Summer Bulletin 2022

Summer Bulletin 2022

P. E . & AT H L E T I C S :

Educating the Whole Child in Park’s Largest Classrooms

A PA R K P O R T R A IT

Skillful Communicator As a sixth grader, I distinctly recall sharing my “Name Story” and Tibetan heritage with the whole school during Morning Meeting. That experience helped develop my passion for public speaking, while Park’s emphasis on accepting and appreciating different cultures naturally guided me to a career in international affairs. Studying and speaking with my foreign counterparts in their own languages is a powerful way to show respect for their cultures.”

Tenzin Dawa Thargay ’11 2016 Graduation Speaker As a diplomat serving the State Department in Vietnam, Tenzin draws on this foundation as he works to represent and promote U.S. foreign policy abroad.

Which pillar of the Park Portrait describes you? Learn more at: www.parkschool.org/portrait

Summer Bulletin 2022

From the Head of School

P.E. and Athletics: Educating the Whole Child in Park’s Largest Classrooms Physical education classes and team sports play a vital role in the physical, social, and emotional growth of Park students.

Reflections from Alumni on P.E. and Athletics

The Bulletin is published twice yearly for alumni, families, and friends of The Park School. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

Editors Kate LaPine Suzy Akin Design Robert Beerman, Onward Upward Photography Coffee Pond Photography Flo Farrell Pete Johannsen/VanAiken Photography An LeFevre Photography John Rich Tony Rinaldo RMN Photography Printing Puritan Capital To contact The Bulletin: Suzy Akin Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications 617.274.6148 akins@parkschool.org

For many Park alumni, the lessons acquired at Park in P.E. and athletics gave lasting shape to their lives, values, and priorities.

— Jacob Aduama ’07 — Meg Lloyd ’98 — Alex ’13 and Lanie ’16 Cherry — George Fulton ’17 — Dana Welshman-Studley ’85, Amy Saltonstall ’87, and Merrill Hawkins ’96

The Property of Light: Telling Stories Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration A collaboration between English, Math, and Makerspace educators challenges students to express their core beliefs in new ways.

Opening the 1971 Time Capsule!

What did students in 1971 have to say to the people of Park’s future?

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Community Updates Around Park Farewells & New Appointments Alumni Notes Reunion 2022 College Choices for the Class of 2017 In Memoriam Meet the SPARK Campaign Co-chairs

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Dear Friends,

W

e Park folks talk a lot about “growing up at Park.”

At first glance, the phrase seems to describe the natural evolution of four-year-olds becoming adolescents. But these words also describe their parents, who get daily on-the-job training in child rearing as their kids matriculate from PreK to eighth grade. I realize that I have grown up at Park, as well.

In 1992, I was 24 when Nancy Faulkner first hired me as the Assistant Development Director. Thanks to excellent on-thejob training (a.k.a. pants on fire!) I learned a thing or two about fundraising and went to work for a few other organizations. But nothing compared to the deep connections I had with the Park community and I returned to Goddard Avenue when my daughter Clare had just turned one. In the ensuing years, as Park’s Director of Communications, I kept growing up. My son David was born in 2005 and soon the three of us went to school together.

My kids received a tremendous education at Park and so have I. For the past 19 years, my work has been sharing Park’s stories. I realized that it was time for me to finally “graduate” when my dad died this winter, and so I passed the baton to my Communications Department colleagues Suzy Akin and Flo Farrell.

I will miss serving as the editor of these Bulletins. Each issue is an opportunity to tap into some of the fantastic goings-on around the building and to learn from its fabulous people. I will treasure the scores of interviews with teachers and administrators, as well as with Park alumni around the globe, that laid the foundation for all the stories. And I will eagerly await the arrival of the next issue.

Best wishes,

Kate LaPine

Dear Park community, This time last year, I wrote that we “will be so happy to see the 2020–21 year receding in our rearview mirrors as we turn our eyes forward to daily patterns that resemble that which we call ‘normal.’” That rearview mirror turned out instead to be less a mirror than a lens—a lens through which to view the journey we have been on and what it has taught us. The pandemic clearly has had ongoing shaping impact on the 2021–22 academic year, yet here we are, still looking forward with optimism and looking back in appreciation for everything that makes Park “Park.”

We talk a lot in schools about traditions, and sometimes it feels like if we couldn’t sustain our familiar traditions, the very sense of “who we are” would be lost. Is Park still “Park” if the usual rituals aren’t possible? We have now had two years in which “Yule Fest” has not been possible, for example. In the life of a school—particularly an elementary school—two years is a very long time. It’s the entire span of our younger children’s memories. It’s a period in which about 20% of our campus community turns over, as students graduate and families move on, new students and their families enter, and faculty and staff join or depart.

As much as Park is always “Park,” Park is always changing, never static. For a newer contingent within the Park community, a mention of Yule Fest elicits the response “What’s THAT?” But that doesn’t mean we’ve lost a sense of who we are.

Traditions are ever evolving. “Tradition” is the “handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice” (dictionary.com). Traditions change, bit by bit, each time they are passed, adapting to the needs

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or the spirit of the moment, yet they still manage to carry forward the essential beliefs or customs they were meant to hold. This constancy matters— particularly in institutions like schools where we dedicate ourselves to a shared mission and to the well-being of something larger than ourselves.

Yet what becomes apparent is that it’s less the particulars of any given ritual that make the tradition what it is—it’s the “why” underscoring it that matters.

In December 2021, facing the reality that no “traditional” Yule Fest would be possible for a second consecutive year, we stepped back and asked ourselves, what really matters here? The Yule Fest tradition brought the full community together, to celebrate in song (and, yes, some “Children, Go…” dance moves), and then sent everyone forth, joyfully, into the winter break. It’s the coming together that matters. And so we did—outdoors, in a big circle on the Main Field, singing out and, when the time came, stomping and strutting our way through the many verses of “Children, Go Where I Send Thee.” And we set off, joyfully, from there.

A tradition doesn’t need to always look the same. It needs to strive to pass along what we value most.

Another lovely thing about the evolution of traditions is that new ones are born all the time.

Because two years is a long time in the life of a school, it’s also all it takes for a new tradition to take root. Once you do something twice…it’s a tradition! And we own those new traditions as proudly as we own the old ones. They remind us of who we are in this mission-focused community we actively create together.

This lens we have acquired has given us the perspective to know that we have the power—the creativity, the ingenuity, the resourcefulness—to evolve in the face of obstacles. We don’t just wait things out—and we don’t go back. We go forward.

2 0 2 1 –2 2 B OA R D O F T R U S T E E S

2 0 2 1 –2 2 ALUMNI COMMIT TEE

OFFICERS Joe Robbins, Chair Neela Pal, Vice Chair Peter Barkan ’86, Secretary Sara Leventhal Fleiss ’95, Treasurer

Astrid Levis-Thorne Burns ’98 Alumni Committee Co-chair Miriam Posner Harris ’03 Alumni Committee Co-chair

Idris Abdur Rahim Neeraj Agrawal Rahul Ballal Kathrene Tiffany Bell ’96 Lise Charlier Nicole Danforth Mark Dolins Ken Frieze Abigail Ross Goodman ’91 May Hara Eliza Hoover Julia Lloyd Johannsen ’93 Lesley Ryan Miller Ted Noon Rebecca Nordhaus Femi Obi Young Ju Rhee Steve Samuels Anna Sinaiko Shadé Solomon Christina W. Vest Greg Woods

Ivy Alphonse-Crean ’07 Kathrene Tiffany Bell ’96 Shami Bery ’04 Bob Bray ’53 Aldel Brown ’04 Emily Potts Callejas ’89 Carlos Castillo ’97 Rodger Cohen ’74 Alexandra Connors Craig ’99 McCall Cruz ’06 Melissa Deland ’95 Margaret Gormley Donahue ’99 Sara Leventhal Fleiss ’95 Daly Franco ’05 David Glynn ’91 Anne Collins Goodyear ’84 Greg Kadetsky ’96 Alex Katz ’10 Amy Lampert ’63 Abbott Lawrence ’85 Elizabeth Mitchell ’94 Maddie Mitchell ’06 Jim O’Keefe ’91 Eliza Drachman-Jones Quincy ’98 Colin Redd ’08 Carolina Samudio-Ortega ’96 Kate Gormley Saeli ’02 Neekon Vafa ’12 Susanna Whitaker Waters ’99 Cary Williams ’09 Rebecca Wilsker ’00

Warmly,

Scott Young Head of School

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The 2021–22 school year saw the return of certain well-loved traditions and the creation of some new ones.

WINTER FESTIVAL

Unable to hold the traditional Yule Fest indoors, the PreK-8 community—as well as returning young alumni—gathered out on the Main Field for a festive sing-along. Everyone got in the spirit with a rousing rendition of “Children, Go Where I Send Thee” and a heartfelt “Light One Candle.”

STUDENT WALK OUT On Friday, March 11, The Upper Division Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) led a walkout to protest homophobic and transphobic legislation happening across the United States.

In solidarity with the nationwide youth-led walkout, members of Park’s GSA spoke with their peers, faculty, and staff about the legislation passing across the country and how it impacts students. They also led the group through a moment of silence and read a list of requests for support from the Park community and administration.

The walkout was an empowering event for our Upper Division students and meaningful for our Lower Division students who looked down onto the courtyard to see older students using their voices to respond to the mistreatment of LGBTQ+ youth across the country.

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A RO U N D PA R K

WINTER MUSICAL Upper Division students performed SHREK! The Musical on March 4, 5 & 6—a joyful production full of song, dance, and laughter. A good time was had by all—even the dragon!

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PreK MARATHON

One of our favorite traditions returned in full force this spring as PreK students trained for and then completed their own marathon, coinciding with the week of the Boston Marathon. Surely, the combined mileage covered by all those little legs totaled at last 26.2 miles!

UPPER DIVISION ENSEMBLES The Park music program expanded this year to offer students the opportunity to deepen their involvement in musical performance through participation in music ensembles. This spring, Upper Division students in band, orchestra, and chorus ensembles performed on the Discovery Playground.

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A RO U N D PA R K

MAY DAY

May Day expanded this year to become a celebration for the entire PreK–8 community! Grade 3 performed Maypole and stick dances, and the full student body joined together in song (with the help of student ukulele musicians) to welcome the coming of spring.

INTERNATIONAL TRIPS

After a COVID-induced hiatus of two years, Park Grade 8 students once again were able to travel internationally—to France, Italy, and Spain—an important capstone experience culminating their Park language studies. With China travel still not possible, Mandarin students joined Latin students in exploring Rome.

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COM MU N IT Y U PDATES

fa re well s ...

ALICE PERER A LUCEY ’77

Humanities Teacher, former Upper Division Head

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t is practically impossible to imagine Park without Alice Perera Lucey ’77, who has decided to leave Park at the end of this academic year. Alice’s deep connection with Park began when she arrived as a four-year-old in the fall of 1966 and continued through her graduation from Grade 9. She returned in 1984 after graduating from college to serve as an apprentice teacher in Grades 1 and 4, and when a spot opened up on the fourth grade team, Alice was able to step in. Following time away when her first of two children was born, she served as a family leave substitute teaching Grade 6, and fell in love with the Upper Division. She has been a member of the Grade 6 team teaching English and Social Studies since 1998.

Over the years, she served in Secondary School Counseling, as Upper Division Head, advised students and oversaw Student Council, redesigned the Upper Division advisory program, all while raising two Park alumni. The depth of Alice’s knowledge of Park is unparalleled, and her devotion S to Park’s core values, her colleagues, and her students is even deeper. Reflecting back on her years at Park, the words of former Headmaster Bob Hurlbutt resonate powerfully with Alice. “Bob said, ‘Park is a place, it’s people, and it’s ideas.’ It’s about collegiality, and shared purpose. The privilege of working together to educate children, learning and growing together, is tremendous.”

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1984–2022

She remembers, as a young teacher, looking up to senior faculty—mentors like Lucy Robb and Jan Spaulding—and appreciating the example they set. “There was a feeling of learning from each other. It was never static; we were always learning and always working together to sustain the culture.” She reflects, “I have worked with the most amazing people, and I have learned from every one of them.”

Carrying the Park tradition of friendship and community forward herself, Alice reminds us of the best of why we are here and why we do what we do. Alice and her husband will be moving to the Cape, where she has deep family roots, and she looks forward to reading, writing, spending time with family, and to finding opportunities to engage with a new community. We can’t wait to hear about what she’s doing, and look forward to welcoming her back often.

