Porter-Gaud Magazine - 50 Years of Women

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5 0 Y E A R S O F W O M E N AT P O R T E R - G A U D

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50 YEARS OF WOMEN P U B L I C AT I O N S TA F F CONTENT MANAGEMENT .....

Cathi Hilpert Director of Strategic Communications Brink Norton Director of Marketing and Creative Media

GRAPHIC DESIGN .....

Libby Williams ‘88 libbywilliamsphotographs.com

RESEARCH + DEVELOPMENT .....

Kenton Youngblood ‘95 Director of Advancement Services Michael Abro Director of Alumni Relations Kate Osborne Adams ‘99 Porter-Gaud Alumni Association Board Member

SPECIAL THANKS .....

Nancy Egleston, Proofreading Cathi Hilpert, Writing and Photography Patrick Hession, Photography Laura Jaques, Writing Wesley Moore, Writing Brink Norton, Writing and Photography Childs Smith, Writing Alex Werrell, Writing Al Wilson, Writing Vivienne Worrell, Writing

300 Albermarle Road | Charleston, SC 29407 843.556.3620 | portergaud.edu

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50 YEARS OF WOMEN

Milestones of this Half-Century of Wwomen at Porter-Gaud

KATIE CROUCH In Her Finest Hour

WE CAME TO PLAY

by Laura Jaques

A LEADER AMONGST LEADERS Meet Bradford Marshall, Porter-Gaud’s First Female Board Chair

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

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STAYING CONNECTED

The Influence and Significance of our Porter-Gaud Education

SUE CHANSON

By Childs Smith, English Faculty

MILESTONES IN MUSIC Celebrating Women through Song

AMAZING ALUMNI

Porter-Gaud Alumni Award Winners

GENERATIONS The Ford Family

IN HONOR OF FRIENDS

How One Man raised $70K+ to Honor a Childhood Friend

REMEMBERING THE CZARINA

By Alex Werrell ’09

THE ME I WANT TO BE

by Vivienne Worrell ‘23

S C H O O L F E AT U R E S BACK TO SCHOOL 10 SPORTS UPDATE 16 COMMENCEMENT 24 CLASS NEWS AND NOTES

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50 YEARS OF WOMEN GALLERY

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GIRLS START IN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER SCHOOL PG fully co-ed

FIRST FEMALE EDITOR OF THE POLYGON Louisa Walsh ‘78

FIRST FEMALE VALEDICTORIAN Jenny O’Brien Williams ’84

FIRST BLACK FEMALE GRADUATE Faith Rivers James ‘83

FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR Dr. Louise Rambo King ‘84

FIRST FEMALES ON CAMPUS (1st - 3rd grade)

FIRST FEMALE GRADUATES (all four entered as seniors)

FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP GIRLS SOCCER TEAM

FIRST 12 YEAR SOCIETY WITH FEMALES

FIRST FEMALE SPORTS TEAM Volleyball State Champions 1983

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50 YEARS OF WOMEN

FIRST FEMALE STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT Clair Kramer MacKinnon ‘90

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FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP GIRLS LACROSSE TEAM

FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM

FIRST FEMALE BUELL CUP RECIPIENT Katherine Simmons ’83

In 1972, Porter-Gaud welcomed its first girls to campus in grades 1-3, paving the way for many generations of female Cyclones. Long before then, women’s voices played a vital role in shaping our past, present, and future. In this issue, we recognize just a few of the countless contributions female faculty, staff, students, and trustees have made over the years.

FIRST FEMALE ELECTED IN THE ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME Rhonda Chanson ’80

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AT PORTER-GAUD

In celebration of this important milestone for Porter-Gaud, the timeline above highlights some of the unique paths and perspectives of the women who helped to make the school what it is today. As you read the timeline and the articles that follow, we invite you to reflect on how women have enriched and transformed our school community, made lasting change, and positively impacted the world.

FIRST FEMALE GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR SC Marianna Singletary ‘22

CHORAL PIECE COMMISSIONED FOR 50 YEARS OF WOMEN CELEBRATION

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K AT I E C R O U C H I N H E R F I N E S T H O U R

by Wesley Moore, Retired English Faculty

Around 1981, when Katie Crouch was a fourth grader at Charleston Day School, her prescient language arts teacher Dottie Rhett urged Katie’s mother Rosalie to hold onto everything Katie wrote. Mrs. Rhett could see that Katie possessed genuine talent, a quality of mind, and a gift for language that, if developed, could lead to a successful writing career.

And so it did. Katie’s critically acclaimed debut novel Girls in Trucks (2008) ignited a bidding war among publishers and peaked at number five on the New York Times Best Seller List. Her subsequent books Men and Dogs, The Magnolia League, Abroad, and Embassy Wife have also garnered critical praise. Molly Antopol, the Jones Lecturer at Stanford University and author of The UnAmericans, calls Katie “an incredible writer – deft, fearless, super-smart, and compassionate.” Julia Glass, a National Book Award winner, praised Abroad for its “uncanny psychological precision and a dark, dead-on wit.”

Yep, obviously Mrs. Rhett was on to something.

Katie entered Porter-Gaud as a freshman in 1987, a member of one of the most richly talented classes in my 34-year tenure at the school. The Class of 1991 not only claims Katie as a graduate, but also the writers Grady Hendrix and Joel Derfner. In fact, Grady and Katie cowrote a YA novel The White Glove War and have remained fast friends throughout the decades as their careers have prospered. Katie calls Grady “one of my favorite people and writers.”

Of course, another of Katie’s favorite writers is her husband Peter Orner, the author of two novels and three books of non-fiction. Their writing careers have taken them near and far. They’ve lived in San Francisco, Italy, and Namibia, where Peter completed a Fulbright and Katie wrote the Embassy Wife. At present, they reside in Hanover, New Hampshire, with their two children, Phoebe, 13, and Roscoe, 6. Both Peter and Katie teach creative writing at Dartmouth.

I can’t wait.

During a recent Zoom interview, I asked Katie about her experience at Porter-Gaud. She said that when she arrived at Brown University, she realized that she had read more literature than many of her peers and that her French was also more advanced. At Porter-Gaud, she especially appreciated opportunities for performing on stage that the Fine Arts and English Departments provided. The late Erica Lesesne, a phenomenal English teacher – and perhaps even more phenomenal director – chose senior plays best suited to the various talents of individual classes, writing an original play herself one year. In Katie’s senior year she played the lead in a stage adaptation of Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones directed by none other than Grady Hendrix. The play also featured Matthew Gibson, Shirley Gibson’s youngest son, and Shirley played a pivotal role as a beloved surrogate mother for the Class of ‘91 as she has for so many Porter-Gaud students throughout the years.

It is the 50th anniversary of Porter-Gaud’s going coed.

Imagine PG without female students. Imagine plays and musicals with all male casts. Imagine not hearing female perspectives in classroom discussions of Victorian family values or The Diary of Anne Frank. Teachers like Sue Chanson, Beverly Oswald, and Vaughan Murzursky have impacted so many students positively. Students like Amy Sexauer, Sallie Krawcheck, and Katie Crouch have contributed so much to the lives of others in their adult lives. I am honored to have taught Katie Crouch and look forward to her continued success as she experiences life’s second half, another rich mine for her fiction, which has by my reckoning improved book by book.

