Cultivating leadership, connection, and belonging at PD.
Paying It Forward
Will Walton ’11’s enduring commitment to PD.
Building Bridges
How PD's senior project connects students with alumni mentors.
Celebrating 50 Years
PD's first graduating class reunites.
Class Notes
PROVIDENCE DAY SCHOOL
Glyn Cowlishaw, Ed.D. Head of School
Michael Magno Associate Head of School
Jeffrey Appel
Associate Head of School for Institutional Advancement
Tyrone Jean Assistant Head of School for Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging
Lisa Knight Assistant Head of School for Admissions & Enrollment Management
Kristen Kral Assistant Head of School for Finance & Risk Management
Todd Swartz Assistant Head of School for Human Resources & Operations
PROVIDENCE DAY MAGAZINE
EDITORIAL STAFF
Michelle Fiscus Chief Communications Officer
Tatum Boggs Web Content Manager
Anna Maria Della Costa Publications Manager
Sean Johnson Creative Services Manager
Caroline Willingham Digital Media Specialist
CONTRIBUTORS
Mike McCarn Photography
Jana Dorsey Writer
On the Cover
Providence Day has opened Auerbach Hall, a new Lower School and Extended Day building designed to inspire creativity, collaboration, and connection to nature.
Magazine
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU AND PD
Gift planning is the art of designing your charitable gift so that you realize your philanthropic objectives while minimizing your after-tax costs.
In addition to fulfilling your philanthropic goals, you can generally expect some or all of the following benefits depending on the kind of property you contribute and the type of arrangement you select:
Income-tax savings
Avoidance of long-term capital-gains tax
Stream of income for life
Increased cash flow
Reduced costs and time in estate settlement
For more information about creating your own gift plans contact Jeffrey S. Appel, Associate Head of School for Institutional Advancement, at (704) 887-6038 or jeff.appel@providenceday.org .
HEADLINES
A word from our Head of School, Dr. Glyn Cowlishaw
DEAR PROVIDENCE DAY SCHOOL COMMUNITY:
The 2024-2025 academic year has certainly been filled with positive change and growth. There is no better symbol of that than the opening of Auerbach Hall—a space that embodies our vision for the future while honoring the generosity and commitment of those who make it possible. This building is more than just bricks and mortar; it represents the continued evolution of Providence Day, where students, faculty, and staff are empowered to grow, collaborate, and give back.
Providence Day has always been a community rooted in purpose, and that is what this year’s magazine reflects. Whether it’s students leading volunteer efforts and service clubs, parents organizing events that benefit others, faculty and staff creating innovative programs, or donors ensuring long-term growth, our campus thrives because of a shared commitment to making a difference. The theme of giving back is woven into everything we do—inside and outside the classroom.
In this issue, you’ll read stories of students who have turned their passions into impact, alumni who carry forward our mission in their communities, and the countless ways our school fosters a culture of generosity and purpose. From new academic initiatives to servicedriven projects, Providence Day continues to be a place where education is not just about personal achievement but about uplifting others.
I am incredibly proud of the dedication, talent, and heart of our Charger family. I hope you enjoy reading about the many ways our community continues to grow, give, and inspire.
Cheers,
Dr. Glyn Cowlishaw
Driven to Serve
Providence Day Students Lead Through Service and Community Impact.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
Days before the Providence Day Freedom School opened last summer, Amelia Barber helped cut out safari hats to decorate a jungle-themed classroom.
The sophomore also organized classroom materials such as markers, crayons, glue sticks, and colored pencils. She lugged heavy boxes and helped instructors decorate their classrooms.
On the first day of Freedom School - a summer program that provides resources for students in grades K-8 throughout Charlotte’s communities to inspire a love of reading and learning - she helped kindergarten through second-grade students throughout the day, including watching them during lunch.
Volunteering is essential, Amelia says, because it brings you closer to a community.
“No matter which communities you belong to, for it to improve and become the best that it can be, it requires a commitment from each and every member of the community,” she says. “Volunteering is what makes communities dependable and effective, so I believe that volunteering is more than just an act of service, but instead an obligation we share to improve our communities, one step at a time.”
Amelia is one of the dozens of Providence Day students who earned a President’s Volunteer Service Award during the 2023-24 school year with service hours.
The national award honors individuals “whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too,” according to the website.
Providence Day students amassed 5,247 hours of community service during the last school year, which is remarkable considering the school does not have a community service requirement.
“Students don’t have to do service; they want to do service,” says Jennifer Bratyanski, Upper School Community Engagement Coordinator. “That’s a big difference. It’s authentic.”
‘Make a tangible difference’
Dev Dwivedy’s service to the Charlotte community is inspiring - and exhaustive.
He serves students in the Charlotte community through Wayfinders, a local charity that enriches under-resourced youth. The senior tutors and helps with event set-up and fundraising. He’s also the founder of Wayfinders’ youth ambassador program and organizes volunteers through school clubs to serve the charity.
Dev does sustainability work through RecycleBalls, an international organization that upcycles used tennis balls. He’s collected and reused more than 30,000 tennis balls.
One of his most impactful contributions has been an app he developed called Journ-E. The app is designed to help studentathletes relieve stress and reflect on their personal growth. It encourages mental well-being by combining AI-powered journaling with a user-friendly platform, allowing athletes to document their experiences and decompress.
“Volunteering provides the opportunity to make a tangible difference while developing personal skills like leadership, empathy, and problem-solving,” Dev says. “For others, volunteering can be a pathway to discovering new passions and making a meaningful impact. It fosters a sense of responsibility and compassion, enriching the volunteers and those they help.”
Whether students volunteer for churches, camps, or local nonprofits, they earn enough points for gold, silver, or bronze medals.
Anna Brainard, a Providence Day senior, earned a gold award for volunteering at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library for the Mecklenburg County Teen Court, Augustine Literacy Project, and the National Charity League.
For the National Charity League, she helped deliver a bed to a nine-year-old girl’s family. The girl had never slept in a bed before.
“I remembered her excitement when she first saw the bed,” Anna says. “This experience was a catalyst for my deeper involvement within the community. The more I serve, the more kids can sleep in a bed.
“Volunteering completely changed my perspective. Today, we still have families who live without furniture. I have learned a valuable lesson: to appreciate what I have and not to take anything for granted. You might not believe it, but Charlotte has many volunteer opportunities.”
Providence Day’s DNA
Ms. Bratyanski says for Providence Day students, serving others isn’t about the medal they can earn but about helping others.
“Service is in our DNA,” she says. “Providence Day students graduate knowing that service is in their DNA. It reflects a purpose beyond themselves: supporting all the communities they interact with. And they continue to do it beyond Providence Day, which is one of greatest things we can hope for from a graduate.”
Since 2017, Providence Day students have contributed a total of 20,642 hours of community service.
“Thanks to the Freedom School community and the communities it connects me with, I have never felt a greater sense of belonging,” Amelia says. “Volunteering is a necessary part of creating a better tomorrow, and if other students are involved, then it means more and more people are striving to create a brighter future.”
She continues: “I believe that it is critical specifically for students to volunteer because regardless of any responsibilities, volunteering can provide you with a deeper understanding and connection to your world. To be truly well-rounded, students should look to volunteering as a means of broadening their world views and perspectives.”
The following students earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award for 2024:
Gold: Abi Bloomfield, Alex Shi, Anna Brainard, Bissum Singh, Campbell Stuart, Dev Dwivedy, Elise Patel, Emery Boonshaft, Finn Dillard, Isha Dwivedy, Kate Schaffer, Kenan Adams, Maddy Padmanabhan, Maya Khimji, Morgan Taylor, Mason Nobili, Morgan Nelson (graduated in 2023), Nathan Li, Paige Thompson, Prableen Kaur, Shaili Vemuri, Shwetha Iyer, Trayi Yada and Will Hamilton.
Silver : Amelia Barber, Eli Coblenz, Kate Hayes, Mali Pillai and Will Sanders.
Bronze: Campbell Dascal, Corey Margulis, Dilara Erikci, Ella Gerber, Jada Probst, Leyla Moustafa, Lia Tucker, Sia Matai and Sophia Hood.
A Culture of Giving
Service clubs reflect students' passion to help others.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
Martin Heneghan and Wes Kropf believe in fostering an environment of giving.
So, the pair of Providence Day juniors founded and co-led the Crisis Assistance Ministry Club, a school service organization that directly helps the Charlotte nonprofit in its efforts to provide assistance and advocacy for people in financial crisis.
The service club meets at least once a month on Spratt Street in the city, where students spend hours sorting and hanging clothes and separating items like shoes, socks, and household goods.
“Providence Day has persistently focused on developing a student body of global citizens, which entails giving back to the community,” Wes says. “Many students find joy in helping others because we’ve learned about
the many hardships facing Charlotte, so it feels natural to want to support our neighbors.
“While my individual contributions will not comprehensively resolve the hardships facing Charlotte, they assist in a lasting movement of service that is a part of Providence Day culture.”
Serving others is a deep-seated part of Providence Day’s student body - a communal notion of kindness that pushes students to want to help wherever needed. It also shows that hundreds of students participate in service clubs every year.
“Giving back is what brings a community together and keeps them whole,” says Martin, whose club’s help
with sorting and hanging clothes gives the employees of CAM “more time to focus on their noble pursuit of fighting poverty.”
Upper School students have led individual service clubs at Providence Day for over two decades. The school does not require service hours because of students’ passion for serving their community.
“Providence Day creates a warm, welcoming community that encourages kindness, respect, and appreciation for what we can give back to our community,” Martin says. “Service is an important piece of [our] identity, and our community has unanimously decided that there is a need to give back.”
‘Acts of kindness add up’
Dr. Jennifer Bratyanski, Upper School Engagement Coordinator, estimates that nearly half of the Upper School student population is directly involved with the dozens of service clubs at Providence Day.
That number, she says, doesn’t include the scores of others who are involved in varying degrees of service through their faith communities or other community or civic engagement organizations such as Scouts or GenerationNation, a nonprofit that helps develop young civic leaders.
