The Newsletter - July 2017

Roxbury Latin T h e N e w s l e tt e r

July 2 0 1 7

Growing Our Own Athletes

The Roxbury Latin School

Headmaster Kerry P. Brennan

The Newsletter is published quarterly by The Roxbury Latin School in October, January, April, and July for alumni, current and former parents, and friends of the School.

Editor & Design Joyce Hempstead joyce.hempstead@roxburylatin.org 617.477.6324 Photography Mike Pojman, Gretchen Ertl, Suzanne Camarata, Adam Richins

www.roxburylatin.org www.facebook.com/roxburylatin/

Š 2017 The Trustees of The Roxbury Latin School 101 St. Theresa Avenue West Roxbury, MA 02132 t: 617.325.4920 Send address changes, alumni news and other correspondence to alumni@roxburylatin.org.

The Newsletter July 2017 | Volume 90 | Number 4

INSIDE

4 What is a man?

Headmaster’s Address at Opening of Spring Term

10 In Situ Spring Break Trips

12 Honoring the Life of the Mind Cum Laude Society Induction

16 Class Service Projects 18 ISP: Independence. SelfReliance. Professionalism.

by Andrew Kingsley ’12

20 And the Beat Goes On

by Andrew Kingsley ’12

24 What is a logophile?

Ask Peter Sokolowski

26 Class II launches RL@Work

Departments

17 Student News 23 The Arts 27 Faculty Spotlight Billy Quirk ’04, Director of Admission

28 Athletics Down on the Farm: How Roxbury Latin Grows its Own Athletes

50 Class Notes 59 In Memoriam 61 Alumni Gatherings 62 Campaign Update 63 Giving and Volunteering > Yard Sale by the Numbers > Annual Fund Tops $3.7m

34 Prize Day: Valete 36 Closing Exercises > Star-Thrower Squad The Valedictory Remarks of Siva Emani I, 38 > The Story Your Life Will Tell Excerpts from the Remarks of Dr. Marina McCoy, 41

44 Reunion

Above: Director of Music Rob Opdycke conducts the Latonics in their performance in La Torre, the iconic clock tower of the University of Puerto Rico, during the Glee Club’s spring break tour.

Cover: History Department Chair and Assistant Coach Stewart Thomsen with members of the fifth baseball team at a home game against Belmont Hill on 5 May. (Photo by Adam Richins)

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

3

What is a man?

Headmaster’s Address at the Opening of Spring Term “You throw like a girl!”

“Come on, ladies, let’s see if you’ve got the guts to win this game.”

“Man up.”

“Don’t be a bunch of girls.”

W

hen I was a boy, our coaches talked to us like that.

My freshman basketball coach even said to us once, “Do you want to win and be men, or do you want to lose and be a bunch of weak, fraidy-cat girls?” Imagine how these references might have shaped the way in which males of my generation thought about girls and women, but to my particular point today, how these attitudes expressed through these derisive comments shaped how we thought about who we were as young men. Over the past 40 years, thankfully, much has changed. For starters, the very coach who was calling us “girls” as an insult could not hold a candle to the female athletes I know, including some who teach at this very school! So the task of my generation has not simply been to understand who men and women are and can be, but to change our attitudes fundamentally, given the bad start we had. Imagine, then, how much harder it is for my father’s generation, for whom those attitudes were so much more entrenched and consistently affirmed.

Mid-Century Role Models When I was young, it seemed clearer what it meant to be a man.

Roles for men and women were fairly explicitly delineated. I lived in a neighborhood in a medium-sized industrial city in which most people lived in families, and the husband worked at a job outside the home and the wife usually stayed at home, responsible for keeping house, cooking meals, and managing the kids.

My father’s friends, members of Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation”, the one that had survived the Great Depression of the 30s and served in World War II, were a fairly homogeneous bunch.

They spent a fair amount of time together—sometimes with their wives, too, but often as just the boys gathering at fraternal clubs, or bowling alleys, or at local bars.

I liked these men; they were friendly and funny. They treated me well. All of these guys drank—some quite a bit and most regularly. All of them swore—rarely the favorites you hear these days—but plenty of “God damn,” “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” “Jesus Christ,” “pain in the ass,” or “For Chrissake.” They all were also church-going Catholics. Funny, then, that all their “swears” seemed to focus on God or Jesus! They all gambled—mostly numbers played with a bookie, but there was an air of masculinity involved in taking those risks and occasionally hitting the 4

J u ly 2 0 1 7

jackpot. Most of these men smoked. They bowled; they puttered around their houses; they made minor repairs to their cars. While it might have happened when I was not present, I never heard them talk about women in a licentious or disparaging way. I also wasn’t aware of guys who were unfaithful to their wives, and I didn’t know anyone who was divorced. While there was probably unhappiness in some of these marriages, there were not that many options—including divorce—for men and women of this socioeconomic class, religion, and era. One got the sense that not many of these guys loved their work. There was a good deal of acknowledgement that work was not supposed to be easy or fun.

Most of these guys held down two jobs, and several worked in the factory at General Electric. Their goal was to provide well for their families and acquire the car or new pair of shoes that might signal a bit of financial success beyond the sometimes owned,

Here we are, at a boys’ school, and one would think that we would have a handle on what it means to be a man, or at least on boys becoming men. sometimes rented flat or house in which they lived. Given how hard they worked, when they played, they played hard. These essentially were my role models. These were men that I knew well and who gave me signals about how to be a man. My own father was and is a milder version of all this.

But I had other role models, too. These were principally teachers and priests who represented scholarship, and educational ambition, and a different kind of hard work, exposure to arts and letters, professional goals, ethics, and upward mobility. And my other role models happened to be certain women I knew— especially in my own family—who were strong, uncomplaining, generous, loving, and committed to the likes of me. From the feedback all of these people offered, they helped to clarify what an acceptable masculinity was.

What does it mean to be a man? I’ve been wanting to talk on this topic for a long time, and especially since the presidential campaign and election, and other events of the fall and winter, which do not cast men in a good light. Here we are, at a boys’

school, and one would think that we would have a handle on what it means to be a man, or at least on boys becoming men, but I fear there is great confusion about this issue. Maybe the better question is, “What kind of person should a man be?” but the challenge is similar as we are bombarded with contradictory signals of what is suitable—no, desirable—for a man to be. Some in this audience will expect me to talk a bit about gender identity in a theoretical sense and certainly there is ample material to bore an audience for hours about this. I’m not going to do that. What I am going to do is remind you that one of our developmental assignments is to become the best person we know how, and, for you students, that involves understanding what it means in our society in 2017 to be a man.

The Struggle to Redefine Manhood In the hit musical My Fair Lady, the musicalization of the Classical story Pygmalion, Henry Higgins, the obnoxiously arrogant and misogynistic lead, sings the song “Why Can’t a Woman be More Like A Man.” What the lyricist Alan Jay Lerner offered tongue-incheek in the 50s, a time when more traditional notions of men’s and women’s roles held sway, was that there was, alas, little about men to be proud of; that it was an illusion to imagine men as the stronger or more desirable sex. In my lifetime, we have come to understand better, both legally and especially culturally, that men and women deserve similar, if not always precisely equal, opportunities. Until this past year, I could not imagine anyone defending a situation in which women were explicitly discriminated against strictly because of their gender.

I’m reminded of another classic song from the musical theatre of the middle of the last century. In that song from the Irving Berlin musical Annie Get Your Gun, the protagonist, sharpshooting and confident Annie Oakley, boasts to her male competitor and ultimately her love interest, Frank Butler, that “anything you can do, I can do better.” This was a foreshadowing of both the sparring between men and women in the public square and at work, and the awkward position in which men found themselves. Already then there was the suggestion that men needed to reassess who they were and how they behaved.

Implicitly what men of my generation were told by professors and thinkers on these topics was that the acceptable man was the one who was more like the more acceptable woman. What grew out of that too-simplistic reduction was a generation of men who either didn’t know what it meant to be a man or they thought a man was destined to feel emasculated, a curious adjective that means to feel less potent, less consequential, less effective, less essential, without force or authority. Good things obviously came of the feminist revolution that made great strides in ensuring that men and women had similar access to education, jobs, and trust positions in society. Additionally, other good things came of this, including the expectation that men, like most of your fathers, took on more responsibility previously solely ascribed to women, like taking care of children and doing a fair share of domestic chores. As a contrast, I report that I believe that my own father, for example, never changed a diaper.

But men, all along, individually and collectively, have struggled to redefine what it means to be a man. This is in part N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

5

because we are given conflicting signals: on the one hand a man is supposed to be brave and stoic; on the other he is supposed to be nurturing, supportive, and emotional. On the one hand a man is supposed to be competitive; on the other he is supposed to be collaborative. On the one hand a man is expected to work hard and be the breadwinner; on the other he is expected to lead a balanced life and contribute meaningfully to family matters.

It’s no wonder that when presented with a chance to revert to previous norms about what it means to be a man, many men of a certain demographic chose to do so. The chance was created by a political standard bearer who himself seemed to eschew contemporary mores when it came to defining the qualities of manhood and, especially, the way in which women should be seen and treated. “At last,” I imagine many of these men thought, “we have someone who is saying what I have been feeling for a long time. If only I could live the way my grandfather did—in a society in which women and members of certain races or religions knew their place and were not encroaching on my right, as a man, to know a favorable position in society and to be able to behave authentically and crudely without consequence.” We were shocked by what the candidate was saying and how he was saying it, but, in retrospect, we should not have been shocked that what he said resonated powerfully with many who have felt disenfranchised, undervalued, confused, betrayed, left out to their minds because others—women, people of color, gays, immigrants, the handicapped—had been brought in, gaining positions and authority that previously had, by default, gone to white, Christian, straight men born in the U.S.A. A talk for another day has to do with those men (and plenty of women, too) who desperately reached for the message and the program of the candidate who suggested that he would help to restore their rightful places in society. Our political leaders have been tin-eared when it comes to those millions of people who feel this way, and the election and ensuing beginning of the new administration suggest they can never be taken for granted again.

But there was more. It was not just about this candidate and his followers. It was about men in other places this fall and winter who give us pause. These were people who were not their best selves, and they were not very good men.

Role Models: Taking on Desirable Qualities How do we learn to be our best selves? We are exposed to others—parents, teachers, coaches, public figures, literary characters, historical luminaries—who have led lives that resonate with us. These people often represent admirable qualities and have achieved what we aspire to. By knowing well these role models we seek to integrate characteristics and values that will, in fact, form each of our own identities. Who am I? If you were asked that, would you initially say “I’m a young adult,” or would you say “I’m a young man?” It would likely be the latter. And thus we illustrate the task for each of us who is male, and that is not simply to deter6

J u ly 2 0 1 7

mine what it means to be a good, effective human being, but what it means to be a man. It would be rare these days, I imagine, for a young man to say “I want to be just like him,” in consideration of an impressive role model. No one I know who is currently alive would seem to warrant that adulation, given the fact each of us has his or her foibles. Rather, I think each of us is always assembling an identity made up of characteristics and values that different admirable people represent—one person’s judgment, another’s generosity, another’s sense of humor, one person’s style—clothing lines, cars, furnishings—someone else’s commitment to fairplay, another’s willingness to argue judiciously. You get the idea. It’s not as if we enter a candy store and say I will have three of those and two of those and five of these. We usually, without thinking, imitate others we admire. We integrate their most desirable qualities, perhaps somewhat imperfectly, in ourselves. And we deepen these character traits by practicing them with different people in different situations. We learn and grow. And we always have the chance to decide who will and who will not be our role models.

I’m partial to role models close to home. Though we encounter admirable people in literature and history (and rarely these days in athletic or entertainment pantheons or in public life), I suggest you look to emulate the men and women who work with you here, real people, rather than a Teddy Roosevelt or an Atticus Finch or a Casey Affleck. I will not embarrass them by naming them but look around this room and think of the people whom you may want to be like—who represent values and aspirations and qualities that you want to incorporate into your own living narrative.

Peer Pressure: Going Along to Get Along The other people who attracted negative attention this year were men in groups—most on teams. We have long been worried about the way in which certain situations and settings seem to give men license to be their worst selves, to be dolts, to be misogynistic. This is what has caused fraternities to be thrown off campuses, athletic teams to have their seasons suspended, and neighborhood groups or gangs to end up dead or in jail. Here are a few recent stories involving some of these kinds of male groups. Baylor University in Texas revealed that over 5 years, 17 women reported domestic or sexual assaults, including 4 gang rapes involving 19 football players from the Baylor football team.

At Columbia University, several members of the wrestling team were responsible for sending lewd, misogynistic, homophobic, and racist messages. At Amherst College, the men’s cross country team was responsible for sending racist, misogynist and homophobic messages through the team’s social media outlet, violating what the College called a “zero-tolerance standard toward bigotry.” Just recently, a cohort of 30,000 male Marines, members of a group called Marines United, were found responsible for disseminating naked images of hundreds of female Marines along with opportunities for members to make disgusting, degrading

comments. At Princeton, the men’s swimming and diving squad was shut down when the University was made privy to material it deemed vulgar, offensive, misogynistic, and racist. At Washington University in St. Louis, the men’s soccer team was shut down because the men had targeted the women’s soccer team with degrading, sexually explicit comments. Similarly, closer to home, the Harvard men’s soccer team had its season suspended when it was discovered that there had been a fairly long-standing tradition of “publishing” a scouting report of the women’s soccer team with ratings in various hurtful categories of the women involved. The players apologized but their seasons were over.

The leadership of the colleges and universities at which this bad behavior took place, and the Marines, have taken disciplinary

All of us who are male have a duty to resist the allure of role models who are responsible for perpetuating a certain kind of mockery or even bigotry… action against the individuals and teams involved, and, in the case of unlawful activity, the perpetrators have been charged and prosecuted, and some are already doing time.

What went wrong in these instances? Do you believe that men together is a potentially toxic situation? Have you seen it in your own lives? Do you see it around here? Many of these examples have to do with denigrating other groups of people—people who they believe to be different and less worthy than they; in several cases women, people of color, and gays were ridiculed. By making others seem inferior, the commentators, perhaps insecure in various ways, were made to feel superior. I imagine no one in those categories had a chance to battle back—save perhaps the young women who pressed charges against their rapists at Baylor.

But, I also imagine that there were men in their midst whom the others did not know were gay or came from multiracial families (perhaps appearing to be white) and, nonetheless, they offered their damaging, derisive comments.

I don’t know what went wrong in all of these instances, but I have some ideas. First, I think that they are examples of people wanting to fit in, to be accepted, and often the price for doing so is to succumb to least-common-denominator kind of behavior—to go along to get along. Each of you has been in a situation in which that kind of psychological and sociological force is at work; we used to call it peer pressure. I also believe that each of these situations is probably initially the work of an Alpha male or

a few Alpha males who seem to set the standard for the rest of the group. These characters are usually hard to stand up to, and there is not much evidence of others questioning their leadership or judgment. In each of these awful cases there were men who chose to not participate in the bad behavior, but they remained members of the groups in which the bad behavior was fostered and failed to do enough to make it stop. We have talked other times about the moral danger of the bystander, someone who feels unresponsible for the actions of a group of which he is part, and frequently does nothing either to remove himself from the group or to put an end to what is wrong. Usually for young men of your age, this to my mind is one of the most pervasive, irresistible temptations. It is an easy lie to tell oneself that as long as I am not responsible for the bad behavior, the mean-spirited, disparaging comments even about a group and not an individual, then I am not guilty; I can have a clean conscience. As we noted in the poem I read a few weeks ago when Mr. Bhanji spoke, each of us has a duty to step up, even when it is unpopular, even when it leads to our being scorned and criticized and maybe even physically hurt, if indeed justice needs to be done, or that which is right needs to be held up or defended.

All of us who are male have a duty to resist the allure of role models who are responsible for perpetuating a certain kind of mockery or even bigotry and who, in the assuredness and determination of their actions, represent a kind of bullying. We have a duty to forge more appealing, alternative kinds of groups of men whose behavior is healthy and restorative and affirming.

Speaking Out and Standing Up A certain presidential candidate made the excuse that his comments about grabbing a woman’s genitalia and the crass terms he used were only what you normally hear in a locker room.

In other words, these were what every red-blooded, straight, American male masculine enough, first of all, to be playing a sport that would bring him into a locker room would likely say behind closed doors among like-minded, desirably macho men.

The candidate’s favorite locker room I would imagine is at a tony country club. In the wake of that characterization of men, and even men in locker rooms, there was a groundswell of responses.

One of those that moved me was issued by the Amherst College varsity soccer team; it goes something like this: We play for the Amherst College men’s soccer team, the defending NCAA Division III National Champions.

Our locker room consists of 31 guys, ages 18 to 23. We come from 13 different states and five different countries. We grew up with different religions, ethnicities, cultures, and socio-economic backgrounds. We study political science, economics, computer science, biology, history, physics and black studies. We grew up playing on countless different clubs, traveling teams, and high-school soccer teams—each with its own distinct culture.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

7

Here is what we talk about in our locker room: We talk about the impossible chemistry midterm exam we had that morning, the new idea for our senior thesis, the buffalo chicken wraps for lunch, and how the other teams in the league did that weekend. We also talk about our Saturday nights, our personal relationships and, of course, the girls in our lives.

But, despite our diverse backgrounds, upbringings and interests, we cannot imagine one of our 30 guys ever making or condoning, in our private locker room, comments similar to Donald Trump’s disgusting statements about sexually assaulting women.

We do not know what locker room Donald Trump uses. It clearly doesn’t represent the one we use every day. Having had the opportunity to play teams from up and down the East Coast, as well as teams from Texas and Iowa in the national tournament, we believe it’s not their locker rooms either.

Our locker room also differs from Donald Trump’s locker room in another respect. It is just down the hall from the locker room of the Amherst women’s soccer team. We are good friends with these women; we practice every day on the same field; we watch their games, and they watch ours. We see each other as peers.

As a sports team, we have found success by valuing the ideal of doing the right thing even when no one is watching. This ideal applies not just to athletic competition, but equally to respecting people: respect is not simply an act you put on for people in the room with you; it is how you speak about them when they are not present.

We know that college sports athletes throughout the country have been involved in many cases of sexual abuse. It is absolutely unacceptable that 1 in 5 women on college campuses experience sexual abuse. This needs to change.

One part of creating this necessary change is changing how women are talked about—both in public and in private. Our team is by no means perfect on these fronts, but we want to be part of the solution.

We strive to not only keep this kind of offensive talk out of our locker rooms, we also try to actively prevent it elsewhere. We and the other teams at Amherst have made it a priority to speak out and campaign against sexual violence. Our team facilitates sexual respect workshops, participates in campus dialogues about sexual assault, and has promoted awareness projects by helping to publicly share stories and messages written by victims of sexual violence.

