Things About Capt.

Thomas J. Hudner Jr. ’43

1 Released last November, the movie Devotion is based on the 2015 eponymous book, which details the inspirational true story of Capt. Thomas J. Hudner and his heroic efforts to save the life of his friend and wingman Ensign Jesse L. Brown during the Korean War. Brown was the Navy’s first African American aviator.

2 For his brave and selfless act, Hudner received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman in 1951. Hudner’s 22-year Navy career included 27 combat missions in Korea and serving as executive officer aboard the USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War.

3 During his lifetime, Hudner received numerous military decorations, including the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal. In April 2017, the U.S. Navy christened the naval destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG116)—a rare honor for a living veteran. Hudner attended the ceremony but passed away later that year.

4 There were many in the Class of 1943 who joined the military after, or sometimes before, graduation. In his 50th Reunion reflection, Hudner commented humbly on the honors he received, writing, “There were many guys there on the ground making all sorts of

DEPUTY HEAD OF SCHOOL, TWO CHARTER TRUSTEES

Merrilee Mardon will begin her appointment as Andover’s first deputy head of school this summer. Currently associate head of school and dean of faculty at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, Mardon is an experienced educator and administrator who has served in academic and residential life leadership roles. Mardon will replace Raj Mundra P’18, ’20, who served a oneyear term as interim deputy head of school and who will become head of school at LickWilmerding High School in San Francisco in July. (Read more about Mundra’s tenure at Phillips Academy on page 28.)

sacrifices and enduring unimaginable hardships…but many of them weren’t recognized for what they did, as many of you know from your own experiences.”

5 Andover honored Hudner and his life of non sibi in March by hosting a community screening of Devotion and issuing a custom challenge coin with his portrait, painted by Chas Fagan ’84.

At Hotchkiss, Mardon oversees a team that includes campus life, athletics, and academic department heads and supervises the human development program, mental health counseling, and health services. She was instrumental in creating the Walter Crain Fellowship, which promotes the development of underrepresented populations among independent school leadership. The program will soon have six fellows who will go on to earn master’s degrees in private school leadership in partnership with the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College. A graduate of Smith College, Mardon earned a PhD in economics from the University of Massachusetts and taught economics and gender and women’s studies at Connecticut College before joining the Hotchkiss faculty in 2008. She was appointed associate dean of academic life in 2013 and dean of academic life in 2014.

Amazon Studios is currently working on a limited series drama called Assume Nothing, based on Tanya Selvaratnam ’88’s memoir that reveals the details of her abusive relationship with former New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Mimi Won Techentin ’79 is the executive producer; Selvaratnam will also be a producer.

Hoopstar Kennedy Herndon ’23 is now officially the highest scorer in Andover girls’ basketball history, tallying 1,208 points during her four-year career. In February, the girls’ varsity captain surpassed the previous record of 1,108 points, held by Andover Athletics Hall of Honor inductee Becky Dowling Calder ’94

In December, Amy Christodoulo ’98 was named to the Board of Trustees for a sixyear term as a charter trustee. Christodoulo’s leadership as co-chair of the Andover Development Board has been foundational to revitalizing the group’s engagement and strengthening its philanthropic mission. Christodoulo has been active in many nonprofits, primarily centered on equity in childhood education. Additionally, she has served on the boards of the San Francisco Symphony, Marin Country Day School, and Geography of Hope, which provides scholarships that enable students to participate in life-changing adventure expeditions.

Christodoulo holds degrees from George Washington University and the Fashion Institute of Technology; her professional background is in merchandise planning and technology consulting. She and her husband, Peter ’98, live in San Francisco with their two children.

Additionally, Carlos Montemayor ’92, P’23, was also named to a six-year term as a charter trustee. As CEO of the privately held INL Group, a conglomerate based in Monterrey, Mexico, Montemayor oversees interests in real estate, media, and hospitality.