“Service at Providence Day is not just about joining clubs; it’s woven into everyday interactions on campus,” Dr. Bratyanski says. “Students might pick up trash without being asked, hold doors open, congratulate peers on their accomplishments, celebrate other cultures, or thank teachers at the end of class. These small acts of kindness add up, creating a culture where service at Providence Day is instinctive.”
Service clubs here run the gamut, from volunteering to help clean up Mecklenburg County’s streams to empowering girls to grow in confidence and resilience.
Kayra Kalyon, for example, helps lead Sparks Cards, a group that meets and creates literacy flashcards for children whose first language is not English. The sophomore opted to participate in the club because the desire to serve is contagious.
“Students at Providence Day definitely help and promote other students to serve,” Kayra says.
Finding a fit for the passion
Students not only flock to service clubs, they push to start them.
Senior Emmaline Shepherd and junior Shaili Vemuri worked together to start the Bright Blessings service club in the spring of 2023. The club works to provide celebrations for children around the Charlotte area who are navigating through housing transitions.
The club sponsors two all-campus initiatives each year: the diaper collection during the annual Turkey Trot and a toy drive on Providence Day’s birthday called “The Gift of Giving Back.”
“Every child deserves to feel celebrated,” Emmaline says of Bright Blessings’ mission. “Our club members meet on campus every other week to make birthday cards, wrapping paper, placemats, bags, and more that the organization uses to host monthly birthday parties in shelters around Charlotte.”
She says Bright Blessings piqued her interest immediately.
“When I was in kindergarten or pre-school, it was somehow brought to my attention around my birthday that not every kid gets a birthday cake,” she says. “Looking back, my mom probably brought it up because I threw a tantrum in some grocery store aisle. It inspired me, and on that birthday, I asked my friends to bring boxed cake mix and canned frosting in lieu of gifts. Birthdays are so important in my family, and I am grateful that Bright Blessings has allowed me to be a part of many special days.”
Similarly, senior Sia Matai and sophomore Davies Easley launched Cards for Kindness this semester to “bring a smile to more people’s faces.” The group makes cards to encourage and make various organizations happy.
“Growing up, I always loved receiving cards with handwritten messages,” Sia says. “It really does say something
when someone goes out of their way to manually write it in an age where texting and social media are trumping almost every mode of communication.”
Emmaline says students want to give back and enjoy service, so she tries to remember and focus on what Dr. Bratyanski tells club leaders: “Don’t compete to have the ’most members’— help students find a fit for their passion to serve.”
‘It’s part of the culture’
Senior Caroline Swinson says Service Club Fairs are popular attractions. Leaders try to get everyone who walks by to join clubs, part of the infectious kindness that spreads through the halls.
“I have also had many times where my friends have invited me to participate in one of the activities their service club was doing,” she says. “People genuinely have a good time participating in these clubs, so they want to share that with everyone.”
Caroline and fellow senior Audrey Glosson are leaders of the Alexander Youth Network, an organization that
helps children in foster care with behavioral and emotional differences. On Saturdays once a month, club members spend time creating relationships with these children.
“When it’s warmer out, we like to plan outside activities like kickball or four square, and during the winter, we will either do an indoor activity in the gym like four corners, or we will do a craft correlated with a holiday or special occasion during the month,”
Caroline says. “We also partner with our school’s National Art Honors Society, and they will sometimes come and lead crafts for the kids.”
Service club members are expected to participate - and service club leaders track attendance. Member feedback is always welcome and used in decision-making when possible - and it’s standard at Providence Day that students are committed to supporting the community.
“It is important to be a part of a service club because it provides an opportunity to do something for someone other than yourself,” Caroline says. “It allows you to connect with communities outside of your regular circle, and it can bring a lot of good to the communities you choose to serve.”
She says fostering service is one of Providence Day’s strengths.
“Providence Day students choose to join service clubs because it’s a part of the culture,” Caroline says. “When I was a freshman, I was super excited to join a service club because it was just the thing to do that everyone was a part of. There are many people [here] with a heart to serve, and people are excited to take what they have and give it to others.”
A Providence Day Family
How a School Community United to Save Carter Wilson.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
Carter Wilson is inquisitive. He loves to laugh and joke around. He’s loving and caring.
His passions vary—from swimming and playing basketball to playing the piano and listening to music. He loves cars. And above all, he loves tacos.
He’s strong and resilient.
Carter is five years old and finishing kindergarten at Providence Day. To say his transitional kindergarten year was tumultuous is an understatement. Carter went through hell and came out of it with a new kidney he received from a complete stranger.
His kidney donor is Caroline Dudley, a parent of four children who also attend Providence Day. This proves that family here—beyond the traditional sense—is powerful.
Carter was four years old when he was hospitalized for pneumonia in March 2023. He spent five days in the hospital. When he was getting ready for discharge, doctors caught it: there were large amounts of protein in his urine. The family was referred to a nephrologist or kidney doctor.
His protein levels remained high, and he was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a kidney disorder that causes the body to pass too much protein in the urine.
Dr. Susan Massengill, Carter’s kidney specialist and director of Levine Children’s Pediatric Nephrology and Hypertension in Charlotte, says Carter experienced serious complications from his nephrotic syndrome, including blood clots in his lungs, rapid progression to kidney failure, and severely high blood pressure causing heart dysfunction, among others. He didn’t respond to high-dose steroids, which 90% of children with the condition do.
He was repeatedly hospitalized and needed outpatient infusions three days a week and later on outpatient dialysis three to four times a week for four to six hours each time.
“The burden of chronic kidney disease is huge and impacts education, employment (parents), nutrition, etc.,” Dr. Massengill, whose adult children also attended Providence Day, says. “So many times, they do not excel academically due to their absences from school.”
Dialysis treatments were grueling, involving sitting in a chair for four hours three days a week. Oftentimes, he received a double dose of treatment, which meant he was stuck in the dialysis chair for eight hours.
He was on fluid restrictions and could only consume 20 ounces of fluid a day.
“Carter could no longer swim and no longer played sports because he would be too thirsty,” Dewett says. “His heart failure, constant dialysis treatments, and fluid restrictions made him very lethargic and irritable.”
But shortly after starting dialysis at home, the family got the news that Carter had a living donor.
On a particularly tough night, Caroline saw a post about Carter’s story shared by a transitional kindergarten parent on a Providence Day School Families Facebook page.
“Reading his story and more about him from the comments his teacher Kelly Smith shared and that I was a blood type match prompted me to reach out to learn more,” she says.
Caroline submitted her form to the Atrium Health transplant team to start the learning process. For her, it “was a pretty simple decision.”
“I researched the impact to my own health long-term (minimal risks), the likely impact to Carter’s health (hugely positive upside), and the likelihood of my own kids perhaps needing my kidney someday (minuscule),” she says.
Caroline continues: “Because I was healthy, did pretty well in surgeries, and in a position of privilege to be able to take a few days off work, it was a way I could put a little positivity back into the world and Carter’s family.”
She didn’t meet Carter or his parents - the Wilsons didn’t know who she was until the day before Carter’s transplant surgery was scheduled.
“When we found out that he had a living donor, we were in shock because our applications were still in process and eventually rejected for other reasons,” Dewett says. “Our other family members’ applications were also still in process. We couldn’t think of who his donor could be, but we were extremely grateful and in tears. We called her and expressed our gratitude.”
Carter received his new kidney on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. His family, including mom Sadna, saw the complex personality he had when he was ill.
But two traits never faded in their son - his strength and resilience.
“Dialysis days, fluid restriction, sodium restrictions, missing school trips, hospitalizations, injections, etc. were all very tough on him, but he always found a way to smile during it all,” Carter’s Dad says. “He also cried a lot at times, mainly out of frustration. We tried to get him to focus on the positive and have him do things he enjoyed. Honestly, I’m really amazed at how he persevered through the whole thing.”
Carter was very involved in his care. As long as his parents could explain what was happening and why it was happening, he was OK to get through it.
Dr. Massengill says Carter has two nonfunctioning kidneys plus the new transplant that was placed in the abdominal cavity because he’s a small child, she says.
“In his condition, we sometimes have to remove the kidneys,” she says. “But it was not necessary for Carter due to his rapid progression toward kidney failure.
When he found out he was getting a new kidney, he had many questions, Carter’s Dad, Dewett Wilson ’01, says. They included: What will happen with my old kidneys? Will I pee again? Do I still need to do dialysis? How long is the surgery? Where is the kidney coming from? Can I go swimming again? Can I drink whatever I want?
“He said: ’Wait, I’ll have three kidneys...that’s cool, right?!’’ Dewett says. “With all the questions, he was also very excited about the whole thing. He kept talking about everything he would do when he got a new kidney.”
Caroline was discharged from the hospital on Friday after Carter received his new kidney. After all, her kids had prom that weekend, and she wouldn’t miss the festivities.
She came to see Carter in the hospital the following Wednesday. He spent a little over two weeks in the hospital after receiving his kidney. Caroline was also there for his discharge.
Carter joined Kelly Smith’s and Monica Narang’s transitional kindergarten class last year as a bright-eyed, happy, and playful four-year-old.
He loved coming to school each day to play with his friends and learn new things.
“He also loved knowing he was at the same school his dad attended so many years earlier,” Ms. Smith says. “Carter has the most handsome smile, the best manners, and is just such a dapper little guy. He was one of those kids who enjoyed everything we prepared for him.”
As the school year got underway, his teachers began to understand the depth of Carter’s diagnosis and how vital it would be for us to adhere to the guidelines set forth by his medical team.
They worked hand-in-hand with Providence Day School nurses Anne Worgan and Irene Lucia, who joined every parent meeting and became the liaison between Carter’s medical representative and the classroom.
“No matter what the restrictions were, Carter remained positive, playful, and hopeful,” Ms. Smith says. “He kept his eye on his long-term goal and cared nothing about the hurdles in between …’ When I get better, I’m going to take swimming lessons,’ he’d say. Or, ’When I get a new kidney, I’ll get to drink all the water I want.’”