We know this is only a start—our team, and other teams need to do so much more to make our campus and our community safer and more respectful places for all women.

Donald Trump defended his comments by saying, “I’m not proud of my locker room talk. But this world has serious problems. We need serious leaders.”

Serious leaders take the issue of sexual assault seriously. Sexual assault is a crime. Bragging about sexual assault can never be excused as being what boys and men talk about behind closed doors. To excuse such behavior is to perpetuate a culture of abuse of power that has 8

J u ly 2 0 1 7

no place in 21st-century America.

If Donald Trump wants to know what actually is said in real locker rooms, he is welcome to visit ours to understand how real men speak about and treat women.

This was written by David Lander, who is a senior at Amherst, a member of the varsity men’s soccer team, and who happens to be a graduate of Concord Academy. He wrote this on behalf of the whole team. I don’t know him but I would like to. His piece, written in October, went viral. I would like to think that David Lander is like many of you. When given the chance, he does the right thing.

He stood up for what was right and he galvanized others to do the same. I have not always done the same myself. I wish I always took every opportunity to push back against bad behavior in any group of which I have been a part. Occasionally I have spoken up or, as my mother used to advocate, “removed myself from the situation.”

But sometimes I have not, and that does not make me proud. I wish, however, that you can and that you will.

I would alert you to situations, especially involving young women, in which you may be tempted to take advantage of a situation. Often these instances occur around alcohol, when one or both of the participants are drunk. That often provides an excuse for acting abnormally, or outside of your values system. I can imagine those possibilities springing up in places like Model UN or other trips or at cast parties when a boy might be attracted to a girl and imagine this is the time to score. We have all read enough about sexual assaults and rapes on college campuses to know how precarious these situations are. Here, especially, if an individual does not know enough to do the right thing, his friends need to step in to do so. Years after the fact, I was heartened to hear of one of our students who literally prevented a rape from occurring at an otherwise innocuous party. He was alert to what his friend was about to do, and created a distracting situation in order to get the girl out of the room and to get the boy involved in something else. This takes alert, artful, brave behavior. His actions not only prevented the girl from being assaulted, but saved his friend from actions that could have led to his imprisonment, and in effect ruined his life.

Forging Healthy Male Relationships A good deal of what I’ve talked about this morning has had to do with attitudes of men concerning women and the way men treat women. There is no place for equivocation on this topic. I realize that I am imperfect in framing this issue and I expect my female colleagues will wonder why I didn’t note something else or put it another way. I invite you to follow up to complement what I have said and how I have said it. I began by talking about what it means to be a man. And, while the way a man treats a woman is emblematic of his character, it is not everything. Another important theme has to do with how men are together—what is expected of each in

to lead a meaningful life. These are that setting. As you are experiencIf all intertwined. And the ultimate ing now, much good can come out If you can keep your head when all about you question is never answered because of your associations with other boys.

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, it is always affected by the people While there is always the danger of If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, you meet and the life circumstances people being judged unfairly, there But make allowance for their doubting too; you experience. I am a different man is much to be learned from the giveIf you can wait and not be tired by waiting, (some would say Thank God) than and-take possible in your ranks, the Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, I was when I was a young teacher lack of self-consciousness, and the And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: here, lo those many years ago. Life possibility of genuine friendship and has changed me. Some of the greatlife-giving camaraderie that results If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; est examples of an altered view of from your associations with one If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; one’s manhood come when he finds another. My contention is that the If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; a partner, or, especially, when he authenticity and confidence develIf you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken becomes a father. How different one oped in you in this boys’ school will Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, must feel when another depends serve you well in a co-ed world, and Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, on you for his or her life, wellbeing, will allow you to develop relationAnd stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: sense of personhood. How different ships with all kinds of other people, one must feel when he is called to including women as friends, colIf you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, provide an example of how life ought leagues, partners, lovers. Your abilAnd lose, and start again at your beginnings to be lived, of what it means to be a ity to transcend some of the basest And never breathe a word about your loss; good, effective person. temptations of men gathered in all If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew What is a Man? Some food for sorts of groups will serve you well To serve your turn long after they are gone, thought: He is principled, empathic, as you make your way in the world And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ honest, effective, kind, respectful, and forge important relationships competitive, hard working, fair, with other men, and with women. I If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, resourceful, loyal, confident, humble, am always puzzled that when a man Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, loving, collaborative, disciplined, treats a woman badly he does not If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, nurturing, gentlemanly, responsible, imagine his mother, grandmother, If all men count with you, but none too much; and honorable. A man holds others or sister on the receiving end of such If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, accountable, but a man also forgives. lack of respect or bad behavior. We Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, Do many of us regularly, consiswould not want the essential females And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son! tently incorporate these qualities in our lives to suffer through the into our lives? Would someone else indignities we occasionally unthink—Rudyard Kipling describe us in these ways? Even if we ingly foist upon girls and women. do not perfectly reflect those qualiI think there is always a challenge, too, of deciding who we are going to be to other men, how ties, are we committed to working to achieve them, to enjoy the we are going to forge friendships and perhaps partnerships, and satisfaction that comes from living out the virtues and values in how we are going to continue to find sustenance in healthy groups which we believe?

I invite you in your thoughts and in the lives you live to strive of men. I know men who throughout their adulthoods continue to gather with other men as parts of softball teams, religious to be good men, mature men, doing the right thing even when retreats, book clubs, service organizations, alumni networks, and no one is looking, eager to define a new, more responsive, and even a cappella groups. There is a certain reassurance, comfort more responsible masculinity and to add to that list. In noting and inspiration that often comes from these associations. And a some notorious instances in which men and men together have chance to get honest feedback on how well one is doing toward behaved badly, have gone astray, I want always to contrast that with what I think I know about all of you. And that is that I believe living out his dearest values.

We have had a little journey in this talk but circle back to what you are good, strong, fair and decent. I admire the way you operwas the important question posed at the beginning: “What is a ate in groups of other young men every single day. I believe you Man?” When I tell you what my answer is to that question you will do the right thing and represent a reliably principled brand of will correctly conclude that it is what you regularly hear from men for the future. I believe that you will be worthy role models. me about what it means to be a good person or what it means And, as always, I am proud to say that you give me hope.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

9

Glee Club boys at the El Yunque Rainforest

In Situ: spring break travel PUERTO RICO • The Glee Club, accompanied by Director of Music Rob Opdycke, Mike Pojman, and Nike Poles, traveled to Puerto Rico for its spring tour. The parents of faculty member Ernesto Guerra made the arrangements for the group’s concert venues and sightseeing—a perfect mix of culture and exploration. Performances took the group to Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, University of Puerto Rico, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Castillo San Cristobal, Ballajá Barracks, and Tótem Telúrico. When not singing or rehearsing, they walked the streets of Old San Juan, trekked through the El Yunque Rainforest, kayaked at night in the bioluminescent lagoons of Las Cabezas de San Juan Reserve, and swam and drank from coconuts at Luquillo and Isla Verde Beaches.

QUEBEC • Class V French students experienced their first French language immersion in the cradle of French civilization in North America (and the only walled city north of Mexico). French masters Mme. Hunter White and M. Ousmane Diop accompanied the 14 boys to Quebec in their exploration of the ancient city, and also in their tubing, snowshoeing, and dogsledding excursions— balmy, 47-degree days not withstanding.

10

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Class V French students in Quebec City

ITALY • After nearly three years of Latin, Class IV boys have a chance to walk in the Romans’ and ancient gladiators’ footsteps at the Colosseum, stand in the middle of the Roman Forum, and explore the Vatican.

This year’s trip included stops in Napoli and Sorrento, and the ancient Greek city of Paestum on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in southern Italy. The boys sang “The Founder’s Song” in the theater at Ostia Antica and took part in a Mass offered by Fr. Kevin Staley Joyce ’05 in a chapel near the bones of St. Peter in the crypt of the great basilica. These were moments in the trip that, in the words of faculty member Tom Walsh ’79, “offered the boys a wonderful blend of classical Roman history and the continuity of Roxbury Latin.” Joining Mr. Walsh as chaperones were Mssrs.

Reid, Guden ’93, Layne-Allen ’09, Kingsley ’12, and Ms. Sue McCrory.

Seniors in Paris

PARIS • The 14 boys in the English 12 elective “Americans in Paris” visited the City of Light, accompanied by English teacher Dr. Phil Kokotailo and history and economics teacher Dr. Sally Stevens. They followed in the footsteps of American expatriates who called Paris home during the first three decades of the 20th century—especially writers Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway. Exploring beyond the city’s usual tourist sites, they experienced for themselves the place that Paris occupies in the evolution of 20th-century literature, art, and history. While there, they met up with Brendan Hanrahan ’09 (who works with French clients for McKinsey & Company in Paris) and with Scott Sayre ’04 (a writer based in Paris). On an excursion to the Belleau Wood battlefield, sixty miles northeast of Paris, the boys explored the WWI trenches and foxholes that still survive. They also visited the grave of an R.L. boy, 1st Lieutenant Hugh Charles Blanchard ’05, who is buried at the nearby Aisne-Marne American Cemetery.

Class IV Latin students in the Roman Forum (above) and at Paestum (left)

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

11

Cum L a u d e H all

The Cum Laude Society’s motto is Areté, Diké, Timé—Excellence, Justice, Honor—qualities epitomized by the eleven members of Class I that were inducted into the Roxbury Latin chapter on 20 April. They are (in the photo, left to right):

Honoring the Life of the Mind

Joshua D. Winograd, Felix Wang, Rylan B. Tribush, Timothy F. Silva Jr., Daniel J. Shlayen, Jacob H. Morris, Timothy F. McCarthy, Hari Kothapalli, Sivaram S. Emani, Anthony F. Cataldo, Harrison M. Callewaert

Cum Laude Society Induction

C

um Laude Hall begins with two wellknown biblical readings: …Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.”

(Ecclesiastes 12) And from Matthew 5: You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house…

Both scriptural excerpts befit the annual ceremony that both recognizes the efforts and accomplishments of students and 12

J u ly 2 0 1 7

honors the life of the mind—affirming that at the heart of a good school is scholarly engagement.

“It is important to affirm that brilliant minds have often been the bane of society,” said Headmaster Kerry Brennan, “and that it is only to the degree that one’s gifts, one’s educational opportunities, one’s strivings are offered in service to great causes and to the welfare of others that one’s achievements might truly be worthy of celebration and imitation. As you have heard before, from those to whom much has been given, much will be expected.”

The School was honored to welcome as the Cum Laude speaker Robert P. Hen-

derson Jr., who will be retiring as head of Noble and Greenough School this spring after 17 years at the helm. The text of his address follows here.

M

r. Brennan asked me to speak about the life of the mind and scholarship. I will do that, but perhaps a bit indirectly. I have strong opinions about the place and purpose in the world of schools like Roxbury Latin and Noble and Greenough. My comments will pertain in particular to what I think is the real objective of the education to which you have been privileged, and of which you have taken such great advantage.

Allow me to start by sharing a hyperbolic example of the evolution of education over the last half century.

A math problem that appeared in a math textbook in 1965 read like this: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.

His cost of production is 4/5 of this price.

What is his profit?

By 1972, after the impact of the late sixties on the thinking of educators, the same problem had evolved to sound like this: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.

His cost of production is 4/5 of this price; in other words, $80. What is his profit?

After the impact of the so-called “new math” on textbooks in the 1970s, the problem had evolved by 1978 to sound like this: A logger exchanges a set L of lumber for a set M of money. The cardinality of set M is 100, and each element is worth $1.

Make one hundred dots representing the elements of set M. The set C of the costs of production contains 20 fewer points than set M. Represent the set C as a subset of M, and represent the following question: What is the cardinality of the set P of profits?

By the early ’80s, the story goes, math ability had so declined in the country that the problem read as follows: A logger sells a truckload of wood for $100. His cost of production is $80, and his profit is $20.

Your assignment: underline the number 20.

In the late 1990s under the influence of so-called “outcome-based education,” we had this: By cutting down a beautiful forest of trees, a logger makes $20. What do you think of the way he is making a living? Topic for class discussion: How do the forest birds and squirrels feel?

Finally, in the 2000s, the same problem was projected on a Smart Board using an iPad, which took the teacher the first ten minutes of class to set up, and which he only accomplished with the help of two of his students.

It is my view that while we need to stay on top of trends and innovations in the world of education, we also need to be alert to faddism. There will always be a “next big thing” and a transformational technology or

pedagogy that will, we are assured, “change everything.” While there certainly will be innovations, good ideas, and opportunities to grasp, at the same time we can never lose sight of what really matters most.

So what really matters in secondary education? I assert that what matters most is what has always mattered most.

Learning best occurs in an environment where the expectations are uniformly very high in terms of both achievement and behavior. More importantly, learning

Robert P. Henderson Jr., a member of Noble and Greenough’s Class of 1976 and a longtime friend of Kerry Brennan, has given four decades of distinguished service to the field of education, including two decades as a headmaster. He returned to Nobles in 2000 as head, where his efforts advanced the school in every area. In her letter to the Nobles community announcing Mr. Henderson’s retirement, Nobles’ board chair, Beth Reilly (sister of two R.L. graduates), wrote, “Bob’s visionary leadership has had a profound impact on the School, and he leaves a legacy that will benefit Nobles for generations to come.”

flourishes when adults with inspirational intellect, admirable character, unflagging dedication, and intuitive empathy set those standards. And, of course, those same adults must be able to connect with kids, be able to laugh and revel in their company, while never forgetting the degree to which they serve as role models of balance, engagement, and success in life. Such adults create schools that are fundamentally joyous places. Not joyous every minute of every day, because getting through high school is tough and requires hard work, and there are inescapable disappointments. But today, it is my hope that these honorees feel the essential pride and joy of having grown up here, under the care of this remarkable faculty.

The distinguished American historian David McCullough, at a commencement address at Dartmouth College roughly two decades ago, shared a profound insight about life and how we navigate from where we are to where we want to be. He said, “No one is, or ever was, self-made.”

He continued, “We are all what we are in large degree because of others who have helped, coached, taught, counseled, who set a standard by example, who’ve taken an interest in our interests, opened doors, opened our minds, helped us to see; who gave us encouragement when we needed it, who reprimanded or prodded when we needed it, and at critical times, inspired.”

I have spent nearly four decades working in independent schools around the country, at four schools in three time zones. I have been a school head at two schools for a total of 22 years, the last 17 years at Nobles. I have seen a lot over that period, but nothing has remained truer for me about schools and education than those words by David McCullough, that no one is, or ever was, self-made. I have, however, distilled some other pieces of wisdom that I think lie at the incontrovertible core of why you work so hard and the meaning of this education. There are only six, so, as my career in schools ends this spring, I am delighted to have a place to

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

13

share them. Here they are: Take risks. I’m not talking about stupid risks, the kind of stuff you see from idiots on YouTube. And I’m not talking about driving too fast or breaking the law. Rather, I mean you have to stretch yourself, try new things, and seek new challenges. Opportunities rarely arrive at convenient times, and rarely when you plan for them. Carpe diem—seize the day. If you don’t, you won’t grow. Make sure that the next step in your education offers you ambitious challenges and opportunities. Study overseas, and try activities that take you out of your comfort zone. I think it is likely you will learn more about yourself, about your intellect, about your potential and about your core values from one semester living and studying in a foreign country or from one month volunteering at a shelter for homeless veterans, than in your entire high school education.

Change is inevitable, so own it. When I graduated from college 38 years ago, the personal computer had not yet been invented. There were no cell phones, there was no GPS, and my family home did not yet have cable TV. All these things are routine in my experience of the world and how I do my work today. But beyond technology, be prepared to change your point of view. In the mid 1980s I was working on a master’s degree in the liberal arts at Dartmouth during the summers. I had to take a certain number of core interdisciplinary courses. One summer I registered for classes late and was forced into my last choice class. It was in women’s studies.

There was absolutely nothing I wanted to take less. And there is absolutely no course that has been more important to me. It changed my view of teaching history, it forced me to grow up intellectually, and it broadened my understanding of what it means to be human. It prepared me to adapt to and understand the rapid and positive changes we have seen in the world of work and gender relationships over the last few decades. Embrace change; make it your ally.

Make decisions you can live with.

You are going to be confronted with some 14

J u ly 2 0 1 7

whoppers in your life. I guarantee that some day you will be the only one who knows the truth, there will be virtually no one else you can share it with, and everyone else will have a powerful point of view as to what should be done. At the end of the day, you have to be able to sleep at night. Trust your mind and your values, and don’t make choices just to please other people. Every time I have followed this rule for myself, even when there was considerable short-term pain or embarrassment involved, in the long run I have been rewarded. Make sure to make

The human condition is to err, to reach too far, to descend into hubris, or to sometimes exercise poor judgment. This is the basic plot of almost every play by Shakespeare.

One of the measures of the trajectory of your adulthood will be to come to grips with this. The best measure of a person’s character is not how he handles success, but how he handles mistakes and failure.

The next recommendation has struck me profoundly over the last two and a half years at Nobles, having experienced the deaths of two students in that short period of time.

[W]e live in a culture now that too often believes that we should be shielded from pain and failure.… I believe your selfesteem is quite resilient, and in fact we learn far more from mistakes and failures than from successes. decisions with which you can live.

Having said this, however, take to heart recommendation number four: Embrace mistakes and failure. Success is easy, especially for people as talented as all of you. And we live in a culture now that too often believes that we should be shielded from pain and failure. I see parents in my office sometimes who are upset, alarmed, or outraged because their child has done poorly in a class, or didn’t earn a major role in a play, or didn’t get sufficient playing time on a team, or was disciplined for a transgression. Sometimes these parents are just a little bit right, but just as often they have elaborate and enabling rationalizations that blame others for the problem. I believe your self-esteem is quite resilient, and in fact we learn far more from mistakes and failures than from successes.

The great Irish playwright, novelist, and poet Samuel Beckett hung a sign over his desk that said, “Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better.”

Life is short. Appreciate the people around you, and tell the people who have made a difference for you that they have done so. Show gratitude, often and habitually. Several years ago a close friend of mine from high school died of a sudden stroke. He was under fifty years old. In the forty-one years since I graduated from high school, eight of the seventy-six members of my high school class have died from various causes and accidents. That’s a bit more than ten percent. Think about that.

You have around you today truly remarkable young men who are going on to lead amazing lives. At the age of eighteen you can feel immortal, but our existence is assuredly ephemeral. When you see your parents or guardians at the end of today, or as you encounter your teachers and coaches, or as you make plans with your friends for the weekend or to collaborate on a project, keep this in mind. Thank and appreciate the people who have made a

difference in your life. Do it today.

Now for the final piece of advice I can offer with any sense of certainty from my own experience: Never forget that what you do is more important than what you say. Words are easy, and in truth they have power and can shape our sense of reality. But the true measure of you is always action. I know every day in my life as a school head that if I encourage students and teachers to treat each other with trust and respect, yet fail to treat people the same way in my AP European history class and daily relationships, my public words are entirely for naught.

