Newsletter: Fall 2024

Welcome, Dr. Schaffer

Roxbury Latin’s12th head opens our 380th year

head of school

Samuel L. Schaffer

assistant head of school for advancement

Thomas R. Guden ’96

director of external relations

Erin E. Berg

photography

Ajay Devendran ’27, Gretchen Ertl, Molly Malone, Marcus Miller, Mike Pojman, Adam Richins, Evan Scales

editorial & design

Erin E. Berg, Kerin E. Maguire, Marcus C. Miller

the newsletter

The Roxbury Latin School publishes The Newsletter three times a year for alumni, current and former parents, and friends of the school.

contact information

The Roxbury Latin School 101 St. Theresa Avenue West Roxbury, MA 02132 Phone: 617-325-4920

change of address?

Send updated information to julie.garvey@roxburylatin.org.

alumni news

Send notes and correspondence to alumni@roxburylatin.org. cover

Photo by Gretchen Ertl

©2025 The Trustees of The Roxbury Latin School

Welcome, New Faculty and Staff

Each fall, Roxbury Latin welcomes a new cohort of faculty, staff, and students to campus. This year, in addition to new Head of School Dr. Sam Schaffer, six faculty and staff from a variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise join RL’s roster of educators, coaches, advisors, and community members.

Anthony D’Amato joins RL as a member of the Science and Math departments, where he is teaching IPS and Math 7 to our younger boys. Anthony is no stranger to teaching and coaching at boys’ schools: He has taught chemistry and coached baseball at Xaverian Brothers High School just down the road, and prior to that he taught biology and chemistry and coached baseball at BC High for five years. Most recently, Anthony pursued a career in the corporate world, working in business development and instructional design at Recorded Futures, a cybersecurity company, where his role was developing curriculum and training materials for their products. Thankfully for us the call of teaching was strong, and Anthony was eager to get back to the classroom. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Loyola University in Maryland where he was a member of the Division I swim team, and he earned his master’s degree in education at Boston College. At RL, Anthony will also coach middle school soccer and JV baseball.

Jon Doerer joins us as one of two new Penn Fellows. As he works toward his master’s degree in education, he is teaching advanced level Algebra to Class V and Precalculus to Class II. Jon earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology and his master’s in management from University of Notre Dame, where he was the kicker for the football team for four years. His undergraduate experience included studying abroad in South Africa, and most recently Jon has served as a middle school teacher in a North Carolina public school, where he has worked to foster a classroom culture of “positive thinking, persistence, and integrity.” An exemplary high school athlete on his football and track teams (named “Kicker of the Year” in Charlotte and ranked third nationally), Jon will help coach both Varsity football and JV basketball.

Lisa Kostur is a consummate generalist, bringing a variety of passions, talents, and expertise to Roxbury Latin. Multilingual (including in French, Italian, and Latin), Lisa will serve primarily as a member of our Modern Languages department, teaching sections of French 2 and French 3. She has taught French at the college level as a teaching fellow at Harvard for the past four years. Prior to that, Lisa was a professional dancer for ten years—a member of the Compagnie Pal Frenak traveling throughout Europe as part of more than 200 performances. Lisa taught dance and dance history in France from 2007 to 2010. At RL, she will teach Class VI Dance and assist with choreography in drama productions, and also serve as RL’s Director of Travel. Lisa earned her bachelor’s degree cum laude in French, with minors in dance and English, from Barnard College, and she earned her master’s in French from Harvard University.

Kerin Maguire joins RL as our new Assistant Director of External Relations, working closely with Erin Berg and Marcus Miller to tell the “RL story” through a variety of media throughout the year. Kerin has spent the last five years in higher ed, working in admission and financial aid at Harvard Kennedy School, and in student programming and campus life at Tufts, where she supported a board of 25 elected students in planning and executing more than 40 events each school year. Prior to that, Kerin was a coordinator for Ali Krieger Football Camps, creating content to market and advertise the camps, running the organization’s social media channels, and developing relationships with vendors and other partner organizations. Kerin earned her bachelor’s degree in English at Dickinson College, and she earned her master’s in sports industry management from Georgetown University.

Erin Sutton will serve as Roxbury Latin’s Chair of the Arts Department, bringing a broad range of skills to both the making and the teaching of art. Named Massachusetts’ Secondary Art Educator of the Year in 2022, Erin has been teaching art to high school students for 14 years, most recently in the Lawrence and Lynn public school systems. She has devoted her career to helping students develop their

own artistic voices and agency, competence and confidence, in a range of media, from painting and drawing to glassfusing and mural-making. An artist in her own right, she has amassed an impressive portfolio of juried group exhibitions, commissioned art projects, and solo exhibitions. At RL she will work closely with colleagues and students across the arts—visual, dramatics, music—to build on strengths and evolve the program in meaningful ways. She is teaching students in Arts 7, Arts 8, Arts 9, Mixed Media (Arts 10), Applied Art (Class I and II), and assisting with drama and outdoor program trips.

Andrew White, RL Class of 2018, has been a familiar face in our Halls of late, teaching various levels of classical languages in the winter/spring of 2024 as a long-term substitute. That return to RL further kindled a passion for teaching, and this year Andrew joins us full-time as a Penn Fellow and a teacher in the Classics Department. Andrew earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in Classics from Princeton University, and he has taught and worked with young people in various capacities over recent years, including as a fellow at Princeton’s Writing Center and as a lead teacher of RL’s i2 STEM camp. Andrew has further honed his musical, journalistic, and classical chops in a variety of extracurriculars, first seeded at Roxbury Latin (in certamens,

Tripod, Glee Club, Latonics) and continuing through Princeton: He was vice president of the Princeton Classics Club, an editor of the Nassau Weekly (Princeton’s student newspaper), and president of the Princeton Tigertones, an all-male a capella group. This year at RL, Andrew is teaching Latin 1 and Honors Greek, coaching middle school soccer, and assisting with debate and drama.

Sam Schaffer is the 12th head of The Roxbury Latin School following an extensive career in education, most recently as Head of Upper School at St. Albans, an independent boys’ school in Washington, D.C. Sam graduated from the University of North Carolina summa cum laude and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After spending a year teaching at Groton, he joined the St. Albans community, where he spent six years as a dorm parent, history teacher, advisor, and varsity football and basketball coach. Sam left St. Albans to pursue a graduate degree in history from Yale, earning his PhD in 2010. From 2007 to 2011, he worked as a fellow and coordinator at Yale’s McDougal Graduate Teaching Center, organizing workshops for teachers across disciplines. Sam returned to St. Albans in 2012 as the Assistant then Associate Dean of Faculty, while also serving as Assistant Director of College Counseling, teaching history, and coaching at various levels, before becoming Head of the Upper School in 2021.

Left to right: Andrew White ’18, Kerin Maguire, Sam Schaffer, Erin Sutton, Anthony D’Amato, Lisa Kostur, Jon Doerer

Three New Trustees Join the Board

Viva Hyatt P’26,’28 is a partner at Bain Capital, a private investment firm based in Boston, where she has worked since 2002. There Viva is a portfolio manager within Bain Capital Credit, the firm’s fixed income affiliate. In her current role, she is primarily focused on the firm’s investments in liquid and structured credit, including high yield bonds and leveraged loans. Previously, Viva was responsible for investments in the industrial and homebuilding sectors, as well as serving as Head of Research and a member of the firm’s Credit Committee.

In addition to her role at Bain Capital, Viva has served as a member of the Leadership Board and Finance Committee at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a trustee for the Kingsley Montessori School in Boston. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Viva was a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in Boston and Stockholm, and an auditor with Arthur Andersen in Chicago. Viva earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign and her MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in West Roxbury with her husband, Geoffrey, and their two sons, Lincoln (II) and Jasper (IV).

Justin Connolly ’94 is president of platform distribution for The Walt Disney Company, where he oversees all third-party media sales efforts for distribution; affiliate-related business operations for the company’s direct-to-consumer services; and content sales agreements for Disney Entertainment and

ESPN, ensuring effective execution of the company’s media distribution strategies around the world. He also spearheads global app distribution deals for the company’s streaming services including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.

Justin has served in a number of roles at The Walt Disney Company over the years, including as Executive Vice President, Affiliate Sales and Marketing, Disney and ESPN Media Networks. In 2017, he added oversight of ESPN’s strategy and business development teams to his portfolio. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President, College Networks. Before working with the college networks, Justin served as Senior Vice President, National Accounts for Disney & ESPN Media Networks.

He joined ESPN in 2003 and served in various capacities including director of ESPN Strategy and Operations where he helped the company with its long-term affiliate negotiations. In 2004 he was promoted to Vice President, Distribution Strategy. Before joining ESPN, Justin worked in the corporate finance group for The Walt Disney Company’s corporate treasury department in Burbank, California. A Boston native and Sports Business Journal “40 Under 40 Hall of Fame” inductee, Justin graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in economics and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Dennis Kanin ’64 is a familiar face on Roxbury Latin’s Board of Trustees, having served as a trustee from 2000

Faculty

First Row: Tom Walsh, Josh Cervas, Stewart Thomsen, John Lieb, Mo Randall, Sam Schaffer, Ousmane Diop, Tony Teixeira, Rob Opdycke, Peter Hyde, Ken Hiatt. Second Row: George Matthews, Elizabeth Carroll, Darian Reid, Nate Piper, Ernesto Guerra, Erin Dromgoole, Rary Delaney, Tom Guden, Billy Quirk, Jim Ryan, Daniel Bettendorf, Chris Heaton, Jamie Morris-Kliment. Third Row: Bryan Dunn, Sarah Demers, Andrés Amitai Wilson, Sean Spellman, Greg Sokol, Tim Kelly, Arturo Solís, Chris Brown, Alessandro Ferzoco, Arthur Beauregard, Jackie Salas. Fourth Row: Erin Sutton, Jon Doerer, Karen Buitrago, Blake Sundel, David Smith, Matt Golden, Alec Bleday, Alex Pellegrini, Geoff Theobald, Matt Phillips, Anthony D’Amato, Lisa Kostur, Andrew White. (missing: Michael Beam, Matt McDonald).

to 2018 and leading the board as its president from 2006 to 2015. He rejoined the Board this summer, to offer his insights, expertise, and institutional knowledge. Dennis and his wife, Carol, are the parents of three RL alumni (Zach ’01, Jonah ’04, and Frank ’06) and have dedicated time over the years in a variety of volunteer and leadership positions at the school.

Dennis is principal and co-founder of New Boston Ventures, a real estate development company in Boston. Prior, he was a partner at the law firm of Foley Hoag. Dennis has been active in government and politics over many decades. He served as campaign manager for the presidential campaign of former U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas and served as Tsongas’s Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of

Representatives. Dennis has generously shared his expertise and insights in the political arena with RL boys during Hall, presenting for the eighth time this fall in advance of the year’s presidential election, on the election’s potential outcomes and on the role and history of the electoral college.

Dennis was a member of both the National Democratic Party Commission on Platform Accountability and Charter Commission. He has also been active in community and civic organizations, serving in leadership roles for the Massachusetts Finance Agency, the Anti-Defamation League, the Epiphany School, the Children’s Hospital’s Advocacy Campaign Advisory Group, and the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters. Dennis graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Handshakes, Connection, Respect: Dr. Sam Schaffer Launches RL’s 380th Year

On Monday, August 26, Dr. Sam Schaffer welcomed the RL community back to campus at the traditional Opening of Fall Term Hall, commencing Roxbury Latin’s 380th year. “We are poised on the edge of a great school year. I love this beginning, this moment, this newness. This is the best day of the year.”

Gathered together in Rousmaniere Hall, along with new and returning faculty and staff, were 309 boys, 61 of them new to the RL community—all ready to kick off the year together.

Prior to Dr. Schaffer’s opening and introductory remarks, Class I president Cole Oberg read the “Poem of Walt Whitman, An American” from Leaves of Grass, and the entire school joined together in song and prayer. “What a beautiful and thunderous sound,” Dr. Schaffer remarked, as he took his place at the lectern

and the boys took their seats. He went on to recognize the boys in Class I and VI as they stood to applause from the school. Dr. Schaffer named the sixteen members of the faculty who have taught for fifteen years or more at RL, with a particular highlight of English and Classics faculty member Mo Randall, who is in his forty-ninth year at the school. Dr. Schaffer also offered gratitude for the work of various individuals over the summer, including the Buildings and Grounds team who, among other projects, installed a new school-wide cooling system.

After the conclusion of Hall, students, faculty, and staff then gathered around the Senior Grass, relishing in the cooling air of late-August, to welcome new members to the community and wish one another a wonderful school year

Read Dr. Schaffer’s opening Hall talk starting on page 32.

Boston Globe Features Photography by

Ajay Devendran (III)

This fall readers of The Boston Globe might have stumbled upon photos shot by RL’s own Ajay Devendran (III). Ajay, who began exploring photography as a hobby this past summer, submitted several images taken at various RL athletic events to the Globe’s Student Photojournalism Program. Three of his photos were selected and featured in a section titled “High school sports photos capture the beauty of the season across Massachusetts.”

Ajay traveled to Africa with his family this summer, an opportunity he found perfect for practicing his budding interest. “My uncle was a photographer; he had a bunch of animal pictures on his walls that I would see and love,” Ajay explained. “For my birthday, he gave me a lesson; we went to the Franklin Park Zoo and took pictures of the giraffes.” With the family exposure (pun intended) and upcoming travel opportunity, Ajay was ready.

On his trip, he met with and learned from a National Geographic photographer, who provided Ajay with a hands-on photography crash course. “I said once I was going to use automatic (focus), and he said, ‘No you will not, you will use manual,’” Ajay laughed. From then on, Ajay had his camera in hand, snapping photos at every opportunity for the remainder of the trip.

Ajay wanted to continue exploring his growing interest at home but needed a new subject. “I decided to take photos at a soccer game for fun, and everyone loved them,” Ajay said of his foray into RL sports photography. “A bunch of seniors and peers were saying, ‘These are great! Please keep coming to our games!’”

A friend informed Ajay about the Globe’s Student Photojournalism program. After speaking with his advisor, Mr. Cervas, Ajay signed up for the program and signed the required waivers. He sent in his photos, and the rest is history!

