Fall 2012

outreach N E WA R K A C A D E M Y

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Breaking Ground & Groundbreaking!

Newark Academy, Then & Now Passion & Profession ‌ & much more!

CONTENTS FALL 2012 1

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29 FEATURES

4 Remembering the Past, Anchoring the Future

29 Newark Academy on the Move in 1929

by Garrett Caldwell, Humanities Faculty

$1 Million Gift From Philip Kaltenbacher ’55 Creates a Centerpiece for the Upper School Academic Center

6 From Breaking Ground

37 Passion & Profession Having Fun at Work

by Elizabeth Barbato LaPadula, D.Litt.

to Groundbreaking Opening of the New Upper School Academic Center

16 Goooaaaaaal!

Joe McGrath ’81 Leads the Way in Creation of Kacur Field

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DEPARTMENTS

3 NA News Perspectives

44 From the Archives 46 Alumni News

Faculty Focus Sports Report

52 Class Notes

Campus Initiatives Advancement

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Join the conversation: “Like” NA on Facebook; Follow NA on Twitter @newarkacademy; Visit us on the web at www.newarka.edu

outreach FALL 2012 Donald M. Austin Head of School Lisa E. Grider Director of Institutional Advancement EDITORS Debra W. Marr Director of Communications Marci Kahwaty Communications Associate CONTRIBUTORS John Bess ’69 Sam Huber Garrett Caldwell Elizabeth Barbato LaPadula Matthew Gertler ’90 Blackie Parlin Ted Gilbreath Kristin Walpole Jacob Wieseneck ’14 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Jonathan D. Olesky ’74, Chairman Executive Board Patricia Budziak Wayne D. Kent ’85 Nancy Baird Harwood ’75 Joseph P. McGrath, Jr. ’81 Kim Hirsh ’80 David D. McGraw ’77 Bobby Jett Jane Wilf Trustees Donald M. Austin Kristen Kolek John Bess ’69 Philip McNeal Betsy Dollinger Bernstein ’86 Sandra Peinado William Bloom Richard Redmond ’77 Lawrence G. Cetrulo ’67 Mark Rosenbaum Jeffrey Cohen ’81 Ajay Sawhney Samuel W. Croll, III ’68 Evangeline Tross Laura White Dillon Joshua Weinreich Lauren Hedvat ’01 Larry S. Wieseneck Jeffrey Kaplan Suzanne Willian Emeriti Louis V. Aronson II ’41 K. Kelly Marx ’51 Paul Busse ’38 John L. McGraw ’49 Robert Del Tufo ’51 Robert S. Puder ’38 William D. Hardin ’44 Gary Rose William T. Wachenfeld ’44 A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N B O A R D O F G O V E R N O R S John Bess ’69 President Van Stevens ’65 Vice President Benjamin Purkert ’03 Sean Allen ’03 David Rattner ’03 Neal Buchalter ’84 Jed Rosenthal ’93 Patrick Ciccone ’62 Jacqueline Lipsius Fleysher ’93 Lara Samet ’01 Glenn Waldorf ’90 Noah Franzblau ’86 Arthur Williams IV ’81 Lauren Jacobs-Lazer ’98 Arthur Wynne ’79 Kathy Loesberg ’95 Brian Zucker ’84

Emeriti Lance Aronson ’74 William C. H. Stroh III ’48 J. Richard Beltram ’41 Richard M. Watson ’50 Newark Academy Office of Institutional Advancement 91 South Orange Avenue • Livingston, New Jersey 07039 Telephone: 973.992.7000, Fax: 973.992.8962 E-mail: dmarr@newarka.edu • Website: www.newarka.edu

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Engaged individuals with a passion for

learning, an internalized standard of excellence, and a generosity of spirit –

these are the kinds of students

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we hope to send out into the world.

NA NEWS PERSPECTIVES

by Donald M. Austin, Head of School

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Our Mission “Newark Academy will contribute to the world engaged individuals instilled with a passion for learning, a standard of excellence, and a generosity of spirit.”

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his mission statement, approved last year by our Board of Trustees, sets our institutional course and reminds us of our long-term goals at Newark Academy. Such school mission statements are not easy to compose; they must be crafted broadly enough to be meaningful and aspirational, while remaining true to the distinctive identity of the school. We believe that this one-sentence statement successfully distills the singular identity and values of Newark Academy.

First and foremost, we intend our graduates to be “engaged individuals.” Newark Academy must serve every student by providing each of them with opportunities to participate in and contribute to our school community, both as a rewarding end in itself and as an apprenticeship to becoming productive, engaged members of society. We intend also that our students emerge from our halls more confident in their individuality. I often tell prospective families that while we are academically rigorous, we are not a cookie-cutter school. Instead, we have long celebrated the personalities and idiosyncrasies of our teachers and students. We are all the richer for them.

In our admissions process at Newark Academy, we look for academic achievement and potential in our applicants, but we are also searching for signs that they are curious about their world and enjoy learning. Once accepted, those students find themselves with teachers who strive to awaken in them a genuine “passion for learning” that transcends skill acquisition, success on standardized tests, and college admission. This phrase in our mission statement reflects the values of the Enlightenment – knowledge and the pursuit of it provide incalculable benefits to both society and the individual.

The “standard of excellence” cited in the mission statement is one that each Newark Academy student

internalizes and makes his or her own, thanks to their range of experiences here. Those experiences comprise challenging courses under the guidance of superb teachers, as well as participation in teams, bands and theater troupes, immersion experiences, and leadership roles. The bar is held high in every endeavor, and ultimately, the students hold it high for themselves.

This standard of excellence also carries over into the development of qualities of character, such as honesty, integrity, fairness, and resilience, which are of chief importance in our school community and beyond.

Surely the most ambitious element of what we aspire to instill in students is a “generosity of spirit.” To set that goal for self-absorbed adolescents, in a society where Me is king, may seem naïvely idealistic, but the truth is that our students do absorb this aspect of our school culture and are more generous of spirit than most. Our programs teach them that service to others is a vital aspect of community life; student-run clubs help disadvantaged and suffering people all over the world, students perform required community service outside of school, and faculty witness innumerable acts of kindness within the building. True generosity of spirit must be practiced over many years to take hold, but there is ample evidence that the practice of service inculcates values of compassion and generosity that can endure over a lifetime.

...students find themselves with teachers who strive to awaken in them a genuine “passion for learning” that transcends skill acquisition, success on standardized tests, and college admission.

Engaged individuals with a passion for learning, an internalized standard of excellence, and a generosity of spirit – these are the kinds of students we hope to send out into the world. The academic content of an education here is assumed; the mission statement expresses our most essential goals, those that lie at the heart of an education at Newark Academy. Because the best kind of education does more than fill a mind with facts; it forms the character as well.

OUTREACH fall 2012

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Grace Thompson ’13, Philip Kaltenbacher ’55, Nate Feinberg ’13 and Christian Pinto ’13

Remembering the Past,

ANCHORING THE FUTURE $1 MILLION GIFT FROM PHILIP KALTENBACHER ’55 CREATES A CENTERPIECE FOR THE UPPER SCHOOL ACADEMIC CENTER Philip Kaltenbacher knows that it takes more than fond memories to maintain and nurture a world-class school. A graduate of the Class of 1955, Kaltenbacher has always known of Newark Academy’s excellence, academic rigor and values, having heard his father, Joseph ’24, share stories of student days from the early 1920s. To help ensure NA’s continued strength, Kaltenbacher has supported the school for nearly 30 years.

His gifts have helped build the McGraw Arts Center, establish an Endowed Chair in memory of beloved faculty member Catherine D. Lynham and supported annual operating costs. In 2010, Kaltenbacher made a substantial gift of closely held securities, giving NA stock in a nascent pharmaceutical company.

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hanks to his nephew and NA parent Alex Friend, Kaltenbacher was kept up to date on plans being formulated for the Upper School Academic Center.

Praising NA leadership for its planning, Kaltenbacher noted that the octagonal shaped lecture hall in the facility’s floor plans caught his eye.

“I wanted to do two things – give back to Newark Academy and join with my wonderful sister, Jo Ann Carr – whose granddaughter Nicole Friend graduated from NA in 2012 – to honor our late father Joseph who was NA Class of 1924 (Cornell ’28).”

In June 2011, Kaltenbacher told Head of School Don Austin that the Kaltenbacher Family Foundation intended to

make a gift of $1 million in support of the Upper School Academic Center’s construction. “Given Phil’s long-time loyalty and tremendous generosity to Newark Academy, we were delighted to offer him and his family the opportunity to name the largest room in the new wing after his father,” said Austin. “We’re hoping the name Kaltenbacher Hall soon becomes a regular part of the NA vernacular.”

Having attended the Construction Kick-Off event just over a year ago, Kaltenbacher recently visited the school again with his daughter Gail Kurz, to take a look at his namesake room in its completed form. “I think the room is exquisite and outstanding – in design and functionality,” he said. “I especially like the windows that show off the natural setting.”

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While on campus, Kaltenbacher spent time with seniors Grace Thompson ’13, Nate Feinberg ’13 and Christian Pinto ’13. Christian explained how one of the first gatherings in Kaltenbacher Hall was the IB Extended Essay evenings when more than 120 students, parents and faculty came together to hear students present and defend research on a chosen topic. “He seemed to be genuinely excited about how the room was being used,” Grace said. “We laughed with him about how hard it is to pronounce the name right, but it was fun to show off the room and to say ‘thanks’ to the person who helped make it happen.”

retired after selling the company, Kaltenbacher remains active as a developer and investor in a range of real estate ventures including shopping malls, senior housing, hotel-condominium projects and land development. From 1985 to 1993, he was Commissioner of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and served as that organization’s Chairman from 1985 to 1990. Previously, Kaltenbacher served in the New Jersey General Assembly and as Chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee.

Honored by numerous organizations including the Boy Scouts of America, Catholic Charities and the March of Dimes, Kaltenbacher received the Newark Academy Alumni Achievement Award in 1987. He and his wife, Unni, now reside in Sarasota, Florida and Martha’s Vineyard. His “WE’RE HOPING THE NAME KALTENBACHER HALL SOON BECOMES A REGULAR PART OF THE NA VERNACULAR” daughters, Dr. Laura Ross and Gail Kurz, live in New York and New Vernon, New Jersey respectively, and he has five grandchildren, ranging in age from 10 to 16.

Kaltenbacher enjoyed the visit which included joking, as he said hello to Head of School Don Austin, that “I’m finally not shaking when I meet with the Headmaster.” As a Newark Academy student, Kaltenbacher’s early years at NA were notable for him earning both high honor roll and disciplinary probation. He recalled that Headmaster Donald Miller sent his beleaguered parents a letter saying that “Phil has to decide whether to be a leader or a ringleader.” Choosing the former option, he went on to be elected Class President and was tabbed by his class as Most Well-Rounded – recognizing him for his scholarship, athletic accomplishments and role in student leadership.

Kaltenbacher went on to attend Yale College and Yale Law School before launching a successful career in business and public service. He served as Chairman and CEO of Seton Company, a major supplier to the auto industry. Recently

“Newark Academy’s principles – excellence, hard work, honor, decency, fair play, love of country, duty to serve and to give back – have been shared with students through the years and continue to be at the core of the Newark Academy experience,” Kaltenbacher said. “We were taught to ‘get in the thick of it’ – and to help make things happen.”

In the coming days, a plaque will be placed near the entrance to the state-of-the-art multi-purpose room which will read:

Kaltenbacher Hall in memory of Joseph C. Kaltenbacher ’24 a gift from his son Philip ’55 and the Kaltenbacher Family

NA NEWS 6

From Breaking Ground to Groundbreaking Newark Academy recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Upper School Academic Center, marking a milestone for the school. It’s Newark Academy’s first new academic building since moving to the Livingston campus in 1964.

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he facility feels bright and airy with large classrooms and lots of light. The wood-paneled walls in the hallways feel warm and inviting and there are comfortable nooks and other areas for collaboration among students between classes.

FIRST CUT

The Upper School Academic Center opened on the first day of school. The ribbon-cutting ceremony included an address by Blackie Parlin, a faculty member since 1959.

Parlin, present for the 1964 opening of the new campus, set the scene of the Livingston campus opening. “We were in the middle of a presidential campaign that year, too – between Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater.” In a nod to the amazing technology capabilities that the new academic center offers, Parlin described the equipment that students

arrived with in 1964, “… #2 Ticonderoga pencils and purple erasers.”

The similarities between the 1964 and 2012 openings were more enduring than the differences. “As always, students return to school to meet old friends and make new ones,” Parlin remarked. “And as always, our purpose here is to increase the sphere of our knowledge and wisdom, and to continue bringing graduates of worth to the community.”

TAKING THE LEED ON SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS

The sustainable elements of the building’s construction include recycled fiber rugs, furniture with recycled materials and environmentally-friendly heating and cooling systems.

These elements are also designed to enhance each experience in the building.

Take a walk in the hallways. The low-maintenance rubber cork floors absorb shock and noise as you walk. You

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ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE NEW UPPER SCHOOL ACADEMIC CENTER

won’t find that “new paint smell” in the Upper School Academic Center either. The low VOC paints don’t emit the chemicals that cause that familiar and unpleasant odor. If the lights shut off in an un-occupied room as you pass by, don’t worry. The building isn’t haunted.

The classrooms are equipped with occupancy sensors to save energy.

The building is on track for certification by the US Green Building Council as LEED-compliant (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED is an internationally recognized building certification system which focuses on a structure’s energy savings; water efficiency; CO2 emissions reduction; improved indoor environmental quality; and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. The design of the Upper School Academic Center already met the required standards and the final certification level of the completed building will be announced in early 2013. NA

Remember the overhead projector, with its proprietary plastic sheets? Or even projectors that were tied to a specific computer? Enter BrightLink, the latest in wireless classroom projection systems. Faculty can bring their own devices to the classroom and set up interactive presentations quickly and easily.

Newark Academy’s technology team has implemented BrightLink throughout the new Upper School Academic Center.

The projector effectively turns most surfaces into interactive whiteboards. The projector is wireless and teachers can use it with their own devices — computers, iPads, etc., and write over the image as if it were on a blackboard.

One of the biggest advantages to using this platform is that it adapts to the technology that faculty and students are already using. They don’t have to implement specific software or use designated computers. Teachers can change lesson plans on the go and transfer them easily if they have to teach in multiple classrooms.

Marquis Scott, director of information technology, attributed the success of the BrightLink solution to the partnership between the technology department and NA faculty. It’s up to the technology team to monitor, assess, and evaluate trends in evolving 21st-century classroom technologies. By gathering input from NA faculty the team can choose and implement solutions that complement teaching and maximize learning.

Teachers want to focus on their students — not spend precious time setting up technology. Now they can take advantage of the latest in interactive classroom technology in every classroom of the Upper School Academic Center. And the feedback? “It just works.”

That is, teachers can count on BrightLink to promote interactivity and flexibility so that they can focus on their curriculum.

OUTREACH fall 2012

NA NEWS

Jake Wieseneck ’14

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Collaboration by Design A REFLECTION BY JAKE WIESENECK ’14 My role in the Upper School Academic Center process began in 2010, at the end of 8th grade, with an application to the Upper School Design Committee. The exciting journey then evolved into an 18,000-square-foot, LEED-certified, state-of-the-art, academic center that forever transformed Newark Academy and changed me as well. I was an intimidated 8th grade student, with a ton of ideas swirling in the back of my head, when I walked into my first meeting. At that time, I did not know what to expect, what role I really had on the committee and if my voice could truly make a difference to the future of our Academy.

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s. Morin, a humanities teacher and head of the Upper School Design Committee, led a board room full of administrators, a handful of faculty members and six student representatives, of which I was the youngest. We entered the meeting as different individuals with varying identities and levels of power in the Newark Academy community. However, what struck me after the first few meetings was that despite each of the members’ obviously different roles in the school, all of our ideas were seen, taken and valued as equivalent.