The most important words in my life, those that I keep written on one of those stickies on my computer screen so I see it every day as I open it up, are from Mahatma Gandhi.

He said, “We must become the change we wish to see in the world.”

So there it is, all my accumulated wisdom: remember that you are not and never will be self-made, take risks, embrace change, make decisions you can live with, accept failure as opportunity, remember that life is short, and to value and thank the people who have made a difference, and never forget that actions speak louder than words.

Attending this amazing school gives you the chance to open your mind. But the actual use of your mind is a matter of choice, and the ways in which you use your mind are a matter of character. Who you are—how you lead and connect and give and show gratitude—is what will take you where you want to go in the world, and what will allow you to make a difference for the better. Intellect devoid of moral purpose is the recipe for evil. Character, shaped by commitment to lifelong learning, truth, ethical purpose and hard work, is the path to the life well led. And that, in my view, is the purpose of an education at a superb independent school such as Roxbury Latin.

Thank you for allowing me to be with you today and best wishes for a wonderful conclusion to your school year.

Fr. Joseph S. Constantino, S.J.

R

ecognizing the concurrence of Passover and Holy Week this year, the Headmaster invited Fr. Joseph S. Constantino, S.J., to speak in Hall on 13 April.

It was Holy Thursday, the day Christians remember Jesus’ sharing of the Passover Seder with his disciples prior to the Passion and Resurrection. During that meal he also gave them a new commandment— a mandate—to love one another “just as I have loved you.” For this mandatum, the day is also called Maundy Thursday. Fr. Constantino explained how at the meal Jesus washed the feet of his disciples in an extraordinary display of humility and an

affirmation of their worth—and as a signal for them to carry on in his work. A born storyteller, Fr. Constantino shared anecdotes that illustrated his message: “You’re worth it” and “You’re not finished.”

Fr. Constantino holds an MA in Philosophy from Fordham and an MDiv and Licentiate in Systematic Theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology.

Before accepting his present appointment as pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish in Chestnut Hill, Fr. Constantino was both rector of the Jesuit Community and President of Canisius High School, an all boys’ Jesuit high school in Buffalo.

Howard Axelrod ’91

H

oward Axelrod ’91, author of The Point of Vanishing: A Memoir of Two Years in Solitude, and lecturer in creative writing at Loyola University Chicago, returned to R.L. in April to talk with Kate Stearns’ creative writing class, and then visited with the English Department to discuss pedagogy. One year ago he spoke in Hall on the subject of his memoir.

Recently he discussed disability and identity in a New York Times opinion piece, “Seeing Outside the Disability Box.” He wrote, “From Oliver [Sacks] I learned that the important question was not What do you identify as, but Who do you identify with. Asking myself this question helped me recognize changes in my own identity,

subtle shifts in my attention and empathy that occurred after my accident. Without quite realizing it, I had begun to identify with anyone whose life threw into question normative assumptions about how daily life works.”

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

15

Class Service Projects

Class I boys burying a Boston homeless man with no family.

A group of Class III boys at Haley House.

Students from all six classes participate in service projects throughout the year: Class I boys serve as pallbearers for the burial of Boston’s homeless and indigent, and they prepare Saturday breakfasts at a Pine Street Inn residence in Roxbury; Class II boys cook and serve Tuesday evening dinners at the Epiphany School; boys in Class III prepare and serve Sunday brunches at Haley House in the South End; Class IV boys regularly visit our neighbors at the Deutsches Altenheim; Class V boys help out at the Norwood Food Pantry; and the sixies tutor students at nearby St. Theresa School. The School also sponsors cross-class projects, such as this June’s weeklong service trip to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana.

Thirteen boys and three masters join other Global Volunteers at the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana.

Sixies reading to St. Theresa students.

Class IV boys at the Deutsches Altenheim.

16

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Cam Estrada IV explaining his Western Civ project to a Deutsches Altenheim resident.

Student News

T

First Place in Oratorical Contest

he month of May has many things to commend it, and one of them is Class V’s unit on Civics. Designed to strengthen the students’ understanding of how government works and how we can make a difference by participating in it, the teamtaught course benefits each year from presentations by guest experts, and this year the following visitors deserve our thanks.

Gareth Cook, father of Aidan in Class IV, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning magazine journalist and a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine. Editor of the bestselling series The Best American Infographics, Mr. Cook discussed the skills of professional journalists and how to discern the difference between real news and fake news. Mr. Cook began his career in Washington, D.C., with The Washington Monthly, Foreign Policy, and U.S. News & World Report.

Harvard University Attorneys Ellen Berkman (mother of Ben Bryant of Class II) and Bradley Abruzzi spoke on immigration, the visa process, Dreamers/DACA, and travel bans. At Harvard Ms. Berkman handles a range of matters, including research and regulatory issues, scientific misconduct allegations, Title IX, and export-control issues. Before joining Harvard, Bradley Abruzzi worked for MIT’s Office of the General Counsel, where his practice included online learning initiatives, human subjects research compliance, and data privacy and security.

Mayor Setti Warren discussed his life in public service. An Iraq War veteran and mayor of Newton, Mr. Warren worked in the Clinton White House and in John Kerry’s U.S. Senate office before enlisting in the U.S. Navy Reserves after 9/11.

Upon his return from Iraq he became in 2009 the first popularly elected black mayor of Massachusetts.

Bob Powers ’66 and Mark Powers ’02, R.L. alumni father and son, shared with the class their own paths to military service. While still an undergraduate at MIT, the elder Mr. Powers was drafted and served in Vietnam. Son Mark attended the U.S. Naval Academy and served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Andrew Steinberg II won the American Legion’s 80th National Oratorical Contest on 23 April in Indianapolis. Andrew explained in an interview with the American Legion that his “love for speech, politics, and our country” all converged in one opportunity with this competition. His winning oration, “The Constitution: A Lasting Legacy,” earned him an $18,000 college scholarship.

Photo by Clay Lomneth/The American Legion

Class V Civics unit welcomes slate of speakers

Andrew Steinberg II

SISAL Art Show Winners

Of the 525 pieces of artwork submitted by 17 New England independent schools to the 2017 Small Independent School Art League (SISAL) competition, the works of three R.L. artists won top prizes. Erik Zou III won 1st place in Painting and Best in Show for his painting, “Drowning,” as well as 2nd place in Drawing. Dylan Zhou II won 3rd place in Drawing and 1st place in Mixed Media. Andrew Gray II won 3rd place in Woodworking. Erik also won a National Silver Medal in the 2017 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

He shares the honor with renowned artist Winston Chmielinski ’06.

“Drowning,” by Erik Zou III

Presidential Scholar

Siva Emani I was named a 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholar this spring. He was the only boy chosen in Massachusetts and one of only 50 boys chosen nationally. The award (given to one boy and one girl from each state) is considered to be the nation’s highest academic honor for a high school senior. Selection is based on outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship, service, and contribution to school and community. Siva is the newest of only four R.L. Presidential Scholars; he joins past honorees Akshat Shekhar ’12, Charlie Bridge ’07, and Ian Gershengorn ’84. Siva chose his advisor, Peter Hyde, to accompany him at the White House for the June ceremonies.

Siva Emani I

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

17

ISP

Independence.

Self-Reliance.

Professionalism.

by Andrew Kingsley ’12

A

fter more than 900 days of school, thousands of hours of studying, and slightly fewer hours of sleeping, seniors embark on their month-long Independent Senior Projects (ISPs) at the end of April. For the next four weeks, seniors are encouraged to pursue their passions, unfettered from teachers and parents alike, and develop real-world experiences before embarking on their college journey. Those real-world experiences run the gamut: from making a short film to working at an environmental science startup to constructing a go-cart.

To give outsiders insights into the ISP experience, seniors Mitchell Garvey, Rylan Tribush, and Hari Kothapalli discussrf the highs, lows, and in-betweens of their respective projects. In a mere 30 days, Mitchell Garvey and Rylan Tribush created an impressive and incisive documentary about Boston’s opioid epidemic, under the guidance of R.L. parent Sgt. Edward Garvey of the city’s Drug Control Unit, providing an uncompromising glimpse into the lives of the men and women fighting this crisis. Meanwhile, Hari Kothapalli interned as a software engineer at EverTrue under Eben Pingree ’00. At EverTrue, Hari honed the computer programming skills he had picked up at R.L. and learned valuable lessons about the managerial efforts behind all the bits and bytes.

An Interview with Mitchell Garvey and Rylan Tribush How did you decide to make a documentary about the Boston opioid epidemic?

Going into it, both of us knew that we wanted to do something creative over the four weeks instead of an internship or another type of structured project. We both liked the idea of creating a film of some sort, and between the two of us, we already had some of the equipment needed for creating a documentary as well as some connections with people who worked with those affected by the opioid crisis.

“You will have plenty of time to work at a job or internship later on, and the ISP is a great opportunity to try something that you would not otherwise experience.”

—Mitchell Garvey & Rylan Tribush

Watch Mitchell’s and Rylan’s ISP documentary film here: https://tinyurl.com/y9xtx75d

18

J u ly 2 0 1 7

What were some difficulties you faced in making the documentary?

One significant difficulty was finding people to interview. It was awkward to ask people we didn’t know to participate in the project, and some of those we contacted either never responded to our emails or were unwilling to talk in front of the camera. We also had to deal with unexpected technical difficulties such as the camera being out of focus and the sound of air conditioning ruining our audio during one of our interviews.

What do you want people to learn from watching your documentary?

Our goal was not to impart a specific message or convince the audience to adopt any particular stance. Rather, we wanted to simply provide the facts and expose people to the various sides of the opioid epidemic and encourage conversation about this important topic. We wanted to spread awareness and inform the audience about an issue that affects their city and community.

What advice would you give younger students about the ISP experience?

We would encourage younger students to try creative, unstructured projects similar to this one. You will have plenty of time to work at a job or internship later on, and the ISP is a great opportunity to try something that you would not otherwise experience. We also recommend doing a project with a partner because having one holds you accountable and ensures that you are getting work done.

Nuts and Bolts: Go-Cart ISP

An Interview with Hari Kothapalli What did an average day at EverTrue look like for you?

As a software engineering intern, I spent the bulk of my time at the EverTrue office writing and testing code. The program that I wrote deals with quite a bit of customer data, so it was essential that the software be well written before we put it into production. I was also able to attend a variety of meetings with my advisor, Eben Pingree ’00. His work as Senior Product Director is so much different than that of an engineer, so shadowing him was a great opportunity to see the broader, more managerial aspects of the business.

What was the most fulfilling aspect of your ISP project?

I think that, most of all, I have appreciated the change of pace from the classroom. For one, the startup culture at EverTrue was much more relaxed than the rigorous R.L. environment—so much so that I was able to show up to work in a T-shirt. And although my internship was still a richly informative experience, the learning process was entirely different from that of a class. At school a homework assignment or teacher’s lesson would typically serve as the educational vehicle, whereas at EverTrue it was through hands-on work, later to be used by the company, that I picked up skills.

What valuable skills or ideas have you learned during your time at EverTrue?

When choosing a software development internship for my ISP, I went in with the mindset that I could determine whether or not computer science was right for me. I’ve always been interested in tech, and that hasn’t changed; I’ve confirmed that I really do enjoy CS and its endless possibilities, but also that I am interested in management and “big-picture” planning. On a less philosophical note, I learned a lot more about Javascript and, more specifically, Node.js.

For their ISP, seniors Siva Emani and Nick Schiciano joined forces to build a go-cart.

The process involved designing the cart using CAD, creating a detailed parts list for ordering, welding a frame, and fitting all the parts together. Though they got a head start in early winter, their progress was slowed by technological setbacks (getting the batteries and the motor to fit in a constricted space) and logistical challenges (the welding schedule and parts delivery delays).

“Every step we took forward had a problem or challenge along with it,” said Nick. Yet he found that, despite the many obstacles they faced along the way, “the problem-solving was incredibly rewarding.”

Siva, who has always been fascinated with theoretical physics and mathematics, was particularly interested in learning how to utilize these abstract principles to assemble a tangible product. For him, this ISP solidified his interest in engineering as a field of study. Our IDEA Lab proved a fitting laboratory for this creation.

What advice would you give to younger students about the ISP experience?

The ISP is a great way to explore in depth whatever you are interested in. It can, for example, help you decide your major for college. Or, you might even kickstart your professional career by networking and building up your resume. If you are interested in filmmaking, go make a short movie. If you are considering engineering, maybe intern at a robotics company. There are all types of interesting opportunities, and provided that you are proactive, the School and its alumni can be invaluable resources.

“At school a homework assignment or teacher’s lesson would typically serve as the educational vehicle, whereas at EverTrue it was through hands-on work…that I picked up skills.”

—Hari Kothapalli

Nick Schiciano I (top) and Siva Emani I (above)

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

19

by Andrew Kingsley ’12

Above: The 2016-17 Latonics, performing at A Cappella Fest on 7 April.

20

J u ly 2 0 1 7

O

Roxbury, O Roxbury. From the Winter Concert and A Cappella Fest to the rousing renditions of “Gaudeamus Igitur” and “Fortis Laetissima,” your halls truly sing. Over the past 20 years, Director of Music Rob Opdycke has conducted hundreds of boys as singers and musicians in the Glee Club, Junior Chorus, the Latonics, and Jazz Band. But more important, he has cultivated a tradition of men’s choral music that encourages all boys to lift their voices—no matter their experience or expectations—and sing. In return for Mr. Opdycke’s tireless service to Roxbury Latin, a “Pentatonix” of recent Latonics alumni, one from each voice part, has reflected on their singing experiences at the School and beyond. Their passion and gratitude testify to the robust singing program crafted by Mr. Opdycke and Mr. Brennan over the decades as well as to the vibrant musical culture of the School that has fostered such foot-tapping, hand-clapping creativity.

What was your most memorable moment of singing at R.L.?

Somewhat vainly, I most memorably recall singing my first solo at A Cappella Fest my freshman year. We auditioned U2’s “One” during the Glee Club trip to Austin and San Antonio that March and I was lucky enough to get it. My older brother had been in the Latonics, so I had been in awe of the group for several years, for better or worse.

In particular, I was taken in by the spectacle of A Cappella Fest. The whole community coming together to watch the Latonics do their best impression of teen idols? What could be any better? Getting a chance to take a lead role in this performance in my first year was therefore quite a trip.

Princeton Footn the ote th i sa w t 11

Michael Ro sen ga rd

Why do you think a cappella is so popular art form on campuses and beyond?

I can think of two reasons. First, it’s easy to get involved. As corny as it sounds, all you need is your voice! Compared to instrumental ensembles, sports teams, or dance groups, the baseline experience necessary to join an a cappella group is pretty insignificant. There are many people who join groups with no formal singing background whatsoever. If you want to have a team or performance group experience in college, a cappella is about as accessible as it gets.

Second, there’s something fundamentally compelling about vocal music. The voice is the least mediated form of musical expression. The only thing separating a singer’s emotions and musical ideas from an audience is something they’ve used since the day they were born. Instrumentalists, on the other hand, necessarily have an artificial, external barrier between them and an audience. It was once put to me that it’s no coincidence that the best instrumentalists are said to make their instruments “sing.”

’

Nate Davis ’10, Tenor II

City

What was your most memorable moment of singing at R.L.?

My final A Cappella Fest. As usual, the Smith Theater was packed to capacity. We finished our set with an encore rendition of Billy Joel’s “The Longest Time,” a throwback to our class’s Junior Chorus days in Class V, allowing each of the seven seniors a brief solo. It was a great send-off, but slightly underwhelming from a crowdenergy perspective.

As luck would have it, one of our songs from the previous year’s repertoire had become something of a cult classic among a few of the rowdier members of Class II who were sitting in the front row. They called for an impromptu second encore and demanded that we sing my (uninspired)

o ni

th the Dartmouth r wi Ai r ea y es r

That is, they have made it seem as if their instrument has become a natural extension of their bodies. Since singing dispenses with this barrier altogether, it can be used more easily to communicate a raw and intimate musical performance.

dio Ra

What advice would you give younger students who are interested in singing?

Arrange! In all of my experience in a cappella groups, there is no more valuable skill than arranging. When I first started singing a cappella, I only saw it as a novel way of imitating popular music without instruments. Effective arrangements change that paradigm. Leveraging the details that voices express better than instruments and highlighting secondary melodic elements that can get lost in the wall of distorted sound in popular music, strong arrangements can entirely change an audience’s relationship with a song. The form’s popularity has made it possible for many people I know to make a full-time living on a cappella alone. There’s a reason that the majority of those people make the lion’s share of their income from arrangement sales.

0, se

010 in 2 th

Sandy Fleming ’07, Tenor I

arrangement of “Save Tonight,” by Eagle Eye Cherry. Ebele Anidi ’08 brought down the house with his solo and the crowd did the rest. Both Ebele and I offered our microphones to reachable spectators as the whole theater sang and clapped along with us. When we finished the final chord, the audience erupted into boisterous applause as only R.L. crowds can, and we seniors departed the A Cappella Fest stage for the last time in glory. It was epic. I recommend the YouTube footage that’s still up today.

Nate Dav is ’ 1

Ple ad Th Fi f

San dy Fle m i

ke Forest’s

e

h Wa wit 07 ’ ng

Michael Rosengard ’11, Baritone What did you enjoy most about singing a cappella in college?

The best part was, and continues to be, the lifelong friendships I made with group members. College can be a big place, so having such a supportive group of guys was an unbelievable blessing. Through tours on distant continents, late night antics in rehearsal, and other experiences, these guys became my family on campus.

What was your most memorable moment of singing at R.L.?

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

21

Ch

ith the MIT Log ’12 w an arh m yt ip hm

n2 si

Ry an

016

Ryan Chipman ’12, Bass How did the Latonics and Glee Club prepare you for the MIT Logarhythms?

Despite the fact that the Logs sang only pop music, singing with the Glee Club also prepared me well for singing college a cappella, but not in the ways that I might have expected. One of the challenges of college a cappella is that not all group members have a formal singing background. As such, it is not enough to rely on musical notation and convention to effectively convey one’s intention for dynamics, vowels, phrasing, and other musical nuances. It so happens the same is true of the R.L. Glee Club. For this reason, Mr. Opdycke is very adept at distill22

J u ly 2 0 1 7

What was your most memorable moment of singing at R.L.?

