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Spring 2010 • Noble and Greenough School The

Noble and Greenough School

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T H TE H NE O NB OL B EL S E BS U BL U LL EL TE I N T I N

NOBLES Bulletin

The

NO OBLES Bulletin

Households that receive more than one Nobles Bulletin are encouraged to contact Kathy Johnson at 781.320.7001 to discontinue copies.

So many places, so much time Whether it’s providing psycho-social stimulation for babies in Romania or helping 200 Nobles students and 33 faculty chaperones will visit 12 different countries by the end of the school year. The focus of their ventures is either service or academic, language and cultural immersion.

To ensure that everyone at Nobles enjoys equal access to these opportunities, the school awarded almost $90,000 in financial aid. For most students, these trips represent their first encounter with world issues such as poverty, education and the environment. One student’s post-travel reflection: “I now know that I want and need to find a ‘calling’ and purpose for my life.”

N O B L E NA ON BD L EG RAENE DN OGUR GE HE NSOC UH GO HO LS C• H W O OI N L T •E RS P2R0 I0N5G– 22 00 01 60

create plumbing options in India, nearly

Preparing Nobles’ Physical Sustenance Story, page 18 Window on Nobles, page 28

The

NOBLES Bulletin

Andrea Pape Truitt ’75

Letters to the Editor

Annual Nobles Fund Contributor, Production Director, The Hartford Courant

Noble and Greenough School Spring 2010

Thoughts on the economic recovery?

Editor Joyce Leffler Eldridge

We’re not there yet and it doesn’t feel like we are going to pull out any time soon despite the collective will to do so.

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Assistant Editors Julie Guptill

Favorite form of exercise these days?

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Running still works best for my schedule, but I would rather be mixing it up with skiing, swimming, rowing, cycling and hiking.

Lauren Bergeron COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

Design David Gerratt/DG Communications

Are you a Facebooker? How about Twitter follower?

www.NonprofitDesign.com

Photography Lauren Bergeron Joyce L. Eldridge Julie Guptill John Hirsch Leah Larricia Bob Moore Kim Neal Tony Rinaldo Megan Ryan Joe Swayze Amanda Wastrom

The Editorial Committee Brooke Asnis ’90 Kate Coon John Gifford ’86 Tilesy Harrington Bill Kehlenbeck Sarah Snyder

The Noble and Greenough Bulletin is published three times a year for graduates, past and current parents and grandparents, students and supporters of the Noble and Greenough School. Nobles is a co-educational, nonsectarian day and partial boarding school for students in grades seven (Class VI) through 12 (Class I). Noble and Greenough is a rigorous academic community that strives for excellence in its classroom teaching, intellectual growth in its students and commitment to the arts, athletics and service to others.

Half-heartedly.

Do you recognize yourself…or a friend?

Many thanks to everybody (see below) who identified students in the photo published in the last issue. Here is another for you to identify; please provide the names, class year and, if known, when and where the picture was taken.

Thank you, The Archives

© Noble & Greenough School 2010

At “work,” my main role is manager.

At “play,” I am the chef, dog-lover, sailor.

Favorite place to be on earth?

Sailing on Caramba or OPB (Other People’s Boats).

Last vacation you took?

The letters below represent the sleuthing and cooperation involved in identifying the picture (reprinted here) of female boarders shown in the Inside Front Cover of the Winter 2009–’10 Bulletin.

We went to Texas to see the Patriots suffer the heartbreaking loss to Houston; the heartbreak was watching Welker crumble with the knee injury.

Last book you read?

Robert Parker’s latest Spenser novel, The Professional.

Car you drive?

For further information and up-to-theminute graduate news, visit our website at www.nobles.edu.

Letters and comments may be e-mailed to Joyce_Eldridge@nobles.edu, Julie_Guptill@ nobles.edu or Lauren_Bergeron@nobles.edu.

We also welcome old-fashioned mail sent c/o Noble and Greenough School, 10 Campus Drive, Dedham, MA 02026.

The office may be reached directly by dialing 781-320-7014, 7264, or 7267.

What three titles would you choose to describe the main roles in your life?

J

Jarrett Collins P’14

continued on page 27

Thoughts on the newspaper industry?

Our democracy relies on a free press and people don’t realize how important this traditionalist industry is to the survival of a vital democracy. The “new media” has no accountability.

Volunteer roles at Nobles?

Class Agent, Class Correspondent, Fundraising Committee Member (not very effectively!) and Reunion Committee Member.

Activities you did while a student at Nobles?

2003 Volvo XC90 with 160K miles on it.

Mostly sports—skiing, rowing, tennis —and, also, photography.

Car you wish you drove?

Thoughts on your time at Nobles?

[My husband] Barry had a 1994 BMW 740i. It was the best car I have ever driven.

Knew Only One Girl ust opened our latest copy of the Nobles Bulletin and saw a photo including the only Nobles student I knew when I was growing up (I’m 48). Imagine my surprise when I read that you were looking for the names of these female boarders, pictured on the inside of the cover. The fourth girl in the back row can only be HEIDI GESNER ’80, a girl with whom I sailed during summers in Duxbury. I haven’t seen her in at least 30 years.

Hope that has helped to solve part of your mystery,

Guilty pleasure?

Fascia’s dark chocolate turtles and Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

Favorite food, or favorite thing to cook?

One of our current favorites is a Madhur Jaffrey recipe for Lamb Meatball Curry.

The flavors are transcending.

It was a singularly defining year for me and I am always grateful to Nobles and to my mother for the experience.

I learned more in that year in terms of college prep and so many other things than I had learned in all my years in public school. I credit that refining year as the only reason I was ever able to get into and survive at college.

Andrea Pape Truitt ’75 (left) with friend Lori Aldrich in Cuttyhunk, Mass.

Things you learned at Nobles that have been most useful in life?

For one, the right balance of physical, intellectual and fun activities will lead to a satisfying existence. Second, explore friendships and opportunities and get as much from the ride as you can.

Most memorable foods from the Castle?

Loved the Chateaubriand and lobster tail specials! Seriously though, I think there was a green Jell-O thing that was pure yuck.

Are you coming back for Reunion?

Yes, I am!

Reasons you give each year to the Annual Nobles Fund?

I hope to be able to do a small part to keep things going at Nobles. It was a tremendous experience for me and by giving back when I can, I hope that others can benefit, either from a scholarship or in support of an influential teacher.

Reasons you stretched for a leadership reunion gift this year?

I am a sucker for a good sales pitch. I always want to stretch my giving to Nobles and hope that someday I may be able to make a significant gift that will have a lasting impact.

Please consider making a gift to the Annual Nobles Fund this year.

Visit www.nobles.edu/giveonline or contact Director of Annual Giving Vidya Kagan at Vidya_Kagan@nobles.edu or 781-320-7003 for more information.

CONTENTS SPRING 2010

2

16 FEATURES

2 FOUR STUDENTS AND TWO TEACHERS ARE SHADOWED FROM BEFORE BREAKFAST TO NIGHTLY HOMEWORK (FACULTY INCLUDED).

Whether by car or bus or foot, they check in early.

16 FIRST CLASS OF ATHLETES IS SELECTED FOR NOBLES’ HALL OF FAME. One father-son pair, one entire football team included.

18 THIRTEEN YEARS OF EXCELLENT FOOD SERVICE CITED FLIK is part of the glue of the Nobles community.

20 MAINSTAGE AND MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAYS MERIT RAVES Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte dusted off successfully

20 DEPARTMENTS 22

Graduate Profile: Greg Wiggins

23

Graduate Profile: Edie Carey

24

Upcoming Art Exhibit

26

Graduate Profiles: Levy, Weinberger, Linsalata, Karelitz

28

Window on Nobles

30

Keeping You Up-to-Date

34

On the Playing Fields

36

Reunion Profiles

46

Class Notes

A Day-in-the-Life...

If you've ever yearned to be a fly-on-the wall during a typical day at Nobles, the Communications Office has opened the door to let you follow four students and two faculty members from pre-breakfast to the return trip home (whether by car, bus or quick walks to or from Wiggins Hall or on-campus housing).

2 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

Taylor Blake, CLASS II HOMETOWN:

Gardner, Mass.

Overlook Middle School, Ashburnham, Mass.

ADMITTED FROM:

T

he old adage, “Home is where the heart is,” suits Taylor Blake better than almost any other. Born in Canada, Taylor now lives in Gardner, Mass., with her family—at least on weekends and school vacations. During the week, you’ll find her in Wiggins Hall. As a boarder, Taylor considers campus not just her “home away from home” but her primary connection to the Nobles community. Regardless of where she may be, everyone who knows Taylor says that she is truly at home on the ice when she’s playing the sport she loves. Whether she’s winding down in the dorm or gearing up for a hockey game, Nobles is the backdrop to much of Taylor’s life.

7:36 a.m. – The alarm goes off in Wiggins Hall, Room 206. Taylor and roommate Denna Laing ’10 move about their shared space, doing a type of dance only close

friends could choreograph in order to get themselves ready for the day. Within minutes, Taylor loads up her book bag, grabs a Chewy granola bar and heads out the door towards Shattuck Schoolhouse. “Everyone in the dorm has her own routine, so the hustle is pretty staggered, especially in the morning,” she explains. “You’d think there’d be more chaos with 15 girls sharing one bathroom, but it really isn’t an issue.”

“Home is where the

7:58 a.m. – She picks up the pace, dropping her bag in the Class II alcove, and racing down Baker Street to get to Assembly. On this particular morning, a faculty member plucks Taylor from the corridor and asks her to help out by taking Class II attendance. She meticulously eyes the rows of students, checking off who is in his or her seat on time. After Assembly, she heads to the Animal Rights Club meeting, where

the Nobles community.

heart is,” suits Taylor Blake better than almost any other. As a boarder, Taylor considers campus not just her “home away from home” but her primary connection to

Science teacher Dominic Manzo checks up on lab partners, Taylor Blake, center, and Kate Makaroff, both ’11.

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 3

been cancelled, so after class she has an unprecedented block of time to fill. “I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with myself,” she laughs. “I usually don’t have this much free time during the day.”

4:45 p.m. – Having used the extra time earlier in the afternoon to get a head start on Precalculus homework, Taylor leaves the Schoolhouse and walks down to the Bliss Omni and Flood Rink to get ready for practice. She is the team’s starting goalie, and swings open the locker room door to the sounds of blaring pop music. It’s clear that her teammates consider Taylor to be comic relief, and she picks up her “lucky” tennis balls to juggle while the rest of the girls get ready for practice. While she loves hockey (she’s played since she was 7), her relationship with the girls transcends the sport.

They’re remarkably close, despite age differences among them.

Taylor Blake ’11 finds down time in the locker room before practice.

“Boarding is my favorite part of Nobles.

Because it’s such a small community, you get to know everyone so well and really bond as a group. There are kids with whom I’ve become really close and whom I know I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

—Taylor Blake ’11

she helps plan the dog-washing fundraiser the group has scheduled for the spring.

9:10 a.m. – Taylor walks into Conceptual Physics, the first of two science classes on her schedule. It’s a lab day, so she works with her partner, trying to light up a small bulb through a series of circuits. Science teacher Dominic Manzo makes his way around the room, stopping at Taylor’s station to check the pair’s progress. After a few minutes of probing questions from Manzo and a few tweaks to their wiring, the light bulb radiates a tiny glow. At the end of the period, Taylor leaves the Baker Building and walks quickly to the Schoolhouse for English II with Julia Russell before heading to an early lunch (11 a.m.).

12:45 p.m. – As she cleans up her work station in the Art Studio, Taylor leaves Painting (with visual arts teacher David Roane) and heads back to the Baker Building for her final class of the day, Environmental Science with Deb Harrison. Her scheduled Girls’ Varsity Hockey game has

4 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

6:30 p.m. – Taylor leaves the rink and walks up the path to the Castle for dinner.

After eating, Taylor heads straight to the dorm (thankfully, it’s not her week for Castle clean-up duty!) and, once settled in her room, tackles the rest of her homework.

9:00 p.m. – Just before 9 p.m., Taylor makes her way to the dorm’s common room for Good Nights, a Nobles boarding tradition. The mood is more familial than academic and she grabs a chocolate chip cookie, kicks her legs up on the sofa and catches up with everyone. “Boarding is my favorite part of Nobles. Because it’s such a small community, you get to know everyone so well and really bond as a group,” she explains. “There are kids with whom I’ve become really close whom I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

11:30 p.m. – After a few hours of homework and catching up with friends on Facebook, Taylor shuts down the computer and hops into bed. In a few short hours, she’ll start all over again – Chewy granola bar and all.

—Julie Guptill

Phillip Hession, CLASS II HOMETOWN:

Canton, Mass.

Canton public schools

ADMITTED FROM:

F

or Phil Hession, each day brings a barrage of questions: “What would you like for breakfast?” (Mom); “How are your classes this semester?” (Advisor meeting); “How is Robert Frost using language in this poem?” (English II); “What do you know about static electricity?” (Conceptual Physics); “What are you up to this weekend?” (Friends); “¿Cuándo se debe utilizar ‘para’?” (Spanish III); “Where should you be so you can grab that rebound?” (Basketball practice). He does his best to provide everyone with answers and, along the way, shows eagerness to learn and ask questions of his own.

7:20 a.m. – The entire Hession family, including Phil and younger sister Natalie ’15, hops into the car. Their mom drops their dad at the train station, and then heads to Nobles. She pulls up to the Arts Center, and both Phil and Natalie walk straight to Lawrence Auditorium. Twenty minutes later, as Mr. Henderson calls out “Faculty, First Class,” dismissing the teachers and seniors from Assembly, Phil quickly does a mental checklist of the day ahead.

8:25 a.m. – Phil heads to his first class, Precalculus with Scott Wilson. At the end of the period, with numbers on the brain, he walks up the Shattuck Schoolhouse stairs for Microeconomics, taught by Michael Herring. Herring is also Phil’s Varsity Basketball coach, but they save game talk for the court and get down to business, discussing “profit maximization for a perfectly competitive firm.”

10:10 a.m. – Bounding up yet another set of Schoolhouse stairs, Phil opens the door to English II and finds a seat in the small circle next to teacher Peter Raymond. After a few minutes of journal writing to begin the class, everyone takes out a copy of Robert Frost’s poem, “The Mending Wall,” and

Raymond leads a line-by-line analysis. After most of the students have had the chance to chime in, Raymond ends class with a revelation: “It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve taught something, each group comes up with new ideas that I haven’t thought of yet.”