Carter, Ms. Smith says, learned invaluable lessons about patience, responsibility, resilience, and gratitude. And the example he set taught the rest of the class about those things, too.
“Even on days when we knew he wasn’t feeling his best, Carter never complained,” Ms. Smith says. “We never saw tears. He never asked why. He would face each new day with quiet confidence, eagerly awaiting the day when everything would improve. I believe coming to school daily provided just the distraction Carter needed.”
All year long, not only Carter’s classmates but also friends from all divisions cheered him on. His classmates made banners, wore bracelets, sent videos, collected gifts, and offered meals.
When the school found out he was scheduled for a transplant and he would have to end his school year early, they threw him a wonderful going away party, Dewett says.
“Carter’s story reminds us to be grateful for the simple things - a glass of water, a dip in the pool, playtime with friends,” Ms. Smith says. “In the blink of an eye, things can change. Carter kept his eyes focused on the goal, and nothing else mattered. He taught us to live strong and to persevere. Carter inspired his teachers and classmates every day. He taught us to live,
to face our challenges with confidence, and to enjoy every moment with gratitude.”
Ms. Smith continues: “And what a miracle that Caroline Dudley, who ironically has been a parent in my TK classroom twice before, heard of Carter’s need (a child she did not know at the time) and quietly and selflessly donated a matching kidney. Her generous act speaks volumes of the Providence Day community. We are truly a family. We watch out for one another, help one another, and lift one another up when troubles arise.”
Carter is returning to everything he loved before he got sick - something Dr. Massengill is happy to see.
“As with all the kids or adolescents I care for, my goal is that he will define himself by who he is meant to be and not define himself by his chronic illness,” Dr. Massengill says. “Sounds so simple, but not so easy.
“Unfortunately, kidney transplantation is not curative. He will always have stages of chronic kidney disease in need of lifelong medications and will one day need another transplant.”
He’s swimming, playing T-ball and the piano, and enjoying being a kid again. Since his transplant, the family has been to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and an indoor water park in Virginia.
Carter’s heart function is now back in the normal range, too.
“Carter is back to being a funny and energetic kid who loves life,” Dewett says. “We are forever grateful for Caroline. She’s a wonderful human being, and we are now bonded for life.”
Caroline says the Wilsons became an “instant family.”
“No one starts their year thinking they will donate a kidney,” she says, “but every day, we are grateful for how much we’ve truly gained from this unexpected experience.”
Auerbach Hall
A Bold New Era of Learning and Innovation at Providence Day.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
Astunning, state-of-the-art hallmark of Providence Day School’s commitment to innovative education is open.
Auerbach Hall, named for current parents Kristin and Peter Auerbach, is a transformative new Lower School and Extended Day building that integrates indoor and outdoor experiences for a dynamic learning environment.
“The addition of Auerbach Hall aligns with our school’s strategic framework to create a campus that delivers a worldclass experience for students today and in the future,” Head of School Dr. Glyn Cowlishaw said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of hundreds.
The new 45,000-square-foot, three-story facility will serve some of Providence Day’s youngest children, house faculty offices, and provide a centralized Extended Day Program.
“As school trustees, we are responsible for safeguarding the future of this great community,” James Ratchford, Board of Trustees Chair, said during the ceremony. “Most recently, the Board has made several valuable investments in campus facilities and infrastructure, such as reimagining the Brinkley Dining Hall and performing arts spaces, creating the IDEASxChange and Brewster Field, and now, the opening of Auerbach Hall.”
Auerbach Hall’s cuttingedge educational design supports a world-class educational experience that fosters exploration, creativity, and a deep connection to learning and promotes student well-being.
“Having this new building allows for our 2-5 grades to be all together in one building,” Erin Harper, Head of Lower School, says. “The beautiful design of the building matches the high quality instruction that takes place each day. We’re so grateful this has all come together so beautifully!”
Classrooms are ‘humongous’
Elizabeth and Chinmay, two students from Erica Katz and Desi Wilson’s second-grade classrooms, were amazed when they toured Auerbach Hall this spring.
“The fifth-grade classrooms were humongous,” Chinmay says. “It was so big it was big enough for a ballet class!”
Elizabeth adds: “The building has big windows and little seats in the windows where you can sit and read.”
Auerbach Hall’s design, from its hallways and classrooms to its windows and interior paint scheme, is an intentional blueprint. The Lower School Interior Design Team of Mrs. Harper, Michael Magno, Avery Northrop ’05, Andrea DePhillips, Ben Hovis ’96, Kristy Johnson, and Lynn Mayhew ’92 worked to bring classrooms to life that reflect the future of learning.
The innovative design prioritizes open, flexible, adaptable, and collaborative spaces for students and faculty. Furniture is moveable or modular. Extended Day space can be open or divided into separate groups of ages.
Nature is a prevalent theme.
“[We] wanted to replicate nature as much as possible within the new building,” Mrs. Harper says. “On the first floor, the paint color represents grass and plants. As you transition to the second floor, the paint color becomes darker, as if you’re amongst the trees.”
She continues, “Our top floor is painted a beautiful blue color as if you’re in the sky. The furniture is all earth-tone colors, and the huge window seats make us feel as if we’re in direct touch with nature. The natural sunlight from the huge windows is also a bonus!”
Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, based in Charlotte, designed Auerbach Hall. The firm is known for projects that include sustainability and smart building technologies.
“Our focus was ’bringing the outdoors inside,’ so we focused on natural light, colors, textures, shapes, and materials that captured that feeling of being in nature,” says Lynn Mayhew, the PD’s Director of Extended Day. “Extended Day has grown so much over the years and needs the extra space to accommodate this growth. We are excited to spread our wings and explore a brand new space in the heart of campus.”
Associate Head of School Michael Magno says the architect’s work brings to life the vision of a new learning space on PD’s campus, designed to connect students, especially the youngest learners, with nature.
Auerbach Hall’s natural light, wood, sand, and stone, for example, link students, teachers, and staff with their surroundings.
“The intentional use of nature comes from the research conducted by our vision and design team with findings that demonstrate an increase in academic performance and regenerative benefits for the brain,” Mr. Magno says. “In short, this building will make you smarter. The abundant collaborative space and access to play also bring a sense of adventure to everyday school.”
An investment in the future
Auerbach Hall was built in alignment with the school’s Strategic Framework: 2030 and Beyond.
“Peter and Kristin’s tremendous expression of support will have a direct and long-lasting impact on teaching and learning at our school,” Dr. Cowlishaw says. “We are extremely grateful for their investment and hope it inspires others in our community.”
Peter, the founder and managing partner of Auerbach Funds, and Kristin, a career fundraiser for nonprofit organizations, both know the importance of philanthropy in a private school.
The couple decided to support the school from the moment they enrolled their children, Sallie and Harry.
“Every success story, whether it be financial, scholastic, or athletic, is not simply the result of the hard work and determination of the individual, but also the village that empowers, emboldens, and supports that individual’s efforts,” Peter says. “PDS is not simply a school. The word ’school’ itself is so mundane and banal when describing the extraordinary community that is PDS.
“What we are collectively shaping as a community is the future leadership of a generation.”
In the nearly seven years since the completion of the school’s last comprehensive campaign, the Board and school administration have strategically invested over $35 million in PD’s campus.
Those improvements include the renovation and addition to Brinkley Dining Hall, visual and performing arts spaces in the McMahon Fine Arts Center, upgrades to the Dickson-Hemby Technology Center that encompass the IDEASxChange and science labs, and Brewster Field.
Finally, the wave of renovations and additions culminated with Auerbach Hall.
“We, as a community, need to ensure that we are providing our children with the best physical ecosystem, the most robustly supplied technology, and the most endowed curriculum,” Peter says. “By coming together as a community to provide the best resources to our children, we are making the best investment in our collective future.”
‘Something special and truly homegrown’
The official premiere of Auerbach Hall was in concert with the unveiling of Adrian Gordon’s piece “Visions of Tomorrow,” which he wrote for the opening ceremony.
Providence Day’s Director of Orchestras wrote the composition during Auerbach Hall’s construction.
“I was able to see the building that was there, the deconstruction, the flat land, then everything comes up from nothing,” he says, “And watching the kids every day knowing that this was going to be their immediate home - it was kind of inspiring. That’s the idea behind this entire project, making something special and truly homegrown.”
The Upper School Orchestra performed “Visions of Tomorrow.”
“The universal language is music,” Mr. Gordon says. “The idea is when these students graduate, this music can be played and enjoyed, and people can always look back and say, ’What was this for?’ Well, it was for the benefit of these students and for education and to see all of these young minds just flourishing.”
Auerbach Hall is Providence Day’s transformative new Lower School and Extended Day building that provides a dynamic learning environment and seamlessly integrated indoor and outdoor experiences.
The new building aligns with the school’s Strategic Framework: 2030 and Beyond and supports a worldclass educational experience that fosters exploration, creativity, and a deep connection to learning.
It’s named after philanthropists Peter and Kristin Auerbach, who decided to support Providence Day the moment they enrolled their children.
“We believe in the school’s mission, the administration, and the incredible educational experience that our children are receiving,” Kristin says.
AUERBACH HALL BY THE NUMBERS
6
Different natural elements used in the high-performance design that focus on providing wellness, connecting with nature, inspiring wonder, and reducing energy and carbon footprint. Those elements include solar shades, glass to allow for maximum daylight, low-flow toilets, sensors on sinks and toilets, high-efficiency heating and air conditioning systems, and lighting control sensors.
77
Number of windows in Auerbach Hall.
500
Number of students the new building will serve.
45,000
Square footage of the facility that will serve Lower School Grades 2-5 students, house faculty offices, and provide a centralized Extended Day Program.
3
Floors of the state-ofthe-art building that exemplifies cuttingedge educational design with research-based features to promote student well-being.
35
Rooms in Auerbach Hall are divided into 27 classrooms, five offices, one large conference room, one teacher workroom, and one large community room that can be divided
Teaching Up, Teaching Down
Buddy Program Builds TK-12 Community.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
Langdon Pleasant is only a secondgrader, but he knows family can extend beyond his own.