Brava, Katie!

One of Katie’s many talents as a writer is her ability to bring her settings alive: Charleston in the 80s in Girls in Trucks and Men and Dogs, the fictitious old Etruscan city of Grifonia in Abroad, and finally Namibia where in some places “if you get out of your car to take a photo or pee, there is a distinct chance that you will be eaten by a lion.” Her lifelike characters react to their environments, embracing traditions or rebelling against what they perceive as foolishness. Now that she teaches at Dartmouth, Katie says her next work will be a satiric campus novel.

Katie with Wesley Moore at her book signing

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W E C A M E T O P L AY

by Laura Jaques

Simple math told me I was an outlier. Of the 59 first graders at Porter-Gaud the fall of 1972, only 12 of us were girls. Things were even more dire in the second grade, with only six girls in a grade of 40. Third grade brought up the rear with a total of 51 students, eight of whom were female. And the grades after that? Just a vast sea of boys, as far as the eye could see.

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In 1972, the Yorktown was not yet a fixture in the Charleston harbor, and the narrow, sometimes swaying Cooper River Bridge was a terrifying but necessary component of driving to Mt. Pleasant. Kiawah and Seabrook islands were mostly undeveloped expanses with free-roaming horses and pigs.

Downtown, locally-owned stores populated a charming but somewhat weary looking King Street. The USA was still embroiled in Vietnam, Watergate was breaking news, and a vigorous push for women’s and civil rights raged on. Women could not open credit cards in their own names, as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was still two years away.

Against this backdrop, Porter-Gaud opened its doors to girls in the first three grades. Many Charlestonians, striving to keep the era’s tumult at bay, clung fiercely to history and tradition and continued referring to Porter-Gaud as a boys’ school, a claim I frequently heard until sixth grade. In the fall of ’75, girls were enrolled in the upper school. Though it’s hard to imagine now, some locals were so angered and threatened by the change that they slandered the high-school girls, calling them a word unfit for print. The vicious name-calling was pervasive, adding trauma to an already fraught situation. On campus, some boys welcomed female classmates into the fold, while others, sharing their parents’ disdain for the new world order, bullied them.

Fortunately for me, my experience at Porter-Gaud was one of ownership from the get-go. This was partly because my mother, Carole Jaques, began teaching third grade there the same year. While my mother attended afternoon faculty meetings, graded papers, or constructed bulletin boards, I would knock on the backdoor of the dining hall’s kitchen, where William Washington would greet me with an effusive “Hey, little teacher!” (a reference to how much I resembled my mother) and hand me a cookie. Thus indulged, I would roam the campus, enjoy a roll down the hill on the green, or visit with Mrs. Richardson, the lower school librarian I adored.

In this way, Porter-Gaud quickly became my second home, and I never doubted my right to be a Cyclone.

Still, we girls who first infiltrated the campus realized we had something to prove, and baby, we came to play. We raised our hands in class and spoke out with clear opinions. We stood up to bullies (yes, yours truly got in a fist fight in third grade with a boy who was picking on another girl). And those first upper school girls subjected to slander? They held their heads high and proved their worth, with Mitzi Moore, ’79, ascending to win the top honor available to juniors, the Frank C. Ford Award for leadership and integrity. True, in the lower school wing our impacts were relatively small, adding soprano voices to the choir and playing Mary in the Christmas pageant, but as we grew, so did our contributions.

Along the way, we bonded while making clover bracelets during recess and commiserated over the awful rope challenge on Presidential Fitness Day. We learned from Mrs. Newton that the number line goes on and on and on, while

Mrs. Harrison taught us to track the moon using our fists.

We approached both work and fun with purpose, the motto of WATCH – Words, Actions, Thoughts, Character, Habits – always looming large in our minds, and then literally over our shoulders with the construction of the bell tower in 1976.

In middle and upper school, we loved the Maje and Mr. Nordlund and feared Ms. Mazursky, screamed our heads off at pep rallies, and attempted a more subdued presence in Wednesday chapels with Rev. Furlow. Some of us even drove school buses, at the time commandeered by students.

(Crazy, right?) We sang our hearts out in choir, took eagerly to the stage for the spring musicals, and expended our extra energy in after-school sports. The exceptional girls who surrounded me pushed me to be better, work harder, and set my expectations high. And every year, our numbers grew.

When I graduated in ’84, one third of my class was girls!

And those first female students? Sadly, not all chose to stay.

But those of us who stuck it out, and even thrilled to the challenge? We didn’t just break barriers, we smashed them.

We gave Porter-Gaud its first female Presidential Scholar, Louise Rambo, first female editor of the WATCH literary magazine, Janice Walker, and first female valedictorian, Jenny O’Brien, who was also student body secretary-treasurer.

I served as editor of the Polygon, and my classmates led the volleyball team to win PG’s first female sports’ championship.

The exciting endcap to our record-breaking year was inducting the first co-ed Twelve Year Society group. Five of us – myself, Page Dawsey, Frances Kotnik, Jenny O’Brien, and Mandy Othersen - achieved 12 years with two more, Louise Rambo and Janice Walker, right on our heels with 11. And with that, the Twelve Year Society would never again be all male.

Between our demanding classes and numerous extracurricular opportunities, we graduated Porter-Gaud well prepared to meet the challenges of college and beyond. As adults, we populate the fields of medicine, law, education, finance, the arts, and science. We support our communities in official capacities as social workers and environmental activists, and through more personal venues as volunteers.

Wherever we go, we continue to be change makers who don’t back down from making our presence known.

Porter-Gaud played a large role in shaping me into the person I am today. While it’s fun to reminisce on its past, I also care about its future. No person or organization can be both exceptional and static, so I’m excited to know PG is choosing to steer towards exceptional, learning not only from its mistakes but also from its successes. Just as Porter-Gaud broke barriers and grew stronger when it accepted girls into the fold, I hope it will reap similar rewards as it works to expand its community, making the school a welcoming home to students and faculty of all backgrounds and identities.

There is terrific opportunity and strength in diversity; my fellow alumnae and I are proof of that.

BACK TO SCHOOL - FALL 2023

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A LEADER AMONGST LEADERS Meet Bradford Marshall, Porter-Gaud’s First Female Board Chair When the Chair of Porter-Gaud’s Board of Trustees stepped down in 2007, Bishop Edward L. Salmon Jr. was tasked with finding the board’s next leader. Knowing the school needed a strategic and hardworking individual who could guide the school through a period of major transition and change, he reached out to fellow trustee Bradford Marshall. Bradford accepted, becoming the first woman to serve in the role.

For Bradford, PG is a place she cares about deeply. Many of her and her family’s happiest memories are connected to campus in some way. Her husband, Charles Marshall ‘72, and their son, Keith ‘05, both had extraordinary experiences as students, building lifelong friendships and a passion for learning. Making the decision to invest her time and talents as Board chair was an easy one for Bradford. She has always had a deep appreciation for education and prioritized supporting the educational institutions that have positively impacted her and her family.

A NEW ERA As Chair, Bradford says she had a ton of fun making her mark and shifting how the board functioned. “The board was geared to one demographic: men. They needed to finish the meeting so they could get to work by 9 a.m.,” says Bradford.