My most memorable singing moment at R.L. was singing “Skye Boat Song” on the Glee Club tour my sophomore year. That year, we traveled to Miami University in Ohio to participate in the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses Festival. Given that Ohio was not exactly the most glamorous destination for spring break, this tour’s attendees were a self-selected group who were really there for the music. This particular piece was rehearsed and performed just by the touring group, which made for a much more intimate and nuanced musical experience than the usual Glee Club routine. Singing that song over the tour was the first time I found myself enjoying singing for its own sake; I looked forward to rehearsals as much as performances and cared about singing well irrespective of any external validation or recognition for our work. In short, singing that song made me happy. From that point on, I began to find that same enjoyment not just in “Skye Boat Song,” but in all of the songs I was singing with Glee Club and Latonics. This was a seminal musical moment, as singing was no longer just a fun activity to do with friends but also an intrinsically gratifying pursuit.

Paul Matthews ’13, Tenor I How did the Latonics and Glee Club prepare you for the Tufts Amalgamates?

Singing with the Latonics and Glee Club taught me so much. From reading music to learning proper singing techniques, I developed many skills that helped me grow as a musician and performer.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges of collegiate a cappella is its demanding rehearsal schedule, especially in the weeks leading up to an important performance. Rehearsals can become extremely tiring and seemingly unhelpful when you

t wi th

ing musical ideas into pithy-yet-intuitive mnemonics. On many occasions during my time with the Logs, I found myself drawing on his examples in order to be a more effective musical communicator.

lgamates in 2 01 Ama 6

Paul Matthews ’13

I was in 8th grade, and it was the day of the Holiday Concert. I had been awarded my first solo a few weeks earlier, and as thrilled as I was at the time, it hadn’t quite occurred to me that I would actually have to perform in front of everybody. Live. Needless to say, on the day of the concert I was a big ball of nerves and all I could think about was making a fool of myself on stage. As the Junior Chorus prepared to enter Rousmaniere Hall, Mr. Opdycke noticed my uneasy state and pulled me aside. Without missing a beat, he looked me dead in the eye and said, “Rosey, everyone gets butterflies before performing. Me, Billy Joel, everyone. But it is the professionals who make the butterflies fly in formation. Now go get ’em!” I can honestly say that I think about that advice every day. It has served me remarkably well and has helped me develop confidence in my own abilities.

fts Tu he

have to be there past midnight because the group is struggling to achieve a goal that was set by the music director. To help prevent these kinds of difficult rehearsals, constant focus and striving for musical improvement during all rehearsals is key.

Rob Opdycke did a fantastic job instilling this mindset in me and my fellow Latonics/Glee Club members, and it really serves me in the Amalgamates.

What was your most memorable moment of singing at R.L.?

My first A Cappella Fest with the Latonics: I remember we came out on stage in complete darkness. I felt nervous as the crowd buzzed with excitement. When we started singing “Car Wash,” by Rose Royce, a bunch of colorful strobe lights started blinking, illuminating our funky dance moves. The crowd loved it. The circumstances of the lighting, the crowd, and my strong nerves made it a surreal moment.

The rest of the show turned out to be pretty good, too. It was an amazing experience.

Director of Music Rob Opdycke calculates that between 2000 and 2016, about half of all Latonics members went on to sing in college, and many of them have returned to R.L. with their groups on tour. In 2009 Matt Wang ’05 and Fernando RodriguezVilla ’06 brought the Dartmouth Aires, and Nate Davis ’10 brought them again in 2011.

This past fall R.L. welcomed Jake Tango ’16 with The Jabberwocks (Brown) and Seth McNay ’13 with The Whiffenpoofs (Yale).

And this spring, Paul Matthews ’13 and the Tufts Amalgamates were guest performers at A Cappella Fest 2017.

the arts

Jim McCoy I and Henry Isselbacher IV, in Into the Woods R.L. thespians Erik March I (above), Eamon Hanrahan I, Henry Lin-David I, Ben Lawlor II, Jim McCoy I, Marc deFontnouvelle II, and Henry Isselbacher IV performed in the cast of Into the Woods, this year’s spring musical, hosted by and performed at Winsor, 28-29 April. (Photos by Kristie Gillooly)

Marc deFontnouvelle II in Into the Woods

Glee Club seniors performed “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire as their class song at the Senior Concert on 21 April.

The Jazz Band performed for Hall on the Smith Theater stage on 12 May.

The Sly Voxes presented its tenth anniversary spring concert of sacred and secular music on 10 May in Rousmaniere Hall. The allmale a cappella group, directed by Kerry Brennan, includes R.L. alumni Paul Spinale ’81, Dan Cloherty ’84, and Ben Davis ’04, three singers who got their start as Roxbury Latin school boys.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

23

Peter Sokolowski, editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster.com

What is a logophile? Ask Peter Sokolowski.

W

hen lexicographer Peter Sokolowski speaks to large audiences, he often asks if anyone present enjoys reading the dictionary. Inevitably, raised hands appear all around—and so do surprised looks. This happened in the Smith Theater on 19 April when, at the invitation of the Headmaster, Mr. Sokolowski delighted the School with an engaging presentation. “People who like to read the dictionary think they are alone,” he said, and suggested that looking up a word in the dictionary is a private, intimate act. Then he related an anecdote about the British lexicographer Samuel Johnson and a “literary lady” who, upon the publication of his dictionary in 1755, commended the dictionary-maker for omitting naughty words. “No, Madam,” he replied, “I hope I have not daubed my fingers. I find, however, that you have been looking for them.”

Mr. Sokolowski is editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster.com.

With a master’s degree in French literature he joined the company in 1994 (then just “Merriam-Webster”) and served as its first French-language editor.

The first truly American dictionary was published in 1806 by Noah Webster, a lexicographer and Revolutionary War patriot.

24

J u ly 2 0 1 7

He promoted a distinctive American language with its own idiom, pronunciation, and style as a way of developing cultural independence from England. He was the first to document distinctively American words such as skunk, hickory, and chowder.

He also argued for simplifying the spelling conventions that he considered needlessly confusing: musick to music, centre to center, and plough to plow, for example. When Webster died in 1843, the G.C. Merriam publishing house in Springfield, Massachusetts, bought the rights to his magnum opus, the 1841 edition of An American Dictionary of the English Language, Corrected and Enlarged. Thus, Merriam-Webster can be considered the direct lexicographical heir of Noah Webster.

Since the introduction of its free, online dictionary in 1996, M-W.com has been able to track the words people look up. So, while searching online for a definition might technically still be “a private, intimate act,” what editors at M-W.com are learning about the words Americans are using is quite public—and very revealing.

In tracking word “lookups,” Mr. Sokolowski and his colleagues at M-W.com watch for trends and telltales of the evolution of American English. They have discovered that the words people

look up online directly correlate to what is happening around them and provide even deeper insights into public response to events. For example, when Princess Diana died, there was a spike in searches for the words paparazzi, cortège, and princess.

After 9/11, definitions for rubble, triage, terrorism, jingoism, succumb, and surreal were the most searched. Surreal (which M-W defines as “marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream; also: unbelievable, fantastic”) also rose to the top at the time of the Sandy Hook school shooting, the Boston Marathon bombing, and Robin Williams’ suicide. At the death of Michael Jackson, the words stricken, resuscitate, RIP, condolences, icon, and emaciated (the second most looked-up word of that entire year) rose to the top.

People are likely to look up “a common word used in an uncommon circumstance,” explains Mr. Sokolowski, “or an uncommon word used in a common instance.”

For instance, socialism was spiking off the charts in October 2015 as Bernie Sanders was gaining ground in the presidential campaign, as were plagiarize and plagiarism when Melania Trump was accused of plagiarising Michelle Obama. Lookups for fact spiked after Kellyanne Conway described false statements as “alternative facts.” (You can follow trending words—and a whole lot more—at www. merriam-webster.com.)

One challenge faced by M-W.com as a supplier of word definitions and its work in tracking word lookups is the ever-expanding presence of Google. People are more likely to google a word for its meaning than visit a dictionary website—even though they will

miss not only shades of meaning but also the rich experience of a website devoted to words (a modern-day equivalent to curling up with the dictionary). Oh, and yes, it has been OK to use google in formal writing for over a decade. Merriam-Webster added it way back in 2006: “transitive verb: to use the Google search engine to obtain information about someone or something on the World Wide Web.” Mr. Sokolowski’s presentation sparked a very engaging Q&A session with the students, and after the bell rang a dozen boys hung back to continue questioning him. “We are descriptive linguists,” Mr. Sokoloski explained to a student who wondered what educational background makes a good candidate for employment at M-W. com. In his response, Mr. Sokolowski warned that an applicant has to surrender any linguistic bias before being considered. (Prescriptive linguists and grammarians need not apply.) Unlike the Oxford English Dictionary, whose main purpose is to describe word etymologies, M-W offers a “snapshot” of the English language in the current moment.

Mr. Sokolowski blogs and appears in the Ask the Editor videos at M-W.com and was named among TIME’s 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2013. Active as a lecturer on dictionaries at professional and academic conferences, he has led many workshops for the U.S. State Department and serves as pronouncer for spelling bees worldwide. Mr. Sokolowski attended the University of Paris and earned his M.A. in French Literature at the University of Massachusetts. He is also a freelance musician and a music host for New England Public Radio.

Lookups for fact spiked after Kellyanne Conway described false statements as “alternative facts.”

I

n preparation for Mr. Sokolowski’s visit, R.L. librarian and archivist Christopher Heaton unearthed an R.L. connection to Merriam-Webster. Joseph Warren Homer, R.L. Class of 1868, was the first principal of the Rhode Island School for the Deaf (1876-1882) and an associate of Alexander Graham Bell (whose wife was deaf).

It was apparently Homer, with his classical training at Roxbury Latin, who coined the term telephone for Bell. The telephone was patented in 1876 and Merriam-Webster notes its first usage in 1877.

N A Post Office telephone circa 1910, referred to as the “skeleton phone”

oah Webster’s 1828 dictionary had sold— poorly—for $20, a sum at the time equal to the cost of a grandfather clock. After Merriam bought the rights, subsequent editions were sold for $6, then $3, and much later, in paperback for just 35 cents. Merriam-Webster gradually beat out its competitors, and today Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is the top-selling (and nearly only) printed dictionary in the U.S.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

25

RL@Work topics and the alumni and parents who offered their time and expertise as hosts, facilitators, and presenters:

Law, Justice, Politics Dan Cloherty ’84 and Greg Noonan ’94 (Collora), Mark Balthazard (Assistant U.S. Attorney) P’ 13, 14, Dave Giordano ’96 (Giordano & Chavous), Bob O’Connor ’85 and Paul Evans ’03 (DLA Piper), Tim Silva ’88 (WilmerHale). From the Suffolk County DA’s Office: Dan Conley P ’14, Rob Arcangeli ’00, Peter Pasciucco ’01, Rob Settana ’01, Frank Kanin ’06, Ramon Pascual ’07, Matt Fitzgerald ’00.

Sports Management Matt Sheehan II and Paul Weitzel ’86, P ’16, ’18, ’20, ’22, at Boston Sports and Shoulder Center, New England Baptist Hospital

Class II launches RL@Work

S

omething new was in store for Class II boys this spring. Normally for them, the penultimate days of the academic year are defined by intense hours of study and review punctuated by final exams. But this year, they were the beneficiaries of a brilliant collaboration of alumni, R.L. parents, and friends of the School, called RL@Work.

After two weeks of APs, with a little creative planning, the exam schedule for Class II was consolidated to free up four days at the end of May. Each morning of each day, all 50 boys boarded a bus or a commuter rail train for a workplace destination in and around Boston—hosted by alumni, parents of alumni, current parents, and friends of the School—where they engaged in absorbing and informative presentations, case studies, and hands-on activities.

Led by Director of Studies Andrew Chappell and guided by Roxbury Latin’s mission, RL@Work gave these rising seniors a chance to reflect on key themes of leadership, collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking. It also gave them a fresh look at a variety of career paths 26

J u ly 2 0 1 7

and allowed them to think about their future and their lives in new and different ways. “We wanted the boys to see how our alumni are applying the lessons they learned at R.L.,” Mr. Chappell explains, “and to give accomplished alumni and friends of the School a chance to share life insights with current students.”

RL@Work inaugurates a twelve-month period in which boys plan fruitful summers, explore college possibilities, and design an ISP for their senior spring.

Because of RL@Work, boys will make greater sense of their culmination at R.L. Based on students’ written reflections, it’s clear that RL@Work made a deep impact. Here’s a sampling of anonymous responses from boys to the question, “What did you take away from this program?”

“It is really important to find an enjoyable career, so I will definitely seek to do that in the future. I also learned just how valuable a liberal arts education can be, even in specialized jobs.”

“There is no one path to success. And success is defined as one’s happiness with himself and service to others.”

Fenway Sports Group/Boston Red Sox: Red Sox president Sam Kennedy, Mike Regan ’04, Steve Kelley ’09, Zach Markell ’10.

Entrepreneurship Gareth Cook P ’20 (contributing writer, New York Times Magazine), Dave Grossman ’97 and Jake Grossman ’00 (Grossman Companies), Gavin Murphy ’98 (Annkissam), Greg Schmergel ’86 (Nantero), Kent Summers (VMS MIT), John Werner P ’21 (MIT Media Lab), Bing Broderick and Bettina Scemama P ’15 (Dudley Dough), Chris Mitchell ’89 (Spectrum Equity).

Medicine/Science Julie Joyal (MEDscience Simulation Lab, Harvard Medical School), Paul Weitzel ’86 (Boston Sports and Shoulder Center, New England Baptist Hospital), Andrew Eyre ’02 (Stratus Center and Emergency Department at Brigham and Women’s), Dan Driscoll ’74 (Tufts Medical Center), Effi Hochberg ’88 (MGH), Gene Lambert ’87 (MGH).

“Follow what you love and have the most passion for, and try to give back in some way.”

“The common theme was “you have to love your job,” and this will stick with me forever. In turn, the passion that each person brought to our visits was inspiring.”

Due to the program’s success, RL@ Work may well become an annual tradition for Class II boys.

Fa cul t y Sp otl i g ht B illy Q u i r k ’ 0 4

Billy Quirk ’04: teacher, coach, and Director of Admission

B

PHOTO BY ADAM RITCHINS

illy Quirk arrived at Roxbury Latin as a sixie in the fall of 1998, and at Closing Exercises in 2004, he received the scholar-athlete award. At Georgetown he majored in English and was a member of the varsity lightweight crew team. Upon graduating in 2008, Mr. Quirk was named the first faculty intern.

His faculty responsibilities increased, and last year he was named Director of Admission. He also teaches English and Latin and coaches basketball and baseball.

As Director of Admission, what do you think is most distinctive about Roxbury Latin’s admission process?

As I traveled throughout greater Boston this past year, I met many admission directors and officers. For some of them, their responsibilities within their schools begin and end with their admission work.

At R.L., those who interview and evaluate prospective boys are themselves teachers and coaches and advisors. The people who

speak about our school’s programs and culture are deeply involved in the School each day, and they are invested in identifying the students with whom they would most want to work. I am grateful that our office runs this way. The contact is more direct, and everyone has a greater stake in the matter of selecting the newest R.L. boys.

Another distinctive aspect of R.L.’s admission process is its need-blind admission policy. Due to the generosity of alumni, parents, and friends, the School has robust financial aid resources that allow us to select the very best students, regardless of a family’s ability to pay the full tuition. As a result, each class is composed of extraordinarily talented boys with diverse backgrounds and points of view.

What do you enjoy most about teaching at R.L.?

Our kids are eager to learn and respond to the material put before them. They are generally willing to challenge what they

think they know. This receptiveness to the material we cover makes for productive and satisfying class time. Routinely, I feel as though we are discovering together truths from the novels we read. This shared responsibility to ask and to answer dismantles the paradigm of the teacher as the keeper of information and the students as those who receive it. We undertake a joint venture to find meaning. That keeps it fresh for them and me. I cannot imagine a better group of students with whom to work.

What’s your favorite way to spend time outside of work?

My wife, Mary, and I are drawn to activities that get us outside and keep us there, like skiing, running, hiking, and walking the dog. Cape Cod’s beaches and Vermont’s Green Mountains are our favorite destinations. Locally, we enjoy logging miles on the Commonwealth Avenue carriage road and being tugged through Arnold Arboretum by our rambunctious Labrador.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

27

2017 Spring Team Records Baseball Varsity......................... 9-8-0 Junior Varsity................ 1-8-0 Third............................ 2-7-0 Fourth.......................... 6-3-0 Fifth............................. 8-0-0

Photo courtesy of John Werner

Lacrosse Varsity....................... 12-4-0 Junior Varsity................ 4-7-0 Fourth........................ 10-2-0 Tennis Varsity....................... 18-1-0 Junior Varsity.............. 12-0-0 Junior.......................... 7-4-2 28

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Track & Field.................... 10-5-0

athletics Down on the Farm How Roxbury Latin Grows Its Own Athletes

by Robert Crawford oxbury Latin boasts a long history of athletic success at the varsity level. In all three seasons, the School’s teams consistently compete for the Independent School League (ISL) and New England Championships, and every year, R.L. graduates student-athletes who go on to accomplish great things on their college teams. Much of this success can be attributed to the excellence of the School’s varsity coaches. And going forward, our new and renovated athletic facilities— including the new fitness/wellness center—will help explain the outstanding preparedness of all R.L. teams.

To discover the rest of the story, however, one must go back in time to when our varsity athletes were sixies and fifthies— back to their early afternoon practices at Bogandale Field, the Flea Patch, and the Gordon Field House. Here, as members of their Class VI, V, and IV teams, all boys in these classes (per the School’s athletic participation requirement) could be found drilling fundamentals with their expert teacher/coaches far from the varsity limelight. This cyclical process of developing R.L.’s youngest athletes is key. Long before the School’s varsity athletes compete in big ISL games, matches, meets, and tournaments on big stages, they hone their skills and savvy for several years “down on the farm,” as members of R.L.’s junior teams.

R

Photo by Adam Richins

At Roxbury Latin, sub-varsity and varsity teams are considered equally important. In addition to the School’s ten varsity squads, upon which 76 percent of students in Classes I-IV are rostered for at least one, R.L. has 24 sub-varsity teams, which count 80 percent of all students in Classes II-VI

tends to attract a high percentage of boys who enjoy sports and would choose to play at least one or two seasons even without the requirement. Exhibit A: in 2016-17, 62 percent of boys in Classes IV, V, and VI chose to play three seasons. Still, the requirement is a crucial factor in the success of R.L.

Varsity Lacrosse captain Andy Song, who has a spot reserved for him on Princeton’s varsity team next spring, had never played the game before he arrived at R.L. as a sixie. During his years at R.L., Andy went from being a novice to becoming one of the best long-stick middies in the ISL. as a member of at least one. (Many boys play on a varsity team and a sub-varsity team, thus the greater-than-100-percent total.) Because boys in Classes IV, V, and VI are required to participate on an interscholastic team during the fall and spring seasons (winter is optional), 100 percent of the boys in these youngest classes played on at least two teams in 2016-17. Of course, the participation requirement isn’t the only reason boys play sports at R.L. The School

athletics, as it leads many boys to discover sports they had never considered before.