Teachers and students worked hand in hand, day by day, to develop a finished product that would be optimal for our school community.

Our goal of creating the “Newark Academy of the future” was a yearlong process. Our work consisted of many meetings that started before, or lasted long after, the school day. We took several field trips to modern, innovative schools throughout the area. These trips were our hands-on “research” to design a “21st century classroom” that would fit the needs of our diverse and evolving educational institution. The balance of our work focused on a variety of topics, from the shape of classrooms that produce the most comfortable learning space to the effects of carpet or tile on the atmosphere of a room.

The experience of serving on the Upper School Design Committee was eye-opening for a Middle School student.

I was transformed from simply the youngest person on

NEWARK ACADEMY

the committee to a working member of the group, with important responsibilities unimaginable for students in any other school. My experience with the Design Committee highlighted several unique aspects of the Newark Academy community that we may take for granted each day. My

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involvement demonstrated the importance of the student’s education and its goal to be a leader in the field. The voice throughout the school and in turn, how the student school’s Board of Trustees, faculty, administrators and body’s opinions shape many decisions throughout the students all strive to set an example to be followed, not institution. It showcased the strong bonds between students, just in terms of the school’s edifice, but in all aspects of faculty and administrators and how all three groups see life at the Academy. NA eye to eye and can come together to leave our mark on the Academy for future generations.

Lastly, it highlighted Newark Academy’s My involvement demonstrated the importance commitment to the modern world of

of the student’s voice throughout the school and in turn, how the student body’s opinions shape many decisions throughout the institution.

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OUTREACH fall 2012

NA NEWS 10

COMMENCEMENT Just the Beginning for the Class of 2012

COLLEGE DESTINATIONS

Renowned editor, publisher and literary phenomenon Amy Einhorn ’85 gave an inspirational keynote address to the Class of 2012 during Newark Academy’s Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, June 10. Following the keynote address, the 93 members of the Class of 2012 received their diplomas to thunderous applause and support from family members, faculty, staff and friends.

Jacqueline Acierno Wake Forest University

Michael Celente Lehigh University

Nikita Agrawal Case Western University

Christine Chao Northeastern University

John Ahluwalia McGill University

Alexandra Cohen Middlebury College

Carly Gruenberg Hamilton College

Benjamin Aiken Washington University in St. Louis

Elizabeth Coscia Georgetown University

Lila Gyory University of California at Davis

Molly Alter Harvard University

Justin Crell Cornell University

Marc Goldberg Washington University in St. Louis Jacqueline Goldman University of Tampa

Matthew Lara Colby College

Jake Okinow Lehigh University

Alexander Serratelli University of Chicago

Charlotte Lill George Washington University

Shelby Ozer Washington University in St. Louis

Priya Shah Boston University

Yasmin DeOliveiraLoPrete Franklin and Marshall College

Shama Pandiri University of Chicago

Heather Luing James Madison University

Priyam Parikh University of Southern California

Thomas John Lutz Lafayette College

Michael Pellicane Hamilton College

Sharika Tharani University of Miami

Navya Maddali Northeastern University

Jeffrey Peng Boston College

Anne Tvetenstrand Swarthmore College

William Pheloung Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Steven Uberoi Cornell University

Christopher Davis Middlebury College

Leila Hariri University of Pennsylvania

Paul Dillon University of Chicago

Loryn Helfmann Yale University

Rachel Drobner University of Michigan

Mia Hutchinson Stanford University

Zachary Drobner Dartmouth College

Robert Iverson IV Brown University

Joshua Faber Yale University

Erica Jacobs Union College

Kendall Fawcett Bentley University

Pranav Katti Lehigh University

Phoebe Feinberg University of Southern California

Nitika Kaul George Washington University

Andrew Brummer Colgate University

Jessica Gibilisco George Washington University

Rahul Kaul Georgetown University

Joseph McGrath St. Lawrence University

John Dane Burrough Rice University

Robin Giles Georgetown University

Randall Keur Clemson University

Elizabeth McNeely Carleton College

Trishna Kumar Rutgers University

Sean Mulligan University of Miami

Matthew Kundla University of Michigan

Alistair Murray Northwestern University

Sydney Altschuler Cornell University Jessie Arnell Carleton College Benjamin Austin Beloit College Emma Beecher Bowdoin College Christopher Benoit Cornell University Veronica Bernardo New Jersey Institute of Technology Jordan Braunstein Cornell University

Steven Catena Bucknell University

Griffin Glatt Macalester College

Carly Manger University of Wisconsin, Madison Benjamin Martin-Katz Dartmouth College Christopher Matturri Lafayette College

Monica Murthy American University Shane Neibart Duke University

Nikita Parekh Georgetown University

Theodore Rapanu Tufts University

Carissa Szlosek University of Wisconsin, Madison Zachary Taffet University of Richmond Melanie Taub Carleton College

Sanjana Umarale New York University

Ian Ravin Dickinson College

Sravya Vallapureddy Emory University – Oxford College

Elizabeth Reisen Skidmore College

Jacqueline Viola Cornell University

Nicholas Rinaldi St. Joseph’s University

Jessica Waggoner University of Colorado at Boulder

Andre Rivera Rutgers University Brianne Robertson Georgia Institute of Technology Brandon Rothman Bowdoin College Varagunan Satchithanandan Washington University in St. Louis

Conrad Wehner Yale University Chantelle Westlock University of Pennsylvania Isaac Widmann Gap Year Zaire Williams St. Michael’s College

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WELCOME NEW TRUSTEES The Newark Academy Board of Trustees recently welcomed five new trustees: LAWRENCE G. CETRULO, ESQ. ’67 is a founding partner of Boston-based law firm Cetrulo &

Capone LLP. He holds a BA from Harvard College; a master’s degree in education from Harvard University; and a JD from Northeastern University. Cetrulo is a member of the Board of Directors of the Harvard University Varsity Club. He was inducted into the Harvard University Athletic Hall of Fame and serves as Chairman of the Friends of Harvard Fencing.

He is married to Lynn Cetrulo, a psychoanalyst in private practice. The couple has four children: Lara, Lauren, Nicholas, and Kate Ellena. The Cetrulos are longstanding NA supporters. Many family members have attended NA and have served as coaches or faculty members.

SAMUEL W. CROLL III ’68 is the CEO of Croll Reynolds, an engineering firm that specializes in the design of Process Vacuum and Air Pollution Control equipment. Croll holds a BA from Skidmore College and an MA from Yale University. He is a John Jay Heritage Center trustee and trustee emeritus of the Skidmore College Board of Trustees.

His wife Ann is a former teacher and director of admission at the Stanwich School in Greenwich, Connecticut. Son Harrison is in his first year at Middlebury College.

LAUREN HEDVAT ’01 is an associate on the securitized products origination team at Barclays Capital. She earned a BS in engineering and a BA in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. She also holds an MSE in systems engineering from UPenn.

Hedvat is part of the Barclays’ Women’s Initiative Network steering committee. She helped start the New York chapter of 30 Years After, a nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading political awareness and philanthropic endeavors in the Persian Jewish American community. She also serves on the Young Patrons of Lincoln Center board.

PHILIP McNEAL is a banker in the JP Morgan Private Bank, managing a team focused on the

financial interests of ultra-high net worth clients. Philip has twice been named a Top AfricanAmerican on Wall Street by Black Enterprise magazine. He holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla.

McNeal has served on the boards of the University of Missouri-Rolla and The Montclair Kimberley Academy. He is president of the board of the Human Needs Food Pantry of Essex County, New Jersey.

McNeal’s wife Glenda is an executive with American Express. They have two children: Sydney, a sophomore at Boston College; and Carter, in seventh grade at Newark Academy.

MARK ROSENBAUM is president, chief investment officer, and portfolio manager for New York-based Privet Capital LLC, an asset management firm. He also served as chief financial officer for Goelet Investment Company, a privately held investment and management company.

Rosenbaum holds a BBA from Pace University.

welcome!

He and wife Karen have five children, two at Newark Academy. Samuel and Hannah are in seventh and ninth grades, respectively.

OUTREACH fall 2012

NA NEWS

FACULTY FOCUS

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ACCOLADES Each year at Convocation, outstanding members of the faculty are recognized for their most important contributions to the NA community. This year, honorees included: William Hobson for the Catherine Lynham Academic Chair; Julius Tolentino for the Ripps Faculty Award; Debra Tavares for the Ernest Allsopp Award; Robert Bitler for the Innovation in Teaching Award; and Dan Erlandson for the Ohaus Chair.

Amy Hone, Cathy Pursell and Bill Blaskopf were honored with Head of School Awards.

Congratulations to all for their innovative teaching!

Amy Hone, Cathy Pursell and Bill Blaskopf

William Hobson, Julius Tolentino, Debra Tavares, Robert Bitler and Dan Erlandson

MILESTONES

FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

Congratulations to Robert Mallalieu and Scott Jacoby for 30 years at Newark Academy; and to Stephanie Acquadro for 25 years at NA!

Tom Ashburn, Middle School Principal, earned an MA in educational leadership from the College of St. Elizabeth.

NEW FACULTY AND STAFF Twelve new educators joined the Newark Academy faculty this year: Rayna Lifson (Humanities); Elisa Bateman, Calina Lee, Sonia Martinez, Aaron Weiss and Erin Zabukovec (Language); Amanda Addison ’06 and Rebecca Gordon (Mathematics); Sarah Gordon and Paul Libassi (Arts); Kaley Rode and Diana Santos (Health).

Stacey Clark has joined Newark Academy as a learning specialist. Stephanie Rusen has joined the technology team as an educational technologist.

Karissa Feiton and Marci Kahwaty joined the institutional advancement team as assistant director of annual giving and communications associate, respectively.

welcome

NEWARK ACADEMY

Bill Blaskopf, Mathematics, received The Max Sobel Award from the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey. Given annually, the award recognizes an educator in New Jersey for his/her outstanding work in math education. Dr. Max Sobel is considered one of the foremost mathematics educators in New Jersey.

Viraj Lal, Choral Director, earned an MA in choral music education from Florida State University (FSU). Master’s degree candidates spend the final summer of the program at FSU’s campus in downtown London, taking advantage of the choral music history and resources in Britain.

Manny Morelli, Humanities, was accepted into the “9/11 and American Memory” seminar for teachers, a joint offering from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the 9/11 Memorial. The seminar, held in July at the offices of the 9/11 Memorial, examined the nature and meaning of historical memory, as well as the historical impact and legacies of the September 11 attacks.

Elana Snow, English, and co-researchers from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, published their research article “An Analysis of Instructional Discourse and an Argument for an Integrative Assessment Framework” in the “American Educational Research Journal.”

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CONVOCATION 2012 IT TAKES A VILLAGE The Newark Academy community enjoyed a time-honored academic tradition during the school’s Convocation Ceremony on Monday, September 10. Head of School Donald Austin formally welcomed students and faculty to a new academic year as he led the opening ceremony in the Rose Auditorium.

The morning’s speeches centered on a common theme: the enduring impact of students’ relationships with Newark Academy faculty.

School Council President Nicole Andrzejewski ’13 offered a current student’s perspective: “Psychiatrist Carl Jung once said ‘One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.’

We are really lucky that our teachers are both – brilliant educators and warm mentors. These people are exactly what make Newark Academy so special.”

John Bess ’69, president of the NA Alumni Board of Governors, presented the convocation address. Bess reflected on and recounted those aspects of his own life that were shaped by his years at NA. He fondly remembered the teachers, friends and coaches: “Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, ‘It takes a village.’ Well, a lot of my village was here. I recognize it may not always be easy for each of you to deal with the day-to-day pressures and realities of school and growing up in 2012. So embrace the village that is Newark Academy and take full advantage of everyone here who is investing so much time in your current and future success.

One day you will realize what NA has meant to you and that a part of who you are was shaped here at NA. It’s a wonderful moment of recognition, when the deep emotional connection you have to this place comes fully to the surface in a profound and enduring way.”

A YEAR IN BELLA ITALIA Neil Stourton, English faculty member and IB coordinator; and Kirsti Morin, Humanities faculty member and their two children spent the 2011-2012 academic year in Viterbo, Italy with School Year Abroad (SYA). The family enjoyed the opportunity to live in Italy while Stourton taught classical literature to juniors and seniors at SYA Italy.

Newark Academy is part of the School Year Abroad association, a consortium of 43 top U.S. independent high schools who have demonstrated a strong commitment to foreign language instruction and global education.

“At NA we challenge our students to immerse themselves in entirely new surroundings. It was wonderful to challenge ourselves as a family the same way,” said Stourton.

The city of Viterbo is 50 miles north of Rome but it felt like it was a million miles from home at first. “We went through some initial homesickness,” Stourton admitted. “But as we made friends, picked up the language, and found the best cappuccino, it soon became home for us; the real culture shock was coming back!”

Stourton and Morin describe the experience as professionally re-energizing and returned eager to share their experiences in the classroom. They took the long way home, traveling through India and China, so they have plenty of stories to share with NA/SYA alums.

Don Austin, John Bess ’69, Jon Olesky ’74 and Matt Gertler ’90

OUTREACH fall 2012

NA NEWS 14

Nine Days in June Newark Academy’s inaugural June Term was an unmitigated success. Approximately 270 students in grades 9-11 enrolled in one of 20 course offerings.

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ach course met all day for nine days, allowing students and their teachers to immerse themselves in an intensive learning experience of their choosing. The courses were marked by co-teaching, student collaboration, field trips, guest speakers, real-world problem-solving and the creation of a culminating product, such as a play, a sculpture, a website, a nature journal or a mock jury trial. More than 90 percent of students enjoyed their June Term experience and said they would recommend their course to others. There is great anticipation for June Term 2013 when several new courses will debut!

NEWARK ACADEMY

SPORTS REPORT 15

Soccer School

By Ted Gilbreath, Director of Athletics

While there was a tremendous amount of positive energy around all of the fall teams as play began last August, there seemed to be some extra buzz around Newark Academy’s soccer programs both on campus and as far away as Japan.

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oth the boys’ and girls’ teams put experienced groups determined to accomplish big things in the Super Essex Conference and the State Prep tournament – onto Newark Academy’s brand new turf field (named for recently retired faculty member and coach, Jeff Kacur). They did so with the shining example of United States forward Maya Hayes’ FIFA Under Twenty Women’s World Cup victory motivating them to pursue championships of their own.

Seniors Nick Williams and Charlie Bushnell highlighted a senior-laden cast that was identified by the Star Ledger as a contender for the Prep B State Championship. The boys finished 11-9-1 last season and fell in the state semifinals to Hawthorne Christian. This season, Coach James Morris’ squad hung their hopes on a prolific offense that included Williams, Bushnell and senior Greg Ruda. When that offense let down, the Minutemen relied on goalie Matt Cowen and defenders Matt Press and Josh and Seth Wilensky. As of press time, the boys were on the verge of both Prep and State championship glory, having knocked off Princeton Day School, and Hudson Catholic and avenged their 2011 loss to Hawthorne Christian to advance to the Prep Semifinals and the Non-Public North Sectional State Championship game.

Coach Jay Torson’s girls’ team returned all but one player from a team that captured the 2011 S.E.C. Liberty Division crown. After their annual pre-season trek to New Hampshire, “N.A.G.S.” (Newark Academy Girls’ Soccer – for the uninitiated) returned to campus, focused and ready to defend their crown.

The girls also had the good fortune of being senior heavy, and hoped that the talented foot of Ashlyn

Heller ’13 and the defense of Jordyn Kronick ’13 and Kendra Damodaran ’13 would allow them to repeat as division champs and add a prep crown to their trophy case. The girls advanced in both tournaments, falling in the semifinals of the state tournament to a talented Villa Walsh side, and to arch rival MKA in the Prep State Championship game.