“I knew it was a boys’ board. At first, I did get a few ‘you’ll figure it out honey’ type of comments.”

Over time, Bradford shifted the narrative and really stressed why this work was so important. Members were expected to read their packets in advance of meetings, do their homework, and devote ample time to really dive into the tasks that needed to be done.

The board followed her lead, becoming a highly functioning, productive, and tightly-knit group. Under her leadership, the board initiated a search for a new Head of School. In 2009, the Board named DuBose Egleston ‘93 the new Head of School, and he continues to serve in this role today.

“Bradford was such a blessing to me as a brand new Head of School. She was caring and compassionate, but also knew when I needed some guardrails and guidance. She always made me feel that I was a priority. Heads can only vent to a few people in their role, and she was a thoughtful and patient listener,” shares Egleston. “Thankfully, the Marshalls live next to campus. I can remember many times when I called her for advice, and she would just tell me to come over. We

had many Porter-Gaud discussions over a cup of coffee in her kitchen. We would always take time for prayer before we finished. Her support was an amazing gift through some difficult situations.”

A LASTING LEGACY More than 15 years after she first assumed her role as Board Chair, her legacy lives on. Today, 10 of the 22 trustees on Porter-Gaud’s Board of Trustees are women. Bradford paved the way for women to take a more prominent role in a variety of leadership positions at Porter-Gaud, and they are grateful for the path she forged for them.

“As a current parent and member of the Board of Trustees, I am encouraged and inspired by the strong female leadership, both in the boardroom and on staff at Porter-Gaud,” says Anne Kelley ‘94, current trustee and parent of three Cyclones. “I am so thankful for the trailblazing efforts of Bradford Marshall and the many others who came before us paving the way for women to contribute significantly to shaping the future of education at Porter-Gaud.”

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S TA Y I N G C O N N E C T E D T O P O R T E R - G A U D For two female alumni, the journey that started when they were Porter-Gaud students has continued to strengthen and evolve long after graduation. Their connections to the school have been enriched over the years as they contribute to campus life as philanthropists, advisors, staff, and parents.

CATE MORSE LEATHERMAN ’04 From excelling in athletics to building lifelong friendships, Cate says being a student at Porter-Gaud School was one of the most impactful experiences of her life. When thinking about the scholarship she established with her brother, Richard Morse ’99, several years ago, she loves imagining another child having phenomenal experiences like the ones they had, whether kicking soccer goals like her or being student body president like her brother. She anticipates her love for the school will grow even more as her son, Hicks, joined the first grade this year.

WHAT HAS MADE YOU DECIDE TO STAY INVOLVED? Porter-Gaud offers such an incredible experience. I cultivated so many skills, values, and friendships here. Creating a scholarship with my brother has been deeply meaningful. It’s allowed us to provide that same experience for others in the community.

WHY IS PHILANTHROPY SO IMPORTANT TO YOU? The S&T Building opened on the first day of my 9th-grade year. Being in a new building like that one and knowing it was made possible through the generosity of a donor was moving and inspiring, even as a kid. Today, I recognize the successful growth of a school is largely due to the generosity of the community. The buildings, diversity, and excellent faculty – none of this happens without intentional support and philanthropy. Porter-Gaud is where it is today because of the generosity of others, and for that, I am grateful.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT BEING A PHILANTHROPIST, WHO MODELED THIS FOR YOU? My parents, Cathy and Tuck Morse, were generous volunteers and donors to countless organizations. They were a great team in making decisions about where to direct funds. Most of the time, they were involved in subtle ways, spreading kindness and generosity anonymously. This is something I try to emulate.

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GREER POLANSKY VAUGHAN ’88 Porter-Gaud has benefited greatly from Greer’s time and talent over the years. In addition to serving on both the Foundation Board and the Alumni Association Board, she worked as the school’s Director of Alumni and Public Relations in the early 90s. Greer’s generosity stems from the impact Porter-Gaud had on her life. Without PG, Greer is unsure if she would have attended the prestigious University of Pennsylvania. Today, Greer is an award-winning fundraising consultant helping nonprofit clients achieve fundraising success. She is also a nationally recognized speaker and panelist on fundraising topics. Earlier this year, Greer married her long-time friend and classmate, Edward Hutchinson Vaughan ’88.

WHO HAVE BEEN THE MOST IMPACTFUL WOMEN YOU HAVE COME IN CONTACT WITH AT PORTER-GAUD? Sue Chanson (former Upper School English teacher) and Kitty Robinson (Director of Development from 1993-2000) are two that come to mind. Sue influenced me as a student and shaped me intellectually. I wouldn’t have gone to Penn if it wasn’t for everything I learned at Porter-Gaud. Kitty shaped my professional career. After graduating from college, I was working at Talbots, and Kitty visited the store. Afterwards, she called me and said the school was looking for a Director of Alumni and Public Relations and needed an alum. I applied and got the job. Kitty gave me the training I needed, and this role sparked my interest in fundraising.

WHAT ABOUT PORTER-GAUD HELPED YOU GET WHERE YOU ARE TODAY AS A FEMALE PHILANTHROPIST? Without Porter-Gaud, I wouldn’t have the professional career I have today, and I would not have the relationships I have with my friends or my husband. What’s unique about my experience is how I came back to work at PG after college. It completely shaped me all over again.

WHAT HAS BEEN MOST MEANINGFUL ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES AT PG AND WHY IS STAYING CONNECTED SO IMPORTANT TO YOU? The things I learned in the classroom helped to prepare me for the rest of my life. I strongly believe in co-education, and PG does a great job of it. One of the ways I’m able to honor the path the school created for me and ensure this path continues for future generations is through legacy giving. One of my passions is encouraging others to make planned gifts to organizations they hold near and dear, and for me, that place is Porter-Gaud.

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SUE CHANSON

by Childs Smith, English Faculty It’s not that well-kept a secret that teachers make for poor students. Something about spending too much time behind the curtains of education, maybe. Life-long learners we are, but stick us in small desks and stand over us near a whiteboard, and you’ll soon be reminded why one of us invented assigned seats.

Unless, of course, a special dynamic is ingrained from the get-go, an unwritten but understood deference between colleagues whose time and much history has prevented being peers. Even if you’ve taught a number of years, and can count degrees on two fingers, standing near enough certain teachers—like those whose tenures have seemed eternal—and you may sense your spine go slack a little, and your posture give.

Like the way I’ve always felt about Mrs. Chanson.

Way back, she hired me as a teacher, but that matters little. I was a paid imposter, particularly beside the illustrious likes of people I would soon call Wesley, as in Moore; Erica, as in Lesesne; Wayne, as in Murrah; or Vaughan, as in “Czarina” Mazoo. And Mrs. Chanson, as in Mrs. Chanson. “Sue,” sure, but not really. “Susan?” Never in a thousand years. Her formality could feel hierarchical, top down, and though she chose on occasion to handle a few things with kid gloves, you always knew they covered a set of iron fists.

