Milton Magazine, Spring 2017

spring

2017

MiltonMagazine

being out there

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ta ble of contents

Features

Departments

6 Embedded

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Immersed squarely in the lives and deepest hopes of the Arab Spring protesters, Robert Worth ’83 writes stories that illuminate an inaccessible world.

10 Love Plying the Sky Already a pilot in Class I, Nancy Harkness Love ’31 founded the World War II Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. A pilot herself, Mary McCutcheon ’65 shares Nancy Love’s story.

14 Is He Othello Today, or Romeo, or Joseph Asagai?

At a friend’s urging, Jason Bowen ’00 tried the stage as a junior at Milton. He’s been getting inside the skin of one complex character after another ever since, rendering real people from plays by Shakespeare through August Wilson.

18 Elbow to Elbow with Urban Neighbors: Making Cities That Work A lover of cities, John Marshall ’86 learned how to keep his idealism and optimism alive working on the challenges of revitalizing New Orleans after Katrina. He’s now helping develop the next generation of urban development lawyers.

22 On A Frontier, at 18 Years Old Setting their own pace of intellectual excitement, three Milton students follow their passions from classrooms to start-ups to professional scientific conferences.

28 Growing on Garden Hill Rooting fourth graders for a few days among the Mountain School’s sustainable gardens, wood-heated facilities, and farm animals helped them learn resilience, teamwork and who, exactly, their classmates are.

Across the Quad

42 Sports

Hey faculty, what

Remembering Lefty

space made your day?

44 Milton Mural 32 In Sight 48 Messages

Photograph by John Gillooly

55 Class Notes 34 Head of School 61 Board of Trustees

Unsettling, in the Best Possible Way

64 Post Script

by Todd B. Bland

The New Version of Old 35 On Centre

by André Heard ’93

40 Faculty Perspective Visiting Jordan With Students: Connecting, Not Just Observing

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

Photography Doug Austin Mike Barnett Marisa Donelan Michael Dwyer T. Charles Erickson John Gillooly Ann S. Kim Kjeld Mahoney Photography

Little G Ice Cream Co. Carolyn Richardson Evan Scales Stratton McCrady Photography Greg White Noah Willman

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

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

Being out there.

Where are you most creative, most alive, most fulfilled? For a select group among us, the answer is “Not anywhere familiar or comfortable.� Some Milton alumni reach outside conventional settings to find achievement. Milton Magazine offers stories of four individuals who immersed themselves in environments that thoroughly intimidate most people.

A passion for their work, infused with a robust appetite for risk, keeps these graduates going.

On campus, a similar driving passion and quest for mastery leads some students from experimenting in the classroom to sharing their skills and discoveries with audiences far beyond Milton, long before they graduate.

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acro s s t h e qua d

Hey faculty, what space made your day?

“I learned how to read in a set of two faded,

“My first car, a 2000 Volvo S70, was a particu-

“The space below the stairs in my childhood

larly formative space. The car, affectionately

home was magic; it was where I napped

floral armchairs that were the foci of the

known as ‘Grannie Annie,’ provided freedom

and read and played pretend, and it was a tiny

living room in my childhood home. My

that fostered my independence and enhanced

sliver of the house that was just mine.”

parents generously let me take these beloved

my social life. Sadly, I had to retire Grannie

Emily DiDonna (Grade 7 English)

chairs to college, where they served as my

this past summer, but I will never forget her!”

daily workspace. Unfortunately, I had to

Patrick Owens (Math)

outdated, and deliciously comfortable

I will forever hope they found a good home.”

Olivia Robbins (English)

“Exploration Summer Program was my first exposure to new people and ideas. Coming

abandon these chairs during final move-out; “The theater hallway of my high school helped define who I was then and who I am today.

from a rural, homogeneous community, Explo introduced me to my best friends, gave me

I spent most of my free time there with older

the opportunity to explore my academic

and younger students who were open, fun

passions, and nurtured my intellectual curiosity.”

do I enjoy solitary working lunches, but

and—ironically—drama-free.”

Julia Esquivel (College Counseling)

I also overhear passionate and thoughtful

Claire Shea (Spanish)

“Withington Room, on campus. Not only

“The gym gave me freedom within structure,

conversations between students who regularly eat lunch there. It’s inspiring,

“My local public library. My mom would drop

providing a space where I can learn about

amusing, relaxing.”

me there on Saturday mornings, and I would

myself—good and bad. I’ve learned lessons

Zeynap Isvan (Math)

wander the shelves encountering new authors,

large and small there. One day I’m confident,

Find what you’re looking for, on the Quad.

For decades on end, Milton’s Quad has eased its way into graduates’ hearts— a surprisingly simple stretch of green where important moments in the tumult of adolescence cluster nostalgically: a place to notice a seasonal image, be comforted by a cool grass carpet, dive for a Frisbee in a sweaty game, walk slowly or quickly, toward or away from a particular something—or someone. It’s our own backyard, meeting the needs of the given day.

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

new ideas and new friends. Those hours

the next I’m humbled. I’ve learned discipline,

nurtured a lifelong love of reading. My mom’s

self-awareness, responsibility. Perhaps

offhand remark, that I spent so much time at

most valuable is persistence: If you keep

the library I should become a librarian, sealed

work­ing toward your goal of what you want

my fate!”

to accomplish, it will eventually happen.”

Beth Reardon (Cox Library)

Coleman Daley (Grade 5)

“I trekked the Grand Canyon during a rocky

“On the football practice field I learned

point (no pun intended!) in my sophomore year

and appreciated the importance of

of college. I was muddling through a couple

commitment, effort, building confidence

different majors, and like a bolt of lightning it

and trust, leadership and resilience—

hit me while I was catching my breath on the

and how these lessons applied to all

Bright Angel Trail: Geology was my calling. I’ve

aspects of my life.”

never looked back!”

Josh Jordan ’11 (Lower School)

Joanna Latham (Science) “My first apartment in Boston. I moved “When I was an undergraduate, I needed a

to the area almost six years ago, by

space outside of my dorm to study for my

myself, for a job in a completely new

Medical Microbiology final. The quiet meant

environment. This apartment was

the library was not my ideal place. Instead, I

the first one in which I was living entirely

turned to Barnes & Noble. From the flavorful

on my own. It was tiny and kind of

aroma of the Starbucks cafe mixed with

dingy, but it was mine. Looking back,

the scent of new paperbacks, or the soft jazz

I realize it was the first time in my

playing in the background, there is something

life that I was doing something truly

distinct about Barnes & Noble. Despite the

on my own, and it generated in me

fact that it can be loud, it became my ‘safe

a sense of accomplishment that drove

learning space.’ Since then, whenever I need

me to take greater risks both personally

to unwind or study, I go to Barnes & Noble.”

and professionally.”

Murielle St. Paul (Academic Skills Center)

Rebecca Edelman (Grade 6 Science)

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

journey one

ROBERT WORTH ’83

Robert Worth ’83 Looking professorial in a soft blue shirt and unstructured corduroy sport jacket, Robert Worth speaks quietly and intensely. Robert’s book, A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to Isis, was published in April 2016 to significant acclaim.

He is both erudite and unpretentious, answering questions with patience.

Imagining Robert perched in the back of a pickup truck among exuberant Libyans who are shooting into the air and hurtling at top speed across a “debris-strewn” desert is

homes, their whole way of life were in terrible danger.”

Robert introduces his book with one of the early crossings in his two-year trek, witnessing the Arab

a stretch. Likewise, you must work to configure the scene

Spring uprisings and their aftermath: On an evening in

of Robert sitting patiently on the dirt floor of a Ja’ashin

February 2011, he launched his bags and himself into a

peasant’s home, within a city of tents that startlingly brave

“beat-up minivan” in Cairo that was headed, with a caravan

protesters have constructed in Sana’a, Yemen—hundreds

of reporters, aid workers and “ride-along Egyptians,” for

of miles from their families. Another day, on the Syrian

Libya’s border. He had just spent “the most thrilling and

mountainous coast, in the ancestral home of a young woman

bewildering weeks of [his] life in Tahrir Square.” No one

who belongs to the same Alawi sect as Bashar al-Assad,

would have predicted these uprisings, and Robert himself

Robert attentively listens to the stories of “dozens of

had no plans to return to the region. He’d just returned

working class people.” None of those Alawi “conveyed any

home at Christmas after eight years in the Middle East as

of the arrogance . . . I was used to seeing in Damascus.

Beirut bureau chief for the New York Times from 2007–2011,

They all made it clear to me that they felt their families, their

and a Baghdad-based reporter for the Times prior to that.

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He had exceeded his quo­

no political scaffolding existed from which to build. The

tient of suicide bombings,

desperation of the search for change, the destabilization and

assassinations, and daily

fear, the absence of trust, the need for revenge, the extreme

examples of political, economic

violence of the process yielded psychological ground for

and social stagnation.

Robert claims that he would have said revolution in

harmony, a sense of belonging. They wanted a place where

Egypt was impossible. Yet,

the cross-strands of their ethnicity and faith and tribe

the cumulative frustration

would not be cynically exploited against them. . . . When non-

and seething outrage in Egypt

violence failed to achieve those things, some of them sought

and in other countries in

the same goal through an orgy of killing.”

the region did coalesce. The

A learned journalist and consummate storyteller,

political dilemmas people

Robert artfully works through his own gripping character

faced in each country were

portraits and sustained encounters with his characters’

similar: entrenched rulers, few

allegiances, families, and cultural roots to illuminate the

expectations, misery, and

course of events and the human impulses at work during

lack of hope. Victims of routine

this time. His characters “intersected with the uprisings

atrocities like police beatings,

and their aftermath in five countries: Egypt, Libya, Syria,

or the self-immolation of a young Tunisian man utterly hopeless about making a living, were memorialized through

Yemen and Tunisia.”

Robert describes himself as a latecomer to journalism.

Facebook posts and burgeoned into myth. The viral power

Both at Milton and at Wesleyan, he was far more involved

of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube spawned communal

in reading and writing poetry than journalism. He majored

bonds and collective courage. People took it upon themselves

in humanities as an undergrad and became interested in

to demand change. Al Jazeera fanned the flames.

writing nonfiction—but not through newspapers. “There

The time had come to mobilize ardor, to believe in a vision that seemed within reach. Activists and those who joined them used the tools at their disposal, taking to the streets. Tunisia erupted first (December 2010). Egypt was

were far too many novels and histories, and too much poetry for me to read then.”

After an internship writing fiction at The Nation, he turned to graduate school, pursuing a master’s and Ph.D.

next: The massive demonstration in Tahrir Square called

in writing at Princeton. A second-year course with writer

for Mubarek to step down on January 25, 2011. Libya, Yemen

John McPhee proved important. McPhee included many

and Bahrain followed; and Syria’s demonstrations began

New Yorker writers in his classes, and Robert learned

in mid-March.

that their careers had often involved working at several

Robert had “a sense that the world was being remade

newspapers. That realization allowed him to visualize

before [his] eyes. . . . The tyrants would soon be gone. What

a career path that could work. McPhee urged Robert to

would come afterward was less clear. In that moment, to

complete his Ph.D., which he did in 1996. Robert’s first

be cold and reasonable felt almost like treason.”

Five years later, in every case except Tunisia, the effort embraced by so many disparate individuals and groups

“substantial article,” he says, was in The Atlantic: “A Model Prison” appeared in November 1995.

Following Princeton, Robert worked at Washington

to achieve a “modern state,” a homeland where citizens have

Monthly, which he describes as “a kind of well-established

participatory roles and rights, had devolved. Countries

boot camp for young journalists.” Not only did you learn

followed different destructive paths.

“The protesters who chanted for freedom and democracy

the basics, you became part of a generous alumni “family” of journalists, among whom were several who would

in 2011 had found nothing solid beneath their feet, no

be important mentors. They include Nicholas Lemann

common agreement on what those words meant,” Robert

(The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How

writes. Ultimately, he argues in the book, the thrilling,

It Changed America) and Jason DeParle (writer for the New

transformative “high” of the initial uprisings, especially

York Times, author of American Dream).

those in Tahrir Square, succumbed to bitter, rooted

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the Islamic State to declare itself and gain strength. People had sought something “they’d always been denied: order,

Robert landed a job at the New York Times in 2000 and

divisions. The loose collection of successful activists had

began in the ritual manner—on the metro desk. Although

no preparation for governing; after decades of tyrants,

he’d grown up in New York, racing from the Bronx to outer

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

Queens reporting on crime or political infighting uncovered

now held their torturers in their own brigade command

a city he’d never known. Surprisingly, he loved it—even

headquarters. One man, who now jailed his brother’s killer,

the pace: “Run, run, run, write, file the story, feel purged,

tries desperately to understand why this man was able to

see the byline, start over.” When the war in Iraq began in

kill his brother. Their goal was to provide justice according

2003, Robert asked to be sent overseas—tellingly, not for the

to a rule of law, and not simply persist with brutality

invasion itself but “to see how Iraq settled, to see how

and revenge. There was no rule of law, however, and they

the Iraqi society came together, or did not come together.”

eventually let the torturers go, and gave them guns to fight.

Long interested in the Middle East, Robert had begun

In Syria, Robert details the loss of a long-standing, close

studying Arabic and writing about Islam after 9/11. Notably,

friendship between two young women, each with large,

he wrote one article about Sayyid Qutb, a philosopher,

robust families—one an Alawi and supporter of Assad, and

Islamic theorist, poet and leader among the Egyptian

the other a Sunni. We move from sharing an intimate

Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 1960s. Qutb studied

conversation they had about a marriage proposal to a time

at a teachers’ college in Greeley, Colorado, in the early

when “their shared conception of the world began to split

1950s. That experience strengthened his angry critique of

apart, like speakers of the same language who are suddenly

America’s values; our belief in science and invention, our

marooned on different islands.” Over the course of the

focus on the capabilities and the rights of the individual

violence in Syria, they lose physical proximity; their trust in

were morally regressive. Qutb became an early theorist of

one another is irretrievable; and they both reconstruct

violent jihad, and he is seen as one of the ideological fore­

the arc of their friendship to suit their sectarian identities.

bears of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the attacks on 9/11.

Robert drilled down on his Arabic training. After time

In Yemen, Robert is invited to visit Sheikh Muhammad Ahmed Mansour who, with his merciless private army, had

studying on his own, a nine-week summer program

for decades oppressed and tortured the farmers who lived

at Middlebury College, where he spoke only Arabic, was

on his lands. The same Sheikh dutifully delivered 60,000

Robert’s most rigorous and productive training. After

votes, in every election, to entrench Yemen’s “democratically

reporting for the Times out of Baghdad from 2003–2006,

elected” president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. “Here in front of me

he was offered the job of Beirut bureau chief, covering

was a frail old man of near ninety, reclining on pillows in an

Syria, the Gulf and Iran. At the end of 2010, Robert shifted

attitude of languid repose with a water pipe at his lips. He

to writing independently, focusing on those long, narrative

had a pale face, strangely unlined and perfectly clean shaven,

pieces that had always been his inspiration, particularly

and a remote, cold gaze. His head was wrapped in a gray

stories for the New York Times Magazine.

and blue silk cloth, and he wore a sweater and a gray wool

By 2011, book contract in hand, Robert was reassessing

blazer. On his wrist was a gold and silver Rolex with what

his original plan to write about Yemen, a country that

looked like diamonds.” In a moment of awkward silence in

he loved and was least known among the Middle Eastern

the room, Robert asked the Sheikh to tell him about some

countries. The succession of uprisings in 2011 begged

of the changes he’d seen in his long life. “Where is Yemen

the question: What exactly are these? Each country’s

going,” Robert asked, finally. The Sheikh puffed on his water

experience seemed to become more and more distinct. Yet

pipe, the room remained still, men shifted their positions:

by 2014, extreme polarization dominated each country; there was no semblance of order or rule of law; abject fear

“Yemen,” the Sheikh said slowly, “is going to Yemen.”

Reviewing Robert’s book in the New York Times, Kenneth

and sense of potential loss drove people’s decisions and

Pollack calls it “the book on the Middle East you have been

actions. Across all five countries “there was a similar sense

waiting to read.” Robert renders stunning, personal stories

of existential dread,” Robert says. “ISIS was brewing up

that span five countries. He weaves his astute analysis

in Syria and eventually spread to all five countries.” That

through events, the views of an unusually seasoned

confirmed that something was tying all these events

journalist in constant touch with people at all levels of

together and created the arc of Robert’s story: From Tahrir

Middle East society. He renders carefully chosen scholarly

Square to ISIS.

background exactly when the reader needs it. Robert’s

In the telling, the accomplished journalist—sensing the

compact, engaging narrative vastly deepens any reader’s

time and place to be present, to listen, to question—and the

appreciation and understanding of live events and people,

fine-tuned storyteller combine to render scenes of intensity

now, in the Middle East.

and pathos. In Libya, for instance, Robert watched and listened as men who had been victims of appalling torture

by Cathleen Everett

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jou r n ey t wo

NANCY HARKNESS LOVE ’31

Love Plying the Sky

Already a pilot in Class I, Nancy Harkness Love founded the World War II Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron Nancy Harkness Love ’31 Imagine enjoying a beautiful autumn afternoon on the Quad. Suddenly your tranquility is shattered by an airplane descending perilously low over the chapel and rattling off the top of one of the crenellations. This happened one Sunday in the fall of 1930. The usual suspects were the daredevil Fuller brothers, both of whom had pilot’s licenses. But, to the astonishment of the administration, the culprit proved to be a girl! It was the demure and pretty senior, Nancy Harkness.

I remember my Class I year at Milton. It was 1965 and I, too,

Nancy Harkness and how she founded the Women’s

first flying lesson out of Hanscom Field in Bedford. I had no

Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, one of the two components

idea at that time that Milton had an illustrious history in the

of the WASP. The added joy was finding out she had gone

annals of aviation. All I knew was that my favorite teacher,

to Milton, too.

the handle-bar-mustachioed Mr. Pierce, had flown in World War I for France.