Across the Pacific, a former Minuteman was adding to her already glittering collection of accolades as Maya Hayes, a junior at Penn State, helped the United States to its third Under-Twenty World Cup Title. The United States defeated Germany 1-0 on September 8 and Hayes was the team’s leading scorer. Hayes returns to a Penn State team that is ranked 8th in the nation and eyeing a Big Ten title. As a sophomore a year ago, Hayes, an All-American, led the nation in goals, set a PSU and Big Ten record for points and was a finalist for the Hermann Award, given annually to the nation’s top male and female soccer players.

Aside from Hayes, Newark Academy alums hit the field on numerous collegiate teams and several of the current seniors are poised to join them. With the 2012 teams thriving, a state-of-theart facility that is being described as one of the RED & BLACK ON THE ATTACK! finest soccer fields in the county, and alumni shining Newark Academy’s successful fall athletic in the collegiate ranks, season ended with some exciting victories! soccer is clearly one of the signature programs Winter team practices have now begun and at Newark Academy. NA players are working hard to reach their full potential during the upcoming season. Get the full rundown of current scores and news at www.newarka.edu/athletics.

NA NEWS 16

Joe McGrath ’81 Leads the Way in Creation of Kacur Field When Newark Academy alumni gather it only takes a few minutes for talk to turn to a favorite teacher or coach. Words like “beloved,” “amazing,” “influential,” and “inspiring” are tossed around. For Class of ’81 graduate Joe McGrath, words simply are not enough for his favorite. Instead, McGrath and his wife Christine (who are also NA parents) made a leadership gift of $620,000 toward the planned improvements to the Academy’s outdoor athletic facilities and used the naming opportunity that came with the gift to honor former teacher and soccer coach Jeff Kacur.

M

cGrath, a member of the Board of Trustees, has long advocated for improvements to the Minutemen’s outdoor facilities and he directed his gift to be used to provide artificial turf, lighting, spectator seating and a new scoreboard for the varsity soccer field at NA. Such a level of generosity is typically recognized by naming a facility in the donor’s honor but McGrath was not interested in seeing his family’s name in lights. Instead he asked that the newly refurbished field be named Kacur Field, in recognition of Jeff Kacur’s 32 years of service at Newark Academy.

encouraging them to add their gifts to his to complete the funding for the facility. This “Kacur Field Challenge” resulted in additional donations of nearly $400,000.

Bobby McTamaney ’86, varsity soccer co-captain in 1985, was the first one on board. Others soon followed including Jeff Heller ’81, Pete Gruenberg ’81, Jeff Jacobs ’83, Scott Bevans ’78 and Noah Franzblau ’86. Several current Newark Academy families also supported the effort including Dave and Mary Bushnell, Evan and Susan Ratner, Mitch and Holly Cox, Jordan and Susan Glatt, and Tim and Carolyn Simpson.

Taking his leadership role to yet another level, McGrath began reaching out in the summer of 2012 to his former teammates, former Kacur players and NA soccer lovers,

Kacur Field was officially dedicated and named at a half-time ceremony for the boys’ varsity soccer game on Homecoming Day in October. McGrath shared his

17

reasoning for the field’s name with the audience saying, “To make sure that our student-athletes never forget that character matters – that win or lose – Newark Academy teams are grounded in sportsmanship, respect and love for the game, we’re putting someone’s name on this facility who taught those values ... Jeff Kacur taught us that suiting up for your school was something to be proud of and that each time you take the field you have an opportunity to learn something. He taught us that playing as a team was more important and more valuable than anything we could do individually.

The final score certainly mattered to Jeff – but he taught us that equally important was how we reacted to those numbers. And when the final score didn’t go NA’s way, we could always count on Coach Kacur to respond in ways that still resonate with me and many of my teammates.

Resilience, optimism, confidence – these are the gifts that Coach Kacur shared with us.”

“Jeff Kacur taught us that suiting up for your school was something to be proud of and that each time you take the field you have an opportunity to learn something.”

}

NA student-athletes for years to come will be able to compete and excel thanks to the gifts provided by a group of alumni led by Joe McGrath and the man who inspired them. NA For information on how you can support the ongoing efforts to improve Newark Academy’s outdoor athletics facilities, contact Lisa Grider, Director of Institutional Advancement (lgrider@newarka.edu or (973) 992-7000, ext. 320).

OUTREACH fall 2012

NA NEWS 18

HOMECOMING HIGHLIGHTS! October 13, 2012 The bright sunny skies and crisp autumn weather was the perfect backdrop for a fun-filled day at NA. Alumni, students, parents and friends gathered to celebrate Homecoming with athletic events, a tailgate party, and the dedication of the new turf field named in honor of Coach Jeff Kacur. A good time was had by all!

19

NA NEWS

Meghan Tavormina

20

Team Spirit NA’S NON-FACULTY ATHLETICS COACHES While many of Newark Academy’s athletic teams are coached by full-time faculty members, a third of the varsity offerings are coached by outside, or non-faculty coaches. In the fall, Welshman James Morris helms the boys’ soccer program. When the winter sports start, James Wallace leads boys’ basketball, Ivanka Luchetti directs both boys’ and girls’ fencing and Jay Gerrish returns for his 17th year steering the wrestling program. Finally, when the snow melts and temperatures climb, Meghan Tavormina coaches girls’ lacrosse, and Robin Curtis mentors the golf team while Sergio Rodriguez and Frank Dasti direct softball and baseball, respectively. This diverse group of professionals is united by several common characteristics; a depth of experience in their chosen sport, and a desire to see Newark Academy athletics achieve new heights.

N

ewark Academy’s non-faculty coaches are all exceptionally well versed in their chosen games, having honed their craft as professionals or at the college level. Curtis is a P.G.A. professional, and Morris played professional soccer in England for the Bury Football Club. Dasti has made baseball his full time job as well, owning and operating the Strike Zone training facility. Coach Gerrish coached at Catawba College, while Wallace’s extensive college experience includes stops at St. Peter’s College, Pace University and Drew University. Minutemen athletes

reap the benefits of this experience on a daily basis when they take to the gyms and practice fields to prepare for competition.

Almost all of these exceptional coaches arrived at Newark Academy having already established themselves as high school coaches. Rodriguez arrived at NA having been a head basketball coach at Cliffside Park and an assistant softball coach at Essex County powerhouse Mount Saint Dominic. Dasti’s resume includes, among other honors, a Star-Ledger Coach of the Year Award as the head coach at nearby Millburn High School.

Tavormina guided lacrosse at the Academy of Saint Elizabeth for years, directing that team to its first state tournament wins. Gerrish previously coached at Bordentown and Wayne Hills; Luchetti at West Windsor and Plainsboro high schools; and Morris at prep rival Morristown-Beard. While turnover in high school coaching ranks high, it is a feather in Newark Academy’s cap that so many veteran coaches have chosen to set up shop on South Orange Avenue.

In the changing landscape of high school sports, club or travel programs have assumed a much more

Jay Gerrish

21

Sergio Rodriguez

Robin Curtis

prominent role. Many top athletes opt to play for club James Wallace programs in order to compete against better competition and to be seen by college coaches. Almost all of Newark Academy’s non-faculty ... it is a feather in Newark Academy’s cap that coaches have extensive experience with these club programs. Rodriguez founded so many veteran coaches have chosen to set up the New Jersey Heist softball team. Dasti shop on South Orange Avenue. coaches with the New Jersey Cardinals.

Luchetti runs her own fencing club. Morris coaches with the Jersey United Soccer club and Wallace directs the Raritan Roundballers. Tavormina formerly coached with T3 Lacrosse in Bernardsville.

}

Add the expertise of this group to a roster of veteran faculty coaches like Jay Torson, Carol Spooner and Arky Crook, and it becomes clear that Newark Academy’s athletes are in capable hands and can look forward to excellent opportunities. Whether they teach in the building, or arrive ready to go at 3:30 p.m., Newark Academy’s coaches are dedicated to making sure that our student athletes are having the best experience possible. NA

James Morris

Frank Dasti

Ivanka Luchetti OUTREACH fall 2012

NA NEWS 22

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SOCIAL GOOD Claire Diaz-Ortiz Opens Global Speaker Series Twitter’s Claire Diaz-Ortiz was the first in this year’s Global Speaker Series. Claire leads social innovation at Twitter, Inc. She manages Twitter’s philanthropic, social good, and cause-marketing initiatives.

Diaz-Ortiz urged students to use the power of social media wisely, giving poignant examples of just how far the reach of an online comment can be. She told the story of a young man from Kenya living in the U.S., who almost posted a status update on Facebook about how much he had eaten at a large meal – until he thought better of it when he considered how his friends and family still suffering in drought-stricken Kenya would feel if they read it.

Diaz-Ortiz also provided numerous cases of philanthropic initiatives that benefitted from thoughtful, sensitive use of social media platforms, like the filmmaker who posts films

of homeless people on YouTube to shed light on their situations and gather donations and support.

During breakout sessions, Diaz-Ortiz connected with students and got them thinking and talking about using social media responsibly, analyzing social media habits and using social platforms to participate in causes and fundraisers.

Named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business

by Fast Company, Claire Diaz-Ortiz is the author of Twitter for Good: Change the World, One Tweet at a Time, her second book.

For information about future Global Speaker Series events, visit www. newarka.edu

ON PARENTS, PALS AND POPULARITY Visit from Common Ground speaker Michael Thompson, Ph.D. Michael Thompson, Ph.D., has spent the past 35 years studying children’s behavior as a clinical psychologist, school consultant and international speaker on the subjects of children, schools and parenting. He has written nine books, including “Homesick and Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help A Child Grow;” and the “New York Times” bestseller “Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys.” He is a sought-after speaker, traveling the world to talk to students, school leaders and families.

During his visit to Newark Academy in October, Thompson discussed the issues facing bright, motivated, driven students who are trying to balance their academic and social lives. He spoke with students, faculty and parents about the elements shaping and impacting students’ social lives and academic careers.

Thompson’s visit was part of Common Ground II, a collaborative effort of the parents’ associations of nine area independent schools. Each school year, Common Ground sponsors a free lecture series featuring distinguished speakers who address topics related to child development, parenting and education.

NEWARK ACADEMY

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Upper School Fall Drama “FORTINBRAS“ Based on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” playwright Lee Blessing picks up where “Hamlet” ends. The play is written from the point of view of Fortinbras, a very minor character. Quickly paced, this production directed by arts faculty member Scott M. Jacoby, was enjoyed not only by those familiar with Shakespeare’s tragedy, but by all of the audience members who appreciated the verbal wordplay, ghosts, quick repartee, and Hamlet — who was trapped in a television set.

THREE IN ONE Acclaimed Photojournalist and Filmmaker Sara Terry Visits NA For the first time, one artist served as NA Artist-in-Residence, Global Speaker and exhibiting artist, when acclaimed photojournalist and activist Sara Terry visited Newark Academy.

In addition to creating her own photo work, Terry is the founder of The Aftermath Project, a non-profit organization that helps photographers tell the stories of what happens to people living with the aftermath of the violence and destruction of war.

She also directed the groundbreaking film Fambul Tok, a documentary focused on the work of John Caulker, a Sierra Leonean with a vision of peace for his country. He is the Photograph by Sara Terry: Welcome Ceremony, Sierra Leone creator and director of a reconciliation program that brings perpetrators and victims face-to-face in truth-telling and forgiveness ceremonies. The film premiered at the 2011 South

by Southwest Film Festival and has gone on to screen in more than forty festivals around the world.

As artist-in-residence, Terry spent several days at NA, conducting workshops with students in arts, English and humanities classes. She donned her global speaker hat for a screening and discussion of her film. And examples of her photo work were displayed in the McGraw Art Gallery throughout the month of November.

OUTREACH fall 2012

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... we strive above all to make sure that students know how to learn in any circumstances...

}

MIDDLE SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY

The Learning Tree THE QUESTION

“What skills do we teach in Middle School?” Newark Academy’s Middle School faculty has long believed that NA’s style of middlelevel education is distinctive and unique.

So they set out to define the differences and illustrate the special experience of the early years of a Newark Academy career – to provide a structure that would inform the Middle School curriculum going forward.

THE ANSWER: THE TREE

The visual representation of a tree to describe the essential qualities and goals that contribute to the success of the Middle School program.

The tree represents the interrelatedness of the many parts of a students’ experience: a healthy tree depends upon the strength and vitality of all its parts. Similarly, a valuable middle school education depends on attention to the

many facets of the development of young adolescents.

Rooted in the academic disciplines that provide intellectual material to work with, Newark Academy’s Middle School program develops a substantial trunk of community values and attitudes supporting the branching analytic and communications skills necessary to a healthy canopy of topical studies and investigations.

NOURISHMENT FOR LIFELONG SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

It is important for students moving from the Middle School to the Upper School to know how to apply a broad range of skills to situations they will encounter both in and out of the classroom. While our Middle School graduates need to be familiar with essential touchstones of cultural literacy, we strive above all to make sure that students know how to learn in any circumstances, and that they come away from these early years with the confidence, the personal resources, and the motivation to make the most of learning in high school and beyond.

We believe the tree captures the essential qualities that guide us in what we do, and highlights both the beauty and complexity of our purpose. NA

OUTREACH fall 2012

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NA NEWS

ADVANCEMENT

26

From the City Where It All Began NA WELCOMES NEWARK SCHOLARS A participant in a NASA-organized science competition who calls his father his greatest role model; an A+ student who was president of her school’s student government, editor of its online magazine and is an elite athlete; a voracious reader who spent two summers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth where her ethics presentation on “designer babies” was a standout; a soccer-playing scholar who “does it all,” including serving as a peer tutor, editor of her school paper, soprano in the chorus, and a member of the student council; a bi-lingual, straight-A student passionate about soccer, robotics and engineering, and writing.

This is the talented group of young students who comprise the first class of Newark Scholars.

They are the beneficiaries of a new financial aid program, launched this fall, that offers comprehensive scholarships to top students from the City of Newark.

O

f course, offering financial assistance to help make NA more accessible for bright and accomplished students is not a new occurrence at the Academy. Currently, Newark Academy commits approximately $2 million of its annual budget to providing 16 percent of the student body with some level of financial aid. Funds for financial aid come from three sources – the NA general endowment fund, individual and foundation donors, and a percentage of tuition revenues.

Despite these resources, NA finds itself with a financial aid waiting list each year. Approximately one-third of the students placed on the waiting list hail from the City of Newark. According to Director of Admission Willard Taylor, “These are students who are, by all measures, fully admissible to NA with a high likelihood of success. But when we put them on the financial aid waiting list, they often leave Newark – and New Jersey – for boarding schools which are able to cover not only tuition costs, but all ancillary expenses.

It’s tough to compete with that.”

NEWARK ACADEMY

In response to this need and opportunity, Head of School Don Austin appointed an ad-hoc committee of faculty and staff to create the parameters of the Newark Scholars Program in 2010. Perhaps most significant among the committee’s recommendations was that each scholar be given a “full-ride plus” scholarship. “This means that for the first time, the Academy will be able to provide aid packages that include the cost of tuition, books, transportation, equipment, field trips, summer enrichment programs, pre-season trips – anything associated with their experience at NA,” explained Austin. “This recommendation seemed a fitting manner in which to honor and extend an ongoing commitment to our founding city, and a perfect way to keep Newark’s best and brightest right here in Essex County.”

Of course, such an undertaking would not come without a cost. Director of Institutional Advancement Lisa Grider explained: “As the parameters of the program took shape, we did the math and determined that fully endowing the Newark

THE PERFECT MATCH A Grant from the E.E. Ford Foundation Newark Academy is honored to be the recipient of a $50,000 grant from the prestigious E.E. Ford Foundation. The funds, which must be matched by Academy supporters at a 2:1 ratio, will be used to underwrite support services for students admitted to Newark Academy through the competitive Newark Scholars program.