She was The Teacher, the Grande Dame of the MLA. Far from suffering fools, Sue Chanson literally spent decades correcting them, chiding them with the toughest of love into the graduates who came to appreciate it—however much they may have resisted. A dozen or more times, when speaking to parents or friends in PG circles, I’d hear the subject of writing in general come up, to which I’d invariably try to say something English-y. “Oh, I know,” they’d say, then cock their heads at a peculiar angle and cite what I myself should have known: “I had Mrs. Chanson.” And with it, more often than not, I would catch a glint in their eye and a knowing half-smile, as if, in that one moment, all their high school years were compressed by memory back into the tutelage of one Tribal Elder whose grace they’d gotten on a lucky day and been allowed to graduate.

But if the Chanson standard was immutable, it was not unreasonable. If anything, it was a reminder of one of the

school’s core missions at the time and now: to best prepare scholars to excel as writers. And that means correct spelling, of course, and varied syntax, subject-verb agreement, one-inch margins on all sides, and with a half-inch indentation from the left to begin each paragraph: Five spaces— count ‘em. What do you mean by “tab?” As a result of such exacting discipline, students in her class seemed never to forget themselves; that is, they never confused the point of it all, that Porter-Gaud was a place of serious business, and that a serious command for language had a lot to do with it. If her approach to classroom management could seem severe, it may have been partly because she didn’t recognize the term, or need it. If you had her presence, you wouldn’t need an “approach.”

Working with Sue was working under her, and it could be tough at times, for sure, but it could also be a hoot. She’s the only person I’ve ever known who doesn’t so much laugh as cackle, and the sound of it, which could elicit joy and fear in equal measure, resounded often from her classroom where almost daily Sue held court with Ed Burrows, Bill Slayton, and Wesley Moore, and with kindred spirits Charilla Barham and Beverly Oswald never too far away. And, I’m fortunate to say, with some of us lucky enough to happen by and be granted admission; we may have come under the pretense of needing extra markers or manila folders, but we stayed for the pure enjoyment.

It’s no wonder, then, that the Porter-Gaud lore has bookmarked its chapters on Sue Chanson. No real wonder why, as Middle School English Teacher Maureen Daily recalls, “stories were assigned to her without one quite knowing for sure whether or not they were actually true.” Do all of us teachers hope that those who survived our classes will one day tell stories of us regardless of the strict truth?

Maybe, a remuneration of sorts compensating for the ones we don’t get working in education. But regardless, we all likely have icons in our lives that we are lucky enough to know, and in the apocrypha that we insist on sharing about them there’s a higher truth that they earned every bit of. That’s what I think about when I think about Mrs. Chanson.

That and a certain line from a classic western, one that has since become timeless: When the fact becomes legend, print the legend.

But proofread it first.

SPORTS UPDATES

16 What a year for your Cyclones! The 2022-2023 school year concluded with seven new SCISA State titles and a handful of hard fought state runner-up showings. It is evident that Porter-Gaud continues to be one of the premier athletic programs in South Carolina. Our student-athletes, coaches, and programs are doing big things, and we look forward to continued success in 2023-2024 with Al Wilson leading the charge as Interim Athletic Director. A huge thank you to ll the teachers, students, alumni, and families that came out to support our athletes.

VARSITY GIRLS GOLF Anchored by All Lowcountry Senior Captain Catherine Hagood, this year’s girls golf team met every expectation they set for themselves. Finishing the regular season 12-1 and securing a fifth place finish at the Charleston Classic, each player had the confidence needed for the state championship in Orangeburg. After a solid first day, the Cyclones found themselves well out of first (Hilton Head won the last four championships and played well on day one) and 13 clear of third. Day two brought many ups and downs, with the girls digging deep to stay positive and focused over six hours. At the end of day two, the team found themselves going home for the third consecutive year with the state runner-up trophy and two all-state golfers, Catherine Hagood and Lila Wilbourne.

VARSITY CHEERLEADING Varsity cheerleading had a very successful season filled with many exciting milestones. Porter-Gaud hosted its very first competition with 10 teams from around the state and wrapped up the season by taking home two first-place finishes: one at the Cyclone Cheer Classic and one at the Charger Invitational. The Cyclones finished the season taking third place at the state championship on November 11. The future of PG cheerleading is very bright!

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY The boys finished sixth at the state meet and were led by Kayden Pryor’s fourth-place finish, earning him all-state recognition. His time of 16:38 is one of the best performances in school history.

This year’s team is young, with only one senior on the roster, so the future of boys cross country looks strong!

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY The girls cross country team finished third at the state meet, narrowly missing out on the runner-up trophy. Seventh-grader Morgan Howell led the way for the Cyclones, placing eighth overall and earning all-state recognition. With 31 girls on the team roster this year, the Cyclones set a record for outstanding participation.

17 VOLLEYBALL The Cyclone volleyball team had an outstanding performance in the region, finishing 7-1 and securing the 2023 region championship. The team also competed in the semifinals of the SCISA AAAA state tournament. Congratulations to the four student-athletes who were selected to the All-Region team: Allie Abernathy, Sarah Grace Champagne, Mirabelle Cutler, and Emmaline Burnett.

FOOTBALL The football team had an excellent season with an 8-2 record (9-3 overall) and another final four appearance. The Cyclones averaged 39 points per game and gave up an average of 20 points on defense.

The offense rushed for over 4,800 yards behind a seasoned offensive line anchored by seniors Jack Fortson, Porter Mathews, and Henry Young.

Newcomer and rising star JJ Fludd rushed for 2,279 yards (9 yards per carry) and finished with 27 touchdowns. Defensively, the Cyclones were anchored

by James Ball, a senior captain and all-time leading tackler. Other big time performances on the defensive side of the ball were from three-year starter and Captain Tony Brown and rising star Chase Anderson. The Cyclones have 16 starters who will return for the 2024 season.

GIRLS TENNIS The girls tennis team had a banner year in 2023, finishing with an 11-8 record and capturing the state title in a hard-fought championship match against cross-town rivals Ashley Hall. The victory was the perfect bookend for a season that began with a finals appearance in the competitive Florence tournament in mid-August. All-region honors went to Madelyn Barth, Mckenzie Barth (also named region player-of-the-year), and Georgia Yarborough.

SWIMMING Our swim team had another busy and successful season. Both the boys and girls teams won the Pinewood Prep Invitational for the 16th year in a row. In addition, the boys placed first and the girls placed second at their first time competing in the Summerville High Invitational. At the SCISA state meet, both teams placed first for the ninth consecutive year. This year’s win also marks the 13th state title for the boys’ team out of the past 16 seasons.

For tickets to Porter-Gaud sporting events, visit portergaud.edu/tickets.

Follow our teams on Instagram @pg_cyclones.

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MILESTONES IN MUSIC

Porter-Gaud Choirs perform “I dug up a rose” at the Spring Arts Festival As part of Porter-Gaud’s observance of 50 Years of Women, the Fine Arts Department commissioned composer Dr. Lisa Neher to write a choral piece to celebrate the milestone. Upper School Choir Director Dr. Amanda Castellone ‘02 worked with Dr. Neher to select a text that reflected the meaningful impact that women have had at Porter-Gaud, while recognizing the struggle women have faced throughout history to achieve equality. They chose the poem “I dug up a rose” by Caitlin Vincent as the text for the composition. The poem speaks symbolically about a rose who was cast aside and under-appreciated, yet thrived in spite of it.