After I got my license, I met some of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and even became a kind of groupie.

The WASP were women who flew in various noncombat

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Through these WASP connections, I learned about

was captivated by flying. On a similar afternoon, I took my

She came from Houghton, Michigan, and enrolled at Milton in 1928. Academically she did respectable but not brilliant work. Nor was she especially athletic, showing more aptitude in tap dancing than in team sports.

At the end of the summer before her senior year, some­

capacities during World War II. One of them, Dot Swain

thing turned an indifferent teenager into a major character

Lewis, had been a flight instructor. I listened to her many

in the history of aviation. In late August 1930, Nancy was

stories, envying the kind of sisterhood that emerged from

riding her horse on a big field in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,

the WASP. After the war, she and other WASP found they

when a barnstormer landed and offered to take her for a

had few prospects either in commercial or military aviation

ride. The encounter evolved into formal lessons and, after

and, with good entrepreneurial spirit, joined an all girls

four hours and 30 minutes of flying time and only six

air show and flying circus. Dot played the part of a frumpy

days since her first flight, Nancy soloed. Between then and

schoolmarm who stumbles myopically into a Piper Cub

her return to school on September 10, she accrued 13 hours

and accidentally takes off. She then does barrel rolls, loops,

and 25 minutes with an instructor and another 9 hours

spins and hammerhead stalls to the delight of the audience.

and 40 minutes of solo time. The total was enough to earn

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

of war brewed first in Europe and East Asia and inevitably here in the U.S. Then came Pearl Harbor and the heartbreak­ ing sequence of defeats in the first part of 1942.

Using women pilots would solve a growing problem: ferrying aircraft from the factories to the bases. Women were readily available to do this work, and two of them were offering their services to mobilize the forces: One was Jackie Cochran and the other was Nancy Harkness Love.

Both women were told by various levels of command “maybe,” “no,” “not yet,” “I’ll get back to you,” “someday,” and then eventually, “YES.” The personalities of these two women were starkly opposite. They were both young, glamorous and highly skilled pilots, but Jacqueline Cochran came from a hardscrabble north Florida background and did a personal makeover to conform to the person she wanted to be.

She was actually in the makeover business, the owner of

ABOVE

her pilot’s license. I have read that she was the youngest

Notebook cover from the Nancy Harkness Love Collection. Thanks to Allie Love ’69.

woman to be licensed as a pilot at that time and among only

a cosmetics company. She married a millionaire and

200 other women pilots.

was off and running. Ever a self-promoter, she won publicity

ABOVE RIGHT

on. Her daughter, Allie (Milton Class of 1969), showed me

contacts in very high places, including the White House.

Photograph courtesy of the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Garden City, New York. Thanks to archivist Julia Blum.

Inscription is to the great Russian-American aviation pioneer Alexander Nikolaievich Prokofiev de Seversky (Sasha to his friends).

her notebook covers. My cover doodles at Milton showed

Meanwhile, Nancy Love, from a highly educated, old

hairstyles or caricatures of my teachers. Nancy’s showed

New England family, was modestly perfecting her flying

her love of airplanes.

skills. When Nancy Love was given the go-ahead for

She was consumed by a passion for flying from then

She never finished Vassar, but in her three years there

her proposed ferrying idea, Jackie Cochran went ballistic.

she started a flying club and became a local celebrity as

Aware of the clout she had with the Roosevelts, General

a gorgeous, young, socialite, girl pilot. Because of people

Hap Arnold appeased her by giving her the go-ahead as well.

like her (and Amelia Earhart and Louise Thaden), girls

He had the idea that they would complement one another.

realized that the dream of flying was attainable. The ’30s

This led to two different women’s programs: one for large-

saw a tenfold increase in women earning pilot’s licenses—

scale, production-line training called the Women’s Flight

a resource that would soon prove vital.

Training Command run by Jackie Cochran, and the other

After Vassar, Nancy embarked on various jobs in

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for all of her many aviation accomplishments and had

for the more experienced pilots who would ferry airplanes

aviation and married fellow pilot, Robert Love, in 1936. Both

from factories to military bases. This was Nancy Love’s

of them continued to work and fly as the ominous threats

WAFS or Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. The 28

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

women who were WAFS are known as “The Originals.”

After nine months of strained coexistence, the two

Thanks to Sarah Byrn Rickman, whose series of three books about Nancy Love and the WAFS were the basis for most of my

programs were subsumed under the centralized WASP

biographical details (The Originals [2001], Nancy Love and

in June 1943, with Jackie Cochran as director. Nancy Love

the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II [2008], and WASP

remained the head of the ferrying program.

of the Ferry Command [2016]). Thanks also to Allie Love,

When a disempowered person breaks into a realm previously out of reach, he or she feels a special burden to

who shared her mother’s collection with me in December 2016.

Thanks also to Julia Lauria Blum, who has, as archivist for

behave contrary to the negative stereotypes of their group.

the Cradle of Aviation, in Garden City, New York, kept memories

For Nancy Love, it was of paramount importance NOT to

of the WAFS and other aviation triumphs on Long Island

bicker and whine. For her “girls” (as they were called), it

alive. Thanks to Albert Lewis, the son of Dorothy Swain Lewis,

was of paramount importance that they NOT be involved in

for introducing me to his mother. Credit also goes to the

compromising moral situations, NOT let minor biological

archivists at Texas Woman’s University, whose WASP archive

realities interfere, and NOT lose stamina.

To keep up the professionalism, the girls covered for pregnant fellow pilots until their pregnancies precluded

has maintained WASP material, including the transcript of Teresa James’s oral history. And thanks to Lt. Col. Caroline Jensen for sharing her story.

the use of the control stick. Nancy Love argued over and over again that menstruation need not be a disability and

by Mary McCutcheon ’65

that women do not always become shrieking harridans during their periods. She also emphasized to disbelieving men that collegial relations with male ferry pilots can be completely platonic.

After the war, none of these women got the credit they deserved. They had no military benefits (and only belatedly were militarized in 1977). They resumed their normal lives, marrying and having children, and, in only a few cases (like Dot Lewis and her All Woman Air Show), kept flying at all.

Nancy and Bob Love started their family. Bob started a small regional airline that grew into Allegheny Airlines.

They moved to Martha’s Vineyard and started a shipyard, too. Their lives were quiet. Until her death from cancer in 1976, Nancy’s contribution to the world of aviation and to the war effort was remembered with an occasional award here and medal there, a chapter in a book now and a dissertation then. For the most part, the work of these women pilots was largely forgotten.

More recently, thanks to historians, museums, and the children and grandchildren of these women, films, exhibits, large archival collections, and awards are attracting atten­ tion to Nancy Love and her fellow women pilots of World War II. Nancy Love was inducted into the International Forest of Friendship in 1979 and enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2005. All of the WASP won the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, and Nancy’s daughters were there to accept it.

Today, over 25,000 women are active pilots in the

Mary McCutcheon is a pilot whose passion for flying began at Milton. She and her brother “snuck away” from campus and made their way via MTA to Hanscom

United States; they have broken all the barriers and

Field for flying lessons. She got her license in 1996

even may be setting new standards. I met the third female

and a plane of her own in 2000. Mary is a cultural anthro-

member of the Air Force Thunderbird team, Lt. Col.

pologist who has specialized in the Palau Islands in

Caroline Jensen, and she told me that, before a Thunderbird

Micronesia. In addition to research and writing, she has

show, a fellow pilot admonished her not to “fly like a girl.”

worked at the Smithsonian and as a faculty member

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” she replied. “It might make the

at George Mason University.

boys look bad!”

SPRING 2017

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journey three

JASON BOWEN ’00

Jason Bowen ’00 “The key is understanding my character’s humanity—his relationships, faults, feelings, choices,” Jason Bowen starts. A stage actor, Jason depends on his ability to engage hundreds of people, radiate energy, and elicit buy-in from the start. “I need to recognize my character and also understand what other characters think of him, are saying about him—how he affects what’s unfolding, even when he’s not onstage. Attaching real emotions to the words—that’s how you make a character come alive.”

Acting ability might have been in Jason’s DNA, but a future

Sun. He has been in residence with the Actors’ Shakespeare

of performing some of theater’s most treasured and complex

Project for nearly a decade, performing in Twelfth Night,

characters was not always an obvious choice. While Jason

The Duchess of Malfi and The Tempest, as well as A Midsummer

wasn’t a stranger to the stage in high school—he played flute

Night’s Dream and Love’s Labour’s Lost.

in the orchestra, frequently sang at his church—basketball was his primary focus. “Sports and theater didn’t intertwine much at Milton in my years,” he says.

Then, in Jason’s Class II year, a friend urged him to audition for Milton’s production of Damn Yankees. He

OPPOSITE

Joniece Abbott-Pratt and Jason Bowen in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2012)

14

During the production of A Soldier’s Play in his senior year at Milton, Jason was first struck by theater’s power as “an influential medium that can teach and have a meaningful impact,” he says. His favorite plays have taken on sophisticated substance and complex ideas. In college

was cast in the pivotal role of Joe Hardy. That first taste

he directed Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman. In 2012, he earned a

of applause hooked him. The enthusiasm of his theater

Best of Boston acting award for his portrayal of Levee in

audience, along with sage advice and support from Debbie

August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. One critic claims

Simon (Performing Arts), seeded the idea that he might

that Jason’s “roiling, titanic performance” of Rainey’s

have talent, and set his life on a new course.

trumpeter “stole the show.”

Jason performs regularly with Boston’s Huntington

“I learn more by experience than in the classroom,” he

Theatre Company today, in productions such as A Civil

says, explaining why he had flirted with the idea of leaving

War Christmas, Ruined, Prelude to a Kiss, and A Raisin in the

college to pursue acting full time. In the end, he says, he

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

SPRING 2017

15

productions. Education outreach is also part of the model: Establishing residencies in public schools without arts funding, Jason and fellow actors develop projects with young people, empowering them to create and take ownership of the work.

Though in love with the art of theater, Jason admits that the lifestyle is a challenge. “They don’t teach you that in Acting 101,” he laughs. “You always hear about the ‘starving artist,’ but even when you’re not necessarily starving, it’s always a grind, always a hustle.”

He’s never been bothered by the unpredictability of life as an actor. It keeps the mundane at bay, Jason feels, and he’s always confident something is coming his way. “Wondering about my next role is exciting. Is it going to bring me to the next stratosphere? Just keep me even-keeled? Am I going to meet someone cool in the cast?”

Now in his early 30s, Jason is ready for more financial and geographic stability. When he started in this line of work, he had acting in film or on television in mind, and he’s moving on that goal with recent recurring roles in Law & Order: SVU. Film success can be lucrative, but it also means

ABOVE

accepted the counsel of a director friend and completed his

Okieriete Ona0dowan and Jason Bowen in Lynn Nottage’s Ruined (2011)

degree in theater at Skidmore. After graduation, he hit the

RIGHT Julie Ann Earls and Jason Bowen in the Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s 2013 production of Romeo and Juliet

during his sophomore year in college and realized he had

audition circuit in Boston and Providence.

Jason performed in his first Shakespearean play a knack for it. “Once I started to understand how to use the language, it began to come naturally,” he says. Out of school, Jason’s first play was Othello, under the direction of Ricardo Pitts-Wiley.

“There are fewer people of color doing classical theater of that magnitude, so I enjoy adding my own personal story, my own dimension to the roles,” says Jason. “I like taking the mystery out of Shakespeare. Shakespearean theater can be an elitist art form, because people feel they have to regard it in a certain way. Really, it’s just another script; you can take it wherever you want.

“Shakespeare’s ability to capture the human condition is, to me, why he’s lasted so long. Granted, the poetry is beautiful, but the magic is the combination of the language and his ability to tap into people. That’s one thing that doesn’t change over time. Technology changes, the world changes, but people—their feelings, their emotions, their relationships—remain the same.”

Part of the allure of the Actors’ Shakespeare Project is its itinerant identity; the company moves from place to place, transforming unlikely spaces and creating moving

16

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

traveling, working on location. Jason hopes to score the

positive person. “In acting, so much negativity comes your

ABOVE

trifecta: a television role based on an interesting character,

way, directly or indirectly,” he says. “You have to be based

Glenn Turner and Jason Bowen in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2012)

predictable income, and the ability to raise a family in

in reality: know your strengths, and be willing to adjust

one place.

your goals accordingly. No one is going to hand it to you, no

Shifting from stage to television is simpler than the reverse, he explains. “When you play to 600 people in a theater, you play to every direction. You have to project

matter how good you are. That doesn’t mean ditching your dream, but sometimes it does mean shifting it a little.

“Everyone has a set of values along with a list of

your voice, your emotion—you have to play big. With the

things they’re willing to give up to attain success. Those

camera, you just have to make sure they see your face.

convictions are going to be different for different people,

It’s easier to dial it down. The emotions are the same, but

but you should never feel like you have to jeopardize your

on camera you can just respond honestly. In theater, you

morality. I’ve turned down auditions for that reason. It

also have to get it right every time. There’s no editing. You

just means that particular part isn’t for you, but you’ll find

are entirely exposed and responsible.”

another path. You don’t have to lose yourself to do this.”

Jason credits his success to perseverance, selfconfidence, a strong work ethic, and simply being a good,

by Erin Berg

SPRING 2017

17

journey four

JOHN MARSHALL ’86

Elbow to Elbow with Urban Neighbors Making cities that work John Marshall ’86 An assistant professor of law and an urban development lawyer, John Marshall “never ever” wanted to be a lawyer. Helping revitalize a city devastated by one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history was equally outside what John might have predicted for his future.

But every story has roots, and John traces his to the family’s

John pursued a master’s in government at the University

Oldsmobile station wagon. On excursions to visit friends and

of Texas, Austin, thinking he might want to teach public

family in cities up and down the East Coast, John’s architect

policy, but he “realized professors could be far removed from

father and educator mother infused their children with

actually helping people make change.” His thesis on the

stories about the past and future hopes for these cities, many

short­comings of post-WWII neighborhood revitalization

of which were struggling in the 1970s. These trips sparked a

programs helped him give voice to what he wanted

love of urban life in John.

to do with city revitalization. “I didn’t want to just restore

“My dad had always been an idealist,” says John, who

buildings—I wanted to keep fami­lies in place, connecting

grew up in the suburbs of Boston. “He had visions of how

them to jobs and making sure they had local resources like

communities should be: more inclusive and aesthetically

grocery stores, schools and parks.”

pleasing. He created some beautiful spaces, but the great

Seeing how lawyers aided John’s father’s work over

plans that didn’t get off the drawing board sparked

the years, he knew that a foundation in the law was vital to

frustration. I grew interested in helping folks like my dad

success in urban revitalization work. So he went to law

achieve a certain vision. I was attracted to the idea of

school (University of Florida, Gainesville), taking courses in

helping a city neighborhood that was having trouble

land use, historic preservation, and property law. Then the

working prosperously or efficiently, and working together

reality of three degrees in higher education set in; it was time

with people to make things better.”

to get a job and pay the bills.

After graduating from the University of Notre Dame,

After a two-year clerkship with a federal judge, John

John’s interest in public service led him to a job in

chose to work with Holland & Knight LLP, in the firm’s

Washington working for a congressman. His job—menial

Tampa office, hoping to focus on environmental and land-

tasks—allowed him to “observe the life of a public servant

use law. But the firm asked him to get involved in complex

and see how slowly the gears of change actually move. I

commercial litigation in federal court for one year. “At

realized making truly meaningful public change is hard

Milton, I learned to be a team player, so I agreed. Plus I

work and takes patience.”

would be mentored by some wonderful lawyers. But one

SPRING 2017

19

year led to two. Suddenly, three and half years into it, I was

person there and I had zero credibility with these families

watching New Year’s fireworks from my office window and

and neighborhood groups, and rightly so. For two years,

missing the weddings of my Milton friends. I felt isolated.

these people had been trying to regain their homes and the

This wasn’t a case of work/life balance. It was just work.”

Redevelopment Authority couldn’t even send someone who

He moved to the real estate side of the firm, but as a litigator who “helped cities sprawl—enabling big-box

on advice a Milton football coach gave to the “scrawny,

cow pastures. I was not happy.” He started searching for

145-pound junior varsity defensive end.” He said, “Always

In the fall of 2007, he received a Rockefeller Foundation

to this day, “pick up the ground balls that come to you, and

Authority (NORA). Two years after Hurricane Katrina,

if you play those well, it will lead to something.” and its residents, learning every “nook and cranny” of

homes were everywhere. With his 18-month appointment,

the neighborhoods, and familiarizing himself with local laws

John was excited about the challenge: Help NORA legally

and processes. NORA’s original plan relied on eminent

recover long-blighted and abandoned properties so that

domain, government’s ability to expropriate private

they could be redeveloped as private, affordable housing for

property for public use, a process the Louisiana legislature

families that wanted to live in their former neighborhoods.

made more difficult before John arrived. He became

“I was confident because of my training, but I quickly

20

He immersed himself in the culture and life of the city

fully slow. Some streets lacked working streetlights; vacant

realized how little I knew about working with families

Photos by Carolyn Richardson

keep your feet moving.” He also kept close the words of a Milton classmate’s father, who told John, a baseball fanatic

fellowship to work with the New Orleans Redevelopment revitalization, the city’s progress toward recovery, was pain­

PREVIOUS SPREAD

As he had before when he faced challenges, John drew

stores and condominiums in place of old orange groves or opportunities more aligned with his beliefs.