Phil Hession ’11 works with a partner during Spanish class.

11:00 a.m. – There is a lot to do in the next two hours. Phil uses this time to meet with his tutor before heading to the Castle for lunch. “If I can, I like to take my time to eat,” he says. “On a good day, I’ll have 30 to 45 minutes to relax and socialize.” At 12:35 p.m., he grabs his book bag and walks to Putnam Library, where he’ll squeeze in 20 minutes of work.

1:00 p.m. – A dozen students eye a silver contraption in the middle of the table. Physics teacher David Strasburger explains that it’s an electroscope used for detecting static electricity. After a recap of positive and negative charges, Strasburger introduces a lesson on static electricity and pairs up the students SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 5

to test objects in the classroom. Phil and his partner hold item after item up to the scope to test the charge, then scribble notes about what types of things are considered conductors as opposed to insulators.

After emptying his gym bag, Phil showers and gets ready for dinner with the family. The Hessions make it a point to eat together every night. Table discussion turns to the day’s events, talking about work, school and sports.

1:50 p.m. – He heads downstairs in the Baker Building to Spanish III, where more partner work awaits. The lesson is about the proper uses of “para” and “por” and students drill each other with flashcards that teacher Violet Richard has made for them.

2:40 p.m. – After a quick check-in with friends in the alcoves, Phil heads to the Putnam Library for a second time. He enters with a quick wave to librarian Erin Twohig.

“Phil’s a familiar face here in the library,” she says.

4:30 p.m. – Phil, who for the most part has conducted his day somewhat quietly, comes alive on the basketball court. He lines up for drills and loudly encourages teammates as the fast-paced Varsity Basketball practice gets underway. Coach Herring brings intensity to the court, firing off instructions to

the team. The boys respond with enthusiasm, coupled with looks of frustration at missed passes and failed three-point shots. But that is what practice is for!

6:15 p.m. – After a tough workout, Phil gets into his mom’s car and heads back to Canton. After emptying his gym bag, he showers and gets ready for dinner with the family. The Hessions make it a point to eat together every night. Table discussion turns to the day’s events, talking about work, school and sports. At 7:30 p.m., Phil helps clear the table. For the next few hours, he bounces between homework and unwinding after an action-packed day.

11:55 p.m. – It’s been a long day, and as it comes to an end, Phil checks email one last time before shutting off the lights and falling asleep. Tomorrow begins with a meeting with advisor Steve Ginsberg, before another full load of classes. Mid-week brings a tough basketball opponent, so no doubt tomorrow’s practice will be another workout.

—Julie Guptill

Coach Michael Herring (left) instructs Phil Hession from the line, as Herring’s daughter Cameron (center) watches.

6 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

Alex Johnson, CLASS IV HOMETOWN:

Boston, Mass.

Preparatory Charter School

ADMITTED FROM: Roxbury

A “

young man who is defined by his peacefulness, his humility, his work ethic and his sincere desire to learn.”

—Alex Gallagher ’90, Advisor

5:15 a.m. – Alex Johnson is an early riser and spends the next hour showering, eating breakfast and preparing for school, which involves packing the two (!) backpacks he needs to fit the textbooks for all seven of his classes. Alex hops on the Orange line to Forest Hills, where the Local Motion bus is waiting to drive him and other students who reside in Boston to Nobles. In the backmost seat of the bus, Alex chats with Jett Oristaglio (Class IV) and other friends.

7:57 a.m. – The bus peels onto Campus Drive in time for Alex to toss his bags on the ground and dash into Assembly, where, today, it is announced that the latest issue of The Beagle has arrived. Alex, the youngest contributor to the Nobles science magazine, published a piece on the ways in which insects help forensic scientists solve crimes.

9:20 a.m.–12:50 p.m. – Classes, classes and more classes. This is one of Alex’s “crazy” days. (But not the “craziest,” he assures.

On Tuesdays, he has only 20 minutes to eat lunch.)

First is an oral presentation in Tara Cocozza’s Spanish class. The dialogue on pastimes, which Alex memorized, is well received by his peers.

Next comes Intro to Biology with Dr. Jamileh Jemison, or Dr. J, as Alex likes to say. Today, it’s last-minute review before Monday’s big test on genetics: Punnet squares, Mendel’s Laws, geno- and phenotypes. Is Alex nervous? “No,” he laughs.

In the five-minute passing period between Bio and his 10:10 a.m. M-block dance class,

Alex packs up his textbooks, sprints from the Baker Building to the Schoolhouse, drops his two bags off in the freshmen alcoves, and makes a beeline to the Arts Center lobby.

He tosses his long, wool coat and dress shirt over the back of a chair and dances non-stop (even when his group is allowed to “rest”) for the 50-minute period. The class, taught

by Jillian Grunnah, was once an eightperson class (Alex is an original member).

Now, the class fills the entire lobby with more than 20 students. Alex, who says he has been interested in dance for a few years, is looking forward to the spring when he’ll have the opportunity to choreograph his own dance in class.

Alex Johnson ’13 working with Joy Adams, Nobles’ costume designer, backstage at the winter mainstage play

In Graphic Design, with Amanda Wastrom, Alex chips away at his logo-design project.

When instructed to choose an organization, real or fictitious, for which students would design a logo, Alex, without hesitation, selected Tenacity, a Brighton-based organization that provides “a winning combination SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 7

1:45 p.m. – Indian dynasties, the topic of discussion these days in Alex’s History of the Human Condition (HHC) class with Nahyon Lee, offers an interesting segue into the country’s independence movement from Britain.

2:35 p.m. – Friday X-block: If the Multicultural Student Association (MSA) hosts a debate, Alex will attend. Otherwise, he uses this time to check his email or enjoy some down-time in the alcoves with friends. Alex is looking forward to becoming a boarder next year, which will allow him ample time to get involved on campus.

Alex Johnson ’13 pauses between thoughts on the Odyssey.

For his winter Afternoon Program, Alex tried his hand at technical theatre.

In preparation for Mark Twain’s Is He Dead?, Alex learned lighting techniques, set design and even worked with Joy Adams on wardrobes.

of literacy, life-skills and tennis instruction that enables at-risk youth to succeed.”

Julia Russell rounds out Alex’s morning by handing out a vocab quiz with a “surprise” b-side reading check on the Odyssey.

Alex isn’t fazed by this curveball and is one of the first students to complete the quiz.

The rest of class is spent discussing Athenian intervention from the Odyssey’s 13th book.

Alex is in the zone, flipping through the text, offering keen insights, and even respectfully disagreeing with classmates, sparking healthy debate.

12:50 p.m. – After touching base with some friends in the alcoves, Alex walks to the Castle for a late lunch of an Italian sausage and fries (it’s pre-Super Bowl tailgate day, after all).

8 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

3:15 p.m. – For his winter Afternoon Program, Alex tried his hand at technical theatre. In preparation for Mark Twain’s Is He Dead? (See story, page 20), Alex learned lighting techniques, set design and even worked with Joy Adams on wardrobes.

Today, decked out in power tools and sporting protective eye-wear, he partners-up with Jett (from the bus) to attach doors and wooden details to the set.

5:16 p.m. – Rehearsal ends just late enough for Alex to miss the 5:15 p.m. bus back to Forest Hills, so he gets some work done while waiting for the second bus.

7:31 p.m.–10:00 p.m. – Alex enjoys dinner with his mom, finishes his homework and watches a TV show (tonight it’s ABC’s “Fringe”) before getting to bed early enough to respond to his 5:15 a.m. alarm.

—Lauren Bergeron

Maria Maier, CLASS V HOMETOWN: Walpole, FORMER SCHOOL:

Mass.

The British School, Boston

6

:40 a.m. – The SUV pulls out of Maria Maier’s driveway at precisely 6:40 a.m. in order for her mother, a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to keep her first appointment at 7:30 a.m. The two use the commute to run through Maria’s upcoming day.

7:00 a.m. – Arrive at Nobles. Corridors empty. Lug book bag to second-floor cubby in Pratt. As she pulls book upon book from the oversized red nylon bag, the image of multiple circus clowns emerging from a Volkswagen “Beetle” comes to mind.

7:10 a.m. – Maria enters the library to study for her quiz, professing her preference to study aloud and peripatetically, much like the Greek philosophers. She paces among the stacks, memorizing vocabulary. “Latin seems to help develop how I’m thinking,” she theorizes. “Plus knowing Latin helps with the precision of my vocabulary.”

8:00 a.m. – Assembly. Twice a month, on a Tuesday, Middle Schoolers break away for their own special Assembly in the Morrison Forum, the fulcrum of the Pratt Middle School experience. Earlier in the week, Maria enjoyed a prominent speaking part in celebration of African-American History month.

She read aloud “The People Could Fly,” an African folk tale about an old man with supernatural powers, waiting for freedom to fly back to Africa.

to achieve stability before attempting to introduce both education and democrati- zation. When Maria talks, the class shows respectful attention. At one point she in- terjected, “America tends to propose ‘Do what I say, not what I’m doing.’”

10:05 a.m. – Latin B. The Quiz. George Blake has prepared a vocabulary mix of adjectives, verbs and nouns, ranging from some whose derivatives are dead giveaways (antiquus, finitimus) to others that require more intimate knowledge of the assignment: reducti sunt (they have been brought back), deligebamini (you were being chosen/ imperfect passive), deligis (you choose).

“Latin seems to help develop how I’m thinking. Plus knowing Latin helps with the precision of my vocabulary.”

—Maria Maier ’14

10:50 a.m. – Lunch. Perhaps, given the time, we should call it brunch. Middle Schoolers are assigned the first lunch period.

Maria’s co-ed table is crowded with students who claimed to have met on “day one at Nobles.” They hail from Chestnut Hill, Dedham, Walpole, and Weston. Many are recognizable from the aforementioned Civics

8:25 a.m. – Spanish II Honors.

Self-explanatory.

9:20 a.m. – Civics. In Don Allard’s Civics class, one of the more animated discussions (verging on debate) prompts Maria to keep her hand in the air constantly. The discussion revolved around whether American troops should leave or remain in Afghanistan.

Maria opted for retaining the forces in order

Maria Maier ’14 with her fully loaded book bag.

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 9

class and will pop up again in English.

Others are in the Middle School play together.

Many work on the Middle School Press of which Maria is editor.

Voice teacher Carmen Marsico directs Maria through several minutes of vocal exercises, then reminds her how to use diaphragmatic breathing, by pushing deliberately against her abdominal muscles.

11:25 a.m. – Algebra I Honors. Ross Henderson hands back their most recent tests and discusses where many went wrong.

Work problems seemed to need additional practice. The previous night’s homework also causes some consternation, so Henderson helps them through problems 35 through 43. The new assignment focuses on slopeintercept form, standard form and pointslope form of a line.

12:20 p.m. – Science V. Experiment on fractional distillation.

1:05 p.m. – Voice Lesson. Voice teacher Carmen Marsico directs Maria through several minutes of vocal exercises, then reminds her how to use diaphragmatic breathing, by pushing deliberately against her abdominal muscles. Glack, glack, glack, glack. Ee-ee, oo-oo-oo. These sounds emanate.

Maria studying peripatetically in the library stacks in the mode of the ancient Greeks.

1:50 p.m. – English V. Thomas Forteith gives a Middle School SCRAPS (Small change reminder and penalty system) to Maria’s shadow for inadvertently causing her to be late to class. He then distributes an English vocabulary quiz to the entire class, after which the studetns return to their MIT

Maria as Mrs. Squeers in Nicholas Nickleby.

10 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

animation Scratch project. Having read A Raisin in the Sun, and written a story about one of the relationships within, they are now animating this relationship via an MIT computer program.

2:45 p.m. – Middle School Play Rehearsal for An Evening with Nick and Jane (See story, page 21); Nicholas Nickleby was the first oneact adaptation out of the gates, with Maria taking on the substantive role of evil teacher/caretaker Mrs. Squeers who, in cockney accent, oversees the boys of Dotheboys Hall.

Director Jillian Grunnah commended the cast for delivering their lines with humor and tenderness. Maria clearly knows everyone’s lines and cues. The cast even found time to run through the second one-act production, Jane Eyre, in which Maria plays Abbot, the evil maid, and Ms. Scatcherd, the strictest, meanest teacher of all. “I find myself getting in touch with my evil side,” Maria joked.

5:00 p.m. – Wait outside Middle School for Dad, a professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Connecticut. They discuss —what else?—how the day went, including an in-depth conversation of the Afghanistan position papers presented in Civics. “Maria likes to share every detail of her day with us,” her dad affirms. A couple of hours of homework, followed by a fashionably late dinner, await.

—Joyce L. Eldridge

Chris Averill lends a hand to Robbie Abookire, center, and Andrew Freeman, both ’14, as they set up their lab project.

Chris Averill, SCIENCE FACULTY

FROM: The Gow School, South Wales, N.Y. Teaching at Nobles for 11 years, living on campus for three

7

:15 a.m. – Between sips of coffee, Chris Averill is busy flipping pancakes and packing lunches for his two girls, Jordan (12) and Sarah (9), who are getting ready for school. Jordan, a sixthgrader at the Dedham Middle School, wedges a giant pink binder into her backpack alongside Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic.

After the girls gobble down their breakfast, they clean up, returning the maple syrup to the refrigerator; they even fire-up the dishwasher. Then the doorbell rings. “That must be Tony [son of English teacher Shannon Clark],” Jordan says. The Averills, along with other Nobles residents with young children, take turns driving to the Dedham public schools. Today is Averill’s turn to man the carpool.

7:40 a.m. – On his way to the Dedham Middle School, Averill keeps his cool inching through Dedham center, which is notoriously

clogged with traffic. He makes it back to Nobles by 8:20 a.m. for his next run, Riverdale Elementary School. Averill rounds up Sarah, Lily VanOot [daughter of Betsy], Chase Cronin [son of Jacqui] and Leo Pandalfi [son of Clark] before heading to Riverdale. The school is right down the street from Nobles, which is fortunate for Averill because today he has a first-period class.

Averill, whose

8:30 a.m. – Out come test tubes, power sources, electrodes and sodium carbonate as Class V students isolate hydrogen and oxygen in a decomposition-of-water lab.

Averill, whose psychedelic tie-dye lab coat pops against the black epoxy-coated table tops, whirls around the room, offering assistance and answering questions as students detect the presence of oxygen in the matchlighting “glow test.”

presence of oxygen in

psychedelic tie-dye lab coat pops against the black epoxy-coated table tops, whirls around the room, offering assistance and answering questions as students detect the the match-lighting “glow test.”

