RPS Today
Summer 2022
Leaving a Mark and anticipating our future
Once again, as one school year ends, we immediately begin planning for the next. The Class of 2022, like all the classes before them, made their lasting impression on Rutgers Prep. While the incoming new students may not personally know our most recent graduates, when we resume classes in September, everyone will still be impacted by 2022’s efforts on our campus. As is the case every year, Seniors leave their mark. Each graduating class generates an indelible testimony of what to do and how to do it. The new Upper School students who arrive on campus in September will sign up for clubs, interact with classmates from all Divisions, attend classes, and join the fall drama production, musical groups, and sports teams heralded because of the individual effort and collective success of the Class of 2022. Next year is informed, guided, and amended by their experiences. At every grade level we excitedly anticipate both new and returning students and adjust accordingly. During the summer months we update, refresh, and reorganize spaces and classrooms. We analyze policies and protocols so that our approach optimizes the student experience. We never stop contemplating and reviewing campus safety and security. And we constantly examine new technology and the financial well-being of our 256-year-old marketplace of ideas. As we recharge for the next school year, we utilize the summer to implement both subtle and significant upgrades for our institution of learning. Every member of our dynamic community has access to a network of constituencies that grows and endures. I hope you enjoy this edition of RPS Today and topics from our most recent school year, which allows us to celebrate the past and anticipate the future.
Dr. Steven Loy Head of School
Lower School Closing Ceremony
Award Winners KATHIE RUSYN MUSIC AWARD Stella Buyanovsky ’30 MONARCH AWARD Daniel Chen ’29 Ellie Bedient ’29 ROSE ANN HOWARTH PRINCIPAL’S AWARD Ryaan Carter ’29
Middle School Closing Ceremony
Eighth Grade Speaker: Kayla Hill
Award Winners EVELYN P. DANIELS PRINCIPAL’S RECOGNITION AWARD Siyona Sreejit ’26 LIBRARY ASSOCIATION AWARD Nitya Kathiravan ’26 INCENTIVE AWARDS Ariel Smith ’28 Ruvaneka DeSilva ’27 Anuj Bandireddy ’26 PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION AWARD Ammar Baig ’28 Skyrah Song ’28 Victoria Gu ’27 Syed Chitkara ’26 CLASS OF 2006 AWARD Evija Domanski ’26 Laela Domanski ’26 Ryan Lachs ’26 Megan Lehal ’26 Lyra Patel ’26 Kayla Shea ’26 Siyona Sreejit ’26 HIGHEST HONORS Ethan Yip ’28 Rocco Loomis ’27 Sruthi Balachander ’28 Siddharth Balijepalli ’28
Class of 2022 256th Year Commencement #communitycontinues
JEREMY MARTINO Senior Class Speaker
ROSHELE JEAN-BAPTISTE Head of School’s Prize
RYAN PETTIT Head of School’s Prize
GANDHALI MANGALVEDHEKAR Theodore Strong Memorial Prize
MALA SHAH Head of School’s Prize
CHRISTIAN WRIGHT
ELIZABETH ROMAGE 1942 School Prize
SAMANTHA BALABAN Juliana M. Ratych 1977 Memorial Alumni Award
NAN BLECKER
CIRCE DUNNELL Class of 1970 Award
ALICIA CONROY Donald J. and Peg McGinn Award
Goldblatt Award
Gottlieb Award
Class of 2022 Matriculation Choices American University (2) Bard College Boston University (2) Bridgton Academy (PG year) University of California-Davis University of California-Irvine University of California-Los Angeles University of California-San Diego (2) Champlain College Clemson University Columbia University Cornell University Delaware State University Drexel University (2) Duke University (2) Eastern University Fordham University High Point University Indiana University (3)
The Institute of Culinary Education Johns Hopkins University Lafayette College Lehigh University (2) Louisiana State University Manhattan College University of Maryland University of Miami Middlebury College Moravian University The New School (Parsons School of Design) New York University (7) Northeastern University (6) Ohio Northern University Pace University Pennsylvania State University (3) Pennsylvania State University-Berks University of Pittsburgh Pomona College
Raritan Valley Community College Rice University University of Rochester (3) Rutgers University (10) Seton Hall University St. John’s University Stevens Institute of Technology (2) Swarthmore College Syracuse University Temple University (2) The University of Texas at Austin USMA - West Point USMA Preparatory School Vanderbilt University Villanova University University of Virginia University of Washington University of Wisconsin (2)
Class of 2022 College T-Shirt Video
Celebrating Faculty and Staff for their Service Ten Years of Service
Alicia Conroy
Sara Nardulli
Keith Stensland
Fifteen Years of Service
Barbara Heath
Lanetta Putnal
Colleen Vinchur
Twenty Years of Service
Allan Furtek
Scott Gill
Stacy McMillen
Erin Varga
Twenty-Five Years of Service
Nandini Dutta
Tony Mento
Thirty Years of Service