BELOW AND

could pronounce the street names correctly!”

part of a team that brought a constitutional challenge to the Louisiana Supreme Court to change the legislature’s

trying to return to their neighborhoods,” says John. “At

action. Meanwhile, his colleagues filed hundreds of eminent

my first public meeting, I was by myself, in a restored

domain actions in neighborhoods across the city. They

church sanctuary in the Lower Ninth Ward. I couldn’t even

were understaffed and under-resourced—and federal aid

pronounce the street names correctly. I was the only white

dollars to buy back properties was slow to arrive.

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

John’s 18-month appointment was extended for two

environment, you are at a real disadvantage, and you are not

more years, and eventually the original strategy was

serving your client or community well. I spent a lot of time

jettisoned. The team finished the actions they had filed and

in New Orleans thinking about lawyers as leaders.”

instead focused on the 5,000 properties sold back to the state by families who chose to leave New Orleans. These

John shifted his plan to remain in New Orleans, eager to get involved in training the next generation of urban

properties gave NORA significant land holdings in every

devel­op­ment lawyers. He became the Ludwig Community

neighborhood and a chance to carry out the goals. Still

Development Fellow at Yale Law School, serving as a clinical

understaffed and underfunded, they began appealing to

lecturer in law. He is now an assistant professor of law at

graduate programs around the country—law schools,

Georgia State University, in the heart of Atlanta. He teaches

M.B.A. programs, public policy programs—for students

environmental and property law and recently co-edited a book,

willing to work without pay in an internship program

How Cities Will Save the World. In John’s old-city neighbor­hood,

that John developed. Progress was still slow, but this new

he advises local neighborhood associations on revitalization

strategy was more successful.

efforts. He brings urban professionals into his classrooms

John realized he loved working with the students. He enjoyed reviewing their work and counseling them about their careers. He reflected on what he saw as a lack of lead­ er­ship training and of developing effective communi­cation

so students learn not only the principles of law from the case-­ books but also hear stories about legal work on the ground.

“I want my students to engage in work that makes them happy. Law and urban redevelopment makes me happy

and interpersonal skills in law school education. In New

because I’m working elbow to elbow with neighbors, review­

Orleans, these were important skills for him.

ing ideas for development and proposals for funding, and

“Lawyers have special capital; people expect they know

tending to the nitty-gritty of easements and purchase and

what they are talking about and that they will provide a

sales agreements. When the purpose is to make a community

way forward. But if you are not an effective communicator,

work better, more efficiently to stay intact, that’s exciting to

if you are not able to bridge differences of opinion maybe

me, and I’m grateful to be able to do that work.”

regarding race or class, if you are not able to work in a resource-constrained environment or a time-pressured

by Liz Matson

SPRING 2017

21

22

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

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

at milton

What happens when you take your energy and your passion as far as you can? Many teenagers are driven by a talent or a recently discovered fascination, to pursue new exposure, and follow any lead that opens up.

Gabrielle Fernandopulle, Alex Iansiti, and Elina Thadhani,

League competitions, where the task was programming

all Class I, are three such adventurers. Rooted in Milton

the robot to complete an obstacle course autonomously.

life, they have at the same time sought and seized every

“I liked the building/engineering part, but what I really

opportunity to expand and test the intrigue they feel for

loved was the logic part, finding the smartest and

math, programming and science. Their personal passions

most reliable approach to programming the robot to do

emerged when they were very young, and each has been

something repeatedly and accurately.” She built and

bent on keeping up a certain level of excitement, getting into

programmed underwater gliders at a summer camp before

worlds beyond where they’ve been.

starting at Milton.

Alex says that when he was young, he took apart every

Elina reports happily that she “was born into a science-

motorized toy that came his way. He took out the screws,

heavy, inquiry-heavy family.” They’d watch National

manipulated each part, and asked his dad which thing

Geographic and Planet Earth together. More important, her

did what and why. He loved computer games, and then

parents (her dad, especially) would come to the family

computers in general. As a fifth grader, he jumped into

dinner table with a relevant and absorbing science problem.

Visual Basic for Dummies. From sixth grade through ninth,

Drawn from current events or new research or someone’s

he transitioned from learning the basics of Java to going

bold idea, “he would present the anomalies in the scientific

off on his own, diving into projects—making games in Java,

community, and we’d spend most of dinner trying to figure

building websites, creating apps—and coming back with

them out,” Elina says. She remembers one night trying to

his questions or ideas to a tutor.

figure out how to get a predatory shrimp together with

Gabrielle remembers loving stories, and the thrill of achievement she felt each time she finished a book. Logic

the kind of snail that harbored a disease-bearing parasite.

The family came up with the idea of creating a dam

puzzles, books of them, held a special place in her heart,

system that would keep the shrimp from exiting the waters

especially arguing about the approaches and the answers.

where the snail was. “I was already thinking through

To amp up the math curriculum for Gabrielle, her elemen­

the scientific process then,” she says. “It wasn’t a burden

tary school gave her challenge problems and “I learned how

or tricky; it was exciting and fun.” She and her dad had a

to think about math problems there,” she says. In middle

math routine, too. When she showed up each morning, he’d

school, she was a fan of LEGO robotics, and the LEGO

hand off a math problem. “If I finished in ten minutes,”

SPRING 2017

23

she laughs, “I could have breakfast. And I came to freshman

design side (the look and feel, as well as making it work), and

year with math as my passion.”

that allows him to explore the artistic side of computing.

Alex came to Milton primed to push his programming

After one summer interning at a commercial start-up

experience as far as he could go. Milton’s curriculum

that called on the “app-y use side of programming,” Alex

in this field has evolved alongside Alex’s growth over his

wanted to spend last summer working in hard computer

four years. He’s been both a participant and a contributor.

“I’ve loved the new electives,” Alex says, “but advanced programming, my first course, was still my favorite.”

The course was about how the different algorithms work and their relative efficiency, Alex summarizes. “It was

science, on the “math-y” end of programming. That he did, with a lab at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Science that was working on writing software meant to facilitate millimeter wave internet—that is, processing that uses super-high-frequency radio waves. “There are some

probably the format of the course that worked so well,” he

hurdles to get over on the way,” Alex says, “to creating

says, “a structured curriculum to teach the concepts, paired

software that achieves that goal.”

with independence. For instance, an assignment would be to create a game showing a particular concept. Our final

Last June, with a linear algebra textbook under his arm, Alex plunged into math and programming research,

project was to create an MP3 player, and that involved

“outside my comfort zone.” He completed several crucial

circuitry, which I loved.”

“proof of concept” tests that fed into the lab’s major project.

He worked in digital signal processing, implementing

T E S T I N G T H E M AT H S I D E O F P R O G R A M M I N G

a basic angle-of-arrival algorithm—testing whether milli­

Alex loves what he calls “both sides of programming.” The

meter waves between a router and a phone could pretty

“math side” requires thinking about a problem abstractly,

accurately target where in the room the phone was. “Since

proposing a number of solutions, and choosing the best one.

The “app side,” he explains, has all of the math, plus the

the main portion of the lab’s paper will be on how to improve on that algorithm, I was pretty happy with how far I got on that.”

Alex has been able to share what he learned in the lab about machine learning, “a subset of artificial intelligence,”

Alex Iansiti ’17

with his classmates (eight of them) in the Artificial Intelligence and Applied Math course back at Milton. Alex’s graduate student mentor from the summer comes to Milton as well; about every third week, he assists kids who want hands-on experience with this rapidly expanding area of programming.

Gabrielle is one of Alex’s classmates in the course.

Fixated on math when she arrived at Milton, she took an aggressive pathway through the math curriculum, but missing the fun of her LEGO competitions, she took the first-level programming course as a sophomore.

“It’s great,” Gabrielle says, “that programming is integrated into every Geometry class now. That’s a good idea. But I walked into programming having no idea what to expect. It’s a testament to Milton’s curriculum, and the attitude about learning that Mr. Hales and Mr. Chun have built, that I loved it so much. It’s very different from my other classes; it’s process-based.” The environ­ ment her teachers have created, she says, encourages students to “dream big and be okay with messing up. They pushed me to have fun with it.”

24

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

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

special projects. Her role was taking data sets in different languages (like German and Japanese), using dictionaries the company had access to, and translating the data, cleaning it up, analyzing and reformatting it so the information could be used efficiently and effectively.

“This was really a time and place where I could just dive in,” says Gabrielle, “because what they were doing was so far above what I had done before.” She downloaded the company’s source code—thousands of Java files—and then “spent most days of the first week Googling things.”

Gabrielle Fernandopulle ’17

Experiencing the design and complexity of commercialized software was revealing, she says. She found her colleagues kind and supportive. She had no fear of asking questions and often did so using Slack, a messaging app for teams.

She loved the environment of the tech world she saw. “I appreciated how meritocratic it was. Hard work is rewarded,

O N E G I R L , CO D I N G

regardless of seniority.” The company managed work

Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit dedicated to closing

through small teams; in stand-up meetings they shared

the gender gap in technology, was another big influence on

aspects of product development, and the shared infor­

Gabrielle. Girls Who Code shows girls how varied coding

mation often tweaked the way the teams worked. She was

is, and how important it is to anything you like to do. Girls

shocked by how collaborative programming could be, and

create games to explain political issues, or they produce

by how much her colleagues enjoyed the teaching role that

music, or design sports or fashion websites; Girls Who Code

came with welcoming interns.

tries to reframe the stereotypical sense of coding and helps girls imagine a future in tech.

Numbers of girls in programming at Milton have steadily

Gabrielle is thinking now that she may want to major in computer science. She loves the power and the problem solving, as well as its relevance to so many fields that interest

increased. Gabrielle and several other girls led the way, and

her. Females are underrepresented, she notes, and “the

she’s clear about the cultural trends that have affected girls.

communication and teamwork that programmers need is

“Our culture has taught girls to be more fearful of failure,” she

a big part of who I am.”

says. “I saw that in the intro course, where boys would just laugh failure off and start up again. And there’s the male-

H E L P I N G P R E D I C T A G L AC I E R ’ S R E T R E AT

dominant voice, too, and girls not wanting to talk over other

Both Gabrielle and Elina created a major communication

people.” But the balance is shifting, according to Gabrielle.

opportunity for themselves, when their abstract about

“Younger girls are signing up for courses and sticking with

the findings of a four-year research project on sea ice was

it. They’re finding out that even though boys grew up with

accepted for presentation at the American Geophysical

video games, they don’t have an advantage. And the projects

Union’s annual meeting in San Francisco this past December.

are free-form: You don’t have to build a shooting gallery.

In their Class IV year, both girls signed up for a student

You can build a lacrosse simulation game or a shopping app.”

outreach group associated with faculty member Matt

Gabrielle’s summer internship was with an early-stage

Bingham’s National Science Foundation grant to study

data procurement and analysis software company, Tamr.

sea ice in Disko Bay, Greenland, at the mouth of the

The company developed software for major companies

Jakobshavn Glacier.

(like GE and Cisco) to reformat all of the disparate data sets that are crucial to business and organize them to increase

With colleagues from Wheaton College and Brown University, Matt Bingham was studying sea ice variability,

access and functionality. Their clients save money through

because high sea ice has been associated with slowing

improved efficiency. Gabrielle was a member of the “labs

the retreat of the glacier. To make predictions about the rate

section” of their development team; her group took on

of glacial retreat and rising seas, scientists need data about

SPRING 2017

25

Elina Thadhani ’17

the variability of sea ice prior to the evaluations of the last several decades, which were done through satellite imagery.

Mr. Bingham brought a two-meter ice core back from Greenland, and students have been mirroring the scientific team’s investigations. Elina and Gabrielle tried to deter­ mine whether methanesulfonate (MSA) could be used as a valid proxy to generate records of sea ice variability deep into the past, and therefore to help predict how glaciers will retreat. In their two-meter core, they did find a correlation between parallel peaks in MSA, oxygen isotope and low sea ice, indicating the potential of MSA as a proxy for sea ice concentration, and the girls will present the findings at a conference poster session. They’re not only excited “to be presenting our four years of hard work at such a huge conference,” says Gabrielle, “but also to connect with the principal investigators we’ve been working with and hear happens in a real scientific community, and how I might

about their work.”

do something that could lead to an innovation.” Even DESIGNING TESTS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS

though she’s spent long hours in labs during the summers,

T H AT M AT T E R

Elina says she was “driven by the idea that I had a role,

The San Francisco conference was Elina’s third presentation

that I made a difference in ongoing research. She worked

at a national professional science conference this year. Elina

at MIT in Bevin Engleward’s biological engineering lab

has never met an uninspiring scientific question, it seems,

on DNA damage, and the effect of carcinogens. Like Alex,

and her Advanced Chemistry course at Milton served as

she was thrilled to have demonstrated proof of concept

a launching pad for two research projects she pursued in the

for her hypothesis.

“What I love is that a science question is not only a puzzle,

Pritzker Science Center, on campus.

In one project, Elina examined an idea for improving

it’s a very precise puzzle. Just designing an experiment is an

the treatment of glycine encephalopathy, a rare autosomal

art in itself. Are the conditions optimal? Is the theory behind

recessive disorder characterized by high cerebrospinal fluid

my experiment working? Where does my theory have holes?

and plasma glycine concentrations. She presented a poster

What kind of controls are correct? Is my precision spot on?”

of her findings, titled “Glycine’s affinity to a cation-exchange

Elina has worked on projects individually, with the

resin offers potential treatment for glycine encephalopathy,”

support of Milton faculty, and she has worked collabora­tively;

at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry 2016

she enjoys both modes. She tends to think of everything as an intricate machine, and finds it endlessly interesting to

Meeting in Philadelphia.

In a second project, she focused on issues having to do

learn about every part, from the intra-cellular level to the

with recovery after a myocardial infarction (heart attack).

whole organ system. Why are we the way we are? Evolution­

Elina was invited to present her conclusion, abstracted as

arily, how do the cellular components work together?

the “Fabrication of a conductive, drug-delivering alginate hydrogel through cerium IV crosslinking offers base as a synthetic heart tissue,” at the Biofabrication 2016 Conference,

Science is amazing because you’re never done, according to Elina. There’s always something deeper, something further. She fondly remembers her grandfather’s musing: “Every time you come across a success, you come across

in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

As was the case with Alex and Gabrielle, summer work

ten new possibilities for success, but 100 new possibilities

fired up Elina’s excitement and skills, her sense of

for failure.” So you have to pursue each one with vigor,

independence and responsibility. Course work at Milton

Elina believes.

kept the flames high and opened up other doors.

Elina says that she wanted to know “how research

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

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

by Cathleen Everett

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

Get

comfortable. It’s rewarding.

Through years working with 4-H International, Lily Reposa ’18 learned that associating with a group can provide a safety net to young people in danger.

In Washington, D.C., during her sophomore

Noah Cheng ’17, Community Engagement Board co-head, appreciates that at Milton “people are participating because they want to, because it’s important to them.”

For Nicholas O’Toole ’17, activism during

Keisha Baffour-Addo ’17 made similar connections within the places she served, including the annual service trip to Belize and at the Brookview House in Boston, a compre­ hensive program to reduce homeless­ness

year, Lily advocated for international access

high school has sparked an interest in social

among women and children. She met and

to positive youth development programs like

justice policy and politics. Nicholas interned for

learned from people her own age who have far

4-H. She explained to Massachusetts Senator

two summers with the Fenway Community

fewer educational opportunities, or live in

Elizabeth Warren and others in Congress

Development Corporation, where he received a

neighborhoods where violence occurs.

that the sense of belonging inherent in these

firsthand education about housing afford­ability

programs for teenagers could stave off great

and inequity in Boston. There, he connected

student in Robbins House, I was focused on

risks, like succumbing to recruiting by terrorist

with city officials and developers, as well as

wanting to interact with people, gain perspec­

organizations.

with community organizations like Black Lives

tive and explore Massachusetts beyond the

Matter, to discuss issues of economic injustice.

‘Milton bubble,’” Keisha says. “I do think I have

“When kids don’t see opportunities in their lives, feelings of loss and disconnection can lead them to seek out dangerous alternatives,” Lily says. “Programs that keep young people productive give them an important sense of community and connection to society.”

The opportunity to serve helped attract Lily

“I knew, on an impersonal level, that serious discrimination happens today,” Nicholas says.

“But actually seeing the numbers and reading the case studies was eye-opening.”

Nicholas takes the activism course, which

“When I came to Milton as a boarding

some responsibility to engage with people.”

Raised in a family that emphasized service, Noah also felt a responsibility. It’s not always easy, Noah says, recalling when he served meals at the Pine Street Inn, a large homeless

he said has revealed how different areas

shelter in Boston, and people tried to

to Milton. She now serves on the Community

of inequality connect. “I can see where all of

persuade him to give them extra food.

Engagement Board and her service, like that of

these topics are intertwined. The quality

some other Milton students, goes beyond

of housing in a particular area really overlaps

campus boundaries.

with environmental issues, whether it’s

was ready for that. You get exposed to parts

waste management, the accessibility to mass

of the world that you don’t see every day here

Hundreds of students participate through the Community Engagement Programs and Partnerships (CEPP), reporting to a site on a

transit, even the proximity of highways.”

Cecelia Guan ’18, who is bilingual, depended

“They’re in a desperate situation, and it’s hard to say no,” Noah says. “I don’t think that I

at Milton. It’s taught me a lot about keeping an open mind.”

regular basis or volunteering for annual events

on her Cantonese and English while working

on campus, like Special Olympics tournaments

with adults who are learning English. “It was a

Keisha is considering a future in the Peace

or the Oxfam Hunger Banquet. Service is

great way to exercise my knowledge, and

to find a way to get involved with service in

entirely voluntary. Milton now offers an

those individuals taught me things about the

some way, even if it feels challenging at first.