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 11

free periods open for things like helping students who are struggling,” Averill says.

1:50 p.m. – In his fourth and final class of the day, Averill hands each Sixie a laptop with which to conduct research for their endangered species project. He presents some project guidelines: each student must detect the mythical significance and cultural influence of creatures such as the Komodo dragon or the panda bear.

The Averill family, clockwise, from top left: Sarah, Jordan, Chris and Kristie.

In his fourth and final class of the day, Averill hands each Sixie a laptop with which to conduct research for their endangered species project. He presents some project guidelines: each student must detect the mythical significance and cultural influence of creatures such as the Komodo dragon or the panda bear.

9:20 a.m. – The Middle School teachers convene in what is called a “Core” meeting, with topics of discussion ranging from student performance to interdisciplinary-project plans. Averill, for example, is working with geography and technology teachers for the Sixies’ Endangered Species project, which involves a paper and an iMovie public service announcement, both of which also tie into the ’Round the World project.

10:45 a.m. – After another class, Averill heads to the Castle for lunch. “You get used to it,” he says jokingly of the unconventional Middle School lunch hour.

12:10 p.m. – Averill sits on the Middle School Afternoon Program committee.

At their weekly meeting, the group, led by Middle School Athletic Director Rob Feingold, discusses a new Middle School athletics Mission statement. This statement “is intended to go up on the Nobles website and in the Guide to communicate the Afternoon Program philosophy of the Middle School,” Averill says.

1:05 p.m. – The next hour is spent offering extra help to a student. “I like to leave my

12 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

3:00 p.m. – After answering emails at his desk, which displays—in addition to family portraits—a sheep’s brain preserved in formaldehyde, Averill heads home to spend some time with his family. “This is where living on campus pays dividends,” he says, as the next hour of his day would have been spent commuting home to Easton, where he lived during his first eight years at Nobles.

When he doesn’t work out at the gym, he treats his basset hounds, Stella and Stanley, to an extra long walk around campus.

4:15 p.m. – Jordan and Sarah have attended dance lessons for “as long as I can remember,” says third-grader Sarah, and it’s their favorite thing to do. Averill drives his girls to their dance instruction in Needham.

5:00 p.m. – While the girls are perfecting the “running man” and the “shuffle,” Averill heads back to the Middle School to meet with another student. They spend half an hour going over a recent test.

6:15 p.m. – During his final car trip of the day to pick up the girls from dance, all Averill can think about is dinner (remember, he ate lunch at 10:45 a.m.). Around 6:45 p.m., he, wife Kristie and their children walk over to the Castle for chicken and beef stir-fry. The Averills sit with the Clark family.

7:30 p.m. – Once home, Averill sits down with his kids for “homework time,” which he spends grading tests and preparing the next day’s lessons. After the kids go to bed, Averill enjoys a few minutes of the Winter Olympics with his wife. —Lauren Bergeron

Vicky Seelen, ENGLISH FACULTY 21 years at Nobles; 31 years teaching Commutes from Roslindale, Mass.

7

:15 a.m. – Daily arrival time.

Vicky Seelen could be described as “a teacher’s teacher.” She teaches students, mentors second-year teachers and is one of the chairs of the Evaluation Team for third-years. In an earlier life she ran the Massachusetts Institute for New Teachers at UMass-Boston and earned a Klingenstein Fellowship at Columbia University established to “develop and strengthen leadership among teachers and administrators.”

8:00 a.m. – Assembly and/or Advisor meetings (her advisee load is nine students ).

Her goal before entering each class is simple yet profound: “In my classroom I want kids to get to know and like each other…. I want to create an atmosphere of trust. I go into every class thinking, ‘What do I want us to become as a group?’ I can be tough yet still create an inspiring environment.”

9:20 a.m. – English III (Genres/Winter: The Novel). Under her aegis, Class III students virtually eviscerate Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, pulling out memorable quotes by Conrad, adding analyses and maintaining plot summaries where needed.

All notations are cited in different colored markers and a mix of intelligible cursive and print on the whiteboard in Room 123.

Where the whiteboard rounds the corner, pullquotes abound from African novelist and critic Chinua Achebe’s controversial 1975 lecture An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.” In it, Achebe called Conrad “a bloody racist.” One observation that these kids are onto: Conrad’s primitive dialect undercuts the likelihood of conveying African intelligence.

Besides her literary acumen and 31 years in the classroom, Seelen brings a few hallmark continued on page 15

Seelen, in Creative Writing class with Jack Manzi, left, and Manthon Baker, both ’10. Shown above, an example of Seelan's elegant glass-blown jewelry.

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 13

Evaluation Commitments Take Additional Hours

A

s an Evaluation Team Chair, Vicky Seelen sits on a four-person faculty committee, which meets with every third-year teacher at three-year intervals. The evaluation process requires two meetings per faculty member: once, at the outset, to outline the process and later to review the findings, which are also summarized in a four-page, single-spaced document written by Seelen or one of three other evaluation chairs: Jenny Carlson-Pietraszek, Tilesy Harrington or Sandi MacQuinn who, as Dean of Faculty, spends innumerable hours ensuring that evalutions run smoothly. This document, which contains the committee’s commendations and recommendations, is ultimately shared with Head of School Bob Henderson, who sets up a meeting with the evaluee to discuss future steps.

The evaluation data that is compiled between the first and second meetings with the faculty member is dense and meaningful, drawn from the following: · The four committee members each observe four of the evaluee's classes (for a total of 16 observation points); · Between 17 and 20 peer faculty and all of the teacher’s students are asked to submit feedback; · A self-evaluation is required; · Nobles’ senior Administrative team is asked to weigh in if appropriate.

“I feel very strongly about maintaining the dignity of each person who goes through an evaluation…who should be treated with great care….You can say just about anything if you say it right,” Seelen said. “Each evaluation is a wonderful opportunity to help people stretch and provide positive reinforcement for what they have accomplished.”

“Bob [Henderson] came from a culture of evaluation at his past school [North Yarmouth Academy in Maine],” Seelen said. “I have watched him run an eval and he’s great at it. He offers a very balanced report of positive news along with potential growth points. Evaluations have been a great tool for professional growth at this school.”

Henderson agreed that, when he came to Nobles 10 years ago, he wanted to begin a strong culture of evaluation immediately. He formed a committee, gave some guidelines (“peer evaluation must be at the heart of this”) and tweaked some areas that he felt were lacking at North Yarmouth. In addition to Seelen and Henderson himself, the members of that formative Faculty Evaluation Committee were Tim Carey, Carlson-Pietraszek, Jacqui Cronin, Deb Harrison, MacQuinn, Dan Matlack, Bob Moore, Peter Raymond and Ben Snyder.

As a former member of the Evaluation Team as well as Chair of the History Department, Louis Barassi has strong praise for Seelen: “Vicky was one of the architects of the program. She not only brings her experience and insight, but also approaches the process with impartiality, permitting the data to speak for itself. She is a superb communicator and has a great capacity for synthesis, allowing her to pull many disparate elements together.”

The Nobles evaluation system is so highly regarded nationally that last year the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), meeting in Chicago, accepted a proposal from Nobles to demonstrate the school’s unique, successful and complex tool. Besides Seelen, Dean of Faculty MacQuinn, former Dean of Faculty Carey and original evaluation architect David Strasburger participated.

Recently the school added a second-year mentoring component to the mix, which Seelen is in charge of.

An early 2010 beneficiary was Math teacher Emily Parfit who met with Seelen twice, once to describe an issue that had arisen for her in class and later to listen to Seelen’s recommendations after the veteran teacher had observed Parfit’s class twice. “Vicky gave me specific suggestions as to how to teach in that particular situation,” Parfit said. “It was very, very helpful.”

—Joyce L. Eldridge

14 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

“tricks” to her teaching repertoire, such as disarming jokes (“Is there a bomb in that bag?” she asks a senior who drops an oversized pocketbook on the Memorial Room table. At the end of class, her usual closing is “Bye, stay out of prison, as we say in the old country.”) Her traditional greeting to sophomores is “Hi, Scholars.” They love it.

When she skips a day, they remind her to resume the tradition.

A lilting, highly inflective voice restores order whenever attention seems to falter.

Her classroom wardrobe is riveting for its neon colors: turquoises with corals…lilacs with violets…bright blue clogs…a wool scarf that ties together all the visual elements of the wardrobe much the way Seelen smartly ties together the corruption found in the Congo (Heart of Darkness) under Belgian rule with that in Haiti (contextualizing a historical lecture delivered that morning in Assembly) colonized by France.

10:10 a.m. – The tone and format of “Creative Writing,” a senior elective, are palpably different from her “Novel” class.

A preponderance of females sits around the table in the Memorial Room, offering pithy critiques or random comments. All have been asked to read the first February New Yorker, which will become a staple of their weekly assignments until the end of the semester.

“The New Yorker is your video,” she said, comparing their assignment to a film student’s immersion in Truffaut. “If you see a virtuoso performance, try to replicate it….

Be a camera.” She alludes jokingly to the Communications presence (this author) in her classroom and what, apocryphally, is yet to come: “Miss Seelen was nervously fiddling with her glasses because there was a visitor in the room.”

The group is soon divided into four, each discussing one of several New Yorker pieces that have been assigned. The stories ranged from a vivid description of cryogenics to a reverie (bulging with parentheses) about the once-popular five-and-dime stores, to a profile of a somewhat bizarre author who uses Gothic elements in his children’s stories

to illustrate man’s insanity. At the end of class, Seelen politely admonishes them for not finishing their New Yorker reading. She suggested less socializing in the alcoves.

Noon – English Department Meeting: Discussions range from stepping up the department’s recycling efforts…to possible changes to the new curriculum guide… to sentiments about purchasing some tables for the school.

Afternoon – Evaluation meeting with a third-year member of the History department and a mentoring appointment with a second-year teacher. Contents and findings privileged. (See separate story on evaluations, page 14.)

Students probingly analyze Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

Her traditional greeting to sophomores is “Hi, Scholars.” They love it. When she skips a day, they remind her to resume the tradition.

4:00 p.m. – She is then off to the gym to work out before sharing dinner with husband Tad, a science teacher at Cambridge School of Weston who once served as Dean of Faculty and leads the evaluation program there.

6:00 p.m. – After dinner, a “meatless Monday” chock full of natural and local ingredients, both adjourn to correcting papers, although Vicky may steal an hour or two in her basement studio to make flame-worked beads which become the distinctive, colorful material for her arresting jewelry (see picture, page 13). In his studio, Tad may paint his signature Irish landscapes.

And, to paraphrase newscaster Walter Cronkite, “That’s the way it is,” on Monday (and many other weekdays/nights) in the life of faculty member Vicky Seelen.

—Joyce Leffler Eldridge SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 15

Nobles Hall of Fame

F Steve Owen '66

OR THE INAUGURAL CLASS OF THE ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME, NOBLES will honor 11 individual athletes, one coach and one team on Reunion/Graduates’ Day. All are welcome to attend the ceremony, which will be held on Saturday, May 8, at 2 p.m. in the Morrison Athletic Center.

The Hall of Fame project began to take shape two years ago, when a graduate focus group compiled a Mission Statement and guidelines for the selection process. Throughout the fall, a committee of Nobles graduates joined Director of Athletics Bob Moore and Director of Graduate Affairs Brooke Asnis ’90 to consider nominations and select the

2010 Class.

“From the start, we hoped that the Hall would honor individual and team accomplishments while also celebrating the proud tradition of Nobles athletics. It is a fun addition to the school and Reunion Day,” explains Moore.

Asnis adds: “This first class reflects the school’s history in many ways, with inductees spanning eight decades and representing multiple sports. Robert Summers ’26 is our only posthumous inductee, and he personified the early days of Nobles athletics. He played four sports extremely well, and he even tied a world record in track.”

Brian Ford will be inducted for his role as coach of the girls’ crew program; among the many highlights of his coaching at Nobles, Ford’s teams won four consecutive first-boat races in the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships at Quinsigamond (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) in a coxed four and a gold medal at the National Championships in Indianapolis in 1992 in an eight.

The 1951 football team was selected as the first team to be inducted; this squad was undefeated, achieving the best record of any Nobles football team in 34 years and breaking a 10-year losing streak against Milton.

Steve Owen ’66, who was described by former Headmaster Eliot Putnam as the best athlete in the first 100 years of the school, will be inducted alongside his son, Steve Owen ’97, also a memorable three-

16 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

to Open May 8th

Bill Bliss '48

sport athlete in the history of Nobles. Owen ’97 and fellow inductee Martha Schneider ’90 were each awarded both the Nobles Shield and the Miller Medal for scholarship and athletics. Schneider, a tri-captain at Nobles, went on to captain the varsity soccer team at Harvard.

To nominate a fellow graduate for the Hall of Fame Class of 2011, please visit www.nobles.edu/halloffame.

The Inaugural Class of 2010 Robert Summers ’26 Bill Bliss ’48

Barry Treadwell ’60 Steve Owen ’66

Derek Van Slyck ’75 Val Jordan ’81

Michael Uretsky ’81 Clift Georgaklis ’82 Martha Schneider ’90 Steve Owen ’97

Kelly McManus ’98 Brian Ford

The 1951 Football Team

Mission Statement of the Nobles Hall of Fame The Hall of Fame honors and celebrates the proud athletic tradition of Noble and Greenough School, reflects a standard of excellence to which current Nobles students might aspire, and emphasizes the character, leadership and teamwork that are fundamental to the Nobles definition of athletic distinction.

From left; Val Jordon ’81; Nick Nickerson, Coach; Ellen Praught ’82 SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 17

FLIK Serves

With Community Interests at Heart

BY JULIE GUPTILL

E

ven with a robust boarding community, at 5:30 in the morning the Nobles campus is serene, the sun rising to empty, quiet spaces. In just a couple of hours. however, the halls will be bustling.

In preparation for this, the lights are on and people are busy in the Castle kitchen. The kitchen staff members, subcontracted by national foodservices company FLIK, are usually the first to arrive each morning and often some of the last to leave at the end of the day.

They are the people who ensure that every meal goes smoothly—from the intimate breakfasts for the boarding community to the large-scale catered events which bring thousands to campus each year.

FLIK is a division of the Compass Group, the country’s largest food service company and the arm which specializes in independent and private school dining.