C OM M U N I T Y U PDAT E S

BOB LITTLE

Director of Athletics

1997–2022

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eflecting on his 25 years at Park, Bob Little most values the many opportunities he has had to witness the sheer joy that young athletes experience when they accomplish something—as an individual or as a team.

He says. “Educational athletics is really about learning to be a good person through competition. It makes me very proud to know that the referees who come to Park say they love coming here because the kids work so hard and are so well behaved—they’re good sports. That shows how hard our coaches work to teach our students the important stuff!”

Athletics program leader, coach, P.E. teacher, Growth Ed teacher, and academic advisor, Bob has brought extraordinary energy and commitment to Park’s students and teachers, and we are grateful for all the ways he has enhanced the “Go Park!” spirit at 171 Goddard. Joining Park as Director of Athletics in 1997 after stints at Beaver Country Day, UMass Amherst, Drew University and Middlesex School, Bob has been dedicated to building and guiding Park’s after-school athletics program. Under his leadership, Park has sustained and expanded a vibrant

K ATE LAPI NE

Director of Communications

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athletics program, and continued making it possible for every child who wants to play sports at Park to do so. He has professionalized the athletics program, recruiting coaches, overseeing the addition of a full-time athletic trainer, and implementing the IMPACT concussion baseline testing to support the health and safety of Park student athletes. Over the years, Bob sustained and encouraged the involvement of Park teachers as coaches, enriching the ways students are known, seen, and supported. In addition, he helped launch communitybuilding traditions, including The Larz Anderson Invitational, Shady Hill Day, and Hoopfest.

Having started his professional career as a coach at both the high school and collegiate level, he has lately been reminded of this by his three daughters as they developed into college athletes, and now looks forward to working with older kids again. Please join us in wishing Bob all the best!

25 YE ARS

1992–2022

hen we think about what makes Park “Park,” few have had as profound a shaping impact on how we know and appreciate Park as Kate LaPine.

Over the course of 24 years, Kate has shared Park’s stories, created landmark celebrations, managed Park’s visual identity and branding on campus and beyond, and has done all this with warmth, humor, an inviting spirit of collaboration, and lots of heart. In believing so deeply in Park, she has helped present us at our best.

Earlier this spring, Kate decided that it was time for her to devote her heart and energies to her family and to long-wished-for horizons beyond Park. Kate looks forward to returning to the museum sector, where her love of history, creative vision, and passion for education can come together.

Kate joined the Park community in 1992 as Assistant Director of Development and served as acting director for six months covering a maternity leave. In 1997, she took a hiatus from Park to feed her passion for global adventure, and traveled from Kathmandu to London on a truck!

24 YE AR S

Following business school, a stint at the Gardner Museum and at Planned Parenthood, she returned to 171 Goddard Avenue as Director of Communications in July 2003 when her daughter was one. She watched her daughter, Clare Wibiralske ’16, and her son, David Wibiralske ’20, grow up at Park.

Kate led the rebranding effort and subsequent redesign and launch of Park’s website in 2019, has produced at least 38 Park Bulletins, over 155 Park Parents, as well as countless invitations, email blasts, and Friday Notes. She has collaborated on most every significant event at Park over 24 years. Her elegant writing, meticulous attention to detail, and creative design eye have elevated Park’s message and visual identity, affirming our collective efforts. Her joyful spirit and infectious laugh have filled the administrative hallway for decades, and she will be truly missed. Given her deep connection to Park and many friendships, we don’t expect this to be “good-bye!”

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MERLE JACOBS Director of Admission

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2008–2022

erle Jacobs retires this spring after 14 years as Park’s Director of Admission. For more than a decade, Merle has been the driving force behind creating the vibrant Park community of students and families we so appreciate through her thoughtful, caring attention and welcoming spirit. Working in partnership with Jonathan Prosky, Merle has been the first person to greet Park families, getting to know them and their children and helping them get to know Park. She has worked collaboratively with four Park heads of school and has established strong relationships with colleagues in peer schools and admission consultants, in addition to Park faculty and families. A founding member of the Great Boston Lower School Diversity Consortium, she has led Park’s effort to attract families of color, increasing the number of students of color from 31% to a high of 44%. Working with peer schools, she shepherded the creation of the Common Parent Statement, making it easier for families to apply to multiple schools.

Significantly, when the realities of COVID19 fundamentally disrupted the ways in which schools could meet families and evaluate students, she and her team redesigned the entire admission process to be a virtual one, launching new tools and systems while working with a new database and SIS system.

During the summer of 2020, Merle and a group of half a dozen directors of admission at peer schools designed the Boston Area Virtual Evaluation (BAVE) to allow for the video assessment of early-childhood applicants. In addition to her role in Admission, Merle is also the proud parent of a Park alum—her daughter Rena LaRusso, Class of 2004, a Park lifer!

Merle looks forward to her retirement and to more time with her family, and we will miss having her as part of ours here at Park. Please join us in thanking Merle for her long service and dedication to Park, and to wishing her well in the journey ahead.

14 YE ARS

fa re we ll s ...

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C OM M U N I T Y U PDAT E S

BEA SA NDERS

Director of Development

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2011–2022

ea Sanders leaves The Park School this spring after eleven years as Park’s Director of Development, and has accepted the position of Chief Advancement Officer at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, MA. Throughout her time at Park, Bea has been a transformative leader in the life of the School, and we are grateful for all she has done for Park.

In her work as Director of Development, Bea has grown the culture of philanthropy at Park. She has expanded Park’s capital, principal, and major giving programs. She has built a strong, collegial team of professionals dedicated to the philanthropic advancement of the School.

During her tenure, Bea completed two successful capital campaigns. The first, “Park21,” raised $16 million in support of academic innovation and programs, and in the last four years, Bea structured and launched SPARK, a three-phase building and endowment campaign in support of Park’s Strategic Plan and Campus Master Plan.

Beyond Park, Bea has been a highly regarded member of the greater Boston development community,

serving as a leader and mentor to many. Prior to coming to Park, she served for a decade at Noble & Greenough, and before that, at Milton Academy. Park has been fortunate to have a leader of her vision, heart, and deep commitment guiding our Development Office for these many years.

Bea looks forward to the challenges of her new role, and is excited to return to working at the secondary school level. She looks forward to getting to know a new school community with a strong boarding component, and to building a fundraising program centered around alumni of all ages and geographic regions.

Bea leaves behind an exceptional team ready to sustain and further the philanthropic foundation she created. Please join us in thanking her for all her efforts have made possible here at Park.

11 YE ARS

ER IC CH APM A N

Assistant Head of School for Academics & Program 2019–2022

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ric Chapman, Park’s Assistant Head of School for Academics and Program, has been selected to serve as the next Head of School at Pine Cobble School in Williamstown, Massachusetts, effective July 1, 2022. While a loss for Park, it’s a wonderful opportunity for Eric, who has proven himself to be a thoughtful and steadfast educational leader.

From curricular and instructional review to faculty recruitment to the essential planning that has supported Park’s response to COVID19, Eric has been a valued partner in driving Park’s journey forward.

We are grateful for his partnership, and are excited for his next chapter. Please join us in congratulating Eric, and thanking him for all his hard work over these last three years at Park.

Y EA R S

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new appoint m e nt s...

T I NA FOX

Lower Division Head

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n January 2022, Tina Fox accepted the role of Lower Division Head, having served as Interim Lower Division Head since July 1, 2021. A proven leader as Assistant Lower Division Head at Park, Tina has been an exemplary partner—steady, hands-on, and resourceful in the face of the challenges this year continues to present, and insightful and visionary about the opportunities and potential Park’s Lower Division has to offer.

A passionate educator with 19 years of elementary classroom experience in Grades K through 2 at peer schools, including Belmont Day School and The Chestnut Hill School, Tina is a graduate of Bowdoin College and earned her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Wheelock College. Since joining Park as Assistant Lower Division Head in 2019, she has been a proven leader and a student-centric educator whose passion for educational excellence is defined by the interdependence

of academic challenge, socialemotional learning, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Tina is a collaborative and dedicated team builder whose positive spirit has helped ensure that Park’s Lower Division truly is a place of joyful learning. You see her everywhere—from welcoming our youngest students at morning carpool to supporting on-campus testing protocols to serving as a replacement teacher and leading Admission tours. The parent of two Park students (Miles, Grade 3, and Olivia, Grade 5), Tina is a deeply dedicated member of our community who truly embraces Park’s core values.

Please join us in congratulating Tina on her appointment!

M ATT KESSLER

Director of Enrollment Management

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att Kessler has been named Director of Enrollment Management. Beginning July 1, 2022, Matt will leave his post as Co-Director of Secondary School Counseling and will begin the work of developing Park’s enrollment management systems and strategy, overseeing admission, retention, financial aid, and secondary school counseling functions. Matt will join Park’s senior administrative team.

At Park, Matt has a proven record of building effective systems and relationships across the school. He has revolutionized and simplified the complex secondary school application and recommendation process while also providing strong support to Park’s admission, financial aid, and retention efforts. A graduate of Boston University, Matt earned a Certificate in Leadership in Enrollment Management from USC, and will complete his M.S. in Education and School Leadership at UPenn in July 2022. Matt began his career in education as a member of the admission and placement team at The Steppingstone Foundation, which develops and implements programs that prepare underserved schoolchildren for educational opportunities, and advanced to the role of Director of The Steppingstone Academy. He provided strategic vision and supervision for the selective admission process, developed new initiatives to highlight the benefits of independent PreK–8 schools, increased

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applicants by 24% within one year, and dramatically increased opportunities for families to access and use the information and support they needed to advance their children’s educational paths.

Throughout his career, Matt has approached admission work with an attention to detail, commitment to equity, and a nuanced understanding of data. Over the course of his interviews, he spoke movingly of his own path through independent schools, recognizing his exceptional privilege and also the challenges of belonging he encountered as a recipient of financial aid throughout his educational journey. For Matt, the value of belonging to a community where you are known and know who you are is bedrock to his personal ethos. We know these values are fundamental to our students’ and families’ experience from their initial inquiry through graduation, and look forward to the many ways in which Matt’s leadership will help us better embody our aspirations. His passion for this work and love for our School will blend to establish the next chapter for how we welcome, retain, and send off Park students and families.

Please join us in congratulating Matt and welcoming him into his new role.

C OM M U N I T Y U PDAT E S

CARL GENEUS Director of Athletics

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SH A N NON O’LEARY Director of Development

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hannon O’Leary has been named Park’s new Director of Development, effective July 1, 2022. Shannon joined the Park community in 2017, and currently serves as Director of Leadership & Capital Giving.

In July, she will begin the work of overseeing and guiding Park’s wider Development programming and strategy, overseeing alumni relations; annual fund; capital, leadership, and major giving programs; and cultivating the culture of philanthropy at The Park School. Shannon will join Park’s senior administrative team.

A graduate of Wheaton College with a B.A. in Political Science, Shannon came to Park after seven years’ development experience in independent schools. In her current role, she has effectively guided the growth of Park’s leadership giving programs and stewarded our capital giving efforts. Through her partnership with School leadership and trustees, she has been instrumental in designing, launching, and executing every element of The SPARK Campaign, Park’s largestever capital campaign, with funding priorities totaling $30M+ across three phases. Beyond her essential leadership in fundraising, Shannon has also dedicated herself to Park’s spirit of community and core values.

She led the conception, planning, and execution of Celebrate Park in October 2021, the event that brought 400

members of the community together in celebration of the 50th anniversary of our coming to 171 Goddard Avenue.

She is a founding member of Park’s Development Anti-racism Task Force, a collaborative partnership with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department, and guided the crafting of the Inclusivity Promise upon which The SPARK Campaign is built. Her commitment and deep understanding of Park’s deeper values and mission is foundational to her understanding of what the culture of philanthropy can and should be at Park.

Fundraising, at the core, is an act of community-building. Shannon’s broad and long-standing relationships with Park parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends have helped her to come to know what makes Park, Park—and she knows there is no place exactly like Park. She deeply appreciates the connective thread that runs throughout the community: Park people care deeply about their School.