Class VI Embarks on Annual Trip to Beaver Brook

On the morning of September 6, Roxbury Latin’s newest cohort of 43 Sixies, nine Class I leaders, Head of School Dr. Schaffer, and several faculty members departed campus for Hollis, New Hampshire, for the annual Class VI trip to Beaver Brook.

After disembarking the bus and gathering their equipment, the boys faced their first challenge: true or false trivia about their beloved school. Using whatever they could find as a desk, including but not limited to the backs of their classmates, the boys approached each question with careful thought and a hint of friendly competition, not entirely dissimilar to when in class.

Throughout the day, the boys engaged in many longstanding RL activities, such as Numbers, Flip Flop, and ropes course challenges, supported by Class VI Dean Elizabeth Carroll and other RL faculty. As day turned to night, the boys shared laughs and spirited conversation over dinner and then settled for a viewing of the 1957 film Twelve Angry Men, promptly followed by a discussion and reflection. The dynamic conversation continued to the roaring campfire outside as everyone gathered for s’mores and the task of learning The Founder’s Song. As

The Roxbury Latin Class of 2030.

it approached time to unfurl the sleeping bags and retreat to tents, students and faculty were ready for a restful, albeit short, night’s sleep.

The following day, the boys gathered for breakfast, after which they received hand-written letters from their big brothers. The valued tradition fosters community and connection between the youngest and oldest students at RL. Using these notes as inspiration, the boys crafted a letter for themselves to read when they return to Beaver Brook as a class once more as seniors.

After an eventful 24 hours, the bus full of students left the New Hampshire woods for the wooded campus nestled in West Roxbury. The delight, camaraderie, and touch of exhaustion from lack of sleep were felt throughout the bus on the ride home. While the boys have now closed the chapter on one RL tradition, they are met with a forged story of brotherhood.

Rob Opdycke teaches Sixies The Founder’s Song.

Twenty-Eight RL Boys Recognized in National Merit Scholarship Competition

The National Merit Scholarship Program announced this fall the names of Class of 2025 students across the country who earned recognition for their academic achievement. This year, 28 Roxbury Latin boys were named—seven as National Merit Scholar semifinalists and 21 others earning commendations from program officials, equating to 48 percent of the class.

Juniors from across the United States entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship program by taking the 2023 PSAT. The semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors—the highest-scoring entrants in each state. Commended students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered.

Nearly 15,000 semifinalists will advance as finalists and become eligible for 6,870 National Merit Scholarships totaling more than $33 million.

Roxbury Latin boys earning recognition this year include semifinalists Darian Estrada, Levi Harrison, Xavier Martin, Krish Muniappan, Brendan Reichard, Raj Saha, and Daniel Stepanyan; and commendation recipients Miles BaumalBardy, Lucas Connors, Isaac Frehywot, Alex Giordano, Zach Heaton, Josh Hua, Bruno Kim, Justin Lim, Nick Makura, Ben McVane, Ryan Miller, Lucas Numa, Cole Oberg, Eliot Park, Devan Rajagopalan, Calvin Reid, Robbie Sun-Friedman, Jack Sweet, Quinn Thomson, Oliver van den Bosch, and Nathan Zhang.

Left to right: Raj Saha, Xavier Martin, Daniel Stepanyan, Darian Estrada, Levi Harrison, Brendan Reichard (Missing: Krish Muniappan)

Max Kesselheim’s (II) Research and Writing Featured in The Hill

One of Roxbury Latin’s goals is to foster a community of “accomplished generalists.” In other words, it encourages boys to be passionate about and involved in many different things. A terrific example of this is Class II student Max Kesselheim, whose love of both politics and humor informed the research behind his article “How funny will Kamala Harris be?” which was picked up and posted by political news outlet The Hill.

The variety of opportunities at RL has allowed Max to explore outlets for his love of humor, including writing funny articles for the literary magazine The Forum and the school newspaper The Tripod; acting in and stage-directing comedies through the drama program; and participating in the humor-catered sector of the Debate club. Yet, like most RL boys, there was something else that piqued his interest: U.S. politics.

“I have been starting to increase my political intake as this election gets closer, because of the impact it could have on the present and the future of our country,” says Max. Thus, the question arose: How could he explore these topics of interest simultaneously? Through the help of the school, Max got support for conducting summer research.

Over the summer, Max created and implemented a dedicated schedule and method to obtain the data necessary to write the article. “I set up a coding scheme… lists of the context, type, and intended outcome of each joke,” he said. He used this system

every Wednesday and Thursday night when watching YouTube videos of the past 28 Presidential State of the Union addresses, spanning seven presidential terms and five presidents. With the data collected and a resulting article crafted, Max looked for a tangible way to highlight the work and time spent over the summer as the end of August drew near.

When selecting the right place to submit his article, he looked for key things like the rapid processing of an online platform instead of print, the legitimacy of the news outlet, and the accessibility for someone like him, a high school student in Boston, to contribute. “I came across The Hill because it has an online [component], is well known, is based in D.C., and accepts external op-ed submissions.” After a conversation and some suggested changes from one of the editors at The Hill, Max learned his article would be published the morning after he submitted his final edits! “It was exciting; I showed it to a bunch of my family members... I sent it to a bunch of teachers” (Mr. Beam, Mr. Smith, Mr. Sokol, and Dr. Schaffer, to name a few).

Aside from the incredible opportunity and memorable achievement, a key takeaway proved to be the realizability of the task. “I want to highlight how doable something like this is… it’s really just the fact that two of my main interests could be combined, and I found a way to combine them.”

Grant Hedgepeth (IV) Recognized for WWII Essay

Each year, the American Battle Monuments Foundation hosts a Past is Prologue essay contest, an opportunity for students between ages 11 and 18 to submit an original work on a selected historical topic. This year’s prompts,“WWII Operation Bodyguard Deception & Misdirection” and “WWII Air Dominance that enabled the D-Day invasion,” inspired self-proclaimed WWII enthusiast Grant Hedgepeth (IV) to submit his essay “How the Allies Achieved Air Dominance,” which earned him second place in the 13 to 15 age group.

“I’ve been interested in history since a very young age,” Grant says. “Learning about WWII came a bit later, but in close succession, and from there, it just snowballed.”

Grant says his time at RL has helped him advance his passion for history and aid him in the practice of good essay writing. With these tools and interests, Grant was ready for an opportunity when he stumbled upon this essay contest entirely by chance.

The contest also asks two additional questions: What lessons from this specific event are helpful for today, and what difference did this event make to (the submitter’s) own life today and in the future? Submissions are judged on historical accuracy, composition and writing style, originality, and completion of the mandatory questions.

Six pages, eighteen sources, and just shy of 1,500 words later, Grant crafted an essay worthy of recognition. “We were driving to dinner, and they called us,” Grant says, describing how the foundation informed him of his accolade. “It was exciting!”

Alvin Li (III) Selected For Innovation and Technology Program

“If we can train Olympic-level athletes from a young age, why can’t we train Olympic-level CEOs and innovators?,” asks The Knowledge Society (TKS) co-founder Nadeem Nathoo.

Alvin Li (III) was chosen to participate in TKS’s highly selective global innovation program, a 10-month program during which he conducted research into crypto and blockchain. Structured in a series of modules, TKS exposes students to various tech topics. “You get to explore different areas to find your personal interest,” Alvin explained.

“There are these modules that you could watch videos on, and if you were interested in the topic, you could research it,” Alvin said. “I focused on blockchain, which is a decentralized network.” The experience allowed Alvin to explore a hobby outside the standard educational program, and something he’s interested in exploring beyond RL.

TKS is one of the world’s top innovation programs for students. The organization trains curious and driven teens to use emerging technologies like AI, genomics, nanotechnology, and quantum computing to solve the world’s largest problems. TKS students also develop skills in business, leadership, and networking in addition to real work experience with organizations like the UN, Mastercard Foundation, and Amazon Alexa, with 1:1 mentorship from industry professionals. Students leave the program with a portfolio that’s helped many become the youngest employees at NASA, SpaceX, Google, Microsoft, and IBM, and receive admission to top colleges, including Harvard, Stanford, and MIT.

Dr. Jonathan Jenkins ’02 on Resilience and Supporting One Another

How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself? The Epictetus quotation was displayed on the screen as boys filled the Smith Theater on September 24 for the year’s first Health and Wellness Hall. With everyone in their seats, Dr. Schaffer introduced Dr. Jonathan Jenkins ’02 who spoke to the boys about resilience and mental health, using the lens of his own experiences during and following his time at RL.

Jonathan is a clinical psychologist affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital. He works with people of various ages and athletes at all levels, including the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox. He is also an instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School.

“The education you’re getting here will pay dividends elsewhere,” Jonathan stated, reflecting on his RL experience. Highlighting the rigorous academic program and the community, he reminisced about the lifelong friendships and connections he fostered as a student. (In fact, fellow Class of 2002 alumnus Tim Pingree—longtime friend of Jonathan’s—attended the talk, listening from the audience with the rest of the school.)

Jonathan touched on several key concepts, including making the most of each day, finding ways to center what inspires you, and continuing to nurture self-confidence and perseverance. “Find your why and believe in yourself,” he stated in front of a picture of the High-Performance Pyramid, which depicts one’s “why” or spiritual purpose at the apex.

His most important message, however, emphasized how critical support systems and relationships are, not only with others but with oneself. Speaking from firsthand experience, Jonathan noted, “The amount of human capital—the capacity to love, capacity to continue to be great human beings—in this room is immense.”

In closing, Jonathan led the school in an exercise that encouraged the community members to close their eyes, envision themselves achieving a goal, and recognize who was surrounding them and what actions helped them get there. The positive energy was palpable as students headed off to their first classes of the day surrounded by their friends, classmates, and teachers.

Author Jennifer De Leon on Storytelling as a Means of Connection

On September 26, students and faculty gathered in Smith Theater to hear from Jennifer De Leon, an award-winning author of young adult novels and nonfiction essay collections; a professor of creative writing; and the founder of Story Bridge, LLC, an organization that aims to bring together people from different experiences and backgrounds, encouraging them to share their stories to uncover the similarities within their differences.

Ms. De Leon was born and raised in the Boston area by Guatemalan parents. She has spent her education and professional career using writing and language as a vessel to understand and explore the importance of diversity and representation in literature and educational spaces. “Studies have shown that when children don’t see themselves reflected in the books they are reading, they start to feel invisible,” Ms. De Leon stated. “They lose self-esteem, they might not raise their hands as much in class. They might not go for that dream internship, that dream college.”

In Hall, Ms. De Leon detailed her experiences as a woman of color, noting that storytelling and writing have always been a steady lifeline in uncertain times. “There is one place where I have always felt like I don’t have to choose, like I can be my fully actualized self, and that is the page,” she explained with a smile. “Writing has

always been a refuge for me. It has been a place where I don’t have to be anything but my truest self.”

This sentiment carried into Dr. Wilson’s creative writing class, which Ms. De Leon joined to lead a session on writing micro-essays, or short pieces of very descriptive writing. “Go a mile deep, not wide,” she encouraged. After reading a piece of her work as a lead-in to a writing session for the boys, faculty, and staff in the room, several volunteers bravely shared their writing samples in front of their peers and teachers.

Not only did Ms. De Leon positively affect the boys, prompting thoughtful questions from them during the Q&A, but it seems they affected her as well, as she applauded the level of engagement and interaction from the school community. “That is officially the most hands I’ve ever seen raised at an assembly,” she exclaimed when she asked if anyone had read the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

Everyone who sat in the Smith Theater that day has a story that deserves to be told. What started as a Hall between an author and students, ended as the meeting of a community of storytellers and writers.

Ms. De Leon has written two award-winning young adult novels, Borderless, featured on the TODAY show, and Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From. She is also the author and editor of two nonfiction titles: White Space: Essays on Culture, Race, & Writing, which won the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press, and Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education, an International Latino Book Award-winning anthology. She is a professor of creative writing at Framingham State University and a faculty member for the Newport MFA Program. She has published prose in over a dozen literary journals including Ploughshares and Iowa Review, and she’s a contributor on NPR.

Activist and Advocate Schuyler Bailar on Identity and Authenticity

On October 15, students and faculty gathered in Smith Theater for a Hall featuring Schuyler Bailar, the first openly transgender athlete to compete in any sport at the NCAA Division I level. Schuyler swam for the Harvard men’s team from 2015 to 2019. Today, Schuyler is an educational speaker, bestselling author, and advocate for trans inclusion, the LGBTQ+ community, and mental health awareness.

Throughout his talk, Schuyler spoke of his experience as a student, struggling with his gender identity on top of the standard trials and tribulations that come with growing up. He was navigating this period of his life while simultaneously maintaining a rigorous training regimen and swimming at a national level. Swimming was a constant throughline in his life, but as he grew older and started to face his mental health struggles and gender dysphoria, the way he always envisioned his life and future became complicated. “When I figured out I was transgender, I was terrified I was going to lose swimming,” Schuyler explained. He recalled when he came out to the Harvard Women’s Swimming coach who had recruited him to swim for the women’s team, thinking, “Maybe I will lose everything I feel I am working toward. Do I want to take that risk?”

It was at this moment Schuyler knew he owed it to himself to live his life with authenticity and honesty, and he was offered the option to swim for the Harvard Men’s team. “I found myself in a moment of crossroads,” he said. He recalled feeling so afraid and genuinely unsure of how to literally and figuratively navigate uncharted waters. After initially turning down the offer, he spent time getting to know his potential teammates and thinking about the opportunity presented to him. “Maybe I need to take this risk for my happiness,” he realized.

Schuyler went on to have a successful career at Harvard and continues to utilize his experience to foster honest and educational conversations with children and adults. When reflecting on the moments he came out to various friends and family, he noted how sometimes this was met with confusion and an inability to understand. He said, “I’m not asking you to understand; I am just asking you to trust me.” As Schuyler explained, if we spend too much time thinking about our differences, we forget to support one another and love.

At the opening of Hall, Dr. Schaffer introduced Schuyler and reminded the audience of the importance of sharing our stories: “Storytelling can help us both establish and share who we are. Story has the power to help us understand, to connect us, and, ultimately, to bring us together. This morning, Schuyler’s story of authenticity, bravery, and advocacy will remind us that we have more in common than we do in difference.”