Wrestling and Track & Field tend to benefit the most from this “discovery” phenomenon. Most boys who matriculate at R.L. have never had an opportunity to try these sports before. Case in point: Chris Jimenez I, who captained the varsity wrestling team this past winter. Chris envisioned himself playing basketball when he arrived at R.L. as a sixie, but he soon discovered that

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

29

he could make a more significant impact on the mat. In 2016-17, his sixth year of wrestling, Chris placed second in his weight class at the Graves-Kelsey Tournament and eighth at the New England Prep Wrestling Tournament, and earned All-ISL honors.

Tim McCarthy I provides another excellent example of a boy who “discovered” an athletic niche in his early years at the School. As a sixie and a fifthie, Tim spent his spring seasons playing lacrosse. Then freshman year, he switched to track & field. It’s a good thing, too: at the 2017 New England Division III Championship (which R.L. won), Tim scored about one-third of

the team’s points, anchoring the fifth place 4x400-meter team and placing second in three individual events: the triple jump, the 110-meter high hurdles, and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Next year, Tim will play basketball at Amherst College.

Here’s one more example: Varsity Lacrosse captain Andrew Song I, who has a spot reserved for him on Princeton’s varsity lacrosse team next spring, had never played lacrosse before he arrived at Roxbury Latin as a sixie. During his years at R.L., Andrew went from being a novice to becoming one of the best long-stick middies in the ISL. “We have to grow our own athletes to be

successful,” says Athletic Director Tony Teixeira, “and that’s what we do.”

Excellent coaching, of course, is vital to developing young novices into high-impact varsity athletes. It is widely understood that strong varsity coaches are essential, but the athletic philosophy at Roxbury Latin goes a step further. R.L. embraces the notion that high-quality coaching at the junior levels is also crucial, as this is where fundamental skills, habits, attitudes, and approaches are developed. As such, Roxbury Latin’s subvarsity coaches are selected with the same level of discernment as varsity coaches.

Indeed, many are varsity coaches in other

Roxbury Latin’s sub-varsity coaches are selected with the same level of discernment as varsity coaches. seasons or have resumes that obviously qualify them to coach at any level.

For example, Junior Cross-Country coach Erin Dromgoole starred as a distance runner for Dartmouth College. In the spring, she serves as head coach of Varsity Track & Field, a team she has led to the New England Division III Championship five of the last six years. Tom Guden ’96, head coach of the junior hockey team, played hockey at Bowdoin and served R.L.’s varsity hockey team as assistant coach for eight years. Tony Teixeira ’93, Varsity Basketball’s coach, is the head coach of the junior football team. And John Lieb, head coach of the Class IV baseball team, won three ISL championships during his eleven-year tenure as head coach of Varsity Baseball.

Another key to the success of R.L.’s junior and varsity programs is the purposeful planning that goes into building a truly coherent 30

J u ly 2 0 1 7

“program”—across all teams—for each of the ten sports. The football program, which consists of three separate teams, provides a good example of this intentionality. On a daily basis, the varsity and J.V. teams practice together, and every Tuesday (“Fundo Tuesday”), the junior football team (Classes V and VI) joins the older boys for the first half-hour of practice. As one group, all three teams run drills together at various stations that emphasize fundamental skills. “Fundo Tuesday allows the younger boys to see the older boys’ level of commitment and hard work,” says Tony Teixeira. “And it reminds the middle school players that they matter; that they are just as important to the program as the varsity and J.V. players.”

The cross-country, wrestling, and track & field programs foster coherence in their programs by practicing together every day.

And this year, Varsity Baseball coach Dave Cataruzolo spent one afternoon with each of the four junior teams—assisted by members of the varsity baseball team—running the younger players (and their coaches) through the varsity’s vigorous practice routine. “To succeed at the varsity level, we

Every Tuesday the junior football team joins the older boys for the first half-hour of practice.

Junior Cross-Country (Photo by John Werner)

Fifth Baseball ends season undefeated

Fifth Baseball – Undefeated. Standing: Coach Andy Chappell, O. Wyner, Z. Jacoby, A. Messier, L. DeVito, A. Brooks, S. Rosen, D. Cuzzi, B. Kelly, R. Lieber, Coach Stewart Thomsen. Kneeling: G. Humphrey, A. Kee, M. Whitfield, J. Birch, W. Callewaert, E. Bailit, L. Grossman. (Missing from photo: Charlie Clough)

have to succeed as teachers at every level,” says Coach Cataruzolo. “And that means getting all the coaches on the same page and giving the younger players a glimpse of what lies ahead for them if they stay focused and work hard.”

When R.L. boys reach Class III, the athletic requirement changes: two seasons of some sort of physical fitness regimen is required, but participation on an interscholastic team (though strongly encouraged) becomes optional. By this age, boys have tried at least two different sports (usually more) and are empowered to decide for themselves if they would like to continue. And an overwhelming majority do: this past year, 90 percent of boys in Class I played at least one season of interscholastic athletics. But even those R.L. upperclassmen who “retire” from formal team sports report that they gained significant rewards from their participation on R.L.’s junior teams—rewards that couldn’t have been gained in any other way, such as building stronger friendships; being part of a team; reaping the lessons embedded in winning and losing; improving physical skills and fitness; and forming proud memories of wearing an R.L. uniform.

“Just being part of a team—being part of something that’s bigger than yourself—is a valuable experience,” says Tony Teixeira. “We want our junior athletes to have a fun, positive experience, and we also want them to become the best athletes, competitors, and teammates that they can be. That’s why we take our lower team sports so seriously—those early years are critical to our boys’ development and to our success as a program.”

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

31

Varsity Track and Field, 2017 New England Division III Champions. First row: A. Banks, D. Worrell, J. Burton, H. Kothapalli, X. Boyd, D. Penella, T. McCarthy (captain), H. Coiscou (captain), A. Talcott, I. Kelly, C. Jimenez, G. Jean-Claude, O. Xu. Second row: M. Healy, A. Steinberg, J. Philippides, P. Kuechler, B. LaFond, D. Ma, C. Dowd, B. Lawlor, E. Lim, J. Wexelblatt (statistician), D. Meneses Ontiveros. Third row: C. Miller, A. Bowen, G. Rosenthal, L. Franken, D. McElroy, B. Lovett, L. Rimas, Z. Mascall, A. Massenat, T. Gustafsson, Q. Sanchez, R. Sheth, E. Zou. Fourth row: Coach Nick Poles, Coach Chris Heaton, A. Berk, N. Lopes, B. Gibbons, M. Rosen, R. Corless, J. Regan, M. Callewaert, E. Egodogbare, N. Ukoha, D. Gillis, P. Levangie (statistician), H. Narayanan, Coach Arturo Solis, Coach Jamie Morris-Kliment, Coach Erin Dromgoole. (Missing from photo: Coach Bruce Lynch, A. Best, B. Flood, J. McCoy.)

Track & Field claims New England Division III title

R

oxbury Latin Track & Field won the 2017 New England Division III Championship, narrowly defeating Portsmouth Abbey by just two points. The Championship is R.L.’s tenth in thirteen years.

Roughly one-third of R.L.’s points were claimed in the pole vault, where Milan Rosen III took first place with a jump of 11 feet, Ian Kelly I finished second, and Evan Lim II tied for third. Another one-

third of the team’s points were scored by Tim McCarthy I, who finished second in three separate events (110m high hurdles, 300m intermediate hurdles, and the triple jump) and also anchored R.L.’s 4x400m relay team, which finished fifth overall.

Other highlights included senior Hamilton Coiscou’s second-place performance in the 200m. Having suffered a torn ACL in the fall while playing football, Hamilton

J.V. Tennis ends season undefeated

J.V. Tennis. A. Gutierrez, V. Emani, B. Zhou, M. Hutter, Z. Levin, T. Wolfe, J. Ryan, B. Chang-Holt, A. Rabkin, F. Gutierrez, Coach Peter Hyde.

32

J u ly 2 0 1 7

missed three-fourths of the track & field season. His race at the New Englands was only his fifth of the spring. Rohan Sheth III ran a personal best of 9:44.7 in the 3,000m race, fast enough to claim sixth place. And Brendan Gibbons III snagged third place in the javelin with a throw of 149'4"—a full 22' further than his previous personal best and only 8" shy of first place.

Varsity Tennis wins ISL title, takes second in New England

O

n 19 May, Varsity Tennis beat St. Mark’s to finish the regular season undefeated in league play (14-0), clinching the ISL title. The next day, R.L. hosted the New England Class B Tournament quarterfinals on its new home courts (a first!). In front of the home crowd, Coach Diop’s boys continued their winning streak, defeating Greens Farms Academy 4-0 and then beating ISL foe BB&N in the semifinals 4-1. The team traveled to the Taft School in Connecticut for the finals and lost to a tough Hopkins School squad, finishing second in the Class B New England Tournament to close out a superb season.

Varsity Tennis, 2017 ISL Champions. G. Grajeda (manager), D. Zhou, B. Jimenez, N. Schiciano, J.J. De Marco, S. Emani (captain), H. Foulkes (captain), A. Zhang, J. Barrett, J. Fazli, Coach Ousmane Diop. (Missing from photo: R. White, manager)

Varsity Baseball. Kneeling: B. McGrath, J. Doherty, M. Rounds, A. Cataldo, J. Lomuscio, J. Morris. Standing: Coach Dave Cataruzolo, T. RaoShah, R. Crawford, J. Duffy, J. Frates, C. Knight, J. Ryan, B. Rounds, W. Greer, E. Kee, R. Balakrishna, J. Luca, Coach Sean Spellman. (Missing from photo: S. Russell)

Varsity Lacrosse. Kneeling: D. Quinlin, F. Rose, L. Flood, A. Song, R. Lareau, M. O’Grady, J. Colavita, T.J. Silva. Standing: Coach Tyler Moore, A. O’Brien, Q. Ebben, J. Rose, C. Bergstrom, C. Croce, M. Callahan, C. Weitzel, Z. Milton, J. Roberts, C. Englert, A. Keough, D. Varney, M. Sheehan, Coach Tim Kelly, Coach Rich Cooke.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

33

Valete

Sixies and every member of the School bid farewell to the Class of 2017 in the Prize Day handshake around the Senior Grass.

P RIZ E DAY Prize Day is the day on which athletic, academic, and extracurricular prizes are awarded in the final Hall of the academic year. It is also the day we say goodbye to those in the community who are leaving us. Thanks to their endurance, loyalty, and commitment, few adults move on from R.L. each year. This year there is just one person who has come to the end of his daily association with the School. The Headmaster offered the following farewell in his Hall remarks.

Robert Crawford adly, occasionally opportunities conspire to take valued colleagues to other places and other opportunities. Mr. Rob Crawford arrived at the School last summer to assume the new post of Director of External Affairs. Having worked at other independent schools—teaching, coaching, serving in various administrative capacities—he is a seasoned schoolman. It was, therefore, a great boon that he joined us to help establish the expansion of summer programs and the increased use of our athletic facilities, as well as the ongoing honing of our student leadership program. His experience provided him with a

S

34

J u ly 2 0 1 7

great opportunity to have an impact on the Newsletter, the website, and all the other ways R.L. projects into the world. Additionally, Mr. Crawford has been a conscientious teacher of a section of English 9 and a passionate coach of fifthie baseball.

Some of you knew Mr. Crawford first as the devoted father to Robert (Class II)and Ben (Class V), and you know the breadth of his interests—his beloved Red Sox to classic rock and other eclectic topics—and his passion for his family. Now, Mr. Crawford has heeded the call to return to Fay School in Southborough as Director of Development. His three daughters attend Fay and the school is looking to Mr. Craw-

Robert Crawford

ford to pick up where he left off, leading the charge to raise funds on behalf of that school’s mission. We will miss his consistently sunny personality, unbridled enthusiasm, and broad interest in all aspects of school life. Because his boys are here, we will still see a good deal of Mr. Crawford, but for now we wish to thank him for his time here and bid him a fond farewell.

Notable R.L. Anniversaries 20 years. Andrew Chappell (Classics, Director of Studies) and Kate Chappell (Math, Science, Assistant Dean of Students) have been R.L. mainstays since 1997.

15 years. Tom Walsh ’79 (Classics, College Guidance) joined the faculty in 2002.

10 years. Joyce Hempstead (Director of Communication), Boaz Levy (Consulting Psychologist), Phil Kokotailo (Dean of Faculty, English), and Sally Stevens (College Guidance, Economics, History) all came on board in 2007.

Major athletic awards awarded to boys in Class I: ISL Award: Ryan Lareau; Sportsmanship: Franny Rose; Scholar-Athlete: Daniel Shlayen; Best Athlete: Joe Lomuscio.

5 years. 2012 saw the arrival of Daniel Bettendorf (Math, English), Derek Nelson (Dramatics, English), Josh Wildes (Math), and Peter Shea (Director of Finance).

Major book awards awarded to boys in Class II: Dartmouth Book Award: David Ma; Harvard Book Prize: Paul Kuechler; Holy Cross Book Prize: Joe Nero; Brown University Book Award: Connor Dowd.

The 2016-2017 Roxbury Latin Trustees Front row: Christopher Mitchell ’89, Paul Spinale ’81, James Frates (Treasurer), Anne McNay (Secretary), Bob O’Connor ’85 (President), Nancy Anthony (Vice President), Dennis Kanin ’64, Larry Lebowitz ’78, Michael Giarla ’76, Marlyn McGrath. Back row: Ian O’Keeffe ’86, Raj Dhanda ’85, Ronald Sullivan, Pamela Everhart, Deborah Kuenstner, Bryan Anderson ’88, Bill Maffie ’88, John Connaughton, Josephat Tango, John Englert ’77. Missing: Philip Alphonse ’89, Andrew Balson, Bruce Evans, Paul Massey ’78 (Chairman), Diane Young-Spitzer.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

35

Closing Exercises

T

he 372nd Roxbury Latin school year ended on 3 June with Closing Exercises and the graduation of the Class of 2017.

When Headmaster Brennan finished reading the names of the 54 members of Class I, and each had received his diploma from R.L. Board President Bob O’Connor ’85, applause and cheers burst forth from the family members, friends, and faculty who filled Rousmaniere Hall. Following the benediction and a rousing rendition of “The Founder’s Song,” all in attendance streamed outside onto the Senior Grass for hugs, handshakes, photos, and farewells.

At Roxbury Latin, the senior class elects its own valedictorian.

The Class of 2017 elected Siva Emani, a young man described by the Headmaster as a remarkable listener, a thoughtful questioner, and the ranking scholar of his class. This spring he was named a Presidential Scholar, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students. (Siva’s valedictory text follows on page 38.)

Following Siva’s address, the School was honored to welcome Marina Berzins McCoy, an associate professor of philosophy at Boston College, as the commencement speaker. An expert on subjects within the study of ancient philosophy and literature including Plato, Greek Tragedy, and especially Platonic rhetoric and argumentation, Dr. McCoy is also the mother of graduating senior Jim McCoy. (Excerpts from her address are reprinted on page 41.)

Three major senior prizes were also awarded during Closing Exercises. The Richard A. Berenberg Prize, “for generosity of spirit and concern for others,” went to Jack Colavita. The Class of 1913 Award, “for significant contributions to the life of the School,” went to Tim McCarthy. The William Coe Collar Prize, “for achievements and contributions to the School that are deemed by the faculty as most deserving of recognition,” went to Siva Emani.

36

J u ly 2 0 1 7

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

37

Cl osi ng E xe rcis es

Star-Thrower Squad The Valedictory Remarks of Siva Emani

G

ood morning. It is a great honor and privilege to be speaking here in front of you all today and I thank you for this opportunity.

I heard this story a few years ago, called “The Star Thrower,” written by scientist poet Loren Eisley, and it goes like this.

Once there was a man who lived along the seaside and he had a habit of walking along the beach every morning before work. One morning on one such walk, he saw, in the distance, a little boy shuffling back and forth along the shoreline. As the boy came closer, the man noticed that he was frantically digging up dried starfish from the sand and throwing them into the sea. The man was baffled by this strange activity, and so he asked the boy: “What are you doing?”

“I’m throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I can see that. But why?”

“These starfish washed up onto the beach and will die if I don’t return them to their home.”

The man figured that he would teach the boy a lesson about the “adult world.”

“Son, there are tens of thousands of miles of seashore with millions of dried up starfish, and you are only one little boy. Maybe you save one or two or thirty starfish, but what difference does it make? What difference can you make?”

The first time that I heard this story, I felt a profound sense of sadness. After all, one of those dried-up starfish could have been Patrick Star from Bikini Bottom. But more important, this was the first time in my life that I had to grapple with the depressing reality of human insignificance.

A man can try his hardest to succeed, but no one can guarantee that his actions will be noteworthy or significant. My years at Roxbury Latin have certainly reinforced 38

J u ly 2 0 1 7

this reality check. Take, for instance, my career in basketball. I tried out for and was cut from the basketball team three years in a row before I realized that my dreams of being the first Indian player to start in the NBA were simply unrealistic. As a boy, I was told that I could achieve anything I

the largest impact. It’s not about donating the most money. It’s about choosing to live with a particular mindset. A mindset in which you remove yourself from the center of your reality and assume your place as an agent of morality and selflessness. Because you cannot control

wanted in life—cure cancer, play professional sports, or do whatever it is Junot Diaz did to become successful. R.L. shaded these immature expectations with a tinge of reality that was hard to swallow.

But there is more to the story of the star thrower. When the man asked the boy, “What difference can you make,” the quickwitted boy came back with a response. As he picked up another starfish from the sand and tossed it into the ocean, he said, “I made a difference for that one. And it has made a difference for me.”

The important part of making a difference in the world is not about having

the results of your generosity, and you can never know if your service has made a significant difference to the recipient.

All you can do is put your full heart and soul into something meaningful and, in doing so, you have made the important kind of difference. The way we approach community service at R.L. has ingrained in me this fundamental philosophy.

There is a final piece to the Star Thrower story. Memories of the boy’s staunch message haunted the man for days and kept him up at night. Finally, one morning, he decided to go for a walk to clear his mind when he came upon a starfish sticking

out of the sand and he stopped. Suddenly, he felt an inexplicable urge, and almost instinctually he bent down, picked up the starfish, and threw it into the ocean. He too became a star thrower.

One man may not single-handedly be able to change the world or do the impossible. But by doing something seemingly small he can cause a big change, inspiring a battalion to join his cause. But this is not the only message to take away from the story about the power of community. Not only is the Star Thrower Squad now able to throw twice as many stars into the ocean, but the boy, through his sheer generosity, has opened the eyes of another individual to the merit of service, selflessness, and good-

School is, I tell them that it’s the people.