She looks forward to connecting these people with one another, in support of Park’s institutional goals. Please join us in congratulating Shannon and welcoming her into her new role.

arl Geneus has been named Director of Athletics, effective July 1, 2022. Carl joins Park from the Noble and Greenough School, where he has served since 2019 as Middle School Athletic Director and lead scheduler. In this role, he has enjoyed leading an athletics program that provides students the opportunity to develop skills, build connections, and learn to be part of a team, while also supporting coaches and evaluating programs.

Carl earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University, but while working in the engineering field, he volunteered as a basketball coach in Hyde Park and discovered that his true passion was for coaching and working with students in athletics.

After teaching physical education at the Advent School, he earned his M.A. in Sports Leadership at Northeastern.

He gained hands-on experience managing the day-today responsibilities of an athletics department while serving as interim athletics director at the Academy of the Pacific Rim in Hyde Park, and subsequently served as a physical education teacher and camp director at Belmont Day School, while also coaching women’s basketball at Simmons College.

At Nobles, he has served as a middle school advisor and assisted with middle school DEI Programming. Over the course of his career, he served as a faculty advisor for affinity groups and clubs, an eighth-grade capstone mentor, a health and wellness teacher, a member on hiring committees, and co-chaired the New Faculty Orientation Committee. A member of the Massachusetts Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, the Women’s Basketball Coach’s Association, and the Society of Health and Physical Educators, he has participated in the National SEED Project, the NAIS People of Color Conference, and the NAIS People of Color Conference Leadership Institute for Educators of Color.

In considering his own educational philosophy, Carl is committed to helping guide students in their journey through methods that foster creativity, build self-confidence, and create a joy to explore individual interests. He aspires to give each student a feeling of empowerment, determination, self-worth, and respect for others—qualities they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Please join us in welcoming Carl to Park!

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S

P. E . & A

LETI

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BEYOND “GYM CLASS”

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sk a Park Lower Division student what their favorite class is, and chances are, the answer will be “Recess.” Or “P.E.” If they say “gym,” someone will quickly remind them that “it’s not gym class…it’s P.E.” The gymnasium is a place. Physical Education is a class, and it’s so foundational to Park’s mission that every student gets to have P.E. three times a week at every grade level, PreK through Grade 8. It’s a pedagogicallydriven, evolving curriculum that builds a lifelong appreciation for the healthy challenges that promote physical, social, and emotional growth.

As Head of School Scott Young has noted, at Park, “one of the things we really emphasize is ‘the Whole Child’—not just who they are intellectually, but who they are socially, who they are emotionally, and who they are morally, and how all those things translate to who they are as an individual child.”

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P. E . & A

LETI C

TH

As much as anything else we do at Park, the commitment to a PreK–8 Physical Education program speaks to that. Add to this the opportunity students have beginning in Grade 4 to try out the team sport experience while continuing to reap the benefits of physical education, and you have a wonderful formula to support Whole Child growth.

“Academic excellence” in the classroom is just one component of meaningful education, while the skills, confidence, and relationship-building that happens on the playing fields and in the gym is also essential.

Park families may be inclined to take this for granted. The interweaving of P.E. into daily life and its impact on the evolution of growth mindset is just part of the oxygen that feeds us at Park. Yet at many schools, the commitment to P.E. tapers off in the middle school years. Upper Division Head Ken Rogers believes that’s a real loss. “We value Physical Education as part of what we mean by ‘academic

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excellence,’” he says. “There are structures and habits and attitudes about being physically active that you don’t get from team sports. Valuing the ‘Whole Child’ as we do, we appreciate the importance of play. We appreciate the importance of learning how your body moves, and of creativity. And we believe it’s important that our students come to see themselves as active human beings.”

At many independent schools, the middle school P.E. requirement (which is, unfortunately, often viewed as just a “requirement”) is shunted to the after-school hours in the form of required athletics.

Director of Physical Education Michelle Young notes that “There’s a lot of importance about being on a team, and at the same time, athletics and P.E. are two different things.” A mandatory athletics program may be great for those kids who thrive in that environment, but it would be inconsistent with the educational mission of a school like Park that believes every student should feel known and seen, come to know themselves and their passions, and have a deep sense of belonging.

As Ken Rogers observes, “It’s possible to be physically active and not be an athlete. Programs that require sports imply that everyone is an athlete.”

And that exacts yet another price. Ken notes, “If

everyone is at sports at the end of the day, they don’t get to explore what else might really excite them.

Our after-school drama program is a good example of that—while a student can participate in a theater elective during the academic day, the after-school drama program provides students who want be part of the cast of a drama production the opportunity to do so, after school, in a time slot that might otherwise be claimed by team sports.” Similarly, this allows students who want to prioritize music lessons or other enrichment programming time in their schedules to do so. Park’s strategy ensures that all students benefit from P.E., while each also has the opportunity to discover their own passions—whether it’s through athletic competition, or through another after-school activity like drama, music, or visual arts.

R E S P E C T I N G T H E PAC E O F C H I L D H O O D “What’s great about P.E. at Park,” Michelle Young observes, “is that the student journey goes from basic movement to lifetime skills, taking risks and gaining confidence along the way. We do push your comfort levels a bit—and I think being pushed out of your comfort level a little bit is where a lot of that learning and that growth goes on. Our motto is, ‘Do Your Best and Forget the Rest.’”

While most teachers work with a relatively narrow age group, Park’s P.E. team works across divisions, across age groups, and is able to connect with them all. One day in April, Michelle worked with a group of Grade 5 students attempting to scale the West Gym climbing wall for the first time. The lesson started with safety—how to set up the harness, how to orient oneself to the wall, how to let the partner holding your safety line know that you’re ready to come down, how to let friends know that cheering out loud will rattle you on the wall—and then moved on to execution. Students approached the wall with varying degrees of excitement, confidence, and trepidation, and it was especially wonderful to see the kids who started out most timid proudly reaching the top as their friends cheered them on.

And then, not 40 minutes later, she led a threering circus of PreK students by the smaller climbing wall in the Main Gym. While Grade 5 students have the capacity to wait their turn on the climbing wall, the little ones need constant engagement. Michelle divided the students into three groups: while onethird of the group prepared for their PreK Marathon by running laps around the gym, another group invented elaborate ways to toss and catch colorful scarves, and the final group lined up, criss-crossapple-sauce, on the floor in front of the climbing wall.

She then explained the climbing wall and guided the children along, with gentle words and encouragement and a supportive hand. Every climber—whether they made it to the top or just a foot off the ground—felt proud, and every child in the other two groups

couldn’t wait for their turn. Fear had no place here; discovery and accomplishment ruled. Meanwhile, they also learned sharing, and patience, and the importance of focusing on their own tasks even with the exciting climbing wall in the corner of their eyes when it wasn’t their turn.

On another day, Michelle led a PreK class in learning a very special dance—basically, for those who saw the ’70s first hand, it was The Hustle. The P.E. program may look like we’re all just having fun— which we are—but it’s also supporting a deliberate, thoughtful, developmentally appropriate progression.

Michelle explains that the arc of the PreK through 8th grade Physical Education program starts with PreK–1 really thinking about moving their bodies—local motor skills, non-local motor skills, and coordination. She continues, “Then, for the 2nd–4th grade, it’s really reinforcing those skills you’ve learned, and how to combine those skills with more manipulative type skills with equipment. From there, our 5th through 8th grade students are learning about life skills and how physical activity can benefit you and translate into real life situations. And we’re trying to do that while at the same time respecting the pace of childhood.”

Scott Young is thrilled by the benefits Park’s new turf field will bring to our P.E. program as a

“

What’s great about P.E. at Park is that the student journey goes from basic movement to lifetime skills, taking risks and gaining confidence along the way.”

—Michelle Young

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It’s very important for students to learn how to win, and to learn how to lose.

And to do it all with grace and poise.”

—Dana Welshman-Studley ’85

G R AC E A N D P O I S E : E D U C AT I N G STUDENTS TO BE GOOD PEOPLE

space where, four seasons a year, our students can be outside, playing and engaging. He is equally excited about the ways in which the new adventure equipment coming to Park for next fall will expand these opportunities. “The Park journey focuses so much on the physical needs of our children, and the adventure equipment is critically important to that.

It is a different way to be physical. It’s not sport, and it’s not training…it is problem-solving and engaging in a physical realm, working with friends, working with partners to tackle obstacles. It opens up a whole new realm for our students in terms of what they can do here at Park and how they are fed as a whole child.”

Michelle expands on this thinking, noting that “Trust is important, taking risks is important, getting out of your comfort zone is important, teambuilding is important, really for any age group. This is a chance for our students to say ‘I see you, I’ve got you, I’m with you, and we’re going to do this journey together.’”

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Associate Athletics Director Dana WelshmanStudley ’85 teaches P.E. and is also a coach, and she’s a big believer in Park’s P.E. program. “We are lucky,” she says, “to have P.E. through 8th grade three times a week. It’s an amazing P.E. program.

Students are learning how to cooperate with others and to make things work. The athletics piece is the ‘over and above,’ which so many of them are desperate to have.” Athletics, Dana believes, presents the moment when students can “really work hard and prove themselves,” reveling in the opportunity for competition.

The arc of athletics at Park begins in Grade 4, when students have the opportunity to join in intramural sports. “They begin to build their foundation, gain basic skills, and build a platform from which to build,” Dana says. Interscholastic sports begin in Grade 5, and students have the option to participate in competitions against other schools through Grade 8. Dana smiles, “Students really love that opportunity to represent Park School!”

Current students, especially the athletes, are already excited by the prospect of the new turf field coming for Fall 2022. As Scott notes, the new field will “elevate the ways we think about athletics. Our students who love athletics love teamwork and collaboration. They are inspired by competition, and

Top and above left: renderings of Park's new turf field.

having a world-class competitive space will elevate their sense of who they are and what athletics can be at The Park School.” Ken Rogers adds, “It’s a different experience, playing on quality fields, and it also prepares students for high school athletics.”

Fundamentally, however, the athletics experience is about more than just skills. “It’s very important for students to learn how to win, and to learn how to lose. And to do it all with grace and poise,” Dana says. “The goals of our program really are about character building. We want them to learn the skills and we want them to be happy basketball players or field hockey players. But we also want them to be good people. We want them to learn how to be a member of a team. How to support other people and receive support from other people. We want them to learn how to be on time, to have all the belongings they’re supposed to have when they get where they are going, and to communicate well. All those skills come from team sports, and are super important.”

ONE OF THE THINGS T H AT M A K E S PA R K “ PA R K ” At Park, we’re so lucky to have the gymnasium space, the fields, and the creative, dedicated Physical Education and Athletics personnel that collectively support an exceptional, thoughtfully layered program that truly reflects Park’s commitment to educating the “Whole Child.” Sure, students grow in physical fitness, as athletes, and as teammates, but they also grow as well-rounded members of a civil community. This unique part of Park’s curriculum is deeply rooted in Park’s mission—simply put, it prepares them for life.

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LEARNING THE BALANCE OF WORK, LIFE, AND SPORT: JACOB ADUAMA ’07 From an interview by Bob Little, Director of Athletics

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f Park had an Athletics Hall of Fame, Jacob would surely be part of it. He is among the Park athletes who have gone on to play sports at the Division 1 level in college, and continues to play soccer semi-professionally. But while his athletics accomplishments are extraordinary, he also exemplifies the values underscoring Park’s mission to cultivate the “whole child”: well-rounded students who understand who they are, who discover their passions, find their voice, and combine these experiences to make thoughtful, well-informed choices.

A 2007 Park graduate who attended Park from Grade 1 through Grade 9, Jacob was recognized at his Park graduation for his unique contributions to the community: While you are a multi-talented student and athlete, it is the strength of your character that has defined your very special place here. Through your dignity and your quiet intensity, you have inspired others. Of particular note, in small and often unseen ways, you have been a caretaker and protector of younger students throughout the school.

In your words and your actions, you consistently have demonstrated that pride in oneself is at the core of respect for others. Simply by sharing your strong sense of self, you have deepened and dignified the understanding of diversity that is so central to our mission at Park.

These days, Jacob lives in Gothenberg, Sweden, where he is group manager at Volvo Autonomous Solutions in charge of the team that conducts in-vehicle testing for Volvo’s self-driving vehicles and machines.

He’s been in Sweden for five and a half years now, and when he isn’t working, he plays soccer at the semi-pro level, with three training sessions per week and matches on weekends. The balancing of work, life, and sport is

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important to Jacob, and something he believes he first learned at Park.