Tara Klipstein
Steve Loy
Forty Years of Service
Bob Marotto
Peter Richardson
Year-End Celebrations
Senior Class Participates in Workshop Mixing Laughter with Science to Prepare for Life Beyond Rutgers Prep As their high school careers draw to an end, the Rutgers Prep Senior Class gathered in Daniel Hall recently for a workshop that mixed laughter with science to deliver a strong message: intentionally pursuing a healthy lifestyle can make you feel better and happier than any drug. The messenger was guest speaker Dr. Matt Bellace, a multi-faceted individual holding a Ph.D. in clinical psychology while also performing stand-up comedy. Since high school, Dr. Bellace has been involved in youth drug and alcohol prevention and mental health awareness efforts. This year’s presentation marked the 14th year Dr. Bellace has spoken to RPS students. His background in studying emotional memory and performing stand-up comedy informs his speaking style. “I know if the audience is laughing, they’re listening. If they’re engaged, they’re learning,” he writes on his website.
Bellace’s conversation — part of the Beyond Rutgers Preparatory School counseling program for seniors, featured stories from his teenage years, audience participation in funny stunts, and research illustrating the mental toxicity of substance abuse and, conversely, the benefits of a healthy lifestyle for the brain. His program highlighted the importance of being active, learning new things, connecting with others, taking notice, and being fully present. One key piece of his advice: Alcohol and drugs serve to fill a void when you don’t feel good about yourself, so stick close to friends who find the good in you that you can lean on. According to Bellace, “The number one predictor of behavior, especially at this time of your lives, is the friends you surround yourself with, so choose wisely.”
Community Connections: Retired Local Educator Volunteers with Lower School Students Barbara Goldstein has been a teacher pretty much as long as anyone can remember. She has served as a teacher of math in both high school and college contexts, as well as a teacher of graduate students in education. And now, she is offering support to some of our students at Rutgers Prep. My heart is in sharing what I know… I loved the feeling that I had, as a teacher, of ending every day with a feeling of having made a difference in at least one person’s day. Teaching is just part of who I am, now. My kids used to say “Mom, you’re shouting,” and I would respond, “No, I’m just projecting.” I taught in the grad ed program at the College of Staten Island, and I also helped with the remedial math program at Middlesex College, which is essentially focused on elementary school math skills. I live in Somerset, and I retired in 2013 in the face of needing a hip replacement, but teaching is just in my blood, and after the surgery I picked back up with teaching in some form or another, including working with my own grandkids. Eventually I reached out to Dr. Loy to say, “Is there anything I can do to help?” As a result of that initial contact and several subsequent conversations, Ms. Goldstein now works on campus several days a week with a few fourth and fifth grade students, all of whom have been referred to her by Rutgers Prep faculty. She is pleased to report that her experience has been a positive one: “I have found this to be one of the most welcoming professional environments I’ve ever experienced. The teachers invited me to come in and watch them teach so that I could have a sense of what I would be building off of, and I mean… a teacher ASKING to be observed is pretty much unheard of!
The students seem very relaxed, and to me one of the most important things to nurture is their selfconfidence. Someone once said to me “a child’s self confidence is a sacred trust,” and I really took that to heart. It seems fundamentally true to me, so I am less worried about how much math they learn… if I can inspire them to love learning, and help them hold onto and build that confidence that they are capable of learning, then that’s a good day. Rutgers Prep fourth grade teacher Samantha Withum shared, “Barbara is patient and kind and greets our students with a smile. She uses her knowledge and experience and finds fun ways to reinforce basic foundational skills and also strategies to assist the students with the current topic in the class,” while fifth grade teacher Colleen Vinchur added, “Her valuable time and knowledge has been a huge resource to all!” Smiling in anticipation of her next appointment with a Rutgers Prep student, Mrs. Goldstein said, “If a kid goes home after 45 minutes and feels a little better about themselves as a learner, then I’ve done my job.” Rutgers Prep is fortunate to have trusted volunteers like Mrs. Goldstein working in partnership with our faculty; any of her pupils would surely agree!
