NA NEWS 8
DECORATED GENERAL TO DELIVER COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS On Sunday, June 7, U.S. Army Brigadier General Stuart W. Risch ’80 will return to Newark Academy as Commencement speaker. Brig. Gen. Risch is Assistant Judge Advocate General for Military Law and Operations at Army Headquarters in the Pentagon. Among his many previous accomplishments, he served as commander of The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia, and as a litigation attorney in the U.S. Army Litigation Division, working with the Department of Justice to represent the Army
before various federal courts. He was deployed to the Middle East several times, serving in operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. During his years at Newark Academy, Brig. Gen. Risch played football and baseball and was a member of the Key Club and Spirit Club. He went on to earn a BA from Lafayette College and a law degree from Seton Hall University. He also holds two master’s degrees in law and strategic studies. Before entering active duty, he practiced law in the private sector with New Jersey-based law firm Dwyer Connell & Lisbona.
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You may know that NA archivist Blackie Parlin is an accomplished photographer, but did you know that faculty member Stephanie Acquadro (English) is too? Would you have guessed that Bob Bitler (Science) is writing a “physics thriller” or that Bob Mallalieu (Library/Media Services) plays the dulcimer? Newark Academy’s talented faculty, students, staff and alumni now have a new showcase for their creative work. The Writing, Art and Music Blog (affectionately called WAM!) is NA’s online forum for sharing creative projects and works-in-progress. It started in 2013 as a place for student and faculty writers to share their novels-in-progress during National Novel Writing Month, but it quickly grew to incorporate all forms of art. Visit the site on any given day and you might find a short story written by a faculty member, verses written by student poets or photographs contributed by alumni. “One of my favorite aspects of the blog is discovering the hidden talents of students and colleagues,” said English teacher Tess James, the founder and curator of the site. “Alumni contributions are also particularly compelling because they give current NA students and families the opportunity to see what NA graduates are doing now,” she added. Students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to contribute their writing, art or performance videos to be featured on WAM! Email submissions to Tess at tjames@newarka.edu.
NEWARK ACADEMY