Corps, and said she would encourage everyone

aca­demic course, Activism for Justice in a

language that I didn’t know. The feeling it

Digital World, that explores how activists use

gives me is invigorat­ing. That’s my happy place—

stepping out of your comfort zone to help

“I don’t think there’s anything to lose by

new and traditional tools to help with poverty,

when I get there, all the stress of school is

others,” Keisha says. “People live outside of

homelessness, hunger, educational inequity,

completely forgotten, and we’re growing and

your comfort zone. Getting uncomfortable is

health care, environmental degradation and

learning together.”

not going to hurt you. It will help you grow.”

immigration.

SPRING 2017

27

at milton

PHOTOS BY DOUG AUSTIN

Growing on Garden Hill Working in teams, Milton’s fourth graders were assigned a straightforward task: Using toothpicks and mini-marshmallows, develop and execute a plan to build the tallest possible structure in less than five minutes.

It sounded easy enough. But halfway through the

The fourth graders impressed Mountain School

process, Robert Lightbody, director of multi­

faculty member Jack Kruse, who also directs the

culturalism and community development in Milton’s

work program. “When I introduced them to our

Lower and Middle schools, began shaking things

wood program and how we heat our facilities, they

up. He reassigned students, which forced the groups

were so interested. I had forgotten how funny, active,

to bring their new teammates up to speed and

imaginative and even patient kids are at this age.

consider novel approaches.

Honestly, a pile of wood, some splitters and a wood

The exercise came during a break between farm chores and hiking, on a trip to the Mountain School of Milton Academy in Vershire, Vermont, last

stove are not as exciting as a llama, but they were really into it, asking great questions.”

After years in the same class, it’s natural for kids

October. The visit was a short course in agriculture—

to develop a shorthand and a structure that dictates

the Mountain School is a semester program for 45

their interactions with one another. In organizing the

high school juniors from across the country each fall

trip, faculty divided the students purposefully,

and spring—and an opportunity for fourth graders

breaking up established friend groups. During the

to bond outside of the comforts of the classroom.

mornings and in between farm chores, they played

Last September, seven new students joined a

challenging games designed to help them understand

tightknit group of fourth graders. “Getting to know

group dynamics. “We were intentional about making

each other and working together is a major focus,

these classmates a little uncomfortable, then helping

so coming to a farm, and seeing how the older kids

them to re-form groups in many different ways,”

have to work together, really supports what we’re

Robert said.

doing at Milton. It builds community,” said Grade 4 teacher Sandra Correia.

With sweeping vistas of foliage nearing peak

The students left Milton on a Wednesday morning and returned Friday afternoon. Not everyone had an easy trip—they contended with blisters, fears about

vibrancy, organic produce ripe for the harvest, cattle

being away from home, and exhaustion from their

and sheep dotting grassy pastures (protected by

farm chores. Some anxious tears were shed, and a

Desmond the “guard llama,” a favorite of the fourth

handful of complaints cropped up over the work that

graders) the Mountain School provided a dream

needed to be done. Out of their comfort zone, boys

backdrop. Unseasonably warm, sunny days cooled

and girls had to rely on one another.

into cloudless nights and students enjoyed campfires and stargazing.

“Before I came here, I was a little bit nervous, but still thought it would be great, and it has been,” said

SPRING 2017

29

Amelia. “We have room buddies, and they set it up so

made the visit exciting for James, a new fourth grader,

there’s a new kid in each group, so it’s been a good

who appreciated their explaining how and why

way to get to know new people.”

chores are done on the farm. “Even though we’re not

“This might be the first time they’re this far from

from here, the people at the Mountain School are

home by themselves, and the first time that they’re

treating us like we’ve been here for a long time. We’re

responsible for getting themselves up and ready for

seeing how much work it takes every day to run the

the day without the help of their families,” said school

whole farm.”

counselor Carla Ko. “They’re learning that they have

Milton’s Lower School students have a commu­nity

that resilience, that ability, that independence, to take

garden behind the Junior Building. Third graders

on some of these personal challenges.”

learn about planting and harvesting, and they take

Being far from home with no access to their parents was challenging for some—cellphone service

an overnight trip to the Farm School in Athol, Massachusetts. At the Mountain School, children

at their nearby hotel was spotty at best; at the

took on different tasks, from clearing a greenhouse to

Mountain School, it was nonexistent—but they

making apple cider, cutting back invasive plants,

worked through it, said Robert. One student almost

repositioning fences around the farm’s cattle pastures,

immediately asked to contact his parents, and the

and picking potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage and peppers.

adults on the trip had to convince him that he was going to be safe without them.

Another student cried on the way to Vermont

For Dean, doing all the work was the best part.

“This is a good challenge, because we’re actually outside and it’s hot, so it’s hard work. Working

and dreaded the sleepover portion of the trip. The

together is going to make our class a lot stronger, and

two boys sharing his hotel room asked whether they

I think we’ll be more helpful to each other now.”

could do anything to help. “He said, ‘This is hard.

“I like learning about how everything is connected,”

There’s nothing anybody can do to help me. I just

said Camilla. “There are so many steps, and if

need to get through this,’” Robert recalled. “He

something goes wrong, it can change everything.

ended up being fine, and the roommates were so

When you work for your food, it tastes a lot better,

understanding.”

and you know what you’re eating.”

Everyone who comes to the Mountain School

The fourth graders “stretched themselves,” try­-

discovers resilience, says Milton junior Rachel

ing new things in an unfamiliar environment,

Handler.

said Head of School Todd Bland, who accompanied

“It can be pretty discombobulating and absolutely

the students on the trip. “They’ve stepped outside

exhaust­ing, managing the time between academics

their comfort zone in a serious way, and they’re

and working on the farm,” she says. “But I’ve come

learning that that’s OK. They’ve worked through

to absolutely love it. I feel more energized when I

certain challenges and gained confidence in their

go back to class after working in the afternoon. I’m

own capacity to solve problems.”

working not just with my mind, but physically as well, and I find that very invigorating.”

Farming requires cooperation, and a lot of labor,

Nearly three months after the trip, a visitor to the Grade 4 classrooms would be hard-pressed to identify which students are new. Did any moments

says Rachel, who has grown close to her Mountain

of the visit stand out as high points? “All of them,”

School classmates and faculty through working side

says Robert, laughing. “All of them.”

by side.

The students and adults at the Mountain School

30

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

by Marisa Donelan

“This might be the first time they’re this far from home by themselves, and the first time that they’re responsible for getting themselves up and ready for the day without the help of their families. They’re learning that they have that resilience, that ability, that independence, to take on some of these personal challenges.”

low e r s c h o o l co u n s e lo r c a r l a ko

in sight

32

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

SPRING 2017

33

head of school

BY TODD B . BL AND

Unsettling, in the Best Possible Way Immersing myself in a new and uncomfortable situation often comes with some lofty goals. It also, almost always, comes with plenty of trepidation. After all, a “new place” might be geographically distant from anything I’ve known, linguistically mysterious, and just plain intimidating. I know that I perhaps have humbling errors in store and will likely fail often. Yet, somewhere in my head or heart, I know that confronting these challenges is exactly why I chose to put myself out there, and very quickly I start to feel like I’m learning and gaining ground.

Studying in Spain when we were younger had profound, lasting effects on both my own and Nancy’s lives. Although we were both excited by new cultural opportunities, neither of us had anticipated what the experience would teach us about ourselves. When I returned to the United States, I had learned as much about my own resources, foibles and priorities as I had about my newly beloved Spanish culture.

Our daughter Maggie studied in Granada this past college semester, choosing a path that delighted Nancy and me, but Maggie had prepared; she was a veteran. Both Maggie and her sister, Emily, had left Milton’s campus for semester programs in their Class II year. Our twins had told us the year before that they wanted to stretch themselves, try something new. They were excited to experience high school without their parents nearby, and they were curious about studying apart from one another, particularly before starting the college search process. Emily studied

live at School, and in doing so, they dive into an unfamiliar culture, brand-

at CityTerm, run by the Master’s School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. At

new academics, and a community of peers who themselves choose to

CityTerm, 50 students use New York City as their classroom, every day.

come to Milton, Massachusetts, from all over the country and around

Maggie opted for warmer climes: She headed to the Island School on

the world. These young people need to switch gears and consider the

the island of Eleuthera, where she immersed herself in the Bahamian

impact of their actions and their relationships on others’ lives—new

aquatic environment and the life of a marine biologist.

responsibilities and new opportunities to affect the quality of life, day

Many alumni have told me about particular transformative experi-

in and day out. Milton’s culture is its own, living thing—friendly and

ences during their Milton years, often rooted outside the classroom, and

supportive, but fast-paced and potentially disorienting. For one third

with people they never expected to encounter. Milton offers so many

of the students moving into Milton houses each fall, their family homes

ways for students to intensify and enrich their high school experience,

are hours of flight time away, and English is a second language. Students

away from campus. The Mountain School of Milton Academy in Vershire,

from Texas, Hawaii, Alabama and Boston’s neighborhoods bring a

Vermont, and the Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki are renowned and

dynamic array of cultural backgrounds. Milton’s intentional celebration

beloved semester programs. Milton is a founding member of School Year

of difference is a long and valued tradition, and we are working harder

Abroad, through which students can choose host sites in Spain, France,

and smarter than ever to help every young person and every adult

Italy or China. Our French and Spanish exchange programs engage

develop openness, self-awareness, respect and the cultural competencies

around 40 students each year in memorable, multiple-week excursions.

essential today. We are committed to the explicit process of nurturing

Our jazz program musicians play numerous concerts and visit South

a learning environment in which everyone is tuned in to different lives,

Africa biennially, and in alternate years, the orchestra and Chamber

is flexible and adaptive, and feels both valued and eager to contribute.

Singers tour international destinations. Milton students interested in combining service and travel have participated in projects in Belize

Nancy and I are fortunate to have developed a deep, long-lasting connection with Spain—its people and its culture. That vital experience

and Appalachia during spring breaks. Every year, many of our students

fuels our commitment to making sure that all Milton students can tap

develop transformative relationships through Community Engagement

into the life skills that develop when you challenge yourself to step past

partner sites in Boston’s multicultural neighborhoods.

the familiar and predictable, and move toward understanding others’

It’s also important to remember that about half our students choose to

34

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

lives from the inside out.

o n c e n t r e Milton Mentors Lead Girls Who Code Teams at HUBweek Hackathon “The change in stereotypes about computer

field. No one has ever told them that science,

programming and coding is heartening,”

technology, engineering or math is not

says Jessica Wang ’18 . In the fall, Jessica—

for them.”

along with several female classmates and

At Milton, the number of female students

friends—mentored fellow coding enthusiasts

enrolled in programming classes has

during HUBweek’s Girl Hackathon in Boston.

increased, with 46 girls participating this

The program, which provides middle- and

year. “A decade ago, we might have seen

elementary-school girls an introduction to

one or two girls per class,” says Chris. “The

Letitia Chan Wins International Poetry Award

coding, is a signal of forward momentum that

old stereotype of programming as male-

Milton faculty member Chris Hales hopes

driven and perhaps socially isolating simply

Letitia Chan ’17 is one of 15 student writers

will increase girls’ participation in computer

is not the case anymore. Milton students

to win top honors in the 2016 Foyle Young

programming.

involved in programming are well-rounded

Poets of the Year Award for her poem “Making

with wide-ranging interests.

Glutinous Dumplings with My Mother.”

I think the younger girls

Letitia’s poem was selected from among 10,000

(at the Hackathon) saw, in our

entries submitted by 6,000 students from

students, role models that

around the world.

reflect who they want to be.”

Lyndsey Mugford ’19 didn’t

think she would be interested

spring’s Advanced Creative Writing class with

in coding until she started

Lisa Baker. She learned about the Foyle Award

taking classes at Milton. “Pro-

competition, which is hosted by The Poetry

gramming is a great skill set

Society of London, from her mentor at Adroit

to have, but I never thought it

Journal’s summer online program, which pairs

was for me. I think girls can

experienced writers with students.

feel left out of the programming world. At the Hackathon,

The Milton students were team leaders to the younger girls, who used Hopscotch, a kid-friendly programming language, to

“Making Glutinous Dumplings with My Mother” is a piece Letitia developed in last

“The poem starts with an image of making dumplings with my mother, and I connected

all the girls were really enthu-

that with the dynamics of a mother-daughter

siastic and supportive of one

relationship, particularly when you return

another, and they approached

home after living away at school,” says Letitia,

it with the mind-set of working

who came to Milton from Hong Kong.

together to accomplish a goal.”

This is not the first time that Letitia’s

“When I was younger, all

work has received recognition. Last year, her

our mentors who knew how to

collection of poems earned a first-place

code were male,” says Jessica.

Bennington College Young Writers Award.

“It’s impressive how much effort is being made to engage young girls in this world.”

Katie Friis ’17, co-head of Milton’s

She was also runner-up last year in the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest, another national competition.

Letitia says that her work has grown more

build simple games. The teams presented

Programming Club, hopes Milton will host

their projects at the end of the day. Charlotte

a similar event in the future. “I’ve definitely

personal over the years. “I’m interested in

Moremen ’19 said the younger students’

seen an increase in female participation since

writing about uncomfortable relationships—

energy was infectious.

I’ve been here. My freshman year, I didn’t

how you are as a teenager and how your

know anyone in the program, and now there

relationship with your parents can change,”

little kids who had completely innovative

are several girls in my dorm who take

she says. “Some of my real life is reflected

ideas,” Charlotte says. “They hadn’t had any

programming classes. I think people are

in my work, but there are also many parts of

idea that coding is still a male-dominated

realizing how interesting it is.”

my poetry that do not reflect my real life.”

“The most fun part was talking to these

SPRING 2017

35

to ask questions, which covered a range of topics, including mental health; substance abuse; sex educa­ tion; gun violence; and the opioid epidemic.

Dr. Murthy’s answers included personal perspec­ tives, including that on marijuana legalization: “Science should guide our policy when it comes to marijuana; we don’t yet have enough high-quality evidence of marijuana being a safe and effective

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy Delivers 49th Alumni War Memorial Lecture On November 29, the United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, spoke with

not be more important,” said Dr. Murthy.

The Surgeon General shared experiences

treatment of medical conditions—the certain standard of evidence that we hold every other medication to . . . that which helps guide doctors in dosing and other safety measures.”

He also cited staggering statistics as food for thought: Almost 21 million Americans suffer

students, faculty, parents and grads as Milton’s

that shaped his career trajectory—some

from a substance abuse disorder, and only

49th Alumni War Memorial Lecturer. Both

from his childhood memories of his parents’

one in 10 gets treatment; every $1 invested in substance abuse treatment and prevention

in Straus Library, and later in the Fitzgibbons

medical clinic in Miami, where he learned

Convocation Center, Vice Admiral Murthy

that medicine was not simply about “making

saves $4 in health care costs and $7 in criminal

answered students’ questions about his role and

diagnoses and writing prescriptions, but

justice system costs. Dr. Murthy outlined

about some of the most pressing public health

about building a relationship of trust and

some successful government programs and

issues facing America.

respect between a doctor and a patient.”

policies that address these and other issues,

“I came here today because I believe you,

An unexpected opportunity his freshman

but he made clear that policy was not the

young people, are the best shot we have in

year in college brought a career in health

most efficient or effective means of creating

this country of overcoming the challenges

care to the forefront: He and his friends learned

change—that real and lasting change begins

that we face,” said Dr. Murthy. “It’s easy

of a philanthropist who was looking for a

in our communities, “from the ground up.”

to think it’s someone else’s job to solve the

cause. With the philanthropist’s backing, the

country’s problems. You have to be that

students developed an HIV peer-education

of focusing substance abuse prevention

someone. . . A leader is someone who has a

initiative in India; with unlikely success,

programs on youth: “If we can protect young

voice and chooses to use it.”

American students approached convent schools

people’s brains throughout adolescence, we

Dr. Murthy highlighted the importance

in India and convinced senior nuns to let

have a better shot at keeping them free from

General his primary roles are to oversee the

them talk to their students about sex and HIV.

substance abuse later in life. And you each

United States Public Health Service—one of

The group was invited to teach at 90 percent

have a powerful role in affecting the choices

the seven uniformed services of the United

of the schools they approached.

your friends make. I know it’s not always

Dr. Murthy explained that as Surgeon

States—and to communicate the best possible

“One of the great things about trying

information on health-related issues, so that

something when you’re young is that you don’t

medical professionals and all Americans can

know all the reasons to doubt yourself, or how

make informed decisions about health care.

you might fail,” said Dr. Murthy. “You just try.”

“At a time when we are inundated with

Marshall Sloane ’17 and Elina Thadhani ’17

cool to be the voice of reason, but that’s one of the most powerful roles you can play.”

Dr. Murthy spoke of the need for sensible gun laws, education around gun safety, and greater investment in mental health services.

“We’ve allowed ourselves to become polarized

all kinds of news—some of it fake, some of it

joined Dr. Murthy and Head of School Todd

real—ensuring that people have access to

Bland on the dais to ask questions of their own.

in our debates on issues that are really

the truth and to scientific information could

They then invited classmates in the audience

important—to get locked into two corners in

36

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

a battle where nobody wants to move. When

challenges, to support important but hard

another—informed by compassion, and a

we step back, we realize we have many things

decisions; we can’t even come together to have

willingness to listen and understand?”

we agree on in terms of steps that can and

conversations without dismissing someone’s

should be taken.

point of view.”

“What we need in America is to rebuild

He posed what he called “the defining

The Alumni War Memorial Foundation was established in 1922 to honor Milton Academy graduates who sacrificed their lives

our foundation,” he said. “The foundation of

question facing our country” to students in

in World War I, and it now honors all those

our country has become shaky. It’s not built

the audience, and he reminded them that

who died in the wars and conflicts that

on money, or on the strength of our military;

their generation would be the one to solve the

followed. The Foundation supports lectures

it’s built on the connections between people.

problem: “How do we rebuild the foundation

and informal conferences dealing with the

When the connections between people are

of our country, one that’s informed and

responsibilities and opportunities associated

weak, we can’t come together to overcome big

guided by the relationships we have with one

with leadership in a democracy.