Thinking back on his Park experience, Jacob says that the fact that he had the ability to play sports competitively at the middle school level, and the opportunity to explore, was significant. “Even if there were three sports I always played, I tried some other ones in between. You really had the flexibility to try different things,” he recalls. And, even though he and his teammates worked hard and played hard, there was also the freedom to have fun. “I think that helped me.” he says, “I played because it was fun, not because I felt I always had to prove something, or be pushed.”

While the soccer field, basketball court, and track may have been where Jacob found natural affinity, his Park Physical Education experience taught him all the more. “Everyone had to do it, even if you didn’t want to.”

For Jacob, this became a lesson in community building.

How might he help get peers who were less interested in an activity excited about joining? “As a group, the P.E. teachers always challenged those who were stronger athletes to help others on the team,” he says. “For me, this meant gaining a greater understanding of team sports. I learned that we were better if I passed to

“M Y F I R S T T E A M C A P TA I N E X PE R I E NC E WA S AT T H E PA R K SC HOOL . BE I NG A BL E TO DO T H AT AT A YOU NG AG E WA S A H UG E A DVA N TAG E .”

other kids. I learned that the team was better if I helped others be better.” The broader lessons—patience, and the ability to respect and appreciate different talents—continue to resonate for Jacob. The skills he gained in working with others with different interests and perspectives, he says, have carried forward into his professional and private life.

Park was also where Jacob had his first real leadership opportunity in athletics. “My first team captain experience was at The Park School. Being able to do that at a young age was a huge advantage.” The lessons transcend the playing field in so many ways.

In 8th grade, Jacob was spotted by a coach scouting for Northfield Mount Hermon, which launched the conversation that eventually brought Jacob to NMH, where he was a three-season athlete—soccer, basketball, and track & field. Jacob reflects that the opportunity to be a multi-sport athlete at Park was another big plus.

Park always encouraged this, and yet when Jacob got

to NMH, he found he was the rare three-season athlete.

“That was something I took with me from Park,” he says, “both physically and in terms of passions for different things I loved to do.”

These days, the trend toward specializing in a particular sport happens much younger. Even at Park, students sometimes find themselves caught in the middle between their club team and their Park team.

Jacob believes this is unfortunate, noting that he had friends at university who studied Kinesiology, which reveals the great benefits to young athletes playing different sports while they grow. “While you are growing,” he says, ”your muscles and body can cope with different actions, but if all you are doing until you are 20 is kicking a soccer ball, there’s a risk that you won’t have trained the rest of your body as well.” It also expanded his understanding of the game. Playing basketball, for example, helped him be a better goalkeeper in soccer, not only because it trained his ability to jump, but because it taught him to “read the angle of the ball, and how to track it in the air.”

It was exciting, Jacob says, to play sports at a higher level at NMH, where he was soccer captain his senior year, and then to go on to captain the Division 1 soccer team at Northeastern, where he majored in Chemical Engineering. His commitment to athletics taught him valuable lessons in time management. “My parents were always ‘education first’ when I was younger, so I knew that if I wanted to keep playing sports, I had to keep my grades and performance up,” he says. “When I got to NMH, I saw that some of my classmates weren’t used to that, and they had a harder time adjusting to the challenging schedule.” By then, however, the need to set

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VALUING COMMUNITY: MEG LLOYD ’98

by Kristin Freedman, Park ASP teacher

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f you attend a sports game at Park, you’ll undoubtedly see students receiving guidance and encouragement as they huddle around their coach. Moments like these had a lasting impact on Meg Lloyd ’98, who now coaches students of her own.

Meg is the Dean of Students and an English teacher at Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, New Hampshire. She is currently a soccer coach and has coached ice hockey in the past. “I teach and I coach,” Meg says, “because I love sharing what I loved doing.”

A Park “lifer” who attended the school from PreK through Grade 9, Meg identifies Physical Education as an integral part of her growth. “I feel like the groundwork was laid in having P.E. all the way through,” she recalls.

“That was really helpful in the grand scheme of my development.” Through P.E. classes, physical fitness and activity were woven into the fabric of her life from an early age. “Looking back, I realize I thought about athletics and my physical health in a different way than my peers who didn’t have access to regular P.E. classes… like I did when I was at Park.”

While fitness and movement were crucial elements of Meg’s P.E. experience, the benefits extended far beyond her physical wellness. “There was so much social-emotional growth that went on in P.E.,” she notes, adding that P.E. “built the foundation for how to be a part of a team.” Students learned how to create a climate of mutual respect, cooperation, and healthy competition— all of which were Park’s “core values… how we operated.”

Starting in Grade 6, Meg played a sport at Park every season: soccer in the fall, ice hockey in the winter, and lacrosse in the spring. Playing on Park’s sports teams allowed her to develop and hone her athletic skills within Park’s supportive, close-knit environment. She “loved the element of being in the classroom but also on the sports field” with her coaches, who were also her teachers and advisors. “They were a part of the web of adults that helped to educate and raise us.” Meg recalls having P.E. teachers Pat Zifcak and Dana WelshmanStudley ’85—who also happened to be mother and daughter—as lacrosse coaches: “This was not only community… this was our family.”

When Meg entered The Governor’s Academy as a high school sophomore, she didn’t make the varsity soccer team, but realized that playing on the junior varsity team could be equally rewarding. “I had learned at Park that it’s better to play and get better than to sit around and do nothing… at Park, everybody played.” As the

Jacob Aduama ’07, continued

priorities was second nature to Jacob. “If you know you have to go to school, train directly after school, and do your homework, just getting right onto the next thing, you build that routine from an early age.” While classmates struggled with managing their new-found freedom, Jacob simply kept his routine going. “I definitely think having to maintain that balance when you’re younger helps.”

Jacob looks forward to making it back to Park next winter—“It’s been too long,” he

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says—and he’s very excited to see Park’s new turf field. Most secondary school teams are playing on turf, he notes. Soccer is faster on turf and you don’t worry about the ball taking a weird bounce. He believes it will help Park athletes to become accustomed to playing at that level. And, he observes, “Boston winters are so hard and turf opens up the opportunity for higher quality training for a longer period of time. You worry less about maintaining the fields. That’s a big bonus.”

The value of the athletics experience extends far beyond the playing field. On the one hand, Jacob knows that soccer has helped him find community and form connections in Sweden, not to mention improving his language skills. “If you play soccer in the park, you meet people. You share interests. It’s Europe…so at the least, someone will ask you what your favorite football club is, and you go on from there.” Beyond that, however, he observes, “Once you have been on a team, you are

I N T EG R I T Y A N D A SE N SE OF FA I R PL AY W E R E A L SO DE E PLY E M BE DDE D I N T H E E T HO S OF PA R K AT H L E T IC S . junior varsity team—of which Meg was now a captain— approached the end of their season, she was given the opportunity to leave her team and finish the season as a varsity player. She refused. “I was competitive,” she says, “but I was also playing for the community and being a part of a team, and that outweighed being able to compete at the varsity level that year.”

While playing sports at both the high school and collegiate levels, Meg held fast to the values she learned as a Park athlete. “We’re respectful of our opponents, but we also try our hardest… we’re going to be competitive but we’re also going to be respectful of the other team.”

Integrity and a sense of fair play were also deeply embedded in the ethos of Park Athletics. “I would rather

programmed to understand that we are all different, with different skills and different levels of competence, but that we have a common goal that we strive towards together.”

He reflects, “Each member of a team needs to work on their strengths, understand where they fit in, and work to coordinate a good team effort. At work, on the field, and in other parts of my life, I see this on a daily basis, and it’s fundamental to who I am today.”

compete against a team and lose by a goal than blow out another team,” she explains, “and I think that came specifically from Park.”

As a coach, Meg hopes to provide her students with the same levels of support, motivation and care that she received as a Park student. Though Cardigan is an all-boys school, she has coached girls teams in the past, which enabled her to “be a role model for women in sports… and be present for female athletes.” Above all, she emphasizes the importance of respect and camaraderie on the playing field. “I know that came from my understanding of sports… which came from Park and the Park sports experience”—an experience that enriches the lives of students and alumni alike.

“EACH M EM BER OF A T EA M N EEDS TO WOR K ON T H EIR ST R ENGT HS, U N DERSTA N D W H ER E T H EY FI T I N, A N D WOR K TO COOR DI NAT E A GOOD T EA M EFFORT.” S u m m e r B ull e ti n 2 0 2 2

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GROWING UP AT PARK: ALEX ’13 AND LANIE ’16 CHERRY From an interview by Bob Little, Director of Athletics

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lex and Lanie Cherry both arrived at Park as tiny PreK students and so Park was where they found their first friends and their earliest mentors. Both grew as exceptional scholars on a journey that led them both to the Ivy League—Alex to Princeton, and Lanie to Brown—and they both reflect on the value of their Park athletic and Physical Education experience in helping support their way forward.

Lanie says, “Sports helped me get out of my shell.”

She was naturally quiet and somewhat shy, but on Park’s playing fields, she found her voice, her confidence. By Grade 8, she was captain of her team, and when she entered Milton for secondary school, she was confident in herself, and in her abilities. Team sports was a place where she could be both competitive and social, and there was joy in that.

For Alex, his most powerful Park memories come back to his 6th grade undefeated soccer team. “We were just a powerhouse that year,” he recalls. “It was super cool to reach that high standard at such a young age, and to be playing with so many other good players.” Yet some of the very best experiences came about through P.E. and even recess, when he and his buddies would play together. “It was so joyous that we could just go out and play,” he says. Recess became the place where he and his friends learned to work together on competition without the guidance of coaches, figuring out how to collaborate and manage the games themselves.

The through line for Alex came down to the wonderful connections with classmates, teammates, teachers, and coaches. “It was really fun that after

games, the next day, my teammates were my classmates, and my coaches were my teachers. It was a close knit, tight group.” The value of that student-teacher/coach relationship at Park particularly stands out for Alex. “It felt comfortable going to those adults who knew you so well for guidance,” he says. The teacher who is also your coach gets to know you in a multidimensional way–and you can go to that person with anything.

Lanie recalls the empowerment that came out of the collective celebration of student accomplishment at Morning Meetings. “We’d get up at Morning Meeting and say ‘Our team has a game today,’ and then the next day we’d report the results. The school acknowledged and praised our participation.” The culture of athletics at Park was strong and supported by the community.

For both Lanie and Alex, a key takeaway from their experience as student-athletes at Park was the time management skills they learned. Alex recalls that even in 6th grade, he understood that, when he was “in season,” school-practice-homework-sleep became a structure that really supported him. He says, “You needed that time management—you didn’t have time to use time inefficiently. That continued beyond Park.” Lanie reflects

L A N I E SAYS , “SP ORT S H E L PE D M E G E T OU T OF M Y SH E L L .”

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FOR BOT H L A N I E A N D A L E X , A K EY TA K E AWAY F ROM T H E I R E X PE R I E NC E A S S T U DE N TAT H L E T E S AT PA R K WA S T H E T I M E M A NAG E M E N T SK I L L S T H EY L E A R N E D. that she learned at Park how to “look ahead,” because the demands of sports required it. Yet for both, the fact that their Park teachers were also their coaches, and understood that this time management skill was something they were learning, they had support along the way.

Team sports remained important to Lanie at Milton, where she played Varsity Soccer. Now a sophomore at Brown, she has come to appreciate the opportunity for team sports to be an ongoing part of her life, without needing it to dominate. She plays club soccer, which provides the social and “team” benefits she loves, while allowing her the time to engage with all sorts of aspects of college life, which she wouldn’t be able to do as a Division 1 athlete.

Alex was a three-season athlete all the way through St. Sebastian’s, playing football, ice hockey, and baseball—and is now in his junior year at Princeton, where he is a wide receiver on the Princeton football team that won the Ivy League in 2021. Even with his commitment to football, however, he continues to play other sports when he can. He enjoys pick-up basketball and, understanding that sports will always be a part of his life, he’s working on his tennis and golf games as well.

Both Lanie and Alex have grown throughout their journey at Park and beyond, and the skills and understanding gained along the way have helped each of them find their place, find their passions, and understand how to find the balance they need in order to thrive.

FOR BOT H L A N I E A N D A L E X , A K EY TA K E AWAY F ROM T H E I R E X PE R I E NC E A S S T U DE N T-AT H L E T E S AT PA R K WA S T H E T I M E M A NAG E M E N T SK I L L S T H EY L E A R N E D.

