit bags and have started

sent included a lot of correspondence, manuscripts and

a conversation with the National Air and Space Museum

my grandfather’s diary. My family was creative in art and

here in Washington about accessioning them. So if

literature, so a lot of these keepsakes deserve to be kept

you’re like me, find a way to keep the things that remind

somewhere. Why not here?

you of those you love and find a way to leave your

I lose socks in the wash all the time. I ponder where

84

have a whole drawer of mateless socks. There should be

Kondo has been on the

descendants the things that reflect your own idiosyncrasies

in the space-time continuum these single socks got to, but,

for better or worse. And then they can buy that copy of

expecting their mates will one day return, I keep them. I

Marie Kondo’s book.

M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E

boa r d of trustee s Robert Azeke ’87

John B. Fitzgibbons ’87

William Knowlton P ’23

H. Marshall Schwarz ’54 P ’84

New York, New York

Treasurer

Boston, Massachusetts

Emeritus

Bronxville, New York Bradley M. Bloom P ’06 ’08

Stephen Lebovitz P ’10 ’12 ’14 ’17

Emeritus

Margaret Jewett Greer ’47

Wellesley, Massachusetts

P ’77 ’84 G ’09 ’13 ’14

Charles Cheever ’86

Lakeville, Connecticut Weston, Massachusetts

Dune Thorne ’94 Lincoln, Massachusetts

Emerita

Yunli Lou ’87

Chevy Chase, Maryland

Shanghai, China

Concord, Massachusetts

Erick Tseng ’97 San Francisco, California

Eleanor Tabi Haller-Jorden ’75

Stuart Mathews P ’13 ’17 ’17

Douglas Crocker II ’58

P ’09

Vice President and Secretary

Kimberly Steimle Vaughan ’92

Delray Beach, Florida

Wädenswil, Switzerland

Waban, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts

Mark Denneen ’84

Franklin W. Hobbs IV ’65 P ’98

Chris McKown P ’13

Luis Viceira P ’16 ’19

Boston, Massachusetts

Emeritus

Milton, Massachusetts

Belmont, Massachusetts

New York, New York Elisabeth Donohue ’83

Wendy Nicholson ’86

Dorothy Altman Weber ’60 P ’04

President

Harold W. Janeway ’54

Vice President

Boston, Massachusetts

New York, New York

P ’79 ’81 ’87 G ’12 ’14

New York, New York

Randall Dunn ’83

Webster, New Hampshire

Ted Wendell ’58 P ’94 ’98 ’01

Emeritus

Milton, Massachusetts

P ’17 ’19

Chicago, Illinois Claire Hughes Johnson ’90 James M. Fitzgibbons ’52

Caterina Papoulias-Sakellaris Milton, Massachusetts

Sylvia Westphal

Liping Qiu P ’17

Boston, Massachusetts

P ’18 ’21 ’25 ’27 ’27

Menlo Park, California

P ’87 ’90 ’93 Emeritus

Peter Kagan ’86

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

New York, New York

Beijing, China Ronnell Wilson ’93 West Orange, New Jersey Kevin Yip ’83 P ’16 Hong Kong

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