It’s the message he receives every time his Upper School “buddy” visits him in his classroom on Providence Day. Those visits include working on arts and crafts together in Art Hub - and time he gets to spend with a “big kid.”
“[It’s] fun to connect with the tenth graders,” Langdon says. “Having buddies makes Providence Day feel more special. I hope we can draw with them again.”
The buddy program pairs Upper School and Lower School advisee groups and classes. Buddies meet four
to five times a year for 20 to 40 minutes each time. The duos read, practice math facts, play games, and work on projects.
Some buddies help students with their homework.
“Sometimes they are working in classes with teachers that actually taught them,” says Head of Upper School Tosha Arriola. “The Lower School students get mentored and share their learning with the ’big kids.’ They get support and can connect with the Upper School students. When they see each other on campus, it’s so cool to have them say hello and say, ’Hey, I know him. He helps me in my class.’
“It is a great way to build community.”
Second-grade teacher Erica Katz says dozens of Upper School students are buddies, and the connection stretches beyond the classroom.
“Some Lower School buddies send encouraging cards to the Upper School buddies at exam time, and some Upper School buddies share holiday cards with their Lower School buddies,” Ms. Katz says. “It is a meaningful way to connect the Upper School and Lower School students and shrink our growing campus.”
“Being present”
Vanessa Brandt is a senior and matched with a student in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and second grade. She’s been a part of the Buddy Club since her freshman year - a studentrun extension of the buddy program.
Last month, she and her TK buddy colored a large Halloween pumpkin in Maria Hedinger’s class.
“[We] always help with a craft related to what they’re currently learning in class,” Vanessa says. “So for second grade, the first meeting is typically when they’re learning about Australia, so we’ll make some sort of craft related to an Australian animal, like a koala or an echidna.”
Crafts aside, Vanessa says being a buddy has taught her what it means to be involved.
“Being a buddy for four years and getting to lead the club has shown me how much being present and in the moment can brighten someone’s day,” she says. “I know the lower schoolers look forward to our monthly meetings, and it means so much to them to have an upper schooler to look out for in the hallways or to learn from.”
Experts say that teens benefit from working with younger children. According to several groups, including Education Week, the Society for Public Health Education, and the UCLA School Mental Health Project, older students are more likely to feel more connected to school, have enhanced personal and interpersonal skills, and have increased confidence, self-esteem, empathy, and better relationships with their parents.
“Upper schoolers get pretty attached to their buddies,” Vanessa says. “I’ve heard many high schoolers say they look forward to seeing their TK or secondgrade buddy. I’ve also heard a lot of high schoolers reminisce about how excited they were in TK when they got to meet with their upper school buddies. It seems to be a very mutually beneficial club, and it’s a nice break in the day to hang out and do crafts.”
Ms. Katz says her class likes the idea of knowing a big kid on campus because “it’s very exciting,” and they feel lucky to spend time with them.
“The Upper School students get a real kick out of spending time with their buddies,” Ms. Katz says. “It also seems to be a great opportunity to let loose and be a kid, especially with all the growing responsibilities they face as Upper School students.”
Expanding Horizons
Providence Day’s Global Educator Certificate Fosters Growth and Connection.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
Jen Moser, a middle school world language teacher, took a workshop in February where she learned that different pen movements can be used as a form of therapy.
The reflection workshop on Neurographic Art was new to Ms. Moser, who learned that the technique of drawing freeform lines is meant to use thoughts to release any negativity or anxiety by flowing through the artwork.
“It was very abstract,” says Ms. Moser, who’s in her sixth year teaching at Providence Day. “We drew curved lines and circles that we smoothed over with other lines so everything was curved. The idea was to smooth the bad thoughts/the anxiety.”
The workshop is part of Providence Day’s re-visioned Global Educator Certificate, or GEC. The professional development program began at the school in 2006 and has produced 64 graduates.
Jessica Williams, Providence Day’s Director of Global Programs, says while historically, the program focused on global travel and country-specific knowledge-building, the reimagined GEC expands the lens to include
interconnection, reflection, local field trips, and intercultural skill-building.
“We intend to offer a deeper experience that supports people in moving toward a more interconnected, embodied, global way of life ,” Ms. Williams says.
Ms. Moser is one of 16 people at Providence Day working toward their certificate.
“I want to participate in the program to continue becoming a better teacher and continue to learn and grow,” she says. “I hope to gain a new perspective and knowledge and bring that to my classroom. I enjoyed the art workshop, and it was definitely something new to me, which I enjoyed.”
When the reimagined future of global education at Providence Day began, Ms Williams said, “I realized we must make it clear that global education is both an inner journey and an outer journey.”
The neurographic art workshop, for example, represents GEC participants’ foray into their inner world.
“I am excited about the opportunity to learn about other cultures and to share in this experience with fellow PD staff,” says Bruce Bacon, an Upper School math teacher in his second
year at Providence Day. He just began obtaining his GEC. “I look forward to getting to know PD staff members that I would not have the chance to meet in my regular school experience.”
Participants have a six-year window to complete their certificate. A pathway could include elements such as the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), local field trips, a Round Square virtual collaboration, participation in an intercultural workshop by the Global Education Office at Providence Day, and a symposium.
The program also highlights local cultural opportunities, such as global speakers, movies, and festivals.
In June, a group of 10 faculty and staff, including Mr. Bacon, traveled to Uruguay as part of the new GEC.
“I’m just getting started,” he says, “but I’m looking forward to both growing individually and also in community with fellow staff. I’m excited to learn more about our world.”
Ms. Williams says Providence Day is fortunate to have the GEC.
“It is important to honor the fact that the new vision of the Global Educator Certificate builds on the shoulders of those who came before,” she says.
Honoring the Light
Remembering Elizabeth Dunlap and Traci Zeller Through Tennis and Community.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
Elizabeth Dunlap was a giver.
So much so that the Providence Day mom and volunteer had quite the collection of books, her husband Kevin Dunlap says. Over the years, friends would give her books as a “thank you” for all of her service. Those books contained handwritten notes, many calling Elizabeth an angel.
“We all knew that about her…there was something in her that only God’s hands could create,” Kevin says. “She did not see her halo, but it was unmistakable to the rest of us.
“She made us all better.”
Providence Day’s Charger Booster Club shared that kindness in March when it honored Elizabeth and Traci Zeller, another kind and warm PD mom, with the first Charger Club Women’s Tennis Social.
The 80s-themed event was held in memory of Elizabeth and Traci, who both have sons who play for the Chargers tennis squad. All proceeds raised went to the Providence Day tennis program.
Elizabeth was 59 years old when she died of cancer in September 2021. Traci was 50 when she died unexpectedly in August 2024.
“These women were not only really important to their families but also to the PD community,” says Tyhler Lynch, the president of the Charger Booster Club. “To be able to raise money in their honor and for an athletics program that was important to them is really an amazing thing to be a part of.”
Keeping their memory alive
Davis Dunlap is a senior at Providence Day and has played varsity tennis for the Chargers since his freshman year.
His mom, Elizabeth, never got the chance to watch him play for Providence Day. But she attended nearly all of his junior matches, and she loved to play the sport.
She won the South Carolina Combo Doubles Championship and coached Davis on one of his teams. The mother-son also played against one another, which Kevin says she “treasured” until Davis started winning.
“It means a lot as she was an incredible person,” Davis says of his mom, who volunteered countless hours on campus, “and I am glad a part of her was kept alive through the event.”
Traci and her son Henry, a senior who also plays for the varsity tennis team, have shared many tennis moments, including attending the U.S. Open together.
Husband Mike says she was a proud and supportive mom of the couple’s twin boys. Charlie’s specialty is theater, and the family has endowed a technical theater award that will be presented in 2026.
“It [was] a very nice gesture by the school,” Mike says of the tennis social. “We have separately contributed to the boys’ tennis program in Traci’s name for something physically permanent for the tennis program.”
‘Amazing spirits of Elizabeth and Traci”
When the Charger Booster Club started brainstorming about hosting a tennis tournament or social event, members first went to Providence Day’s own tennis pros: Ryan Harper and Katherine Currier.
Tyhler also says the club wanted an event to attract the school community’s ladies. Tennis seemed like the perfect opportunity, she says. The Charger Booster Club has raised more than $2.1 million to support all of Providence Day’s TK12 athletics.
“I love seeing the PD community come together to help our student-athletes and the PD athletics community,” Tyhler says. “Whether it is working together at concession stands, hosting fundraisers, or becoming a Super Charger, the PD community is always willing to jump in and support our students and coaches.”
The tennis social took on special meaning, especially for Davis and Henry, who Coach Ryan Harper says play important roles in trying to bring Providence Day its first state tennis title since 2013.
“Both moms loved tennis and were instrumental in getting their boys started in the game,” Coach Harper says. “In their own ways, I also know they were incredible women who supported other women in their own pursuits if not other whole communities. Their peers love rallying around the amazing spirits of Elizabeth and Traci.”
Kevin, who was married to Elizabeth for 36 years, agrees.
“She was her family’s leader, teacher, and coach,” Kevin says. “She was not loved by others…she was adored. One of her close friends said: ’You are the sun…the light in every room you enter.’ No truer words have ever been spoken.”
There is a plaque in Elizabeth’s honor at the Palisades Country Club tennis courts that reads:
Elizabeth’s Inimitable Greeting of “Hello Friend,” Along with Her Infectious Smile and Comforting Laughter, Wrapped Us All in Love and Will Live in Our Hearts Forever.
Ujima Conference
Cultivating Leadership, Connection, and Belonging at Providence Day.
Written by Jana Dorsey.
Connection and belonging are central to the Providence Day experience and threaded into the fabric of our school’s core values.
At the bedrock of belonging are opportunities and experiences. Our students engage in opportunities on campus and in areas throughout North Carolina, as well as around the country and across the globe.
For a second consecutive year, ninth—through 12th-grade students from local independent schools attended the Ujima Upper School Conference–a conference that harmonized student leadership development, connection, belonging, and networking.