The company takes pride in serving schools ranging from grades K-12 and aims to include an educational aspect to the services provided. According to their website, which is rich with dietary information and healthy living tips, “FLIK…offers schools the latest in nutritional science, and [its] business practices incorporate meaningful recycling and conservation programs.”

The school hired FLIK almost 13 years ago, according to Business Manager Steve Ginsberg, and it has been the only company serving Nobles since the decision was made to outsource.

“While the folks from FLIK are not technically employees of the school, they are certainly important members

18 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

The hand-off during the lunch rush

of the Nobles community. In a challenging space, they have effectively served the needs of a community on a daily basis and with a growing number of catered events,” Ginsberg said.

Despite the long hours (an average of 10 to 12) and space limitations (one small steamer and only two Fryolators in the Castle kitchen), FLIK Manager Dana McManus and his staff serve 600–700 people throughout a typical day, more when there is a catered event scheduled. “In some ways, the day-today meals are the least challenging. It’s the paperwork, organization, ordering, staying on top of things that are my biggest challenges,” says McManus.

“It’s an intense place to work.”

Yet, McManus says that he feels at home here. He came to Nobles last spring and says, “The community is

A colorful slice

fantastic. Everybody has been so nice and welcoming to me. That openness really helped me out during the transition.” In addition to feeling the connection to the larger community, many FLIK staff members also say they feel close to one another. The long hours, attention to detail and tight quarters bring them together in so many ways, working as a team for a common goal.

Executive chef Mike Ryan, in his seventh year at Nobles, says that one crew helps prep and set up for the next so that everything goes smoothly.

“There’s a small crew in the morning, and then the regular crew comes in and gets ready for lunch. It’s a great group to work with.”

This issue’s Window on Nobles (see pages 28–29) features a pictorial acknowledgment of the hard work and dedication of the FLIK staff and was created by the members of the Fall 2009 Photojournalism class, taught

by John Hirsch. In addition to the photography, the students also spent hours interviewing the kitchen staff about their experiences working at Nobles. That multimedia presentation, which combines audio, video and still images, is presented online at www.nobles.edu/FLIK. The members of the Photojournalism class and contributors to the FLIK project are: Tim Carey (faculty), Ashleigh Davilla ’10, Zach Ellison ’11, Alyssa Frederico ’11, John Hirsch (faculty), Rowan Krishnan ’12, Maddie Leach ’10, Michelle Picard ’11, Hannah Robinson ’11, Morgan Yucel ’11, and Tyler Zon ’12 .

A very special “thank you” goes to the entire FLIK staff.

[

Photos by John Hirsch’s Photojournalism class

]

Executive Chef Mike Ryan

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 19

Mainstage Play Offers Up Humor to the “Twainth” Degree From left: David DiNicola ’11, Ben Kent ’12, Jesse Rapaport ’10, Christian Hatch ’11.

H

umor has been advocated in Nobles’ Mission statement for close to two decades. It sets us apart from peer schools in the Independent School League (ISL). It’s a known antidote for depression, a stimulus for getting in touch with one’s “inner child,” a staple of theatre, from comedy to farce to burlesque.

In its winter season, the Nobles Theatre Collective (NTC) embraced humor with open arms, literally and figuratively. Shortly before March break, the NTC mounted Mark Twain’s hilarious comedy Is He Dead? adapted

by David Ives and performed by a 14-member cast that was stretched but not daunted. Sex changes, age changes and other transformations were but a few of the challenges the Twain play hurled at the NTC. Director Todd Morton, assistant theatre director of the NTC, and Assistant Director Annie Winneg ’11 worked the cast brilliantly, seeking dialectic perfection (and getting it), mannerisms appropriate to geriatrics (Morton asked “older” faculty to meet with Roz Watson ’11 and Alexandra Burns ’10 so they could study the cadence and body language of the post-50 crowd) and achieving precision timing that allowed every witty quip in the script (and there were many) to draw an appropriate and significant laugh.

The plot revolves around an attempt to elevate the value of Jean-Francois Millet’s paintings, including “The Gleaners,” by faking his death, on the belief that a dead artist’s works are more valuable than those of an artist still working away in his studio. Millet, played astutely by Jesse Rapaport ’10, transformed himself into his “sister,” Daisy, replete with flaming red wig and full-length dress. But it’s not his “drag” that’s compelling, although

Jesse Rapaport ’10

that leads to a lot of gender-bender moments, such as when he salaciously kisses his real (i.e. Millet’s) girlfriend, the talented Ava Geyer ’11.

Besides the farce and burlesque-like elements, the momentum is accelerated immensely by the abundance of verbal puns, such as (to Millet): “Yesterday your pictures were going for a song; today they will be going in a higher key.” Millet in drag: “I’m carrying more whalebone than a beach in Nantucket.”

On observing the aftermath of a chimney sweep in Millet’s studio: “He seemed to leave a soot print on the cloth.” Upon being reminded that today was the day of her “brother’s funeral,” Millet (dressed as his “sister” Daisy) said: “I knew I should have checked my [date] book.”

Shout-outs to the entire cast.

Credit also goes to English teacher Dick Baker for delivering a pre-performance and pre-intermission address to the audience: “I must request on behalf of the company that you render said contraptions (cellphones) ineffec-

20 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

tive to better appreciate the brilliance of the imminent performance.” The pre-production music was a mix of French cabaret (“C’est Si Bon,” “The Can-Can”) and French symphonic.

The sets and the costumes were magnificent, opening with a garret studio where easily recognizable Millet paintings were scattered on the walls, the two easels and the floor. Act II opened with the proverbial multiple doors that allowed some characters to run for cover, while others entered who need not/should not know their whereabouts. As for costumes, hoop skirts and distinctive wigs added to the crossdressing humor. Jon Bonner and his talented crew deserved to take bows for scenery and Joy Adams, who also replicated all of Millet’s paintings, deserved kudos for costumes, along with Alex Johnson ’13. Phil Cohen ’10 designed lighting for the production as a student designer, while Adriana Ureña ’12 did an excellent job with sound.

Perhaps the most memorable comment on the play itself was delivered

by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, a professor of English and American Studies at Stanford. Upon discovering the script in a drawer where it lay in repose for 105 years, she observed: It is “a champagne cocktail of a play—not too dry, not too sweet, with just the right amount of bubbles and buzz.”

—Joyce Leffler Eldridge

Middle School Cast Brings Authenticity to the Nobles Stage

W

hile it’s said that the best writers find success through “writing what they know,” the best actors often have to transform themselves into characters whose lives and experiences (even dialects) are completely different.

Twelve Middle School actors—Class VI and V students who enjoy the benefits of attending Nobles—appeared on the Towles Auditorium stage as 19th-century British pupils, convincing the audience of true hardship as the characters they portrayed faced adversity in the preparatory-school system of that era.

The performance, An Evening with Nick and Jane, which played in midFebruary, consisted of one-act versions of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

While there were plenty of leaps for the cast—the characters were either students who were victims of violence and poverty or nasty teachers who only served to oppress—there was a universal connection to these classic tales by way of justice and friendship, lessons to which anyone can relate. According to director Jillian Grunnah, “Both tales present parallel heroes who right

wrongs and make optimism a priority…Although the original novels were more than 500 pages in length, these one-act snapshots embody the steadfast importance of virtue.”

In the first act, Nicholas Nickleby: Schoolmaster by Tim Kelly, young Nicholas (Dana “Shmangey” Grey ’15) arrives at the boys’ boarding school, Dotheboys Hall, to take post as the new Headmaster.

He stands up to the school’s owners, Wackford Squeers (John DeVoy ’14) and Mrs. Squeers (Maria Maier ’14), who beat and even forced poison on the students. “It is said that Nicholas Nickleby even aided in the abolition of violence and mistreatment of students at British boarding schools,” Grunnah explains in her “Director’s Note” in the playbill.

After a brief intermission, during which British beverages, scones and crumpets were served, the stage was transformed into the Lowood Institute for Girls for Jane Eyre: Life at Lowood

by Robert Johanson. Mistreated and ultimately abandoned by her bitter aunt Mrs. Reed (Sofia Kinney ’15), a feisty Jane Eyre (Liz Furlong ’15) is left at the Lowood Institute to fend for herself. She learns to handle the

John Reed (Chase Haylon ’15) torments Jane Eyre (Liz Furlong ’15)

harsh treatment of the school’s staff, and finds hope through the friendships she makes, especially with young exuberant teacher Miss Temple (Kate Bussey ’15).

—Julie Guptill

From left, Kate Bussey, Dana Grey, both ’15, and Maria Maier ’14 in Nicholas Nickleby.

Brooke Strodder ’15

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 21

Former Head Charles Wiggins’ Grandson Flies High, First in U.S. Air Force, then in Ministry

C

HICAGO—Greg Wiggins ’65, a grandson of one former Head (Charles Wiggins, 1920–1943) and nephew of another (Eliot Putnam, 1943–1971) has remained in some form of service throughout his life, but the type of service has changed radically.

After a startling epiphany, Wiggins left his 25-year stint in the U.S. Air Force and decided to become a “man of the cloth.” That’s the abbreviated version of Wiggins’ life, which continues to evolve some 45 years out of Nobles.

What is Nobles’ role in this remarkable education, served on two distinctive fronts? “Nobles taught us the importance of teamwork,” Wiggins recalled. “It’s a school that educates people to realize the importance of giving back and of serving…of leaving wherever you are a better place than it was before you arrived. It is a school that recognizes the innate value of each human being and the value of hard work.” He quoted English teacher Sid Eaton as frequently reminding students that “no individual is a person unto himself.”

Upon graduating from Washington and Lee University, Wiggins joined the U.S. Air Force, where he remained for 25 years. Stationed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, he was trained to fly the F4 two-seated fighter; the C141 cargo plane, and the KC 135 Stratotanker. Several of his main combat missions took him into Vietnam.

“The saddest part of the Vietnamese runs was loading coffins onto cargo planes to take the bodies of American soldiers back to the States,” he recalled.

On one occasion, he saved the lives of his four-person crew, thanks to his

Greg ’65 and Margaret Wiggins

comprehension of the North Vietnamese dialect which allowed him to realize that his plane was flying directly into an ambush.

Wiggins took a break from his military service from 1978 to 1981 to teach at the Fay School in Southboro, Mass., but returned to the air when told his services were still critically needed.

During his tour of Alaska, he had a nightmare or revelation, depending on one’s perspective. His entire life, to that point in time, flashed before him as worthless and purposeless. He sought help from the Chaplain’s office and was told he needed to begin a healing process between himself and God. At this time, Wiggins began addressing God directly: “If You are real, You must reveal Yourself,” he recalled saying aloud.

Wiggins credits his wife Margaret with helping him heal. “Before Marga-

22 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

ret, I had emptiness; now I have fulfillment,” he said. He enrolled in the interdenominational Trinity International University, an evangelical school.

He eventually retired as a full-time minister with Living Waters Assembly of God to look after his wife, who recently lost her sight. Wiggins now serves as an associate pastor and teacher who also does visitations and funerals.

He recalls frequently the influence of his uncle, Eliot Putnam: “He was a man of strong and gracious principles who knew exactly what he stood for.

There was not a speck of arrogance about him.”

In summing up his life since he found God and entered the clergy, Wiggins attests: “God has fulfilled what he promised me about 30 years ago.”

—Joyce Leffler Eldridge

Reaching for That "Hard Sweet Spot"

S

inger-songwriter Edie Carey ’92 credits her talent with lyrics to English teacher Kate Coon (and equally likely her own dad, English teacher Tim Carey); her formative voice training to former Nobles music teacher Julie Soloway and current choral director Michael Turner, who taught a very young Carey at Dedham Country Day School; and her willingness to take risks to her Mom, for whom she wrote the first song, “Margaret,” of her first album.

Having recently recorded her seventh CD, Carey has built up a loyal following to anticipate advance orders sufficient to fund the making of her last two albums. For the past few years she has been on the road for 17 to 18 nights a month, honoring performance commitments. She has, in fact, performed in every state in the continental U.S. except Mississippi.

Now that she’s married (this past summer, at her family’s home in Tenants Harbor, Maine, to Matt Fitzsimmons, a city planner and architectural guide in Chicago) and eager to start a family, she intends to cut back on travel, scheduling more “house concerts.” These offer livingroom venues to 30 to 70 people a night, with all money going to the artist. “At clubs, the take is often as much as 50 percent and the relationship with the audience is nowhere near as powerful and intimate,” she said.

“Also, artists tend to sell more of their CDs at house concerts…. It really has tended to keep singer-songwriters afloat.”

As a songwriter, Carey prefers to perform and record her own music, which, in her words, “is pretty dark…When I write a [folk] song, it’s a transcendent experience. I try to reach that hard, sweet spot, ultimately tapping into the wisdom that I achieved going through it [the experience].” Her music covers a range of experiences, from her view that she’s nei-

ther extremely gifted nor extremely dull but right “In the Middle” (“I’ll never be a woman of extremes; I’ve never been the worst and I’ll never be the best, but that’ll never stop me or my dreams”) to the quotidian observations regarding various men in her life (“…your tarantula hands lie knotted up.”).

All her songs are intimately autobiographical, from the tentative, wistful candor of her very first album to her stronger, Edie Carey on her wedding day with dad, Tim Carey, more feminist declarations, and mom, Margaret Spenser Chase with more complex and forceful arrangements, in her sixth. throughout New York City, particularly Greenwich Village.

While her guitar is now as much Carey prefers to punctuate her a part of her opus as her voice, she was melodies with dark, dramatic, minor late in cultivating that instrument. In chords, inspired by Shawn Colvin and fact, she was at the end of freshman year the legendary Emmylou Harris, both at Barnard, in New York, when she first of whom Carey has performed with on picked up a guitar. “New York was my music cruises. Her rhythms are somefirst love,” she said, “but now it’s Chicago times contrapuntal and her rhymes which is a great mix of New York City internal…if at all. “I never know when and Boston.” From college on, she or from where my inspiration will could be seen either at Columbia University’s folk club Postcrypt in St. Paul’s come. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and there it is,” Chapel or, in her junior year abroad, she admitted. She hopes, as she moves in the plaza in Bologna, Italy, “which into the child-rearing stage of marwas like a boot camp for folk singers,” riage, to spend more time composing, she recalled. When she returned to releasing her music, for the first time Barnard, she sought out open mikes ever, to other folk artists.

The most recent song that she composed was her wedding song, “which opened up a different vein in my head.”