I’ll start first with my classmates, the Class of 2017. One of the facets of our class dynamic that I admire most is our diversity.

Diversity of culture, diversity of opinion, and most important, diversity of talent. Not many high school seniors can jump as far in a triple jump as Tim McCarthy, derive a complex math theorem as elegantly as Felix Wang, or estimate distances between buildings on campus as well as Adam Banks. Our class boasts nearly a dozen college athletes, semiprofessional actors, winners of prestigious math and science competitions, outstanding debaters, musicians, and writers—many of whom excel in more than one of these activities. But it’s not

It’s not about donating the most money. It’s about choosing to live with … a mindset in which you remove yourself from the center of your reality and assume your place as an agent of morality and selflessness.

natural talent that has brought us this far.

What makes our class special is the extra question that Sam Gardner asked in Mr. Bettendorf ’s math class, making everyone late to lunch. It’s the unbridled fight which Chris Jimenez brought to wrestling meets, Xander Boyd to cross-country races, and Neema Zarrabian to the football field. And it’s the sweat and tears that we, as an entire class, put into organizing one of the best May Day celebrations ever, even though half of the fields were under construction.

This grit, this passion, this love of what we do, is what defines our class.

Despite this class’s extraordinary and diverse achievements, our class has always identified our greatest strength to be our unity. We’ve been through a lot of hardship, this class, from adjusting to an extra couple of hours of homework when we first arrived to the catastrophic banning of spikeball from the Senior Grass. But the shaking has only served to make us steady. I don’t think there is a group of 54 individuals who have had as much an impact on each other as this Class of 2017. I know for a fact that each and every student in this class has in some way changed my perspective on

ness. Whether it be Mr. Pojman inspiring the senior class to participate in funeral services for the homeless and indigent, or a classmate changing the culture of the School by helping a sixie who dropped his lunch plate, this motivation by example has served as a hallmark of my R.L. experience.

While a single servant who devotes his life to helping others without expectation is certainly admirable, a community of people devoted to finding meaning in life through goodness—that is truly powerful.

I want to spend the rest of my time today talking about our community of servants here at Roxbury Latin. Whenever I am asked, on a tour, to identify the best part of this school, I do not say academic excellence, although the curriculum is intense. I don’t say the culture of tradition, although I do love Pie Day. But when someone asks me what the best part of the N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

39

Cl osi ng E xe rcis es

Major prizes awarded to graduating seniors at Closing Exercises. Sivaram S. Emani (William Coe Collar Prize); Timothy F. McCarthy (Class of 1913 Prize); Jack A. Colavita (Richard A. Berenberg Prize).

with their love and advice along this long and tedious journey. You’ve helped us find amazing successes and guided us through terrible failures, and, above all, you called us in sick when we simply didn’t want to go to school. And while I know we don’t acknowledge your help enough, we are forever grateful for your sacrifice.

This graduation ceremony has been a surreal event for me, not only because I wasn’t sure I’d make it here after failing Mr. Buckley’s Natural Design section in seventh grade. But because, as I stand here looking out at the graduating Class of 2017 gathered here in this form for what very well may be the last time in our lives, I don’t feel like I am ever going to leave this place, or that this place will ever leave me. I imagine waking up tomorrow, and, for the first time in six years, being

friendship, philosophy, politics, or humor.

Hearing a speech in Hall from Joe Lomuscio, understanding an astute observation

by Jack Colavita in English class, watching an extraordinary performance by Daniel Shlayen on the basketball court, receiving admonishment from a friend, or listening to a completely nonsensical yet somehow hilarious joke from Devin Quinlin. These are the experiences by which I will always remember this class.

It’s important to remember as we graduate from this place, showered with congratulations, that we students are truly no more than nanos gigantum humeris insidentes: dwarves sitting on the shoulders of giants. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the giants of the R.L. community who have served this school and changed my life in the process.

It’s hard to know what to call the R.L. faculty, because the word teacher does not come close to summing it up. More precise would probably be teacher-coachadvisor-mentor-tutor-parent-friend-role model-confidant-therapist. These people have taught us a lot. Mr. Randall taught us the importance of brevity in our writing.

Mr. Pojman taught us why the oil separates

free from R.L. commitments. I know that there are many things about this place that I will miss, the most important of them being the 53 guys with whom I shared my struggles and successes. But there are some things that will never go away: the memories of high contact fishy fishy cross my ocean in the palaistra; the friendships that will last a lifetime; and the lessons that I have learned. So as we go our separate ways, I only hope that we all remember to be Star Throwers. To serve for the sake of serving. And to inspire others in the profound way that you all—students, teachers, and parents—have inspired me.

I am proud to have been a part of this Class of 2017. Thank you.

40

J u ly 2 0 1 7

It’s important to remember as we graduate from this place, showered with congratulations, that we students are truly no more than nanos gigantum humeris insidentes: dwarves sitting on the shoulders of giants. from the vinegar in salad dressing. In sixie Latin, Mr. Chappell taught us the best break-up lines in all of history. We will remember Mr. Reid for his lively discussions, Mr. Bettendorf for his combination of brilliance and goofiness, Dr. Stevens for her insane class atmosphere, and Mr. Brennan for being the most benevolent, approachable, caring dictator that I have ever met. I know I speak for the whole class when I say that all of our faculty members have, by their commitment and sacrifice, touched the minds and hearts of each and every one of us.

I would also like to take a moment to thank the family members, parents, siblings, and grandparents that supported us

The Story Your Life Will Tell Excerpts from the Remarks of Dr. Marina McCoy at Closing Exercises

G

ood morning, graduates, parents, teachers, staff, friends, and relatives. Here we are at the closing exercises. Graduates, perhaps you can remember the first time that you sat in this room. Maybe you were a little daunted about a new school and its promise of a heavy workload, or at least intimidated at the prospect of accidentally stepping on the Senior Grass. Over the years, you’ve had many challenges: for example, those first months learning verb cases in Latin; completing your Western Civ project and hoping it would not break on its way to the Great Hall; taking center stage in a performance for the first time; or stepping into a new role on a team when you were needed.

Back as members of Class IV, you read Homer’s Odyssey in English class. You may recall that the epic begins with Odysseus partway through his journey, stuck on Calypso’s island. The work begins in medias res, right in the middle of things—as does Virgil’s Aeneid, Homer’s Iliad, and the journey of Dante the pilgrim. It struck me that, in a way, your own situation shares some similarities with that of Odysseus. Perhaps you have been tempted by the Siren Song of that fourth slice of pizza in the refectory a few hours before a major athletic competition; have had to navigate between the Scylla of one monstrous homework assignment after another and the Charybdis of no sleep; or tried to evade the Cyclops-like gaze of Mr. Campbell or Mr. Sugg as you attempted to smuggle electronics into the soft-seating area. But rather than reflecting on your adventures here at R.L., I have something a little different in mind.

Life itself is always lived in medias res, right in the middle of things. We always tell the story of our lives from in its midst, while we are still traversing the territory of our existence. Events happen, but life’s meaning arises from the narrative that we give to

those events. What your lives will mean will depend very much on the stories that you will tell about them, the accounts that you will tell and retell over the course of your lives. Odysseus tells his own story again and again, and that story shifts depending on where he is on the journey. How Odysseus tells his own story is different when he has spent years on an island with Calypso than when he arrives in Phaeacia and speaks to Queen Arete and King Alkinoos, and again when he returns to Penelope and Telemakhos in Ithaka. As the newer events of our lives are joined to others, our acts

Dr. Marina McCoy and Jim McCoy I

of storytelling grant individual moments a pattern and sense. Right now, you are also in the middle of a transition, and how you will tell the story of what The Roxbury Latin School means to you will depend very much on what you choose to do after you leave this place.

The philosopher Augustine reflected on the nature of time in his work Confessions. He noticed that the only time that really exists for us is the present. The past no longer exists. Therefore, it is not. And because the future hasn’t happened yet, that seems to leave us only with the present. But even the present can be cut up into shorter and shorter segments. Let’s say I define the present as the length of this graduation speech. What I said just a few minutes ago is already in the past, and what I hope to say next hasn’t happened yet; it is still in the future. Time is elusive.

So what is time, if we cannot get a firm grasp on the past, present, or future?

Augustine’s answer was to say that time is not an objective thing, but rather an experience of human consciousness. What we call the past is an experience of memory.

The past exists for us only because of our memories of it. For example, how you experienced the infamous Juno Diaz Hall and how you remember it may be different. The future lives only in our expectation. Each one of you has hopes and dreams, and perhaps concerns, about the future that define what it means for you. Perhaps you have aspirations for what you will do in college, or summer plans that define the horizon of your consciousness about the future.

What then is the present? It’s the way that our consciousness moves from an expectation of the future into a memory of the past and connects the two together.

Augustine compared it to singing a Psalm.

As you sing one part of a verse, you anticipate what is coming in the next few mea-

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

41

Cl osi ng E xe rcis es sures, and draw it together with what you just sang a moment ago, through the notes that you sing in the present. It is the choir’s voice, your voices, that weave a meaningful melody together, that make what would otherwise only be a series of note after note after note into what can truly be called music.

This is, in a way, your task now in life: to live in the present by integrating your past memories of R.L. with your expectations of the future out there. How will you use the gifts that you have received in your years here? What story are you going to tell? What melody do you hope to sing?

For each one of you, the composition of that melody will sound different. What you do will depend not only on your own particular range of gifts, but also on what others in your community are doing, and how your efforts can harmonize with those of others. But let me offer some advice for the new graduates as to what may help you to compose your lives well.

First, follow your passions. Choose classes, a major, and eventually a life’s work that reflect your deepest passions. As you leave this place, the world will often give you a different kind of script to follow: you may be told what the so-called “best” majors are for getting a job (even though there is often quite a lot of evidence against the lore on this); the importance of making money, acquiring consumer goods, and the supposedly safe road to get there.

Instead, I suggest that you follow the words of Pedro Arrupe, SJ, the former Secretary General of the Society of Jesus.

42

Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way.

What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.…

It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes J u ly 2 0 1 7

you with joy and gratitude.

Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

My second piece of advice: If you want to be happy, develop your gifts and talents.

But if you want to be joyful, give those gifts away in service to others. Give yourselves away. You did not arrive here, in this place now, only by your own effort, though that is part of it. You are also here because of the many people sitting around you in this hall, your parents, teachers, advisors, mentors, extended family, and even social and political structures that go far beyond these halls.

Return the gift by giving of yourselves. And you may find that as you serve, the talents and passions that you have cultivated here will not only bring you personal joy, but can, in fact, transform the world.

To that end, my third piece of advice is to accept some invitations that you might not at first think to accept. Be willing to venture into unknown terrain and to explore community with people different than yourselves. Of course, please be discerning. To continue with the imagery of The Odyssey, stay away from the Lotus Eaters. Use good judgment.

In the service learning program at Boston College, in which I teach, my students have choices about where to serve; for example, tutoring kids in a preschool program, working with homeless women or recovering addicts, or working with people with multiple disabilities. I always recommend that they seek out communities to serve that they know in advance will stretch their capacity for comfort, and not to choose, say, the tutoring job because it seems easy and intuitive. The reason is that service is not primarily about exerting our own power to help the underprivileged other, but rather to grow in connection to the human family.

Your invitations may be to quite different communities and friendships, but only if you look for and accept the unexpected invitations will that doorway of service open into that banquet hall of kinship.

My fourth recommendation concerns the tougher times in life. As your parents, we wish only for your happiness. But when you encounter suffering—and you will, because you are human—you will have a choice to make. And the basic essence of the choice will be between either hardening your hearts or allowing your pain to be transformed into compassion.

Difficult events occur in life, and in that you have little choice. But when they happen, you will have the choice as to what kind of narrative to give, whether to tell a story of bitterness and blame, or one of courage and compassion. Narratives possess power. Choose to create the narratives that lead to compassion.

And one final piece of advice. My husband’s grandmother, Opal Lytle Cox, often wrote long, handwritten letters updating us on her news and responding to ours, when we were young and just getting our footing in life. She always ended her letters with the encouragement, “Enjoy one another.” So let me pass on the advice of Great-Grandmother Cox: Enjoy one another. Enjoy your families. Enjoy your friendships. Enjoy the new communities to which you will soon belong at college, and will have to help to create. Have some fun. And start right away, when you leave this hall.

The Odyssey begins with the line “Sing in me, o muse,” while the work ends with the word nostos, or homecoming. Your own odyssey is a bit more like the start of Odysseus’ journey, the leaving of home. You are embarking on a new adventure, and I know I speak for all of the parents in saying, we wish you well. As you leave this second home of familiar friends, teachers, and mentors, of course it is not for good. There will be homecomings, future returns to make, and even “The Founder’s Song” to sing.

Meanwhile, what story do you hope to tell with your life? What song do you hope to sing?

Good luck and Godspeed.

Read Dr. Marina McCoy’s complete address at https://tinyurl.com/yc2wooxy

The Class of 2017

First row: Danny Penella, Jack Burton, Oliver Xu, Sam Gardner, Felix Wang, Darcelis Worrell, James Hurley, Joe Pollard, Chris Jimenez, Nick Schiciano, Christopher Bulger, Michael O’Grady, Jack Ricciuti. Second row: Josh Winograd, Andrew Song, Rylan Tribush, Jacob Morris, George Jean-Claude, Simon Fisher, Ian Kelly, Xander Boyd, Henry Lin-David, Adam Banks, Eamon Hanrahan, Harry Callewaert, T.J. Silva. Third row: Will Farber, Aidan Burke, Devin Quinlin, Ryan Lareau, Michael Healy, Bryan McGrath, Joe Doherty, Hari Kothapalli, Jim McCoy, Erik March, Hamilton Coiscou, Anthony Cataldo, Mitchell Garvey. Fourth row: Jack Colavita, Andrew Talcott, Daniel Shlayen, Siva Emani, Tim McCarthy, Liam Flood, Max Alsarraf, Michael Rounds, Neema Zarrabian, Aazer Siddiqui, Joe Lomuscio, Oliver Booth, Andy Gonzalez, Franny Rose. (Not in photo: Vlad Diaz.)

Class of 2017 matriculation† Maximilian Alsarraf, Phillips Exeter Adam Banks, Bates Oliver Booth, Eton College Xander Boyd, University of Miami Christopher Bulger, Clemson Aidan Burke, Boston College Jack Burton, Boston College Harrison Callewaert, Duke Anthony Cataldo, Georgetown Hamilton Coiscou, Trinity Jack Colavita, Georgetown Vladimir Diaz, Worcester State University Joseph Doherty, Kent School Sivaram Emani, Harvard William Farber, Duke Simon Fisher, Providence College Liam Flood, Georgetown Samuel Gardner, Boston College Mitchell Garvey, University of Richmond Andys Gonzalez, U Mass Amherst Eamon Hanrahan, Davidson Michael Healy, Georgetown James Hurley, U Mass Amherst George Jean-Claude, Trinity † College choices as of 13 June 2017

Christopher Jimenez, U Mass Amherst Ian Kelly, University of Richmond Hari Kothapalli, Harvard Ryan Lareau, Vanderbilt Henry Lin-David, Wesleyan Joseph Lomuscio, Brown Erik March, Amherst Timothy McCarthy, Amherst James McCoy, Boston College Bryan McGrath, Salisbury School Jacob Morris, Georgetown Michael O’Grady, Providence College Daniel Penella, Georgetown Joseph Pollard, St. Anselm College Devin Quinlin, Dartmouth Jack Ricciuti, Trinity Francis Rose, Bowdoin Michael Rounds, Phillips Exeter Nicholas Schiciano, Duke Daniel Shlayen, Georgetown Aazer Siddiqui, University of Chicago Timothy Silva, Notre Dame Andrew Song, Princeton Andrew Talcott, University of Richmond

Rylan Tribush, Dartmouth Felix Wang, Stanford Joshua Winograd, Northwestern Darcelis Worrell, U Mass Amherst Oliver Xu, Emory (Oxford College) Neema Zarrabian, Williams

Advanced Placement results 53 of the 54 members of the Class of 2017 generated 169 AP exams by the end of their junior year: 50% of the scores were 5 79% of the scores were 4 or 5

National Merit 41% of the Class of 2017 received some level of recognition in the National Merit programs: 9 Finalists (3 winners); 10 Semifinalists; 12 Letters of Commendation.

Presidential Scholar: 1

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

43

REUNION T

his year’s reunion paid homage to classes ending in 2 and 7. Beginning with the signature Friday program “RL Today,” returning alumni enjoyed a glimpse of the School in session through student-led tours, a Hall, luncheon with members of Class I, and a Q&A session with a panel of seniors.

Family Day on Saturday celebrated R.L.’s spring sports legacy and marked the culmination of this year’s ceremonies honoring former athletes, past and current coaches, our current teams, and our new athletic facilities. All the events, including the 25th anniversary class Family Picnic on Friday evening and the Reunion Dinner on Saturday, drew some 300 guests, including alumni celebrating their 70th reunion on up to those celebrating their 5th.

See more photos at www.flickr.com/photos/roxburylatin/albums

44

J u ly 2 0 1 7

The Wellington Prize Every year a member of the 25th Reunion Class is selected to receive the Wellington Prize, given in memory of Stanwood Gray Wellington of the Class of 1896. This year, the prize went to Jonathan P. Barnes ’92, “a graduate who has signally merited recognition by his loyalty and devotion to the old school.” The prize was awarded during the Reunion Dinner on Saturday evening.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

45

RL Today (Clockwise from top left) Sean Kelleher ’07 and Andrew Brewster ’07 represent their class in the Alumni Hall. Sam Gardner I delivers his wisdom speech for the gathered School and alumni guests.

President of the Alumni Council Kevin O’Connell ’99 welcomes alumni and provides an overview of the Association. Alumni guests enjoy the repartee during the Senior Panel Q&A. Panelists Andrew Talcott I and Siva Emani I discuss their R.L. experience. Adam Banks I and Gregory Jackmauh ’72 share a table at the luncheon in the Bernstein Tea Room.

46

J u ly 2 0 1 7

25th Reunion As part of Reunion Weekend, the School hosts a family cook-out for the 25th Reunion Class—this year, the Class of 1992. Parents of the class are invited (along with past and current faculty), so the event is a lively, three-generation affair. This year, the Indoor Athletic Facility provided the venue, and the turf-clad rink was the ideal play space for the kids.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

47

spring family day

48

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Varsity Football with Varsity Football alumni

Varsity Baseball with Varsity Baseball alumni

S

pring teams shared the limelight with alumni athletes on Spring Family Day on the Saturday of Reunion Weekend as part of the yearlong celebration of the new Indoor Athletic Facility and field renovations. Before the games began, Kerry Brennan called for each varsity team and its respective alumni varsity athletes to gather on the field and be recognized. Varsity Lacrosse, Baseball, and Tennis each convened, but Track & Field was away at a meet, so the honor due that team and its alumni must wait for another day.