Rutgers Prep and SAGE Dining Partner with Alum-Owned Happy Valley Meat Company to Provide Farm-to-Plate Lunch Rutgers Prep is proud to announce that SAGE Dining Services will be regularly serving products from Happy Valley Meat Company, a farm-to-plate purveyor of locally and ethically sourced meat, cofounded by RPS alum Dan Honig, Class of 2007. “I’m incredibly excited by the partnership with RPS,” said Honig ’07. “My hope is that anyone in the community can find out where their meat comes from and can feel good about the food they are eating. I vividly remember Career Day from RPS, specifically a local restaurant, and that conversation still informs how I converse with my restaurant customers. ” According to its website, Happy Valley Meat Company’s mission is “to improve the lives of the people and animals that feed us. We’re working at this by providing chefs, whether at home or in fine-dining restaurants, access to ethically-raised meat from family farmers.” The company is also a certified B Corp, a designation that indicates a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. “We are a mission-based company–we see that there is a real problem for farmers and farm animals in the US meat system,” said Honig. “While we sell meat, what really comes with that is a picture of how things work, and how the meat system can be different.” With this mission-driven business model, Happy Valley Meat Company has proven itself to be a perfect partner for both SAGE Dining and Rutgers Prep. “RPS laid the groundwork for me to start my own business,” said Honig, who describes himself as an Ethical Entrepreneur. “One of my favorite classes was Environmental Science, which inspired me to study the environment in college, which eventually brought me to animal agriculture. More than the coursework, RPS helped me think creatively. Before RPS, I went to public school, where most of my tests were scantrons. Once I got to RPS, we had to write more essays and actually think through answers. I think that helped
me to have the problem-solving skills to start my own business.” As for what the future holds for this recent partnership, Honig is hopeful that he and his company can deepen the relationship between Happy Valley Meat Company and Rutgers Prep. “We take every chance we can to speak to those in our community, often doing classes in schools for students about what it’s like to be a farmer and where the students fit into the food web.” SAGE has been the School’s food-service provider since 2011 and is one of the premier dining services available to independent schools across the country. With its focus on in-season and locally sourced (when available) ingredients, minimal waste, and real food made from scratch, the company employs a rigorous vetting process in order to approve vendors prior to allowing their products to be served in its facilities. Happy Valley Meat passed muster in May of 2021, and as of April 2022 is providing Rutgers Prep students, faculty, and staff with its own brand of beef, bringing things full circle for Honig.
Rutgers Prep Students Place 2nd at NJ Physics Olympics Rutgers Prep students placed in three events at the NJ Physics Olympics -- North/Central New Jersey competition, held at Monmouth Regional High School on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Additionally, the Rutgers Prep team placed second in the overall competition, competing against more than 20 teams. The team earned second place in two events: Spaghetti Marshmallow Tower and Longest Cantilever. In the Spaghetti Marshmallow Tower event, competitors must design and build the tallest tower that can support a load of 375 grams, using only uncooked spaghetti and mini-marshmallows. In the Longest Cantilever event, the aim was to design and build the longest cantilever segment using only spaghetti and glue. The team’s first place finish, which ultimately pushed them onto the podium, was in the Spaghetti Wind Power Lifter event, in which they had to design and build a device that will lift a 375 gram load (about 150 pennies) through a vertical distance of approximately one meter in the minimum amount of time. Congratulations to team members Abigail Callaghan ’24, Ananaya Ganesh ’22, Katherine Guo ’23, Arushi Gupta ’23, Ren “Billy” Lian ’23, Zihan “William” Liu ’23, Qi “Maggie” Ren ’23, Priyansh Shrivastava ’23, Yicen “Sally” Tao ’23, Yuxuan “Daniel” Tian ’23, Yuhi “Luciana” Wei ’23, Yue “Julia” Yu ’22 and Yixi “Daisy” Zhang ’24!