NA’s Newark Scholars program provides full scholarships, covering all costs and expenses associated with an independent school education, to top students residing or attending school in the City of Newark. As scholarship recipients make the transition to a suburban independent school environment the new Newark Scholars Support Services program, made possible by the generosity of the E.E. Ford Foundation, will provide these exceptional students and their families with resources that promote academic excellence and social success.

Scholars Program – something we knew we wanted to do – would cost $5 million. We projected that it would take about five years to raise the funds.”

As it turned out, NA did not have to wait that long.

Newark Academy alumnus Brian Maher ’65 and his wife Sandra have long supported the educational goals of ambitious but underserved students in the City of Newark and its surrounding neighborhoods. During a visit to his alma mater, Maher learned of the plans for the Newark Scholars program and he and his wife wanted to be a part of it.

“ ” NA was able to move forward with its vision for the program resulting in an exciting opportunity for both the Academy and the first class of Newark Scholars.

The grant, for which $100,000 in matching funds is currently being sought, will enable NA to provide Newark Scholars with:

NEWARK SCHOLARS SUMMER INSTITUTE Before their first semester at NA, Newark Scholars will participate in a four-week program that provides access to Newark Academy’s summer academic courses and support workshops and will help familiarize them with the campus community, academic cycle and calendar, and extra-curricular opportunities. Scholars will also receive laptops for use throughout their academic careers.

ONGOING ACADEMIC YEAR SUPPORT Newark Scholars Support Services will host meetings with NA’s diversity coordinator to address any issues that arise during the year. Members of the Parents of Color Committee will be paired with parents of Newark Scholars to act as family mentors and the Parents of Color Committee will coordinate an annual panel discussion about relevant educational and socio-economic issues each year. Tutoring assistance through NA faculty members will also be made available when needed.

“But they didn’t want this program to launch four or five years down the road,” said Grider. “They saw an immediate need for this kind of financial aid assistance and wanted to make a gift that would provide us with operating funds to launch the program in fall of 2012 and sustain it for five years as we work to secure the gifts that will fully endow the program.”

IN-COLLEGE MENTORING AND RESOURCES Newark Scholars Support Services will continue to offer programs for Newark Scholars throughout their undergraduate studies.

Bi-annual lunch gatherings and other events will be hosted for scholars and their families while they are enrolled in college.

Thanks to Brian and Sandra Maher’s generosity and their deep commitment to the students of the City of Newark – not to mention the work of the Newark Scholars Program committee – NA was able to move forward with its vision for the program, resulting in an exciting opportunity for both the Academy and the first class of Newark Scholars.

The E.E. Ford Foundation is a long-time supporter of Newark Academy, providing periodic endowment and capital grants since 1971. The Foundation’s mission is to strengthen and support independent secondary schools and to challenge and inspire them to leverage their unique talents, expertise and resources to advance teaching and learning throughout the country. Most awards made by the Foundation require matching contributions to demonstrate that the receiving institution has a “personal investment” in the program or project being funded.

As it currently stands, the Newark Scholars program can provide “full-ride plus” packages for up to six students in a given year. Scholars are selected from qualified admissions (continued on page 28)

The current grant for Newark Scholars Support Services must be matched at a 2-to-1 ratio by July 2013. To contribute to the matching challenge, please contact Kristin Walpole at (973) 992-7000, ext. 321 or kwalpole@newarka.edu

NA NEWS

ADVANCEMENT

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(continued from page 27)

applicants in grades 6-9 who reside in, or attend school in, the City of Newark. Once named a Newark Scholar, the student will retain that support throughout his/her academic career at NA, assuming the student remains in good academic standing. Through a grant from the E.E. Ford Foundation, Newark Scholars will have the benefit of a wide range of academic and social resources through the newly established Newark Scholars Support Services.

“As our 240th anniversary approaches, Newark Academy is pleased and proud to have the opportunity to offer these phenomenal aid packages to the best and brightest students in Newark,” said Austin. “We know that our curriculum and programs have a lot to offer these students, but we are even more excited by the contributions that students of this caliber will contribute to the community.” NA

A Father & Grandfather’s Legacy John R. Redmond, Sr. led by example. As the father of six, he instilled in his children a love of learning and the importance of a high-quality education.

He also taught his children how to give back.

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our of John Redmond’s sons – Jack ’73, Rob ’74, Rick ’77 and Paul ’79 – and one daughter, Ruth Redmond Bloom ’80 followed in one another’s footsteps to Newark Academy. Redmond set the example for involvement by serving on the Newark Academy Board of Trustees through most of the years that his children were in school and by giving to NA generously for more than 35 consecutive years. He also could be found on the sidelines at untold numbers of soccer, football, hockey, fencing, cross country and lacrosse events. He continued as a presence in and around Newark Academy while the next generation of Redmonds enrolled, ultimately seeing eight of his

“

”

Redmond’s life insurance gift ensures that his legacy of commitment to Newark Academy will always be remembered.

grandchildren wear the red and black of NA. Two sons, Rob and Rick, and one son-in-law, Billy Bloom, have served or currently serve on the Board of Trustees, son Jack served on the Alumni Board of Governors, son Paul served for many years as the 1979 Class Representative and daughter, Ruth, has served as a volunteer for the NAPA Red and Black fundraising event.

NEWARK ACADEMY

Jack’s son Rick ’77, currently a trustee, recalled that his father was adamant that the NA graduates in the family support the school.

“Dad always monitored the giving stats,” Rick said, “and, back in the day, if one of us missed a gift – the phone would ring and we’d hear about it. He didn’t care about the amount we gave, but he wanted us to participate every year.”

A model of generosity to Newark Academy through much of his life, Redmond gave a final demonstration of his commitment by making NA the beneficiary of a long-held life insurance policy. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2011, Mr. Redmond passed away – surrounded by his family – on March 28, 2012.

The proceeds for his life insurance policy have been directed to Newark Academy’s general endowment fund.

Redmond’s life insurance gift ensures that his legacy of commitment to Newark Academy will always be remembered.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can make a gift intention to Newark Academy through a life insurance policy or your will, please contact Director of Institutional Advancement Lisa Grider (lgrider@newarka.edu or (973) 992-7000, ext. 320). NA

by Garrett Caldwell, Humanities Faculty

on the move

1929 in

L

ast summer, I spent a wonderful

I know quite well. “Baby Emma was

afternoon with my family at the

so good in the museum, surely she’d

Newark Museum. As we were leaving the

enjoy the ride,” I said optimistically.

museum, I suggested to my wife that we

Liz didn’t buy that but she did agree

drive by the old First Street site of Newark

to go. She knows all too well that I

Academy, where the school was located

had spent the last semester digging

from 1929-1964. Liz looked at me, then

through the Newark Academy archives,

at our three kids in tow, one an infant, and then back at me

conducting research for my graduate thesis on Newark

with eyebrows raised and

Academy and the postwar

chin lowered, an expression

crisis of private schools.

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trustees referred to the proposed construction of Route 280 as one of three compelling reasons to relocate to Livingston. The trustees were concerned, unnecessarily as it turned out, that Route 280 would lop a substantial corner piece off the four-acre school property. Pushing my luck a bit, I asked Liz if she could pull over so I could get out and take a few pictures. “Good one,” she said mockingly as she sped off. On this occasion I’d have to settle for a glimpse.

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There are two large high-rise apartments where the First Street school building used to be. Newark, like other urban areas in the north and west, built many structures like this in the 1960s and 1970s as a political response to decline and lack of affordable,

The intersection of First and Orange Streets – the former site of Newark Academy in Newark

Finding the intersection of First and Orange Streets was easy enough. The man I asked for directions suggested we simply follow the signs for Route 280.

We did just that and arrived a few minutes later.

While briefly surveying the old site from underneath the massive shadow cast by the highway and its web of on- and off-ramps, I thought of the numerous Newark Academy trustee meeting minutes from the 1950s that I had been reading lately. In addition to

clean and safe housing. The two buildings seemed in decent condition. Families enjoyed themselves in the adjacent playground. Shops nearby were open for business. However, an expansive low-rise apartment complex lay abandoned and in ruins a few blocks away. Roads and many homes and buildings in the area were in obvious disrepair. This clearly was not one of the more attractive parts of Newark. It was by no means the worst either.

the movement of NA families and prospects to the suburbs and concerns about neighborhood decline,

na IN 1929, AT THE TIME OF NEWARK ACADEMY’S MOVE FROM HIGH STREET IN CENTRAL NEWARK TO FIRST STREET ON THE NORTHERN SIDE, THE CITY’S INHABITANTS WERE VERY DIFFERENT THAN THOSE OF TODAY.

T

hey were mostly “old” Protestant families from northern and western Europe and “new” Jewish and Catholic families from western, eastern and southern Europe. There was a growing black community but at the time it was small. The Hispanic presence would become more significant after the 1960s. Newark, before the Great Depression was an industrial powerhouse. Manufacturing jobs abounded.

Leather, brewing and shipping industries did particularly well. Newark’s central business district included many high-powered law and accounting firms. Skyscrapers were beginning to mark the skyline.

Newark, like most other American cities, was at the tail end of a decades-long boom. The transformative events of the Great Depression, World War II, and “white flight” had not yet occurred.

. . . THE YOUNGER FARRAND MADE IT HIS MISSION TO MOVE NEWARK ACADEMY TO A MORE MODERN BUILDING.

Newark Academy’s move to First Street had much to do with the half-century of economic expansion that followed the Civil War. Because of the rise in the number of wealthy Newark businessmen who could afford private school education for their children, there was a much larger pool of prospective students.

Public high schools in Newark were generally good, but the city’s elite wanted a more secure path to the best colleges for their children. Newark Academy’s historic connections with Princeton meant that, for the school’s graduates, the door to the Ivy League was wide open. (Indeed, up until the 1930s, most graduates did go to Princeton.) So, the school had outgrown its charming but cramped High Street home. With enrollment way up and many qualified prospects being turned away, the school clearly needed more space.

Headmaster Wilson Farrand: Rugged Individual There was more to the story, though, than Industrial Revolution residue. The role of Headmaster Wilson

31

City of Newark in the 1920s

Farrand was key. Important also was the social milieu of the time, a period popularly known as the Progressive Era. Upon becoming co-Headmaster with his father, Samuel Farrand, in 1901, the younger Farrand made it his mission to move Newark Academy to a more modern building. Though not very spacious, the High Street building was generally considered to be a fine one. But for Farrand, fine wouldn’t cut it. Newark Academy had for decades been considered one of the best schools in the nation.

Farrand wanted the school to be number one, or at the very least, to maintain indefinitely its reputation

Newark Academy on High Street: the 50-year-old building was too small and pedagogically outmoded

for excellence. For Farrand and other progressives, to stay still, to be content with the status quo, was to slowly die. One thing

32

FARRAND DEMANDED THE MODERN SPACE AND STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPMENT CONDUCIVE TO SOPHISTICATED LABORATORY WORK.

in particular Farrand

The importance of science education at the high

New Jersey and then led America into the Great War. Or of Teddy Roosevelt, who overcame debilitating childhood illnesses to lead New York City’s police department, fight in the Spanish-American War, hunt big game out west, and as president enact reforms at least as influential as Wilson’s. Both believed that social evils could be wiped out through an activist

school level grew at the expense of other subjects like Greek and Latin. Farrand demanded the modern

government committed to clear thinking, rational planning, and scientifically precise execution. Wilson

space and state-of-the-art equipment conducive to sophisticated laboratory work. In addition to the 50-year-old High Street building being too small, it was also pedagogically outmoded. The teaching of science required specially designed science classrooms.

The popularity of science education, it should be noted, did not simply result from industry’s demand for more

Farrand, on a lesser scale, seems a mix of the two: Farrand, the Woodrow Wilson-like scholar, is obvious to anyone who has read the various histories written about Newark Academy, dipped into the school

wanted from the move, Headmaster Wilson Farrand

other than accessibility by train, was better space

to accommodate the school’s investment in athletics and science and physical education.

students of science. Progressives like Farrand believed in the application of rational, scientific principles in solving social problems caused by poverty, alcoholism, mass immigration and the like. Moral, mental and physical degeneracy were perceived by progressives to be widespread problems, ones that could only be alleviated by rational, scientific planning. It wasn’t just non-white and non-Christian peoples at the time who were thought to be of lesser stock; many of those hardworking and successful 19th century Protestant industrialists firmly believed that their sons were soft and effeminate. Private schools like Newark Academy, which enrolled only boys at the time, would make them men.

Progressive Christianity called for rugged, vigorous, and righteous individuals. The term “rugged individual,” still popular today, came out of this era. Think of Woodrow Wilson, the political scientist and stern Presbyterian who presided at Princeton, governed The importance of science education was escalating

33

Space for physical education and intramural sports were critical components of Farrand’s vision for the new campus

archives, or perused his numerous published works in the leading education and scholarly periodicals of the time. Farrand, the Teddy Roosevelt-like man of action, is less obvious. We see this characteristic of him in his commitment to Newark Academy athletics and physical education.

any school in New Jersey.” Farrand would make sure that Newark Academy boys would indeed become men – strong, fit, science-minded and virtuous.

Funding the Epoch Initiative By the early 1900s, enrollment was at an all time high with more than 300 students. With the elder

The High Street location had no gymnasium or outdoor athletic field. The school’s athletic teams, formed in

Farrand in California in 1902 tending to his ill

the 1880s under Samuel Farrand, played in various venues around Newark. The football team played on the First Street property after NA trustees purchased it in 1906. There was no space for physical education classes or for intramural sports, two programs that Wilson Farrand desired. Pingry, then located in

the idea of relocating. All were aware of the lack of

Elizabeth, had the facilities for athletics and physical education. For a competitor like Pingry to be a step ahead was unacceptable to Farrand. The High Street

related the details of the 1903 annual meeting in A Widening Sphere of

location simply would not do. Farrand expected that Newark Academy boys would engage in competitive sports and rigorous fitness programs after their day of working through hard academic subjects. It is not insignificant that, during the 1930 celebratory reception of the new school on First Street, Farrand praised it for “completeness of its [classroom] arrangements and equipment” and for its having the

Usefulness: Newark Academy 1774-1993.

“The present,” stated the trustees at the meeting, “is really a

“largest and most completely equipped gymnasium in

[a move] could be

health, the younger Farrand proposed to the trustees space at the current High Street location. It wasn’t a hard sell. The issue was, of course, money. There was still a substantial mortgage on the High Street property. The trustees backed Farrand and went to the stockholders for a vote. Historian Suzanne Geissler

crisis. Shall we go forward or shall we drop behind? If

34

BY 1906, ENOUGH MONEY… HAD BEEN PLEDGED FROM NA FRIENDS AND FAMILIES TO COVER MOST OF THE COST OF THE LAND.

Others lived in towns like Essex Fells, Montclair, Belleville and Nutley. But the First Street location in Newark seemed to Farrand to be the best option.

Besides the fact that the school already owned the land, the site had one thing that Farrand thought absolutely

accomplished it would be an epoch in the history of

necessary: a train stop. He considered automobile

the Academy establishing it for all time in its usefulness

accessibility to be important but secondary.

and in its prominence before the country as at the Farrand. Both father and son lived to be useful to

New Decade, New Campus The last five years of the 1920s was a particularly

society and to strive for excellence, encouraging others

active time for Farrand and the trustees. The

to do the same.

architectural firm, Guilbert and Betell of Newark,

head of Secondary Schools.” The phrasing was pure

was hired to design the new school building. The From Geissler’s work, we are familiar with the lengthy and frustrating process involved with the 1929 move.

The trustees’ proposal was well received at the meeting by the stockholders but was not acted upon in its entirety. (One of the main fundraising initiatives for NA at the time was to sell stock to the public. A stockholder had no financial stake in the school, though, only voting rights.) The trustees began the amendment process, via the state legislature, in order to legalize the relocation. They chose the First Street site over other potential sites. By 1906, enough money ($30,000) had been pledged from NA friends and families to cover most of the cost of the land. The trustees made a down payment of $20,000 on the land and delayed further action until more pledge money came in. They were still far away from hitting the $200,000 needed for construction of the new building.