Written for the mandolin, the song made Carey and her husband “bawl uncontrollably,” she admitted. Her dad, who gave her away, said of this particular piece: “I am always moved by the ways in which Edie can capture a feeling, a mood, an idea. She certainly did it in this song, encapsulating the happiest moment of her life.”

—Joyce Leffler Eldridge SPRING SPRING 2010 2010 NOBLESBULLETIN BULLETIN l 23 l THE l THENOBLES

“Biennial” Artist Curtis Mann to Visit Nobles this May

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lthough the mission of the Foster Gallery mandates that the space showcase “emerging” artists, Gallery Director Betsy VanOot never envisioned that up-and-coming photographer Curtis Mann, slated to exhibit his work in Foster this spring, would be selected for inclusion in the highly coveted Whitney Museum of American Art 2010 Biennial. VanOot feared the remarkable career opportunity might create a conflict for Mann that would impact the show (the Biennial opened at the Whitney in February), but Mann has maintained his commitment to Nobles and to his friend, photography teacher John Hirsch. “Modifications,” a selection of Mann’s photographs, will exhibit in the Foster Gallery from May 3 through June 11, with an opening reception with the artist on May 20 from 4:30–6:30 p.m.

Hirsch first encountered Mann when the young artist was assigned to be Hirsch’s teaching assistant for a 2005 photography workshop in Maine; even at this early point in his career Mann was working with notions of recontextualized images. In his more recent body of work, “Modifications,” Mann prints photographs—most notably of conflict zones such as Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Lebanon and Palestine— off photo-sharing websites such as Flickr.com, then varnishes and bleaches the images to vacate portions of the color, leaving large voids of white space. By manipulating the amount of original image still legible, Mann encourages viewers to use their imagination and reconsider their opinions on current events ubiquitously photographed in newspapers, magazines and across the internet.

"Wanderers" by Curtis Mann

Mann will visit photo classrooms on May 20, discussing with students both the technical and conceptual elements of his work. As Hirsch notes, “Curtis is a fantastic artist, but he is also a wonderful teacher. Having taught high school kids before, he is very familiar with the age group and the struggles students face in making art. It will be a great visit for Nobles.”

The medium of Mann’s work is contemporary in a way that will resonate with students, who are immersed in a world where the appropriation of images is the norm. “Having Curtis discuss the intellectual process by which he arrives at a final print will be as valuable as understanding his technical approach,” says Hirsch.

In addition to being honored as an emerging artist at the Whitney Biennial, Mann is the 2009 recipient of Boston University’s Photographic Resource Center’s Leopold Godowsky, Jr. Color Photography Award, which is

24 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

"Videographer" by Curtis Mann

given to an artist whose contributions have impacted photography. “It is a great opportunity to have a photographer in Foster whose work is having an immediate impact on the art scene.” says VanOot. —Lauren Bergeron

Letters to the Editor

CONTINUED FROM INSIDE FRONT COVER

Recommends Stagliano hose are people from Classes of ’81 and ’80. Front row starting with green dress, from left to right, are Laurie Bidstrup Knight ’81, Kim Rossi Stagliano ’81, Kathy Hart ’81 and Amy Clasby ’81.

Back row, second from right, is Buffy Balsbaugh ’80. I would know more of them if I had a memory. Kim Stagliano will know all of them. I phoned her and she pulled some names out of her distant memory. She is the one in our class who really is good with remembering the details.

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Connie Moore ’81 Fast Facebook Friends I haven’t thought of Ginger Cox ’80 in 30 years! I’m still close to Judi, Amy and Laurie. Amy was in my wedding. I’m Laurie’s son’s Godmother.

And Judi and I are fast friends on Facebook after many years. I have an odd memory—comes in handy! Here’s what I know: Top row: Anita Whitney, Dana Gray Moody, Lisa Sellers, Heidi Gesner McInerney, ElizaBeth (Buffy) Balsbaugh Steffen, Ginger Cox, all ’80; front row: Judi Quirk, Laurie Bidstrup, Kim Rossi, Kathy Hart, Amy Clasby, all ’81.

Kim Stagliano ’81 Add to the List Reaffirming these names were Bill Bell ’80 and Deborah C. Smith, also ’80, who observed “Date had to be our June 1980 graduation day because the girls in the back row are in their white graduation dresses.”

Young Grad Lauds Global Experience ere is a letter I wanted to write in response to the article, “Nobles Graduates in England,” published in the Winter 2009/2010 Bulletin. I, like so many of my peers, caught the “travel bug” while studying at Nobles: two

H

years with the crew team at “Camp Bob” in South Carolina, one break spent in Chile with Ms. [Jacqui] Cronin and my last break in India with the [Sarah and Ben] Snyders.

The opportunities abroad at Nobles confounded my parents. With springbreak trips, both community service and sports-related trips, summer and semester- or year-long-abroad options, Nobles exceeds the normal expectations for travel opportunities for high school students. My dad got on a plane for the first time when he was 18, something that would be considered strange if you were to ask a teenager today. With financial aid and scholarship options, Nobles makes it possible for everyone to have a chance to travel.

To outsiders, this may seem a bit indulgent [giving young students the chance to go to countries like India and Romania]. Indeed, it would be extravagant if we were all staying at 5-star hotels and lounging by the pool all day. As anyone affiliated with Nobles would know, this is most certainly not the case. The trips that Nobles offers not only serve to enlighten and to educate (like the scuba-diving trip to Honduras or biking from end to end in Vietnam), but focus strongly on community service as well. The trip to Romania (during spring break) takes a group of students to a hospital for orphans and not only provides aid to both the children and staff there (ask anyone who has gone to Romania, the children are adorable) but students also work to fix up the hospital itself.

The trip to India focused on building eco-friendly toilets for villagers in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains; these dwellers had never had the option of using a toilet before. The trip was so successful that another group returned to India this spring.

These opportunities to go abroad give perspective that can’t be gained anywhere else. The years I spent travel-

Kelsey Lawler ’09

ing with Nobles greatly affected my choice to spend my freshman semester of college in London, England (why the article you published hit so close to home with me). By allowing students to travel while still in high school, you allow us to learn things about ourselves that might otherwise have taken years to discover. For example, I learned that it is possible to break a language barrier without using any words.

I also learned that I can hike eight miles up and down the foothills of the Himalayas (Thanks, Mr. Snyder!).

Combined with what you learn about yourself by simply attending Nobles, there is no end to what you can realize about yourself through travel. I had enough confidence in myself to know that I could live independently for three months; the list of people and opportunities I can thank for or attribute to this knowledge is endless.

I now know that not only do I love to travel, but that I need to travel.

I can’t wait to see where I end up during my junior year of college, and I owe this entirely to Nobles. Thanks for giving us all this chance to discover ourselves through travel, and thanks again for the article. I now know that if I end up in England, there are going to be plenty of grads there along with me!

Kelsey Lawler ’09 P.S. The trip this summer to the Middle East sounds incredible—I wish you all the best and can’t wait to see pictures!

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 25

Windy City Is Sometimes More

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H I C A G O —A cadre

of fairly recent Nobles graduates who moved to Chicago for undergraduate or graduate school agrees that, of all their educational experiences, Nobles remains the most formative.

“I feel much more aligned with Nobles than with Duke,” said Eric Weinberger ’00, who concedes he “gravitates to service-oriented people who abounded at Nobles.” Weinberger added that “being part of the fabric of the institution” was also very important to him at Nobles. “I don’t think you’ll find better people anywhere,” he offered. “This is a school that makes you cognizant that every individual can do a lot to further ‘leadership for the public good.’”

A history major at Duke, he credits U.S. History teachers Tim Kelley and Michael Denning, who doubled as his tennis coach, for guiding him “toward a rigorous and structured approach to research and writing.” For their individual interest in him and overall concern for his academic development, he also cited Chris Pasterczyk of the Science

department, Bill Kehlenbeck of Math, and Mark Sheeran of Modern Languages, “all of whom care a tremendous amount about their students.”

Currently a second-year student at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, Weinberger finds time to tutor at a local elementary school in Evanston and tutor statistics to firstyear Kellogg students. His tutoring skills were honed at Nobles where he

26 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

Scott Levy, left, and Eric Weinberger, both ’00

was a counselor/advisor in the Upward Bound program in the summer of 2003.

Classmate Scott Levy ’00, who grew up with Weinberger in Newton, is also at Kellogg, following in the path of his parents who both hold MBAs. He furthered two of his Nobles interests—tennis and community service—by coaching disabled adults to play tennis through the Wayland, Mass.-based Handi-Racquet program.

Than an Educational Stopover “I’m very proud of the values that were engrained in me through six years at Nobles. Of everything I learned and experienced as a Nobles student, I think the lessons about character and how we treat one another are the most important. They are the ones that I still think about and lean on regu- larly,” Levy said.

Two earlier Nobles graduates, Jon Karelitz and David Linsalata, both ’98, elected to stay in the Windy City after completing school there.

Karelitz credits Nobles with instilling the value of “being nice” to one another. His interest in community service has carried over from Dedham to Chicago where he serves on the Board of Directors at the Jewish Council for Youth Services. His fondness for Chicago began when he was an undergraduate at Northwestern. Even though he went on to law school in Bloomington, Ind. (University of Indiana Law School), where he met his wife, he returned to Chicago to establish a transactional law practice.

“This means I never go to court,” he explained. Rather, he gives companies advice on administering employee benefit plans, such as 401Ks, pensions,

David Linsalata ’98

Jon Karelitz ’98

creative compensation arrangements and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) practices.

The two biggest faculty influences on Karelitz were math teacher Bill Kehlenbeck and photography teacher/ Nobleman advisor, Joe Swayze.

Linsalata graduated from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and has remained to work for Bain & Company. While he started his business career in technology market research at IDC, he quickly found the

next necessary step to be business school. Linsalata cited Maurice Coleman, U.S. History teacher, as a dominant influence on his development at Nobles. Linsalata feels that there’s a chartable continuum between Nobles and Kellogg, as each is interested in inspiring global leaders. Nobles does so, he notes, by exposing students to community service and overseas exchange programs, and by encouraging everyone to “grow and broaden himor herself.” —Joyce L. Eldridge

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 27

WINDOW ON

Nobles

By John Hirsch’s Photojournalism Class See page 18 for story.

28 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 29

Keeping You Up-to-Date A Silver Medalist Among Us Karen Thatcher ’02 won a silver medal as a member of the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey team that placed second to Canada at the Olympics in Vancouver.

Thatcher recorded her first Olympic goal during a game against Russia. While at Nobles, she captained her team to an undefeated, 27-0 record, winning both ISL and NE titles, and was named an ISL all-star three years in a row. Among numerous records set and awards won as a Providence College Friar, Thatcher was the recipient of an award for demonstrated leadership and commitment both on and off the ice.

Lesson in Adaptation Appreciated Kim Rossi Stagliano ’81 has a book coming out in the fall about the life changes that have ensued in raising three girls with autism while dealing with the challenges of a husband who lost his job three times in six years.

In her words, “We’re happy and still together even though it’s nothing like I expected during my Nobles days. It’s a very funny book…not at all sad or angry.” She adds that her education at Nobles “prepared me for learning entirely new things and adapting to them; it also gave me confidence.”

Globe Spotlight on Kate Harrington ’00 Standout Globe feature writer Bella English wrote a superb piece on Nobles graduate Kate Harrington ’00 during Harrington’s vacation break from Maranyundo School in the village of Nyamata, Rwanda. English described Harrington as having “teaching in her DNA: Her parents (Mark and Tilesy Harrington) met as first-year teachers at Noble and Greenough School, and still teach and live there. Kate and her two younger brothers grew up on campus and graduated from Nobles. One brother teaches in Connecticut; the other is still in college.”

“It’s the family business,’’ says [Kate] Harrington. “I was desperate to be a teacher. It’s the only thing I wanted to do.’’ Among the many Globe reader responses to the Harrington piece: “Ms. Harrington, you are an inspiration and your work is priceless. Thank you for reaching out to children who need it the most. Bless you.” Another reader wrote: “It’s wonderful to know that there are people like Kate Harrington here in Dedham…. My husband and I were both Peace Corps volunteers, and we are required to educate Americans on the country in which we served. Welcome home, Kate, and I’m sure you are experiencing your surroundings with a fresh set of eyes.”

Three Nobles hockey standouts— Mark Hourihan ’10, Matt Harlow and Kevin Hayes, both ’11—earn frontcover honors on the prestigious New England Hockey Journal.

After graduating from Harvard, Harrington became a New York City Teaching Fellow and was placed in a middle school in the Bronx. The fellows must also earn a Master’s degree while working; Harrington earned a degree in teaching English as a Second Language from City College.

Our Music Faculty One of our applied piano teachers, Bruce Bears, was at the Grammy Awards in February, along with the other members of the Duke Robillard band whose CD “Stomp the Blues Tonight” was nominated in the “Best Traditional Blues Album” category. Unfortunately, another band took top honors. The Joe Perry Project, featuring Drum Ensemble Director Marty Richards, ended its December tour with a taping of “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

Richards got lots of camera time and got his “props” from Letterman after the performance.

Kate Harrington ’00 with a group of Rwandan boys in the village of Nyamata, where her school is located 30 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

Keeping You Up-to-Date Harrington says she’ll probably return soon to teach in the Bronx.

“I feel called back to urban American education.”

Development class or being counseled or coached.

Ted Steinberg ’12 in Romania, March 2010

Travel Trivia

Foster Gallery Chooses Its Artists Well Three artists who have been given shows at the Foster Gallery in the past two years have had their talents acknowledged in other, more global forums. Dean Nimmer, whose work appeared in the Fall of 2008, received word from the College Art Association that the Distinguished Teacher of Art Award Jury has selected him as this year’s recipient. His award was presented at a special ceremony in Chicago last February. CAA is the largest arts organization in the U.S., with almost 15,000 members, and their jury selects only one individual from all colleges across the country to receive this prestigious award.

Daniela Rivera, whose work was shown in the Foster Gallery this fall, has been named a finalist for the 2010 James and Audrey Foster Prize (the same Fosters for whom our gallery is named), the Institute of Contemporary Art’s biennial award and exhibition program for Boston-area artists. The 2010 Foster Prize exhibition includes nine artists whose works represent a wide range of media —from sculpture and installation to film and video to painting, drawing and photography. The finalists will participate in an exhibition at the ICA that opens Sept. 22, 2010 and continues through Jan. 30, 2011, at which time the winner will be announced.