Montemayor has served for eight years on the Andover Development Board and has volunteered as an alumni admission representative interviewing prospective PA students. A proud parent of a student in the Class of 2023, he also serves on the Parent Advancement Council. Beyond Andover, his philanthropic and volunteer endeavors include serving on the board of La Universidad de Monterrey for more than 15 years. Montemayor graduated from Cornell University with a BS in industrial and labor relations. He lives in Monterrey, Mexico, with his wife, Luisa, and his two sons.

A secret for more than 50 years, love letters sent by acclaimed poet and author T.S. Eliot to Abbot Academy drama instructor Emily Hale were central to the research of biographer Robert Crawford. His book, Eliot After “The Waste Land”, details Eliot’s life after his famous poem was published and draws heavily from the romantic missives, which were unsealed in 2020.

Big Blue Champs

Capping off the first season in the new Christopher G. Lynn ’66 pool, Andover swim teams made a memorable splash. Boys’ swimming and diving claimed its 12th New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Division 1 Championship title in 16 years on March 5.

Riding their own wave of victory, girls’ swimming and diving ended an undefeated season with 35 season bests and 10 personal bests before landing a second-place finish at the NEPSAC Championship.

Andover hosted this year’s competition at the Pan Athletic Center.

Brilliance Award Winners

The Academy recently received four Brilliance Awards from InspirED School Marketers. Andover magazine earned a Gold for Magazine Cover Design and a Silver for Magazine Writing, the new PA Giving Day logo received a Silver for Graphic Identity Redesign, and the suite of print and digital communications for the 2022 Head of School Investiture received a Bronze for Special Event.

The winning entries were developed by the Office of Communication in collaboration with the Office of Academy Resources, Office of the Head of School, and other campus partners.

The Brilliance Awards is the only international competition that recognizes excellence in private and independent school marketing and communications. Entries were judged by a volunteer panel of 71 marketing professionals from around the world who work in private schools or businesses and who specialize in private school marketing. The entries were scored on originality, persuasiveness, copy/ script/dialog, visual elements, execution, and overall appeal.

A TURN FOR THE BETTER: STUDENTS CHALLENGE TRAFFIC LAW

Students taking Thomas Severo’s Law and Society course didn’t plan on tipping the scales of justice. But that’s exactly what happened when the class discovered a troublesome error in Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) traffic regulations.

Severo says it was business as usual as students in his 2021 Summer Session class pored over case studies to learn about relationships between laws and social forces. They were combing through a particular traffic case that had been settled out of court and while researching the details, found a discrepancy.

“Massachusetts General Law punts traffic regulations to a document called the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which states that you cannot turn right on a red arrow after stopping,” Severo explains. “But, in the Code of Massachusetts Regulations [CMR] students noticed something different.”

According to the CMR, “…vehicular traffic facing a steady red arrow signal shall not enter the intersection…and shall remain standing until an indication permitting the movement.” But in the very next sentence, the turn is allowed, with the language changing to read that vehicles facing any steady red signal “may cautiously enter the intersection to turn right…after stopping.”

“We were studying traffic law, which should not be that interesting,” says Severo, a law and history instructor. “But now students had a contradiction in the law, and they were sinking their teeth into it.”

The first stage came with some healthy skepticism. The students wanted to be sure they were reading the regulations correctly and there was a lot of cross-checking, at which time they also discovered a typo in the CMR—the word “pedestrians” misspelled as “pedestrains.”

“It was an interesting lesson about law, that at the end of the day regulations are put in place by humans and humans can make mistakes,” Severo says.

The students submitted a petition in July 2021 to amend the CMR language by eliminating what they refer to as a “dangerous contradiction.”

“Several of us are motorists in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and thus have an additional interest in the particular safety of our roadways,” students wrote.

In the book American Landmark the history of Middleton Place is explored through its descendants, which include Charles Duell ’56. In 1974, Duell established a nonprofit foundation to preserve this important historic site in South Carolina where generations of enslaved people lived and worked.

The DOT has since responded to the petition, thanking students and informing the class that there will be a public hearing to make changes. But the wheels of justice can move slowly, notes Severo, and the class is still awaiting a virtual hearing that they hope will take place in 2023.

“It was an unexpected journey, but an important one,” Severo says. “The students learned the impact that a person or a group can have in affecting change for the greater good.”