Dennis Kanin ’64 on Democracy and Presidential Elections

On October 29, Dennis Kanin, Class of 1964 and member of the Roxbury Latin Board of Trustees, delivered a Hall on the history of presidential elections in the United States, and on what we might look for in the days and weeks ahead as our nation elects its next president. Dennis spoke about the rationale behind the implementation of the electoral college and how it exists today. Opening his talk, he stated, “I am charged today with explaining how and why we elect our nation’s chief executive differently than every other country in the world.”

Before touching on the history of the electoral college, Dennis explained that every election is about more than just the election of the chief officer, but also about key members of the House and Senate. He highlighted several unique facts about this election, with various unprecedented situations at play, such as the potential first woman president or the only time in history other than Grover Cleveland that a president has served in a nonconsecutive term. With this context, Dennis began to discuss the roots of the way elections work in the United States. “We do not elect our chief executive based on which candidate gets the most votes,” he explained. The founding fathers implemented the electoral college as a compromise, a vote that would not be determined by popularity alone nor by trying to standardize the drastically different population distribution per state. However, according to Dennis, in the 2000 election, the president-elect won the electoral votes but lost the popular vote for the first time. This happened again in 2016, bringing into question the process’s efficacy.

Dennis went on to describe the various scenarios that might play out on election night, explaining battleground states and, in the cases of Nebraska and Maine, swing jurisdictions. In both the 2016 and 2020 elections, the victory or loss of the electoral college majority was incredibly narrow and, had a few thousand votes been cast differently in certain states, the outcomes would have looked entirely different. The narrow margins we’ve seen in recent history are also potentially in play for this election. “Next

Tuesday, a few of you will cast your first vote for president, and all of you will have a chance to see history in the making.”

He concluded that whatever happens on election night, though, democracy is what makes the United States such a unique and strong country. “For the sixth time in seven consecutive presidential elections, this will come down to the wire,” Dennis stated. “Tuesday, we cast ballots in the 60th election for president of the United States, the oldest democracy in continuous existence in the world,” Dennis said in closing, and it relies on an informed citizenry to maintain the country’s proud tradition of free and fair elections.

This was Dennis’s eighth time, over several decades, providing a Hall on elections and offering Roxbury Latin boys a primer on the dynamics of the United States electoral college. He has been active in government and politics for decades, beginning in the year of his graduation from RL when he secured a job with the Democratic National Committee and Lyndon Johnson’s re-election campaign. He later spent years as a campaign manager, and later chief of staff, for the U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas.

Lieutenant Paul Bodet ’12 is this Fall’s Veterans Day Hall Speaker

On November 11, Head of School Dr. Sam Schaffer welcomed boys, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests to Rousmaniere Hall for RL’s annual Veterans Day Commemoration Hall. “The program today honors those veterans who are with us and also all those others who have served our country in peacetime and wartime over the past 250 years,” he stated. “Their commitment, loyalty, and service to our country, to the values for which it stands, and for each one of us ought never to be forgotten.”

Dr. Schaffer explained the significance, history, and origin of Veterans Day, highlighting its importance for our country and its relevance in the history of RL, with a high percentage of alumni having served in wars throughout history. In fact, five veterans who graduated from RL—Bob Powers ’66, John Lawler ’75, Tom Hennessey ’01, and Dom Pellegrini ’04—were in attendance, including the Hall’s guest speaker, Lieutenant Paul Bodet ’12.

Like all RL boys, Paul was an engaged generalist during his six years as a student, excelling academically and holding various roles on campus, including president of the Glee Club and Varsity Cross Country team captain. The summer before his senior year, he was one of seven cadets nationwide—out of a pool of 10,000 potential candidates—to qualify for and graduate from the U.S. Navy’s Sea Cadets development program’s grueling Diving Operations Training program.

After graduating from RL, Paul attended the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned as a Naval Flight

Officer. After eight years in various leadership roles, including as Mission Commander and Instructor of a nine-person team in the P-8 “Poseidon” and operating the MC-Q4 Triton Drone, Paul completed his active duty this past June.

In Paul’s Hall speech—printed below in its entirety—he reflected on his time at the Naval Academy and, later, his time serving on active duty.

It is truly a privilege to be back here in Rousmaniere Hall. It’s been a long time—I feel as if the Latonics should be up here with Mr. O down front. Dr. Schaffer, thank you for extending the invitation for me to come back today; I am humbled to be thought of and grateful to be here. Thank you.

If I’m being honest with you guys, there are only a few Halls that I can remember in any real detail. I do, however, have loads of memories of my six years here, and especially of the people who’ve impacted me more than they could ever imagine. Mr. Cervas, my advisor for four years, was always so supportive, and I looked up to him a great deal and truly enjoyed our advisor meetings. Mr. Liv Carroll, who once gave me a lecture about mental toughness when I got my wisdom teeth removed and missed a few practices, insisted I needed to bike if I couldn’t run. And Mr. Opdycke gave me the opportunity to be in and eventually be president of the Glee Club and Latonics. I can trace much of the happiness and fulfillment I felt here to the Tuesday/Thursday rehearsals and

preparing for A Cappella Fests. I would not be the same person without him and those experiences.

I could keep going, but what I really want to express here is simple: This is a truly special place, and one that you will never forget. My classmates, teachers, and coaches provided an amazing environment where I could experiment and learn who I was very early, setting the foundation for the person I’ve become over the last twelve years.

It is Veterans Day so—shocker—I’m going to speak about my time in the military, but while doing so, I’d like to share how a few unique experiences shaped a kid who graduated from here on June 6, 2012.

Service

As most of my teachers and classmates knew at the time, I was dead set on the Navy very early on. I always knew I was going to do it: The question was How? and the answer ended up being the Naval Academy, following in the footsteps of Thomas Buckley ’11.

One of the most important lessons I learned during my time at the Naval Academy was that service doesn’t have to mean the same thing for everyone. Each person I met had their own reasons for being there, and those reasons covered every point on the spectrum. For some, service was a family tradition. They came from military backgrounds, grew up as what we called “military brats,” and were continuing a legacy. Some did, at that young age, feel a true calling to serve their country, and this was how they chose to do that. And then there were those who wanted the experience itself—the chance to challenge themselves in a unique environment.

Looking back, I realize I fell into that last category. Over the past twelve years, I’ve been asked many times why I chose the Navy, and my answer has always been straightforward. I did not initially join because I felt a burning desire to serve my country. That motivation grew over time, but it wasn’t the reason I started. At the beginning, it was simple: I wanted an

The names of those RL boys who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country are now etched on a plaque, permanently installed on the first floor of the Perry Building. That plaque was a gift of military veteran Bob Powers ’66, his wife Jane, and their sons Brent and Mark Powers, both Class of 2002. After Roxbury Latin, Brent and Mark went on to earn degrees at the Naval War College and Naval Academy, respectively. We are grateful to the Powers family for this generous gift.

exciting challenge, with fun people, in cool places. That was my why. Simple, and probably not something you expected to hear today. The Navy gave me those opportunities, and I loved every minute of it.

During my time however, I became increasingly aware of the privilege it was to have an opportunity to choose military service. I developed a deep sense of gratitude for others who had served before me, and a pride in being part of that tradition. I’ll speak more about that gratitude in a moment, but during my years at the Academy, I learned that service can take on different meanings for each of us. And that’s a great thing. It’s not about where or why we start; it’s about respecting the role you play and serving in a way that aligns with your core values.

Gratitude and SERE

After graduating from the Naval Academy, I moved to Florida for two years of flight school. From there, I trained

in maritime patrol and reconnaissance on the P-8 Poseidon (think Southwest commercial airplane minus the fun paint job), where I specialized in submarine hunting and aerial reconnaissance operations.

Part of that path included the general and advanced Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape courses, known as SERE. SERE training was designed to prepare us for the worst possible scenario: being stranded behind enemy lines, surviving in the wilderness, evading capture, enduring and resisting interrogation when captured, and ultimately finding ways to escape.

Without a doubt, that experience fundamentally changed my perspective on our place in the world. The mental exhaustion, sleep deprivation, constant interrogations, lack of food—I vaguely remember getting a bite of a raw onion and later stealing an instructor’s Pop-Tart mid-interrogation, smashing it down my throat before she could stop me. I 100% received a beatdown for that. (It wasn’t even worth it, because s’mores is the worst flavor, but hindsight is 20/20, I guess.)

The SERE instructors had one clear goal: to isolate us and make us feel truly alone, breaking down any sense of unity. They used every tactic, dividing us based on gender, race, rank, weight; they used all manner of derogatory racial and gender-related slurs—anything to divide us.

Throughout the entire process, I learned how important holding onto a sense of unity is. Even in isolation and exhaustion, even when separated from others. As an officer, it was my responsibility to be a constant for those around me— to draw attention, take the beatings and cracks across the face, be the one to get thrown across interrogation rooms. That was my role, and that was the standard.

At the end of the training, they march you out from these little dog houses you’ve been living in for about a week, about half the size of this podium, and line you up firing squad style. They proceed to cheer and burn an American flag, forcing you to sing your captor nation’s national anthem before your

“execution,” beating you if you failed to sing. Although I knew this was a training exercise, in those moments, I can honestly say I felt a level of anger I did not know I was capable of. I’ve always been a laugh-it-off kind of guy. As a matter of fact, some of my funniest stories come from this training. But not now; this was pure rage.

Then ever so abruptly our captors about faced, crisply saluted, and began raising a brand new beautiful American flag to our national anthem. All that rage instantly flushed away as I teared up and was overcome with a profound sense of gratitude. Not that it was over, but that for the past 240-someodd years people have volunteered to ferociously protect this place so that my sisters and other people I care about will never have to experience that for real. Grateful that my grandparents moved here from Haiti in the ’70s. Grateful that learning a second language is a choice. SERE reminded me of the privileges we have here in America—a country where we have the freedom to speak our minds, to be ourselves, to have our differences without fearing for our safety. In that extreme environment, I understood what we too often forget in our daily lives: Despite our differences, we’re all on the same team. We may disagree on politics or beliefs, but at the end of the day, we’re all Americans. And when the day comes—and trust me, it will—where it’s us versus them, they will not care about our skin color, our backgrounds, where we’re from, or whether you attended RL or Belmont Hill. They will see an American, and they will either be jealous and want it themselves, or hate you for it and try to destroy it.

There’s a fine line between being proud of what our generation’s America represents and becoming boastful. I believe this is the greatest country on earth, but that belief needs to be rooted in gratitude, not prideful arrogance. Most of us didn’t do anything to be here; we didn’t struggle or sacrifice to earn the head start America offers. Maybe our parents or grandparents did, and they have every right to be proud of that. We can take pride in them and the legacy they created. But for us, our focus is gratitude. Gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, and a unifying identity we can choose to embrace.

Critical Thinking

Fast forward a bit: While flying missions in the South China Sea I witnessed firsthand tensions between China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, all interacting in a complex web of territorial claims and disputes—some of which were extremely difficult to keep straight, even for us. One of the most well-known examples is China’s island-building campaign. Over the years, we documented these activities, comparing what we saw to the publicly available information and looking for trends. But one night, there was a particular situation off the coast of the Philippines that really drove home a valuable lesson for me.

I remember getting a news notification one morning on my phone. Typically I didn’t have much mental space for outside news; we received daily briefings keeping us up to speed. But that day, I decided to read the article. About two-thirds of the way through the article, they included a video, and when I clicked on it, I was immediately confused. It was a mix of regular footage and infrared video—footage my crew and I had recorded during a flight two nights prior. But the way the article characterized the situation didn’t match my firsthand experience. From our perspective and firsthand reporting— which was the only actual report of the “incident”—it was a relatively routine interaction. Documenting it was part of our job because of its potential to take a hard left, but that specific event wasn’t particularly noteworthy.

Yet here it was, being portrayed as something much bigger. I checked other sources and found that each one had its own interpretation of the event, some closer to the raw facts, others much further from them. This experience opened my eyes to how easily information, even visual evidence, can be framed in ways that shift the narrative.

In a world where speed often takes precedence over accuracy, it’s crucial to approach the information we consume with a healthy dose of skepticism. What we see or read isn’t always the full story, and sometimes it’s far from it. This is where critical thinking becomes essential. RL gave me the resources to question, to juxtapose different ideas, and to dig for facts that bring me closer to the truth. I urge each of you not to underestimate the importance of these skills—of thinking critically and developing your own thoughts and conclusions.

This ability will only become more important as you navigate the complexities of the world ahead. Do not take this as an excuse to believe in nothing. That’s not my point. My point is to be very careful when determining how strongly you believe something. Be mindful that a strong emotional attachment to your beliefs can sometimes create barriers to new ideas and keep you from appreciating different perspectives.

Leadership

Some of the greatest lessons I learned about leadership began right here at Roxbury Latin. I still remember walking into a

Left to right: Alessandro Ferzoco ‘14, Liam Gaziano ‘12, Paul Bodet ‘12, Ryan Chipman ‘12, and Josh Rivers ‘11

recruiter’s office years ago, when I was considering ROTC, and talking with him about my activities. He was shocked that in high school I had already held leadership roles in multiple groups. But that’s one of the unique things about Roxbury Latin: From a young age, you’re expected to lead, to take on responsibility, and to learn from older classmates who set the example. Formal leadership felt natural to me when I arrived at the Naval Academy, because RL had instilled those abilities in me early on.

When I qualified as a Mission Commander of my first P-8 flight crew, that sense of responsibility grew deeper. We were Combat Air Crew Three—nicknamed “Fight Club” for being rowdy, fun to fly with, and tactically aggressive. The boys were Hannibal, Crank, Spaz, Scrabble, Beans (me), Chewy, Madre, Huggies (yes, like the diapers), and Weather Boy. We flew over 300 missions together, over three thousand hours if you include the team training time. They are my family. As an officer, people look to you, even if you don’t realize it at first. There I was, 23 years old. Without directly quoting Ruth Langmore from the Netflix show Ozark: “I didn’t know anything about anything.”

There’s a moment when you realize that people are actually counting on you, and it can be a frightening one—a realization that your actions, your guidance, your presence matter. That can be overwhelming, because you never feel ready or qualified. I remember giving advice to younger sailors, some of whom were already married or expecting kids. It felt absurd—me, a single guy in my twenties, trying to counsel someone on marriage and family life.