Restoration of the Robert Saltonstall Gymnasium Columns

Jim Selman, Milton’s associate director of construction and standards.

Milton contracted with the historical division of Shawmut Design and Construc­ tion of Boston for the new columns, which

Workers made a special delivery to the

are faith­ful to the original design. They have

Milton campus, as the restoration of the four

a “passive ventilation” system, which allows

white, wooden columns in front of the Robert

some air flow into the hollow structures,

Saltonstall Gymnasium (RSG) began last

says Jim.

summer. The crews carefully removed the

“They’re also made of a harder, denser wood

building’s historic columns and replaced them

than the original white pine columns,” Jim

with replica structures that hold true to the

says. “That will give us more life.”

building’s century-old design.

The existing columns were original to the

Milton’s facilities services are also deter­min­ ing the scope of work to replace windows at the

RSG, which was built in 1921. After 95 years

RSG, and will remove the Palladian window

of supporting the building’s entrance and

facing the football field, which will neaten the

portico, they were in need of replacement, says

building’s appearance inside and out.

The Robotics Team Rolls Onto Advanced Competition

was “pleasantly surprised” by their success.

The “Starstruck” competition is played on a 12' × 12' field, where the robot picks up and moves “stars” and “cubes” into particular zones. After playing qualifying skills matches, teams from different schools form alliances.

Then, the object of the game is to attain a higher

The Robotics Team’s robot, named Tokyo Lift,

score than the opposing alliance. Truman and

won the robot skills compe­tition, the excellence

Tommy’s alliance won the whole competition.

award, and the championship at the VEX

Tommy said Tokyo Lift was newly

Robotics Qualifier Tournament in Hopkinton

constructed this school year, and the team can

this winter. Milton entered two robots into

still make modifications to the robot before

the competition, and the winning robot moves

the next competition. About 15 students meet

on to the state competition this spring.

officially twice a week in the Robotics Team

Truman Marshall ’18 and Tommy Elliott ’18

room in the Art and Media Center, but Tommy

were the leads on Tokyo Lift. “We knew we

said they work on the robots almost every day

had a good design,” says Truman, but the team

after school and during free periods.

SPRING 2017

37

on cen t r e , con t.

Grace Connor ’17 Has the Scoop on Building a Business

Little G Ice Cream Co. while recovering from

After trekking through a snowstorm to

foray into business was a baking company.

deliver her first pints of Little G Ice Cream to

She began baking at the age of 6, and she soon

a specialty grocer in Boston, Grace Connor ’17

started taking orders from friends and family.

had a flash of doubt. “I was putting it into the

A few years later, she started making ice cream

minutes between classes, I’ll take out a book.

freezer and thinking, ‘What did I put all my

and all its mix-ins from scratch—even the base

When I’m on the bus, I study,” Grace says.

time and money into?’” she remembers. “After

is handmade.

a week, they called and told me that all my ice cream sold out, and they wanted to order more.”

This was in January 2016, six months

Little G is a full-time business. In addition

surgery to remove a brain tumor at age 15. Now,

to purchasing the ice cream from local retailers,

she brings her ice cream into hospitals to cheer

customers can buy it anywhere in the country

up young patients.

by ordering it online. Grace balances her job

Grace always loved ice cream, but her first

with her classes at Milton by maximizing every free moment.

“I know that when I’m at school, I’m here to focus on my schoolwork, so if I have five

“There’s a lot of time in the day. If I use that time

“I’d heard about CommonWealth Kitchen.

I actually applied there when I was 8, because I wanted to make cookies there. I got pretty

effectively and plan ahead, there’s more than enough time to get everything done.”

Being a regional brand is not enough for

after Grace landed a spot in the start-up food

far along into the process because I hadn’t told

Grace, who has her sights set on opening her

production space CommonWealth Kitchen at

them I was 8,” Grace says. “I knew I needed

own production facility, getting a distributor,

the age of 16.

to get in there to make ice cream, because my

and hiring staff to help Little G grow. She is

parents weren’t going to

seeking investors and may open a brick-and-

give me any money. I wasn’t

mortar ice cream shop in the future. During an

going to get a loan or an

interview for a news feature, a reporter asked

investor at that point. I used

if she thought it was neat to see her products

all the money I’d made

next to Ben & Jerry’s in a store freezer. “I’ll be

from baking. If I picked up

happy once it’s next to Ben & Jerry’s everywhere

a penny on the sidewalk,

across the country.”

I would save it.”

Sheer persistence got

permits and plans needed

A Silver and a Bronze for Milton Magazine

for professional food

Milton Magazine is “filled with really

production. Ice cream is

interesting stories that are not just ‘news

Grace in the door at the kitchen. After she was accepted, she navigated the bureaucratic maze of

“I didn’t have much capital,” she says.

highly regulated—Grace

and notables’ but clearly reflect what the

has to go through monthly

school values,” according to one judge of

lab testing for every flavor she develops. She

the 2016 Brilliance Awards from InspirED

jokes that she built her business on her iPhone,

School Marketers. Milton and Stoltze

money to buy an ice cream machine, which I got

Googling examples for health code permits

Design received two awards in the Printed

at less than half price. I got a pro bono lawyer,

and other papers she had to file.

Magazine category, with the Spring 2016

“There’s a small fee to get started. I had enough

a pro bono designer, and everything else, I just figured out myself.”

As an industry, gourmet ice cream makers have branched into some unusual territory,

edition of Milton Magazine earning silver and the Spring 2015 edition receiving

with flavors like blue cheese, bone marrow and

bronze. In their remarks, judges celebrated

NBC Nightly News, and in People magazine, the

fennel. Grace opted for more familiar tastes,

the design as well as the written content.

Boston Globe and countless other publications.

with a dozen flavors such as hot chocolate and

One judge noted of the Spring 2015 issue:

Her ice cream is sold at several stores in the

marshmallow crispy treat.

One year later, Grace has been featured on

Boston area, and by this spring she will have

“I wanted to create recognizable flavors that

“Beautiful photography along with wellthought-out content make this magazine

expanded to 40 Whole Foods stores in the

are fun and exciting, and I make everything

one of my favorites. Love the alumni

Northeast. As her business grew, a backstory

from scratch, using the best-quality ingredients

profiles showing leadership in varying

unfolded: Grace thought up the idea for the

I can,” she says. “The flavors are nostalgic.”

fields—and varying ages.”

38

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

Milton StudentAthletes on Soccer’s World Stage Two teammates on Milton’s boys’ varsity

semifinals, but they beat Curaçao in the thirdplace game, earning them a spot in the final rounds next spring.

“I love that soccer is a team sport; it takes more than one individual to win,” says Jeremy.

“Soccer brings together all kinds of people from

soccer team represented their respective home

different backgrounds. On my team, we were

countries in the Caribbean Finals of the

from different parts of Jamaica, and we ended

CONCACAF U17 World Cup Qualifying held

up having such great chemistry on the field.”

in September in Trinidad. Brandon Jones ’18

CONCACAF is the soccer federation for

played center back on the U17 Bermuda

North America, Central America and

national team, and Jeremy Verley ’19 played

the Caribbean that governs all international

midfield for the U17 Jamaica national team.

competitions. The CONCACAF final rounds,

Coincidentally, the two teams faced off in the

in which Jeremy is competing, are the final

first round of the tournament, and Jamaica

qualifying stage for the World Cup at the U17

won the game.

level. U17 is the youngest age group with a

“The tournament was the closest I’ve felt to

World Cup competition, making it the highest-

playing on a professional soccer team,” says

level youth competition in which players

Brandon. “The whole process of training and

can compete. Chris Kane, Milton boys’ varsity

playing games in front of a huge crowd was

soccer coach, says it’s “pretty incredible that

really exhilarating.”

we had two players in the tournament, and it’s

Jeremy’s team, which he captained, made it

amazing that Jeremy may have a chance

to the semifinals after a draw with Haiti and a

to captain a team to the full World Cup this

win against Trinidad. They lost to Cuba in the

summer.”

Model UN Students Bring Honors Back to Milton

and global social and military threats.

Milton’s Model UN students traveled to

Caleb Rhodes ’17, co-head of Model UN,

earned Best Delegate for his representation of Lt. Col. Manuel da Costa Braz in the Alvor Agreement of 1975.

“Before this conference, I didn’t know much

Brown University for this fall’s Model UN

about Portuguese history and how Portugal

Conference. During the conference, students

controlled Angola until the early 1970s,” says

stability between all the competing factions. It was my chance to correct history, because in real life the agreement fell apart.”

“I am so proud of these students for all their hard work and for the way they represent themselves and Milton,” says Mark Heath, history faculty member and Model UN advisor.

“Now, more than ever, the conference’s focus

take the perspective of a country or political

Caleb. “The Alvor Agreement was supposed

on collaboration, civil discourse, and empathy

figure, engaging with peers from around the

to unite the different factions within the

provided great opportunities for our students to

country, and debating and writing proposals

country after Portugal left. My character was

bring out their best and to see the best in others.”

on issues like cybersecurity, counterterrorism,

a moderate socialist, and my goal was to create

James Dunn ’17 received a Best Delegate

honor, representing Bangladesh in the Disarmament and International Security Committee; Alex Chen ’18 received an Outstanding Delegate honor, representing Mexico in the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology; and receiv­ing commendations were Jake Griffin ’19 , representing Vladimir Puchkov, Minister of Emergency Situations in the Russia Cyber Crisis, and Bohdi Becker ’20, representing Chad in the African Union.

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

Visiting Jordan With Students Connecting, Not Just Observing

(wheretherebedragons.com), the format and activities enabled adults to engage with the issues and the people living in the region, in hands-on ways. “Dragons” describes itself as “a community of bold educators and intrepid adventurers.” The firm’s goal is to frame up opportunities for travelers to build relationships that foster empathy and

Master of the wry understatement, Joshua Emmott (history

understanding across cultures. Typically, Dragons offers

department) notes that trying to understand people and

programs for summers, semesters, or gap years. Their

the way they live and think is a real advantage as you try to

programs take place in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and

learn history. An inveterate traveler himself, Joshua has

Latin America: Senegal, Laos, Bolivia, Rwanda, Thailand,

taken students to India over one March break in the past,

and Nicaragua, among others.

and to Egypt during another.

This year, Joshua, who teaches History of the Middle

Midway through his own experience, Joshua was struck with how a trip that succeeded at immersing kids in this

East and Globalization and Islam, among other courses,

kind of on-the-ground experience would be especially

inaugurates a trip to Jordan. Eight students are joining him

valuable for students in his Globalization and Islam course.

and will do far more than visit the sights.

“The Middle East is less accessible to our students than, for instance, Europe or South America. It’s opaque: the language, the religion, the customs,” Joshua says.

“This experience will locate students right in the middle of what we’re trying to understand.”

Based on the components of Dragons’ program for educators, and with the help of the firm, Joshua organized a trip and program that would replicate his own trip, within the time frame of a two-week March break. “This experience will locate students right in the middle of what we’re trying to understand,” Joshua believes.

Before they go, students accompanying Joshua will have

“If you envision a certain content area in your course, and

studied international economics and the World Bank;

not only physically going to the place you are studying, but

resources and trade; why some nations have been econom­

interacting with the people living there, in a 24/7 context,

ically successful since World War II and why some

that’s what this trip is doing,” Joshua says.

The trip that inspired Joshua’s venture with students

developing nations struggle. They will have launched into Jordan specifically: its history, economic development,

into Jordan was one he took in March 2016. He’d been

and the impact of the refugee crisis on the country, among

enticed to give the trip a try because of its label: experiential

other issues. They plan to have conversations in Milton,

education—a familiar bit of contemporary jargon that could

by Skype, with some of the refugee organizations they will

use some definition, he thought. Good idea to see what that’s

visit once they’re in Jordan. At home, Joshua will have raised

like. Organized for educators by Where There Be Dragons

some of the same questions for his students that focused the activities of his own trip: • What does it mean to be a Muslim in a modern Muslim society like Jordan?

• How is Islam actually practiced, compared with what you read about it in books?

• How do you live in a country with depleted water resources and massive unemployment?

• How is the refugee problem affecting Jordan?

• How does tourism affect conservative, traditional cultures?

The group begins their visit in Madaba (the home of Moses), then spends a number of days in Jordan’s capital, Amman. In a typical day, they might begin by visiting UN and NGO offices, talking with people who are shaping or

40

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

implementing government policy, as well as people who are working in the refugee camps. After lunch and conversation,

for their own wives. How do you bridge those worlds?

The educators also went to live in home stays with Petra

they then meet with refugees and discuss with them how

area residents for several days, as will Joshua and the Milton

policy initiatives show up in their experiences of social

students. The trip includes daily training in Arabic. Every

services, or in the employment or education sectors. To close

morning, each person in the group has a different role. With

the circle, students revisit the UN or NGO folks to discuss

the limited words and phrases they’re able to learn, travelers

what they’ve heard from those who are meant to benefit from

are expected to fulfill that role—for instance, making lunch

certain policies and programs.

reservations at a restaurant, or purchasing water and lunch

After time in Amman, students head south to Petra—an

for everyone going on a daylong trip into the desert.

ancient city famous for structures carved into red rock, and

The trip’s underlying theory is to reverse the typical

the skill of the Arab Nabataeans in creating water collecting

power dynamics: As a traveler, you have an objective, you

and conduit methods (circa 312 BC). Petra is Jordan’s most-

have the tools, and you need to follow through on your

visited tourist attraction; it’s an ideal city and region for

responsibility. Afterward, you discuss how you think it

exploring the tensions between tradition and modernity.

went, and what you might change to improve the interaction,

“People who live and work in Petra,” according to Joshua, “are in the most conservative part of Jordan, which is one of the most conservative countries in the Middle East, probably

next time you go through it.

One novel thing about this trip, Joshua says, is that the students will mostly meet people their same age. At night

after Saudi Arabia. In Jordan, most women don’t drive;

they’ll have lots of social things to do—like going to cafés in

levels of education for women are lower; numbers of women

Amman where young people hang out. They’ll try out

in the workplace are lower than in Lebanon or Turkey; and

a locally popular form of Arab dancing, called Dabke, and

there, they still have honor killings.”

hear the music that young people are listening to in Jordan.

Members of Joshua’s educators group went to some of

Joshua may be hopeful that this trip, long-planned, will

the villages where the Petra tour guides live. “You don’t see

be transformative. The full immersion into Jordan will

many women in these villages, because they all essentially

change the dynamics of his course, at a minimum. Consistent

live inside,” Joshua says. His travel colleagues were able to

with his style, however, all Joshua is willing to say is, “It

talk with the guides about the apparent stresses between

will be interesting to hear what all their perspectives are,

their world after work, and their world during the day.

once they return.”

Their livelihood depends on mingling with women, and women tourists freely lead lives that would be impossible

by Cathleen Everett

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41

sports

Remembering Lefty

Richard Thomas Marr March 11, 1936–November 11, 2016 At age 21, with a fresh degree from Williams College, Dick “Lefty” Marr joined Milton’s faculty. Dick’s friend and colleague Chuck Duncan says that, in Dick, Headmaster Arthur Perry saw “the model of the New England schoolman, combining the qualities of intelligence and love for the adolescent with the willingness to become involved with all aspects of school life.” At Milton—in the classroom, in the dorm, on the baseball field and ice rink—Dick proved

about bringing out as much as he

above

his skills and commitment time and again.

could from kids while having their

Lefty’s hockey

best interests at heart. That can

buddies wished him

in his English classroom, in Forbes House, on the field,

be a difficult balance, and he got it

well, with some

and in the rink with relentless energy, steady support, and

right.”

friendly competition,

For more than two decades, Lefty gifted Milton students

an unwavering confidence in their potential.

One former student and hockey player remembers

“Dick had both a great sense of humor and a rare sensitivity—

in his final season as Milton’s head coach.

that Lefty “always kept things in perspective, and

a unique combination that made

his classroom was a lively place. He had the right attitude

Forbes House a welcoming and supportive place to live while Lefty and Ginny were at the helm,” Chuck recalls. One

“When it comes to sports, we need to think always about how we connect athletics to the overall mission of the school. If we do this, we can help students develop skills and friendships that last a lifetime.”

— Dick Marr

former Forbes House boy said, “Mr. Marr could get into your mind and force you to see a thing more clearly, and he was right more than 95 percent of the time—not that we were always willing to agree with him until much later.”

As a coach of many fine Milton teams, Lefty was in his element. If you played for Lefty, your brain was as important as your muscle. “His players would beat teams by outwitting them,” says Chuck.

Friends and lifelong coaching rivals, Lefty and Dick Flood had been roommates at Williams College. Prior to that, they had competed in high school—Flood at Nobles and Lefty at Governor Dummer. Upon graduating from Williams, both began teaching and coaching and spent two decades as rivals at Milton and Nobles. From their leadership and camaraderie grew the highly regarded Flood–Marr Holiday Tournament, drawing the area’s best hockey talent each December for 52 years now. Prior to the ceremonial puck drop this year, players, coaches and fans honored Lefty’s memory in a moment of silence.

“We were rivals who had an extraordinary lifelong

right

friendship,” said Dick Flood. “We shared special moments

Varsity boys’ hockey,

with each other’s families, and while we liked to beat one

with Coach Duncan

another on the ice, we rejoiced in the other’s successes.”

(left) and Coach Marr

Flood says Lefty “thought outside the classroom or the game,

(right), 1970

taking his students and players to new dimensions in life.”

42

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

My friend, Dick Marr Recollections by Chuck Duncan

Friend Jerry Larson describes both iconic individuals

I met Dick when he was assigned as my guide during my final interview at

as “models of good coaching: concerned about the indi­

Milton. I was immediately impressed by his enthusiasm for life and for this

vidual first, team second; focused on character and skill

School. After lunch, we went to faculty coffee in the Harding Room, where

development; and continually learning something new to

we had real coffee, served in real china, complete with silver service.

share with students.”