The economy tanked in 1908, though. Pledges stopped coming in. Enrollment declined steadily to just over 200 by 1918. With America joining the war in 1917, the plan to relocate was temporarily shelved yet again.

But Farrand would not be deterred. Once the economy recovered in the early 1920s, Farrand rounded up the trustees and pushed again for the move. The suburbs were considered briefly and rejected. Farrand had done his own study of the school’s demographics in 1924 and found that a majority of students lived outside of Newark. Most resided in the Oranges.

style would be colonial, much like Nassau Hall at Princeton, not surprising since Farrand and his father were Princeton alums. Trustee president Frederick W. Ball oversaw the purchase from the Lackawanna Railroad of additional land that was

adjacent to the original property purchased 20 years earlier. Nearly five acres large, the property was big enough to accommodate athletics. Trustee Robert H. McCarter led the fundraising committee and made what was then an innovative move (for private

in January 1930. It took Farrand 30 years, but he finally got his modern school.

schools, at least). He hired a professional fundraiser,

enthusiasm for the new location and building during

Maud L. Johnstone. Johnstone helped raise over

the next two decades. The retirement of Wilson

$200,000 for construction of the building. Fred

Farrand in 1935 and his passing in 1942 were blows

Kilgus, Inc., a local construction company, was hired.

to the school community. Successive headmasters

It would cost nearly $500,000 to build the school,

gave it their all but struggled mightily with various

twice as much as the school’s cash on hand. But

internal and external crises. As a result, the

times were good, and Farrand and the trustees were

administrative structure of Newark Academy changed

optimistic that enrollment would increase and

significantly. Trustees were called upon to take a

donations would continue coming in. Under the guidance of new trustee president, Charles W. Holton,

more active role in the school’s affairs. Professional public relations experts gradually assumed

construction proceeded quickly in 1929 and was

responsibility for marketing the school to the public.

The role of the headmaster narrowed to one more focused on academic policy.

completed by December of that year. The new 400student capacity Newark Academy opened its doors

The Great Depression, another world war, and dramatic demographic changes dampened the

Newark Academy’s new building and athletics field, on nearly five acres

35

36

NA’s multi-sport turf fields

na 2012: FARRAND WOULD BE PROUD WITH THE CURRENT EXPANSION OF NEWARK ACADEMY, HEAD OF SCHOOL DON AUSTIN PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE – A ROLE THAT FARRAND, IF HE WERE AROUND TODAY, WOULD APPROVE OF.

F

arrand would also be impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of the Newark Academy team, made

up of alumni, trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, families and friends of the school, that have made this expansion a reality. Much about Newark Academy has changed since the 1929 move. But perhaps Farrand would be more taken aback by the continuity

is any kind of forecast, we can be fairly certain that in the year 2030 the school will exist, it will be modern and competitive, it will hold itself to a Farrand-like standard of excellence, and it will turn out hardworking, well-adjusted and happy students.

amenities then, and now, state-of-the-art electronic projection equipment and bigger and brighter classroom, conference and hallway spaces; a grass

In June of that year, as I watch “baby” Emma don cap and robe and graduate from Newark Academy, images of her childhood will surely permeate my thoughts.

I will have experienced this momentous parental event before with my other two children, but I’ll marvel all over again, I’m sure, at how time flies and how things change. Liz will be a wreck, no doubt. But

athletic field and modern gymnasium then, and now, a multi-sport turf field complete with lights and a new scoreboard. What will Newark Academy be like, say,

in that emotionally charged moment, there will be at least one comforting thought for me: Emma will always be my little girl. Some things never change, and thank

17 years from now? Hard to say exactly, but if history

God for that.

rather than change of history: a convenient train stop then, and now, a well-designed parking lot; laboratory equipment and better designed classroom space and

NA

passion

&

profession Having fun at Work

By Elizabeth Barbato LaPadula, D. Litt.

Early in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I, the adolescent Prince Hal defends his hard-partying ways by declaring, “if all the year were playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work.”

He goes on to say that “when [holidays] seldom come, they wished-for come, And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents.” It’s change, Hal believes, that makes for fun – after all, even his life in the pub with the irrepressible Falstaff seems to have become nothing more to him than an uninteresting job. Perhaps the prince’s equation of tedium and work may be true for the vast majority of people, but some seem to have found a way to turn work into play by engaging with those things that make each day feel truly different than the one before.

In order to turn work into play, therefore, it must consist of “rare accidents” – it must feel different, challenging, and unfamiliar in a very real sense. I set out to find graduates of Newark Academy whose careers make it seem as if they are having fun at work, to test this theory born from Shakespeare. What I found were people whose working lives consist of the sorts of challenges that allow them to say work is not a grind, but a delight, something that allows them to discover new things about themselves every day.

37

Life is Sweet 38

for Archana Rao ’98 “Those of us in the food industry are people-pleasers – we want to spread happiness, and we’re junkies for that feeling,” says Archana Rao. But when she first met the man who would become her mentor, restaurateur Floyd Cardoz, she wasn’t sure he would be happy with her at all. This was heady stuff for a young woman who had just graduated with a literature degree from NYU in the spring of 2002 and was searching for direction and self-hood. Cardoz put her in the lowest level of the kitchen at his restaurant Tabla – after all, she hadn’t even been to culinary school. After about a month, however, she was moved to the pastry department, and that’s when she knew she was home. She blossomed, and he offered her a full-time position. She went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America, where she met her future husband on the first day of classes, and then apprenticed at two of Manhattan’s most successful cake boutiques before opening her own business, Love Street Cakes, in 2009. She does not yet have a storefront, since her business isn’t dependent on walk-in customers. From designs inspired by traditional intricate Indian textiles, to lifelike magnolias crafted from fondant, to cleanly modern graphics, Rao’s cakes are works of art. What is just as important to Rao, however, is how they taste – something that can get left behind in the contemporary world of pastry decorating. “Cake decorators aren’t necessarily bakers – I understand the science and principles of how to make something taste good – if you spend the time and buy the best ingredients, it shows. And if you give your work

passion

&

profession

everything you have, then good things will come.”

Archana Rao creates confections for Love Street Cakes

...if you give your work everything you have, then good things will come.

Ben Bressler considers crawling into a polar bear den outside Churchill, Manitoba

On Tour with Ben Bressler ’80

Ben Bressler counts Amy Hagen Hone’s science class at Newark Academy as inspirational to him as a student and a person, because “she saw beyond worksheets and grades.”

39

Bressler comments that he was uniquely unqualified to do any career he could think of, so he invented his own. “Twenty-five years ago, the company was created out of the fact that nobody would hire me to do anything else,” Bressler laughs. And he’s created something special … Natural Habitat Tours is one of Travel and Leisure’s Top Ten Tour Operators Worldwide, one of National Geographic Traveler’s Top Ten Travel Companies, and Outside magazine’s #1 place to work from 2008-2011. How does he do it? “I keep employees feeling like they are part of a family … they are happy and motivated because of the product we sell.” But of course Bressler isn’t selling a product, per se, but an experience. He quips, “After all, someone could buy a Lexus, or go on an African safari.” Those who choose to go on the safari will ultimately possess something ineffable and very personal, a connection to nature we all glimpse on occasion, but which is intensified on the trips he organizes to places like Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, Papua New Guinea, or Borneo. He believes that engagement – the sort of interest Amy Hone sparked in him all those years ago – allows him to deepen and share his connection to our planet and all of its inhabitants.

Ben Bressler and son Cole hike through a Ugandan village tracking mountain gorillas

Asha Talwar ’99:

Sensory Experience When an executive at Ralph Lauren asked Asha Talwar what she thought of their fragrance, Ralph, she was just a student at Newark Academy doing her senior project, but she has never forgotten the wonderful feeling of being asked her opinion at such a young age – nor did she lose her interest in the beauty industry.

Having specialized in global brand management for Clarins, Estée Lauder, and Coty Prestige, she now works for Symrise, where she organizes hunts for trends in fragrances and flavors. Because a typical fragrance can have 30 to 40 ingredients, perfumers go on treks throughout the world – especially, these days, to places like China, where they bring back ingredients wholly new to western consumers. Talwar’s job is to tell the story of the ingredient, and take her clients on the journey by creating multi-sensory product installations, which she says sometimes make her office feel very similar to NA’s Black Box Theatre! Her strategy centers on immersion; she loves to take her team to museums and ask them to consider how to make olfactory

representations of visual images. The flip side of all this creative and philosophical thought is a lighthearted attitude – for instance, she is delighted that she is required to go to fashion shows and read magazines like Vogue for work. Talwar’s “Call Me Maybe” parody video, featuring everyone in her fragrance team (including the Global President of the company), went viral and had the industry buzzing. They now use it to introduce themselves to new clients. Talwar is the first to admit that there are jobs that might hold more societal heft, but to her, the beauty industry is ultimately about raising the self-esteem of the consumer: “I make people feel better about themselves.”

Up next for Talwar is a greater focus on eco-conscious, natural ingredients, understanding consumers in other cultures from the inside out, and creating ways “to show that initiative and innovation are fun.”

Asha Talwar on the hunt for new fragrance ingredients

Heidi Arnold ’87:

A “Spirited” Adventure

40

Heidi Arnold has always known there was a path for her in life, one that her love of “working behind the scenes to make things happen” would determine.

Even at Newark Academy, she was a “sit-in-the-back-and-watch kind of kid.” All that observation paid off in her career, which began with public policy, and which now centers on philanthropy. Arnold is the creator, founder, and director of Heart’s Delight Wine Tasting and Auction, an annual event that takes place over four days in Washington, DC, and which has raised over $11 million for The American Heart Association over the past 13 years. She’s humbled by the amount of time and money given to the cause, and loves working with volunteers. “Everything is about relationships, about keeping people happy and engaged – knowing peoples’ expectations, and then exceeding them.” That engagement includes attracting some of the world’s top chefs and the best chateaux in Bordeaux for the event.

Although she knows that many people like boundaries in their lives, including knowing what work will look like every day, Arnold thrives on the new – the sort of “rare accidents” Prince Hal longed for so intensely. “The little emergencies are what I like,” she laughs, remembering a time when a former employer “threw me into a position I was not qualified for and just let me go for it!” Her success under fire propelled her to the position she enjoys today, with all of its challenges and excitement. “I can’t operate on people and save lives, but I can do this,” she says.

Wine tasting and philanthropy are a perfect pairing for Heidi Arnold.

Reena Shah ’95

Rocks On Reena Shah’s motto, “rock on with peace, love, and respect always,” typifies the two aspects of her career as a multidisciplinary performing artist.

Shah’s current focus is the “rock on” side – she sings and plays keyboards in her husband’s band, My Pet Dragon, which she also manages. The other side – peace, love, and respect – shows in her choices of theatrical parts to play. She was the voice of Sita in the award-winning animated feature, Sita Sings the Blues, an animated musical interpretation of the Indian epic The Ramayana, and she danced for rotoscope sections of the film. She was able to travel to Peru to discuss the film as part of the American Film Institute’s Project 20/20. “I always knew I would get to Macchu Picchu someday,” Shah reflects. “Whenever I really envision something, it actually happens. If you are open to whatever the universe puts your way, it comes.” That’s part of why she doesn’t remain in one artistic medium – she has a holistic outlook. During her

band’s most recent tour, she managed to teach Indian dance classes at Caramoor in between performance dates. Being a south Asian woman holds a lot of weight in her life, though she’s quick to point out, “It’s not my responsibility to represent all of that area of the world – but for the times when I do represent my heritage, it makes me proud.” Shah’s enthusiasm comes through in everything she does – and her positive attitude toward life shows why she’s so happily engaged in so many pursuits: “It’s okay to feel uncomfortable, nervous, or scared … just give yourself a chance to breathe; take a step back.

There’s no one right way to do anything … create your own path in life.”

Reena Shah leads an Interactive Indian Dance workshop in Peru while traveling with the American Film Institute’s Project 20/20.

Mark Belnick ’64:

41

His Second Act Attorney, university lecturer, and actor Mark Belnick calls his years of working in the legal field “paying his dues.” He also believes that “a litigator is an actor who earns a steady living.”

Though he was Deputy Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate IranContra Investigation, general counsel at Tyco, Inc., and a senior litigation partner for 20 years at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, one of his most challenging moments came when he enrolled in the William Esper Acting School six years ago: “I was the oldest person in my classes, and soon found out that it would not be a breeze. Courtrooms had not prepared me for the heavy water with which I was doused.” He has always known how to navigate heavy water, though – after all, it was the 12-year-old Belnick who convinced his parents he needed to go to private school, just as he convinced them to let him go into New York City by himself and talk his way into theatres by handing out programs. On the day he interviewed with Newark Academy Headmaster Robert Butler, he told him he wanted to be an actor, much to his father’s chagrin. As soon as he came to Newark Academy, though, he says, “The liberty that I sought was not just the ability to act. I found other stages … I saw other scenery that I had been looking for but couldn’t see. I saw what history meant, what philosophy was ... teachers like T.C. Abbey and Blackie Parlin opened up worlds for me I never knew existed.” So he acted at NA, loved going to Cornell, and then chose law school in New York to be near the theatre. But over the years, the desperation to become a real actor stuck with him, and while he still lectures at Princeton and, this year, was invited by Pepperdine Law School to serve as a visiting professor and help create a Ninth Circuit Clinic, he is most enthusiastic about his work as an actor. Though his first real adult role was a whopping six lines, and he and his fellow actors played “to packed houses of one, three, or five people,” in a sweltering outdoor theatre, he has since

...teachers like T.C. Abbey and Blackie Parlin opened up worlds for me I never knew existed.

played the leads in the Los Angeles revivals of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and Neil

the West Coast premiere of Teresa Rebeck’s Our House, and now looks forward to directing the Wendy Kesselman revision of The Diary of Anne Frank in collaboration with the Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance.

profession

&

Mark Belnick as Mel Edison in Neil Simon’s “The Prisoner of Second Avenue.”

passion

Simon’s Prisoner of Second Avenue. He most recently produced and acted in

Peter Solomon ’00:

Young Man With a Horn Even though the challenges of being a professional musician are many – working odd hours, including holidays, spending many solitary hours practicing, and being under pressure to perform well – Peter Solomon wouldn’t be anything else: “The most fun thing about my job is the ability to work and travel at the same time.” He credits NA faculty member Amy Emelianoff with his career direction: “Not only did she convince me to start playing the horn but her dedication, passion, and love for music was a constant inspiration. She worked tirelessly to develop the music program at NA, and I was a direct beneficiary of it.”

After graduating from NA, he studied at the New England Conservatory/Tufts Dual Degree program, majoring in English and French Horn Performance, but took a year off in the middle to study music in Hamburg, Germany, where he met his wife, and had his first professional gig.

“I became a regular sub for Disney’s musical, Der Koenig der Loewen (The Lion King). If listening to Elton John in German isn’t fun, I don’t know what is,” Solomon laughs. He finished his degrees and graduated from both schools in 2006, and worked professionally as a full-time freelancer. Solomon remembers his freelance days fondly: “I was fortunate enough to play a few times with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which had been my dream since I first decided I wanted to become a professional musician. The quality of musicianship and ability to play in such a rewarding environment has to be my all-time career highlight – something I will never forget.” Eventually Solomon landed a job with an orchestra in South Korea, and is now

passion

&

profession

about to begin work for the Shanghai Symphony

The most fun thing about my job is the ability to work and travel at the same time.

Orchestra. As much as he loves music, however, the most fulfilling aspect of Solomon’s life now is as a new father. “Watching my son grow has been an absolute joy, and far surpasses the joy I get from playing music – as difficult as that might seem.