Kate Blacklock, whose works were exhibited in the Foster Gallery about a year ago, was the subject of a new book, Continuum, by former Boston Globe Art Critic Christine Temin. The exquisitely illustrated volume gives credit to Noble and Greenough’s Foster Gallery for mounting the compelling exhibit.

A Mother’s Appreciation Rebecca Kotkin wrote a moving piece in the Boston-based Jewish Advocate on her son, Ted Steinberg ’12. Ted spent his spring break in Romania, working in a Romanian Children’s Relief hospital in Bucharest (see picture) as well as learning about the country’s attempt to rebound after many years under dictatorial rule. As Kotkin wrote, “… This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience… What more could we want for our children than that they grow up believing in service to others and recognizing that their good fortune comes with great responsibility?… Although he will be gone only 10 days, I am prepared to welcome home a different boy from the one I watched leave. He will come home imprinted with his new experiences, observations and exposure to a reality I don’t know [I personally have never looked into the eyes of these children or walked the halls of the institution].”

In the past two decades Nobles faculty members have led numerous trips that have included points as far afield as Russia, Hungary, Cuba and Chile. Other hot spots, where service, cultural exploration, painting and photography have been encouraged, include Costa Rica, France, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Montana, New Mexico, New Orleans, Romania, Scotland, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam.

A Family Resemblance

Lessons That Stay With You

Jerry Henry ’97, brother of Information Systems & Support (ISS) faculty member Marlon Henry ’00, was profiled in the Feb. 11 issue of The Bay State Banner for his success as program director at Access, a non-profit that advises students and their parents on highereducation opportunities and resources.

Jerry Henry’s advice, particularly to low-income families, is to “learn about the financial-aid process early and seek out any free help available from high school or community-based organizations.” He also suggested that college applicants apply to a range of schools (based on cost) including “a financialaid safety” as well as an admission “safety.” Citing his own situation, he

Clinical Counselor Mark Spence, a 1998 graduate of Middlebury where he broke numerous hockey records and was named Division III National Player of the Year and first-team All-American, was cited in The Middlebury Initiative for his philosophy that “hard work, teamwork, perseverance, discipline, responsibility…help you learn how to improve” whether in athletics or academics. “You look for the best in each student,” he said, whether they are learning communication skills in his Personal

Jerry Henry ’97, right, and Marlon Henry ’00 with their Mom, Jennifer Izaak, at their graduation from Northeastern University’s College of Business Administration in 2008 when they both received Master’s degrees in Tech Entrepreneurship.

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 31

Keeping You Up-to-Date accepted the financial aid package that UMass-Amherst offered, which afforded him “a great education” and far less debt than he would have accrued at any of the other schools to which he applied.

Verbal Acumen Samuel G. Davitt ’15 won the 2009 International Mathematics and Verbal Talent Search, conducted by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth for achieving a firstplace verbal score in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Musical Notes Nobles Greensleeves girls’ a cappella group performed the National Anthem at the Boston Celtics game on Wednesday, March 10. And in the same oneweek period, five Nobles students participated in the Massachusetts Music Educators Association ensembles and concert as part of the Eastern District Festival at the Lincoln-Sudbury School.

The five selected were Rachel Lea Fishman and Mackenzie Turner, both ’13, mixed chorus; Ali Grogan and Kayla Viriyabontorn, both ’13, treble chorus; and Andrew Fai ’14, orchestra.

For the U.S. team, he has collected 12 goals and 21 assists in 47 games against college and U.S. Hockey League squads.

Arnold, who grew up a BC fan, said playing for the Eagles will be “a dream come true.’’

Arnold captained the 2008 U-17 select team that played in the Five Nations Tournament in Slovakia, where he was named the tourney’s Most Outstanding Forward.

According to a few scouting services, he is expected to be a first- or second-round pick in the National Hockey League draft in June.

Leading the "Big Life" Greg Maloomian ‘03 was featured on “Man vs. Food” on the Travel channel finishing a 10-pound stuffed pizza at a Hartford restaurant. Earlier, according to his blog, he and an “eating partner” enjoyed the 5-pound Burrito Challenge at Casa Mariachi, also in Connecticut. “You get one hour to finish and if you do it’s free,” Maloomian reported.

“It was long and covered in cheese and salsa, and had huge dollops of sour cream and guac[amole] on top. Was the first Mexican challenge I did and definitely won’t be the last.” From there he moved down the East Coast to Griff’s Chicken Shack in Hamden, Conn., to take on their Chicken Finger Challenge. “The people at the restaurant were pretty shocked at how easily we polished it off.” Among his other feats: 17 hot dogs in 90 minutes in a Boston sandwich-eating-contest; eight pounds of roast

beef (between two contestants) in 30 minutes, with proceeds going to a Springfield, Mass., food pantry; a threeperson eating contest in Clinton, N.J. to consume a Zeus Burger, a 12.5-pound extravaganza with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion; and a 22-inch, 5-pound pizza made with 1.75 pounds of dough, 1.5 pounds of cheese, 1.5 pounds of sauce, and two toppings of the contestant’s choice. He had 30 minutes to finish it in order to receive it free, along with a Bang Bang Pizzeria T-Shirt.

Friends in Deep Places Science teacher Ross Henderson, shown below, received an offer from a friend with the capability of shipping to Nobles, on dry ice, for laboratory dissection, a Giant Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas), which first surfaced off the California coast, attracting fishermen and even inspiring a mention in the New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town,” according to science colleague David Strasburger, who shared this image.

For those unfamiliar with the species, Humboldt Squid are carnivorous marine invertebrates that move in shoals of up to 1,200 individuals. Their tentacles bear suckers lined with sharp teeth with which they grasp prey and drag it towards a large, sharp beak.

Quite a Ride Bill Arnold, who left Nobles where he was a standout hockey player to train with the U.S. under-18 men’s hockey team, earned a silver medal at the Six Nations Cup in Belarus. The 18year-old Boston College recruit tallied three goals and two assists in five games in Belarus, where the U.S. team’s lone loss was to Russia, 2-1. The Americans will be returning to Belarus in April for the world age-group finals. Arnold, who took summer courses to enable him to complete his senior year of high school in May, has committed to playing for Boston College in the fall.

32 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SPRING 2010

Measuring up: Ross Henderson and Humboldt, a squid

Keeping You Up-to-Date A New Venue for Bob Freeman’s Art

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High Visibility for a Nobles Grad— Stephanie Grace ’83, an editor for the New Orleans Times Picayune, has her image emblazoned on delivery trucks operating throughout Louisiana.

Responding quickly In response to the post-earthquake crisis in Haiti, Live Strong bracelets and candy were sold in Gleason Hall, with proceeds going directly to the Red Cross. The Multicultural Student Association also hosted a Café, selling pizzas and homemade baked goods to raise funds to support Nobles’ Haiti initiatives. And in an immense show of support, students, faculty, friends and family came out to dawg-a-pella 2010, Nobles’ second annual winter a cappella benefit concert, on March 11. Guest group Rock Paper Scissors of Lexington High joined three Nobles’ groups, Note-orious, the Nobleonians and the Greensleeves, for an upbeat show. The concert, which benefited three schools in Haiti, closed with a moving performance from Genesis, a local Haitian ensemble.

—Joyce Leffler Eldridge

ormer Artist-in-Residence Bob Freeman’s painting “Black Tie,” executed in 1981, the year that Freeman was hired by then Head Ted Gleason, has been acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts where it will enter the permanent collection. The painting has had an interesting history involving numerous Nobles parents. The work was first exhibited at the Chapel Gallery in Newton, run by Nobles parent June Tower P’74 ’75 ’78 ’80. There it was seen and purchased by Nobles parents Newell and Kate Flather P ’85 ’88. Former Nobles Board President Stokley Towles Hon.’00 P’81 ’83 ’86 ’87 ’90, now president of the Board of Trustees at the Museum, was the impetus for the MFA’s acquiring a Freeman work.

This was hardly the first Freeman-Flather encounter. They initially met in Ghana in 1962, where Flather was a Peace Corps volunteer and Freeman’s dad had moved his family to the Gold Coast (in 1947) in order to open his insurance company. Coincidentally Ghana’s President, Kwame Nkrumah, and Freeman’s dad were classmates at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Nkrumah was so impressed that Freeman’s insurance company placed Ghanaians in managerial positions, that he nationalized the company and turned it into the Ghana State Insurance Co. “Dad ran all of the insurance for the country until he left in 1966, 19 years later,” according to his son, the artist.

To paraphrase the movie Casablanca, “Of all the schools in all the world…”

Freeman and Flather both ended up at Nobles, Freeman as artist-in-residence and Flather and his wife as parents of Newell ’85 and Alice ’88. When the Flathers first saw the painting, they were struck by its power and presence, according to a huge story in the most recent MFA publication. They liked it so much that they remodeled their Newton living room to appropriately showcase the work. The Museum heralded the piece as “a defining work in [Freeman’s] career—the beginning of his focus on representing what W.E.B. DuBois called the ‘talented tenth’ or the black middle class.”

“Black Tie” by Bob Freeman

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ON THE

Playing Fields

ALPINE SKIING Girls’ Season ISL Record: 20-4 (2nd Place) Class A NEPSAC Championships: 7th Place Boys’ Season ISL Record: 22-11 (4th Place) Class A NEPSAC Championships: 13th Place Awards: James H. Bride Ski Bowl— Sarah Kistner ’10 (for passion, performance, and sportsmanship); Coaches’ Award—Hadley Dawson and Jack Manzi, both ’10 (for selfless attitude and consistent effort) All-League: Caroline Vietze ’11 Honorable Mention: Ashley Conley ’13, Gigi Anderson ’12 and Alex Katz ’13 All-New England: Alex Katz ’13 and Caroline Vietze ’11

Winter Varsity Sports Results and Awards

2010 Captains: Ellis Tonissi and Caroline Vietze, both ’11 BOYS’ VARSITY BASKETBALL Overall Record: 9-13 ISL Record: 5–9 (7th Place) Awards: Clarke Bowl—Eddie Stansky ’10 (for contribution to team spirit); 1983–’84 Basketball Award—Nick Shoelson ’10 (given to the player who best exemplifies the spirit, dedication, determination, attitude and improvement of the 1983–’84 team) All-League: Jesse Pagliuca ’11 Honorable Mention: Nick Shoelson ’10 2010 Captains: TBA GIRLS’ VARSITY BASKETBALL Overall Record: 18-6 ISL Record: 11-0 ISL Champions (7th Consecutive Year) NEPSAC Division A Quarterfinalist

Emily Wingrove ’10

34 34 l THE THE NOBLES NOBLES BULLETIN BULLETIN l SPRING SPRING 2010 2010

Kevin Hayes ’11

Awards: Seadale Bowl—Dana Berlin, Eliza Goode and Emily Wingrove, all ’10 (for overall contribution to the basketball program); Richard Nickerson Award—Alli Parent ’12 (in honor of the 21-year coach, awarded to non-senior for courage and determination) All-League: Eliza Goode ’10, Lauren Taiclet ’12 and Emily Wingrove ’10 Honorable Mention: Reilly Foote ’11 and Alli Parent ’12 NEPSAC ALL Stars: Eliza Goode and Emily Wingrove, both ’10 2010 Captains: Reilly Foote, Nora Kelly and Darla Wynn, all ’11 BOYS’ VARSITY HOCKEY Overall Record: 23-5-1; ISL Record: 13-2-0 ISL Champions NEPSAC Division A Semifinalist Awards: Todd Flaman Award— Brendan Smith ’11 (For a JV player who demonstrates spirit, enthusiasm and love of hockey, as exemplified

by Todd Flaman ’97); ’74 Award—

Phil Sciretta ’12 (for improvement in hockey); Sziklas Hockey Trophy—Billy Burchill ’10 (for contribution to the team) All-League: Matt Harlow ’11, Kevin Hayes ’11, Mark Hourihan, Gene Lane, Nick Raffone and Gus Young, all ’10 Honorable Mention: Andrew Doane ’12, Jared Lackey ’10, Mike Reardon ’11 and Ben Wiggins ’10 2010 Captains: TBA GIRLS’ VARSITY HOCKEY Overall Record: 19-3-4 ISL Record: 10-0-1 ISL Champions (11th Consecutive) NEPSAC Division I Semifinalists Awards: Anne Dudley Newell Hockey Cup—Caitlin Fai, Denna Laing and Jackie Young, all ’10 (for dedication and excellence); Boston Bruins John Carlton Award—Marissa Gedman ’10 All-League: Marissa Gedman ’10, Denna Laing ’10, Michelle Picard ’11 and Jackie Young ’10 Honorable Mention: Caitlin Fai ’10 2010 Captains: TBA

Dori Rahbar ’10

BOYS’ VARSITY SQUASH Overall Record: 9-8 ISL Record: 5-3 (4th Place) NEPSAC Class A Tournament participant: 6th Place Awards: Cutler Cup—Derek Chilvers ’10 (awarded to the member of the team who has shown the greatest devotion to the sport) All-League: Derek Chilvers ‘10, Scott DeSantis and Aneesh Chuttani, both ’11 2010 Captains: Cam Rahbar and Aneesh Chuttani, both ’11 GIRLS’ VARSITY SQUASH Overall Record: 12-1; ISL Record: 6-1 (2nd Place) New England A Tournament: 5th Place Awards: Cutler Cup—Dori Rahbar and Sharon Roth, both ’10 (for member of the team who has shown the greatest devotion to the sport) All-League: Dori Rahbar ’10 Honorable Mention: Caroline Monrad ’13 and Sharon Roth ’10 2010 Captains: TBA

Aneesh Chuttani ’11

Graves-Kelsey Most Improved Team ISL Sportsmanship Award Awards: Warren E. Storer Award— Hans Vitzthum ’11 (for hard work and improvement); Wilbur F. Storer Award—Jake Ezickson ’10 (for the wrestler who best exemplifies devotion to the sport and team) Honorable Mention: Clem Chanenchuk ’11, Jake Ezickson ’10 and Dan Toubman ’13 2010 Captains: Zach Ellison and Ben Kirshner, both ’11 FIRST TIME VARSITY LETTER WINNERS Alpine Skiing: Ashley Conley ’13, Catherine Dickinson ’13, Tucker Hopkins ’12 and Anson Notman ’12 Basketball: Connor Costello ’13, Karly Finison ’12, Claire Greene ’13, Sophie Mussafer ’13, Nick Pagliuca ’13 and Hannah Peterson ’13 Ice Hockey: Lexie Brackenridge ’12, Courtney Carrabino ’11, Brendan Cronin ’11, PJ Falvey ’12, Meaghan Murphy ’13, Will Potter ’10, Mason Pulde ’13, Phil Sciretta ’12 and Brandon Shea ’14 Squash: Katherine Gilbert ’12, Harrison Liftman ’12, Stephen Monrad ’15, Benj Selden ’11, Emily Welch ’12 and Henry Woodworth ’15 Wrestling: Caleb Kirshner ’13, Henry Reynolds ’12, Gunlee Segrain ’10 and Dan Toubman ’13

Ryan Diamond ’11

VARSITY WRESTLING Overall Record: 10-6; ISL Dual Record: 7-5 Graves-Kelsey (ISL) Championship Meet: 4th Place 9 Graves-Kelsey Medalists

SPRING 2010 2010 l THE THE NOBLES NOBLES BULLETIN BULLETIN l 35 35 SPRING

REUNION PROFILES 50TH REUNION

Career Counselor Brings Out Value, Spark in Others Ken White ’60

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White ’60, who graduated from Yale University and MIT Sloan School of Management, described his first career as one that slowly grew flat and unfulfilling.