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THE POWER OF PERSONAL ENERGY

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From an interview with George Fulton ’17 by Tim O’Brien and Bob Little

hen George Fulton ’17 looks back on his Park athletics experience, he remembers “a lot of winning, and that was fun!” But what resonates most strongly was the team culture he enjoyed, something he feels really sets Park apart. “It’s the best team environment I’ve been a part of, even to this day. I loved the fun-natured, healthy team environment. That’s the most important thing.” He loved the fact that he and his buddies played together on teams across all three seasons, often with the same coach. He joined the soccer team because his cousin Oscar Burns wanted him to help the team, and Oscar, in turn, played lacrosse because George wanted him to help out there. “We came to understand that the expectation was that everyone chips in, everyone supports the community as a full participant,” he says.

Currently playing Division 1 lacrosse at the University of Virginia, George’s experience at Park, and subsequently at Middlesex, taught him how much impact the energy one brings to a team—or, really, to any collaborative work— has on the collective endeavor. He reflects, “I didn’t know it then, but I’ve come to notice how the energy and actions of older kids and team leaders affect the whole team.”

Thinking back to his Park experience, he remembers “high energy people—Mr. Toussaint, Mr. Fries, Mr. O’Brien, and others—who brought a good attitude every single day.

Not all coaches, and not all team captains can do that, but that’s the case at Park.” That positive team culture is something he still aspires to. As a first year player at Virginia, he can already see the opportunity ahead for him when, as a senior member of the team, he can bring that positive energy and shape the culture in good ways.

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George knows that his love of sports first awakened in Park’s Physical Education program. “Park P.E….it’s obviously the BEST time of day. I remember all the different activities and sports we played.” On any given Tuesday at 9 a.m he’d play field hockey, throw javelin and discus, long jump, run distance, and, he says “It definitely introduced me to a bunch of different movements. I really benefited from the days in the weight room with Mr. Savage and from the running.” In particular, he applauds Steve Savage’s early lessons on foam rolling—a regular therapy he and his teammates rely on now. “I used to think it was the biggest waste of time.” Since his muscles were still so young and pliant then, “I didn’t feel anything.

Now I foam roll every day. Also, the stretching, and squat mechanics…all those definitely carried over as life skills.”

Park also taught George the importance of sustaining focus and energy throughout the day, and he has come to see “energy management” as a key to success as a scholar athlete. “At Park we just went full out all day. We started at 8 a.m. in Morning Meeting, and then we ran a mile in P.E. and then we’re at lunch, then two more classes, and then we’re playing lacrosse. You get used to that.” In contrast, peers in college find themselves overwhelmed by the need to sustain their energy throughout the day and not become overwhelmed by the two added hours of practice.

Division 1 athletics are like a full time job, and everything else bends around them. “I had to take my microeconomics exam on the plane to Brown,” George reports about a recent lacrosse competition. An academic coordinator travels with the team to serve, essentially, as a proctor. “We had to take it at the same time as other students so no one could text others the answers, so there we were, six guys, in the airport and on the plane, taking

the test.” He believes his early training at Park helped set him up well, however, to manage these challenges.

Significantly, this energy management applies not only to those jam-packed days, but to days when there is downtime. George explains that when he’s “in season” for lacrosse, just sustaining the energy to keep on top of everything is a challenge.

In the fall, however, when practice hours are limited, he has three days per week with no team activities.

“On those days, energy management is important because you need to do more than just the team activities. See your friends. Call your mom. Do your homework,” he says. The extra discipline that started at Park is all the more noticeable on those days because he sustains the focus to get things done.

George’s conversation with two of his former Park coaches was full of laughter and warmth— clearly, the team culture he inhabited at Park has had lasting effects, as has his appreciation for the inherent fun athletics can offer. He still loves playing pick up basketball, a throwback to recess at Park, and played pickleball with his parents in their driveway during COVID lockdown. Even now as Division 1 athlete, he appreciates the benefits of “fun lacrosse.” “Mandatory lacrosse,” he says, “is being in the middle of Delaware on a turf field with teammates you don’t really like,” a pretty apt description of elite youth club sports. “Fun lacrosse is Park lacrosse in the spring. It’s your prize.”

DA N A W E L S H M A N - S T U D L E Y ’ 8 5 , A MY SA LT O N S TA L L ’ 87, A N D M E R R I L L H AW K I N S ’ 9 6

“PA R K P. E …. I T ’ S OBV IOU SLY T H E BE S T T I M E OF DAY.”

COMING HOME TO PARK

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ark students learn what it means to show up with your best for Park under the guidance of coaches who, as Park alumni themselves, benefited from these same lessons growing up. Park taught them how to work hard, play fair, honor their teammates, and to be gracious in victory and in defeat. Now, they pass these essential values along to the next generations.

Dana Welshman-Studley ’85 discovered her passion for athletics at Park, and went on to play Field Hockey and Lacrosse at Thayer Academy, and Lacrosse at Roanoke College. She had a great mentor—her mother, Pat Zifcak, taught Physical Education and coached at Park for 32 years.

Dana joined the Park P.E. department in 1996, and currently serves as Associate Athletics Director.

Amy Saltonstall ’87 was a three-sport athlete at Park, and went on to play field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse at Milton, and field hockey and lacrosse at Williams. Returning to Park to teach in 2013, Amy was glad for the opportunity to coach field hockey and lacrosse, and to remain deeply connected with the learning that comes through participation on a team.

Merrill Hawkins ’96 returned to Park as a Grade 6 Humanities teacher, and like Amy, is also dedicated to working with students outside the classroom as a coach. Merrill played soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse at Park, played soccer, ice hockey, and softball at Deerfield, and ice hockey at Colby.

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THE PROPE RT Y OF L IG H T TE LLI N G STO R I E S TH RO U G H I NTE R DI SCI PLI NARY CO LL ABO R ATIO N This is just about light, how suddenly One comes upon it sometimes and is surprised.

In light, something is lifted.

That is the property of light [...] alberto rios, “a physics of sudden light”

How might we best tell our stories? How many ways might we reveal our truths for people to understand? Each year, Park Grade 8 students, as part of their culminating reflections as their Park journey approaches its end, have sought to capture their own core beliefs and vision in English class through their “This I Believe” project. originated as a radio project hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow on CBS Radio from 1951 to 1955 (it has subsequently been revived a number of times, including on NPR in 2005).

Program guests—some famous, some not—would write brief essays about their personal motivations and beliefs and read them on the air. Students began their work by reading an essay by Murrow that details the reason he launched the “This I

“THIS I BELIEVE”

Believe” project. The essay explores the importance of talking, writing, and reading about beliefs, and through their study, Park students considered both the context of the McCarthy era from which Murrow was writing and the ways in which our own time period can be similarly charged. Students then dug into the database of essays, and chose 8–12 of them to read closely and annotate as they considered how the essays were written.

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TH E CO LL ABO R ATIO N O PE N E D U P N E W PE R S PEC TIVE S O N H OW TO TH I N K ABO UT COM M U N IC ATIO N WH I LE CHALLE N G I N G ST U DE NT S TO WO R K TOG E TH E R , E XPE R I M E NT, AN D PRO B LE M -SO LVE I N N E W, HAN DS - O N WAYS .

As they explored these materials, students brainstormed beliefs in journals on a daily basis, and then came together to share them as a class. English department head Susan Bogue Myslik reflects, “This is my favorite part—we just circle the room joyfully expressing the things we believe in. Students then narrow their thinking to one ‘core’ belief they want to write about, something central to their being.” She challenges them to consider what belief is so central to who they are that, without it, “you just wouldn’t be you.” Classmates then support each other with peer editing, with every essay going through several iterations before being finalized. The final essays, she says, “are gorgeous.”

In past years, students then shared their completed essays through various media—audio recordings, web pages, and through on-campus presentations to parents. With COVID restrictions making such on-campus events impossible, however, the presentations needed a new form, and this gave rise to a new partnership. This winter, a crossdepartmental collaboration between the Grade 8 English and math teams, with help from the Makerspace, helped students use new tools and skill sets to tell their stories—and in doing so, celebrate who they are, what they believe in, and how much they have learned.

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The Grade 8 math team was excited to take the risk in offering something new to their students.

Math department head Christy Keblusek notes, “We are always looking for ways in which students can apply their learning, and collaboration between disciplines enhances the impact. We were looking for a project that would provide a connection between disciplines, and this allowed students to visualize a piece of their essays using the language of math.”

Park has long challenged students to grow as skillful communicators, and while their ability to express themselves effectively on paper is an important aspect of that element of The Park Portrait, this project pushed students to explore other ways their message could be shared.

But how? Math has its own language that makes meaning with formulas, functions and equations, different from the language of words, grammar, and sentences. How might students apply their knowledge of math to create a visual representation of the ideas they had captured in their written words? The opportunity was exciting, in part, because, as Christy observes, “we all learn and process differently. This project allows students an expanded repertoire for how they might best communicate.” The students began working with Desmos, an online graphing program, applying what they knew about math

functions to design a visual representation of the beliefs they had articulated through the writing process in English class.

The learning curve was substantial. Christy observes, “The project challenged kids to apply knowledge that they didn’t necessarily know they had. They went into the project with an extensive knowledge of linear functions and inequalities, but little knowledge of parabolas. Challenged in this project to create curves, students explored other functions and figured out how to manipulate equations that would translate to the images they wanted, all the while without the stress of feeling they had to ‘learn the math.’” The project also served to preview some of the learning yet to come, as Grade 8 would soon be diving into the math of those topics.

A central goal of the project was to allow students the space to define their own challenge and to stretch themselves to make this endeavor as much of an intellectual growth opportunity as possible.

The exercise underscored the importance of being a flexible analytical thinker, able to get creative with the tools at their disposal. Just as students began their English essay by reading the Murrow essay and then extrapolating their own beliefs from which to hone down on their central theme, they similarly began the math project with a wide range of ideas that they then narrowed down and applied the math to create the final image. The topics may have differed but the fundamentals of analytical thinking were parallel.

The collaboration opened up new perspectives on how to think about communication while challenging students to work together, experiment, and problemsolve in new, hands-on ways. Makerspace educator Elaine Hamilton says, “They did a lot of exploring, wondering and problem-solving. Some students also

came to the Makerspace to see their designs run on the laser cutter. Their prototypes were first done on cardboard to give students the opportunity to offer feedback; the final versions were done on various colors of acrylic of their choice.” It was exciting, she says, because students could challenge themselves with a project that had clear expectations, and yet had no ceiling, no boundaries to what they could create.

The result: a wonderful creation that each student was excited to show off. “This was a project that proved to each student that every one of them is both a mathematician and an artist,” Christy notes.

“Every student was proud of their work and saw that they could accomplish something that was hard.

That’s what made this really special.” The Grade 8 math classroom is ablaze with sparkling lights and many colors, a vivid display that reminds our students of who they are, what they believe in, and what a beautiful community they create together.

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Opening the 1971 Time Capsule!

To celebrate the move to Goddard Avenue and the construction of the new building, every student, teacher, and administrator at The Park School during the academic year 1970–71 placed a message in a time capsule with the hope that it would be opened, enjoyed, added to, and resealed every 50 years.

With that wish serving as our guide, the School invited alumni who had contributed items in 1971 to a grand re-opening ceremony. On September 28, 2021, Head of School Scott Young shared highlights from the time capsule with hundreds of students, faculty & staff, and alums who had gathered on the Main Field for the occasion.

L-R: Charlie Cunningham, Dick Leahy, Dr. James Faulkner, Mary Faulkner, Bob Hurlbut, Anne Worthington Prescott, Earl Flansburgh, and Peter Volpe.

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THE PARK SCHOOL

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S u m m e r B ull e ti n 2 0 2 2

33

1956 Thank you, Jamie!

Jamie Byron has been an exceptional leader for Park's alumni over the past five years, and we are grateful for all her great work. She leaves Park this June to begin a new opportunity at The Rhodes Trust. Best wishes, Jamie!

Judith Chapman keeps dairy goats on the northwest coast of California, and uses their milk for “making lots of delicious cheese.”

Bonnie Bonnet Akins tells us that after Park she went on to Milton Academy, followed by Goucher and Katharine Gibbs. After working as the assistant to the Headmaster at Park, she went on to volunteer for many organizations and serve in town government. Bonnie lives in Dover where she continues to be involved in local government.