RPS Students Organize 24-Hour MEGA Hackathon Event In early April 2022, the MEGA Hackathon League hosted a hybrid hackathon catered to the United Nations' seventeen sustainable development goals. Founded by RPS students Agni Rajinikanth ’23 and Yuxuan Tian ’23, the MEGA Hackathon League is a coalition of high-school students from New Jersey and around the globe. By infusing computer science competitions with these goals, the goal of the MEGA Hack League’s annual Hackathon is to raise awareness for global welfare while instilling passion in computer science students. Lasting twenty-four hours, MEGAHack2022 took place from Friday, April 2 to Sunday, April 4 in a hybrid format, with the theme “AI for Good.” Participants joined the event online through the Zoom platform and participated in-person in New Jersey and Massachusetts. There were over 200 participants from various parts of the world and over 50 projects submitted. Prizes included gift cards, Arduino kits, software licenses, internships, and more for the winners. The event started with Opening Ceremonies and workshops that prepared participants for the upcoming competition. The competition began at 2 p.m. on Saturday and ended at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The themes of the projects included building solutions to help address one or more of the United Nation’s Seventeen Goals of Sustainability and/or homelessness. Participants were treated to a Saturday night dinner, midnight pizza and brunch on Sunday morning. There were also snacks and drinks throughout the event. During breaks, the
students played basketball, sang karaoke, and got to know each other better. There were two winning projects that involved Rutgers Preparatory School students: Avi Gupta ’24, part of the "AInnovations" project team that resulted in a first-place tie for the Top High School projects. This project addressed the problem of "Over-Notating" (aka too many notes), which has a negative impact on student learning, including: forgetting details of lessons, difficulty studying because of too many notes, a lack of engagement in classes, and regurgitation of concepts instead of comprehension. It also ties into the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis by offering a means to help teachers make their lessons more efficient and provide translations. https:// devpost.com/software/ainnotations-rfzj7a Ishan Parikh ’25, Promit Mukhopadhyay ’25, Adit Trivedi ’25, and Michael Chang ’25, won the Business Innovator Award for the "GO Stem" project. "GO Stem" is a virtual game in which the players compete to finish tasks that
aim to help build sustainability for the world. The goal of the game is to show people how they can get involved and make a change. https://devpost.com/software/megahack-go-stem Other Rutgers Prep students who served as Organizers for the MEGA Hackathon included: Max Xiong ’24, Jason Xu ’25, Daniel Achacon ’24, Chul Lee ’24, Cheng Hua ’24 and Larry Liu ’24. Additionally, Ishan Parikh ’25, Promit Mukhopadhyay ’25, Adit Trivedi ’25, and Cheng Hua ’25 played supporting roles in helping to make this event become a reality. Rutgers Preparatory in-person and virtual participants included Ishan Parikh ’25, Promit Mukhopadhyay ’25, Adit Trivedi ’25, Michael Chang ’25, Avi Gupta ’24, Raina Desai ’23, Miriam Portnoy ’24, Sunay Davda ’24, Arnav Upadhyay ’24, Anay Upadhyah ’24, Palash Shah ’24, Laasya Kanumuri ’24, and Sanjog Dandona ’24. We are so incredibly proud of everyone who participated and helped make this event a huge success. A special thanks to Mrs. Alicia Conroy who oversaw the planning, preparation, and execution of the event, Mrs. Nishita Desai for chaperoning, and Dr. Kevin Merges for his support of the event and serving as a judge for the competition.
Melina Rebimbas ’23 Nets Success as US Soccer Standout Earlier this year, the Rutgers Prep community rallied around Melina Rebimbas ’23 after she was selected to represent the USA as one of 20 players on the U-17 Women's Youth National Soccer Team in the 2022 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship, hosted by the Dominican Republic. The team set its sights on winning its third straight Concacaf tournament and clinching one of three qualifying spots for the upcoming 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India. After breezing through the three games of the group stage with an astonishing combined total of 38 goals for and zero goals against the squad–including a record-setting 20-0 win over Grenada in the opening match (Rebimbas scored a hat trick in this game)–it started to become clear that they were a force to be reckoned with. The young Americans continued on the attack in the knockout stage, defeating Curaçao (11-0) and Jamaica (5-0), eventually securing their spot in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 3-0 win over Canada in the semifinal round. With less than 48 hours to celebrate, they faced off against Mexico in the championship match on May 8th. With team USA going up 1-0 after the first half, Mexico scored in the 66th minute to end the USA’s 606-minute shutout streak at the tournament and tie the game 1-1. The game-winning goal came in the 77th minute as Rebimbas received a pass inside the box, shook off her defender, and buried a low left-footed shot into the far post side netting. In all, Rebimbas scored eight goals in the tournament–with at least one goal in each of the final four matches–tying forward Amalia Villarreal for the team lead. Since returning to the States, with the Concacaf trophy in hand and World Cup ambitions for this fall in India, Melina
Rebimbas has received numerous commendations and awards. On May 12th, she was presented at Morning Meeting with a 21st District Legislative Recognition for being the only New Jersey player to be selected for the U-17 Women’s Youth National Team. The commendation was presented by Josh Kutner ’17, District Manager for Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis, whose office issued the award. Additionally, in its 37th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, Gatorade announced Melina as the 2021-22 Gatorade New Jersey Girls Soccer Player of the Year. In a press release, Gatorade said, “The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Rebimbas as New Jersey’s best high school girls soccer player.” Rebimbas has also received attention from the local press, prompting nj.com to ask, “Has N.J. found the next Carli Lloyd?” (note: this article may be behind a paywall). In the 2021-2022 RPS girls soccer season, the junior midfielder and forward scored 40 goals and passed for 31 assists, leading the Argonauts (21-2) to the NJSIAA Non-Public B Division state championship game. She also serves on the Upper School Executive Council and has volunteered with the Tend to a Friend Club. The School is immensely proud of Melina’s accomplishments, both on and off the field, and the entire RPS community looks forward to watching her take the pitch this fall, both as an Argonaut, and as a member of the U-17 WYNT in the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India.