Thankfully, though, I can do both, which makes life even better.”

Peter Solomon accepts his appointment to the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Bobby Oboodi ’05

Plays the Hand He’s Dealt

43

Being a professional poker player requires a level of emotional coolness most of us will never experience, but which Bobby Oboodi possesses (wait for it!) in spades.

He talks about his 2011 World Poker Tour win at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City with the same level-headed attitude with which he talks about the first online transfer of money he ever made playing the game (all of six dollars). Of course, the 2011 win was for $922,441. So what did the young poker champ do with all that money?

He held on to it. “To me, poker is a lucrative form of chess … but it can always go either way. You can lose a hand to a bad player.” He’s ultimately interested in the long haul, and reflects that his way of earning a living “keeps you mentally on your feet. You have to keep evolving – there are a lot of smart kids coming up – 21-year-olds who have been playing

online for years and who have seen just as many hands as I have.” The summer before his senior year at Newark Academy, Oboodi was one of those smart kids, who saw poker being played on television and became interested in the game. “I’m naturally a competitive person and the math and logic of the game were appealing to me,” he remembers. “I eventually started becoming better at the game than my friends, but the amount of money I won was not important. The game was so fascinating, and I was just trying to learn the intricacies of it.” At his Newark Academy senior dinner, Oboodi listened carefully to English department member Kent Motland’s speech, in which he advised students to “find something you’re good at and stick to it.” So what happened to Oboodi at the Borgata this year? He came in 112th – one or two spots from the big money payoffs – but is, as always, unfazed. “I could have folded my way into the big money, but I thought I could make a run for the whole thing, so I went all in. I wouldn’t be a competitor if I became complacent about losing. I’m thinking about the bigger picture, always.”

If Bobby Oboodi is smiling he must be winning!

&

Though the bigger picture of the Shakespeare quotation with which I began this article is about a certain deception Prince Hal perpetuates – the role he’s playing of a bored and idle fool – the ultimate point of the speech is about redeeming time and keeping promises. The Prince knows he must eventually reveal his true nature and become a responsible leader, much like these alumni

have done in their various fields. As Mark Belnick reflects, “I felt I had permission to reveal myself, even though revealing myself made me vulnerable.” Perhaps the best way to redeem time, or to make the most of life, is to find one’s place in something larger than oneself – a trait the people in this article share. Whether through philanthropy, performance, or the creation of new products and experiences, these graduates all take joy in self-discovery;

the secret for turning a profession into a passion.

from the

Archives

by Blackie Parlin

44

A Bold Move The opening of the new academic wing brings memories of earlier chapters in the expansion of Newark Academy. I recall with amusement the sign put up by former arts faculty member, Paul Aspell, on the construction site of the arts wing: “If you build it, they will come.” (The community agreed to forgive Mr. Aspell for plagiarizing from “Field of Dreams.”)

O

f all of the construction projects at the school, the most gutsy was the decision to move from Newark to suburban Livingston. I didn’t fully appreciate just how gutsy the decision was until an episode years after the 1964 move. In a conversation with Mr. Butler and a group of trustees, I recalled how Mr. Butler had gotten angry at a remark made by me in about 1960. He and I were having a brown bag supper in the dining room of the school on First Street in Newark. Making conversation, and with no thought of being unpleasant, I noted that I’d been associated with three schools which had building plans on paper but had not built anything. I told Mr. Butler that this made me skeptical that Newark Academy would succeed in its plans to move. When I later noted to the trustees

that Mr. Butler had been annoyed by my statement of skepticism, the trustees present all laughed uproariously.

Years later the laughter was explained to me: At the time of my remark to Mr. Butler in 1960, these trustees had also been skeptical that the move could be made.

I now realize how bold Mr. Butler and the trustees were to decide to re-establish Newark Academy in Livingston at a time when many other schools had folded.

The property purchased in Livingston had been a farm. With my wife and children I walked around the newly acquired property, and the lines and foundations of a long defunct farm were still visible. There was no mall, of course; South Orange Avenue seemed like a rural highway. It seemed like we were building in the wilderness.

When the new school opened in 1964, the interior was lifeless and the grounds barren. Pingry students mocked the “Livingston A&P” school, because the classical Georgian front stood starkly in the ground, without any landscape planting.

I always give John Strahan credit for personally cutting the rank ragweed that grew up around the building and then personally planting the first trees on the campus periphery.

Shortly after the 1964 move, I wrote a memo which is still extant. I said, “It is unlikely that we will see the erection of a new wing for a considerable time.” I recommended that we create a faculty room, a suggestion which I am glad was never implemented – faculty rooms tend to separate teachers from students. I also spoke of a student lounge, another suggestion wisely

NEWARK ACADEMY

RUMOR HAS IT. . .

not followed – better to have decentralized areas where students can get together – spaces like the sitting area in the new academic wing and attractive outdoor spaces.

My most forceful point in this early memo said: “Much of the academic area of the school is cold, boring and undecorative. One student expressed this effectively by saying that Newark Academy was a series of “long, dull, straight lines.”

Anybody coming into the school now would see how far we have come. We have never had a philosophical discussion at Newark Academy about the appropriate decoration of a school. I’ve always believed that a school should have some features of a museum. Yes, student work and accomplishment should be on display. But, ideally, the school environment should celebrate the best

There was a rumor in the 1960s that Newark Academy, when planning to move to the suburbs, considered

We are the beneficiaries of school heads and trustees who have established, expanded and enhanced our school.

}

of humankind’s creativity and accomplishment in art, science, and engineering. Exposure to the best creativity through the ages gives inspiration for the future. Les Byrnes’ beautiful front lobby display of the history of Newark Academy and private school education is an example, and when challenged by a colleague to produce, I created a display of the history of cameras. But, the best example of this vision of a school’s décor is the gallery, an idea of Elaine Brodie and Paul Aspell. Ms. Brodie in her role of curator has arranged outstanding displays of the works of contemporary artists. Displays of great creativity do not detract from displays of fine work by students.

Such displays provide inspiration and aspirational goals.

the purchase of the Vanderpohl Castle in Chatham.

The building was ultimately torn down to make way for the Route 24 cloverleaf by the Mall at Short Hills.

ARCHIVAL DONATION Hampton Abney, former faculty member, enjoyed saying that he “came with the building.” Indeed he began his inaugural year at NA when the doors to the Livingston campus opened for the first time. A longtime teacher of Spanish, Abney is remembered for his leadership of the drama club and for directing NA productions from variety shows to dramatic performances and musicals.

Abney recently bestowed upon NA an archival treasure — a vivid record of NA’s

We are the beneficiaries of school heads and trustees who have established, expanded and enhanced our school.

I trust that the school will not rest with the feeling that now we have it. We have a continuing need of a new auditorium to better serve our drama, music and dance programs. And I continue to hope that the school will see the museum-education role with displays of the record of human ingenuity and creativity. NA

theatrical performances during that period, meticulously documented in a voluminous scrapbook that is now housed in the NA archives.

OUTREACH fall 2012

ALUMNI NEWS 46

MESSAGE FROM JOHN BESS ’69 President, Alumni Board of Governors Emotional connection. It is a major reason why people stay engaged with institutions that have been a meaningful part of their lives.

It is this dynamic that NA’s Alumni Board of Governors will be focusing on in the coming year as part of our effort to strengthen alumni engagement with the school and keep all of you connected to this incredible place.

I know my own personal experience is not unique when it comes to the emotional connection I have to NA. It is powerful and operates on a deeply emotional level.

I have so many strong and vivid memories of my years at the school. To name just a few: the friends I made who I am still connected to; the faculty that invested so much in me personally and taught me the discipline and critical thinking skills that continue to pay strong dividends decades later; and the values, embodied by this institution, that were instilled in me as a student.

NA HOSTED THE 4TH ANNUAL CLASS REPRESENTATIVE BREAKFAST at Homecoming on Saturday, October 13 The breakfast was a great success with attendees representing classes from 1946 to 2012. Class Reps had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with one another and the advancement staff, as well as hear about NA’s latest alumni initiative, “1 in 4.” The 1 in 4 Campaign is the annual fund committee’s effort to build on the alumni giving momentum of last year and reach 25 percent alumni participation.

Newark Academy presents two alumni awards each year to classes that truly stand out in their annual fund participation.

Congratulations to the Classes of 1962 and 2007!

Our commitment to you in the coming year is to continue to seek new and more impactful ways to keep you informed of all that is going on this year. And we hope to get as many of you personally involved in one or more activities that will sustain or rekindle the deep emotional connections you have to the Academy.

On behalf of the full board, we look forward to welcoming you to the school or to one of many planned offsite events in the coming year. Please make it a point to get engaged. NA is proud of its alumni, and we want to see as many of you as possible.

NEWARK ACADEMY

Class of 1962 Winner of the 1903 Cup Trustee Betsy Dollinger Bernstein ’86 presented the award to Class Rep Bud D’Avella ’62

➤

As I take over the role of President of the Alumni Board of Governors, I’m honored to lead a terrific group of people committed to keeping our alumni, both students and former faculty, engaged with NA across a number of geographies via an array of wonderful events and activities.

➤

Hopefully, my own feelings resonate with you. I bet I’m typical of so many of the men and women who have been lucky enough to get an education at NA. It has certainly been a strong motivator for my staying connected to NA all these years.

Class of 2007 Winner of the Ad Lumen Award Class Rep Emily Simon ’07

Class Reps play an integral part in NA’s alumni outreach by keeping alumni connected to the school. If you are interested in becoming a Class Rep, please contact Karissa K. Feiton, Assistant Director of Annual Giving at (973) 992-7000, ext. 322 or kfeiton@newarka.edu.

Congratulations!

47

ALUMNI AWARDS At Reunion 2012, we celebrated the achievements of several accomplished alumni.

Thomas E. Hennigan ’77 FULTON MACARTHUR AWARD Jennifer Choe Groves ’87 Joseph Scarlett, Jr. ’62 ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Norman Schafler, Ph.D. DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARD

Newark Academy Alumni For more information about the achievements of our honorees, please visit alumni.newarka.edu

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

IN-COLLEGE NETWORKING NIGHT Newark Academy • January 9, 2013

NETWORKING NIGHT New York City • January 10, 2013

NA HALL OF FAME INDUCTION Newark Academy • February 22, 2013 Matt Gertler ’90 and Thomas Hennigan ’77 Jennifer Choe Groves ’87

ALUMNI COCKTAIL PARTY New York City • May 30, 2013

ALUMNI LACROSSE Newark Academy • June 1, 2013

OLD GUARD RECEPTION AT COMMENCEMENT Newark Academy • June 9, 2013

Joseph Scarlett ’62 and Bud D’Avella ’62

Norman “Doc” Schafler

Please visit alumni.newarka.edu for more events, details and updates!

OUTREACH fall 2012

ALUMNI NEWS

NEWARK ACADEMY CELEBRATES THE WOMEN OF NA

48

The 4th Annual Women of NA Luncheon on October 13, 2012 Celebrated and Recognized the Achievements of Newark Academy Alumnae Luminaries WOMEN OF NA HONOREES

Allison Leba, Gillian Javetski ’07 and Bill Javetski

Madeline Vazquez, M.D. ’77

Jennifer Key ’82 and Arlene Jachim

Debra Herzog ’72 is a special assistant United States attorney in Los Angeles and senior attorney in the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Postal Service. She is also an adjunct instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Arlene Jachim, served as a teacher, advisor, mentor and coach at Newark Academy for 32 years, retiring in June 2012. Arlene was selected to the 1976 U.S. Field Hockey team and in 1982 was inducted into the Kean University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Madeline Vazquez, M.D. ’77 is recognized internationally as an expert in cytopathology of the breast and lung.

Currently, she is the Director of the Department of Integrated Diagnostics at CBLPath, Inc. Madeline served as a member of the Newark Academy Board of Trustees from 2001-2004.

WOMEN OF DISTINCTION

Matthew Palus and Emily Shillingburg Palus ’92

Jennifer Key ’82 is a counsel with the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where she is a member of the firm’s Regulatory and Industry Affairs Department.

The primary focus of Jennifer’s practice is the representation of electric utilities before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Margaret S. Kim ’87 is currently vice president at GE Capital Corporation. She also serves as an adjunct professor for Golden Gate University’s MBA program.

Margaret S. Kim ’87 and Jennifer Choe Groves ’87

NEWARK ACADEMY

Emily Shillingburg Palus ’92 is a heritage preservationist specializing in Native American cultural property issues. Emily currently serves as the Deputy Division Chief for Cultural, Paleontological Resources, and Tribal Consultation at the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Provi Caraballo ’97 is a visiting lecturer at the Universidad Del Desarrollo School of Government and serves as consultant to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Santiago, Chile. A long-time human rights defender, Provi’s work has led her to serve vulnerable communities in Africa and Latin America where she has focused on advocacy projects for the protection of children from slavery and human sacrifice, the rights of refugees and detainees, and LGBT rights.

Lyndsey Scott ’02 is widely recognized as one of the world’s top models. In 2009, Lyndsey became the first African-American model to sign an exclusive contract with Calvin Klein. She then went on to work for top designers around the world including Prada, Gucci, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Vera Wang, Diane von Furstenberg, DKNY, Victoria’s Secret, and many more.

Gillian Javetski ’07 is a program analyst for Dimagi, a technology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that creates mobile solutions to improve health in more than 25 countries. Gillian majored in international relations and community health at Tufts University, where she also completed her master’s degree in public health in 2012.

49

(Back) Gillian Javetski ’07, Emily Shillingburg Palus ’92, Arlene Jachim, Mrs. Caraballo, Mr. Caraballo, Jennifer Key ’82 (Front) Nicole Andrzejewski ’13, SaVonne Anderson ’13, Madeline Vazquez, M.D. ’77

Lisa Grider, Director of Institutional Advancement

Two outstanding Newark Academy seniors also participated in the event and are recognized for their stellar contributions both to the event and to the current NA community:

Lauren Hedvat ’01, Board of Trustees

Jacqueline Lipsius Fleyscher ’93, Board of Governors

Nicole Andrzejewski ’13

SaVonne Anderson ’13

Jennifer Mandelbaum ’11

Jon Olesky ’74, Chairman, Board of Trustees

Nancy Baird Harwood ’75, Board of Trustees

Nicole Andrzejewski ’13, president of the NA School Council, had prepared to present an award to honoree and keynote speaker, Debra Herzog ’72. Debra, unfortunately, was unable to attend the celebration due to illness. Nicole shared excerpts from Debra’s speech that included important advice: “For those pursuing or engaged in a career, maintain your integrity at any cost. In the words of R. Buckminster Fuller — ‘Integrity is the essence of everything successful.‘” SaVonne Anderson ’13 president of Umojja, NA’s leading organization promoting racial and ethnic diversity, delivered a moving address which proved to be one of the afternoon’s many highlights. She extolled the shared values of NA women: courage, ambition and a desire to make the world a better place, thanking those who have “paved the way.”

SaVonne’s speech is available by scanning this code from your mobile device.

OUTREACH fall 2012

ALUMNI NEWS

REUNION 2012

50

The Classes of 1952 and 1962 enjoyed a wonderful evening of reminiscing at their Reunion Dinner held in Kaltenbacher Hall in the new Upper School Academic Center.

CLASS OF 1962

NEWARK ACADEMY

CLASS OF 1952

CLASS OF 2007

51

CLASS OF 1987

Class members from years ending in the 2s and 7s celebrated in the familiar but decked out Dining Hall at NA. CLASS OF 1992

CLASS OF 1967

CLASS OF 1997

OUTREACH fall 2012

CLASS OF 2002

CLASS NOTES 52

1935 Class Representative Nathaniel Rosengarten ’35

1938 Class Representative

Alumni Relations Director Matt Gertler ’90 visits with Art Meyers ’57

Paul Busse ’38

1944 Edward Atkins released his book, On Which We Serve, which is also available as an eBook. The book details the life of an Airdale aboard an aircraft carrier during World War II, but Edward cautions that the book is not about “warfare” but about “wartime” in an era when Newark Academy grads went their separate ways into the armed services. You can preview the book at www.on-whichwe-serve.com, or borrow a copy from the NA library under its previous title Flight Deck, A Pictorial Essay of a Day in the Life of an Airdale. Edward resides in Rockville, Maryland.