“We can all relate to a time when we felt undervalued by those around us, when we doubted ourselves, when life threw challenges at us and support felt far away,” says Dr. Neher. “Yet we possess great power to persevere in the face of obstacles. Like the rose, we are inherently valuable, exactly as we are, right now.

The message of this piece is universal, but speaks in a particular way to the obstacles that women and other historically marginalized groups have overcome and continue to face. In my own field of music composition, for example, women have long been discouraged from writing music, and our work has often been erased.

But we know our worth. We bloom anyway. We sing out. We change the world.”

As an alumna, Dr. Castellone was thrilled to contribute to the celebration of women at Porter-Gaud. “When I first learned about the project, I thought, ‘what can I do to make a difference?’ I am really lucky that the school invested in the idea to make this piece happen, and we were able to contribute in a meaningful way to the celebration,” Dr. Castellone says. “I personally owe a lot to the brave group of girls who came here 50 years ago and paved the way for my experience.”

Dr. Neher came to campus to work with our students as they learned the piece in preparation for the world premier at the Spring Arts Festival in April. The piece was written for choir, piano, and handbells, and musicians from Lower, Middle, and Upper School performed at the premier.

We are grateful to all who made this performance possible. “I dug up a rose” serves as a reminder of the beauty that can result from persistence through struggle, and we could not be more proud of the efforts to bring this musical gift to life.

I DUG UP A ROSE

by Caitlin Vincent I dug up a rose in my garden.

To make room for something new.

Less formal.

Less fussy.

More me.

I dug up a rose.

Dropped it sideways in a broken pot.

And forgot it was there.

Then summer came.

And the old discarded rose Shocked me with a shock of pink.

With a cloud of old-fashioned blooms.

It refused to let me choose.

Refused to let me deny its value.

But bloomed.

To spite me.

Bloomed.

In spite of me.

Bloomed.

To remind me.

To know my worth.

And to know it most of all.

When sideways in a broken pot.

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L-R: Mel Brown ‘87, Drew Mackenzie ‘07, and Faith Rivers James ‘83

A M A Z I N G A LU M N I During Alumni Weekend, the Porter-Gaud Alumni Association presented three very special awards: • MEL BROWN ‘87 RECEIVED THE BUELL CUP FOR DEDICATED SERVICE AND CONTRIBUTION TO PORTER-GAUD • DREW MCKENZIE ‘07 RECEIVED THE YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD • FAITH RIVERS JAMES ‘83 RECEIVED THE DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Congratulations to all three of our award winners! We celebrate the achievements of these alumni leaders and are honored to call them Cyclones.

To stay up-to-date on alumni news, events, and connections, visit PorterGaud.edu/Alumni

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A NEW CHAPEL Since moving to the West Ashley campus in the 1960s, building a full-sized chapel has been part of Porter-Gaud’s campus planning and a long-term goal of the school.

Placed at the front of campus, the new chapel will serve as a visual representation of Porter-Gaud’s commitment to our Episcopal identity and how we live out our mission and core values. In addition to being used for weekly chapel services, the chapel will give our students a space to learn, grow, and be inspired.

Mindfully designed in the style of the original St. Timothy’s Chapel on the former Porter Military Academy campus, the new chapel will seat 600 people and create unlimited opportunities for fellowship, discussion, contemplation, and worship. With faith as its core purpose, this new full-sized chapel will be a sacred space dedicated to awakening, enlightening, and nurturing the spirits of all who enter.

The Vision + Strengthen the spiritual development of students in all divisions. + Enter into the beautiful liturgy of the Anglican tradition as it was meant to be. + Immerse ourselves in the traditions, stories, and values that anchor us. + Welcome speakers, hold concerts, and host community-building events. + Create a haven where God's love for His children is ever-present.

The Project + Increase square footage from 1,110 to 7,884. + Design a beautiful sanctuary space that prepares hearts and minds for worship. + Construct a redesigned WATCH tower to honor our founder, The Rev. Dr. Anthony Toomer Porter. + Add a multi-purpose room for meetings, fellowship, and ministry opportunities. + Build a tranquil garden and terrace space for reflection and prayer. + Provide two new classroom spaces and three chaplain’s offices. + Increase seating capacity for school gatherings to accommodate an entire division and staff. + State-of-the-art acoustics, A/V, and lighting.

If you are interested in being a part of this project, please contact: Lisa Ward | lward@portergaud.edu | 843.402.4754 or Craig Stewart | cstewart@portergaud.edu | 843.402.4690

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Cecilia Ford ‘25, Emily Pittard Ford ‘95, and Eliza Ford ‘22

G E N E R AT I O N S Porter-Gaud is fortunate that many of our alumni choose to send their children here to follow in their footsteps. It is the ultimate testament to how much they value the experiences they had as students. Several of our current families, like the Fords, have three or more generations of Cyclones.

When Cordes Ford ’94 and Emily Pittard Ford ’95 met at Porter-Gaud and later married, they merged two families with numerous connections to the school. Raising their children in Charleston, it was no surprise they would consider PG for their education. Cordes, his father Frank C. Ford III ‘70, and his Uncle Tim Ford ‘80 were all Cyclones. Cordes’ grandfather, Frank C. Ford Jr., for whom we named a

leadership award given each year to a current junior, was actively involved as president of the Father’s Association when his sons attended. Emily and her three brothers all attended PG. Eliza ‘22 and Cecelia Ford ‘25, daughters of Cordes and Emily, as well as their brother Nathaniel ’21, are all thirdgeneration Cyclones, but the sisters are unique in that very few girls are third-generation Cyclones. In the entire student body, there are only four third-generation female students.

This number will surely grow over the next 50 years, thanks to the incredible women who have made such a meaningful impact on Porter-Gaud.

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IN HONOR OF FRIENDS How Nelson Latimer ’06 raised $70K+ to honor Elizabeth Tarrant Anderson, an honorary member of the Class of 2006, PG athletics superfan, and a PG Hall of Fame member.

The memory of a great Charleston childhood friendship inspired Nelson Latimer to push himself and others to do more for the local community through charitable giving. So far, he has raised more than $70,000 to honor his friend.

“We can do great things from great memories,” explains Latimer, an insurance broker who now lives in Washington, D.C. When people think of charitable giving, they often think of major gifts from older, wealthy individuals, and bequests left behind after an individual passes. While the former is not untrue, young people are far more involved in the world of charitable giving than people may think.

Charitable giving can be more than just donating money — it can be taking memories and translating them into impact.

This is exactly what Latimer and the friends and family of Elizabeth Tarrant Anderson are doing through her donoradvised fund at Coastal Community Foundation (CCF).

Elizabeth Anderson, who grew up in Charleston, lived with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, unfortunately passing away in 2017 at the age of 30. Elizabeth was a high-spirited young woman. In the words of her mother, Ann, “Elizabeth saw life with the glass half full.” She did not let muscular dystrophy hold her back. Instead, she took life, and all it had to offer her, in stride and often with great joy.

In 1996, Elizabeth’s parents created the Elizabeth Tarrant Anderson Endowment for Children at CCF to recommend grants to charitable organizations within the foundation’s service area, specifically supporting organizations for the betterment of children. Known fondly by her friends and family as “Lizzy,” Anderson was deeply involved in the fund’s grantmaking throughout her lifetime. At the age of 9, she was the youngest donor adviser at the foundation at the time and truly embraced that role.