But they trusted me. So far, the only time I’d led them astray was picking a restaurant in the Philippines that gave us all food poisoning. And that’s part of the job; I can’t shrug my shoulders and say, “Not my problem, it’s your life.” Even if I don’t have an answer, we work through it together.

I quickly learned that leadership isn’t just about giving orders or making decisions; it’s about being tuned in to the people around you. Sometimes, that meant being a counselor for

“Coming from a place like RL, you will one day realize that you have something others might not—a confidence and sense of purpose, instilled in you over your time here. Use it to support others who might need assurance that things are going to be okay.”

hours during long flights, listening and helping others work through personal issues. Everyone needs support at some point, and as a leader you’re not there just to get the job done—you’re there to be someone they can count on.

This is a lesson that goes far beyond the military. As much as society teaches us to be tough and hard, we all have vulnerabilities. It is essential to acknowledge those vulnerabilities, both in ourselves and in the people we lead. Life can sometimes feel like you have to walk through it as if no one is “coming to help you.” But every now and again, we are given the opportunity to be the ones who remind others there is a light at the end, and that they will get through it if they keep moving forward.

Sometimes, the greatest act of service is simply being there for someone—as simple as showing up. Whether you know

them well or barely at all, just being there can make all the difference. I had a crew member who was objectively one of the funniest, most out-of-pocket people I’ve ever met, constantly joking and keeping us on our toes.

Later, I found out he’d been silently struggling, even contemplating giving up. He once asked me to be his gymbro, and though I usually hated working out with people, something compelled me to say yes. I had no idea how much it meant to him—just having someone to talk to and keep him from feeling alone. I realized that’s why he was always talking, just to keep himself out of his own head. Sometimes, we don’t know the battles others are fighting. But by being present, we can give them strength they may not know they need.

Leadership is about being a support system, having empathy, and caring for one another. So remember to look out for those around you and be there for each other, because the impact you can have just by showing up may surprise you.

In Closing

First, remember that service comes in all shapes and sizes. One of the greatest things about this country is that once you’re here, you don’t need to earn your right to stay here. We don’t have mandatory military service like a friend of mine from South Korea did, and that freedom is a privilege. But helping even one person can have a greater impact than you might ever realize. Service isn’t just defined by a uniform you wear or an office you hold; it’s about what you choose to give, even in small ways, to those around you.

Second, we are all Team USA—all the time, not just during the Olympics or the World Cup. It’s easy to get behind our national teams in sports, but let’s start seeing our country as a team, one that’s united despite our internal differences. We are fortunate that our disagreements, at times, are the biggest problems we face, and that’s something to be grateful for. This truly is the greatest nation on earth, and you have the privilege to be part of it. Embrace that unifying idea with a sense of responsibility to protect it and to be grateful for those who built it.

Third, think critically and be thoughtful about what you believe in. Be open to having your beliefs challenged. If an idea is worth holding on to, it will stand up to scrutiny, and those challenges will only strengthen your confidence in it. But remember, everyone has a budget for how much they can care about any given thing. In flight school, we call it “closest gator to the boat” (and yes, that’s because flight school is in Florida). Imagine you’re in a kayak surrounded by alligators. Naturally, you’ll deal with the one closest to you first before worrying about the others. Now, a 300-pound gator might be right next to your kayak, but for someone else, a smaller, 200-pound gator could be closer to theirs. Both are real problems, but each person has to prioritize their immediate threat. So, remember that what seems urgent or important to you may not be someone else’s top priority, and that’s normal. Respect that everyone is facing their own challenges, and their “closest gator” may not be the same as yours.

Finally, take care of each other. Coming from a place like RL, you will one day realize that you have something others might not—a confidence and sense of purpose, instilled in you over your time here. Use it to support others who might need assurance that things are going to be okay. I can’t believe I’m about to reference this, because I could never understand the guy while I was here, but Shakespeare’s Henry VI reflects in part on the burdens of kingship. The king recognizes that his responsibilities are his to carry whether or not he asked for them. Likewise, you may not have asked for or sought out the responsibilities you have, but they are yours, and you must see to them. Others who did not ask for their responsibilities are relying on you to uphold them. Who are you to let them down? None of us deserves an easier or harder life; we are asked to live the life we are given. True leadership is more than titles; it’s about being there for your boys, whoever they may be—a constant in a world of variables.

While I was here more than a decade ago, I never considered having this opportunity to come back and share. It honestly feels weird referring to myself as a veteran, or when people thank me for my service, because it always just felt like we were doing a job—a bunch of insanely unserious people with a serious role to play. Thank you.”

On November 22, students, faculty, staff, trustees, and other members of the Roxbury Latin community gathered for the school’s annual Thanksgiving Hall. This year, Marlyn McGrath delivered the holiday address. Ms. McGrath has been a member of the Roxbury Latin Board of Trustees since 2016 and spent 34 years serving as the Director of Admissions for Harvard College until her retirement in 2021.

Dr. Schaffer opened the Hall by offering some historical context of the holiday—initiatives and affirmations from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Dr. Schaffer wove snippets of history leading up to the Thanksgiving of today, and our collective thanksgiving for Roxbury Latin. “Thank you, with all of my heart, to all of you for gathering together in good spirit, forging this nurturing community, and for extending such a warm and complete welcome to me and others,” he stated.

After a brief litany of thanks from boys in each grade, several readings and song, Dr. Schaffer introduced Ms. McGrath— sharing many of her impressive career achievements and contributions, and then touching on those essential characteristics that are not easily conveyed on paper. “Her kindness and warmth, her generosity and sincerity, keen insights and support are among the gifts she shares in abundance,” Dr. Schaffer stated. “On a day of gratitude, I will say I am deeply grateful for the love she has shown this school, and the support she has shown me over these many months.”

The following is Ms. McGrath’s Thanksgiving address, in its entirety.

Good morning—and happy pre-Thanksgiving break! I know you are all eager for that pause in the season’s action. I recognize that I am the first obstacle to that on this last day. So, nothing complicated from me. But I do want to make Mr. Brennan’s perennial observation that the only thing wrong with the Thanksgiving holiday is the notion that it is the only time to give thanks.

It is customary for this pre-Thanksgiving Hall to focus on thanks. Gratitude. I will do that. Before I do, I feel obliged to provide a bit of outside context: I have actually just learned that November is National Gratitude Month, established as such in 2015 with the exhortation “Give Gratitude a try!” I kid you not. It turns out that November has other official designations, too. It is also “Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month,” and “Vegan Month.” Enough of that.

Here I want to bring in gratitude’s essential companion: memory. To be grateful one has to remember. Certainly, November is full of occasions for memory. It kicks off with All Saints’ Day (honoring actual saints in heaven) and All Souls’ Day (honoring those who have died and are not yet in heaven); then, here at Roxbury Latin, Founder’s Day; and Armistice or Veterans Day. I like the British usage, Remembrance Day. And next week, Thanksgiving. Most of

us will have the good fortune to celebrate with our families and to do a lot of remembering.

My own long list of recollections includes items of family serendipity: My grandfather lost his first wife to the Spanish Flu, as she cared for soldiers as an Army nurse during the First World War. My grandmother’s first husband was killed in action in that war at the terrible battle of the Argonne Forest in France. For those two survivors’ subsequent marriage we feel gratitude—for resilience after tragedy.

I now understand that it is the dread of forgetting that makes us keep those stories warm. We want to remember, and we want to be grateful. We do the same thing when we celebrate a birthday or a wedding anniversary.

Here, because I think you will understand this, I have to mention my huge gratitude to my parents for their decision to send me to Winsor. That decision has been the source of many of the good things in my life. It was a gift made by them intentionally—but for me, the recipient, it was a piece of luck. I expect you can identify with this, and I imagine that decades from now some of you will say that about RL.

Speaking of luck: This might be the moment to tell you how I got here. I mean, truly, how I got here. When I was at Winsor I knew no boys—really—except the son of my parents’ closest friends. Happily, he was at RL and, happily, he knew no girls (except me). He brought me to a dance in the space that is now the Admissions Suite. I remember nothing about that night except meeting his classmates and one in particular, whom I married. Today, my husband, Harry Lewis, RL Class of 1965, is among the folks whose portraits you walk by daily (near the Admissions Suite, by the way). He is lucky to be one of the ones who are still alive. His devotion to this school parallels mine to Winsor. From the beginning we have shared a devotion to RL. It has been the greatest honor for me to serve as a trustee. So here I am this morning, with a chance to express my gratitude.

That tale brings me to the theme of our mutual gratitude to Roxbury Latin. A school’s success, or endurance, should never be taken for granted. In the United States there are over 20,000 secondary schools, public and private. The range and diversity of those schools is one of the important features of this country—they really are diverse, and they have a wide range of goals and missions, let alone school cultures. And most of them have faced challenges of one kind or another— sometimes about mission and goals, sometimes about resources.

Roxbury Latin’s history has been particularly challenging, you might say fraught, partly because it covers so many centuries. This morning, my gratitude—our shared gratitude—is focused on RL and on those who created and sustained this school over those centuries. It is not the same place it was in the beginning. The trustees—who bear the responsibility of supporting the school’s life and protecting its future, in circumstances they can’t foresee—have had to do a lot of adapting. The headmaster keeps the school on track. Believe it or not, there were periods in the early years when the school could not afford the luxury of a headmaster. Who am I to say that the trustees will never feel pressed to save money in the future by forgoing a headmaster? (Not a possibility we discussed when we recruited our own wonderful Dr. Schaffer…) But I stray from my topic.

I know that most of you have been thoroughly schooled in the miraculous foundation and development of Roxbury Latin. Even our wonderful school songs add depth, and appeal, to the story. If you would like to immerse yourself in a deep slice of American history as revealed by the history of Roxbury Latin, I commend to you Reverend Jarvis’ magnum opus, Schola Illustris. (That is more Latin than I intended here.) You would see that hard choices had to be made—at every turn. We are grateful to those who made sure the school survived.

The origin story begins with its founding by John Eliot in the form of a one-room schoolhouse in the city of Roxbury. It was founded as a “free school”—that is, free from government control, independent. It had a difficult financial model

of long-term investment by families. The budget was often under stress. It had several moves of location, and enrollments waxed and waned. For a couple of decades in the early 19th century, the school agreed to a degree of public control in exchange for a subsidy from the city of Roxbury. Part of the deal was that RL would admit boys from the public schools. Happily for us today, RL failed to admit enough boys from the public schools and was expelled from the public school system. The trustees rose to the occasion and carried on.

Another juncture where things could easily have gone wrong came in the mid-19th century when the admission requirements for Harvard College suddenly became more rigorous and more specific. Harvard applicants would have to know physics, chemistry, modern history, and German, along with the traditional classical curriculum. I would bet that none of us in this room today could meet those requirements. Roxbury Latin’s trustees found a headmaster, William Coe Collar (known these days as the Second Founder), who would elevate the course of study and hire specialized teachers—and who would also add athletics, drama, The Tripod, a pretty diverse extracurricular program. That all sounds good, I expect we agree, but the new plan required budgetary finesse. The school quadrupled in size, ironically producing a suddenly competitive enrollment situation—and rapidly earning the school a new level of respect, well beyond Boston. The decision to move to our present beautiful and ample space was compelled by the larger enrollments and by the expanded program, but it required courage to do it. And here we salute two of the trustees who led the effort to move to our present address—Robert Hallowell Gardiner, Class of 1872, and Charles Hall Grandgent, Class of 1879. Their portraits are right here, on our wall. We thank them especially as we gather today.

Financial circumstances have almost always been a challenge. One thing that amazes me is how constantly, from the start, the school has been committed to prevent family finances from being a barrier to enrollment. That

is a remarkable thing for a school of the quality RL has maintained over the centuries. All along, the trustees have protected the school’s original purposes—even as every element of its environment has changed radically. Trustees elect their successors—they are a self-perpetuating body— and they have earned our collective gratitude. Mortui vivos docent.

I spent decades in college admissions, a gig that allowed me to visit and appreciate many schools in the United States and abroad. Roxbury Latin is unique in several ways. I use that word with care. I see the origins of some of the unique features way back in its history. The insistence that every boy be known and loved (not a phrase many other schools could get away with); the relentless emphasis on character (“We care most of all what kind of person a boy is”); the ideal of the generalist. These were here from the beginning.

I know a lot about a lot of schools. I can tell you that the ideal of the generalist is all but lost—and that that ideal is truly our distinction today. You may not actually be grateful for this now. But you should be grateful that RL does not force you to figure out what you are best at and make you put all your energies into that.

Most pertinent to today’s theme, I have to note the centrality of gratitude as a notion in the school’s ethos and its daily life. In sharp contrast to other schools—including some we know and admire—RL families feel, and express, their understanding that they are fortunate to be in the school. They support the school in every way. Students act as if the school is theirs. They are proud and grateful.

Back in the day my admissions office would bring a gaggle of staff and faculty out to RL (and to other schools) to interview candidates for admission. And we instructed them: 1) Wear an extra layer of clothing when visiting this coldest school in continuous existence in North America; and 2) Do not be surprised when you ask a boy the location of a restroom to be accompanied by him to

the restroom, and then walked back to the interview room. This school feels different from all other schools, but, I think, it feels very much the way it must have been in the beginning. “We are all in this together”—that is how it feels, and that is how it feels to all of us who are fortunate enough to be in the school family. You will hear that “family” metaphor used in other schools. But it is more real, more valid at Roxbury Latin.

For that we are very grateful.

I won’t get this closing just right.

The proper way to conclude these comments would be by naming all the people here who constitute our school and expressing my gratitude to each of you. Teachers and students. Please know I would name the names if we had time!

A school is not a building, it’s simply a group of people, as schools have been in any time. You are the school of today and that is truly worthy of our thanks. That puts us all in the long line of those who came before us and who made, and kept, Roxbury Latin what it is.

Thank you for including me this morning. I hope you will not leave feeling pressure to meet a life partner right here at RL—but I thought you should be aware that it can happen.

I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and a welcome break.

Julie Nicoletti on Wellness and Nutrition

On November 12, students and faculty gathered in Smith Theater for a Health and Wellness Hall focused on nutrition, led by Julie Nicoletti. Ms. Nicoletti, a nutritionist for the Boston Bruins, founded Kinetic Fuel in 2008 as a company focused on optimizing athletic performance, health, and well-being while reducing the risk of illness and injury.

