GRADUATION 2009
One-Fourth of Class I Feted at Freeman Legacy Dinner
H
ead of School Bob Henderson ’76 P’13 reported to the standing-room-only crowd at the Freeman Legacy Dinner that the efforts of many, on behalf of diversity, have made Nobles even stronger than the school that existed 12 years ago, when the dinner was established. He cited, among others, retired artist-in-residence Bob Freeman, for whom the Legacy Dinner is named. “Through his persistence, strength of character and love for the school, this brilliant teacher, inspiring artist and steady guide on diversity helped make Nobles what it is today…the sort of place of which the early pioneers only dreamed,” Henderson noted. Nobles’ Head recapped a timeline of the diversification of the school, starting with religious diversity in the first half of the 20th century, followed by ethnic diversity, with AfricanAmericans arriving in the 1960s, and Asians, and Latinos, follwed by women, in the ’70s. The guest speaker was a classmate and longstanding friend of Henderson’s, Andre Stark ’76, an independent
Melissa Centeno ’09 with parents Jose and Nirva
Bob Freeman, left, for whom the Legacy Dinner is named, with Provost Bill Bussey.
filmmaker for Public Broadcasting, Fox, HBO, the Sports Exchange and other domains. Stark is also a member of the Board of Trustees. Stark recalled his Class of ’76, which had three students of color. He was fortunate, he said, in that when he arrived here, 11 of his Dexter classmates came with him so “the isolation issue wasn’t a factor.” He cited faculty members Peter Mansfield, Fred Sculco and Joe Swayze for encouraging him “to take risks, leave my comfort zone and learn to think on my feet…This is a faculty that recognizes the value of a diversity of interests, tastes and learning opportunities,” he concluded. Director of Diversity Initiatives Steven Tejada commended the 25 graduates of color in the Class of 2009, saying “You have left a great legacy;
20 l THE NOBLES BULLETIN l SUMMER 2009
Guest speaker Andre Stark ’76
we are so proud of the ways you’ve enriched the community.” The honored students were Zach Allen, Vinesha Baker, Derick Beresford, Stone Cao, Melissa Centeno, Eric Chang, Tim Chang, Donna Farizan, Shabrina Guerrier, Andrea Holland, Karan Lyons, Julia Luscinskas, Nadia Mahmoud, Maria Montes, Spencer Omuemu, Anuj Patel, Manny Perez, Cynthia Rivas, Nubia Smith-Whitaker, Paul Toribio, Jerome Tse, Natasha Tyagi, Anisha Vishwanath, Max White and Lucas Zullo. —Joyce Leffler Eldridge