Cheered on by alumni, families, and friends, Varsity Baseball and Lacrosse prevailed over Brooks, while over at Thayer, Varsity Track & Field put up a valiant fight for 2nd place against Thayer, St. Paul’s, and Pingree. Tennis was rained out.

(See more photos at www.flickr.com/photos/roxburylatin/albums)

Varsity Tennis with Varsity Tennis alumni

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

49

class notes

The class notes section of school magazines is the first stop for alumni readers. Give them something to read about and send your news to alumni@roxburylatin.org

Class of 1947. Bob and Joan Abboud.

Class of 1952. Paul and Catherine Beatty, Fred Reis, Mary McMahon, Ed McGowan.

1936

Museum in Windsor, Connecticut, where I can take you from the Pony Express and telegraph to cellphone and satellite.”

At the venerable age of 100, Robert Leighton is one of Roxbury Latin’s oldest living alumni. He joined the sixie class when the School’s West Roxbury campus was only one year old, and he stays in touch with Alma Mater from his Davis, California, home.

1946 Ed Sax recalls that during the summer of his junior year, “I helped wire at Harvard University the first large-scale, digital computer—hardwire programmed via string and out-branch by Grace Hopper. It used 13,000 relays.

Now I work part-time at the Vintage Radio & Communications 50

J u ly 2 0 1 7

1952 Ed McGowan reports that the Class of ’52 convened in Quincy on 15 April for their annual off-campus reunion. Joining him and Mary McMahon were Cathy and Paul Beatty, Ellie and Jim Gustafson, Judy and Arnie Rubin, and Fred Reis.

Ed writes, “Much discussion revolved around the recent passing of classmate Ted Williams and our reminiscences of our six-year window of life with him at RLS.”

Boys and their bikes: At R.L. Bruce Ferguson, Tracey Zellmann, Guy Abbate, and John Kerrick (all Class of 1964) shared an interest in motor racing. At their 50th reunion in 2014, Bruce, Tracey, and John discovered they all own motorcycles and made a commitment to ride together. The ride didn’t happen until recently, when they spent a wonderful day talking and riding through southwestern New Hampshire, where John lives. Bruce is an active tourer, John is an occasional cruiser, and Tracey takes his bike to a track a couple of times a year to blow his hair back. John quips, “Who says we’re too old to get together and play with our toys?”

class notes 1954 Hal Bernsen writes that he is in good health and recently downsized to a new home near the ocean. He has been planning a visit to Sierra Vista, Arizona, in September to visit classmate Peter Dodge and his wife Camille.

him, we could simply not be here discussing Wi-Fi today. In fact, there would be no Wi-Fi because Wi-Fi—or WLAN— would not even have band to operate it.”

Tracey Zellmann and classmates Bruce Ferguson, Steve Hahn, and John Kerrick gathered recently at John’s house in Hancock, New Hampshire, to enjoy a good brunch and a long talk. “We reminisced about

our times at R.L., our personal odysseys since then, our families, and our plans and hopes for the future.”

1956 Music producer Jim Rooney reports that John Prine’s album of duets with various female singers, “For Better or Worse,” is doing well. He’s just starting work on a new Tom Rush album, called “Voices,” to be out in the fall. He wants to let his classmates know that “it’s good to be still working!”

On the home front, he recently added a grandson and granddaughter to his collection, bringing the total to six.

1963 Richard Siegel writes that he has finally decided to retire after 49 years at UMass Lowell, though he will stay on in a limited role to teach and coordinate some online programs. “Looking forward to being able to see our 16 grandchildren and 1 greatgrandchild more often.”

Class of 1957. First row: Joan Daly, Bill O’Keeffe, Paula O’Keeffe, Leilani Linden, Ellen Levy, Richard Linden, Camilla Larrey. Second row: Ben Daly, Mark Levy, Jerry McDonough, Joseph Brackman, Dave FitzGerald, Lou Larrey.

1964 In April Michael Marcus was honored as the first inductee to the Wi-Fi NOW Hall of Fame. As the “founding father” of ISM bands back in 1985, Marcus laid the groundwork for rules for bands that would become the operating bands of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. He’s also widely responsible for the FCCs adoption of rules for the 60 GHz mmWave bands that were approved in 1995. At the induction ceremony, CEO and Chairman of Wi-Fi NOW Claus Hetting said, “If it weren’t for

Class of 1962. First row: Jim Cunningham, Carolyn Cunningham, Joe Nadol, Ruth Nadol, John Temple, Bobby Jorgensen, Bob Jorgensen, Richard Goldfine.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

51

class notes

Class of 1967. First row: John Colbert, Phil Fine, Beverly Holley, Marty Koughan, Tom Mormino, Susan Mormino, Mark Binder, Joani Sedaca, Bill O’Reilly.

Second row: Joan Colbert, Art Snow, Danny Danforth, Peter Conrad, Jonathan Dandridge, Penelope Dandridge, Lenora Yuen, John Peters. Third row: Bill Chauncey, Phil Collins, Donna Collins, Fred Lane, Ron Greenwald, Nancy Greenwald, Stephen Koster, Laurie Feldman, Bob Jorgensen.

1967 Harry Lewis ’65 Honored Harvard’s Center for Research on Computation and Society (CRCS) hosted a celebration of computer science on 19 April in honor of Harry Lewis ’65, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and former dean of the College.

Friends, family, students, and colleagues gathered to celebrate Professor Lewis’s 70th birthday and the news that—in his words—he would “someday be retiring.” They spoke of the myriad ways Professor Lewis has enriched their lives through his personal investment in their success, his emphasis on character over knowledge, and his insistence on integrity over popularity.

The day-long celebration—at times joyful, at times poignant—was evidence of the profound legacy Professor Lewis leaves in Harvard’s institutional memory, and in the lives of all those he has mentored throughout the years. Harry Lewis also served for over 30 years on the R.L. Board of Trustees, including as president.

52

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Chris Stevens writes that he and his wife, Harumi, have discovered that Hawaii is the best place for them to live since he is American, she is Japanese, and the two have family and friends both in Japan and in

the U.S. For more than 40 years Chris immersed himself in the language and mindset of Japan and spent most of his professional working career at the interface between the English and Japanese languages—teaching, translating, and performing linguistic research both

Dan Tarullo ’69 Steps Down from Fed The Boston Globe announced in an article on 2 April that Dan Tarullo ’69 is stepping down from the Federal Reserve after eight years of service. It was Mr. Tarullo who, after the financial crisis of 2009, pushed the Fed and other U.S. and global regulators to write tough rules designed to rein in Wall Street’s high-flying ways. “Dan Tarullo is the single most influential non-chair governor in the Fed’s history,” said Peter Conti-Brown, a historian who is currently writing a political history of the Fed. He called Tarullo’s influence on the shape of the post-financial-crisis regulatory regime “extraordinary.”

class notes Active in Columbia’s alumni initiatives, Steve began his association with the university in 1984 by interviewing applicants. He has served on the Board of Directors of Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) of Boston since 2004, and as its president from 2008 to 2016, during which time the Boston Club won an Award of Excellence in 2014. Steve is currently a managing director and chair of the Business, Corporate, and Securities Practice Group of the Rich May law group in Boston.

1977 Class of 1972. First row: Bill Chauncey, Caroline McKeown, Richard McKeown, Gregory Jackmauh, Bob Don, Celia Jackmauh. Second row: Dennis France, Dave John, Bob Jorgensen.

in Japan and in the U.S. Chris sends an “Ave atque vale and a warm aloha to all from Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.”

He asks for his friends to reach out to him at woodstockchris@ icloud.com.

1975 John Lawler recently retired from the Marine Corps after 28 years of service in active duty and on the reserves. He retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He is currently practicing as

a trial attorney and partner at the law firm of Prince, Lobel, & Tye.

1976 Columbia University awarded Stephen Kane its University Alumni Medal at its commencement ceremonies this spring.

Spencer Lampert retired from Tudor Investment Corporation in March 2016 after a 29-year stint there. On June 10, Spencer married Diane Garnick. Spencer and Diane live in Greenwich, Connecticut, and the former MVP of the ISL still participates in men’s league basketball. Stay tuned for news about Spencer’s next investment adventure.

1987 Jerome Dean has been the assistant dean for assessment and institutional research at Mount Ida College in Newton for the past seven years. Over the past 20 years he has held a variety of higher education and workforce development policy positions in the Boston area. Jerome lives in Mansfield and has a daughter, Sydney Sutton-Dean.

Jim Grady is a senior director at Synergy Investments, one of Boston’s largest and fastest growing real estate investment firms. Jim continues to officiate NCAA basketball throughout the Northeast and has lived in Walpole for the past 12 years.

Class of 1977. First row: Barbara Kaner, Carol O’Laughlin, Ariella Rosengard, Mark Storella, Bill Chauncey, Bob Jorgensen. Second row: Michael Kaner, Jack O’Laughlin, Bruce Rosengard, Mike Bear, Michael Price, Spencer Lampert, Lee Englert. Third row: David Mix-Barrington, Jim Joyce, Kathy Joyce, Mike Reilly, Brad Miller, Jack Englert.

Alexei Helmbock is a Full Stack Senior Engineer at Kung Fu

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

53

class notes Factory in Los Angeles, working on the WWE Champions mobile game. Alexei also sings in multiple classical choral groups and plays on a number of recreational ice hockey teams. He has lived in Los Angeles for the past eleven years.

2003

Class of 1982. First row: Tony Jarvis, Stephen Vrattos, Audrey Vrattos, Bryan Cholfin, Sandy Nagle, Vinny Nagle, Joe Leake. Second row: Jeff Weaver, Charles Li, Buckley Yung, Christopher Tretter, Steve Calmas, Rob DeVirgilio, Bill Palmer. Third row: Scott Webster, Brian Hogan, Michael Denomy, David Coolidge.

Nathaniel Peters received his PhD in historical theology at Boston College on 22 March after defending his dissertation on the Trinitarian dimensions of medieval eucharistic theology under Boyd Taylor Coolman. This summer Nathaniel begins a position as founding executive director of the Morningside Institute in New York City, a non-profit academic organization that seeks to help students make sense of the ends of their education and to connect it to their moral and religious commitments, and to human flourishing and the common good more broadly. He will also lecture at Columbia while his wife Jane continues her doctoral work from afar.

2006 Tim Begley earned his MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business this spring.

Class of 1987. First row: Paul Sugg, Emily Sugg, Jeff Lee, Pete Levangie, Enid Levangie, Lynne O’Connell, Luke O’Connell, Patricia Bell, Ed Kerrigan. Second row: Mike Sola, Joe Donovan, Helen Cho, Mike King, Betsy Gobron, Bob Gobron, Patrick McCabe. Third row: Alexei Helmbock, Gene Lambert, Chip Lesburg, Kerry Brennan, Annie Roy, Chris Roy. Fourth row: Jim Grady, Chris Haskell, Matthew Hutter, John Laughlin, Susan Laughlin, Susan Lawson, Mike Earley.

54

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Artist Winston Chmielinski held his second solo show, “Choose Your Own Adventure,” with Galerie Thomas Fuchs in Stuttgart, Germany, 17 March – 28 April. His work was also chosen for the 2017 Venice Biennale. Winston will spend two summer months at the Maryland Institute College of Art Residency Program in Léhon, France (Brittany). He writes, “I grow ever more grateful for this practice I can take anywhere, and that takes me everywhere, on an improbably simple support: oil,

class notes

Spatola Wedding: Jillian Amo and John Spatola ’06

mixed with pigment, brushed onto canvas.”

John Spatola and Jillian Amo were married on 25 March in Manhattan at the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola. The reception was held at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park.

2007 Travis Faust and Heather Jacobs were married on 22 April in a ceremony at Saint James School in Hagerstown, Maryland. The couple met in graduate school at Johns Hopkins in the fall of 2013.

Sam Klug recently published his review essay on race, imperialism, and the social sciences in Modern Intellectual History, an

Class of 1992. First row: Tony Jarvis, Tim Sola, John Busconi, Andrew Lee, Emily Rome, Maria Glover, Derek Ho, Viki Rauh, Josh Rauh. Second row: Andrew Orr, Brendan Gilligan, John Abbott, Natasha Abbott, Bill Ferullo, Pete Lesburg, Mo Randall. Third row: Dave Rubin, John Madden, Ally Lewis, Greg Lewis, Mark Russell, Rich DiZinno, Sarah Arneson, Maureen Guden. Fourth row: Mary McCarthy, Ed McCarthy, Dave Winickoff, Jonathan Barnes, Joyce Barnes, Bill Mone, Rich Brauer, Michael Lin, Sean McCabe, Dan Guden.

online journal of Cambridge University Press. The work is titled “Social Science in Black and White: Rethinking the Disciplines in the Jim Crow Empire” and provides a thorough review of books by Adolph Reed and Robert Vitalis, both of which explore similar topics in society.

Travis Faust ’07 and Heather Jacobs were married on 22 April.

2008 Alex Tejeda recently moved to the Washington, D.C., area to begin his first year of medical school at Howard University College of Medicine. He sends a message to his friends, family, and classmates: “I can’t say thank

you enough. I know the road will not be easy, but, God willing, in four years you will be able to call me Dr. Tejeda.”

2009 John Collins has begun a career in public service and community

Pat McCabe ’87, Aaron Maund ’08, Leon Brown ’10, Alex Tejeda ’08 (above) along with Richie Iskra and his wife, Sam Heilbron ’11, Kyle Layne-Allen ’09, and Paul Sugg (not pictured) came to see Aaron, who was in town with his team, Real Salt Lake, to play against the New England Revolution on 13 May.

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

55

class notes

Eamon Hanrahan ’17 and Brendan Hanrahan ’09 at Closing Exercises.

outreach as a Director of Operations for Walsh Strategies. On John’s initiative, the group organized the “JFK 100 Touch Football Game” in honor of President Kennedy’s 100th birthday. The sporting event brought together groups from the Special Olympics, The Kennedy School, Harvard University alumni, representatives from the EMK institute, and Roxbury Latin alumni for a beautiful day at Harvard Stadium.

strategic direction for large investment firms.

After several years in Boston’s startup scene, Chris Muto has

Former faculty member and coach Ed Ellison ran into Ryan Dukeman ’13 heading home from Princeton to finish his senior thesis over spring break.

“Seems I can’t wander too far afield before running into one of my former students,” Ed wrote. “This time we found each other on the Amtrak train from NYC as I was returning from a Tufts event.”

joined WEVO as a lead engineer.

The firm provides marketers with new page designs and tailored messaging.

2012 Jarred Jones is finishing up his year as a Teaching Fellow at Epiphany School in Dorchester and will be moving to Wash-

Brendan Hanrahan, a business analyst at McKinsey & Company, recently returned to West Roxbury to celebrate the graduation of his brother Eamon, R.L. Class of 2017, on 3 June.

Scott Martin recently joined the YMCA of Greater Boston as its Digital Marketing and Social Media Manager.

Pat Murphy recently joined Deloitte’s asset management strategy consulting group. In his new role he’ll work to advise 56

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Alumni members of the faculty Nick Poles ’09, Tony Teixeira ’93, and Billy Quirk ’04, along with Headmaster Brennan, Mr. Chappell, Mr. Cataruzolo, and Mr. Crawford, accompanied Class II boys to Fenway Park on 24 May, where they met with Sam Kennedy, President of the Boston Red Sox/Fenway Sports Group, as well as Mike Regan ’04, Steve Kelley ’09, and Zach Markell ’10 as part of the RL@Work program for rising seniors. (See page 26.)

class notes ington, D.C., in the fall to teach history and social studies at Georgetown Day School. Jarred, who holds the R.L. record in the high jump (6' 4"), was ISL Championship Field Event MVP his senior year, as well as a Boston Globe All-Scholastic, will also be coaching Georgetown’s varsity track & field team.

2013 Valentine Iwejuo recently completed his senior year at Holy Cross where he served on the Student Government Association as a co-director of Social Justice.

2014 Class of 1997. First row: Molly Walsh, David Greco, Jeb Ligums, Jennifer Ligums, Bopha Malone, Tom Malone, Kuncho Palsang, Dara Grossman, David Grossman. Second row: Sean Walsh, Alex Pascal, Amy Born, Seamus Ryan, Julie Ryan, Graham Pingree, Michelle Adams, Jeff Adams. Third row: Tony Jarvis, Darren Wood, Caitlin Wood, Daniel Kibler-Stearns, Dena Sterns, Jeff Aldridge, Will Hughes, Gray Hughes. Fourth row: David Mills, Joe Kerner, Mike Pojman, Michaela Thomson, Nathan Abbott, Matthew Boyd, Aili Boyd, Mandy McGuinness, Tom McGuinness.

Aryeh Lieber, who just completed his junior year at Wesleyan, was recognized this spring with the Geraldine J. Murphy Prize, given to a student who has written an outstanding critical essay that focuses on short fiction or novels. He also received the Olin Fellowship, which supports supervised work in English outside of the Wesleyan course structure.

Harvard’s junior lacrosse goalie Robert Shaw was named Ivy League Player of the Week in early May for his performance against Yale University. The contest pitted Robert and his teammate Chris Rota ’16 against freshman Will Weitzel ’16 and the Bulldogs.

Class of 2002. First row: Michael Horgan, Alexa Simon, Mark Powers, Alicia Fondacaro, Claudio DeBarros, Ado Vaidya, Chi Nguyen, Frank Guerra. Second row: John Lieb, Joe Carr, Ashley Banks-Lau, Jakub Lau. Third row: Tim Pingree, Sam Oates, Jamie Kirchick, Josef Palermo, Anna Sparks. Fourth row: Andrew Eyre, Tim Walsh, Brent Powers, Hans Plukas, Cassandra Bolanos.

Tenzin Thargay has begun an internship at Network for International Development (BNID), serving as project leader for BNID’s Student Ambassador Team and University Sponsorship programs. Looking toward his senior year in the Honors College of UMass Amherst, Tenzin is pursuing dual bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

57

class notes Chinese with an International Scholars Program Certificate.

2015 Sean Lowrie, a sophomore at Duke and second-year lacrosse midfielder, played in all 17 of the team’s regular season matches, tallying 11 goals and 11 assists for the season. In a recent playoff game against Johns Hopkins, he scored 3 goals and had 1 assist.

His performance helped the Blue Devils beat their opponent 19-6 in the 2017 NCAA tournament’s first round.