Her father, Tom, remembers conversations after Thanksgiving dinners where Lizzy would sit down with her parents and older brother Thomas to decide which organizations she would like to contribute to that year. Some of the organizations Anderson’s fund supports include Windwood Family Services, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and Pattison’s Academy, among others.

The Elizabeth Tarrant Anderson Endowment for Children is a perfect example of Lizzy’s legacy. But the recent fund-raising efforts of Nelson Latimer further demonstrate her impact, and the power that young people can have in charitable giving.

Born one month apart, Nelson Latimer and Lizzy Anderson grew up south of Broad as the best of neighborhood friends.

In late October 2022 while on a run, Latimer realized the five-year anniversary of Anderson’s passing was a month away. He always planned to find a way to honor Anderson, but it was on this evening jog that he decided the best way to honor her was by raising funds through a running challenge.

Latimer, now 35, started with a list. He formed an email group that consisted of friends, family and supporters of Lizzy. He created a campaign name, Miles4Muscles, and a website informing his audience of his goal and reminding them of Lizzy’s story. Three months and two emails later, Nelson raised more than $70,000 for the Elizabeth Tarrant Anderson Endowment for Children.

Latimer acknowledged the stress and potential hesitancy that his peers might have about charitable giving, given their young age, but he said, “it was never about the dollar amounts. It was about participation.

“My sole purpose was to provide an opportunity for Lizzy’s loving community to honor her legacy, relive fond memories, and drive change through charitable giving.”

Latimer said he is a firm believer that people are inherently good and are driven to impact the world around them, sometimes they just don’t know how. So, he showed them how—and it worked.

To celebrate his fund-raising efforts, Latimer will be running a total of 70 miles over the course of the next seven months as part of a variety of different races. So far, he has run the first 10 miles for Lizzy.

Young people have an immense power to positively impact the world around them, and Latimer and his efforts are an exemplary embodiment of that power. Nelson has shown that fond memories can be re-lived in an impactful way. It is because of these memories—and because of what Elizabeth’s friends and family have done with them—that Elizabeth will have a perpetual impact on the community.

Latimer says Lizzy’s drive to leave a positive legacy behind can be demonstrated by the infinity symbol tattoo she got toward the end of her life. “She wanted to leave this world letting everyone know that she wasn’t going anywhere,” said Latimer. “She was going to stick around for infinity.”

Reprinted with permission from Charleston City Paper.

COMMENCEMENT

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Photo courtesy of Mic Smith, Post & Courier

REMEMBERING THE CZARINA

By Alex Werrell ’09 Those souls brave enough to phone the lady who ruled over middle schoolers with an iron fist probably found it disconcerting to hear that Vaughan Mazursky’s voicemail greeting was a low-quality recording of ABBA she had made by holding the receiver up to the stereo: “Mamma mia, here I go again!” In that musical limbo before the beep, former students might be forgiven for pondering the absurdity of having to reconcile the piped-in Swedish ballad with scenes of remembered terror from GAWA: the Czarina charging, at an almost-45-degree angle, toward the disobedient student’s desk, gaining momentum and fury as she closed the distance. Personally, my thoughts waiting for the beep hovered not over her classroom by the Ashley but over the land of ABBA — Stockholm: I had come to deeply love my captor.

Outré incongruities were the DNA of Ms. Mazursky, who was nothing if not surprising, contradictory, weird, and beautiful. After all, one does not become the Czarina by having even a single fleeting worry about what others might think.

When Ms. Mazursky died on November 7, she threaded a cosmic needle: she held on just long enough to see her Democrats succeed in Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia — and left just early enough to avoid the Republican debate.

No teacher ever challenged me in the precise way the Czarina did. So unabashedly herself, it was the Czarina who broke the indecisive lull on the dancefloor at my sister’s wedding, rushing out after just a few chords of Marvin Gaye.

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Politics was the backbone of her life and of her classes. George McGovern, sun-faded and looking down from the bulletin board, was the perpetual teacher’s aide in the classroom, part of each conversation: “Well, George, how about that?” A few years later, she emerged from Senator Obama’s speech in the cistern yard at College of Charleston and landed on national newspapers, arms triumphantly up as if in a montage from “Rocky.”

Czarina with her beloved Peter Jennings Ms. Mazursky had no patience for artificiality, conformity, or normality. Her mere existence gave weird kids the permission to be themselves. Indeed, so far removed from the normal and typical was she that she frequently ignored normal, typical things like bells and closed doors. Sharon Tate had fewer unwelcome guests than Dr. Slayton, whose classes the Czarina — more often than not halfway through a sentence before the door had fully opened — routinely annexed with talk of NCAA shakeups or political shakedowns.

Among the most critical skills she taught generations of eighth graders was how to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources, invaluable for navigating messy global affairs. Such a practice feels extra handy today, though, because it can be hard to distinguish between fact and legend upon hearing any Mazoo story: Did she once extol the value of Hammurabi’s Code as a classroom management device?

(Yes.) Did she swear us to silence while she went to the copy room — only to hear us talking upon her return and proceed to ask each student, one by one, to swear that they had not violated the “silent sanctum of the Czarina”? (Also yes.) Had she indeed pioneered the medically inadvisable no-wateronly-TAB diet? (Probably yes.) Did she antagonize a Soviet tank to spark a revolution? (Absolutely yes.)

More than anyone else, Ms. Mazursky taught me that the political is personal. Uninformed or unexamined political belief was not ideology, she taught us, but instinct. (She did go on to explain that, because many of us were genetically undifferentiated from the apes of Borneo, instinct was, in fairness, the closest we could get to an actual ideology.) When I thought that I could skate by on cruise control as a fellow liberal, the Czarina put an end to any such illusion. For Latin, I had made a poster of politicians I admire — in a reactionary, teenaged kind of way, I decided to paint with too broad a brush — the Czarina ripped it from my hands, took a sip of Diet Coke, pointed out Ted Kennedy, pointed at me, pointed back at Ted Kennedy, and, squinting up at my face, said: “Werrell, you dingbat. He killed a woman. Read a newspaper or open a book before you decide to admire someone.”

Despite the urban legends generations of eighth graders shared with younger students, I feel like I can confidently say that Ms. Mazursky never killed any student — though even that would not curtail my admiration for her.

Teaching us the poetry of the Enlightenment, Wesley Moore began with a stunning visual: Alexander Pope clocked in at four-and-a-half feet of bone-crunching fury. In short, as it were, we sophomore English students should imagine Alexander Pope as an Augustan Vaughan Mazursky. But, while Pope was many things, to my knowledge he never insisted that flocks of middle schoolers swear an oath of undying fealty to serve him as his boyars, never arranged his social and academic schedule around the ‘Hoos, and — despite his fair share of quirks and eccentricities — did not grow up in the splash radius of a nuclear power plant.

Vaughan Mazursky, the Czarina of Porter-Gaud, did.