Her hobbies include music, tennis, gardening, cooking, reading, and cheering on Harvard Football!

1958

A Note About Park’s Class Year Designations Since Park's founding in 1888, the number of grades offered and the graduation year or final year have varied. The School had a ninth grade program for nearly 50 years (1967–2016) and, for all classes that graduated prior to 2016, we assigned our alumni a class year based on their Grade 9 year. Therefore, all members of pre-2016 classes are listed by their Grade 9 designation, whether or not there was a ninth grade during their time at Park. The Class of 2016 includes both the Grade 8 and Grade 9 classes who graduated that year. Beginning with the Class of 2017, Park began assigning a class year based on the eighth grade year.

1944

Jerri Godfrey Paul writes, “Not too much to say. Enjoying what is left of my life with husband, Harry Paul, in a ground floor apartment at an independent living facility in Titusville, FL. Growing tomatoes and feeding songbirds adds to our pleasure.”

1945

Class Representative Natalie Park Schutz

1948

In Mattapoisett, Vera Corverse Gibbons continues to work in real estate and enjoys her eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

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1953

Class Representative Bob Bray

1955

Class Representative Buzz Gagnebin Buzz Gagnebin shared that he is now retired, and his hobbies include sailing and music. Buzz was playing his father’s tenor banjo since he could hold it, and then added a five string in 1959 when he heard the Kingston Trio. He started playing the piano in 1964 at MIT, has played the fiddle since 2000, and played in a local contradance band!

This fall, Ruth Vose shared, “I am still writing poetry. Our granddaughter is a freshman at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, majoring in classics. I am excited that my long-ago two years of Latin at Park will help me keep up with her Latin studies and classical adventures, including a dig this summer.”

1960

Roger Nott attended Park 1952– 1957 (Grade 2 to Grade 6) and shared, “I loved my time at Park and my classmates and teachers.

After three years…in the Boston city schools, which were overcrowded and dismal, Park saved me. I had hated public school… [but] I loved school at Park and flourished there.”

1963

Class Representative Amy Lampert

1966

Class Representative Wigs Frank

1967

Class Representative Davis Rowley

1968

Class Representative Vicky Hall Kehlenbeck

1969

Class Representative Needed!

1970

Class Representative Anne Singer Congratulations to Paul Ayoub on several exciting accomplishments: He was appointed to serve as chair of the national Board of Governors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as a co-chair of the 2021 International WELL Building Institution Health Equity Advisors, was honored by the Boston Real Estate Times with its Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021, and was named by Boston Magazine as a “Top Lawyer” in the publication’s first annual list of the region’s elite lawyers. Congratulations, Paul! Natalie Ziegler is running as a Democrat for the Maryland House of Delegates. The three candidates for the two seats will face off in the primary on July 19th. Check out her website: www.NatalieforDelegate.com.

1971

Class Representative Needed!

1972

Class Representative Needed!

We were very excited to learn about a recent book by David Michaelis. Eleanor, published by Simon & Schuster in 2020, was a New York Times bestseller and provides a portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, America’s longest-serving first lady. Congratulations, David! Amy Usen shared, “I went to Park School in 1960. Sadly, we moved to Weston from Hancock Village, Brookline. Betsy Perry Ball was my teacher and she said I got an "A" in the sandbox….I wish I had stayed at Park.”

A L U M N I N OT E S

Thanks to Lalla Carothers ’79 for sending us this photo of Park friends at a Groton mini-reunion in Chatham last summer.

Pictured from left to right are Lalla, Caroline Perera Barry ’79, and Bunny Forbes Hickey ’78.

1973

Class Representative Rick Berenson After 19 years as a film critic for The Boston Globe, Ty Burr has an exciting new chapter! Check out Ty’s recommendations in his new movie newsletter: tyburrswatchlist.substack.com

1974

Class Representatives Margaret Smith Bell Rodger Cohen

1975

Class Representatives Colin McNay Bill Sullivan

1976

Class Representative Tenney Mead Cover

1977

Class Representative Sam Solomon

1978

Class Representative Needed!

1979

Class Representatives Lalla Carothers Sally Solomon Caroline Perera Barry is a special education teacher for the New York City Department of Education, but took on a new role as her school’s library teacher this past fall. “I am really enjoying introducing my students (who have severe emotional differences and/or autism) to the resources in the library. I often think back to the amazing library space in the “new” Park School and to the creative and dynamic librarians who worked there. Willa, a golden retriever puppy, joined my family in February. She is a yellow furball of energy and I’m spending my February school vacation trying to teach her to be a good citizen. It is much harder than I remember!” Sally Solomon works at Northeastern University, where she has worn a number of hats. Currently, she is the senior coordinator of student support in academic student affairs for the College of Social Sciences

B E C O M E A CLASS REPRESEN TATIVE Classes of 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1980, 1992

á Stay in touch with friends! á Gather class news for the Bulletin! á Help to plan your reunion!

Want to learn more?

Please reach out to the Alumni Office at 617-274-6022 or alumni@parkschool.org

and Humanities. She continues to see Tony Mack and Maggie Remensnyder locally, and is connected with many from the Class of 1979 on Facebook. Sally has spent some time during the COVID pandemic getting good at cryptograms, working on jigsaw puzzles, and running 10Ks. Sally writes that she and her husband are doing well. “His late-octogenarian parents outpace us, which is both embarrassing and delightful. For these gifts, I am thankful. Also thankful for Wordle, Worldle, Nerdle, and Absurdle.”

1980

times are tough in this new COVID era. Our son, Ethan….is in year 12 and is an extremely talented guitarist and songwriter. I won’t be able to make Reunion this year as we will be returning stateside…[this summer] to match up with Ethan’s vacation break. Hope you all have a blast and would love to see photos and hear what everyone is up to.

If any of you venture down under would love for you to say hello.”

1983

Class Representatives Lisa Livens Freeman Elise Mott

Class Representative Needed!

Congratulations to Joe Kahn, who will take the reins of The New York Times as its next executive editor in June.

1981

Class Representatives Matt Carothers Alex Mehlman

1982

Class Representative Allison Nash Mael Nicole Dokton Dunn has been living in Australia since 2017. She and her husband, Jason, started a real estate company, realIT properties, located in The Redlands, an area just outside of Brisbane. She writes, “It is going well, though

Juliet Siler Eastland shares, “After time away in California and New York, I’m back full circle in Brookline... very close to Park! Raising two wonderful children, ages 13 and 17, with my husband, and working as a freelance writer. After a child-related hiatus, I’m delighted to be getting back to playing jazz piano (I played a lot of classical at Park, but have since found my true love). Have long been involved in ‘issues,’ but got serious in 2018, and now volunteer and do communications for Sister District Project, an incredible, national grassroots group committed to building sane, humane, progressive power in state legislatures. Happy to natter on about this to anyone interested!

Jamie Mann and Leigh Kaufman, where are you?”

Thank you to former faculty member Phil Gambone for sharing this great picture of his then-sixth grade students (now, esteemed members of the Class of 1981)! Pictured from left to right are Owen Lamont, Sam Hurlbut, Phil Gambone, Chris Cabot, and Susan Hewitt.

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1984

Alumni Service Award 2021

David Glynn ’91

Class Representative Anne Collins Goodyear

A

1985

t last year’s Virtual Reunion, Park was honored to present the Alumni Service Award to David Glynn ’91. This award is given by the School to a member of the alumni community in recognition of their dedicated service to Park. Since joining Park’s Alumni Committee in 2011, the School and its alumni have been the appreciative beneficiaries of Dave’s involvement for the past decade. Dave’s thoughtful and engaging leadership style was quickly recognized by his peers, and he served as Alumni Annual Fund Co-Chair from 2016–18, and immediately stepped into the role of Alumni Committee Co-Chair from 2018–20. The School is grateful for the important and energizing perspective that Dave brought to these roles. His collaborative nature, with a constant openness to collecting ideas and soliciting feedback, has helped to elevate the Alumni Committee to a new level. In addition to his work with the Alumni Committee, Park has been fortunate for Dave’s service as a Park parent (Tatum, Grade 7, and Maura, Grade 6). Alongside wife, Betsy, Dave served as a Class Representative in 2015–16. As a long-standing leader on Park’s Alumni Committee, Dave exemplifies thoughtful and innovative collaboration. We are grateful for Dave’s service to The Park School. Thank you, Dave!

Class Representative Katrina Newbury

1986

Class Representative Jay Livens

1987

Class Representatives Mary Sarah Fairweather Geoffrey Glick This winter, the Alumni Office asked for updates before Reunion in May and we heard from several classmates. Amy Saltonstall says, “Although I’m no longer a Park parent, I continue to work at Park teaching Grade 8 math and coaching field hockey and lacrosse. My girls are both at Milton and enjoying the freedom that comes with being their own transportation!”

Christina McGinnes McCormick writes, “My family is doing well and looking forward to getting back to a new normal as things start to open up. Both kids are great and still loving their respective schools: Finlay is in 9th grade at Newton Country Day and Leyton is in 6th at Charles River School. Recently I’ve become reunited with Christina Udelson Knopp through our daughters’ school auction. She and I are both volunteering with behind-the-scenes work and have enjoyed sharing a few Park memories and laughs.” Mary Sarah Baker Fairweather told us, “Sam, Julep (our adopted dog and the center of our lives), and I continue to enjoy living in Columbus, Ohio where I work for the ASPCA at the Cruelty Recovery Center. We frequently connect with Rob Colby ’89 and reminisce about our time at Park.”

In February, Jenna Glasser sent a note from a sunny, windy palapa porch in Loreto, Mexico, where she “ran away for two weeks to celebrate [her] 50th (gulp) birthday with some friends.” Jenna shared, “It’s been a great break from the cold snowy mountains where I live in Mammoth Lakes, CA. That said, I’m excited to get back to skiing by the end of next week! I quit my corporate job a year ago and did a

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THE PARK SCHOOL

contract job for a year. Just got my SHRM certification the week before coming down here so I’m about to start a shift in career/job search when I get home. Hope everyone is well!” Annie Burton Lankford graduates this May with her Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology in Denver. After passing her board exams, Annie wrote, “I will be commissioned as a provisional elder in the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church on June 1.

I received a new appointment…and will be the senior pastor of Farmington United Methodist Church [in Northwest Arkansas] beginning July 1.” Congratulations, Annie!

1988

Class Representative Liza Cohen Gates

1989

Class Representatives Dahlia Aronson Ehrenfried Ian Glick Rebecca Lewin Scott

1990

Class Representatives Zachary Cherry Alexander Rabinsky

1991

Class Representative Jim O’Keefe

From L to R: Congratulations to Annie Burton Lankford ’87 who will be commissioned as a provisional elder in the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church on June 1; Mary Sarah Baker Fairweather ’87 is currently living in Columbus, OH and working for the ASPCA at the Cruelty Recovery Center.

1992

Class Representative Needed!

1993

Class Representatives Jessica Ko Beck Jaime Quiros Alison Ross

1994

Class Representatives Alan Bern Aba Taylor Congratulations to Elizabeth Mitchell who welcomed daughter Nia-Grace on January 7, 2022.

A L U M N I N OT E S

1995

Class Representatives Lilla Curran Nelson Matthew Stahl

1996

Class Representatives Kathrene Tiffany Bell Nick Brescia Merrill Hawkins Katayoun Shahrokhi

1997

Class Representatives Sarah Conway Suzy McManmon Sarah Robbat Primavera Did you tune into the Tokyo Olympics and watch Stuart McNay competing in the men’s two-person dinghy (470) event? Congratulations, Stuart!

1998

Class Representatives Meg Lloyd Sarah Swettberg In 2022, Astrid Levis-Thorne Burns joined Powell Fine Art Advisory as a senior art advisor. Powell Fine Art Advisory provides art consulting and advisory services for collectors of modern and contemporary art across all media including paintings, drawings, original prints, photography and sculpture—feel free to reach out to Astrid for art advice at astrid@powellfineartadvisory.com or visit www.powellfineartadvisory.com.

1999

Class Representatives Colin Arnold Susanna Whitaker Waters Elizabeth Weyman Congratulations to Susanna Whitaker Waters, who welcomed Camilla Miles Waters on October 27, 2021!

2000

Class Representative Jessica Whitman Seney We were excited to learn that “The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming,” a major exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum on view from September 2021–March 2022 featured the work of fashion designer Alexander McQueen and our very own Frances Denny!