“It took me 30 years out of Nobles to break that mold, and get into something much more authentic,” he said.

After years of running small manufacturing companies with an employee range of 10 to 500, he sought a career change that capitalized on both his life experiences and the lessons learned at Nobles. “I’ve always been one who did better with a pat on the back than a kick in the butt,” admitted White, who now, as a career counselor, provides that “pat on the back” to fellow MIT Sloan alumni seeking advice.

His career-counseling role “is a catalyst to help people dig down and find the gumption in themselves,” he said. His rewarding profession reminds him daily of the Nobles motto, spes sibi quisque (interpreted by former Head Ted Gleason as, “we find hope within one another”). “I’m grateful to have been afforded two careers,” he said, “One working with people to produce products of value to others—the other, working with people to bring out the value in themselves.”

Looking back on his Nobles days, White appreciates the school for “celebrating the regular guy.” This sentiment allows him to appreciate his change of careers, because it was Nobles that reinforced in him the notion that, “‘It’s okay if you don’t want to be the captain of a team or the president of a comen

Ken White ’60

White recalls the teachers who modeled what it meant to “do the right thing.”

Of what he believes to be the cornerstone of a Nobles education, he said, “It was a world in which I could develop relationships with teachers, adults who were worth looking up to.” pany,’” he said. One of his most profound Nobles moments came on the day he was named the recipient of the Davis Cup for Sportsmanship. “It always meant a great deal to me,” he said, “because I certainly wasn’t the best athlete.”

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At the heart of his Nobles memories, White recalls, are the teachers who modeled what it meant to “do the right thing.” Of what he believes to be the cornerstone of a Nobles education, he said, “It was a world in which I could develop relationships with teachers, adults who were worth looking up to.” He seemed to most appreciate the teachers who received less recognition for activities out of the mainstream, such as Dick Van Kleek, Director of the Nobleonians, Glee Club and Dramatic Club, in all of which White participated; and Zoof Warner, Varsity Crew Coach, who inspired White to row Yale Heavyweight Varsity for three years. If you’re still not convinced that White really relates to Nobles faculty, note that Kitty White, his wife of 45 years, was a valued Spanish teacher at Nobles from 1979 through 1995.

White also reports that he is thoroughly enjoying being a grandparent, and he hopes to pursue an interest in marine photography, working out of his home on Martha’s Vineyard, once he has more free time. Remarkably, White has remained close friends with Hans Schroder, the Danish AFS exchange student who lived with the White family as a Class I student. He attended Schroder’s wedding two summers ago and is very much looking forward to seeing him again at Reunion, which “The Crazy Dane” attends as a valued member of the Class of 1960.

—Lauren Bergeron

45TH REUNION

Writing Naturally and Prolifically Bill Sargent ’65

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s a child on Cape Cod, Bill Sargent ’65 became gravely ill and went into a coma. A nurse told his mother, “I’m very sorry, but I think your son sustained some brain damage. He’s talking some nonsense about worms, crabs and bugs.”

With relief, Mrs. Sargent exclaimed, “Oh, that’s all right, all he ever talks about is worms, crabs and bugs.”

Sargent, son of former Massachusetts Governor and distinguished Nobles graduate Francis W. Sargent ’35, was born with “biophilia, an intrinsic interest in nature. I always had a microscope and couldn’t wait to get my hands on the ones at Nobles.”

An avid writer and columnist for the Nobleman, he felt compelled to choose between the pen and the microscope. At Harvard, he pursued biology but lacked a genetic predisposition for either math or chemistry. Six months on the research vessel Atlantis II, out of Woods Hole, changed his life. After collecting plankton off the coasts of Africa, South America and the Baltic, Sargent realized he could wed biology and writing by becoming a biological anthropologist. He is now a prolific environmental writer and a consultant to the NOVA science series.

Sargent’s first book, Shallow Waters: A Year on Cape Cod’s Pleasant Bay, won the L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award. Subsequently, he wrote about horseshoe crabs, the creatures at the epicenter of an ethical and legal maelstrom involving the use of their blood.

It provides the basis for the most reliable test for gram-negative bacteria, responsible for diseases like meningitis and E. coli, which has made the breeding and bleeding of horseshoe crabs a multi-million dollar industry. Sargent

Bill Sargent in front of a gabions seawall. Photo taken from Just Seconds from the Ocean; Coastal Living in the Wake of Katrina.

explains, “The crabs that could be sold for $3,000 apiece for biomedical purposes bring in only 30 cents when used as sushi bait.”

Later works examined effects of global warming and the rise of sea- levels. “Sitting beside Al Gore at Harvard, we saw the same data measuring carbon-dioxide emissions. We knew that if you had the greenhouse effect you would inevitably have global warming and a rising sea level. But we thought that since scientists knew about global warming, our politicians would have had it all fixed by the time we were out of college. Forty years later, what have we done about it?

Virtually nothing.”

Sargent’s memoir, Writing Naturally, documents his journey as a writer, photographer and scientist. He urges aspiring writers to “stick with it,”

emphasizing the leap of faith it takes to leave a steady salary and to have the confidence to start writing.

This summer, when back problems kept Sargent from his regular work, he wrote his first children’s books: Lilly and Minot: The Story of a Princess Who Fell in Love with a Bull, and Lilly and Minot Visit Crane’s Beach. His wife, Kristina, illustrated them. Their son Ben has a chowder bar in Brooklyn and works on radio and internet food shows; daughter Chappell is at Harvard concentrating in visual studies.

When not writing, Bill likes to “dig Ipswich clams and catch striped bass from [his] kayak.”

—Kim Neal For more of William Sargent’s published works, please visit UPNE.com.

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 37

REUNION PROFILES 40TH REUNION

Enjoying the Creativity of the Kitchen Peter Edwards ’70

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hortly after graduating from Princeton University, Peter Edwards ’70 studied with one of the most eminent chefs in the United States, Madeline Kamman, who ran a cooking school and French restaurant in Newton, Mass. Upon completing Kamman’s intensive, one-year professional cooking school and a two-year stint in her restaurant, he signed on with various top-of-the-line Massachusetts eateries, including Café Cybele in Boston, The Impudent Oyster in Chatham and The Inn at Princeton.

When economics and three daughters entered the picture, Edwards decided to opt for a more stable and lucrative existence, pursuing a 25-year career in retail banking systems. He started with Rhode Island Hospital Trust which was acquired by Bank of Boston, which changed its name to BankBoston and then became absorbed

by Fleet and, eventually, Bank of America.

To celebrate his 50th birthday in 2002, Edwards walked the Camino de Santiago from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. During his month on the road, he realized how much he wanted to return to his passion for creative cooking.

At this same time, he met his wife, Marcia, a Brazilian and co-owner of the property they now operate, Pousada do Capao, in the village of Sao Gonccalo do Rio das Pedras, situated on the picturesque Estrada Real in the diamond area of Brazil. The remotely-located inn is set within a nine-acre nature preserve in the mountains of Minas Gerais, where “tranquility, great conversation and incredible food are the draw,” according to Edwards.

Inside, Edwards and his wife offer traditional Mineiran hospitality to

Peter Edwards and wife Marcia

To celebrate his 50th birthday in 2002, Edwards walked the Camino de Santiago from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. travelers of the Estrada Real, with a focus on comfort food using local, organic ingredients. “Marcia is the soul of the pousada. She loves welcoming people whereas I like handling the back end of our business,” he said.

What has Edwards found most difficult to adjust to, aside from missing his daughters and new granddaughter?

“Brazilian time,” he answered without hesitation. “Having once held a highpowered job in banking, it’s unsettling to be among people with no sense of time.” And the locals tend to be quite closed, not very communicative, almost mysterious. “Instead of giving a definitive ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ people here tend to say, ‘Let’s see’ or ‘Who knows?’” he joked.

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Both at Nobles and at Princeton, Edwards preferred a small, tight band of friends to a larger, looser group. He still remains in contact with his three Class of ’70 buddies: Chris Baker, Bruce Jones and Jim Martinez.

Edwards remembers his “best” teachers at Nobles: Manny Sargent (calculus), John Paine (history), Michel Bevillard (French), Kim Jones (also French), Brian Jones (music/ Glee Club). His uncle, Ted Gleason, assumed the headship of Nobles after Edwards’ graduation, but Edwards returned to the Head’s House regularly for family and holiday celebrations.

As Edwards recalls, he wasn’t particularly athletic so he accepted community service posts whenever possible. The one he remembers best was being asked to read sex manuals aloud to a blind marriage counselor.

—Joyce Leffler Eldridge

35TH REUNION

Creating Those Indelible Moments That Nobles Created for Him Mark Aspinwall ’75

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lose to 300 students in Mark Aspinwall’s international relations course at the University of Edinburgh were perplexed when an unfamiliar Sri Lankan man appeared by video link to announce that their lecture had been outsourced to cut costs.

Unbeknownst to them, the episode was scripted for a documentary to illustrate what happens in an increasingly global economy. Aspinwall’s students lauded his innovation in teaching by nominating him for a teaching award.

Ironically, Aspinwall didn’t foresee spending his life as an academic. He describes himself at Nobles as “a typical slingshot-in-the-back-pocket kind of kid who liked baseball and was not very academically inclined.” After graduating from Middlebury, he spent summers as a tour-boat operator in Boston Harbor, and as a mate on various schooners. Seafaring led him to a degree in Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island, and a fellowship in Congress dealing with maritime policy issues. Of becoming a lobbyist, he says, “I felt that I had made it, but it wasn’t what I wanted to look back upon when I was 75…arguing for protectionism for large American shipping companies.” A teaching stint in Mystic, Conn., confirmed his calling to the classroom and for writing.

Since then, Aspinwall, who has a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, has taught on campuses from Beijing to Havana. His emphasis is on regional integration within the European Union and North America. His main current research project concerns NAFTA’s effects on Mexican politics.

He and his partner, Leticia Neria, a

native of Mexico City, return there frequently. Aspinwall enjoys watching Mexican wrestling, writing fiction and hiking in the Scottish mountains.

Whether in Mexico or the U.K., Aspinwall aims to “denationalize students’ thinking.” Discussing China in his East Asia class, he asked them not to equate its rise with the demise of other nations, but to explore its links “to other societies economically and through their international organizations.” He also stresses honing oral and written communication skills for a global marketplace requiring “more creativity and agility than ever before.”

Aspinwall’s career has afforded his children, Harry ’06 and Bonnie, a broad perspective. Harry studies linguistics at Brown; Bonnie is in high school near Edinburgh. Both were home-schooled, Harry for a decade before attending Nobles. Aspinwall

gained a richer appreciation for Nobles through a paternal lens. “Harry’s experience [coming into Nobles] was very uneven…so [retired math teacher and Director of Graduate Affairs] Chris Mabley set up a special math class just for the two of them, off the books, and not because we were friends. It gives you an incredible advantage as a young person to have that kind of care.”

Aspinwall’s own recollections of Nobles include the refreshing arrival of its first co-ed class, victorious athletic seasons, friendships forged with peers and faculty like Mabley and Fred Sculco, and stand-out moments like catching a fly ball in center field. “Those memories are so strong and so important to a young person. I may have trouble remembering something that happened three weeks ago, but I will never forget the highlights of that time.”

—Kim Neal

Mark Aspinwall ’75 enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, hiking in Scotland.

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 39

REUNION PROFILES 30TH REUNION

Balancing Success at All Angles Sarah Boyd Spink ’80

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t’s hard enough to recognize a true passion in life and have the perseverance to pursue it, never mind realizing two and making both top priorities. For Sarah Boyd Spink ’80, as for so many women, the pull between staying home to raise children and pursuing a meaningful career meant striking a balance in life.

Spink earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1984 and a degree in nursing in 1987, both from the University of Vermont. She married her husband, Jim, and took a position as a staff nurse on the surgical oncology unit at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont. They had their first child, daughter Delaney, in 1995.

Three years later, their son Everett was born, and the couple decided that it was in the family’s best interest for Sarah to stay home to raise them. “I took about 10 years off from nursing to stay home with my children,” she said. “I was so lucky to be able to have that time with them.”

In 2004, with both children in school, Spink decided that she, too, would go to school to pursue an advanced degree in nursing. She returned to UVM and enrolled in a full-time program to become an Advanced Practice Psychiatric-Mental-Health Nurse.

She graduated in 2007, and has been practicing since. Spink had a connection to medicine because her father was a surgeon, but felt drawn to the mental-health field. “I’ve always been interested in the connection between the mind and the body, especially as it relates to wellness,” she explained.

Spink has spent the past few years working in some of the most rural communities in Vermont. After graduating, she practiced in a small out-

From left: Jim, Delaney (14), Everett (11) and Sarah Boyd Spink ’80

patient facility near the Canadian border where there is a large but often unmet need for psychiatric care. She then practiced at a drug-rehabilitation center, providing mental-health services, medicine and counseling for individuals with opiate addictions before deciding to open her own practice last April. “It is so gratifying to be able to serve a population that otherwise might not have access to care. Most of my patients are people who work and have families, but they just need someone who can focus on their mentalhealth needs,” she said.