Ms. Mazursky stands in front of the Kremlin

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Left: Afaa Michael Weaver | Right: Vivienne Worrell ‘23, Freshman at Dickinson College

T H E M E I WA N T T O B E

by Vivienne Worrell ‘23

For over 30 years, Porter-Gaud has hosted a visiting writer series that brings nationally renowned writers and poets to our campus. We’ve heard from national and state poet laureates, Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award finalists–some of the best of the best in American letters. This past year was no exception. Poet Afaa Michael Weaver, whose books include “Spirit Boxing,” “A Fire in the Hills” and “City of Eternal Spring,” visited campus in April. Weaver is a recipient of the Wallace Stevens Award, an honor given by the Academy

of American Poets, for his lifetime achievements. And, we have one very special person to thank for making this memorable visit happen.

Vivienne Worrell ‘23, introduced Weaver’s poems to her poetry class teacher, Dr. Aaron Lehman, and her classmates. A few weeks later, Dr. Lehman invited Weaver to be our visiting writer for 2023, and he accepted.

Vivienne shares in her own words how Weaver’s poems found her and the impact they have had on her life.

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The poem came to me last summer when it was hot, and I was miserable from the heaviness of the air and the heaviness of being 17. I was spending a few weeks at Boston University, attending a creative writing program that I signed up for rather impulsively. That’s when the daydreams began: the daydream of my being a writer, maybe even the lost Brontë sister. The program was three weeks long, and the first week was dedicated to poetry.

At the time, poetry and I were close in the way extended family is close during Thanksgiving –– poetry and I had shared some special moments, but we never really sought each other out. Poetry was something I appreciated when it was close by, when it was easy for me to reach. I never really missed poetry, and I imagine it never really missed me. It just seemed so overwhelming and distant compared to other types of writing.

But, during that first week, my professor shared a poem that changed all that. The poem was “Evening Lounge”

by Afaa Michael Weaver. “Evening Lounge” is an ekphrastic poem––poetry written about works of art. In other words, it’s art about art. The painting that inspired the poem “Evening Lounge” is also entitled Evening Lounge.

Painted by Brent Lynch, it captures a woman standing at a bar with a vibrant red wall, and a drink in her hand.

Weaver’s poem is a response to Lynch’s painting, written from the perspective of a man at the same bar. Like my daydream of becoming a writer, “Evening Lounge” is itself a daydream. It tells the story of a stranger fantasizing about what could be with a woman he could know. It’s about possibility, about creating a new life out of nothing but wishes.

Last fall, I had the honor of being one of the first eight students in Porter-Gaud’s new poetry course. One day, Dr. Lehman told us that we were to present our favorite poems, and I shared Weaver’s “Evening Lounge.” I told my peers the story of how the poem came to find me, of how I realized it had been missing from me all this time.

After I finished gushing about Weaver and his words, and after I contemplated how language seems to find you when you need it most, Dr. Lehman said something that surprised me––he said he had never read “Evening Lounge” before. It’s a pretty rare occurrence to find a poem that Dr. Lehman hasn’t read.

A couple of weeks went by and nothing remarkable happened, until one day, Dr. Lehman told me that Mr. Weaver might come to Porter-Gaud. Dr. Lehman explained how much he enjoyed “Evening Lounge” and that, if Mr. Weaver did end up being our 2023 visiting writer, he’d like me to introduce him. The thought of giving a speech left me...speechless. I’ve never been good at public speaking, I always talk too fast, or play with my bracelets, or don’t make enough eye contact.

But I thought, maybe, this was an opportunity to live another life, to become someone else for a moment, to let go of the me I always am and become the me I want to be.

After having read many, many more of Mr. Weaver’s poems, this idea of becoming another version of myself, or rather, of adding another version, feels even more remarkable. Lots of Mr. Weaver’s poems dance with this idea of being multiple people, they reminisce about living multiple lives, and being several things at once.

I want to thank Mr. Weaver for giving us all a chance to explore another side of ourselves through poetry. And thanks to Dr. Lehman for showing me just how beautiful and liberating poetry can be.

Before I knew it, my summer program was over and my senior year was in session. Weaver’s poem wouldn’t leave my mind. I felt like it was a part of me now, or rather I was a part of it. I happened to come across it, and it pulled me in, cursed me. I looked at life differently now, not in a better or worse light, but in a clearer one. This poem made me feel so understood.

Suddenly everything seemed meant to be––all of the dreams I had, all of the fantasies I created, they seemed natural now, they seemed encouraged by the earth and by language and by love.

Visiting writer, Afaa Michael Weaver, speaking to Upper School students.

CLASS NEWS AND NOTES

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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! New career move? New location? Growing family?

Send us all your PG Alumni News and updates at portergaud.edu/newsnote.

BRIAN B. KING (PMA ‘64) of Shepherdstown, W.Va., became the last publisher for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy when he retired July 1, 2022, after 35 years at that organization, following a career in the news business, the federal government, and another nonprofit. It had published books and maps for 93 years.

CHUCK HOOKER ’74 decided it was time for a change and left Charleston to find a new adventure in the foothills of Western North Carolina. After a long career in healthcare information technology (with a few other side ventures thrown in for good measure), Chuck decided it was time for a change and left Charleston to find a new adventure in the foothills of Western North Carolina. “I purchased a small house in Tryon, where you can find me cycling, rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, or remodeling the house I bought.”

DR. JAMIE DOWNS ’79 shares “Heather and I are excited to be back in the Charleston area full-time. I am now working part-time at the Charleston County Coroner’s Office as a forensic pathologist, in addition to maintaining a thriving medicolegal consulting and autopsy practice. We celebrate our 40th year of marriage on June 25, 2023.”

BARRY KALINKSKY ’78 is currently selling real estate at Carriage Properties in Charleston.

PAUL J. NIETERT, PH.D. ’85 was awarded the 2022 Medical University College of Graduate Studies Distinguished Alumni Award. The award is given in recognition of outstanding service to the research profession and for notable accomplishments in biomedical research or education with distinction bestowed locally, nationally, or internationally.

STEVEN CHAO ‘88 and his wife, Cindy and daughters, Chloe and Josephine, came for a campus visit. They were joined by Steve’s late sister Caroline Chao’s ‘96 childhood best friend and classmate, Dr. Tiffany Baker ‘96. Steve, Tiffany, and family had fun revisiting favorite spots on campus and marveling at the growth since their days at PG. Steve, Cindy and their daughters and two sons live in the Boston area where Steve is a founder and partner with ClearView Health Partners. Tiffany Baker is a neuropathologist and surgical pathologist at the Medical University of South Carolina.

31 ASHLEY WIETERS REDMOND ’89 has been named Vice President of Development & Communications for Florence Crittenton Programs of South Carolina. In the newly created position, she provides leadership and strategy for comprehensive fundraising and communications efforts that increase the organization’s visibility and impact. “As a native Charlestonian and long-time supporter of Florence Crittenton, I’m so excited to be a part of the organization’s transformation and to lead a coordinated effort to excel the great work it does in creating a safe place for young women to thrive.”

ASHLEY COOPER ’90 joined Baker Donelson law firm – an Am Law 100, national law firm – to start the firm’s Charleston office. Ashley will serve as the managing shareholder of the Charleston office and will also help lead the firm’s strategic growth efforts in South Carolina and North Carolina.