2016 Amherst freshman Jacob Gendelman received the William Coe Collar Prize (shared with another Amherst classmate) at the undergraduate awards ceremony this spring. Established

by Mr. Collar, a member of the Amherst Class of 1859 and headmaster of Roxbury Latin from 1867 to 1907, the prize acknowledges “the member of the firstyear class who shall make on a written examination the best version in English of a previously unseen page from some Greek author.” Jacob will spend the summer at Amherst working on a physics research project.

Yale freshman and Bulldogs lacrosse defender Will Weitzel was featured in interviews for Bostonlax.net and New England Lacrosse Journal. Asked to describe the differences between high school and collegiate lacrosse, Will said, “I think R.L. prepared me pretty well for this.

The biggest challenge is time management, especially going from the fall to the spring.” In addition to starting for the team, he helped lead the Bulldogs to an Ivy League title.

58

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Class of 2007. First row: James Kohli, Maddy Joseph, Sam Klug, Carl Thomson, James Barry, Sean Kelleher, Brittany DeBarros, Tad DeBarros. Second row: Wayne Shepherd, Dana Shepherd, Pranav Nanda, Jack McGeary, Andrew Brewster, Jiana Moux, Ramon Pascual. Third row: Kevin Fitzgerald, Catie Williams, Charlie Bridge. Fourth row: Lucas Tamayo, Michael Curran, Elena Curran, Sarah Prohovich, Kyle Prohovich, Sandy Fleming, Brianne Barta, Kerry Brennan, Andy Chappell, Kate Chappell.

Class of 2012. First row: Myles Keating, John Bogle, Dave Kussell, Alex Moses-Gardner, Brianna Keenan, Aaron Rosenthal. Second row: Andrew Kingsley, Genevieve Rogers, Coleman Walsh, Akshat Shekhar, Owen Akeley, Dylan Cleary. Third row: Kevin Godin, Tony Teixeira, Patrick McDonough, Jeremiah Dalton, Kerry Brennan, Mike Shepard.

In order that we might honor our deceased alumni, we ask survivors and friends to kindly send information to alumni@roxburylatin.org

in memoriam 1940: Cecil E. Leith Cecil “Chuck” Eldon Leith passed away on 13 October 2016 at the age of 93 in Eugene, Oregon. Born in Boston in 1923 to Cecil and Elizabeth (Benedict) Leith, Chuck attended Roxbury Latin from 1934 to 1937, excelling in algebra under mathematics master Philbrick Bridgess. Circumstances led to his transfer to Scituate High School for the remainder of his high school career. From the University of California, Berkeley, he earned an AB in mathematics in 1943 and later his PhD in 1957.

In 1943, he was hired by the (now Lawrence) Radiation Laboratory at UC Berkeley. Soon after, he was sent to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to work as a civilian physicist on the Manhattan Project, interrupted briefly by a stint in the Army. He enjoyed a productive scientific career spanning 60 years, first in weapons research and later in the development of computer models designed to predict global climate patterns. He spent 15 years at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, including teaching sorties at the University of Washington, MIT, New York University, Florida State University, and in Melbourne, Australia. Chuck married his college sweetheart, Mary (Henry), in 1942, and they raised their three children mostly in Livermore, California. Family vacations found them backpacking and skiing the Sierra Nevada mountains and along the Pacific Coast. Chuck loved hiking and met his own goal of climbing all the mountains over 14,000 feet in Colorado. Predeceased by his sister Sally and by his sons John and Paul, Chuck is survived by his wife, Mary; daughter, Ann;

his son-in-law; a grandson; and a half-brother. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

1942: Verity C. Smith Verity Carlisle Smith, of Dedham, died on 10 April at the age of 94.

Born in 1922 to John and Hattie Smith, he was raised in West Roxbury. Though he left the School at the end of Class IV, Verity, known at R.L. as “VC,” remained in close contact with his classmates and his alma mater throughout his life. Following graduation from the Huntington School in 1942, he enrolled at MIT. His enlistment that same year in the Army Specialized Training Program at Lehigh University, where he trained for the Manhattan Project, delayed his MIT career; his tour of duty in the 84th Infantry Division earned him the position of sergeant, two battle stars, and a bronze star. In 1948 he completed a chemical engineering degree at MIT, and in his career he focused on the design and sale of water purification systems. He was employed by Dennison and then Barnstead Still and Sterilizer Co. before founding his own company, Vaponics, Inc., in 1967.

He supported many associations including the American Nuclear Society, The American Society for Testing & Materials, and the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers. In 2011 he was honored with the Fire Marshal’s Award for his 55 years as Professional Engineer of the Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention Regulations. On behalf of his first wife, Marcia Mckee Smith, who predeceased him in 1965, he served on the board of Associated Day Care Services of Boston.

He was a self-proclaimed “fire

buff ”—he was part of the rescue team at the Coconut Grove Fire in November 1942—and enjoyed photography, skiing, sailing, and politics. Predeceased by a sister and a daughter-in-law, Verity is survived by his second wife of nearly 50 years, Anita; his six children; three stepchildren; ten grandchildren; and a sister.

1952: Edward P. Williams Edward P. Williams, of Mexico City, died on 4 April. Born to Ethel (Prescott) and Frederic Williams Jr. in 1934, Ted came to Roxbury Latin in 1946 and remained a core member of the Class of 1952 for the full six years.

He was a motivated student and intense athlete who took part in a range of activities, including four years on Tripod, and served terms as class president and Student Council member. Ted liked being in the thick of things, playing offensive left tackle and defensive linebacker in football and defenseman in hockey. His most distinctive role was as class artist/cartoonist, where he showed brilliant artistic flourish and imagination, drawing beautiful scenery as well as penetrating and/or hilarious sketches—on a second’s notice, if need be. Many of these appeared in Tripod and elsewhere, and at graduation Ted was awarded the Brooks Prize for artistic achievement. Ted majored in English at Harvard and went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1958. He served in the U.S. Air Force as production procurement officer and liaison to the Martin Co. on the development of new fighter aircraft. In 1961 he began a long career in international marketing and advertising, occupying

executive positions in those fields.

He worked successively for Latin American components of Procter and Gamble, S.C. Johnson, Colgate Palmolive, and finally Synapsis, from which he was only partially retired, as creative strategy director. Aviation was Ted’s lifelong passion. Soloing in small aircraft while still at R.L., he continued throughout his career to fly a wide variety of aircraft, shifting in later years to gliders and especially sailplanes. He saw each of the countries in which he lived as a new opportunity for—in Ted’s words in his Harvard 60th Anniversary Report—“many exciting adventures and a better understanding of people and the world.” A gifted and well-known writer in the field of aviation, Ted credited those writing skills to the coaching and encouragement of R.L. English master Cary Potter.

Ted wrote in a recent Newsletter note, “I have spent almost half my life in Mexico, the Carribean, and South America… but I have never forgotten my roots in New England and the memorable experiences at the Academic Boot Camp called Roxbury Latin. The enduring bond that exists among all us survivors is something special.” Ted leaves his wife, Evelina Orozco Williams, four children, and two grandchildren.

The Newsletter is grateful to Fred Reis ’52 for this contribution to Ted’s memory.

1956: Michael E. Hager Michael E. Hager passed away on 26 May. Born in 1939 to Richard and Katherine (Griffin) Hager, Michael grew up in Medfield and Dedham. At Roxbury Latin he was a strong tennis player, and he was also active in Chess Club and

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

59

requiescat in pace Glee Club. He served as editorin-chief for Tripod his senior year and earned the Lowell Prize in Classics at graduation. While a senior at Harvard, he was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude with degrees in history and science in 1960. A Fulbright Scholar at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, from 1960-61, he earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1964.

Michael served a tour of active duty with the Army Reserve, where he was trained in military intelligence; following a commission and several promotions he reached the rank of lieutenant colonel and transitioned in 1992 to Retired Reserves.

Concurrent to his service he joined the Boston firm of Choate, Hall & Stewart as a litigator until moving, in 1973, to Dane & Howe, where he practiced creditors’ rights law until the firm’s disbanding in 2004. He continued in his own practice in automotive financing and was prominent in several landmark commercial cases before the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the Supreme Judicial Court.

His avocation was German language and history, which found expression in his service to such organizations as the Goethe Society of New England (as president), Deutsches Altenheim (as trustee), and the German Aid Society of Boston. In 1999 the Republic of Germany awarded him the Order of Merit for his contributions to German-American relations. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Deirdre, their four children, and two grandchildren.

60

J u ly 2 0 1 7

David William Frank, Director of Dramatics Emeritus

T

he School was deeply saddened to learn of David Frank’s death on 12 June after a battle with cancer and its complications. He was 67.

David gave 34 years of his life to the School, its mission, and the fortunate boys who were in his English classes and plays. As Director of Drama, David brought great imagination, energy, and a unique sense of possibility to each theatrical event. In his notice to the larger Roxbury Latin community, Headmaster Kerry Brennan wrote: “David was a brilliant polymath. He could have taught anything, but principally he was a devoted, effective teacher of English.

His students encountered a rare intellect in David. He was also a warm, generous colleague and a continual inspiration. He had a collaborative spirit, a remarkable mind, and a great capacity for friendship.”

David had an impact on scores of R.L. boys over the years. In a July 2003 Newsletter article honoring David’s 25th year at Roxbury Latin, one of his former students, Rion Danjuma ’95, provided a glimpse into his imagination in the classroom: “Drama class, sophomore year. A desk covered with objects: a woven, brown belt; two half-shells of a globe divided at the equator; a gaudy soccer trophy; a lime-green plastic box; black steel bookends; a set of chess pieces; paperclips, rubber bands, etc. With this collection of random objects, Mr. Frank sought to give his students a hands-on lesson about props and improvisation. He got the ball rolling by placing the two planetary half-shells on his chest and letting out a booming soprano note. The transformation into a Valkyrie was quite convincing.

Following such an inspiring lead, we found we could convert the soccer trophy into a SuperSoaker 2000, the globe into the Death Star, and the belt into Indiana Jones’s leather whip. As we proceeded, the lesson became an increasingly

complex game of interaction and association, in which a lock pick (paperclip) could be used to open a treasure chest (plastic box) only to reveal a trap: a coiled, poisonous snake (brown belt). The chess bishop placed upon one of the bookends could give his own soliloquy in a microcosmic performance of Hamlet. Ultimately, Mr. Frank taught us how to pull together a bunch of pieces to create something new. Two or three times a year, Mr. Frank would put this model into practice in the Roxbury Latin theater. He would assemble a motley crew of actors, singers, athletes, calculus students, and other rogues, mix them all together in his frenetic, creative, brilliant mind, and come up with something approaching art.”

At the news of David’s death, other past students shared their great sense of loss. Arya Alizadeh ’09 wrote, “He played such a pivotal role in my growth and was there for me in my darkest hours, as a teacher, advisor, and friend. As Father’s Day approaches, I always think of those father figures in my life—of people like Mr. Frank, a gifted man with a unique and selfless capacity to care.” David was also the longtime advisor to the Chess Club. Shawn Zeller ’93 remembers how “Mr. Frank turned a bunch of weak, chess-playing fifthies by their senior year into back-to-back league champs.”

David held an AB from Harvard and an MEd from Stanford. A serious amateur actor and musician for nearly three decades, David appeared in productions in and around Boston.

After he retired from R.L. in 2012, David published four books: The Monarch Man, Vienna in Violet, The Summertime Stomp (all murder mysteries), and Henry and Cleopatra. He also tutored Chinese children in English via Skype.

David is survived by his mother and three sisters.

A memorial service at the School will be held this fall on a date to be determined later.

Upcoming: Homecoming & Fall Family Day Saturday, 14 September

alumni gatherings

Founder’s Day Pub Night Thursday, 2 November For more information, visit www.roxburylatin.org/page/alumni

Paul Massey ’78 is featured guest at Alumni Luncheon This year’s Spring Alumni Luncheon took place on Thursday, 6 April, at Back Bay’s Grill 23 & Bar. Some 80-plus alumni and faculty joined the 53 boys of Class I to hear from featured guest Paul Massey ’78, chairman of the R.L. Board of Trustees, president of Cushman Wakefield Real Estate Company, and now New York City mayoral candidate. President of the Alumni Council Kevin O’Connell ’99 welcomed

the guests and Headmaster Kerry Brennan introduced Mr. Massey.

In his remarks Mr. Massey revisited the trials and triumphs he experienced in academics and sports, and discussed how they helped him grow as a student and, later, to succeed in real estate.

He capped his address by touching on the circumstances that influenced his decision to serve the public and run for mayor.

Paul Massey with seniors at the Alumni Luncheon

R.L. hosts reception in Washington, D.C. This spring’s Washington, D.C., reception enjoyed a turnout of almost three dozen alumni representing a range of classes from 1940 to 2016. On 11 April, graduates working and living in the nation’s capital and the surrounding area gathered at The University Club, where Headmaster Brennan provided an update on the School’s activities and initiatives.

Michael Liftik ’92, Kristaps Paddock ’98, Shawn Zellar ’93

Sean Walsh ’04, Phil Mone ’97

Zach Lehan ’16, Henry Goethals ’40

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

61

Campaign Goals

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

R

oxbury Latin is nearing the end of the third year of Mens sana in corpore sano: A Campaign for Roxbury Latin. We want to thank all of the alumni, parents, and friends who have generously supported our capital fundraising efforts both to upgrade our athletic facilities that are now benefitting every boy in the School— in every sport, in every season—and to grow the endowment by supporting student scholarship, faculty salaries, professional development, and our academic and extracurricular programs. Your generosity is already making a difference in the lives of our boys and the men and women who dedicate their lives to teaching, coaching, and advising them.

Thanks to your help, $20,200,000 has been raised (as of 1 June) toward our Campaign goal of $25,000,000. We are excited about the progress that has been achieved to date, and our intent is to reach our goal by 30 June 2018. We need the support of our community, so if you are interested in learning more about the ways you can support the facilities project or our endowment, please contact Tom Guden, Director of Development (thomas.guden@roxburylatin.org or 617.477.6352).

GOAL: $25M in new capital gifts to upgrade the athletic facilities and to increase the endowment: n

to provide playing fields and indoor facilities that will complement our academic program

n

to provide our teachercoaches with excellent “classrooms” to continue the education of our boys beyond the academic day

n

to raise new endowment that will ensure a needblind admission and enrollment policy, compensate faculty and staff well, and provide the students and faculty with the necessary resources to excel in and out of the classroom

62

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Giving and Volunteering

T

hanks to the parents, students, and staff who contributed and participated, the Giant Yard Sale was another huge success.

The varsity lacrosse team set up 183 tables in the Gym in a blur of just 40 minutes, paving the way for the table coodinators to sort and set up their wares. Hats off to them: Tina Madaus and Jennifer & Ken Goldsmith (Appliances); Debbie Winkler & Carolyn Ringel (Baked Goods); Kori Sahin & Gail Santry (Books); Robin Ginsberg & Nicole Alsarraf (Boutique); Kris Straub & Mary Kate Rose (Clothing); Alba Cruz & Mark Davis (Furniture); Lisa Healy & Chelsea Zhu (Jewelry/ Luggage); James Whitfield (Luggage); Jenny Tian & Alexandra Auguste (Linens); David Nero & Laura Cloherty (Sporting Goods); Merrill Weitzel, Abby Greer, & Sirisha Emani (Toys); and Nancy Milton, Denise Silva, & Michelle O’Grady (White Elephant). A shout out to announcers Perry O’Grady and Daniel

Steinberg and cash runners Gareth Cook, Daniel Steinberg, Monica LaFond, David Miller, Carolyn Powell, and Min Chen. Parking and security were in the practiced hands of team leaders Tim Rose, Eddie Garvey, and Joe Gillespie, while Einar Gustafsson, Mark Ryan, Don Cuzzi, and Brian Straub covered pick-up and delivery. Miguel Rosado and John Knight served as treasurers and kept track of proceeds, and a great turnout of sixie parents helped clean up. Corinne Spinale P ’81 was back for her 39th year!

Yard Sale coordinator Robyn Steinberg expressed special appreciation for the Building and Grounds crew Glen Ryan, Eli Roumally, Stephen Chauncey, Reggie Brun, Jon Pistey, and Mike Herlihy: “Whenever we had a how-in-the-world-are-we-going-tohandle-that? moment, the operations crew just swooped in and took care of it. Really amazing team.”

Thank you to this year’s Yard Sale coordinators: Robyn Steinberg P ’18; Julie Garvey P ’17; Ann Marie Russell P ’19; Paula Giancola P ’18, ’23; Carol Morse P ’20; Tom Santry P ’21.

By the numbers 29,634 dollars raised 100+ parent volunteers 400 parent volunteer hours 60 boys volunteering 183 tables set up by

Coach Kelly and Varsity LAX

40 # of minutes it took

to set them up

39 # of years R.L. parents

have sponsored the Yard Sale!

30 Years Ago: Parent volunteers at the 9th Annual Giant Yard Sale, when it was held in the Palaistra.

Annual Fund tops $3.7 million, sets new record for giving As the 2016-2017 Annual Fund came to a close on 31 May, we had not only reached, but exceeded, our goal of $3,450,000.

Annual Fund donations totaled $3,706,537, setting another record. Amazing!

Annual Fund Chairman Bill Maffie ’88, ALGC Co-Chairs Bryan Anderson ’88, Jay Mitchell ’96, Andy McElaney ’96 along with Parent Fund Co-Chairs Michael and Ellen Berk and Vice Co-Chairs David Bryant and Ellen Berkman have done an outstanding job leading a team of dedicated volunteers. As a result, parent participation

was 99.7 percent this year! Parents raised an impressive $1,326,106—the tenth consecutive year that parent donations topped $1 million. Our alumni volunteers have also worked diligently to ensure that the 20162017 Annual Fund was a banner year for them. Special thanks to the Alumni Leadership Giving Committee and their members for another record-setting year, raising over $1 million for the third year in a row.

The continued level of commitment to Roxbury Latin demonstrated through the Annual Fund is both a ringing affirmation

of the difference the School makes in boys’ lives and a testimonial to the tireless devotion of the men and women who served this year as Annual Fund volunteers.

We extend our deepest gratitude to all those who invested in our School this year and allowed us to preserve our unique financial model. On behalf of the boys— your beneficiaries—we thank you for your continued support. There is no better way to honor the boys and their teachers… today and always. Excellence did indeed compel a response. Thank you!

N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l

63

The Roxbury Latin School 101 St. Theresa Avenue West Roxbury, MA 02132-3496 www.roxburylatin.org

Nonprofit Org U.S. Postage

PAID Villanti

Change Service Requested

Alma Mater

Mailed from 05401

Bob Abboud ’47 stood up to be recognized when the Headmaster called his name in Hall on the Friday of Reunion Weekend. Celebrating his 70th anniversary since graduating from Alma Mater, Bob joined other alumni from a range of classes for RL Today, a Reunion program for alumni that gives them the opportunity to experience a bit of R.L. in action. (See story on page 46.)