At her private practice, Spink is referred patients from primary care providers, therapists and others. She conducts psychiatric evaluations, prescribes psychotropic medications and provides short-term counseling. She believes in a holistic approach to treating patients, and says, “I feel strongly that while there is a place for medica-

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tions, it’s also important to consider the role that nutrition and exercise play in mental and physical health.”

Although she didn’t know while a student at Nobles where her career would take her, she says that her Nobles experiences have been an important part of her life. “I was still getting to know myself when I was at Nobles,” she said.

She credits faculty members Michael Percival and Natalia (Weiss) Fernandes for cultivating relationships with her that influenced her positively during those formative years.

Also, Spink credits Headmaster Ted Gleason for his leadership and for initiating conversations about the important role that spirituality plays in life. “He challenged us to be openminded, to make education a priority, and to develop our own moral compass, all important concepts that I have carried with me.”

—Julie Guptill

25TH REUNION

Love, Passion Translate into Life’s Work Kate Saunders Grove ’85

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s a child, Kate Saunders Grove ’85 fell in love with the outdoors and was most comfortable surrounded by nature. “I wanted to climb to the top of everything – rocks, trees, mountains,” she said. Growing up in Westwood, Grove credits her parents, both avid conservationists, with instilling not only a love of the environment but also a passion for actively doing her part to take care of it. Now, decades later, Grove has turned that ardor into a career as the Vice President for Advancement for The Trustees of Reservations, a nonprofit conservation organization whose mission is to “preserve, for public use and enjoyment, properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in Massachusetts.”

Her office—with a glass sliding door running nearly the length of one wall, providing a perfect view of the rolling hillside and thick woodlands— is sited at Moose Hill Farm in Sharon, Mass., one of The Trustees’ 100-plus properties located across the Commonwealth. She has worked at The Trustees for 10 years, and her role in the Advancement Office encompasses everything from fundraising and membership recruitment to governance and marketing communications. “Our main goal is to involve as many people as possible in conservation and sustainability,” she explains.

After Nobles, Grove attended Dartmouth College, where she earned a Bachelor’s in Art History and, later, a Master’s in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Medical Anthropology.

“At that time, I didn’t know where my place in the environmental movement was going to be.” Instead, she studied in other areas that interested her,

Kate Saunders Grove ’85

health care and the history of medicine. After graduating from Dartmouth, Grove worked in development for Harvard School of Public Health and, later, for Children’s Hospital in Boston.

In 1998, while Grove was still working at Children’s, a friend told her about a project that the Massachusetts Audubon Society was undertaking in Mattapan. On a whim, she decided to drive by the Boston Nature Center that the organization was building, and she was captivated by what she saw. “It all made sense to me. I took a one-year position with them to help complete a $10 million campaign. After a year, Grove took her fundraising experience to The Trustees, where she has been ever since. One of her greatest achievements was directing the organization’s most recent capital campaign which raised $63 million in cash and $35 million in land. It was the largest

capital campaign by an environmental organization in Massachusetts’ history.

She says that what she loves most about her job is getting to meet and work with so many people who share a passion for land, farms, history and community conservation. “People and place are interconnected—and nowhere more than in Massachusetts.

The Trustees care for places which contribute to the quality of life of our communities,” she says.

The sense of belonging to a greater community is something she says she first learned at Nobles. “The faculty at Nobles taught me that community just doesn’t happen on its own; you have to build it. It requires a commitment by all members.” Grove credits athletics for teaching her life lessons in leadership. “I’m so grateful for those four years,” she says.

—Julie Guptill

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 41

REUNION PROFILES 20TH REUNION

Memories of Snow Days and Good Nights; Success in Unique Furniture Design Maggie Birmingham ’90

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our generations of babies slept in the toddler bed now awaiting her newborn son Eli before it was gifted to furniture and product designer Maggie Birmingham Mittan ’90 and her husband, John Mittan. Birmingham hopes her own creations will stand the same test of time. “I would love something I make to last like that,” she says.

After graduating from Stanford with a B.S. in Product Design, Birmingham worked in the mechanical engineering department for Silicon Graphics, where she helped design the physical, external parts of computers.

Birmingham’s interest in the juxtaposition of the mainly male-dominated craft of woodworking and the female-dominated realm of textiles generates pieces that are instantly recognizable for their stunning inlays.

After a couple of years, demand for her skills allowed her to successfully form her own business. As a consultant, she now enjoys designing a diverse range of products, from MP3 players, cell phones, and video arcade games, to mounting devices for commercial solar panels.

At the same time, Birmingham became increasingly interested in furniture design and took several classes.

She earned her M.F.A. in wood furniture from California College of the

Arts in 2003. She launched LAB31 Design the following year, offering fine handcrafted wood furniture and accessories. Birmingham’s pieces gained instant acclaim in the design community for their appealing combination of a clean, modern aesthetic with old world craftsmanship.

A striking example of Birmingham’s dualistic vision is the CANE line of tables she debuted in 2009: perforated powder-coated steel drapes over an industrial-looking, welded frame. “I love textiles, especially from the 18th and 19th centuries—hand-tatted lace, embroidery and quilting. These tables feature a pattern that mimics caning; the way they are wrapped looks like a tablecloth. Both derive that inspiration from textiles.” Birmingham’s vision for reinterpreting traditional textile patterns has produced strong, beautiful, utilitarian works of art.

The fine wooden furniture for which LAB31 originally became known is crafted from local hardwoods. Birmingham’s interest in the juxtaposition of the mainly male-dominated craft of woodworking and the female-dominated realm of textiles generates pieces that are instantly recognizable for their stunning inlays. She describes them as “a stylized version of lace or tatting.”

Nurturing her new child and a growing design business do not leave Birmingham much down time. Still, she is proud of a large remodel she and her husband recently completed, incorporating their design and construction skills. She was once an avid soccer player but now suffers from knee in- juries that have impacted her ability to play; nonetheless, she manages

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Maggie (Birmingham) Mittan ’90 with son Eli, born in January.

to enjoy skiing and snowboarding.

The ski team at Nobles makes Birmingham’s list of fondest memories, along with boarding at Wiggins House. “Snow days were unforgettable, because we were the only people there.

We would run around and play football in front of the Castle, ice skate, and drink hot chocolate. Good Nights, when we went to faculty homes, were my favorite; it was so special to get to know teachers outside of classes.”

Birmingham remains linked to Nobles through friends like classmate Lisa Donahue Rose, who keeps everyone in the class connected. “The academics were meaningful and got me where I wanted to go, but friends made Nobles worthwhile.”

—Kim Neal

15TH REUNION

A Traveling Teacher Alexis Wiggins ’95

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Wiggins ’95 is no stranger to travel. She was born at Loomis Chafee and then lived at Taft before her mother, Joanna Draugsvold, came to Nobles to teach. Wiggins lived in the Frat until her Class II year; she became a boarder when her mother and stepfather moved to Florida. Now, 15 years out of Nobles, Wiggins has lived in western Massachusetts while she attended UMass Amherst, and has taught in New York, Connecticut, Spain, Hong Kong and, most recently, Qatar. The one thing she always “packs” in her suitcase is her commitment to education, which she took away from Nobles and applies in her classroom as a teacher at Qatar Academy in Doha.

What was once a dream to become an editor for a large New York magazine has now become a globe-trotting teaching career in some exotic locations. She and Spanish husband, Diego Estrada, jumped at the offer to teach at Hong Kong International School in 2003. “It was in Hong Kong where I learned great teaching,” she said.

From there, the young couple moved to Madrid, then New York, and then back to Spain again after having their son, Elios. As Spain’s unemployment rate crept to a daunting 20 percent, Wiggins immediately began looking to the Middle East for work.

“Once you’ve taught in a few international schools, you figure out where the interesting places are to teach,” she said.

Since September, they have been living in Qatar and are expecting their second child, another boy. Of living here she remarked, “I love the Middle East and my perspective on Middle Eastern culture has changed drastically lexis

since my arrival.” Of all the places she’s lived in and visited, Wiggins said she has never felt more welcomed nor more respected as a woman. “I am not a Muslim, but I have never felt alienated. The women here are not all veiled like an American may think.

Qatar is very western-friendly.”

She has faced a few cultural obstacles, however. “You can get arrested for kissing in public, and there are no pork products allowed in the country.”

What’s been the biggest challenge for Wiggins? “The heat! It’s a force to be reckoned with.” With temperatures reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit, Wiggins cannot allow her son to play outside during the hottest months.

As a teacher and a mother, Wiggins has had a chance to look back on the countless hours she spent sitting at the [Tilesy and Mark] Harringtons’ kitchen table going over math problems. She attests that English Teacher

Dick Baker has made one of the biggest impacts on her life. “I can thank him for preparing me for college,” she said.

Another Nobles standout for Wiggins was Bob Kern, who, in his explanations of chemistry, exemplified the student/teacher relationship for which Nobles is best known. “I bring that same curiosity and commitment to learning to my classroom,” she said, whether it’s in Qatar, Spain, the States, or wherever else this Nobles grad might end up.

—Lauren Bergeron

Wiggins spending a day “at the (camel) races”

Alexis Wiggins ’95 with husband Diego Estrada, outside the Islamic Arts Museum in Qatar

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 43

REUNION PROFILES 10TH REUNION

“Stroke of Luck” Forestalls Quarter-Life Crisis Reggie Farina ’00

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ntil Reggie Farina ’00 joined Google, online advertising didn’t really cross his radar.

“The way I see it, before [Google] it was like going to see Avatar without 3D glasses. Now those glasses go on and patterns emerge, I see things more clearly, like the integration of media online and offline. Everything starts to make sense.”

“With these people I’ve known for 16–17 years, as soon as we see each other, it’s like old times. There’s a genuine comfort in knowing they are true friends and have my best interests at heart.

Those years, from ages 12 to18, are so important in all our lives.”

—Reggie Farina ’00 A strong student at Nobles and Georgetown University, Farina excelled at many things, but hadn’t found his singular passion. When friends signed on with consulting or law firms, he decided to try the latter and spent three years working at WilmerHale.

Farina also found a good career counselor at Georgetown, who helped him realize that discovering what he didn’t want to do was just as important as knowing what he did. “What if

Reggie Farina ’00

money weren’t a part of the equation?

It made me reconsider what life was all about, and it wasn’t a 3.8 GPA. My transition from law to advertising came at about the time many of my friends were having their quarter-life crises; there’s such an emphasis on knowing what you want to do in college and after. In the world we live in now, working with one company for 15–20 years is not usually how it works. I realized I could take more time to do something else.”

The opportunity at Google came in 2007 as “a stroke of luck” when a friend introduced Farina to a Google employee recruiting for the Boston office’s new Online Sales & Operations department.

Of the department’s three distinct vertical industries, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Agency, Farina was

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hired for the Agency team. He manages Google’s relationship with 20 East Coast-based advertising agencies, and also provides integrated marketing strategies for end-clients.

“Externally, I want to focus on being at the forefront of industry development, talking intelligently to C-levels about strategy, developing mobile platforms and rich media. Internally, with approximately 26,000 people here at Google, it’s about innovation and pushing the process forward.” As part of that process, Farina mentors new hires and sees a huge learning curve for those who haven’t worked in the industry before. “I can’t imagine the difference between two-plus years ago when I came and now—there’s so much more to focus on. The clients you work with are as knowledgeable as you are.

The pace is lightning speed.”

Time spent with friends from Nobles helps Farina slow that pace. “With these people I’ve known for 16–17 years, as soon as we see each other, it’s like old times. There’s a genuine comfort in knowing they are true friends and have my best interests at heart. Those years, from ages 12 to 18, are so important in all our lives. Recently, when I saw faculty members Doug and Erika Guy, David Roane and Alden Mauck, it was the same way. They’re very supportive and invested in me and in a lot of people who have gone to Nobles.

With those experiences comes a good feeling in looking back at who I was and who I am now.”

—Kim Neal

5TH REUNION

Five Years Out and Aiming for the Top Chelsey Reynolds ’05

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Reynolds ’05, only five years out of Nobles, has already left her day job and is devoting her full-time energies to her passion, which she hopes will also become her livelihood. That passion is improvisational theatre, better known as improv.

She is taking classes in Los Angeles at the Upright Citizens’ Brigade and has started her own troupe (Balls on Fire) which is on the L.A. Comedy Festival Spotlight Series, with monthly shows in Hollywood. Reynolds has been selected to enter X-Ecution, a competition to be named L.A.’s top improvisational performer. Although she is “very much looking forward to it,” she finds the preparation “somewhat stressful because each improvisor is competing to be the best, but the best improv usually happens between players who work as a team.”

In addition to perfecting her improv, she is writing a short film in which the members of Balls on Fire will star. “Comedy has taken most of my time and energy at the moment,” she conceded. “My eventual goal is to land more roles in film or television; I love the excitement of being on a set and seeing so many talented people working together.”

At Trinity College in Hartford, where she and five of her 2005 Nobles classmates matriculated, Reynolds majored in International Studies, but decided not to pursue that line of work when she moved to Los Angeles.

Crazy For You, or in a scene in Acting/ Directing class, Chelsey was always totally present and alive on stage. There are few graduates in my 10-plus years here with as rich and full potential in theatre as Chelsey!”

Of her contributions to Nobles’ school life in general and the Varsity Wrestling team in particular, Coach Steve Toubman said: “Chelsey was willing to take risks during her junior and senior years at Nobles.

She ran for the school president

helsey

“Comedy has taken most of my time and energy at the

Chelsey Reynolds ’05

Instead she worked in marketing/ public relations, taking some acting classes on the side.

Of her time at Trinity, Reynolds said definitively: “Nobles was much harder…not just the work…Because of the strong work ethic instilled in us and the need to balance academics, athletics and other extracurricular activities, we all got a real head start on college.” At Nobles Reynolds found her theatre “legs.” Theatre Director Dan Halperin remembers her as follows: “Chelsey had just begun to discover her passion for theatre while at Nobles. That said, she had ‘it’—that magical, indescribable quality that the best performers possess, the one that makes them sparkle and keeps our attention rapt. Whether in Bat Boy or

moment,” she conceded. “My eventual goal is to land more roles in film or television; I love the excitement of being on a set and seeing so many talented people working together.”

— Chelsey Reynolds ’05 position, won the election, and served effectively as a student leader in her Class I year. Also in her senior year, she decided to try wrestling; she was a serious and focused athlete who quickly earned the respect of everyone on the team. Her greatest asset was that she never gave up.”

—Joyce L. Eldridge

SPRING 2010 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l 45