The journey to create Ujima stemmed initially from the success of the Affirming Community Together (ACT) Conference. A local independent school conference established several years ago for Middle School students. Vernette Rucker, Associate Director of Charlotte Latin School notes: “Using the foundation laid by the ACT Diversity Conference, we launched Ujima as a way to provide Upper School students, faculty, and
staff with a local diversity conference that fosters learning, dialogue, and connection.”
2023 inaugural Ujima Conference held at Charlotte Latin School. The theme, “Our Collective Hope for Justice, Equity, and Belonging,” laid the foundation for the essence of Ujima and our vision for this new and exciting initiative.
The Conference Planning Committee notes: “The Ujima Diversity & Leadership Conference is a collaborative effort designed to help students engage in enriching workshops and inspiring discussions and to equip them with tools to be thoughtful and inclusive leaders. Whether exploring new perspectives, challenging assumptions, or building their confidence as leaders, the conference is an opportunity to contribute to a shared vision for a collective responsibility.”
Providence Day hosted the 2024 Ujima Conference in the fall. Ujima is a Swahili word meaning collective work and responsibility. Central to Ujima is building and maintaining community together while helping to problem solve and navigate as a collective unit.
Students representing Charlotte Latin School (CLS), Charlotte Country Day School (CCDS), Cannon, and Providence Day (PD) attended. Our Head of School, Dr. Glyn Cowlishaw, and our Head of Upper School, Tosha Arriola, opened the day. PD alum Anna Cockrell ’16, an Olympic silver medalist, gave our conference attendees an inspiring and affirming virtual message.
The conference theme of “Finding Your Place and Leading the Way!” invited students to embark on a journey of selfdiscovery and empowerment. Erica Moore (CLS) walked students through a journey of understanding themselves and understanding and supporting others. Dwayne Wilson (CCDS) led an engaging art workshop where students created their own pieces through various art mediums. Tyrone Jean, Assistant Head of School for EIB at PD, facilitated a workshop centering the exploration of social identity.
The conference served as a unique space for attendees to connect with one another and to meet peers from different schools. One student attendee notes: “the space was so comfortable and inviting” while another states “I learned a lot about myself and even more about others.”
In 2023, students participated in a full-day conference with three rotating workshops and a keynote speaker. Providence Day led each of the three student workshops. Nihal Kodavarti, Piper Spooner, 2024 Teaching Fellows cohort members, led students and faculty chaperones through a workshop featuring
a short film and discussion. Julian Cook, PD’s Associate Director of Programs and Education for EIB, led a session on exploring the concept of intersectionality and navigating multiple identities. 2023 and 2024 Teaching Fellows cohort members, Will McCorn and Dr. Shafantae Desinord facilitated panels for the faculty and staff track of the conference. In my session, students reflected on how their values and experiences inform their leadership style and approach.
Upper School Ujima Conference participants are also invited to serve on the planning committee for the Middle School Affirming Community Together (ACT) conference, where they build and lead sessions for sixth—through eighth-grade participants across all four participating Ujima Conference schools, as well as our partners at Trinity Episcopal School and Charlotte Prep.
The collective hope is for this conference to continue growing and serving students so they learn the importance of all of our roles in fostering communities of belonging, kindness, inclusivity, and respect for one another.
If you have an interest in getting involved with the Upper School Ujima Diversity & Leadership Conference, Middle School ACT Conference, or Upper School Women’s Leadership Conference, please contact Julian Cook and Jana Dorsey at julian.cook@providenceday.org / jana.dorsey@providenceday.org
Jana Dorsey works in Providence Day’s Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging office as Associate Director of Outreach. The success of these conferences is a testament to the power of collaboration, and we are grateful for the shared commitment of each of our partner schools in making them a reality.
Paying it Forward
Will Walton ’11’s Enduring Commitment to Providence Day.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
To understand Will Walton ’11’s fervor for his alma mater, one must look beyond the time he spent in Providence Day School’s classrooms and on its athletic fields.
It’s hearing his story about his first few days in Chapel Hill on the campus of the University of North Carolina. It’s the fall of 2011 — a few months after he graduated from Providence Day (PD) — and he hardly knows a soul in the new dorm.
But on the first day of class, an upperclassman and fellow Providence Day alum who lives in the same dorm proactively reached out to him and asked if he had anyone to sit with for lunch. It’s been some 14 years later, and Will hasn’t forgotten the gesture.
“Once you leave campus, you realize that the Providence Day network effect is real,” he says. “At the time, I was the only PD alumni of my class in the same dorm, and it meant the world to me that a fellow PD alumni who I didn’t know well went out of their way to make sure I felt welcome.
“Providence Day School is an incredibly special place to so many current students and alumni.”
Will is the current president of the Board of Alumni, where he continues to champion everything that encompasses “paying it forward” to the next generation of Chargers.
“We are all standing on the shoulders of generations of Chargers that came before us and lucky that their generosity helped expand and empower our learning experiences,” he says. “You never know when one small gift in support of an endowment, the Annual Fund, class project, etc., could inspire the next OpenAI engineer, chef, vocal artist, Tony award winner, robotics and solar engineer, or nonprofit director.
“It’s vital that the broader Providence Day community continue to support and foster the passions that exist within PD today. In a joking sense, it also helps to beat the schools down the road.”
Will lives a vital proverb: return the kindness.
“Whether that’s in the form of young alumni to current students, established alumni to young alumni, or alumni to alumni, the shared value system and curiosity that comes from PD goes beyond 5800 Sardis Road,” he says.
A ‘collective impact’
Will began attending PD in the first grade. He wrestled, participated in track and field, Key Club, and student government, and traveled to Spain with the World Language Department and Italy with the band.
He graduated with distinction from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance and commercial real estate.
Will, who lives in Charlotte, joined Berkeley Capital Advisors as a partner in 2015 and specializes in sales of unanchored strip retail, shopping centers, mixed-use assets, and mixeduse developments throughout the Southeast.
He is a true PD Lifer who is still making an impact and fostering connections at the school he adores.
He joined PD’s Board of Advisors in 2016. Two years later, he joined the Board of Alumni and served as Giving Committee Chair. He spent three years on the Board of Alumni before being elected president.
“I could not be more proud of what the Board of Alumni has accomplished,” Will says. “From virtual events during COVID to celebrating the school’s 50th anniversary to Alumni Roadshows, Homecomings, and golf tournaments, the teamwork and dedication of all of my fellow Board of Alumni members is incredible to see.”
During his three years as president, he prioritized young alumni engagement and giving, giving retention, and alumni mentorship and networking.
“The Providence Day community is exactly that, a community,” he says. “We all represent that community out in the world and what it means to be an alumni of Providence Day School. It all comes back to paying forward to the next generation and empowering the current faculty and staff to keep pushing curriculum forward via donations, supporting the community via community service, or mentoring the next generation to help them find their unique passions.”
Giving back in various ways, he believes, will continue to revolutionize the place he calls home.
“When you break it down, the world is an incredibly small place — the concept of 6° of separation came to popularity a few years ago and, in practice, continues to be a critical piece of how we all grow,” he says. “The more generous we are with our own personal networks and relationships, the wider our collective impact can be.”
A win-win-win
Brian Li joined Providence Day in 2004 and teaches math and finance classes. Will was part of Mr. Li’s first sixth-grade class and is often a guest lecturer, another way he continues to make an impact.
“The students love his presentations — not only because he walked in their shoes not long ago, but because of his authenticity and genuine desire to help them shine through,” Mr. Li says. “Students can always sense when someone truly cares, which makes Will so engaging and inspiring to them.
Will also presents to Providence Day’s DECA and Investment clubs and volunteers his time with students in any way possible — his way of leading by example.
“I really can’t say enough good things about our alumni,” Mr. Li says. “Will, along with countless others, has generously volunteered his time to come back to campus and speak to my finance students. It’s truly a win-win-win situation—our alumni love giving back to the Charger community, I get to experience the full-circle moment of seeing them thrive as successful professionals, and most importantly, our students gain real-world insights and firsthand lessons from experts in the field that will shape their own futures.”
It’s simply Will’s way.
“I look forward to the world where PD alumni continue to pay it forward to the next generation of chargers, share their current passions with the next class, and continue to invite people to ’sit at their lunch table,’” he says.
Building Bridges
How Providence Day’s Senior Project Connects Students with Alumni Mentors.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
When it came time for Emerson Smith ’24 to embark on his senior project, it was vital that he be paired with a Providence Day alum.
Especially, he says, because mentor Roddy Purser ’92 turned out to be a rare gem: he works in the agriculture industry.
“Not too many people who come out of Providence Day (PD) want to do something related to agriculture,” says Emerson, majoring in agriculture mechanization and business at Clemson University. “When I discovered that there was a PD alum with some of the same interests as me, it made me super happy to see that I was not alone.”
More and more Providence Day seniors are utilizing the required senior project as a link to the school’s alumni, creating a lifetime of bonds between past and present Chargers.
“Working with Mr. Purser was one of the best things I ever did,” Emerson says. “The connection that we built is incredible.”
Mr. Purser owns and runs White Rock Farms LLC, which includes acres of crops, hog facilities, chicken houses, and a dairy. For his senior project, Emerson shadowed Mr. Purser and spent days in meetings, spraying fields to prepare them for planning and learning how to manage people.
“Roddy not only helped me figure out that this is what I want to do for a living but also taught me many skills that I will take forever,” he says. “From learning how to manage people to reading a milk receipt, everything that I gained from Mr. Purser was a valuable skill.”
Senior projects provide students with a glimpse of professional life. They also teach students practical skills, help them make connections to topics they have studied in the classroom, and give them a great deal of confidence.
“Internships and networking are just as important as any grades someone gets or what school they went to,” says Anne Sauvain Spencer ’08, a real estate agent with Corcoran HM Properties. “The senior internship enables students to make direct connections and gives them an up-close view of what the working world looks like post-grad.”