“The goal of this morning’s presentation is to challenge you to become more mindful about the choices that you make every day and to become more aware of how those choices make you feel,” Ms. Nicoletti began. “We are only aware of about 10% of the choices we make regarding food each day.”

In her experience working with professional, collegiate, and high school athletes, Ms. Nicoletti sees various levels of commitment to nutrition and is keenly aware of how nutrition directly impacts performance and health. She explained that the focus of her talk would not be an effort to force anyone to make dramatic changes, but rather to provide information. “I’m going to try to give you the answers to the test. If you’re motivated to make better choices, you’ll know what you’re looking for,” she said.

Ms. Nicoletti discussed common foods and food groups, whole foods and processed foods, macronutrients and hydration, caffeine and ideal intake. “For each meal, choose your protein and then add two colors,” she advised. This means that a prime example of a nutritious meal is a protein, whether beef, chicken, beans, or tofu, among others, and then two or more fruits or vegetables that bring color to the plate. If the plate is all beige, that is not a well-rounded or nutritious meal. “Whether you are an athlete or not, student, faculty, or staff, the basis of this information applies to all of us, because we all eat every day.”

The Latonics Make Their Debut

The 2024–2025 Roxbury Latin Latonics took to the Rousmaniere stage for the first time this year on October 24. The group’s set began with an arrangement of the folksong Danny Boy with soloist Bruno Kim (I), followed by The Four Freshmen’s It’s a Blue World, and ending with a pair of pop covers: Ben Rector’s Brand New with soloist Ryan Miller (I), and John Pagano’s Change in My Life with soloist Brendan Reichard (I).

Instrumentalists Take the Stage

On November 21, several RL musicians showcased their instrumental talents during a Recital Hall. The program began with William Huang (VI) on piano performing Étude Op. 10, No. 9 by Frédéric Chopin. Pianist Tian Zheng (V) performed Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement by Beethoven; and violinist Teddy Fortuin (III) performed Bach’s Partita for Violin No. 2, Sarabande Darian Estrada (I) performed his own Beethoven favorite—Piano Sonata No. 11—to bring Hall to a close.

watch the latonics hall performance using your phone to scan the qr code:

watch the recital hall performances by using your phone to scan the qr code:

Harvard Glee Club Joins RL in Festival

of Men’s Choruses

On November 8, Rousmaniere Hall was filled with the sound of more than 100 male voices singing in harmony at the Festival of Men’s Choruses. The festival is an annual tradition that welcomes choirs from across New England and the Boston area. This year’s guest was the Harvard Glee Club, and RL alumnus Ethan Phan ’21, led by Dr. Andrew Clark, Harvard’s Director of Choral Activities.

CALENDAR 2025

1 Winter Musical : Curtains

Friday, February 28, at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m.

Smith Theater

2 Winsor joint concert

Friday, March 7, at 7:00 p.m.

Rousmaniere Hall

3 A Cappella Fest 2025

Friday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m.

Smith Theater

4 Senior concert

Friday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m.

Rousmaniere Hall

5 Instrumental concert

Friday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m.

Smith Theater and Rousmaniere Hall

6 RL'S NIGHT OF SCENES

Friday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m.

watch the festival of men’s choruses by using your phone to scan the qr code:

Saturday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m.

Smith Theater

RL’s Fall Play

Brings

Peter and the Starcatcher to the Stage

On November 15 and 16, Roxbury Latin presented its fall play, Peter and the Starcatcher, on the Smith Theater stage. The play, based on the 2004 novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is a whimsical prequel to J. M. Barrie’s classic Peter and Wendy that explores how Peter Pan became the boy who never grew up. With appearances from beloved characters like Captain Hook, Smee, and a menacing crocodile—along with a ship called H.M.S.

Neverland the play follows Peter and Molly, a spirited “Starcatcher,” on a thrilling journey to protect magical starstuff. Over the course of many weeks of rehearsal, RL’s actors and stage crew brought life to these reimagined stories with humor, heart, and hard work, to the delight of the audience.

Production photos: Marcus Miller

Head of School Sam Schaffer delivers the Opening of Fall Term Address

Iam so happy that you are here, and that I am here. What a great place to be as we exit the summer and merge into the school year. I know it is going to be a great year.

This summer, given the circumstances of my own situation, I’ve been thinking a lot about the beginning of new school years—about beginnings, and about newness. And since a few days ago, after I met the Sixies during their orientation, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it was like to be a rising seventh-grader and beginning a new school year. As I told them, that summer for me was the summer that the original Air Jordan IIs had come out. But it was a very important summer in the life of Sammy Schaffer for other reasons, too. Indeed, the summer before my seventh-grade year was the best of times… and it was the worst of times.

I headed into the summer before seventh grade with my first girlfriend ever. Whitney was her name. A green-eyed beauty. Brilliant, athletic. Dreamy. A potential life partner. The best of times.

I also got a letter from Whitney that summer on her camp letterhead. I have that letter right here. “I don’t want to sound like a fool or make you hate me,” she wrote, “but after [three] months you have become more like a brother than a boyfriend… and you seem to really like me seriously and I just don’t… so I feel like I am leading you on and I know it seems low to break up in a letter but I just respect you too much to let it drag on. Please don’t despise me or call me names behind my back.” The worst of times.

I grew six inches that summer, rocketing to the highfive-foots, and my future in professional athletics seemed imminent. The best of times.

I also got Osgood-Schlatter’s disease from all that growth, which put me in excruciating pain and meant that I couldn’t play football in the coming fall. The worst of times.

But perhaps the most important thing that happened to me that summer—and sealed the deal on the best of times— was that I had Coach Mitchell in the final season of my Little League career. Coach Mitchell was one of those great

coaches—like the coaches you have here. He taught us about situational baseball, and hitting the cutoff man, and double steals. We made it to the league championships, and I made the all-star team. But that wasn’t why he was a great coach. He was a great coach because he was a good man. A kind man. A man who could tell when I’d been having a bad day and would know if I needed to be left alone or if I needed a quiet word. A man who I could talk to about my recently developed stutter. A man who wanted me to become a good person. He was also a man who held us to high standards, and one of the most important things he taught me— and one of the most lasting—was to give a good handshake.

It was a powerful lesson. A small one, but an important lesson that came at the right time and that has stuck with me always. A good handshake means a lot.

“ The handshake itself, as it turns out, has a long—and interesting—history, too. It’s not a new thing. In fact, the handshake has been around for quite some time.

“Sammy,” he said, “a good handshake is everything. It’s your first impression. It’s about respect and honesty and being upstanding. Look the person in the eye—really see them in the eyes. Grasp their hand like you mean it. Be firm. Not limp, like a dead fish. Not aggressive, like the Incredible Hulk. Just be firm and solid. Do that, and that’s a good handshake.”

And a good handshake, of course, is something that I have been thinking about as this day—our opening day— approached. I have been learning a great deal about Roxbury Latin these past few months. I am at something of a deficit here, of course. I haven’t lived this school as you have. I don’t know it as well as you do. But I am eager to live it and to get to know it. And I am eager to learn from you and to get to know you. And I hope you’ll be eager to get to know me (and to help me, especially, to learn your names—which I will, but it may take a little while —please be patient!). But I do know some things about this school that a lot of very good people—you, your teachers, your relatives, your fellow alumni—have told me. About what we value here. About what we do here. And one thing I have learned is how important traditions are here.

The front panel of the throne dais of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III depicts the king (left) shaking the hand of Babyonian King Mardukzakir-shumi (right).

And in particular a tradition we are about to take part in: the All-School Handshake.

And so I’ve been musing a little bit about handshakes—ever since Coach Mitchell taught me their importance, of course, but also these past few weeks. It may be something that you’ve thought about too—or maybe you haven’t. They are such a part of our culture that perhaps they’re one of those things we do and don’t think about. And there are so many kinds of handshakes out there. I’m sure you can think of many of them.

There are Handshake Greetings: when you meet someone, you reach out and grasp their hand. There are Handshake Variations: the fist bump, the elbow bump, the dap, the dance, the backand-forth-up-and-down-wiggle-turn-around-hip-bump. There is the “Old Bro Handshake” that my daughter makes fun of when I see my friends: big fist, bring it in, three back pats. There are, of course, myriad Sports Handshakes: the wrestling handshake before a match; the captains’ handshake after the coin toss; the most elaborate NBA pre-game handshakes and wiggles; MLB post-homerun handshakes (or jumps or handshake dances); the post-game handshake line; and so on. There are Humorous Handshakes: like the Key and Peele skit of Obama going down the handshake line (if you haven’t seen it, Google it). There are Famous Handshakes (and photos of them): Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee at Appomattox; Stalin and Churchill and Truman at Potsdam; Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley; Bill Clinton and JFK; Queen Elizabeth and Martin McGuinness; and on and on. There are even Record Handshakes, it turns out. Theodore

Hera and Athena handshaking, late 5th century B.C., Acropolis Museum, Athens.

A handshake is depicted on a Roman coin from A.D. 97, with the name of the goddess Concordia.

Roosevelt set the modern record with 8,510 handshakes at a White House reception in 1907, a record that was broken by Atlantic City mayor Joseph Lazarow, who shook 11,000 hands in a single day for a July 1977 publicity stunt. For that matter, on May 27, 2008, Kevin Whittaker and Cory Jens broke the Guinness World Record for the “World’s Longest Handshake” (single hand category!) in San Francisco by shaking hands for nine and a half hours. This record was broken four more times in the next fourteen months, and the current title is held by Matthew Rosen and Joe Ackerman at 15 hours, 30 minutes and 45 seconds. Things to aspire to…

The handshake itself, as it turns out, has a long—and interesting—history, too. It’s not a new thing. In fact, the handshake has been around for quite some time.

The earliest known depiction is from an ancient Assyrian relief from the ninth century B.C. of the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III shaking the hand of the Babylonian King Marduk-zakirshumi to seal an alliance between the two leaders.

The Greeks, too, shook hands. Images on funerary steles appear in the 5th century of two people offering their right hand to each other in a practice called dexiosis (literally to give the right hand). Sometimes it’s a couple, sometimes it’s two gods, sometimes a god and a mortal, usually pictured in farewell or in a reunion in the afterlife. Homer wrote (sang) about handshakes also: in Book 14 of the Iliad, Neptune takes Agamemnon’s “right hand in his own” and assures him that “the blessed gods are not yet so bitterly angry with you.”

The Romans and Etruscans, too, pictured the handshake in their funerary art, and there is a Roman coin from the first century A.D. showing two hands clasped together next to the name of the goddess Concordia. Ovid writes of how the Sabine women persuaded their fathers and husbands to stop fighting: “The

men let their weapons and their mettle fall,” he writes in the Fasti, “and, having laid by their swords, the fathers-in-law shake hands with their sons-in-law and receive their handshake.”

Theories exist, then, that the handshake grew as a way of showing peaceful intentions. Reaching out with an empty right hand—one’s sword hand—symbolized a lack of threat and a peaceful gesture. Hence the Assyrian and Babylonian kings. Or the Sabine warriors. It has been suggested that Romans grasped forearms to make sure there was no knife up the sleeve. The shaking of a hand up and down—which emerged later—could be seen as a way to ensure the same.

The development of the handshake as a greeting took a little longer to develop, it appears. Courtly order in medieval

and early modern England took precedent. Hierarchy prescribed signs of rank: kneeling, bowing, curtseying, removing one’s headgear to a superior. Class distinctions were important. There is—as one might imagine—a deep academic scholarship of the handshake. Digging into JSTOR will find you articles on the politics of touch, the semiotics of the handshake, the gendered implications of the grasp, the psychology of the business handshake, and so on. One academic referred to a “pioneering essay on the ‘hand of friendship’ in the Netherlands.” Fascinating, if you are enamored with that sort of stuff.

If you sort through that literature, it comes clear that handshakes have generally corresponded to two things. One, the demonstration of peaceful intent or friendliness—of

greeting, parting, congratulations, gratitude, sportsmanship. And two, the sealing of a bond, whether business or diplomatic or symbolic, a sign of trust and respect. In short, as a sign of connection or as a sign of equality.

And it turns out that the custom of regular handshaking that eventually made it to us developed through two particular routes. The first was composed of merchants and traders, particularly in Northern Europe, who routinely shook hands to confirm a deal. They were making agreements across barriers of class, religion, and nation, and the handshake for them created a framework of mutual trust, a trust which was necessary for the successful trading systems that were the root of our modern capitalist economy.

The second potent network was the Quakers. For them, the development of the handshake was ideological and even theological. The Quakers, you might know, were a relatively small minority in the late-17th and early-18th centuries, who believed in what was then a radical egalitarianism. They dressed plainly, avoiding outward shows of status. They addressed others in the familiar rather than the formal. They required no ministers for worship and were free simply to speak from the heart. And they declined to bow or to curtsey to their so-called social betters. Instead, all the “Friends”—men and women alike—simply shook hands as their daily greetings.

And as Quakerism spread in the United States, Americans embraced this greeting eagerly. The democratizing impulse of the late-18th and early-19th centuries was strong, as the American ethos of the early Republic sought to distinguish the new nation from the British monarchy, and the notions of an egalitarian society during the Jacksonian Era and Market Revolution caught the American imagination. Such a gesture as a handshake among equals rang true. Of course, the paradoxes of American democracy brought the so-called democratizing imagery of the handshake into relief, as well. A white enslaver would never have dreamed of shaking hands with an enslaved person. And poignantly, abolitionists used for their pamphlets the image of an African, kneeling in chains and holding up his hands asking: “Am I not a Man and a Brother?” Sometimes this was paired with an image of two hands locked in a cordial

handshake (not unlike the Roman Concordia eighteen centuries earlier or the symbol of SNCC a century later).

And the very nature of hands shaking among equals was at the heart of the American idea of democracy, an idea that was at the heart of the section of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass that Cole just so artfully read. At the beginning of the poem, when the child hands the grass to the speaker, the brief contact between the two sparks Whitman’s imagination. The “uniform hieroglyphic” that he describes, the grass “sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones, growing among black folks as among white,” is a rumination on American democracy at a time when American democracy was deeply threatened. Of Natives (Canuck and Tuckahoe), Congressmen, and formerly enslaved people, Whitman writes, “I give them the same, I receive them the same.” And those sprouts of grass will grow, he hopes, just as democracy will. A powerful and poetic riff on a topic that is important to us—a democratically gathered community in a democratic society during an election year. And a riff that begins when Whitman touches the hand of a child.