1949 Class Representative Kenneth Baum ’49 jackieandken@comcast.net

1951 Class Representative K. Kelly Marx ’51 nanlowmar@aol.com

Arthur Block reports that he recently received a visit at his West Palm Beach residence from his younger daughter Karin Anna, a professor of geochemistry at CUNY, along with her husband and daughter Rose (2).

His older daughter is currently in real estate sales and development in Puerto Rico. Arthur and his wife also enjoyed a vacation in October to the north coast of Spain and Portugal.

1952 Class Representative

1957

William Van Winkle ’52 billvw7334@aol.com

1946

Henri Gordon ’54

Art Meyers stopped by NA and took a tour of the school after nearly 30 years since his last visit. He was amazed at how much the school has changed and reminisced about his First Street days.

Class Representative

1955

1959

Class Representative

Class Representatives

Edward Levitt ’55 fasteddie@koog.com

Robert Soare ’59 soare@uchicago.edu

1954 Class Representative

Robert Cronheim ’46 rdc@cronheim.com

1947 Class Representative Marvin Rothman ’47 mrothman1@aol.com

1948 Class Representative William Stroh III ’48

Neal Schlendorf reports that he retired last June.

1956 Class Representative Everett Schuldt ’56 E.Schuldt@yahoo.com

Douglas Slade ’59 Dslade542@aol.com

Doug Slade is a pilates instructor, works out three days a week, sets marks for the sailboat racing crowd on Wednesdays and on weekends, plays to a 14 handicap at golf.

For information on our upcoming events or to submit class notes, log on to the alumni community at alumni.newarka.edu. There you can share your news and photos, update your information, register for events or simply network with fellow alums. We want to hear from you!

We Fondly Remember Richard L. Scott ’43 May 5, 2012 Edward Echikson ’45 August 6, 2012 Herbert Pick ’48 June 18, 2012 Philip A. Caruso, M.D. ’56 November 10, 2012 Edward Papalia ’01 June 5, 2012

REMEMBERING PAUL DESERIO, JR. ’45, Beloved Coach and Teacher, 1954-1961

by Whitney C. Russell, Jr. ’62 I recently connected with Coach DeSerio to convey my appreciation for his many contributions to my life. He taught and coached at Newark Academy during my First Street years from 1955-1962. His many efforts advanced the Academy and he became a hero of mine.

Coach passed away last February after a brief illness and an enterprising career.

After graduating from NA in 1945 and Williams College in 1949, he was a tennis success in the U.S Army. After the Korean War, he returned to civilian life as a tennis

He also builds segmented wood bowls and agrees with folks who say that “youth is wasted on the young.”

pro and a Newark Academy coach with Udell Stallings in football, basketball, tennis,

1960

Bob Hendrickson, his assistant from 1957-61, recalled, “Paul DeSerio knew we had

Class Representative Frederick Katz, Jr. ’60 katzjr@optonline.net

track, fencing, volleyball and gymnastics. Under the administration of Dr. Miller and Mr. Butler, athletic programs expanded and Coach DeSerio led them to great success.

young men with intelligence and character and that we could win with complex strategies and conditioning to offset our small numbers.” Nothing proved this better than the 1957 Delbarton football game when we sprinted and dazzled our way to a 26-0 halftime lead.

Bill Beebee, who is retired, is enjoying spending time with his wife of 45 years and his five grandchildren, as well as his involvement with church and social work, and political campaigning. He does volunteer policy research for three candidates on the national political stage and finds it to be very challenging.

1961

Curtis Cetrulo ’61, a five-sport star in his upper school years said, “Coach DeSerio was the most innovative of his coaching peers or even collegians of the era. He designed and taught great multiple offensive and defensive formations and techniques.”

“He was ahead of his time in training, conditioning, and strategies,” said Elmer Herrmann ’58. Mike Winick ’62, Marty King ’59, Wade Nixdorff ’56, and Wally Pattyson ’60, recalled some of Coach DeSerio’s many techniques for successfully motivating players and teams, including his use of game films, scouting, and organization.

Memories varied, but the facts remain: In seven years, Coach DeSerio’s teams won six basketball championships, three football titles, and four trophies in tennis. He reinvigorated

Class Representatives

programs in track, volleyball, and field day; and his

Curtis Cetrulo ’61 Curt.Cetrulo@gmail.com

won-lost records in basketball and football were 86-24

Peter Papademetriou ’61 papadem@njit.edu

remembered Coach saying, “In life, it is far more

and 37-12-3, respectively. Track athlete Tom Keith ’62 important to finish a race than to win it.” Coach DeSerio

MacKinnon Simpson ’61 MacKinnon808@gmail.com

always tried to convince us to be the best we could be.

CLASS NOTES 54

Roger Flax has been busy since we last checked. He is currently writing a Broadway musical. Roger also competes in tennis tournaments and is ranked #3 in USA Senior Platform Tennis. He is in the midst of writing several motivational, how-to books on business. He has been married to Dr. Judy Flax for almost 40 years and they have three sons: Kenny (in his third year at Mount Sinai Medical School; Charlie (owner of Propeller Communications); and Jonathan (entrepreneur, JC Bloom, Inc.) He adds, “Fond memories of NA ... midget sports teams, tennis, Gidge, and the guys! Life’s been great, and I’m a very thankful person!”

1962 Class Representative Bernard D’Avella, Jr. ’62 bdavella@comcast.net

1964 Class Representative Michael Yogg ’64 michaelyogg@gmail.com

1965 Class Representative Van Stevens ’65 drvanstevens@comcast.net

Lanny Davis must be very proud of his son Seth. Seth is known to millions of readers and viewers for his work as a golf and basketball writer for Sports Illustrated and college basketball analyst for CBS sports, including the “March Madness” of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Good Catch! Nick Nicholson ’68 on a recent fishing expedition

Radiologists where he had been working since 1984.

Jonathan Epstein ’66 jonathan.epstein@dbr.com

Carl Andersen is now living in Montana and Jerry West is a neighbor. He writes that he is not playing golf anymore but hopes to resume skiing after undergoing a hip replacement last October.

1967

1968

Class Representative

Class Representatives

Matthew Leone ’67 mleone@colgate.edu

Stephan Kravitz ’68 sgk@prodigy.net

1966 Class Representative

In January 2012, Eric Rosenberg retired from practice at Delaney

WASHINGTON, D.C. NA traveled to Washington D.C. to take in a Nationals game during their storybook season. The Nats beat the Mets with some late game heroics and all who attended had a great time.

David Rattner ’03, Ben Purkert ’03, Matt Gertler ’90, Sanjay Doraiswamy ’04, Scott Algeier ’91, Anita Wellen, Bob Wellen ’64

Franklin Phifer, Jr. ’68 fphifer@hecht.com

Joel Glucksman reports that he and his wife Freddie recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary by searching for the spiritual vortices in Sedona, Arizona. They didn’t find vortices but Joel highly recommends the local wines. Joel and Freddie met at a basketball game in Madison Square Garden during their freshmen year in college.

Nick Nicholson lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts (Cape Cod) and works as a real estate broker and contractor. He still finds time for the occasional fishing trip. He recently caught a tuna but on a subsequent trip was forced to settle for a pair of stripers. Nick still wonders what became of Randy Phillips and if

55

Kent Leonhardt ran for West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture. West Virginia is one of 14 states that elect such a representative. Kent invites interested alums to visit him on Facebook.

David Smith ’75

1973 Class Representative

Randy still remembers going off the road on the back of his Honda 305.

Peter Schwartz and his wife, Leigh, welcomed the latest addition to their family last April. Tegan Lilia Clarke is the daughter of Micah and Rachael Clarke (Schwartz). Peter’s two other children, Jonathan and his wife, Onna, in Ann Arbor; and Jeffrey and his wife, Makiko, in Osaka, Japan, are both expecting new additions as well. Peter remains employed as associate medical director at Ann’s Choice, an Erickson Living retirement community of 2,000 residents north of Philadelphia.

1969 Class Representative Leo Gordon ’69 gordon43b@gmail.com

1971

Stuart M. Flaum ’73 stuartflaum@gmail.com

Paul Krieger writes that he is entering his 10th year as Headmaster at Christ School, an all-boys boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina. He and his wife, Beth, have become empty nesters this fall as their youngest headed off to Purdue University. Beth and Paul are enjoying living on campus in a thriving community that keeps them young, at least at heart.

1974 Class Representative Lance T. Aronson ’74 lancetrezevant@aol.com

1975 Class Representative Eric Williams III ’75 estonewilliams@aol.com

David Smith was recently selected as the nuclear security coordinator (forensics) for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. He is responsible for assisting the IAEA’s 154 member states to develop technical capabilities in nuclear forensics to combat the illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials worldwide. Working within the United Nations system and with senior ministerial officials, his work is focused on identifying and eliminating nuclear security vulnerabilities. He has lived in Vienna for three years while on leave from his post as a counter-terrorism advisor to the U.S. Department of State and U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. He spends leave time during the summer on Cape Cod and skiing during the winter in Tyrol. Over the past year he has visited with several Newark Academy alumni in Europe and California.

HAVE SOME STORIES FROM THE GLORY DAYS AT NA?

Class Representatives William D. Hardin, Jr. ’71 whardin@ptd.net Mark Menza ’71 menza613ha1@aol.com

1972 Class Representatives Daniel Cronheim ’72 dan@cronheim.com Harry Hazelwood III ’72 Hazelwood_MD.MPH@JHU.edu

We are always adding to our archives. Plainly put, we love stories told from the perspective of those who were there. We especially like hearing about those First Street days. Share your stories and anecdotes about classmates and teachers. E-mail your contributions to Matt Gertler, mgertler@newarka.edu or mail them the way we used to do it, to NA in care of the Director of Alumni Relations.

CLASS NOTES

MOUNTAINS TO CLIMB David Pashman ’90 In his final year at Newark Academy,

56

David Pashman chose to spend his senior project doing research at a law

1976

firm in northern New Jersey rather than

Class Representatives

rafting along the Green River in southern

Donald DeFabio ’76 drdefabio@aol.com

Utah. It was a decision that David now recalls with “profound disbelief.” In the years that followed, Dave has atoned for that mistake. He has made a point of spending less

Robin Lechter Frank ’76 ontheqt1231@aol.com

time in law firms and more time outdoors hiking, climbing and backpacking around the world.

One outdoor destination he had long considered out of his reach was Mount Kilimanjaro. Recently, however, that changed when Dave organized a fundraising climb to that majestic mountain as a board member for Camp Interactive, a New York based non-profit organization that empowers underprivileged teenagers through technology education and outdoor adventures. After six months of logistical planning, recruiting, fundraising, and training, Dave found himself leading a group of seven climbers (including his cousin Dan Corman ’08) from New York to Tanzania to climb the tallest mountain in Africa.

The first four days of hiking offered magnificent landscapes, bizarre flora,

Peter Marx (Slutsker) has taken a new position as business development manager at Kyyba, Inc., a Detroitbased engineering and IT business solutions company, and is heading up the northeast office. His older daughter Amanda ’08 graduated with honors from NYU last May at Yankee Stadium (Peter defiantly wore his Mets hat!) and Callie ’11 just started her sophomore year at Dickinson College. Peter is very proud and thanks Newark Academy.

and delightful interactions with the local porters. But this was abruptly left behind at midnight of the fifth day when they began their summit attempt amidst overwhelming darkness, below-freezing temperatures and oxygen-depleted air. Dave remembers climbing in the pre-dawn hours, when the only thing he could see was a small patch of loose rock at his feet illuminated by his headlamp. Likewise, the only sound was the steady assault of the wind whipping against the hood of his parka.

After seven hours of trudging up the seemingly endless slope, they reached Uhuru Point and stood atop the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

At 19,341 feet above sea

Kate Brower Solisti and fiancé, Marcus Kurek, bought a “fixer-upper” in the hills between Lyons and Estes Park, Colorado. She reports that their neighbors are elk, mule deer, chickadees, hummingbirds, wild turkeys with chicks and a gray fox.

Marcus has a degree in psychotherapy and is busy at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. Kate’s daughter Miranda is a biology major at Oregon State University. For the past 20 years, Kate has been counseling people with companion animals of many species. Her books have been published in seven languages and she is currently working with a health technology breakthrough that is dealing with reverse aging in animals.

level Dave had reached his

highest

altitude

1977

ever — a personal best.

Class Representative

Most

Thomas Hennigan ’77 njtomh@gmail.com

important, the

climb raised more than $40,000 for the students of Camp Interactive, who will now benefit through technology instruction and opportunities to experience challenging outdoor situations of their own.

57

Sue Karlin ’81 (right) on the beat

Jamie Silverman ’84 and husband Nathan Hersch

Loren Weiss Selig ’87 with husband Todd

1979

Popular jazz vocalist Stacey Kent is currently touring for her latest album, Dreamer in Concert, recorded live in Paris in spring 2011.

Sy Baranoff, father of Seth Baranoff, passed away on April 11, 2011. Seth appreciates the condolences he has received from his classmates at NA.

doing double duty writing and taking photos, and ended up putting together my piece and slideshow between 1:00-5:00 a.m., then fell asleep in my car in the JPL parking lot, and woke up to find my battery drained from accidentally leaving my lights on. If only I could find an engineer to help jumpstart my car ...”

1980

1982

Jamie Silverman married Nathan Hersch on October 6, 2012.

Class Representative Michael Schneck ’79 mschneck@schneckholtzman.com

Class Representatives

Class Representatives

Kristen Brask Martin ’82 kbcolesfamily@comcast.net

Jane Florin Langendorff ’80 jane@mundiwestport.com

Jeffrey J. Silverman ’82 ejj44@aol.com

Kim Hirsh ’80 khirsh@ujcnj.org

Julie Bick Weed lives in Seattle with her family and writes for the New York Times and Seattle Times. Her latest series is on “Teens, Tweens, and Technology” for the Seattle Times.

1981 Class Representative Arthur Williams IV ’81 artiekid@aol.com

Sue Karlin writes: “I was among the press throngs camped out overnight at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA covering the Mars Rover landing in August. I was reporting for Fast Company. It was an incredibly thrilling night. Everyone was pulling for Curiosity to land successfully, and when she did, it was sheer pandemonium in mission control and the newsroom. I was

1983 Joe Hong and his family are enjoying life in New York City where they live and work. He has two sons, Robert (7) and Joe, Jr. (11). Joe has lived in New York since graduating from Wharton Business School in 1992. He continues to stay in touch with NA friends Chris Condon ’84 and Ken Demarest ’84.

Get your genuine Newark Academy gear and gifts at the NA Spirit Store online.

Visit www.newarka.edu/store.

1984 Class Representative William Markstein ’84 wemarkstein@yahoo.com

1985 Class Representative Kimberley Griffinger Wachtel ’85 kgwachtel@gmail.com

1986 Class Representatives Betsy Dollinger Bernstein ’86 bdb1@mac.com James Schachtel ’86 Jschachtel@verizon.net

1987 Loren Weiss Selig has two daughters, in kindergarten and in second grade. Her husband, Durham Town Manager Todd Selig has been very busy this election season. Last January, Loren made a transition to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

She loves working in real estate as a sales agent, and even more as a referral resource. The opportunity

CLASS NOTES 58

Troy Powell ’90 at the Tunnel to Towers Run

Surprise! Joelle Tutela is joined by NA friends Marta Ravin, Tori Agresti Hoehn, Marisa Facciponte Tusche and Bree Gleber Heiten (all from the Class of 1990)

to help friends all over the world connect with people or services that they need has been wonderful.