For the show, Frances displayed photographs from her book Major Arcana: Portraits of Witches in America. Congratulations, Frances!

2001

Class Representative Ben Bullitt

Park’s Wrestling Mats Find New Home Alumni who wrestled while at Park will be glad to know that the School’s wrestling mats, which needed to be relocated due to renovation, will become an integral part of a program led by José Valenzuela ’00. José is the cofounder and vice-chair of Beat the Streets New England (BSNE), a youth development organization which uses wrestling to help kids in Boston and Providence, as well as Hartford in the near future.

José credits wrestling—the sport as well as his coaches and teammates—with helping him gain confidence and strive for greater goals on and off the mat. José got his start wrestling at Park with Coach Bill Bourne, and went on to coach here himself in 2008. After finishing his wrestling career at Williams College, he returned to Boston to teach history in the Boston Public Schools. Recognizing that his students needed further mentoring and coaching, José founded Boston Youth Wrestling in 2009. BSNE is the result of a merger between Boston Youth Wrestling and Beat the Streets Providence. Currently operating in public and charter schools in Boston, Lynn, and Providence, BSNE serves approximately 1,000 students per year, offering free wrestling training, academic skill development, competition, and college and career exploration. José believes that wrestling can serve as a great tool to supplement what students gain through academics, and that coaches serve as positive mentors. The organization’s Coach-InTraining Program even allows more senior students to serve as coaches themselves.

Thank you to Director of Athletics Bob Little for facilitating this connection, and to José for leading the important work of Beat the Streets New England.

Milly Waters (daughter of Susanna Whitaker Waters ’99) joined the world just in time to celebrate her first Halloween with siblings Ainsley (the zombie!) and Callum (the tiger!)

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EVENTS

C L A M BA K E After an “at-home” Clambake in 2020—in partnership with Andrew Taylor ’96 and his team at Eventide Oyster Co—we were so excited to welcome many alumni, faculty, families, and friends back to campus for this year’s Alumni Clambake! On a perfect Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed a wonderful summer lunch by Little Neck Clambake Co. on the Faulkner Field, and loved catching up with alumni spanning several decades at Park. Though the donut-eating contest was on hiatus as a COVID precaution, our youngest guests found lots of other ways to get in on the Clambake fun. We look forward to seeing you next year!

V I RT UA L W E L L N E S S WOR K SHOP Thank you to Hanna Atwood ’06 for her partnership on this winter’s Well-Being Workshop! As we turned the corner into 2022, Hanna led a special workshop focused on the six pillars of health: nutrition, meditation, movement, sleep, emotional well-being, and self-care.

Participants left the workshop with strategies to enhance their wellbeing in these areas in 2022. It was a great way to start the year!

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A L U M N I N OT E S

F E BRUA RY M A RC H F ET E Thank you to the alumni, faculty, and friends who braved the cold for this year’s Alumni Fete! (The event was originally slated for February but was postponed due to the Omicron spike.) This year, we gathered at Trillium-Fenway for an indoor/outdoor event, and enjoyed delicious food from Sam’s Spot Catering. It was great to see alumni spanning six decades in attendance—we are already looking forward to next year!

YOU NG A LUM N I PA N E L This spring, a group of high-school aged alumni met virtually with the Class of 2022 and their families about the transition to secondary school. The eighth graders submitted questions beforehand and the older students shared their experiences about academics, athletics, and making friends. A special thanks to this year’s panelists for sharing their experience: Tess Bierly ’18 (Buckingham Browne & Nichols), Audrey Kim ’19 (Noble and Greenough), Joey Potter ’19 (Boston University Academy), Ava Scheibler ’18 (Milton Academy), Rebecca Shaff ’18 (Needham High School), Isaiah Solomon ’19 (Cambridge School of Weston), and Will Tran ’18 (Concord Academy).

YOU NG A LUM N I COOK I E S & CO COA It was great to see many of our recent alumni for Cookies & Cocoa this holiday season!

Though we couldn’t gather indoors for the traditional Young Alumni Bagel Breakfast event, high school- and college-aged alumni caught up on the Faulkner House patio—on an unseasonably warm December morning!—with holiday treats and games. Then, we joined the entire school community on the Main Field, where we ushered in Winter Break with a sing-a-long including Park favorites like “Children, Go Where I Send Thee” and “Light One Candle.” Thank you to all of the alumni who joined us!

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2022

After 2 years of Reunions impacted by COVID-19, it was our pleasure to welcome back 3 years of classes (those ending in 0, 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7) this spring for a one-of-a-kind celebration! Alumni enjoyed tours of the School to rediscover some of their beloved spaces—and discover new ones!—and then gathered in the Main Field tent for a reception and dinner. Thank you to all of the Reunion Volunteers who supported the event, and to the alumni and faculty who attended. To the classes ending in 3 and 8—we look forward to seeing you on campus next spring!

1

2

REUNION

3

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4

5

6

7

8

A L U M N I N OT E S

9

10

12

11

13 14

16

15

17

20

18

1 James Little ’12 and Former Faculty Member Liga Aldins 2 1982 Classmates Jen Segal Herman and Maia Sharpley 3 Former Faculty Members Liga Aldins and David Lawton catch up with Neekon Vafa ’12 4 Everyone had fun exploring the treasures from Park’s archives!

5 1987 Classmates Christina McGinnes McCormick and Mary Sarah Baker Fairweather 6 Co-chairs of The SPARK Campaign Susanna Whitaker Waters ’99, Lesley Miller, and Julia Lloyd Johannsen ’93 7 Alex Brown ’91 chats with Director of Development Bea Sanders

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8 1972 Classmates Asa Phillips, Amy Dickersin Whitehead, Tom Kunhardt, Lisa Cunningham, Stuart Randall, and Lynn Nyhart 9 2005 Classmates Daly Franco and Camilla Elvis 10 Laura Barkan, John Barkan ’85, Melissa Daniels Madden ’85, and Abbott Lawrence ’85 11 Amy Simpson ’11, Katayoun Shahrokhi ’96, and Sarah Clavijo ’11 12 Paul Mehlman ’77, Todd Larson ’77, Matt Connorton ’75, and Samuel Solomon ’77 13 Head of School Scott Young greets faculty and alumni at Park's 2022 Reunion 14 2012 Classmates Neekon Vafa, James Little, Christopher Duckworth, and Louis Feingold

15 Brianna Connolly ’01, James Remeika ’02, Samantha Bendetson McCourt ’02, Trevor McCourt, and Courtney Stock ’02 16 Former Faculty Member Sally Baker, Head of School Emeritus Jerry Katz, and Former Faculty Member Alison Connolly 17 Christina McGinnes McCormick ’87, Mary Sarah Baker Fairweather ’87, and Lisle Baker 18 Susanna Whitaker Waters ’99, Co-Chair of The SPARK Campaign, shares exciting details about Park’s next chapter 19 Rich Knapp ’90, Abbott Lawrence ’85, Lars Albright ’90, and Jeff Tulman ’90 20 1982 Classmates Andrew Winter, Jonathan Shaw, Maia Sharpley, and Alexandra Dertouzos Rowe

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Below, Park alumni were well represented at Abby Bok’s wedding this fall. Not only is the bride a member of the Class of 2006, her sister Kenzie ’04 and brother Oliver ’10 were joined by their dad Alex Bok ’74 and uncle Geoffrey Bok ’76. At left, Park classmates Maddie Mitchell and Rebecca Macrae celebrating Abby Bok’s wedding.

Congratulations to Wiley Holton for being recognized at the Cambridge Art Association’s “Blue 2021” Fall Exhibit. Wiley’s painting, “August Blues 1” was one of three Juror’s Choice awards selected.

2009

Class Representatives Mercedes Garcia Cary Williams

2002

Class Representatives Alejandro Alvarado Alexander Lebow

2003

Class Representative Diana Rutherford

2004

Class Representatives Steven Fox Molly Lebow This winter, Andy Li met with Park Mandarin students (first on Zoom and then in person!) as they created their own banners celebrating Lunar New Year. You can read about how Andy’s work inspired this cool interdisciplinary project in The Park Parent Spring 2022 issue, available at parkparent.org.

2005

Class Representative Lilly Bullit

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2006

Class Representative McCall Cruz Congratulations to Abby Bok, who married Ned Downie in Boston on October 23, 2021! And congratulations to Maddie Mitchell for her upcoming wedding to Jeff Riemann this June in Wellfleet! Charley Reynolds has been studying climate change with an ecology company called NEON. “After working in Fairbanks, Alaska, last summer, I have moved to Boulder, Colorado where I plan to continue working with the company.”

Ben Logan is the director of strategic planning at the marketing firm DPGW, and is co-owner of the Canary Test Gallery in LA. In October, Stephanie Mehlman tied the knot with Tyler Gibson, whom she met while studying abroad in Copenhagen. The couple was happy to share their wedding day in Manchester, Massachusetts with many guests from the Park community, including Samantha Shalom, Jessica Franks, and Madeline Smith from the Class of 2009.

2007

Class Representatives Benjamin Schwartz Mollie Young Hourihan

2008

Class Representatives Manizeh Afridi Marielle Rabins

Above, Congratulations to Will Maness; he and Annie Roe will be married in Sonoma County on June 25, 2022. And congratulations to Ben Lampert who was married on July 18, 2021 to Kelsy Morrison—it was a multi-generational Park celebration, including Ben’s mother, Amy Lampert ’63!

Congratulations to the entire Lampert family.

2010

Class Representatives Michela Thompson

2011

Class Representatives Grace Donnell-Kilmer Eliza Thomas

2012

Class Representatives Enya Meade Kari Williams

A L U M N I N OT E S

2013

Class Representatives Justine Hatton Katherine Mitchell

2014

Class Representatives Ellie Formisano Olivia Mills Recent Skidmore College graduate Otti Logan is continuing her non-profit work, and is engaged in local and state political campaigns. Former Director of Development Rob Crawford shared two photos of his sons with us: Robert Crawford ’14 and Ben Crawford ’16 connected this fall at Harvard Stadium for the Dartmouth-Harvard football game. Dartmouth won the game 20–17, and went on to win the Ivy League Championship.

In case they are too grown up for recognition, he also sent a photo of the boys (below) in which Robert was dressed for his Grade 4 Greek Gods, Goddess, Heroes, and Heroines Unit!

2015

Class Representatives Caroline Beecher Jonathan DeJesus

Park was well represented at the fall Princeton vs. Brown Football game! Alex Cherry and Caleb Coleman both play for Princeton, and went on to be part of the 2021 Princeton Football Team/Ivy League Champions. They were cheered on by sisters Lanie Cherry ’16, who is a sophomore at Brown University, and fifth grader Addie Coleman, who is a member of the Class of 2024.

2016

Class Representatives John Joseph DeMarco Charlotte Ketterson Gage McWeeny River Studley

2017

Class Representatives Ainsley Bonang Priya Devavaram Nina Kathiresan

Several 2019 classmates caught up this fall at the Nobles v.

Milton soccer game! Pictured L–R are Nathan Wilderman, Justin Lowry, Caleb Hirschfeld, Ralphie Vogel, and Aidan Chiang.

The game ended in a tie, so we’re sure that everyone is looking forward to a rematch next year!

2018

Class Representatives Molly Brenner Brie Doherty Theo Goldman Jonah Paquette Sofia Samuels Adele Spitz

2019

2020

Class Representatives Justin Loo Naomi Yu

2021

Class Representatives Georgia Isaac Sasha Klevens

Class Representatives Annabelle Brennan Isaiah Solomon

At left, former Park teammates David Wibiralske and Bodhi Beroukhim ’21 caught up this winter at a wrestling match! Below, congratulations to Annabel Curry (kneeling far right bottom row) and the rest of the Phillips Academy Field Hockey Team, who were the 2021 New England Prep School Class A Champions!

Robert Crawford ’14 and Ben Crawford ’16 at the Dartmouth-Harvard football game (top) and at Park with Robert dressed for his Grade 4 Greek Gods, Goddess, Heroes, and Heroines Unit (bottom)!

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FOR M E R FAC U LT Y N EWS

W E DDI NG S

Thanks to Sally Baker who shared this great photo of a recent lunch with Betsy Ball! Looks like a fun afternoon! Director of Athletics Bob Little shared that he, Paul Toussaint, Scotty Fries, and Karen Manning had a great day last summer with Ladd Thorne ’96.