And so handshakes play an important part in American history. And they play an important role in our school’s history, too. The very first All-School Handshake on the opening day of term, as it turns out, happened exactly twenty years ago today, on the very first day of Headmaster

Brennan’s long and distinguished tenure. The school had for many years kept the tradition of the seniors and departing faculty shaking hands with the school community at the end of the year. Mr. Brennan thought it would be a good and right symbol to begin the year that way as well, and the other night as I was rummaging around in my desk, I found the notes from his very first Hall—from back in 2004—that he had left me. In that Hall he gave nods to the Olympics, to the definition of a good school, and to what it means to be an RL boy. And at the end, after describing the process of the All-School Handshake he wrote, “This will be a token of our solidarity, of our sisterhood and brotherhood, and a promise to share in the collective fortune of this place as it is defined by our individual relationships.”

over time—a sort of generational handshake, if you will.

And so this tradition we have of the handshake—the All-School Handshake—is of our essence. It is essentially important. Because it is a connection, a connection with our past but also with each other.

“What a fine sentiment, what a fine tradition, and what a representation of the core of what we do. As we chatted last night on the eve of my first Hall as Head, he told me, “It was something that I had done at every school I had been at since 1986, but nowhere did it take better than at Roxbury Latin. And that’s because of the intimacy of our community.” Indeed. (I can also imagine him guffawing right now and saying,“Sam, I hope the handshake is a tradition you can grasp... The handshake is a tradition you can grasp.”)

And so this tradition we have of the handshake—the All-School Handshake— is of our essence. It is essentially important. Because it is a connection, with our past but also with each other.

It is a physical connection. The touching of hands itself brings you in physical contact with each other. It is engagement, physical engagement, and that is as important as anything. Dr. Jared Cooney-Horvath—who spoke to you last year about the brain and learning—spoke to the faculty last week about tech, and one of his most salient points was that there are studies that show that touch and voice and physical presence cause the release of oxytocin, which creates good feelings in humans.

It is also a symbolic connection. A gesture of respect. Something we do to show trust, something we do to show warmth and welcome, something we do to express mutual trust and feeling.

The handshake—and the AllSchool Handshake—then, is something that shows and creates community.

Traditions are important because they mark the values we have, and the values that we feel worthy of passing down. Traditions at Roxbury Latin make up the core of who we are, because as they are passed down, they symbolize what it is we believe in, what it is we find important about a place. And even our word “tradition” is related to “handshake.” It bears its roots from the Latin verb “tradere,” which means “to deliver, to hand over”—and “tradere” comes from “trans” and “dare.” A tradition, then, is something you literally “give across,” that you pass down

And that’s why it works here. Our physical handshake is the manifestation of a more figurative and symbolic handshake. It represents an embrace and a connection with something larger than just the person in front of you. It represents a connection with the community. It represents the community.

It represents the physical community that gathers here—in this Hall and on these grounds—with great and meaningful frequency. Jostled, cramped, and smushed, but together. Listening to each other, praising each other, learning from each other. We are metaphorically shaking

hands with this physical community.

It represents the intellectual community that dedicates itself to the life of the mind. That translates Cicero, graphs polynomials, declines verbs, and reads Frederick Douglass. A community that will figuratively shake hands with its studies and will fully embrace that intellectual life.

It represents the moral and spiritual community that laughs and cries and sings and prays and cheers together. That makes mistakes and picks each other up. That believes in doing what is right and that encourages each other to do so. And that embraces each other at all times. It is, in its own way, a sacred community.

Therefore, as you step out into the school year, grasp all these communities firmly and with meaning. Look the challenges in the eye. Don’t give the limp fish—you might as well not even shake hands. Don’t grasp too hard—that hurts you and it hurts them. But grasp with intent and empathy and true interest. Look people in the eye. And thrive.

This is a talk, then, about making a connection. About being a part of a community. About physical and figurative handshakes. About our traditions and what they symbolize. About how we grasp each other’s hands, how we are a community, how we take on everything with that equality in mind. That’s what a democracy is. That’s what a band of brothers is. That’s what Roxbury Latin is.

We are poised on the edge of a great school year. I love this moment, this beginning, this newness. This is the best day of the year. Think of all the great things you are going to do. And so, just as we do at the end of the year with the outgoing seniors and departing faculty members, we are going to welcome the new members of our community—and each other—with a handshake. We are going to look each other in the eye, grasp each other’s hands, and shake them in a symbol of our trust and respect and love for each other—and in a gesture to the intellectual and moral and spiritual embrace we are going to offer each other and our studies and our school this year. The All-School Handshake, with all that it encompasses. What better way to begin?

An Interview with

Dr. Schaffer

by Nick Makura, Class I

At the start of the school’s 380th year, Roxbury Latin officially entered a new era with Dr. Sam Schaffer’s tenure as the school’s 12th head. Originally from Atlanta, Dr. Schaffer brings over two decades of experience and knowledge from the world of independent schools, most recently in his role as the Head of Upper School at the St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. As he continues to build relationships with students, faculty and staff in these first months, Dr. Schaffer sat down with The Tripod’s Nick Makura (I) to discuss his career, his first impressions, and his hopes for the school. The interview is reprinted here with permission.

How have your first weeks been at RL?

It has been an amazing start to the school year—everyone has been so welcoming, and the first weeks of school have been so exciting and energizing. In terms of my favorite part, I can’t think of one. I love being out on the circle in the morning and greeting you guys. I love walking around in classes, and seeing what’s going on in there. I was in Mr. Piper’s woodworking class yesterday, and guys were making stuff with their hands, and gluing and sawing, and then I went to Mr. Sokol’s class, and then Mr. Bettendorf’s class, and hearing them talk about math concepts I could only barely remember from high school! And then Mr. Randall’s class, and Dr. Dunn’s class, and so on. I just love seeing you guys in action. I stopped into Mr. Smith’s U.S. History class yesterday, and he even let me teach a painting. All of that has been really enjoyable and rewarding—just walking around, going out to practices, seeing guys out there running, or playing soccer, or football. Or sitting in my office and hearing Eliot Park (I) practice the organ, or Darian Estrada (I) play the piano, or the guys in the Chamber Ensemble rehearsing in Rousmaniere. I love being at a place where boys are happy to be, where faculty are happy to be. Everyone is energized, and it makes me energized. That’s what I’d hoped for in coming here, and that’s what I’m seeing. So far, so good.

What drew you to RL?

Well, many things. I’ve known about Roxbury Latin for a long time, being on the boys’ school circuit. I love being in a boys’

school. Nineteen of my twenty years as a teacher have been at boys’ schools. And the idea of being at a boys’ school, where you have high-achieving young men who want to be here, who believe in the generalist model, who believe in the value of learning, who love to play sports and to sing and to write and to act and to do all those things—that’s where I want to be. That generalist model is what I believe in. I think it’s really important for young men to stay broad at this point, and to use their brains in many different ways, and to use their bodies in many different ways. I want to be at a place that is immersive, where boys are here from the start to the end of the day, where their world is centered on their school. All those things I saw when I visited RL, and when I spoke to people about RL. All those things build community—being part of a collective endeavor, and being at a place where excellence is valued, where hard work is valued, where character is valued, and where being together is valued. The early returns are that this is a place where all those things happen! I had heard about that, and I had sensed that, and it has borne out so far.

Why did you decide to become an educator?

My senior year in college, I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do. My father had been a teacher—he was a professor at Georgia Tech for 53 years—and I’d seen how happy he’d been. So senior year in college, I had to figure out what to do. I was a history major, and I knew I loved history. I was an athlete, and I knew I loved sports. I had spent my summers working at

camps, and I knew I loved being with young people. So I said to myself: “Well, my dad’s a teacher, I like history, I like sports, and I like young people. Why not give it a try?” So I applied to a bunch of jobs, and I got a teaching fellowship at Groton. And I remember, when we started in September, by Thursday of that first week, I said to myself, “This is what I should be doing.” I just knew. I had a great mentor there. I coached football, basketball, and baseball. I taught U.S. History, and I just loved it. So, pretty quickly I knew I wanted to be in schools. I am really fortunate that it just clicked so soon.

You mentioned an inspiration in education and a mentor. Could you tell us who’s been your biggest inspiration in life?

That’s a hard one. There are so many. My father, of course, as a lifelong teacher and educator. He was always the one that I went to for advice. I’m different from my father in some ways, but I’ve always admired his kindness, his gentleness, his friendliness, his ability to combine intellectual pushing with a sense of enjoying being with students. Many college professors focus on their research, and the teaching’s an afterthought. My father was different; he was an educator from the very start, and I remember going to see his classes, and how his students just gravitated toward him. I’ve always wanted that. And then, along the way, I’ve had incredible mentors. I’ve been very fortunate, being at the schools where I’ve been—from my own high school, Westminster (in Atlanta, Georgia), to going to UNC, to

being at Groton, to being at St. Albans, to being here—to have had people who have mentored me along the way. And that is a long, long list. Maybe I’ll give a Hall about it sometime.

What is your vision for Roxbury Latin going forward?

At this point I’m still learning so much, and so the vision I have is more general than specific at this point. But, I think that I want us to continue to be a place that values character, intellect, and all-around excellence. That’s what I want. I want to make sure we remain a community that values the life of the mind, the life of the spirit, and the life of the body, a place where we value learning and we value being together. That is my vision: to maintain those core values. That’s why I came here—to be at a place where everyone is known and loved, where we’re in it together as a part of this collective endeavor. That’s what I believe. That’s why I’m here. That’s who I am.

What advice do you have for RL boys?

Immerse yourself in this place. Have fun and “get after it.” That’s what I’ve seen so far. The boys who come to this school want to be here, they embrace everything that we do. Think back to my opening Hall. In referencing the all-school handshake, I talked not just about the physical handshake but also about the figurative handshake: If you fully embrace this school, if you dig into all the things that we offer, if you are with each other, if you just “shake the hand” of this place, it’s all going to work out.

RL’s Path to Carbon Emissions Net Zero

In 2024, a Roxbury Latin team led by Mrs. Elizabeth Carroll collaborated with Arch Energy—the energy division of Consigli Construction, led by trustee Matt Consigli P’24 and his brother, Anthony—to assess the school’s carbon footprint. The group compiled energy data to fulfill Boston’s Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO)’s annual benchmarking requirements. And what they found was heartening.

The report—detailed on a new sustainability portion of the school’s website—highlights RL’s current successes in the school’s path to net zero carbon emissions. Based on BERDO’s suggested emission reduction timeline, RL is, to date, roughly 20 years ahead of the guideline’s schedule. With a continued focus on sustainability and reducing carbon emissions in today’s society, RL has been proactive in taking steps to ensure success and leadership in this area.

Over the last several years, RL has made significant improvements to its infrastructure, most notably in the construction of two large solar panel arrays—one installed in 2012 on the roof of the Gordon Fieldhouse and one built in 2020 on the roof of the new Indoor Athletic Facility—with over 1,400 panels in total. Together, these systems account for roughly 20% of the total electrical usage required for daily operations of the school, and significantly reduce carbon emissions.

Carbon offset (compensating for greenhouse gas emissions by reducing emissions elsewhere) is not accounted for in the official calculation of carbon

emission reduction. Despite being in the city of Boston, RL’s campus includes a 48-acre forest, which the school acquired in 2008. Annually, the forest removes 292 tons of carbon from the atmosphere.

Aside from the physical implementation of infrastructure, RL also features an environmentally conscious educational program, with science courses focused on the environment and ecosystems beginning in Grade 7. RL has also been fortunate to host an impressive cohort of guest speakers with expertise in this area, such as U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Harvard Professor of Environmental Science Dr. Michael McElroy, and United Nations Science Advisor Maria Ivanova, to name a few. Finally, RL’s chapter of the student group ECOS (Environmentally Concerned Organization of Students) helps oversee waste reduction and management throughout the student body.

read the report in its entirety by using your phone to scan the qr code:

CURRENT CARBON FOOTPRINT

Founder’s Day

“O Roxbury, Old Roxbury, ever dear since the days of long ago!”

The Founder’s Song rang out through Rousmaniere Hall on November 7, as the entire school joined together to celebrate the founding of Roxbury Latin, now in its 380th year. After several opening prayers in Hebrew, English, Greek, and Latin, led by selected Class I boys, Dr. Schaffer welcomed the community, providing historical context on the founding of the school and introducing the topic of this year’s Founder’s Day: Boston’s “Big Dig” infrastructure project that took place in Boston from 1991 through 2007.

“On Founder’s Day each year, we honor John Eliot, and we focus on his works and Roxbury Latin’s mission, and how the mission has withstood the test of time, and how we keep that mission alive today,” Dr. Schaffer stated. “This year, we learn about and explore this city in hopes that we may better understand the community around us, acknowledge our own undeserved privilege, and lay the groundwork and practice the habits that will inspire us to serve others throughout our lives.”

This year, Ian Coss delivered the Founder’s Day address. Ian is an award-winning podcast producer and narrator. He hosted the Peabody Award-winning, nine-part GBH podcast series, The Big Dig, which was named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by various publications, including The New Yorker, and spent more than six weeks in the top 100 shows on Apple podcasts.

“When I was growing up, I heard a lot about this thing called the Big Dig,” Ian began, “and most of what I heard about it was bad.” Ian continued, “I think most people in Boston today feel pretty good about it, so how do you reconcile those things?” Thus, his interest in the Big Dig began. >>

" Ian explained the origins of the Big Dig, a solution to the highly congested and impractical elevated I-93 Central Artery running through the heart of Boston, built in the 1950s. A proposed solution— of burying the highway, of the construction of bridges and tunnels— was scoffed at and ridiculed. “It is hard to overstate how radical this idea was,” Ian explained. However, the project eventually began, and finally culminated two decades later in what is still one of the most complex, expensive infrastructure projects in United States history.