Though many knew him as Coach Marr, Lefty’s reach was broad. He took a leave from Milton in 1967 to teach

Shortly after sitting down, I felt a tap on my shoulder; I looked up to see a senior faculty member who said, “I don’t know who you are, but you are in my seat.” Within a few seconds, Dick gave me a sign indicating it was

at the Solomon Lewenberg school in Boston. He spent time

time to leave. I excused myself, and Dick and I made a hasty retreat. Dick’s

as a recruiter for the Upward Bound and A Better Chance

comment after our exit was: “Milton is changing, but not quickly enough.”

programs. He was dedicated to educating motivated students from all backgrounds. His Milton ecomium reads: “He valued the inherent worth of every individual and

In 1971, Dick invited a team from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, to come to the Christmas hockey tournament. Dick and I were scheduled to pick up the Swedish team at Logan. As a precaution to getting stuck in traffic,

sought ways to motivate each to develop their talents as

Dick asked his wife, Ginny, to be around in case we ran into traffic or some

thinkers, writers, speakers and competitors.”

other problem. As life would have it, we ran into traffic, and when we

Lefty’s dedication to and love for independent school

returned to Milton the game was well into the second period: with Milton

education was at his core. He taught at Milton from 1957

leading 3–1. Ginny told Dick that she really didn’t need his help—she

to 1980, at Tabor Academy from 1984 to 2003, and served

was in complete control of the team and the situation. Needless to say,

as headmaster of Aspen Country Day School in Colorado

the opposing coach was not pleased.

in between. When he retired from that career, he chose to

During the tournament in a gesture of friendship, Dick was able to

grow further. He became a college hockey referee, baseball

secure a tape of the national anthems of many different countries. From

umpire, and commissioner of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

the Zamboni garage he started to play what he thought was the national

In his 60s, he earned his law degree from Roger Williams

anthem of Sweden. As Dick looked out at the Swedish team he saw

University. Dick’s son Jerry said his father knew providing

puzzled looks and gestures of “No! No!” from the Swedish players. He

legal counsel “was just coaching at heart, and he naturally

soon learned he was playing the anthem from some other country

brought his coaching skills to this new role.” In practice,

beginning with the letter “S”. The scene of the Swedish players trying to

Dick specialized in mediation.

signal to Dick was memorable, indeed.

“Dick had a perseverance you can hardly believe,” says Chuck. “The man didn’t understand the word no.”

Thank you to Ginny, Lefty’s wife of 58 years, and their children, Tim, Jerry, Lisa and Amy, for sharing this great man with all of us.

Dick’s ability to sense things that weren’t quite right served him well in his years as teacher, dorm master, and coach. One evening he stopped by a student’s room to catch up with some of his seniors. Sensing something was amiss, his instincts told him to linger. The longer he stayed, the more anxious the students became. After a while he noticed a pool of liquid beginning to emerge from under a boy who was sitting on something. Dick continued to wait, and finally the boy couldn’t take it any longer; he stood up to reveal that he had been sitting on a tub of ice cream that he and his buddies had liberated from the dining room!

One of Dick’s great lines to his hockey teams between periods centered on why it was better to be ahead by two goals rather than by one. To me, that fact didn’t need a philosophical discussion—it was plain as day. But Dick thought differently and went on to explain his thoughts on the subject to his players. While I was happy with a two-goal lead— period!—Dick’s approach was effective. I venture to say that players, no matter which sport or situation, will carry the wisdom of Dick Marr with them through their lives.

Chuck Duncan was a member of Milton’s faculty from 1968 until 1999. He served as house master of Hallowell House, teacher, dean of students of the Boys’ School, and director of college counseling. He was Lefty’s right-hand man as hockey coach and his close friend from 1968 until Lefty’s death in November 2016.

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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

alejandro danois ’88 The Boys of Dunbar: A Story of Love, Hope, and Basketball The Boys of Dunbar is the true story of a high school basketball team that, during the drug and crime epidemic in 1980s Baltimore, brought forth four NBA players and gave hope to a city.

Dunbar High School’s basketball program was one of the most successful in the country, and the early 1980s Dunbar Poets were arguably the best high school team of all time. Four starting players—Muggsy Bogues, Reggie Williams, David Wingate, and Reggie Lewis—would eventually play in the NBA. Alejandro Danois takes his readers through the Poets’ undefeated 1981–1982 season, the lives of the players, and the role of Coach Bob Wade. Wade, a former NFL player from the same neighborhood, knew that his players’ formative lessons on the court were key to their future.

A Brooklyn native, Alejandro lives in Baltimore and is editor-in-chief of The Shadow League. His writing has been published by the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, Associated Press, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, the Los Angeles Times, and Ebony magazine.

steve lehman ’96 Sélébéyone Steve Lehman’s album Sélébéyone was selected as a Top 10 CD of 2016 by NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times Popcast. The ensemble Sélébéyone—“intersection” in Senegal’s Wolof language—includes two emcees from different continents, two composer-saxophonists, and three supporting players with strong jazz pedigrees in a jazz-rap collaboration. As a Pitchfork review describes, “What they come up with feels both legitimately new and surprisingly approachable.”

Described as “a state-of-the-art musical thinker” by the New York Times, Steve Lehman is a composer, performer and educator working across a spectrum of musical idioms.

His recording Mise en Abîme (2014) was named the numberone jazz album of the year by NPR Music and the Los Angeles Times. His previous recording, Travail, Transformation & Flow (2009), was chosen as the number-one jazz album of the year by the New York Times. Recipient of a 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2014 Doris Duke Artist Award, Steve is an alto saxophonist who has performed and recorded nationally and internationally. In September 2016, Steve joined the music faculty at The California Institute of the Arts.

44

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

jidenna mobbison ’03 The Chief After his 2015 hit single “Classic Man,” Jidenna follows up the Grammy Award-nominated track with a debut album titled The Chief. Unleashing powerful lyrics and visuals with tracks “Long Live the Chief” and “Chief Don’t Run,” Jidenna says the debut album is a nod to his roots.

“This story is from the point of view of a first-generation Nigerian-American in different cities, places and com­ munities, that has ever been told in this way,” he has said.

The album blends a unique and enticing combination of world-influenced and mainstream sound.

Signed to Janelle Monáe’s Wondaland Records label and distributed through Epic Records, Jidenna has collaborated with a number of celebrated artists, including Monáe herself. In February 2015, “Classic Man” debuted at number 49 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. In March 2015, the second single from the EP— “Yoga” by Monáe and Jidenna—was released. “Classic Man” was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 58th Grammy Awards. Jidenna received an award for best new artist at the 2015 Soul Train Music Awards. He has also appeared in a recurring role on Issa Rae’s HBO dramedy Insecure.

jenny slate ’00 About the House Jenny Slate, acclaimed comedienne and actress, joined her writer-poet father Ron Slate to create About the House—a collection of essays revolving around their family home in the Town of Milton. The rooms and corners of a rambling Colonial built in 1898, and purchased by the Slates in 1980, set the stage for Ron and Jenny, in alternating chapters, to share memories attached to the spaces, weaving an intimate and compelling family memoir.

Jenny and Ron chose Concord Free Press as their publisher, an enterprise founded by Stona and Ann Fitch. The press prints 3,000 copies of each book and gives them away, requesting that readers donate to a charity or individual in need. (Contributions are listed on the CFP site.)

Free Press readers are expected to pass the books along to others. The first ten books published by Concord Free Press inspired donations of more than $1 million.

One reviewer describes About the House as “memories, quirks, and confessions in a singular collection of stories, essays, and poems that range from profound to profane. Remarkably touching, often hilarious, and unfailingly human, this unusual father-daughter dialogue takes a look at family like no other work has.”

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m i lt on m u r a l , con t.

sarah sze ’87 Timekeeper Sarah Sze’s latest work, Timekeeper, is an experiential piece whose projections chase one another around the walls of the Foster Gallery at Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum. Video footage that includes digital clocks, running cheetahs, splashing liquids, and buildings being demolished is projected from dozens of whirring devices situated on a structure created from an unexpected and inspired collection of objects and elements. Timekeeper addresses how we measure time, countering actual clocks with more capricious measures.

One reviewer writes, “Timekeeper blurs the line between organic and mechanical . . . It keeps a form of eccentric time that is entirely its own, remembering moments over and over again as time slips by. In this sense, Timekeeper has no relationship to the mechanical devices we use to mark the literal passing of time, but instead to the way we recall and replay our lives, in selected fragments that, strung together, account for the passage of years.”

Sarah’s installations—which combine sculpture, architec­ture, painting, film—transform and transcend exhibition spaces. Sarah earned a MacArthur Fellowship for her work in 2003, and in 2013 she was the United States representative to the Venice Biennale. This year she finishes a project for New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority at the 96th Street subway station.

this page Timekeeper, 2016.

Mixed media, mirrors, wood, stainless steel, archival pigment prints, projectors, lamps, desks, stools, stone. Dimensions variable. © Sarah Sze. Photographs by Mike Barnett.

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

raafi rivero ’95 72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story?

Based on a short film by Bilal Ndongo, Raafi Rivero’s 72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story? follows 18-year-old Caesar Winslow, a restless, ambitious and charismatic Brooklynite facing the decision to leave his neighborhood for a full scholarship at a prestigious university. Told over the three days before he’s scheduled to leave, the film chronicles events and choices that unravel his confidence and force him to question everything: His girlfriend breaks up with him and the “woman of his dreams” won’t give him the time of day. His friends leave his corner, and the streets he has known seem meaner. Caesar and his friends ramble up and down the parkways of a rapidly gentrifying borough in search of the perfect ending.

72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story? was named a 2016 official selection at the LA Film Festival, the New Orleans Film Festival, and the Urbanworld Film Festival.

Raafi’s directing credits include a suite of promotions for HBO’s True Blood; content for Microsoft, Sony and The Rockefeller Foundation; and music videos for Ghostface Killah and Styles P. His short film Their Eyes Were Watching Gummy Bears played more than 20 film festivals, winning multiple honors. Raafi’s writing about new media has appeared in the New York Times.

robert freeman ’53 The Crisis of Classical Music in America: Lessons from a Life in the Education of Musicians The Crisis of Classical Music in America discusses solutions for the many American classically trained musicians who face diminishing opportu­ nities for full-time employment. An experienced observer, Robert Freeman asserts that schools training future instrumentalists, composers, conductors, and singers need to equip students with the communication and analytical skills to succeed in the rapidly changing music scene. His book offers a range of reforms for advanced music education.

Robert is a pianist, musicologist, and music educator. Having taught at Princeton and MIT, he served as director of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester for more than two decades. In 2015, Robert was awarded an honorary degree by the Eastman School of Music, which named the atrium of the school’s new Sibley Music Library in his honor. Robert has served as president of the New England Conservatory, then as dean of the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin, where he now teaches courses in musicology. A Steinway artist, Robert has performed in concerts and recitals throughout North America and Europe.

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m e s s a g e s Terrance Hayes

Weaving imagination with life experience, poet Terrance Hayes shared his work as this fall’s Bingham Visiting Writer. His expressive—sometimes playful, sometimes raw—poems broached love, family, race, relationships, masculinity and music. Mr. Hayes began with several poems from Lighthead, for which he won a National Book Award in 2010. Mr. Hayes was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He earned his B.A. from Coker College and his M.F.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, where he is a member of the English department faculty. How to Be Drawn, his most recent collection of poems, was a finalist for the 2015 National Book Award and the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award; it received the 2016 NAACP Image Award for Poetry. His honors include a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a United States Artists Zell Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a MacArthur Fellowship.

“Poetry isn’t 2 + 2 = 4; it’s more zebra + alligator = Cadillac. And the reader might think, ‘That’s interesting. I’m engaged, and I’m looking closer. I might not understand it, but I can still feel my way through it.’ That’s the way language works, and that’s what drives the construction of my poetry.”

Danielle Flora

Professional dance is a competitive industry, but the benefits to those who make it are sublime, film and television choreographer Danielle Flora told students.

Aspiring dancers should never stop learning, attending classes and watching peers’ performances, she said.

“Entertainment can be a rough business, but dancers I’ve worked with have been able to see the world while on tour with some of the most famous musicians.

They spend their lives doing fun and creative things.”

Ms. Flora began her dance career as a New York Knicks City Dancer before joining Saturday Night Live, where she has choreographed sketches, monologues and musical acts for 17 years. Ms. Flora is also the choreographer for the Spike TV show Lip Sync Battle,

“Pay attention and watch other dancers. You get so much out of watching somebody do something

48

and has worked on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the MTV Video Music Awards, and the feature films Trainwreck, Date Night and The Night Before.

well—their facial expressions, the angle of their

Ms. Flora was a Melissa Dilworth Gold ’61 Visiting Artist,

hands. All those little details matter.”

and during her two days on campus, she taught dance

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

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

and improvisation classes.

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

Catalyst Conversations: The Dialogue Between Art and Science

“You can talk yourself out of something really easily,” media artist Deb Todd Wheeler

told Milton students in an assembly sponsored by the Nesto Gallery. “Ideas sometimes need a little bit of sideways thinking.” Ms. Wheeler visited Milton with artist Deborah Davidson, technologist Eric Gunther, and scientist Andrew Berry as part of Catalyst Conversations.

Ms. Davidson founded Catalyst Conversations,

“Often, success comes

which explores a dialogue between art and

in bringing in other

science. As the world becomes increasingly technology-oriented and visual, the connection

people. The creative

between art and science has grown, evident

process of making

in artistic demonstrations of scientific concepts

art is much like the

and in the use of science and technology in

creative process of

art. The speakers encouraged students to pursue

working in science.”

ideas for the sake of exploration and play.

— A ndrew Berry

Keiko Orrall

Recognizing and respecting one another’s differences—rather than using them as ammunition in debate—is the key to civil discourse, Massachusetts State Representative Keiko Orrall told students. Rep.

Orrall spoke at the invitation of Milton’s Conservative Club, and she acknowledged that the tact she describes is notably absent from national politics today. Rep. Orrall, the Republican national committeewoman from Massachusetts, cautioned students against assuming that people with opposing political views are “the enemy,” saying such polarizing attitudes prohibit compromise and grind the legislative process to a halt.

“We need to have more productive discourse,” she said. “There is a lot of anger on both sides of the aisle. We need to value and respect other people’s opinions. That’s how we get things done.”

“If the candidate you support does not win, don’t take your ball and go home. Don’t give up. You can make a difference by being kind. You can make a difference by listening to each other. You can make a difference by participating in the political process.”

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m e s sage s, con t.

Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni

Educator, actor and producer Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni performed her one-woman multimedia show, One Drop of Love, in which she explores her own racial identity in the context of her family history and American census methods. Ms. Cox DiGiovanni periodically scanned the faces of students as if she were collecting

United States census data, using methods from the 1700s to the present day. Census methodology throughout history has grouped people into single, incomplete racial categories without considering the multiracial identities of many Americans. The title of Ms. Cox DiGiovanni’s show references rigid laws categorizing people as black if their ancestry included even “one drop” of African blood, which exposed them to legal and social discrimination. Through conversations with her parents, brother and grandmother, as well as a traumatic Peace Corps service mission in Cape Verde, West Africa, Ms. Cox DiGiovanni explores the intersections of race, gender and class in her life. “Without the context, we only understand a fraction of who we are,” she says. “It’s like filling out a form on a census.”

“I am a culturally-mixed woman, searching for racial answers.

And I’m going to keep on searching, no matter how scary the questions and answers might get. I’m not going to hide from them, and I’m not going to pretend they don’t exist, because maybe that is how we can all get a little bit closer to some peace, and some justice, and then, perhaps, even one drop of love.”

Sarah Colt ’88

Independent documentary filmmaker and alumna Sarah Colt ’88 spoke with students as this year’s Henry R. Heyburn ’39 Lecturer. Sarah shared her process of developing documentaries of historical subjects, specifically the work involved in creating her film Geronimo, one part of the PBS American Experience series on Native American history. Before starting her own company in 2008, Sarah produced the highly-acclaimed biography RFK and earned an Emmy

“I never thought history would be an

Award for Outstanding Science, Nature, and Technology for co-producing The

integral part of my career. Now, as a

Secret Life of the Brain. Her credits include the Emmy-nominated biography

filmmaker, I get to be a storyteller and put

of Walt Disney and a biography of Henry Ford, both for American Experience;

all these pieces of history together like

and “A Nation Reborn” and “A New Light” for PBS’s Frontline and the American Experience series God in America. She is directing and producing a series about

a puzzle, re-creating it, documenting it, in

the Gilded Age, which will air on PBS in 2018. In 2004, Sarah was awarded an

interesting ways. Making these films has

International Reporting Project Fellowship through Johns Hopkins School

revealed to me that history is alive, and

of Advanced International Studies. Sarah attended Harvard University, where

that sometimes the process is almost more

she began her documentary career as a still photographer and earned several

important than the final product.”

prizes for her work, including a Radcliffe Traveling Fellowship that sent her to Zimbabwe for a year.

50

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

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

Rod Skinner ’72

Rod Skinner, Milton Class of 1972 and director of college counseling, was the 2016 Veterans Day speaker. Rod told the story of his uncle and namesake, Sherrod E. Skinner

Jr. ’47, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, where he gave his life for his country. Reading a citation from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Rod said the Medal of Honor—the military’s highest award—recognized his uncle’s “indomitable fighting spirit, superb leadership and great personal valor in the face of tremendous odds.” In October 1952, during an ambush by North Korean troops just days before his 23rd birthday, 2nd Lt. Skinner sacrificed his life by throwing his

“For what belief, cause or position would you

body on a grenade, an attempt to save his fellow Marines.