After golf at Kittansett with Ladd (generously donated through the Parents’ Association faculty/staff appreciation raffle), they all donned their whites for croquet at the Marion Mallet Club!

2006 Abby Bok and Ned Downie October 23, 2021 Maddie Mitchell and Jeff Riemann June 11, 2022 2007 Ben Lampert and Kelsy Morrison July 18, 2021 Will Maness and Annie Roe June 25, 2022

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FOLLOW US AND STAY CONNECTED WITH PARK!

2009 Stephanie Mehlman and Tyler Gibson October 16, 2021 (pictured above)

join the Alumni Committee BI RT H S 1994 Elizabeth Mitchell Nia-Grace Williams January 7, 2022 (pictured above) 1999 Susanna Whitaker Waters Camilla Miles Waters October 27, 2021 (pictured below)

E AC H Y E A R , a group of approximately 35 alumni

serve the School on the Alumni Committee, and we hope that you will join us! Currently ranging from the Class of 1953 to the Class of 2012, the Alumni Committee serves as the School’s most active group of alumni volunteers, and as liaisons between the School and the alumni community. It is our hope that the membership of the Alumni Committee will represent the diversities and experiences of the entire alumni body, and we invite you to join us.

If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to the Alumni Office at 617-274-6022 or alumni@parkschool.org.

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THE PARK SCHOOL

A L U M N I N OT E S

CL A SS O F 2017 CO LLEG E CH O ICE S INDIA ADAM

COLORADO COLLEGE

ABBY KAUFMAN

SMITH COLLEGE

COLIN BAKER

BROWN UNIVERSITY

CAROLINE KEATING

BATES COLLEGE

AMY BAUMEL

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

KATARINA KHAKALI

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

AINSLEY BONANG

COLBY COLLEGE

MATTHEW KLOSEK

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

MAISIE BRIGHAM

KENYON COLLEGE

SHAHAB KOUSHESHI

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

BRADY CHAPPELL

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO

SOPHIE LEWIS

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

CLARA CHOI

GAP YEAR 2021–22; WELLESLEY COLLEGE IN 2022

KAREN LI

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

REBECCA LIPSITCH

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (GALLATIN)

CLAUDIA CORTELL

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER

EMMA MANIGAT

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

KENITRA DALY

CITY YEAR

SOFIA NOGUEIRA SANCA

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

BENJAMIN EMERY

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE

GEORGE FULTON

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

ABSINTH PORTER

GAP YEAR 2021–22; HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE IN 2022

WILLIAM GEDNEY

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

NICK GLASSMAN

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY (NEWHOUSE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS)

LILLY RIEHL

GAP YEAR 2021–22; SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY IN 2022

JANE SALTZMAN

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

IAN GLICK

GAP YEAR 2021-22 (WORK, NOLS & MANDARIN); DARTMOUTH COLLEGE IN 2022

RYAN SWORDS

BOSTON COLLEGE

ALEXIS VILMENAY

TUFTS UNIVERSITY

CHARLOTTE HECHT

KENYON COLLEGE

JOSIE VOGEL

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

LUCY HIRSCHFELD

HAVERFORD COLLEGE

NATE WAYE

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE

MATTHEW HONG

RICE UNIVERSITY

SOPHIA WILMERDING

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON

JACK HORNYAK

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

ERIKA WITKOWSKI

GAP YEAR 2021–22

RAVI KALAN

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

SHIRA WOLPOWITZ

BROWN UNIVERSITY

NINA KATHIRESAN

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

JAMES WOOD

ELON UNIVERSITY

Please note that the above list, compiled by the Alumni Office, does not include all members of the Class of 2017. Alumni not appearing on this list have not submitted their information to our office. Please call the Alumni Office at 617-274-6022 or email alumni@parkschool.org with any changes or additional information.

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I N M E MOR I A M Esther Ames April 28, 2022 Wife of Former Trustee Oliver Ames+ (1971–75); mother of Abby Ames ’79, Sam Ames ’85, Minnie Ames ’86, Oliver Ames, and Sarah Ames+. Grandmother of Ben Ames ’09, Caroline Ames ’10, Mollie Ames ’14, Lucy Hirschfeld ’17, Caleb Hirschfeld ’19, Oliver Hirschfeld ’22, Eli Hirschfeld ’27, and Hannah Hirschfeld ’27 Walter Barrick January 9, 2021 Father of Donald Barrick ’84, Nicole Barrick Chiasson ’87, and Carl Barrick ’90 Peter Conley ’92 July 14, 2021 Sarah Ann Gessner ’89 November 1, 2021 Sister of Abigail Gessner ’93 Howard Goldstein July 29, 2021 Father of Alex Goldstein ’99 and Jennifer Goldstein ’97 Jane Hans August 2, 2021 Mother of David Hans ’90 Nicole Hynes April 16, 2021 Mother of Vanessa Hynes ’91 and Tod Hynes ’95 Warren “Renny” Little ’48 December 11, 2021 Father of Director of Athletics Bob Little; brother of Jack Little ’44+ and Selina Little ’48 Hal LaPine February 20, 2022 Father of former Director of Communications Kate LaPine; grandfather of Clare Wibiralske ’16 and David Wibiralske ’20 Dan Lyons December 20, 2021 Husband of former Director of External Programs Mary Russell and father of Park PreK teacher Will Lyons Edwin Maynard March 19, 2021 Husband of former Parents’ Association President Lisa Maynard; father of Edwin Maynard ’71, Elizabeth Maynard Gordon ’72, Virginia Maynard Swain ’74, and Daniel Maynard ’76; uncle of Elizabeth Simonds Thompson ’80, Nina Simonds Trowbridge ’82, and Holly Simonds ’87

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THE PARK SCHOOL

Warren Moore ’76 July 2021 Brooks Porter ’76 June 21, 2021 Father of Anna Porter ’07, Toby Porter ’09, and Louisa Porter ’12 Jerry Rappaport December 6, 2021 Father of Martha Rappaport Meyers ’67, Amy Rappaport ’68, Judith Rappaport ’69, Jim Rappaport ’71, and Jerry Rappaport ’72; grandfather of Jennifer Rappaport ’05 and Elizabeth Rappaport ’06 Andrew Segar January 13, 2022 Lower Division Head 2001–2015, Lower Division faculty 1979–2001; husband of Susan Mahoney Segar (Lower Division faculty 1976–2019); father of Lindsay Segar Steinsieck ’99 and Hilary Segar Garber ’03 Katherine Shepherd ’02 January 11, 2022 Hooker Talcott July 22, 2021 Father of Julia Talcott ’73, Barbara Talcott ’76, and Margaret Talcott ’79 Charlotte Teplow August 19, 2021 Lower School Teacher 1970s and 1980s W. N. Thorndike May 6, 2021 Trustee (1968–1974); Husband of Joan Ingram Thorndike (Lower School Teacher 1950s and 1960s); father of William Thorndike ’79 and Alexander Thorndike ’81; grandfather of Charlotte Thorndike ’10, Jamie Thorndike ’11, Anna Thorndike ’13, Nick Thorndike ’13, and Russell Thorndike ‘16 + deceased

A N D R E W S EG A R

T

his winter, Andrew Segar, a passionate and committed educator, passed away unexpectedly. In his 36-year career at Park, Andrew taught Nursery, Grade 2, and Lower Division Science from 1979–2001 and served as the Lower Division Head from 2001–15.

Andrew touched the lives of generations of Park students and was known for his deep respect for and understanding of children and how they learn and grow. Whether in a costume at carpool or ducking behind a tree with an armful of snowballs at the coldest winter recess, Andrew delighted in the simple joys of childhood. When he retired in 2015, he remarked, “What I’ve really enjoyed is watching kids grow and develop over their time here at Park.”

Andrew spent his career developing trusting relationships with families over the years. Many of Andrew’s signature posts— distributing lollipops, welcoming young students at the back

door, and standing out at carpool every afternoon no matter the weather—helped him maintain those personal relationships.

“I think that being able to recognize every parent and to know every child is important and makes this school of 560 students feel more connected and smaller. Ultimately, it helps kids feel known to a depth that they might not otherwise feel in a place as big as Park.”

For Andrew, the School was more than just work. It was Park where he met his wife of 41 years, Susan Mahoney Segar (Grade 1 teacher and Lower Division Literacy Specialist from 1976–2019), and it was at Park that they raised their two daughters, Hilary ’03 and Lindsay ’99.

Andrew provided a very important foundation for generations of children and families—greeting young students at the back door each morning and calling them back to their cars at the end of the day. In between he showed steady leadership and emanated true joy for the children in his care. His legacy lives on in all of the lives he touched.

A N N I E ’ S F U N D FO R YO U T H

T

o honor Annie Steinberg’s love and passion for young people, friends are encouraged to make a donation to “Annie’s Fund for Youth” at the Somerville Homeless Coalition (www.shcinc.org). In response from requests from young clients who could not afford to wash their clothes at laundromats, Annie’s Fund has already purchased a commercial-sized washer and dryer, and the organization is hoping to fund transportation to medical appointments and job interviews, as well as technological resources for ongoing education and life-skills training. What a fitting way to remember Annie!

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Meet The SPARK Campaign Co-chairs!

The SPARK Campaign is fueled by people—the Park faculty and staff who bring the vision guiding SPARK to life each day, the hundreds of Park community members who have already made a gift to the campaign to support this work, and the campaign volunteers who guide our engagement strategy and inspire generosity. At the helm of our volunteer network are our campaign co-chairs.

JA MI E A N D A S H L E Y H A R M O N

H AROLD AND LE SLE Y MI LLE R

Jamie and Ashley are parents to Hazel ’26 and Hugh ’28.

With respective professional backgrounds rooted in math and the arts, Jamie and Ashley were first drawn to SPARK by the plans for a new Lower Division STEAM Corridor and later inspired to engage as volunteers. They bring many years of successful volunteer fundraising experience to the leadership of the campaign.

Harold and Lesley are parents to Laila ’26. They bring decades of experience in teaching, educational policy, and school administration to their leadership of The SPARK Campaign.

Lesley is a member of Park’s Board of Trustees.

“Paying it forward really matters. People who you will never meet made possible what our children are experiencing today.

It is our responsibility as community members who care about education and care about children, to carry forward in those footsteps.”

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THE PARK SCHOOL

“As Park approaches the impactful work of this capital campaign, we do so at a time when the School has an unparalleled commitment to inclusivity. We are excited about how this campaign structure will provide more equitable access to our school leadership, and for the many ways in which the campaign initiatives will foster a deeper sense of belonging and optimal academic excellence for ALL of our children!”

P ET E A N D J ULI A L LOY D J O H A NNS E N ’93

SUSANNA W H I TAKE R WAT E R S ’99

Pete and Julia are parents to Oscar ’24, Marshall ’27, and Linda Rose ’29. A proud member of Park’s Class of 1993, Julia is a member of Park’s Board of Trustees and founder of The Impact Collective, which she launched in 2020 to address the racial wealth gap. Pete is a photographer and long-tenured teacher.

Susanna is a highly engaged Park alumna and established independent school leader. She is the Associate Head of School for Academic Affairs at Brooks School. Her current graduate work at Columbia University Teachers College focuses on reimagining educational spaces in support of student learning —exactly what The SPARK Campaign aspires to achieve!

“SPARK is not just about funding; it’s about creating a community where all community members know they belong. The success of this campaign will be measured not only by the dollars raised, but also by how each of us feels as we work together to reach the goal, and how much a part of the effort we feel at the finish line.”

I N C LU S I V I T Y P R O M I S E : SPARK will be co-chaired by a group of racially and socioeconomically diverse Park leaders.

“Park prepared me for, and very literally introduced me to, the broader world. The community helped me to forge relationships that still enrich my life today.

As an alumna, I feel strongly about giving back to the school that gave so much to me, in hopes of ensuring the same for students of today and tomorrow. SPARK will help the school to realize its goals of equitably supporting diverse learners and building state of the art facilities to support its mission. Please join me in giving!”

The Park School 171 Goddard Avenue Brookline, Massachusetts 02445

Change service requested

About the cover Inspired by the artist Keith Haring, Park Grade 3 students illustrated their answers to the question: What does it look like when I’m having the best time with my friends? Using crayons to portray the human figure in action, students practiced wax resist, a watercolor technique, and created artwork offering the viewer a vibrant glimpse into their joyful world.

Cover art by Matthew Fair, Class of 2027

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