“I don’t want to say the project had no problems or flaws,” Ian said, “but the narrative around it—the cynicism and the negativity— made it very difficult to see that, along with all of the challenges and complexities, we were getting a transformative project that would change the city forever.” >>

After Hall, boys, faculty, and staff gathered for the annual all-school photo on the Senior Grass before changing into more comfortable clothes to prepare for a venture downtown. But before hopping on the commuter rail, the school headed to the Smith Theater for the traditional Founder’s Day Kahoot! challenge. Dr. Schaffer provided the boys with more historical context surrounding the Central Artery project, while Mr. Sokol and Mrs. Carroll spoke about the engineering and environmental aspects, respectively. Finally, Mr. Piper hosted this year’s Kahoot!, a moment when the boys could show off their trivia knowledge and competitive spirits. After two close rounds, Liam Coyle (VI) was crowned the victor, and it was time to head downtown.

Via commuter rail, the school journeyed together to South Station and then trekked the Rose Kennedy Greenway (a result of the Big Dig!) to Quincy Market for lunch. Afterward, it was time to experience the Big Dig fruits of labor first-hand, through faculty-led walking tours and time spent exploring the city.

A Sunny Fall Family Day

The sun shone on another successful Fall Family Day and Homecoming at Roxbury Latin on October 19. The day was full of delicious food, family, friends, and RL spirit. In the morning, RL defeated Belmont Hill 2–0 in the annual Terry Iandiorio ’89 Memorial Alumni Soccer match. Later, the Varsity Football team secured a victory in front of a crowd of fans, beating the Rivers School 35–0. The cross country and soccer teams competed in spirited and hard fought matches as well. The energy of the boys was palpable, and the cheers from the stands rang throughout campus, especially during the annual and storied halftime tug-of-war, in which the Fifthies were victorious, beating the Sixies.

Varsity Cross Country are New England Champions

Roxbury Latin’s Varsity and JV Cross Country teams have won or been runners-up in seven of the last eight New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Division II Cross Country Championships. This year, both teams secured another victory, with RL boys placing first and securing several other top spots in the races, clinching the coveted New England title.

Both the Varsity and JV Cross Country teams had an overall successful season, with many victories, broken records, and hard-fought races. However, the season also had its share of tough losses, including in the ISL Championship race. “This year’s team came into the season with high expectations—to win both the ISLs and New England D2 championships,” said head coach Bryan Dunn. “The first few meets showed that the talent was there, but it was also apparent that Tabor was going to be a formidable opponent.”

As the season continued, the boys grew closer and were committed to giving it their all. “Each of our runners had moments in the season when things weren’t going their way. However, because of their bonds as a team and a commitment

to one another, they each found a way to run their best when it counted at the championship meets,” said Dr. Dunn.

Finally, the moment had arrived: the New England DII Championship race. The hard work paid off, the team came out on top, and the goal of beating Tabor was achieved. It was a victorious occasion across the board, with the Varsity team securing first place in a field of 20 teams and the JV team securing first place in a field of 13 teams.

James Kerr (III) placed first out of 139 runners in the Varsity race. Rounding out the top 20 were Levi Harrison (I) in fifth place, Liam Walsh (II) and Richie Federico (II) in twelfth and thirteenth, respectively, and Lincoln Hyatt (II) finishing eighteenth.

Eric Archerman (III) placed first out of 133 runners for the JV race. RL boys comprised the entirety of the top four, with Toby Harrison (III), Colin Bradley (II), and Zach Heaton (I) placing second, third, and fourth, respectively. Fin Reichard (II) finished in sixth place, and Max Kesselheim (II) finished in eighth place, making an impressive 60 percent RL top ten.

Liam Walsh (II), James Kerr (III), Levi Harrison (I), Richie Federico (II), and Lincoln Hyatt (II)

Fall Varsity Teams

Football — First row: Mark Mattaliano, Michael Rimas, Sam Seaton, Logan McLaughlin, Benji Macharia, Taylor Cotton, Sam DiFiore, Liam Russell, Noah Rahim (Captain), Michael Strojny (Captain), Tucker Rose (Captain), Johnny Price, Ryan Conneely, Lucas Numa, Tim Ryan, Ben McVane, Shane Bernazzani, Finn Leary, Warren Hu. Second row: Dante LaMonica, Will Erhard, Nitin Muniappan, Chris Vlahos, Jonathan Loo, Danny Tobin, Braden Place, J.P. Ward, Jacob Strojny, Tommy Weber, Auden Duda, Robby O’Shaughnessy, Michael DiLallo, Brayden Gillespie, Khiomany Ortiz, Chris Eaton. Third row: Grant Hedgepeth, Tom DiFiore, Michael Corley, Kevin Greene, Cam Brown, Mo Randall (Coach), Jon Doerer (Coach), Nico Papas (Coach), Matt Golden (Head Coach), George Takacs (Coach), Kevin Claflin (Coach), John Lieb (Coach), Tony Teixeira (Coach), Finn Keohane, Koby Dalton, Rory Kelly, Chase Sullivan, Nate Kelly (Missing: Matt Young).

Varsity Soccer — First row: Luca Bene, Sam Ruscito, Andrew Giordano, Nishant Rajagopalan, Drew Anderson, Caleb Frehywot, Michael Clark, Rahsaan Mustafa-Coentro, Devin Jamal, Alessandro Frigerio, Navid Hodjat. Second row: Matt McDonald (Head Coach), Dillan Akinc, Miles Baumal-Bardy, Devan Rajagopalan, Christo Velikin (Captain), Oliver van den Bosch (Captain), Jaden Barrack-Anidi (Captain), Oliver Cook, Alex Giordano, Joshua Hua, Kenneth Foster, Arturo Solís (Coach), Erald Hysi (Coach) (Missing: Mitch Flynn).

Varsity Cross Country — First row: Austin Reid, Nicholas Glaeser, Fin Reichard, Brendan Reichard, Ezra Klauber (Captain), Levi Harrison (Captain), Zachary Heaton (Captain), Calvin Reid, Darian Estrada, Ameer Hasan, Tobias Harrison, Avish Kumar. Second row: Chris Heaton (Coach), Oliver Colbert, Colin Bradley, Temi Martins Dosumu, Max Kesselheim, Lincoln Hyatt, Paul Tompros, Liam Walsh, Eric Archerman, James Kerr, Richie Federico, David Comander, Denmark Chirunga, Bryan Dunn (Head Coach).

Varsity

Extending Your Hand

Roxbury Latin kicks off the annual

fund

The 2024 Annual Fund Kick-Off Dinner in October brought together more than 500 members of the Roxbury Latin community—alumni and parents, faculty and trustees. Amidst the delicious food and jovial conversation, several wonderful speeches highlighted the heart of the RL experience.

After introductory remarks by Head of School Sam Schaffer, and Chairman of the Annual Fund Kent Sahin ’91, senior Michael Strojny offered engaging, humorous, and heartfelt remarks on his RL experience. Reflecting on his friendships established here, Michael said, “RL’s small size allows all of us to get to know each other so well, and I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to build true friendships here, not just superficial connections with classmates.” Michael shared that friendships are not the only relationships that have shaped his experience, but that his strong relationships with faculty have also helped to shape who he is, and what he cares about. “RL faculty aren’t just teachers—they are coaches, they supervise extracurriculars, and most importantly, they serve as caring advisors… My teachers have had a profound impact on me as a person. My time here has not only helped me become the best student I can be, but also the best version of myself.”

Following Michael’s remarks, Isaias Cardona-Lopez ’15 took to the lectern to share his experience. When reflecting on the

question Who is a Roxbury Latin boy?, Isaias stated, “There is a fascinating dichotomy in which the classic RL ideal of the generalist, the jack of all trades, lives alongside a collection of some of the most talented young men… They hold very specific gifts in music, sports, math, you name it.” After describing the traits and characters of a “typical” RL boy, Isaias said that, growing up, he did not fit this mold. And yet he made the most of what RL had to offer—discovering new interests and talents, and finding incredible support in his peers, teachers, coaches, and advisors. “RL took a chance on me, and it changed my life forever,” he said.

The education and support that foster personal growth and well-being at RL is among the school’s most distinctive values. And the generosity of the Roxbury Latin community is what makes this possible. As Isaias said, “Together, we can make sure that many other boys are extended the same opportunity.”

On Saturday, October 19, to kick off Fall Family Day, alumni from Roxbury Latin and Belmont Hill laced up their cleats in memory of friend and classmate Terry Iandiorio ’89, a former faculty member at Belmont Hill. Twenty RL alumni—from classes of 1987 through 2024—turned out and secured a victory

November

November 14 The Yale Club of New York City Founder’s Day

CLASS NOTES

1951

David Hershenson writes “On my 91st birthday, I retired from teaching as a senior lecturer at UMass Boston. I had taught there for 21 years, since our return to the Boston area in 2003.”

1963

David Scheff retired from Roslindale Pediatrics in 2021 and has been working part-time seeing newborns at Beth Israel in Boston. He is catching up on non-medical literature and movies on Kanopy.

1964

On September 5, the David Goldstein Chair in medical oncology was created at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This was made possible through a bequest of Jonathan Goldstein, in memory of his father, David Goldstein, “who never had the benefit of Dana Farber and the newer treatments.” Jonathan’s father had been cared for by Jonathan and had died of throat cancer several months before Jonathan entered Roxbury Latin in 1958.

1 Several Class of 1964 classmates met up recently, overlooking the Androscoggin River at Sea Dog Brewery in Topsham, Maine. The group enjoyed a beer and lunch while reminiscing about the escapades growing up under the influence of the One True School. Pictured are Tracey Zellmann, John Kerrick, Guy Abbate, Jack Scully and Kermit Smyth.

1966

Jeffrey Goldbarg provided updates on his son Seth, a cardiologist

(electrophysiologist) in New York City and an associate professor of cardiology at Cornell. Maggie Piscane, Seth’s wife, is a documentary expert at William Morris, providing her children with the academic discipline that helped her at Harvard and beyond. Jason is an artist in Albuquerque, and Molly, Jason’s wife, teaches and provides sex therapy there. Jeffrey says his grandsons, Graydon (14) and Dash (10), are “the light of our lives.”

1968

Rick Sahakian shared some recent adventures embarked upon with his wife, Catherine: “Catherine and I returned to England last summer for our niece’s wedding in Oxford. It’s a pleasant university town on the upper Thames, which we recommend to anyone visiting the U.K. We also visited Quebec City for the first time. Full of history and good dining, we recommend it to anyone who hasn’t been there. No need to speak French, which I’ve almost totally forgotten!”

1969

2 Michael Colbert visited Reverend John Eliot’s alma mater, Jesus College, at the University of Cambridge. Tony Jarvis would be proud!

1972

Steve Saris continues to practice neurosurgery in Boston at age 70, but is slowing down. Steve is still an avid golfer and tennis player with fond RL memories.

1973

3 Classmates Bob McTighe, Stephen Linsky, Ted Armen, and Andrew

Manns gathered on September 30 for a 17-mile bike ride along the Mass Central Rail Trail in Rutland, Massachusetts, on a beautiful fall day. Dean Plakias, Arlie Sterling, and Tony Hutchins were also interested but unable to join. Get in touch with Bob or Stephen to participate in the next ride!

1990

4 Frantz Alphonse and his wife, Maria, welcomed their third son, Simón Lorenzo Antoni Alphonse, into the world on November 10. “Both Maria and Simón are doing fantastic, and Ari and Ilan are thrilled with their little brother, as well,” reports Frantz.

1993

We neglected to denote Kosta Deligiannidis as a Class Agent in the Annual Report last fall. We apologize for that error and thank Kosta for his decades of service as a volunteer for the school.

1997

5 A group of alumni gathered at a War on Drugs concert at “Great Woods” (Xfinity Center) this summer, to see and support the band’s lead singer and guitarist, classmate Adam Granofsky. In attendance were Graham Pingree, Eben Pingree ’00, Tim Pingree ’02, Jake Ramey ’00, Dave Grossman, Alex Pascal, Eric Carleton, Matt Boyd, Tom McGuinness, John Farrell, Rich Lynch ’96, Nils Hegstad ’96, Steve Kelly ’96, Brian Hern ’99, Adam Robertson ’94, Matt Engler ’94, and Matt Langione ’01.

2003

6 On November 23, world-class violinist Stefan Jackiw, was the featured soloist in a virtuoso performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra in legendary Severance Hall. Mike Pojman snagged a photo op with his former student and advisee backstage after the concert

2007

7 Sam Klug and his wife, Maddy Joseph, welcomed their first child, Frances Mathilde “Tilly” Klug, on May 16. They live in Washington, D.C. Sam’s first book, The Internal Colony: Race and the American Politics of Global Decolonization, was published by the University of Chicago Press in January 2025.

2010

8 Stefan Poltorzycki shares two photos from pre-Thanksgiving festivities with RL classmates. First, during the Harvard versus Yale football game in Cambridge (Matt Ciomo, Stefan Poltorzycki, and Mike Chilazi), and second, at a gathering at his home on Wednesday before Thanksgiving (Matt Ciomo, John Noonan, Stefan Poltorzycki, Mike Warner, and Matt Condakes).

2012

9 John Gabrieli and his wife,

Genevieve Emily Rogers, celebrated their wedding with fellow members of the Class of 2012, Aaron Ojeda-Rosenthal, John Bogle, Andrew Zhu, Andrew Steele, Lachlan Green, Myles Múnera-Keating, Danny Aherne, Ryan Chipman, Dylan Cleary, Nikolas Kinney, John Buchet, Beng Coen, Jason Sandler ’08, and Headmaster Emeritus Kerry Brennan.

10 Last summer, Liam Gaziano married his wife, Julie Sklar, and several RL alumni were in attendance for the nuptials, including Joe Giandomenico ’11, Billy Dalton ’11, Dante Gaziano ’11, and Shawn Heide ’11. It was quite the RL family affair. Liam’s two cousins—

Dominic ’19 and Thomas Gaziano ’21—were also there for the celebration.

11 Thomas Rehnquist recently married Erica Beach, with many RL alumni friends in attendance, including Finn Sullivan, Jeremiah Dalton, Gavin Pittore, Patrick McDonough, Michael Shepard, Patrick Kelly, David Kussell, Thomas Crispi, Coleman Walsh, and Cavan Finigan.

2014

12 Pat Benzan recently married Kara McCormack, and Mackay Lowrie ’13 and his wife, Rachel, were in attendance for the celebration.