She invites NA alums to contact her for referrals.

Victoria (Tori) Agresti Hoehn, Marta Ravin, Bree Gelber-Heiten and Joelle Tutela recently showed up to surprise classmate Marisa Facciponte Tusche to celebrate her birthday.

1988 Class Representative Melissa Dollinger Shein ’88 msheinus@yahoo.com

1990 Class Representative Matthew Gertler ’90 mgertler@newarka.edu

After 15 years of teaching Japanese at New Providence High School, Michael Mitchell decided to take the Supervisor of Educational Technology position for the Flemington Raritan Regional School District.

Troy Powell writes: “As the treasurer of the New Jersey State Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association, I have had the opportunity to testify before the New Jersey Assembly Law & Public Safety Committee where I spoke on the effect the two percent property tax increase limit has had on the safety of both residents and first responders. I have also been (reluctantly) appointed by the Governor to the New Jersey Pension Plan Advisory Committee as a representative of labor, as we have five seats on the 10-person committee.”

Troy also reports that he participated in several memorial 5K Runs to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11, including the Jimmy D Memorial 5K in New Brunswick, the Fallen Heroes 5K in Lake Como (Belmar), the Tunnel to Towers 5K in New York, and the Carlos Negron Memorial 5K in Liberty State Park.

1991 Class Representative Richard Worth ’91 richardworth2001@yahoo.com

Richard Worth and his wife, Michelle, happily announced the birth of their son, Lawrence Elliot, on March 8, 2012.

1992 Adam Rose and his wife, Joanne, live in Brookline, Massachusetts with their four children, Leyvi (6), Noga (4), and twins Yehuda and Hillel (7 months). Adam is working at the Bedford VA Medical Center as a clinician and researcher. His main area of interest is quality of care measurement.

1993 Class Representatives Timothy Herburger ’93 burgermac@mac.com Jed Rosenthal ’93 jedrosenthal@gmail.com

Children of Adam Rose ’92

Lawrence Elliot, adorable son of Richard ’91 and Michelle Worth

59

John Masotti and Carly Williams ’94

Friends from the Class of ’95 celebrate at Kathleen Mangunay’s bridal shower

Michael Rosengart published his first exercise book, The Runner’s Toolbox, which is an illustrative training program for runners that incorporates ‘Prehab’ techniques.

He is also an assistant coach for the Santa Monica College football team.

He works on their strength and conditioning program and assists the defense as they aspire to repeat as conference champions.

Carly Williams and John Masotti were married on June 2, 2012 in New York.

1994 Class Representative Pamela Helfant Vichengrad ’94 pamelavich@hotmail.com

1995 Class Representative Rasheea Williams Hall ’95 rasheea@hotmail.com

Justin Gimelstob and Cary Kendall Sinnott were married in Laguna Niguel, California on May 20, 2012.

Justin is a broadcaster for the Tennis Channel, CBS and NBC. He also owns Without Limits Productions, a television production company in Los Angeles, and is on the board of

directors of the Association of Tennis Professionals. Cary is a psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles.

She graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received a Ph.D. in psychology from California Graduate Institute of the Chicago School in Los Angeles.

Kathleen Mangunay and Joshua Pergament were married last May at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, New Jersey. They met as classmates at Vassar College. Seema Patel Sangani (also a newlywed), Stacey Dershewitz, and Amy Jain (best friends from NA) were

An impressive winning streak came to an end for Newark Academy alumni lacrosse players when the 2012 squad of the NA lax team beat the alums at the annual Alumni Lacrosse Game, held on campus on June 2, 2012. More than a dozen former NA players — several of whom are currently playing at the collegiate level — arrived vocally boasting of their plans to claim another victory. Their younger peers, however, after losing a heart breaker to number one-seeded Pingry in tournament play just days earlier were not about to lose another one!

CLASS NOTES 60

Erica Baitler Berger ’98 and husband Daryn with daughters Lola and Maisie

members of the wedding party.

Josh Goldstein, Patrick Leibovich, and Andrew Kim also attended the wedding.

1996 Class Representatives Andrew Slutzky ’96 andrewzky@gmail.com Jason Granet ’96 grizo1222@yahoo.com

Matt Gutman is a TV correspondent for ABC News and can be seen regularly on Good Morning America, World News and Nightline. He has covered the Haiti earthquake, the Gulf oil spill, and the Treyvon Martin case and continues to travel and report on breaking news events.

1997 Class Representative Amanda Rubinstein Black ’97 amandahblack@gmail.com

Adam Kaswiner ’99 cooks up something special

Randal Vegter married Ginny Hughes last May at Battery Gardens in New York. The couple took a honeymoon cruise through the Galapagos Islands and now resides in Brooklyn. Randal is a leadership facilitator at JetBlue Airlines in New York and Ginny is a freelance science journalist.

Jesse Sanford from Bloomfield, New York asked Sharon Ochs to be his wife while traveling in Guatemala last March. The couple resides in Brooklyn. They’re planning a June 2013 wedding.

1998 Class Representative Lisa Shah Sen ’98 lisashahsen@gmail.com

Erica Baitler Berger, husband Daryn and big sister Maisie were thrilled to welcome a baby girl, Lola, last June.

1999 Class Representatives John Gregory ’99 Jcg681@gmail.com Asha Talwar ’99 asha.talwar@gmail.com

Little Ella, daughter of Doug McNamara ’99

Evan Nisenson is assistant director of alumni relations at New York University. He is working on completing a master’s degree in entertainment business at NYU. In his spare time he works with clients as a freelance social media consultant.

Congratulations to Lauren Carrescia and Evan Nisenson ’99

On September 1, 2012, Evan married the lovely Lauren Carrescia. They currently live in New York City.

Doug McNamara and his wife, Rachel, welcomed their first child, Ella, in September 2011. Doug has also changed careers and is now teaching high school math in Prince Georges County, Maryland.

Adam Kaswiner, aka “ChefKas” owns and operates ChefKas LLC out of Las Vegas where he has resided for three years. ChefKas prepares, teaches, and lectures on “Food and Cooking for Awesomeness,” and has cooked for noteworthy clientele including Sheldon Adelson, Jesse Waits, Mark Munoz and Erik Seidel.

He is also practicing and instructing the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira which he began nine years ago. NA alumni visiting Vegas should give ChefKas a shout.

Kumi Dikengil is an orthopedic physical therapist practicing at Morristown Medical Center and Michael Kay is a major in the United States Army Special Forces, currently deployed in Afghanistan.

They are thrilled to announce their engagement. They will be married in New York in June 2013.

2000 Class Representative Alison Poole ’00 akpoole@gmail.com

61

Stephanie Reingold ’04 simma.reingold@gmail.com Kathryn Pagos ’04 katie.pagos@gmail.com Danielle Gruenbaum White ’04 dlsimon85@gmail.com Newlyweds Jonathan Satinsky and Rachel Fendell Satinsky ’02

Lovely bride Arielle Goldfischer ’03 and groom Jonathan Newcombe

2001

couple met on a trip to Israel in 2006.

Both practice law in Philadelphia.

Class Representatives Colin Griggs ’01 cgriggs13@yahoo.com Brian McGaughan ’01 bmcgaughan@gmail.com

2002 Class Representative Alexander Senchak ’02 alex.senchak@gmail.com

In July, David Rattner participated in his third New York City Triathlon and his fourth overall. Says David, “I got into it through an organization called Team in Training which organizes teams to enter endurance races and raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Pria Talwar-Alpern and Zach Alpern welcomed their first child, Asher Raj Alpern, last June. He spent the first weeks of life enjoying cuddles from fellow alums Krupa Savalia, Michelle Park and his loving aunt Asha Talwar ’99. Zach continues to work in finance and Pria is completing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology in New York City.

Rachel Fendell Satinsky married Jonathan Satinsky on March 24, 2012. Fellow classmate Krupa Savalia was a bridesmaid. Following the wedding festivities, the newlyweds enjoyed their honeymoon in South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia. The

Katie John graduated from George Washington University Law School in May. She is now an associate at McKenna Long & Aldridge in their government contracts practice.

2003 Class Representatives Lauren Anderson ’03 lauren.h.anderson@gmail.com David Mazzuca ’03 david.mazzuca@gmail.com Evan Sills ’03 evan.sills@gmail.com

Arielle Goldfischer and Jonathan Newcombe were married on June 3, 2012 at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston. Arielle is marketing and communication coordinator for Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, LLP; and Jonathan is with Loeb & Troper, LLP, both in New York. The couple resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Evan Sills graduated from George Washington University Law School in May. Evan is a legal fellow at the Cyber Security Policy & Research Institute.

2004 Class Representatives Louise Ball Schutte ’04 louisehira@gmail.com

Stacey Gaspard is volunteering in the Dominican Republic with Jehovah’s Witnesses and works part-time for an Internet-based custom jewelry company called Laurie Sarah Design.

She is teaching the Bible to Haitian immigrants/refugees working in the Dominican Republic. Her parents are Haitian and she grew up in Irvington.

She says her work is “heart-warming.”

Tiffany Shumate is in her fourth year working and living in Washington, D.C. She is entering her second year as a special education teacher at KIPP DC charter school and will embark on a new leadership position as the school’s family engagement coordinator. Tiffany hopes to spend more time with family and friends and travel to the West Coast this year. She has spent time with the Grant family in Vermont (David, Nancy, Ben ’02 and Rob ’03), attended the wedding of Jessica George ’03 and has spoken with Jaydeen DeCambre. While D.C. has become Tiffany’s new home, she still has a special place in her heart for Newark, New Jersey, her hometown, and hopes to return sometime in the near future.

Peter Varela graduated from Princeton in 2008, travelled to China, and came back to New Jersey to open a family business. Peter is the CEO of Tiger Tutor (www.tigertutor.net) a test prep company in Parsippany.

His business is growing and he has added another location in Short Hills. Peter and his brother are purchasing a building in Mountain

CLASS NOTES 62

Lakes and are hoping to expand to that area as well. Peter is also working on recruiting students from China to enroll at area high schools.

Molly McGaughan ’05 molly.mcgaughan@gmail.com

2005

Emily Litwin began an MBA program at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Class Representatives Jonathan Allocca ’05 jonathan.allocca@gmail.com Bridget Duffy ’05 BridgetPDuffy@gmail.com

Gabriel Gaviola ’05 gcg9@georgetown.edu

Sarah Kirk is in her second year in graduate school at the University of

North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she is working toward a master’s degree in city and regional planning, with a specialization in economic development.

2006 Class Representatives Sarah Marcus ’06 sarahcmarcus@alumni.upenn.edu Ilana Mandelbaum ’06 ilana.mandelbaum@gmail.com Jennifer Errico ’06 errico.jenniferN@gmail.com

BOSTON

Asia Stewart ’06 asiamstewart@gmail.com

NA went on the road in

Julia Appel ’06 appel.julie@gmail.com

October to take in the races at The Head Of The Charles Regatta in Boston.

Several alums took the time to visit with us at the NA tent in Reunion Village.

Marc VanderElst ’90, with wife Laura, daughter Isabella and son Lucas.

Jennifer Errico recently accepted a teaching position at the George Jackson Academy in Manhattan, an independent upper elementary and middle school for academically capable boys from lower-income and underserved families. It was created to engage bright, motivated boys at a time where they might be vulnerable to disengage from school.

Louis Neblett is very happy to report that he has been appointed the dean of students at the Harlem Prep Charter School on East 123rd Street in Manhattan.

Matt Gertler '90, Alex Senchak ’02, Emma Baumgartner ’11, Pat McMahon ’11, Jen Mandelbaum ’11, Dana Ellis ’08, Sophie Breen ’08

Alex Senchak ’02, Dana Ellis ’08, Rebecca Ellis ’11 and Matt Gertler ’90

Devika Daga is living in San Francisco and working at Google.

She switched roles and is now working on “Google X” (Project Glass and Self-Driving Cars!). She is having a great time and loves working with the quirky – sometimes socially awkward – engineers. She also finished running in her fourth half marathon and trained for the New York City Marathon.

63

2007 Class Representatives David Doobin ’07 doobind@gmail.com Andrew Somberg ’07 asomberg@gmail.com

Jordan Rose ’05 in Kenya

Emily Simon ’07 emily.c.simon@me.com Catherine Pfeffer ’07 catherine.pfeffer@gmail.com

Bobby MacTaggart is working in Manhattan at Imagine Software, located in the old Woolworth building. He tests financial management software.

2008 Class Representatives David Frank ’08 dfrank5@u.rochester.edu Lynn Olesky ’08 lynnolesky@gmail.com Maximilian Staiger ’08 Mstaiger@Bowdoin.edu Alexa Gruber ’08 alexa.gruber@richmond.edu Maxwell Frost ’08 maxxaf@gmail.com

Ryan Keur was recently featured in a USA Today article discussing his recent success playing fantasy baseball. Using a daily and weekly fantasy sports site, Ryan was able to turn a $60 deposit into $60,000!

Cori McGinn graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a degree in music industry studies. She entered New York Law School this fall to pursue a JD. She also plans to start a company to promote hearing protection safety and awareness. Prior to graduating, Cori and a classmate started a program at Loyola called the Hearing Protection Project and raised money to help spread awareness about hearing safety and to provide free hearing tests and free earplugs for the Loyola community.

2009 Class Representatives Andrew Binger ’09 abinger1990@gmail.com Rebecca Curwin ’09 rebecca.curwin@gmail.com Christina Colizza ’09 christina.colizza@gmail.com Shannon Lam ’09 srlam17@embarqmail.com

Elise Javetski is in her sophomore year at Kenyon College. She is a double major in dance and anthropology. Elise recently performed and choreographed pieces for their seasonal concerts.

She has danced and interned with a New York company and recently applied for anthropological research positions. She also took part in a

NEW YORK — YANKEE STADIUM Over the summer, NA alums, teachers, friends, and parents gathered to see the Yankees play the Orioles at The Stadium.

Many showed up but the home team did not, as the Yanks fell to the Orioles. left: Rachel Newman ’06, Caroline Klapper ’06, Laura Schottland ’06 right: Brandon Hedvat ’06, Paul Rivenburgh, Lauren Hedvat ’01, Shannon Hedvat ’03

CLASS NOTES 64

Rutgers evolutionary anthropology summer abroad program called The Koobi Fora Field School. It is conducted in northern Kenya in the eastern region of Lake Turkana. It offers students an opportunity to learn the basic principles and field methods of paleoanthropology at one of the world’s leading early hominid sites. The field school provides students with hands-on introductory training in all the disciplines within paleoanthropology. It was a great way to gain valuable knowledge in the field of archaeology and experience an exciting and enriching part of the world.

2010

Brian McHugh ’10 mchughb1@msu.edu Lisa Fischer ’10 lfischer@gwmail.gwu.edu

Dudley Charles, currently at the University of Pennsylvania, was accepted into the Mt. Sinai Medical School via the Humanities and Medicine Early Acceptance Program.

The program received more than 700 applications and Dudley was one of 15 undergraduates chosen.

2011 Class Representatives Jourdan McGhee ’11 jourdan.mcghee@gmail.com

Class Representatives

Jordan Jett ’11 JordanJett13@gmail.com

Patrick Kelly ’10 kellyzl@mail.bc.edu

Jennifer Mandelbaum ’11 jmande15@bu.edu

Carly Manger ’12, Carissa Szlosek ’12, Adam Hyatt ’11 and Sydney Hershman ’11

Adam Hyatt, Sydney Hershman, Carly Manger ’12, and Carissa Szlosek ’12 found some time to get together at the University of Wisconsin football opener against Northern Iowa. The Badgers won 26-21.

2012 Class Representatives Shane Neibart ’12 ssneibart@gmail.com Carissa Szlosek ’12 szlosek@wisc.edu

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