Hearing PD stories
Ms. Spencer mentored Kacie Tibe, a 2024 Providence Day graduate who is a freshman studying advertising at the University of South Carolina.
For her senior project, Kacie shadowed Anne at her real estate office while she prepared homes for showings and pictures.
“Anne helped show me all of the ins and outs of real estate, and it was so much fun to see everything that goes into it,” Kacie says. “She also showed me some of the interior design side of real estate and said that if I wanted to get into more of that kind of thing, she knew many people.
“It is important to be partnered with a PD alum because it was so fun to hear her high school stories and build connections with people you could possibly work with in the future.”
Emerson agrees.
“Mr. Purser is a key figure in NC Agriculture,” Emerson says. “Having him as a friend and a contact to ask questions about everything related to farming and other knowledge is amazing. Mr. Purser is a fantastic person to have in my corner. Not only that, but Mr. Purser is also a person I look up to. He taught me many things I could have never gained from a desk job.
“Along with that, Mr. Purser graduated [from Providence Day] the year before both of my parents, so that was an incredible experience to work with someone who knew my parents back in the day.”
‘Full circle’
Mary Claire Smith ’24 also wanted to partner with an alum for her senior project.
Her opportunity came at Providence Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, a practice Kaitlin Laxer Danze ’10 and her husband opened. Dr. Danze is also a very active member of the PD’s Board of Alumni.
“Senior projects at PD are a very unique experience compared to other schools,” says Mary Claire, who attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “So, partnering with a PD alum, there’s a very good chance they had to do their own senior project during their time; therefore, they understand the experience you
are looking for and are so excited to connect back to PD.”
Mary Claire shadowed at Dr. Danze’s office, watched procedures, talked to hygienists and assistants, and learned about different dental subjects, such as spotting cavities on X-rays.
“Meeting alumni and being able to observe and learn about her job was very rewarding and made me cherish the people that PD fosters and the lifetime connections that it creates,” Mary Claire says, “especially in a period before graduation where many seniors are reflecting on their time at PD.”
Mary Claire is majoring in medical anthropology and pre-nursing, and plans to apply to UNC’s nursing program next year.
“PD has an incredibly vast network, and the connections I made there have helped me grow and foster my business,” Dr. Danze says. “I love having the opportunity to give back and keep in touch with the school by hosting students in my practice.”
She continues: “It’s also a great opportunity for the students to get out into the community, make connections, and learn from other alumni in an interesting setting. It’s full circle for me, and I am grateful to be in a position where I can maintain a relationship with the school and get to know some wonderful students.”
Established by the Office of Institutional Advancement PD, NetWORK engages various constituencies of the Providence Day community to provide internship and mentorship opportunities in a range of industries for our alumni and students to develop their professional experience.
Thank you to the companies who partnered with us this past year! We are currently looking to establish opportunities for 2025 and beyond.
If you would like to share an internship opportunity with our community or have questions about PD NetWORK, please contact Rachel Ellis at 704-887-7058 or rachel.ellis@providenceday.org.
PRESENTING PARTNER
Thank you!
Providence Day is grateful to Hendrick Luxury Group for being the 2024–2025 Presenting Partner, and for helping us live our mission of social responsibility through activities during Fall Fest, Winter Market, Recyclery/Upper School Mountain Biking Club bike drive, greenway clean up, thrifting drive, and E-waste drive.
Celebrating 50 Years
Providence Day’s First Graduating Class Reunites.
Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.
When Ken Green ’75, Rose Marie McRae ’75, and Steve Goldberg ’75 attended Providence Day School in the 1970s, Charlotte was about a quarter of its current size, and the campus was merely a cluster of a few buildings.
A cafeteria, library, or auditorium didn’t existProvidence Day (PD) didn’t even field a football team.
“Today, there is a true campus and a football field,” Ms. McRae says. “It has changed immensely. [It’s been] years of hard-working parents, staff, and students, and it shows.”
Mr. Goldberg agrees.
“Everything we did was a first,” he says. “Building the identity through selecting a nickname for our sports teams and the school’s colors. We were all newbies, and there were so few of us that we had to stick together to get things done. As a junior and senior, we had some miles under our belts, but the collective effort was still there as we grew together.”
The trio are members of PD’s first senior graduating class - 25 students earned their diplomas in 1975.
This year, they’re celebrating their 50th class reunion, along with all PD classes that end with a “0” or “5,” at 6:30 p.m. on October 18 at Suffolk Punch in SouthPark.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the special people who were my classmates whom I love dearly,” Mr. Green says. “I owe PD a big debt of gratitude.”
Providence Day opened on September 28, 1970, when 112 students and their teachers convened in a converted house
on a former horse pasture at the intersection of Sardis and Rama roads.
As the school added students, buildings, faculty, and new areas of study, its leaders positioned it to evolve with the world around it. Today, Providence Day counts 72 countries of origin among its student body, and the school has emerged as an educational leader in academic excellence.
Still, there are fond memories and lessons learned from more than 50 years ago.
There was the junior class trip to Washington, D.C., where students met former United States Senator Jesse Helms and posed on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
Mr. Green remembers when the Charger golf team won the 1975 state championship in Wilson. His father, Jerry Green was the coach, and it was the school’s first state title. Team members included David English ’76, Chip Hood ’76, Martin (Marty) Davis ’75, Drew Cooper ’76, Cal Mosack ’77, Steve Goldberg ’75, and Billy Hutton ’77.
“We smoked everyone we played that year,” Mr. Green says. “I love those guys and keep up with a few even now.”
He continues: “Another memory is from three years ago when Dad’s ’75 golf team was inducted into the [Athletic Hall of Fame] alongside Dad. The guys deserved that honor. Dad loved each of them as his own and truly went over and above to make sure each team member had everything they needed, so we all loved him and played our butts off for him. PD was a wonderful part of my life!”
The class, Mr. Goldberg says, was fortunate to have “incredible” teachers in those early years, many who stayed on to become pillars of the school’s history, such as Betty Jo Steele who recently passed away.
“Once I got to know Gil Murdock, a man I was deathly afraid of when I had him for P.E. in the seventh grade at McClintock, his gym classes would always include some life lessons, tinged with his sense of humor,” says Mr. Goldberg, a member of the Board of Alumni.
“But my favorite classes had to be chemistry and physics with Dr. Robert Busse, a PhD who had previously worked for Celanese. He demonstrated the explosive qualities of sodium in our first class with him, even before uttering a single word. As water dripped from where it hit the ceiling of our brandnew science classroom, a love of learning affair began with the man who would get me to memorize the Periodic Chart and teach us vector resolution on a pool table. He didn’t teach us; he made us want to learn. I wasn’t a science guy, but I got straight As in his classes because it would have insulted him not to.”
Ms. McRae’s fondest memories also are of the people.
“Students, staff, and parents all seemed genuinely excited to be part of this new school. Knowing that everything we were part of was a first for PDS was something to be proud of. The fact that we all came from different backgrounds was amazing in itself. If not for school, I would never have met most classmates.
And her favorite classes?
Maybe all of them, even though I wasn’t a scholarly student,” she says. “I loved being in the positive environment. Anita McLeod, BJ Steele, Kathy Taylor, Tim Bagwell, and Gil Murdock were all a big part.”
Mr. Green says he learned to be passionate, caring, and friendly while being laid-back and humble during his time at PD.
“My classmates were and are the most important part of being at PD,” he says.
Ms. McRae says she learned to appreciate the opportunities and people that have been placed in your life.
“[I’m] looking forward to seeing classmates from the 70s I haven’t seen in years,” she says.
Adds Mr. Goldberg: “People matter, and true friends will be with you all your life, even if you don’t stay in contact for long periods. PDS has been my Hotel California . I checked out in 1975, but I can never leave.”
FRIDAY,
SATURDAY,
Class Notes
Updates on Alumni Near & Far
1975
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 50th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
1980
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 45th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
1981
Bill Cathey ’81 has retired from Waterbury Construction after serving folks since 2005. He has entered the apprenticeship program for Funeral Directors in the state of NC through Robertson Funeral & Cremation Service in Charlotte. The company is family-owned & operated by Terry Robertson since 2007, after many years with Harry & Bryant.
1983
Carol Anoff Christian ’83 and her husband have moved back to the Tarheel State and are now living in Statesville, NC.
Several classmates from the Class of 1983 celebrated 30 years of playing an annual golf outing in Fall 2024. Participants included Bob Hestikind ’83, Rob Lindsley ’83, Ken Schoonhagen ’83, Chris Simcoe ’83, Mark Collins ’83, Jerry Smith ’83, Bob Phillips ’83, Jeff West ’83, and Scott Pope ’84. If any classmates are interested in joining, just reach out, and they'd love to add you to the mix!
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Leigh Dyer ’88 was named Executive Director of a/perture cinema in Winston-Salem, NC, an art-house theater and educational nonprofit, in December 2024.
1990
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 35th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
1993
1985
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 40th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
1988
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Teri Clayton Currie ’88 has been promoted to Grants Coordinator II with the Department of Health of South Carolina in the Unit of STD/HIV-Viral Hepatitis. Teri is also the co-owner and co-trainer/instructor of Belfair Farms. Belfair Farms is the largest boarding barn and lesson program in Lancaster County, SC.
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Since Hurricane Helene made her destructive path through our region, Fred Wingate ’93 has been leading groups weekly to Western North Carolina to buck, split, and deliver firewood to those requiring it to heat their homes in conjunction with Foscoe Home Team, a notfor-profit organization. J Dewar ’93 has made many trips with them as well! The mountain communities need our help! Please join Fred in doing what you can to help our friends in the mountains.
1995
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 30th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
1997
Dan Hale ’97, now Assistant Professor of Animation at UNC Greensboro, completed an artist residency at GreenHill Center for NC Art in 2023 and was a featured artist in GreenHill’s exhibition LEAP: Artists Imagine Outer Space in 2024. This spring, he exhibited work at the Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles and was recognized with UNCG’s James Y. Joyner Alumni Teaching Excellence Award for 2024-2025.