Rod has always been inspired by his uncle’s “shining light.”

Rod encouraged students to approach differences with

risk unpopularity?

empathy; to celebrate their connectedness to other people;

What do you care

to be sympathetic to the pain that comes from losing a

about? If we confront the real tests of our

loved one in war; to avoid living life “at a smug distance”; to stand bravely for what they believe; and to “first seek to understand, and then move forward.”

lives without heart, we are lost.”

Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Rudy Tanzi

Sharing the “gift of self-awareness,” Dr. Deepak Chopra, a pioneer in meditation and

alternative medicine, and Dr. Rudy Tanzi, a professor of neurology at Harvard, offered insights on happiness, fulfillment and good health that they have gathered from researching the human brain. In presentations to students, faculty and parents for the Lower, Middle and Upper schools, Dr. Chopra urged students to consider self-reflection and meditation important parts of their education and growth. After becoming disenchanted with the Western medicine he studied and practiced, Dr. Chopra turned to transcendental and alternative medicine and, ultimately, to meditation. He believes that happiness, health and fulfillment can be found internally. Dr. Tanzi’s research career includes discovery and isolation of the genes that lead to Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Wilson’s diseases.

The two have co-written two best-selling books, Super Brain and Super Genes, and are working on their third.

“Smart people don’t necessarily achieve great success if they are just smart. Smart people who also know how to connect emotionally; who know how to offer hope, or trust, or stability, or compassion— or are not ashamed of love—they are the people who reach their full potential and have great passion for life.” — Dr. Deepak Chopra

SPRING 2017

51

m e s sage s, con t.

Jovonna Jones ’11, Osaremen Okolo ’13 and Kevin Collins ’10 You can find humanity and make social progress along any career

where she co-founded the Politics of Race and Ethnicity, a

or academic path, Milton alumna Jovonna Jones ’11 told students.

Harvard University Institute of Politics program. She is writing

“If justice and equity aren’t part of your life, you should examine

her undergraduate thesis on the stereotypes of hyper-sexuality

that. That’s a problem.” Jovonna is a doctoral student in African

and hyper-fertility of black women, and how such perception

and African American studies at Harvard, where she researches

affects black women’s access to the latest in reproductive

critical race theory, American art history, performance studies

medicine. Kevin became interested in community service while

and cultural practice. She joined fellow alumni Osaremen Okolo ’13

he attended Milton and remained active at Georgetown. He

and Kevin Collins ’10 in a discussion about race and service

enrolled in Teach for America, a program that places young college

sponsored by the Community Engagement Program and the

graduates in underserved schools, and became a high school

student club Onyx. Osaremen is a pre-med student at Harvard,

geometry teacher in New Orleans.

“I had a lot to learn. It wasn’t my place to speak or to try to lead. I had to listen to what was being said and was not being said. You have to give yourself time to do that.”

— Jovonna Jones ’11

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

Jeannine Kayembe

Artist and executive director of Philadelphia Urban Creators, Jeannine Kayembe spoke with students this fall in a conversation hosted by the Office of Multiculturalism and Community Development. Ms. Kayembe was a teenager in 2010 when she and her friends started Urban Creators, an organization that helps transform neglected inner-city areas into safe and dynamic spaces. The group spent a year clearing a blighted, two-acre parcel in North Philadelphia of trash, pollutants and drug paraphernalia, and have since developed the land

“The most effective way

into a farm that has brought in nearly half a million dollars to fight food

to do good work is

insecurity; it also offers work opportunities to at-risk neighbors and supports

to make sure the work

occupational training and violence prevention programs. The violent crime

you’re doing speaks

rate has plummeted in the neighborhood since the program began.

to the things you love.”

“We have this idea that the ‘good kid’ is the compliant kid; the ‘good kid’ is the kid who sits still and learns quietly. But that’s a narrow definition of what constitutes intelligence, and it leaves a lot of people out. The best innovators and creators are not compliant people. They’re questioners. They challenge what is considered normal.”

Jonathan Mooney

We should challenge the concept of “normal” and instead embrace the things that make us different, this year’s Talbot Speaker told students. Mr. Mooney, an author and lecturer who advocates for people with learning disabilities and attentional disorders, urged students to draw upon their unique skills and personalities to make their mark in the world. Mr. Mooney, a Brown University graduate who has dyslexia and attention deficit disorder (ADD), did not learn to read until he was 12, and today spells at a third-grade level. While at Brown, he and a few fellow students founded Project Eye-to-Eye, a mentoring program for students diagnosed as learning disabled or with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. His first book, co-written with fellow Brown student David Cole, Learning Outside the Lines, is a guide for students with learning challenges. In 2007, Mr. Mooney published his memoir, The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal.

SPRING 2017

53

NAME: Doug Crocker ’58, Milton trustee CAREER: Commercial real estate FIRST JOB: Taking care of the maintenance of the courts at the Sippican Tennis Club at age 14 MOST MEMORABLE CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Taking Equity Residential public in 1993 and seeing the tremendous success over the next 10 years was very satisfying. We grew from approximately 20,000 apartments to more than 225,000 apartments and became an S&P 500 company.

AS A MILTON STUDENT . . . : I was more interested in athletics than studies. I played football, wrestled and played tennis.

ONE MILTON MEMORY: In my day, we had a dance card for the year-end event. We ran around asking girls to sign up for each dance. The first and last dance had to be with the girl you were going with at the time. When I was moving recently, I found a scrapbook with two years of dance cards. Priceless Milton memories.

SOME ADVICE: Never give up. I have a little plaque on my desk that says never, never give up.

You go through good times and bad times, but you have to persevere.

WHY (AND HOW) I SUPPORT MILTON: I believe in supporting organizations that have encouraged me. Milton is an outstanding school, offering a phenomenal education, and it should be able to welcome students from all walks of life. That is why my gifts are for scholarships. I believe in three types of giving: now giving, which is annual giving; bequests, which give you a tax benefit and annual income; and the least painful form of giving, planned giving. It’s your money until you pass away, then it goes to the organization of your choice.

For more information on supporting Milton, contact: Mary Moran Perry, Director of Planned Giving 170 Centre Street Milton, MA 02186 617-898-2376 or mary_perry@milton.edu

54

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

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

c l a s s n o t e s 1943

1950

Stephen Washburn continues

Nancy Burley Chase’s family

they traveled into the Sahara on

work at a Woburn hospital

was awarded the Jack Heath

camelback and sang carols around

program for psychiatry, where

Conservation Award by the

a campfire in a Berber camp.

his oldest colleague is about

Southeast Land Trust of New

half his age! He says he

Hampshire for their conservation

Jean Childs and her husband,

channels Stokey, staying active

efforts. Milton alumni among the

John, have settled into North Hill,

with weekly tennis and step

Burley clan include Sally Burley

a continuing care community

aerobics.

Beck ’48, Jane W. Burley ’69,

in Needham. They have been

Thomas M. Chase ’77, Sarah B.

enjoying friendly company,

1944

Chase ’79, Melissa W. Chase ’83 ,

excellent lectures, and thought-

Joseph B. Chase ’85 , Gala True

provoking art exhibits. They

Cecilia Page Bourget is a

’88, Sarah Elizabeth Burley Reid

will be holding a ’54 MAGUS

57-year member of the Girl

’90, and Alice D. Burley ’96.

gathering in the spring!

1951

1955

Stephen Washburn ’43

in that organization. She has three daughters, three

Four years ago, Julia “Judy”

Katharine “Tinka” Gratwick

tennis and step aerobics.

grandsons, and three great-

Gamble Kahrl began a new

Baker retired from a daily office

granddaughters who all

career at age 78. She founded

routine in June, though she is still

make her proud.

Grandmothers for Reproductive

busy conducting business consults,

Rights, advocating for younger

playing chamber music, working

1949

generations the reproductive

on the development of a “village”

rights and health care for which

for aging in place in Northampton,

Guides of Canada and keeps in touch with many friends

Bayard Henry has moved from

her generation fought so hard.

and keeping up with 11 grand­

a house with “too much stuff”

She’s learned to manage a

children. All that and a new puppy keep her occupied.

to a retirement community 20

Facebook page, contact legislators,

minutes from Milton. One

and speak in public (thanks,

day he found himself in the gym

Milton!).

with three other Wolcott boys, Chris Grant ’47, Harry Guild ’46

Ellis Waller is still using the

skiing skills he learned in the Blue Hills to ski Snowmass

and George Mumford ’46. His

1952

and Aspen. He likes to say, as

new favorite adage is, “Wake

Jacob Brown and his wife,

his mother used to, “My children

up in the morning with nothing

Barbara, moved to Newbury Court,

and grandchildren continue

to do; go to bed at night with

an independent living community

to excel in all respects.” He keeps

everything half-finished.”

in Concord, New Hampshire,

busy with Village Parks and

after 40 years in Dover. Jacob still

Marina board, Madison Symphony

Katharine More and her

commutes to work daily. After

Orchestra board, and Madison

husband, Trenchard More ’48,

47 years with the same firm, he

Youth Sailing Foundation.

live in the house they built in

doesn’t feel guilty about sneaking

Sharon, Vermont. Their oldest

out early on pleasant Fridays!

son, Paul, has remarried and

He and Barbara continue to enjoy

1956

recently provided the couple

time at the Cape.

At 78, Rupert Hitzig is grateful

with another granddaughter.

Their daughter, Libby, lives in

Mary Pratt Ardant ’54 took all 16 members of her family to Morocco for the holidays, where they traveled into the Sahara on camelback.

for a long life, his wife, Karen, and Milton. He has made lots of

1954

movies, television shows, docu­-

Neil Pratt, while their two

Mary Pratt Ardant took all 16

mentaries and jokes. Life has been

grand­sons attend college at

members of her family to Morocco

a fun ride, and he is looking

Vassar and Wesleyan.

for the holidays. On Christmas Eve

forward to his next reunion, to his

London with her husband,

stays active with weekly

SPRING 2017

55

cl a s s no t e s, con t.

1962

John Bassett ’56’s klezmer

two sons bearing more kids, and

John Noble was honored with

Bo Thorne Niles greatly

to more and more laughter.

the Noble Professorship in

appreciates the support of her

the Department of Medicine at

family following the loss of

John Bassett ’s klezmer band, Too

Boston University Medical

her husband of 46 years, Bill, to

Klez for Comfort, continues to

School. The honor is a tribute

Alzheimer’s, including the

bring crowds to the dance floor!

to his 38-year career and con-

support of her sisters, Wendy

tributions to the field of general

Thorne Forsyth ’63 and Candy

1958

internal medicine. Since his

Thorne Canton ’65 . Bo has two

retirement, he has enjoyed music,

sons—David Niles ’90, who lives

Georgia Bradley Zaborowitz ’s

painting, and traveling with

in New Jersey with his wife, Ann,

daughter, Kaere, and her family

his wife.

and children, Lia and Henry;

moved in with Georgia last spring,

and Peter, who lives in Brooklyn.

and the house is full and happy.

Her grandson, Seamus, started

1960

Bo continues to write poetry.

school for the first time, having

Chas Freeman has stepped down

been home-schooled through

from the board of the Carnegie

1963

second grade. The family of three

Endowment for International

Lee Kimball Byron sells real

continues to bring crowds to

(and their cat and dog!) have

Peace. He is a senior fellow at

estate in Sarasota, Florida, and is

the dance floor!

brought energy and joy to the

Brown University’s Watson

involved in volunteer work. In

household.

Institute and divides his time

December 2015, she and her family

band, Too Klez for Comfort,

between there and Washington,

traveled to Tanzania along with

Samuel Otis lives in Wenham,

D.C., where he continues to chair

her sister, Helen Kimball-Brooke

Massachusetts, with his wife of 53

Projects International, Inc., and

years, Lisa, where he follows

the Committee for the Republic.

the stock market, labors in a small

His sixth book, America’s

workshop and builds model

Continuing Misadventures in the

sailboats at their 1750 Colonial

Middle East, came out in May 2016.

house. Sam and Lisa have three

’65 , and Helen’s family of six.

1964 Liza Ketchum has just published

her new young adult novel, The

daughters and several grand­

Charlie Francis and his wife,

Life Fantastic: A Novel in Three Acts.

children, “a good measure of boys

Becky, have lived in Beaufort,

It’s a story about vaudeville,

and girls,” he writes. Sam

South Carolina, for six years.

and it takes place in 1913. When

managed institutional pensions

Fish, golf and gardening occupy

Liza appeared in The Ghost Train

and endowments before retiring

their time. Charlie stays in

at Milton, many decades ago,

in 1997, then spent 15 years as

touch with Sandy Noble, Eliot

she never dreamed she’d end up

treasurer of six non­profits on the

Wadsworth and John Kemp

writing about the stage.

Liza Ketchum ’64 has just

North Shore of Massachusetts.

from time to time. The back nine

published her new young

Sam’s passions are his family, his

suits him fine.

Surrounded by loving family,

adult novel, The Life Fantastic:

efforts to reconnect with friends Lisa Forbes Tripp and her

February 12, 2016, from compli­

A Novel in Three Acts.

and cousins, and his Episcopal church.

1959

56

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

Donald Gibby Paige passed away

husband moved near Amherst,

cations due to Parkinson’s disease.

Massachusetts, after 27 years in

Donald leaves his loving wife,

D.C. spent mainly at the World

Laura; his beloved children, Sarah,

Bank and teaching in community

Samuel and Georgia; his stepsons,

Phil Kinnicutt is a proud, first-

colleges. Lisa wrote two books

Andrew and Oliver and their

time grandfather. Nakoa Paster

of oral history by veterans of Iraq

wives, Bethany and Jocelyn; along

Kinnicutt was born on November

and also of WWII through

with his three corgis. With

20, 2016, to daughter Leiana

Afghanistan. “Let them speak for

his partner, Leonard Kopelman,

and wife, Julie Paster Kinnicutt.

themselves!”

Donald founded the Kopelman

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

and Paige law firm, now KP Law,

Joel Davidson cherishes the edu-

company and shared good times

P.C., regarded as the leader

cation he received at Milton. He

over fine French food and wine.

in public-sector law throughout

keeps busy as a church organist, a

Massachusetts. Upon retirement,

high holiday cantor, and a social

Donald moved from Boston to

security lawyer. He enjoys relaxing

Stonington, Connecticut.

in Naples, Florida, while ponder-

Paul Temple lives in Boulder,

ing retirement and how to develop

Colorado. He and his wife, Kerry,

1968

a witty repartee on Facebook. He

have three daughters, who have

also wants to “Shout out to Glenn

flown the coop. Paul is in the

Jesse Kornbluth is casting these

Spear ’69.”

process of retiring from 20 years

1972

in the music business, which

days for the film adaptation of

means he is playing more music

The Color of Light, about Matisse

1971

and the Chapelle du Rosaire de

Sylvie Peron is regularly in the

people’s music less. You can learn

Vence, is now making the rounds.

United States, attending the annual

about his current project at

He reports that his 15-year-old

Business Aviation Convention.

www.RadianceMatrix.com.

daughter doesn’t hate him, and

This year the event is in Las Vegas,

that if this is what 70 is like, he’s

which gives her the opportunity

for it.

to visit Tish O’Connor Levy ’71 on

his novel Married Sex. His play

himself and managing other

the West Coast. Sylvie says, “It’s

1970

always a great joy to catch up, and I’d love to welcome more of my

▼ Debbie Weil and her husband,

classmates to the sunny French

Sam Harrington ’69 , left D.C.

Riviera!”

after 31 years and now split time between the coast of Maine and

▶ Friends from the Class of ’71

Brooklyn. Debbie is a book coach

gathered for dinner at La Voile in

and speaks about reinvention and

Boston. Sylvie Peron, Susy Quinby,

depression. Sam is writing a book

Chris Pope and his wife, Sarah,

about end-of-life decision making.

Ogden Ross, Mike and Margaret

They have five grandchildren. Life

(Trumbull) Nash, Phil Suter, and

continues to surprise!

Fred Ames enjoyed each other’s

1974 Cassandra Perry runs a nonprofit

in the South Bronx, serving as associate pastor at a church in Harlem and as a teaching assis­tant at an area seminary. Because this wasn’t challenging enough, she recently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in church history. She is very fond of coffee, exercise, ziplining and skydiving.

1975

Career milestone?

Exciting travel?

New addition to the family? Or maybe you reunited with Milton friends and have the picture to prove it?

Share it with us:

alumni@milton.edu

This was a year of change for Tom Kunhardt, who transitioned

SPRING 2017

57

cl a s s no t e s, con t.

from sales training in the

11-year-old daughter. The tran­

resid­ential solar business for a

sition was smoothed by meeting

large national company, to

Ramona Naddaff ’77 in the local

energy management as a service

swimming pool. Amanda and

with a start-up for commercial

Samantha recently visited Milton

and industrial companies. He also

during a boarding school tour.

“made the more significant and enjoyable transition from father to grandfather!”

▲ Edmund “Ned” Cabot recently

spent a month traveling in Vietnam.

1979

The highlight of his trip was a five-day motorbike tour of the stun-

David Ajemian is active in his

­ning, extreme northern mountain

local parish in Cambridge, as

countryside next to China.

1977

well as with cultural and civic

Kristin Finke Nealon is completing

activities in the region.

1987

U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa,

Denis Bustin has served as vice

Sarah Wolman and her family

Honduras. She spends the majority

president for development at

have happily resettled in

of her time supporting a shelter

Mount Auburn Hospital in

Montclair, New Jersey, after

a three-year assignment at the

for high-risk, trafficked teenage

Cambridge, a wonderful hospital

spending two years in Switzer-

Stephen Epstein ’83

girls. So far she hasn’t run into any

and teaching affiliate of Harvard

land, where she began her

became a member of

Milton classmates in this region . . .