LIZ BOESCHEN ‘97 joined Porter-Gaud this summer as the school’s Dean of Wellness and Upper School Counselor. Previously, Liz served as a school counselor at Lucy Beckham High School and at Wando High School. In her new role, she will align wellness programming throughout grades 1-12 and serve as a counselor in the Upper School.

LYLES EVANS EDDINS ‘99 was recently promoted to the position of Senior Vice President, Relational Advancement at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital - ALSAC.

CARTER SAUNDERS ’99 says “Greetings fellow PG alumni (especially the class of ‘99)!

Our family has continued our travels in the U.S. Foreign Service. Following stops in Kosovo, South Sudan, and Jordan, we are now in the U.S. While officially part of the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, the war tossed us back across the pond until conditions permitted personnel to return to Ukraine. Slava Ukraini! Heroyam Slava! My wife, Masha, continues to work in public accounting, and our daughter, Anya, is still a fireball. Otherwise, life is full of kids’ activities, running, and books (the last, an addiction I still credit to Dr. Slayton, the late Dr. Nordlund, the late Ms. Lesesne, and Mr. Moore).”

DR. JOSH PEYSER ’02 is pleased to announce the opening of Sweet Tooth Pediatric Dentistry, his new privatelyowned pediatric dental practice in North Charleston.

TAB BAINUM ’03 received his diploma for the AI Business Consultant program at Hyper Island. Hyper Island is a vocational school that focuses on the intersection of business, design, and tech and strives to educate students as quickly as possible on the latest technology. His current employer is an AI startup that generates synthetic data from real data to protect personal information and enable risk-free sharing.

ANNA-SOPHIE SCHMITZ KURTH ’04 and her husband, Christian, stopped by campus during a visit to Charleston from her native Germany. Anna-Sophie spent the 2002-03 school year at PG as an exchange student, and her sister, Olivia ’09, followed in her footsteps during the 2007-08 school year. Anna-Sophie and Christian were very impressed with the athletics facilities and sports offerings. While at PG, Anna-Sophie was on the tennis team and lived nearby with the Marshall family.

CLASS NEWS AND NOTES, CONT’D

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AMY CHENG ‘05, a partner with Nelson Mullins, was selected as an honoree for Atlanta Magazine’s 2023 Women Making a Mark Program. The program honors women in the metro Atlanta area who have made significant contributions to the local community and are committed to helping Atlanta citizens through their work. In addition, Amy will serve as the president of the Atlanta Bar Association for the 2023-24 term.

NELSON LATIMER ‘06 has raised more than $70,000 for the Elizabeth Tarrant Anderson Endowment for Children Fund at the Coastal Community Foundation. The fund is named for Elizabeth Tarrant Anderson, an honorary member of the Class of 2006 and PG athletics superfan and Hall of Fame member who passed away in 2017 from lifelong complications of Duchenes Muscular Dystrophy.

RANDY SMITH II ’06 has joined F.N.B. Corporation as a Portfolio Manager 3.

ALICE PHILLIPS ’08, husband Bryce Bancroft, and son Hugo Bancroft-Phillips (3) welcomed Henry Reading Bancroft-Phillips (“Hank”) to the family in September 2022. Hugo and Hank were christened together at a lovely service at St. John’s Episcopal in Columbia, SC, in November 2022. Alice and Bryce celebrate 15 years together, and 10 years of marriage this year. Alice is taking a break from law practice to write and stay home with her children.

JOHN DAUGHTRIDGE ’10 has been named a vice president with the Bank of South Carolina.

JULIA MALLARD WATKINS ’11 moved to Charlotte, NC, and is a residential real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.

KATHERINE HAM ‘13 currently works as a software engineer at The Walt Disney Company and was recently named as an inventor on a U.S. patent. After presenting a project designed to create a fully immersive audio experience for visually-impaired individuals listening to a live broadcast, technology leaders at Disney suggested that Katherine’s team apply for a patent, which was recently granted. She shares, “I am so honored and privileged to help bring wonder and joy to the world alongside so many other awesome cast members.”

JOHN BOZEMAN ’14 is celebrating one year at the international law firm of K&L Gates LLP, where he practices labor and employment law. John joined K&L Gates after graduating in 2021 from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Prior to that, John graduated from Washington and Lee University in 2018. The summer of 2023 was a big one for John: he married his law school classmate, Emily Weber, in Tuscany, just a few weeks before starting a two-year clerkship with Justice George C. James of the South Carolina Supreme Court.

FOSTER MOE ’14 has joined Luzuriaga Mims, LLP as an associate attorney. He practices in the area of civil defense litigation with a focus on commercial litigation and construction defect matters. He has a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and a law degree from the Charleston School of Law.

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ABBIE FARRELL ’15 is an associate marketing manager with Roller Rabbit in New York, New York.

DAVID LYNCH ’16 co-produced Parade on Broadway starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond. The musical is a dramatization of the 1913 trial and imprisonment, and 1915 lynching of Jewish American Leo Frank in Georgia. The acclaimed production won two Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Director of a Musical.

JACOB “JAKE” MACDONALD ’20 is a student research assistant at Clemson University focused on Human-AI interaction. He interned at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this summer in the MIT Lincoln Lab and caught up with PG computer science teacher Mr. David Renton this summer.

SARA BURNS GIBSON ’21 Sara Burns returned to Microsoft and Cyborg Mobile this past summer as a software engineer apprentice She worked alongside an M365 team on an actual project for Microsoft. She is pursuing a degree in computer science at Wofford College.

HANNA PIERCE ’22 is a paralegal with Pierce, Sloan, Kennedy & Early LLC.

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You make TheThe Cyclone Fund, our our annual fund,fund, is theismost makePorter-Gaud’s Porter-Gaud’sexceptional exceptionaleducation educationpossible. possible.

Cyclone Fund, annual the most important giving priority at Porter-Gaud. Your participation allows us to become less tuition important giving priority at Porter-Gaud. Your participation allows us to become less tuition dependent dependent while also offering a unique educational experience that fuels the dreams of our Cyclones. while offering experience thatwith fuelsathe of our Cyclones.

We ask each We askalso each family atounique join oureducational Trustees, faculty and staff, giftdreams to the area that is most meaningful to you.to join our Trustees, faculty and staff, with a gift to the area that is most meaningful to you. family

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LILIES OF THE FIELD PLAYGROUND The Power of Play

Recess offers time to rest, play, imagine, become more physically fit, and socialize with peers. Many important lessons are learned on a playground.

Several research studies show that after recess students are more attentive and have better cognitive function. Our Lower School students now have a safe playground where they can become more fit, create the energy to be able to focus on academics, and develop social and emotional skills to help them become leaders.

We are grateful to those generous families who made this project possible.

Playground Highlights + Mega-Tower play structure + Artificial turf field with HydroChill© sand + Basketball court with two adjustable goals + Playground structures that focus on overall fitness and balance + Two four square courts + Soccer goals + Swings + Picnic tables with shade + Benches + Two tetherball courts + Drainage

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NON-PROFIT U S P O S TA G E

PA I D PERMIT #1297 C H A R L E STO N , S C

300 ALBERMARLE ROAD CHARLESTON, SC 29407

VISIT US ONLINE! portergaud.edu