1999
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Erika Proko Hamilton ’99 continues to lead the Breast Cancer Research Program for Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, TN. This year, she and her partners celebrated starting their own oncology practice where the SCRI clinical trials are offered in addition to standard oncology treatments. Over the holiday, she and her husband Justin took their two girls, Patten (11) and Ellis (8), to Mexico City to celebrate the new year. Highlights included a hot air balloon ride over the pyramids!
Class Notes
Updates on Alumni Near & Far
2000
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 25th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
2002
ATROPIA, a new film produced by Jett Steiger ’02, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT! The comedy, which stars Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) and Callum Turner (Masters of the Air), follows an aspiring actress in a military roleplaying facility who falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent. Their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance. In 2012, Steiger founded a creative studio in Los Angeles called Ways & Means, which has produced other films like The Nowhere Inn (2020) and Super Dark Times (2017), as well as awardwinning ad campaigns for brands like Netflix, Sonos, and Pinterest.
2005
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 20th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
2007
Soprano Margaret Carpenter Haigh ’07 was delighted to receive news that an album for which she sang as a soloist - Handel’s ‘Israel in Egypt’ with Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra - was recently nominated for a 2025 GRAMMY award. She is pictured alongside conductor Jeannette Sorrell and fellow soloists Molly Netter, Daniel Moody, Ned Vogel, and Jacob Perry.
Harper Seldin ’07 has been promoted to Senior Staff Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union in the LGBTQ & HIV Project. Harper and his husband, John, continue to live in Philadelphia, where they are renovating a historic townhome.
2009
Maxwell Mitcheson ’09 is a Partner and Talent Manager at Underscore Talent in Los Angeles, where he specializes in managing and developing the careers of top social media influencers. With a keen understanding of digital media and entertainment, Maxwell has played a pivotal role in shaping the success of his clients in an everevolving industry. He has also expanded into film and TV production, serving as an Executive Producer on the feature film SIDELINED: THE QB & ME starring his client Noah Beck. Building on the success of this project, he is set to produce its highly anticipated sequel this spring. His work reflects a deep commitment to bridging the gap between digital creators and traditional entertainment, helping his clients grow their brands beyond social media.
2010
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 15th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
Michael Greshko ’10 started a new position as Associate News Editor of Science Magazine in March 2025.
Conor Redmond ’11 moved back to Charlotte in August 2024 with his wife Mary Levett Redmond. He currently works as the Director of Corporate Development and Stratefic Finance at Tower Engineering Professionals (TEP). Fun fact, he was hired by and now works with PDS alum Ryan Leeolou ’04, who is the CFO of TEP! 1
Dan Smith ’09, wife Aspen, son Bo, and dog Noka have recently moved back home to Charlotte. Dan is looking forward to seeing more of his fellow Chargers.
In January 2025, Caroline Wallace ’09 started a new position as Assistant Director of Housing at Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity Inc.
2011
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Rabbi Margo Smith Hughes-Robinson ’11 accepted a position to serve as the Executive Director of Partners for Progressive Israel, a nonprofit organization with three decades of work building bridges between progressives in the United States and progressive movements and leaders in Israel and Palestine.
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Class Notes
Updates on Alumni Near & Far
2012
Max Rudisser ’12, his wife Whitney, and their dog Petty moved back to Charlotte in March of 2025. Max took a new role with AmWINS, and Whitney will remain at Deloitte. They’re excited to move closer to family and the Providence Day community.
2014
Elliot Dordick ’14 started a new position representing the people of Georgia as an Assistant Attorney General.
Elizabeth Lampe ’14 will graduate from Drexel University in June with a PhD in Clinical Psychology after completing her pre-doctoral internship at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. In July, she will start an NIH-funded T32 research fellowship in the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health at Dartmouth College.
Keyla Cuteo Whittington ’14 received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Master’s in School Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on May 11, 2024.
2015
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 10th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
2016
2017
Rose Delle Fave ’17 was awarded the Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship. The fellowship is a merit and need-based program that aims to attract and prepare talented individuals for careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. State Department. The program selects fellows annually in a highly competitive nationwide process and supports them through two years of graduate study, internships, mentoring, and professional development activities. Pickering Fellows who successfully complete the program and Foreign Service entry requirements receive appointments as Foreign Service Officers in U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. 1 2 4 3 5 6
Since graduating from journalism school, Samantha Gilstrap ’15 has focused on storytelling that informs, inspires, and uplifts communities. She is a Digital Editor, Producer, and Reporter for WUSA9, a CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C., covering breaking news and major events like the DCA air disaster and the Presidential Inauguration. Samantha is also the creator and host of DMV Heroes, a show highlighting individuals in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia who are making a meaningful impact in their communities. Through in-depth interviews, she shares the stories of those giving back, fostering change, and creating spaces that bring people together. Her work on DMV Heroes has been submitted for a 2025 Emmy Award in the Host/Reporter category.
Sarah Kathryn Clark ’16 founded Flora Farm with her aunt with the goal of creating a sustainable business on their family farm that grows quality flowers and produce through regenerative agriculture practices. In addition to flowers and produce, Flora Farm will also be hosting events on the farm that celebrate nature and local agriculture. Sarah Kathryn joined the Board of Alumni in August 2024.
Jonathan Hoppe ’16 moved to Birmingham, AL, in August to begin a new role as a Sports Reporter for WBRC 6 News. Jonathon also serves as a freelance play-by-play broadcaster for ESPN+.
2017
Austin Cantrell ’17 won the audition for a percussion position with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. The United States Marine Band was established by Congress in 1798 and is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization. The mission of the United States Marine Band is to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Class Notes
Updates on Alumni Near & Far
2018
Chloe Appleby ’18 graduated from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in May 2024, where she graduated with honors and was the Valedictorian of her program. As Valedictorian, Chloe became one of four students in the program to receive the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship, which will provide financial backing to travel and write a story of her choosing. Although Chloe is not certain what she will be focusing on, she is looking forward to pitching ideas and solidifying a story idea.
Hayden Clay ’18 completed the Intensive Cuisine Diploma at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Paris, where he learned the theory and practical technique behind the French culinary specialities known and loved around the world. Hayden is now getting his master’s in innovation and entrepreneurship to see how he might combine his culinary and business passions in the future!
Ajay Hassani ’18 shifted from Audit (Accounting) to Financial Analyst (Finance). While he was previously working at Elliott Davis, he has now transitioned to the Corporate Finance Team at Cadence Petroleum Group in Charlotte. At Cadence Petroleum Group, he will have the opportunity to work directly with the CEO, CFO, and Director of Finance.
2019
Jacquelyn Ives ’19 moved to San Francisco in June 2024 to work as a Data Analyst for Turo, a car-sharing marketplace where you can book any car you’d like from a community of hosts on the platform. Her day-today responsibilities involve utilizing different coding languages to organize, clean, extract insights from, and visualize Turo’s data to assist various teams across the business in driving the company’s growth. Before Turo, Jacquelyn attended the University of Michigan, where she earned a degree in Industrial Operations Engineering.
2020
Class Reunion! Save the date for your 5th PD reunion on October 18, 2025. We hope to see you there!
Morgan Allison ’20 graduated from Virginia Tech with a major in Management Consulting & Analytics and minors in International Business & Psychology from the Honors College. After graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she works as a Government Contractor Solutions Consultant at Baker Tilly.
2020
Aubrey Briggs ’20 graduated from Parsons School of Design in Paris, France this past May, 2024, with a BFA in Fashion Design and a minor in Business. Upon graduation, she exhibited her thesis collection of indigenousinspired streetwear to family, friends, and industry professionals representing brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hermés, and Kenzo. Following graduation, she started a new role at Chloé, a French luxury fashion brand, and currently works as an Accessories Design Assistant, helping to design and create both commercial and runway pieces for the brand. Chloé recently presented their Fall/Winter 25 collection, and Aubrey was thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of the design process to create the fur accessories, jewelry, and belts that walked the runway, in addition to creating a special piece for rapper and singer Doechii. Recently, Aubrey was invited to present three looks from her collection, entitled LUMBEE9> after the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, in the annual DONT WALK fashion show in St. Andrews, Scotland, which raises money for Doctors Without Borders and Peaceful Tomorrows. 1 2 3 4 5
Class Notes
Updates on Alumni Near & Far
2020
Louisa Bynum ’20 is currently a Doctor of Physical Therapy student at UNC Chapel Hill. She joined the Board of Alumni in August 2024.
After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Florida A&M University with a Bachelors in Computer Science, Jada Carter ’20 accepted an offer with Northrop Grumman. She is now located in Orlando, FL, working as a Software Engineer in NG’s Defense Sector.
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Caleb Hanock ’20 will be graduating from UNCG with a major in Sociology. He is currently the Assistant Store Manager at Autobell Car Wash in Greensboro, NC, where he is responsible for interviewing & hiring, finance management, customer care, and labor management.
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Kayla Furney ’20 graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in neuroscience and Spanish. Following graduation, she moved to Boston, MA, where she works as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Neurological Clinical Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital. In this role, she serves as a research coordinator for clinical trials focused on identifying therapeutic interventions for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Matthew Laub ’20 graduated from the University of Michigan in 2024 with a major in Sports Management and minor in Crime and Justice. He is now attending Wake Forest University School of Law, where he is a 1L J.D. Candidate.
In June 2024, Elle Zanoni ’20 graduated from UCLA with honors, as a double major in political science and history. Elle is now a first-year law student at the Georgetown University Law Campus, where she is the 1L Representative for the Student Intellectual Property Law Association and 1L Representative for the Sports, Entertainment & Media Society. This summer, she will intern at Fox Corporation in the Business and Legal Affairs Department.
2022
2024
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Karishma Kodali ’24 has been studying Arabic in Rabat, Morocco. The goal of this program is to be completely immersed in the language and culture, and even though she arrived with zero Arabic skills, Karishma is now able to communicate successfully. During this time, she has had the opportunity to travel around the whole country, from the deep countryside in the Rif Mountains to the Sahara desert. While in Morocco, she has been living with a host family, who have reinforced that Moroccan hospitality is the best in the world. 1
Samantha Melton ’22 will graduate from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor’s in International Business and French in May 2025. Following graduation, she will continue her education in Fashion and Luxury Brand Management through IESEG’s Master in Management Program. She plans to obtain a certification in Corporate Social Responsibility to become a Sustainable Strategist for a luxury fashion brand.