Medical School, since 2012. Denis

role with the LEGO Foundation.

has the pleasure of working with

the United States Ski and Snowboard Association

▼ Lisa Simpson and Tim

the brother of classmate Jamey

Tom Lowenstein’s book about

physician pool, working

Sommerfield were married on

Shachoy ’79, Chris.

wrongful conviction in

with elite athletes heading

December 23, 2016, in Pompano

Philadelphia, The Trials of Walter

for the Olympics or World

Beach, Florida. They live in

Ogrod, will be published in

Cup circuits.

Palmetto Bay, just south of Miami.

1980

April by Chicago Review Press.

Tim moved to Miami several

Mike Chase has two children in

He says, “Give it a read and

years ago after reconnecting with

college (at Brown and Tufts) and

reach out if you’re in New Orleans!”

Lisa. Tim still beats Lisa on the

two children at Moses Brown

tennis court, but they have fun

School (in 11th and 8th grade),

playing together.

where his wife, Carolyn, teaches.

Michael enjoys growing the investment advisory business at Rex Capital Advisors. He would love to reconnect with classmates who are traveling through Boston or Providence.

Frederick Melo ’94 keeps

1983

cold but busy as a newspaper

Last year Stephen Epstein

reporter and bureau chief for the St. Paul Pioneer Press

▲ Alex Powers organized a fishing

in St. Paul, Minnesota.

1978

became a member of the United

“Any questions about

In 2013, after a lifetime in

Association physician pool,

Ed Shugrue ’84 . Alex was lucky

Manhattan, Amanda Weil and her

working with elite athletes heading

enough to get what is known as

daughter, Samantha (11), moved

for the Olympics or World Cup

a “Super Slam,” which is catching

to Berkeley, California, to live with

circuits. It’s emergency medicine

a permit, a tarpon, a bonefish

Amanda’s boyfriend and his

on snow!

and a snook all in the same day.

Minne-SNOW-ta, just ask,” he says.

58

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

milton.edu

/MiltonAcademy1798

trip in May to Jardines de la Reina

States Ski and Snowboard

with a bunch of friends, including

@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy

1989

1994

James Williams lives in Larchmont,

Frederick Melo keeps cold but

darling daughter, Zoe,

New York, with his wife, Laura,

busy as a newspaper reporter and

will be two years old this

and children Emily (8) and Jack (5).

bureau chief for the St. Paul Pioneer

spring, right around

Press in St. Paul, Minnesota. His Grace McNamee Decker was

the time baby number two is due. “Any questions

elected to the Missoula County

about Minne-SNOW-ta,

Public Schools Board of Trustees

just ask,” he says.

in 2015. She works as an early childhood educator, coach and advocate in Missoula, Montana.

▶ George Ko and his

family (including his daughters, ages four

▶ Nate Roberts published his

and one) live in Seattle,

book To Be Cared For: The Power

Washington. He works

of Conversion and Foreignness

at his own private

of Belonging in an Indian Slum in

ophthalmology practice,

April 2016. The book offers a

Retina Institute of

unique view into the conceptual

Washington. George

and moral world of slum-bound

would love to catch up

Dalits (“untouchables”) in the

with old friends at

South Indian city of Chennai.

Ko_george@yahoo.com

REUNION WEEKEND

Members of the 2s and 7s — we’re celebrating you this year.

JUNE 16–17, 2017

SPRING 2017 milton.edu/alumni 59

cl a s s no t e s, con t.

1995 Banderob (former faculty), Alyssa

big year. She and her husband,

Friedman Yan ’97, Alex Muenze

DePalo, Alyssa Friedman Yan,

Jeff, welcomed their second

DePalo ’97, Web Marquez ’97,

Lisa Balzano Puglisi, Tyler Sezak

child, Eleanor Vashti (named

James Meeks ’97, Heather

Schiff, Lauren Wahtera Czapla,

after Diana’s grandmother), on

McGhee ’97 (bride), Lars Jan ’96,

Heather McGhee, Lily Davis,

December 21, 2016. Everyone,

Cassim Shepard ’97 (groom), the

Meroe Morse and Cassim

including big brother Gus (3),

groom’s sister Sadia Shepard ’94 ,

Shepard, as well as numerous

is well. They also moved (still in

Meroe Morse ’97, Lily Davis ’97,

other Milton alumni, including

Seattle), and Diana is close to

Tyler Sezak Schiff ’97, Yetsa

sister Kate Brooks Leness ’91,

completing what has been a huge

Tuakli-Wosornu ’97, Annie Moyer

brother David Brooks ’96, John

Martinez ’97 and Annie Tucker

Tucker ’96, Annie Tucker ’93 ,

focus—the acquisition of Group Health by Kaiser Permanente.

1996

’93 . Not pictured but also in

Washington’s Farewell: The

Frannie Moyer ’64 , and David

Renee Neblett (former faculty)

Millet ’62 .

and Oona Coy ’93 .

Joshua Stolp was one of 12

1998

Founding Father’s Warning to

inductees into the Little East

Neo Tapela has returned to her

Future Generations. He wrote the

Conference Hall of Fame, honoring

home country, Botswana, after

book over nights and weekends

his University of Massachusetts

many years of training. She heads

for four years, while balancing

Boston lacrosse career.

his role as editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast and welcoming two

the national program on noncommunicable diseases tackling

▼ On August 27, 2016, Emily

diabetes, cardiovascular diseases

beautiful children into the world,

Brooks Murphy ’97 married

and cancers. She has two children,

Jack and Toula Lou. “To sum it up:

Philip Murphy in Brookline,

Anele (3) and Motheo (1), and

feeling busy and blessed,” he says.

Massachusetts. In attendance were

looks forward to bringing them

her ’97 Milton classmates Annie

to the 2018 Reunion!

1997 ◀ Heather McGhee and Cassim

Shepard were married on October

1, 2016, surrounded by friends and family from around the world.

Best friends since sophomore year at Milton—when they shared their first kiss in the basement of Wigg Hall—the two have kept in constant touch with each other and with their circle of Milton friends, many of whom celebrated with the couple this fall. ▶ The wedding was full of Milton

pride. Pictured from left to right: Emily Brooks Murphy ’97, Lisa Balzano Puglisi ’97, Lauren Wahtera Czapla ’97, John Banderob (former faculty), Erica

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

Ben Gannett ’61, Toby Gannett ’91,

attendance were Ben Forkner ’97,

John Avlon recently published

60

Moyer Martinez, Alex Muenze

◀ Diana Birkett Rakow had a

boa r d of trustee s Robert Azeke ’87

John B. Fitzgibbons ’87

William Knowlton P ’23

Dune Thorne ’94

New York, New York

Treasurer

Boston, Massachusetts

Lincoln, Massachusetts

Bronxville, New York Bradley M. Bloom P ’06 ’08 Emeritus Wellesley, Massachusetts Charles Cheever ’86

Stephen Lebovitz P ’10 ’12 ’14 ’17

Erick Tseng ’97

Weston, Massachusetts

San Francisco, California

Emerita

Yunli Lou ’87

Kimberly Steimle Vaughan ’92

Chevy Chase, Maryland

Shanghai, China

Boston, Massachusetts

Margaret Jewett Greer ’47 P ’77 ’84 G ’09 ’13 ’14

Concord, Massachusetts Eleanor Tabi Haller-Jorden ’75

Stuart Mathews P ’13 ’17 ’17

Luis Viceira P ’16 ’19

Douglas Crocker II ’58

P ’09

Vice President and Secretary

Belmont, Massachusetts

Delray Beach, Florida

Wädenswil, Switzerland

Waban, Massachusetts

Mark Denneen ’84

Franklin W. Hobbs IV ’65 P ’98

Chris McKown P ’13

Boston, Massachusetts

Emeritus

Milton, Massachusetts

Dorothy Altman Weber ’60 P ’04

Ted Wendell ’58 P ’94 ’98 ’01

New York, New York Elisabeth Donohue ’83

Boston, Massachusetts

Wendy Nicholson ’86

Milton, Massachusetts

President

Harold W. Janeway ’54

Vice President

New York, New York

P ’79 ’81 ’87 G ’12 ’14

New York, New York

Sylvia Westphal

Randall Dunn ’83

Webster, New Hampshire

Caterina Papoulias-Sakellaris

Boston, Massachusetts

Claire Hughes Johnson ’90

Milton, Massachusetts

P ’18 ’21 ’25 ’27 ’27

Emeritus P ’17 ’19

Chicago, Illinois James M. Fitzgibbons ’52

Menlo Park, California

P ’87 ’90 ’93

Ronnell Wilson ’93 West Orange, New Jersey

Liping Qiu P ’17

Emeritus

Peter Kagan ’86

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

New York, New York

Beijing, China

Kevin Yip ’83 P ’16 Hong Kong

H. Marshall Schwarz ’54 P ’84 Emeritus Lakeville, Connecticut

SPRING 2017

61

cl a s s no t e s, con t.

◀ Rachel Nance Wade’s new

▶ Sara Perkins Jones and her

daughter, Alexandra Ruby, joined

husband, Alex, welcomed Zoe

big brother James George (4) and

Alanna on April 20, 2016. Aunts

big sister Nicole Margaret (2.5) on

Molly Perkins ’00 and Emily Perkins ’10, uncles Ben Perkins

August 5, 2016. James and Nikki

’02 and Jeff Kirkman ’92 , and

can’t get enough of baby Alex.

grandparents Sam Perkins ’66 Dave Rand founded Rand Law

▲ Sarah Pease Murphy and her

and Nancy Reed are among

Group, LLC, in January. The firm

husband, Jerry, welcomed their

those who think she’s pretty great.

is located in downtown Boston

second daughter, Grace, on

and focuses on all aspects of real

August 4, 2016. Louisa (3), who

estate law. Dave and his wife,

enjoyed meeting many of Sarah’s

2003

Jessica, live in nearby Jamaica

classmates at the 15th Reunion

Henry Shepherd and Jess

Plain with their two daughters,

last spring, is doing great in her

Kaplan ’96 are volunteers

Layla (6) and Hazel (3).

new role as big sister. The family

at Camp Oasis, a weeklong camp

lives in Charlestown and often

in Elizaville, New York, that

bumps into Milton friends in the

serves children and adolescents

neighborhood!

with Crohn’s disease and

Last spring, Kate MacCluggage

ulcerative colitis. Jess, a pediatric

performed the one-woman show Grounded at Virginia Stage

2002

gastro­enterol­ogist at Mass

Company in Norfolk, Virginia.

Brittany Beale Hampton ’02 and

has been a camp doctor for seven

She spent the fall in L.A. with her

her husband, Alex, welcomed

years. Henry, who works at the

husband, and saw Sam Cohan ’01

their second child, Tucker, on

Aspen Institute in Washington,

2000

General Hospital for Children,

at the funky pancake social party

November 28, 2016. Jack (1.5)

D.C., has been a counselor for

he threw with his housemates

is settling in well to his new role

12 years. They strongly encourage

in Silver Lake. She’ll be back in

as big brother!

anyone with inflammatory bowel disease to attend camp as

NYC auditioning for pilot season this spring!

▼ Alison Quandt married Ronald

a camper or counselor.

C. Westgate III on September 10,

2001

2016, in Marion, Massachusetts.

They live in Boston.

2007

▼ Audrey Tse reunited with

After delving into sustainable

Milton grads Jacqueline Tse

development work in Guatemala

Steinert ’02 , Victoria Tse ’99,

and starting a Mexican health

Borna Safabakhsh ’99 ,

company (SAHNA) focused on

Mona Safabakhsh ’02 , and

improving health services

Nima Safabakhsh ’97.

inside Mexican manufacturing plants, Alex Place finds himself back in Boston, where he runs a nonprofit (H2knO) that champions healthy and safe water in Boston schools. Along with continuing his businesses, Alex is involved in local activism and politics.

Tim Corkum ’07 is happy to

have Dr. Sarah Ebert ’07 close by in Boston.

62

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

In Memoriam 2011

Class of 1933

Class of 1957

Isabelle Lelogeais was awarded the

Amelia Forbes Thomas

Harlow Keith Hammond

Dillard Scholarship to attend the University of Virginia School of Law. She’ll be starting in the fall of 2017.

Class of 1934 John C. Harkness Class of 1935

2012 Jari L. Javier has been at the

Elizabeth Hitchcock Gaillard

Brodie, M.D. Class of 1960 Bancroft Littlefield Class of 1963 James D. Lannon

Class of 1939

Class of 1964

Shaw McCutcheon

Donald G. Paige

Fellow. In the spring she will start

Class of 1942

Class of 1972

her new position at Coastal Studies

John F. Bassett

Richard Douglas Wales

Class of 1945

Former Faculty

Joel P. Davis

Richard Thomas Marr

American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece, as the STEM

for Girls in Freeport, Maine, as a resident assistant/teaching assistant for marine biology.

Class of 1951 Max Bennett took a monthlong

road trip across the country before ▲ Alex Bean ’07, Jacquie

he made the move to San Francisco

Macdonald ’07 and Molly

to work for an AI robotics company.

McDermott (former ’07) reunited

On the weekends, he’s usually

to watch Annie LaVigne ’07

exploring the Bay Area, taking

run the 2016 Boston Marathon.

photos, or playing music.

2008

2013

Tonantzin Carmona began

▶ Olivia Atwood (right) spent last

her tenure as deputy press

summer touring with her original

secretary for U.S. Senator

two-woman show, 15 Villainous

Elizabeth Warren. Previously,

Fools, a clowning adaptation of

Tonantzin served as deputy

Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.

policy director in the office of

The show stopped in five cities,

the mayor of Chicago.

ending in New York City with a

Nathan Putnam Doty Class of 1952 Elisha Flagg Lee

Mark Schorr

To notify us of the death of an alum, please contact the Development and Alumni Relations Office at alumni@ milton.edu or 617-898-2375.

sold-out run. Olivia plans to

2009

head to NYC to keep performing,

▶ Will Hunnewell celebrated

move because she still cannot find

his eighth annual reunion

her way around the town of Milton.

though she’s nervous about the

weekend with classmates last July. Pictured from left to right: David Bruce, Tom Tysowsky, Wilson Collins, Will Hunnewell, Will Trepagnier, and Mike Saltzman in North Haven,

Long Island (Saltzman family residence). Missing were usual attendees Brady Caspar and Samir Ghosh.

SPRING 2017

63

post script

B Y A N D R É H E A R D ’ 9 3 , A S S O C I AT E D E A N O F S T U D E N T S

The New Version of Old

If you are looking for answers from me, stop reading. Perhaps in an earlier age, 15 years of immersion in this field of work would have given anyone enough experience to define causes and not just effects of what’s happening to young people; to apply tested and tweaked strategies that would result in success, for most kids, most of the time. However, as I complete the 16th year in my role, I have realized that being an adult, knowing the likely right answers for students, and understanding how to help young people find those answers, is a thing of the past. Now, being an adult—at least one with more than 700 pairs of high school eyes on him most days of the week—means being comfortable with not having the answers all the time. On a daily basis, being an adult means acknowledging what I don’t know, and I am striving to become a new version of adult. As I’ve

willingly exploring that unknown. The definition of “adult”

witnessed four cycles of students arrive in Class IV

has changed to include actually being afraid, but acting in

and depart after Class I, I’ve learned that being young has

the face of real fears. Being an adult today, maybe more

changed, and so has being old. I watch in awe as the

than ever, means being transparent, vulnerable, open, ready

relationships between Class I and IV students evolve. Class

to engage, willing to change.

IV students look up to their Class I counterparts, who seem to have found balance in their Milton lives. By senior

64

Some things are the same. Adults are still old, at least in the eyes of the young. Kids still need role models. They

year, they have figured out what is important to them

need to see old(er) people dealing with life’s challenges,

(at least during this period of their lives) and started to focus

demonstrating the skills that young(er) people will need to

their efforts. They make time to mentor and advise younger

navigate adulthood. As the world changes around (and

kids. And though Class IV students don’t know the

sometimes right underneath) our young people, we are

full reality of seniors’ lives, what the freshmen choose to

challenged to model how to manage what we have never had

respect is, for the most part, accurate. Class I, after all,

to confront before, something with wholly unpredictable

is replete with house monitors, captains, leads on the stage,

dimensions. The old version of old might have relied on

elected representatives, writers and editors. They are the

expertise, might have marshaled the known resources in the

leaders we all need. They have skills and lived experience,

environment (work, home, etc.) and put things straight. The

combined with the will to share and a commitment to

new version of old must rely on the confidence and resilience

the greater success of this School. They effectively bridge

rooted in having had to figure things out once, making

the gap between the young and the old. Scientists,

plenty of mistakes on the way, starting over, going back to

psychologists, economists and sociologists have written

the beginning. My challenge as a role model is putting the

plenty about how being young today requires navigating

content side of my personal experience aside, and focusing

with a different set of skills. But there is still room for

instead on the process side: learning how to figure it all out,

us laypeople to consider what the significant social changes

all over again, under the closely watching eyes of those who

in children’s lives mean for those of us in adulthood.

are still on their first journey.

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

“In the Milton classroom, hierarchy doesn’t matter much. When you introduce yourself as the authority, you stifle individual initiative, whether you intend to or not. Students change their perspective, from thinking aloud and freely, to doing what they think you want them to do. The relationships we cultivate at Milton allow for rich intellectual growth, because we teachers don’t position ourselves as the experts. I tell my students, ‘My job is to help guide you in certain ways, because I’ve been around a little bit longer, but we’re going to learn together.’ When you put it that way, students feel empowered, and transformative learning can begin.”

Michael Lou History faculty member since 1995

Dare is a campaign about people: our faculty, our students, and the power of their experiences together. Learn more about how you can support Milton today, and for decades to come. milton.edu/campaign • 617-898-2447 katie_connolly@milton.edu SPRING 2017

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