13 Drew Dodakian, brother of Mike ’10, married Emily Mullin, sister of Kevin Mullin ’10, this summer. Many RL alumni were in attendance, including Duncan Finigan, John Baron, Brendan Mullan, Mark Goldstein, Kevin Cohee, Kevin Mullin ’10, Mike Dodakian ’10, Tevin Barros, Christian Hasiotis, Luke Roberts, Johnny Driscoll, Peter Mullin, Dan Driscoll ’74, and Wesley Berry.

2018

Robert Crawford lives in Chicago and works for the consulting firm Blueprint,

which sends Robert all over the country and all over the world, so he’s had a chance to see many different cities. He’s also pitching in a Chicago men’s baseball league (for a team that has won the championship two consecutive years!), playing lots of other organized pickup sports, and getting good at playing the guitar.

2021

Ben Crawford, an English/Creative Writing major at Colorado College, spent the first semester of his senior year at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. He enjoyed his classes, but was most excited about honing his fluency in Spanish through constant communication with the family he lived with (they spoke no English); hanging out with Argentinians at the local billiards place; and writing and performing stand-up comedy at comedy clubs and open mics in Buenos Aires. He attended a standup comedy class in the evenings with other aspiring comics and was constantly writing and performing new material—all in Spanish. He also spent time every day working on his (English language) novel.

14 Peter Frates and Evan Zhang ’24 are teammates again on the Harvard College Men’s Hockey team!

15 Frank Lonergan organized an alumni reception at the Chicago Club on December 4, which included C. Philip Curley ’72, Phil Alphonse ’89, James Allison ’96, Gregory Elinson ’00, Sean Kelleher ’07, Arya Alizadeh ’09, Albie Giandomenico ’16, and Frankie Gutierrez ’22.

16 Walker Oberg, Will Cote, and Sam Stone took a camping trip to Yosemite over the summer and got some great photos—including this one of the three of them standing at the bottom of the famous Yosemite Falls.

IN MEMORIAM

Gerard (Jerry) Lenthall ’51 (born Löwenthal) died on July 14, 2024, at the age of 91, after years of suffering from dementia. Jerry was born June 25, 1933, in Geneva, Switzerland, as his family fled Germany and the gathering storm that would become the Holocaust. Seeking a safe home, Jerry’s family moved first to Istanbul, Turkey, and then, in 1938, to the United States, where they landed in the Boston area. Jerry’s youth remained unsettled, as the family moved to new residences annually, and with the death of his father when Jerry was 11.

As a teenager, Jerry found belonging in Fenway Park—where he often went to watch the Boston Red Sox—and in his schools. At Roxbury Latin, he developed lifelong friendships and

joined the wrestling team, a pursuit he continued in college. Swarthmore College became an important fixture for him throughout his life: he attended reunions annually, most recently his 60th.

After graduating from Swarthmore with a bachelor’s degree in economics, Jerry moved west, where he earned a master’s degree in statistics from Stanford University, and then east again, where he earned his MBA from Harvard. His mother, Theresa, died when he was 24, a loss Jerry was to feel acutely, even as his memory faded in his declining years. In California in 1963, Jerry met and married Patricia (Pat) Riley. Together they moved to North Carolina, where he completed his PhD in psychology at Duke University. Jerry and Pat had

three children. His children became a central part of his life. He took joy in their activities and accomplishments and saw in them their best selves. He attended their countless soccer and basketball games, even helping to coach the soccer teams, despite having no experience with the game.

After Jerry and Pat divorced, he followed the family when they moved to Massachusetts in 1977. In New England, he discovered another cornerstone of his life: teaching. From 1978 to 2003 he worked as a psychology professor at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire. Engaging his students was among his greatest joys. He taught a wide variety of topics in psychology, but the most meaningful ones to him related to the psychology of immigration and the

Holocaust. At Keene State, he helped to found the school’s Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

All of this was part of the wideranging and deep intellectual engagement that Jerry was known for. He was a voracious reader, with an intense love of books. He was known to read the end of novels first, to decide, he said, if it was worth his time to read the whole book; invariably, he read them all. He wrote scholarly work on family relationships, silence, teaching psychology, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and child psychology, and Charles Dickens. Later in his life he became fascinated studying his extended family history, a story of dislocation, migration, and a complex marriage between his own parents.

As his children grew up and moved around the country, Jerry loved to travel to wherever the three lived. In retirement, he settled in the Pittsburgh area, to be a regular part of

Josh’s family’s life. There, he relished being part of his grandchildren’s lives and activities.

Jerry was open-minded and curious. He liked talking with strangers, glimpsing their lives and hearing their stories. Starting in the 1960s, he practiced meditation daily. Meditation, he felt, provided him with a foundation to weather life’s inevitable bumps with evenness. Perhaps more than anything else, Jerry loved genuine conversations, particularly with family and friends— often on extended walks or late into the night. This reflected his passion for learning and diverse interests, and his deep-felt desire to connect with those he loved.

Jerry is survived by his three children, Lisa, Bruce, and Josh; his two daughters-in-law, Calista Cleary and Melanie Lenthall; and his five grandchildren, Chapin and Lia Lenthall-Cleary, and Riley, Maddie, and Aubrey Lenthall.

Richard Francis Sullivan ’55 of Cambridge, Massachusetts, died on August 3, 2024, at the age of 87. Rick was the treasured husband of Janet Kelly. In addition to Janet, he leaves many loved and loving nieces and nephews and devoted friends.

Rick was born in West Roxbury on July 14, 1937, to William and Eleanor Sullivan and raised in Newton. The third of five boys, his parents tried to send him to Catholic schools, but he proved to be too much for the nuns. “They kept kicking me out,” Rick would later tell his friends. He eventually attended Roxbury Latin, a perfect fit for the young man with the curious and discerning mind. Although he described himself as unathletic, he joined the high school wrestling team, which would spark a lifelong passion.

At Harvard College, where he earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry, he also was the 167-pounder on the wrestling

team. He went on to earn his PhD in organic chemistry at Harvard, studying under the world-renowned organic chemist R. B. Woodward. As a graduate student, Rick taught hundreds of undergraduates, continued to wrestle, and coached wrestling with Harvard coach John Lee. Under the mentorship of Jim Peckham, who went on to become coach of the U.S. Olympic team, Rick also continued to compete, winning the New England AAU Championship several times. The highlight of Rick’s wrestling career came in 1964 when he finished sixth in the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials at 191 pounds at the World’s Fair in New York City. During the times when he was recovering from wrestling injuries, he took up rowing and became a serious oarsman and successful crew coach.

For his contributions to wrestling, Rick was inducted into the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (of which he was one of the original founders) as an Outstanding American in 2008. In addition, in Rick’s honor, Harvard created the Richard Sullivan Award, which is given annually to a Harvard wrestler who has given the most back to Harvard wrestling during his time at the school.

After a brief period as a researcher in chemistry in Philadelphia, Rick accepted a position teaching biochemistry at Tufts Dental School in Boston. While there, he pursued

a career in medicine and applied to Tufts Medical School. He was rejected because he was, at 36, considered too old to begin medical school. Rick filed an age discrimination suit against the school, a novel action based on an unused Massachusetts statute prohibiting age discrimination in post-college higher education programs. The court ordered Tufts to admit him, and at the age of 38, Rick became a freshman at Tufts Medical School in the fall of 1975. Rick was elected class president for the next four years. In January of his freshman year, he won the MIT Open Wrestling tournament in the heavyweight class.

After earning his medical degree, Rick combined his medical and academic interests as the dean of a newly formed medical school in Dominica. Returning to Massachusetts after two years, Rick began his decades-long career as an Emergency Physician, working in several emergency departments throughout eastern Massachusetts. He loved being an ER doctor (“the best job on earth”) and cared as deeply about his patients as he had about his students and wrestling protegees. Despite the time pressures of modern medicine, Rick spent a great deal of time listening to patients, insisting that if he listened long enough, the patient would eventually tell him the correct diagnosis.

Settling in at the Cambridge Hospital Emergency Department in his fifties,

Rick practiced there for 20 years and won several resident teaching awards. He also practiced for many years in the Emergency Department at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, where he and his wife Janet had a second home, Sage Haven, named after their beloved golden retriever. In his free time, Rick was a passionate sailor whose love of sailing started when he attended sailing camp as a teenager on the Vineyard. He was also an avid card player and played in a regular game for nearly 50 years with lifelong friends.

At 6’3” and 225 pounds, Rick was a presence. He had a strong voice with a distinctive accent reminiscent of the Kennedy accent, but unique to his family. Rick was a natural storyteller, capturing his audience with his accent, his lively wit, and his turns of phrase. He was never shy about giving his opinions, even if they conflicted with those that were generally in favor at the time, but his opinions were always shaped by his generous and fun-loving nature and accompanied by his contagious spirit and smile. He was a wonderful raconteur, but perhaps even a better audience. After twenty minutes talking with Rick, you came away thinking that you were funnier and smarter than you had ever imagined. Above all of Rick’s wonderful characteristics was his most defining one: Rick was a champion of fair play. If he saw someone being treated unfairly, he simply had to act. It was his most endearing trait.

Rick developed signs of Alzheimer’s disease in his mid-eighties. He leaves behind a host of people who will never forget him and know that they are so much the better for having known him. He was a mentor to many, including colleagues, students, friends, wrestlers, and the children of family and friends. These people all felt the joy of having Rick in their lives, and they strive to emulate some of his exceptional qualities. Rick never really understood what a profound effect he had on people. He just felt lucky to have had so many wonderful people in his life.

Daniel Keller Franc ’11, age 31, of Arlington, Massachusetts, passed away on September 11, 2024. Born on June 24, 1993, Daniel was known for his outgoing, caring, and welcoming nature—traits that endeared him to many throughout his life.

Daniel learned the Boston subway system at a very young age, exploring the city on his dad’s shoulders. People were surprised that he could give detailed instructions on how to navigate from any point in Boston. His work in tourism and customer service as an adult was a natural progression.

He was a talented songwriter and a skilled guitar player and singer. Off he would go to play at open mics in Boston and Cambridge, headphones draped around his neck, his guitar at hand, a book and lyric notebook tucked away, wearing his beloved scally cap. His music friendships meant everything to him.

Daniel was an alumnus of Cambridge Friends School, Roxbury Latin, and UMass Amherst. From his earliest connections, he established lifelong friends.

Daniel was passionate about history, his major in college. An avid reader, he was exceptionally knowledgeable about American history, especially the World Wars, which he could discuss with precision. Watching a historical movie with Daniel meant being interrupted occasionally for him to explain the “real” facts. At a young age, his interests included the sinking of the Titanic, studying the ship and its people, and creating drawings as a way of learning. His travels to Normandy, France, and several places in Canada were favorite times.

He is survived by his mother, Carol Keller; father, Timothy Franc; aunt, Heather Franc; uncle, John Franc; uncle and aunt, Arnie and Charlotte Keller; aunt and uncle, Lyn Keller Apicella and Greg; and numerous cousins and friends. He will always be remembered for his love and kindness.

CROSSWORD

“Life Lessons” by Andrew White ’18

Across

1 Number of years since 1645 that Roxbury Latin has been closed

5 Clash Royale or Venmo, e.g.

8 Show extreme contempt towards

14 Inter ___ (among other things)

15 “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” star Vardalos

16 “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” speaker

17 Places for securing ships

19 Repertoire staples for Ju-Cho and Glee Club

20 Tiny colony resident

21 Crossword-loving Roxbury Latin trainer since 1998

23 “My bad!”

24 Track and field competition

25 Tremendously

27 “Is that all you’ve got?”

30 “Eat It” singer, familiarly

34 Chinese province of spicy cuisine renown

35 It’s around 21% oxygen

36 Trucking rig

37 Latin abbreviation after a comma

38 Short story by James Joyce... or, according to the shaded letters, those who teach the living

42 Fan event suffix

43 Heart of the matter

45 Primatologist’s subject

46 Chicago destination

48 Sorrowful, quaintly

50 Having an innocent appearance

52 High point (borrowed directly from Ancient Greek)

53 Notre Dame end zone?

54 Dryer build-up

56 Philosopher Kierkegaard who wrote “The tyrant dies and his rule is over; the martyr dies and his rule begins.”

58 Title for Isaac Newton

61 Famed Ancient Greek odist

63 Birth state of Abraham Lincoln

65 Latin phrase meaning “from the beginning”

66 Friend of Monsieur Diop?

67 Mother of the Hecatoncheires, in Greek myth

68 Fretted

69 “Nevertheless...”

70 “___ Turismo” (racing video game with a 2023 spin-off film)

Down

1 African site of Hannibal’s defeat in 202 B.C.E.

2 Tech boss Musk

3 Uprising

4 One of 170 on a trireme

5 Big name in boxed mac and cheese

6 Many a teen’s room, metaphorically

7 Tense choice?

8 “Shameless” network, for short

9 Former House Speaker Nancy

10 Out of the elements

11 Excursion, as to Cadiz or Caen

12 “The ___ have it”

13 Some Samsungs

18 “My intention was to say...”

22 Cartoonish cry

24 “___ culpa!”

26 Loser of the Judgement of Paris, in myth

27 Airer of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”

28 Musical coda, slangily

29 Perfectly timed, in the theater

31 Dentist’s concern

32 What’s felt “when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie”

33 Like a football field or a piece of notebook paper

35 Citrus drink suffix

39 Actor Jon in 2010’s “The Town”

40 Weapons for some Olympians

41 Fails to

44 Football playbook symbols

47 When repeated, a giggle

49 Musical interval with a frequency ratio of 2:1

50 Risk-taker’s challenge

51 Gift-giver’s exhortation

54 In ___ of

55 Quaint accommodations

57 “Works for me!”

58 “The Lion King” villain

59 Purveyor of Järvfjället arm chairs and Jokkmokk tables

60 House Speaker before 9-Down (no relation to Señor!)

61 Adobe export

62 Cone’s counterpart, in the eye

64 Australian boot brand

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A Big (Mini) Deal

Andrew White ’18 co-authors “Mini Meta” For the answers

Andrew White ’18 is a crossword enthusiast, and now co-author of a compilation of mini puzzles. The workbook, Mini Meta Crosswords as Seen in the Washington Post, is available for purchase from most online and physical booksellers.

101 St. Theresa Avenue

West Roxbury, MA 02132-3496

www.roxburylatin.org

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