Class Notes
Updates on Alumni Near & Far
2003
Kelly Dyer Nunn ’03 and her husband Michael welcomed their first baby, a boy named Reynolds McNeill Nunn, on April 20, 2024.
Derrick Thompson ’03 and his wife Jennifer welcomed Reginald Davidson Thompson to the world on March 10, 2025. Caroline (3) is loving being a big sister!
2005
Jessica Nomina Haley ’05 and her husband Andrew welcomed a daughter, Clare Margaret Haley, on February 14, 2025. Clare joins older brother James Clarke Haley who turned five on February 24, 2025.
2006
Catherine Cagley Beaudoin ’06, her husband Mark, and big brother Christian (2.5) are excited to announce the birth of their second child, Claire Juliet, on February 12, 2025. Catherine & her family currently live in Austin, TX, where she is a Principal on the Private Market Investments team at Texas Teachers (TRS), the $210B pension for the state of Texas employees.
2007
Births
Morgan Hostetter Griffith ’07 and her husband David welcomed their third son, Wells, on July 24th, 2024. Big brothers Hutch (9) and Styles (6) are so excited to show him all about life!
Locke Bell ’07 and Christine Solitario Bell ’07 welcomed their son James "Sullivan" Bell on January 18, 2025.
2008
Yale Haymond ’08 and his wife Qian welcomed their second daughter, Leora, in 2024. Leora joined her big sister, Eve (2). Yale’s law firm, YALE HAYMOND LAW, just celebrated its 5th year in business representing injured people across North and South Carolina.
Eleanor McMillan Hower ’08 and her husband Connor welcomed their first child, Riley Claire Hower, on July 16, 2024. Eleanor and her family recently moved back to Charlotte from Las Vegas, and they cannot wait to introduce Riley to the Charger family.
Alessandra Di Iorio Stringfield ’08 and her husband Wes welcomed Collin Carl Stringfield on November 18, 2024. 1 3 4 5 2 6 7
Class Notes
Updates on Alumni Near & Far
2009
Ryan Conrad ’09, his wife Mady, and son Jack Ryan (2) grew as a family- welcoming Annabelle “Annie” McMaster Conrad to the world on July 15, 2024!
Craig Loeber ’09 and his wife Ann welcomed their first child. Emory Rose Loeber was born December 12, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA. It’s too soon to tell whether she’ll be a theater star in school like her mom or a soccer/ lacrosse fanatic like her dad, but either way, she has big dreams of being a Class of 2043 Charger.
Peyton Miller Poston ’09 and her husband Zach welcomed Noah Miller Poston to the world on March 28, 2024.
Gary Scott ’09 and Katherine Rush Scott ’11 welcomed Chloe Sanders and Benjamin "Benji" Garrison on May 31, 2024.
2010
Sarah Grace Woolley Enos ’10 and her husband Michael welcomed Clifton Christopher Enos into the world on November 7, 2024.
Emily Lucas Haddock ’10 and her husband Alex welcomed Bowen Alexander Haddock into the world on June 20, 2024.
2011
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Births cont.
Caroline James Coffin ’11 and her husband Matt welcomed their first child, Charles “Charlie” Robert Coffin, on December 29, 2024.
2012
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Liz Aker Bianco ’12 and her husband Sam welcomed Samuel "Junior" Thomas Bianco Jr. on September 25, 2024. Junior and his parents are soaking up every moment together as a family.
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Jordan Gray Howard ’11 and her husband Chase welcomed their second son, Charles "Charlie" Gray Howard, on January 5, 2025, and Emmett (2.5) is loving every minute of being a big brother! Jordan and her family live in Tampa, FL, where she and Chase are both attorneys.
Katie Dickson Peterson ’11 and her husband Ryan welcomed their first child Bennett Brady Peterson on March 30, 2025, in Greenwich, CT.
Sam Rush ’11 and his wife Autumn welcomed June Jennifer "JJ" Rush on November 25, 2024, joining big brother Baker. Sam and his family now live in Winter Park, FL.
Mahari Conston Freeman ’12 and her husband Demetris welcomed their second child, Mariah Ellena Freeman, on March 25, 2025.
Class Notes
Updates on Alumni Near & Far
2005
On June 2, 2024, Lauren Magliocca ’05 married Billy Langstein in Charleston, SC. They celebrated this happy day with Marcus Hughes ’05, Leslie Kagan ’03, Alan Magliocca ’02, and Phil Reese ’03.
2007
Laura Eubanks ’07 married Aaron Young on April 6, 2024, in Belmont, NC. In addition to Laura’s brother Jim Eubanks, Jr. ’01, Lily Glover English ’07, Kimmie Garner ’07, Kerry Kelso ’07, Jared Lowe ’07, Rebecca Pope McGoogan ’07, Hannah Carr Sherry ’07, Kaitlin Stack ’07, Brittany Stockman ’07, and Anne Wood ’07 were in attendance on this special day.
2008
Tim McGinnis ’08 married Emily Ji in July 2024, surrounded by PD Classmates Anna Zimmer ’08, Carolina Villalobos ’08, Kelsey Watterworth ’08, and Preston Lennon ’08 Jamie McGinnis ’05 served as the Best Man, and Jamie’s son, Pip, was the Ring Bearer. Tim and Emily currently reside in Chicago, and Tim’s first manuscript of poetry was recently accepted for publication by a small press based in Brooklyn.
2009
Marriages & Engagements
Nick De May ’09 married Kelly MacDevette in a small family ceremony on October 2, 2024. Their wedding celebration was postponed due to the impact of Hurricane Helene and has been rescheduled for May 2025 at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville.
2011
5
Gabby Gabriel Fernandez ’11 graduated from Charleston School of Law in May 2020 and is a licensed attorney. She is also the Providence Day Middle School Boys Tennis coach. Gabby married Tyson Fernandez in June 2022 in Punta Cana, DR, and they now live in Charlotte, NC, with their Australian Shepherd named Nova.
Sarah Moore ’12 and Ian Kearney were engaged in February 2025. They plan to get married near Baltimore, MD in 2026. 1 2 3 4
PJ Heacock ’11 married Jessica Campbell on February 15, 2025, at The Roundhouse in Beacon, NY. They were joined by plenty of PD alumni, including Sarah Heacock ’15, Alex McDonald ’11, Matt Baron ’11, David Plaus ’11, Conor Redmond ’11, Colin Hannah ’11, Zach Gilbert ’11, Mac Sanders ’11, and Harry Murrell ’11.
2012
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Anna Chapman ’12 married Doug Jesse on October 19, 2024, at the Morehead Inn in Charlotte, NC. They were surrounded by family and friends, including Natalie Jones Kohn ’12, Caroline James Coffin ’11, Matthew DeMay ’12, Kat Miles ’15, CJ Miles ’15, Garlan Miles ’14, and Eddie Cochell ’15 .
Class Notes
Updates on Alumni Near & Far
2014
Keyla Cuteo Whittington ’14 married Austin Whittington on September 7, 2024, at Loray Mills in Gastonia, NC.
2016
Camille Appleby ’16 married Ben Buben ’16 on June 22, 2024. The ceremony was held at Dilworth United Methodist Church, followed by a reception at Carmel Country Club. Camille and Ben started dating after their 10th grade Sadie Hawkins Dance and have been together ever since. Their bridal party included Chloe Appleby ’18, Austen Buben ’14, Grayson Buben ’16, Michael Mulvey ’16, and Jordan Sienkowski ’16
Elise Friedman ’16 married Michael Day on October 5, 2024, at the Mint Museum Randolph in Charlotte, NC. They were joined by plenty of PD faculty, alumni, and families, including Amy Field Bynum ’88, Gordon Bynum, Caroline Bynum ’16, Louisa Bynum ’20, Thad Clements, Suzanne Clements, Grace Clements ’16, Aidan Clements ’19, Steve Sawyer, Smita Sawyer, Dillon Sawyer ’20, Lee Tappy ’94, Robin Tappy, Izzy Tappy ’28, Brannon Tappy ’28, Brian Field ’94, Ali Field, Valerie Stegall, Jeff Stegall, Casey Field ’96, Lindsay Field, Heather Joyner, Mark Joyner, Mandy Ravin, Heather Mann, Lily Norris ’16, Rea Madan ’16, Lauren Burns ’15, Kristen Friedman, and Nathaniel Friedman ’19
2017
Alex Przybylo ’18 and Natalie Jones were engaged on March 1, 2025 in San Diego, CA. 1 3 4 5 2
Abbie Cochell Manning ’17 married Brett Manning on August 3, 2024, in Charlotte, NC. Their wedding party Lily Mae Cochell ’22, Eddie Cochell ’15, Kenneth Cochell ’19, and Caroline Kurani ’17 Claudia Cohen ’17 sang during the ceremony, and Emma Cardwell ’17, Haley Ritchie ’17, and Emily Ritchie ’22 were in attendance.
2018
Show Your Support & Pride for Providence Day
The Providence Day Heritage Society recognizes those members of the PD community who have included PD in their estate plans. Heritage Society giving includes planned gifts such as life insurance policies, bequests, and real estate.
Estate gifts are generally designated to unrestricted endowment, however there can be an opportunity to restrict your contribution. Members of the Heritage Society are listed in our annual Report on Philanthropy and are included in our donor recognition programs and events. Each new member also receives a set of commemorative coasters to show their “PD pride.”
For more information contact Jeffrey S. Appel, Associate Head of School for Institutional Advancement, at (704) 887-6038 or jeff.appel@providenceday.org.
5800 Sardis Road Charlotte, NC 28270
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For Parents of Alumni: If this magazine is addressed to a child who no longer lives at home, kindly call us with the correct address at 704-887-7058.