RPS Eighth Grade Participates in Virtual Visit with Holocaust Survivor Eighth Graders at Rutgers Prep were afforded the unique opportunity to participate in a live virtual visit with Susan Warsinger, a survivor of the Holocaust. The presentation included photos and a conversation guided by a representative from the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The assembly was the culmination of the students’ reading of Elie Wiesel’s Night. Mrs. Warsinger was born in 1929 in western Germany and was the eldest of three siblings. She recalled for the students the increasingly antisemitic prejudice her family and community experienced throughout the 1930s, after the Nazis came to power, and described her personal recollection of the tragic events that led up to and unfolded during Kristallnacht, or “The Night of Broken Glass.” Her parents, determined to protect their children, were desperate to find a way for them to immigrate to the United States. Mrs. Warsinger described her journey from that point forward, in which she and her brother were smuggled into France, staying first in Paris, and then moving on to Versailles to be temporarily housed in Louis XIV’s palace. They then were moved and offered shelter in a village outside of Vichy before being granted permission to immigrate to the United States and crossed the Pyrenees into Spain. Eventually, they traveled to Portugal where they sailed from Lisbon and landed in New York Harbor in September 1941 and reunited with their parents and youngest brother, who had already made it to the United States and settled in Washington, D.C. She ended her talk by telling the students how it felt to see the Statue of Liberty as she and her brother arrived in the United States and reminded our students of the importance of standing up for kindness and justice. We are grateful to Mrs. Fehl for organizing the opportunity to hear Mrs. Warsinger’s powerful story of survival.
Rutgers Prep in the News Somerset Student Places Ninth in Scripps National Spelling Bee SOMERSET, NJ - Nitya Kathiravan, an eighth grader at Rutgers Preparatory School, placed ninth at the national level at this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee in early June. “I have been on the spelling journey since second grade, and spent several hours a day preparing for this,” she said. “Through this journey, I competed in several competitions involving spelling and vocabulary.” Click Here for full article.
Family Day is Back
SOMERSET, NJ - The Rutgers Prep community held its annual Family Day event on May 20 after a two-year pandemic hiatus. The day featured lower school (elementary) students showcasing some of their talents to the rest of the school. Click Here for full article.
Rutgers Prep Takes College Counseling to New Levels SOMERSET, NJ - Like many aspects of education, college admissions planning has undergone changes over the past two years. Rutgers Preparatory School (RPS) has collaborated with students to provide guidance and direction in college planning. Click Here for full article.
Alumni Events Alumni Day, Young Alum Reception, New York, Denver and Alumni Soccer
Join the RPS Faculty Book Club in November and March! The RPS Faculty Book Club meets once a month between September and May to discuss a selection of literature curated by the Humanities Department. Each November and March, the Faculty Book Club invites Current Parents and Alumni to participate in the conversation. The two selections are listed below, and if you are interested in participating, please reach out to Hannah Garrow, Co-Chair of the Humanities Department at garrow@rutgersprep.org. November: The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
March: Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott
CLASS NOTES
Class Notes - Bell Bottoms, Bee Gees and the Copper Beech (1964-1983) Robert Seidel ’64 writes: “My lovely wife June and I are celebrating our 53rd wedding anniversary. Warmest regards to all my classmates.”
Judith Serin ’67 writes “My collection of short stories and a novella, Gravity, has been published by Eye Wear Publishing in the UK with a US distributor and is widely available through online booksellers or through your local bookstore. You can find more information and direct links at my website: www. judithserin.com.”
Franceen Polskin George ’69 writes: “Retired in 2014 from 25 years with Federal Government as a Program Manager/Acquisition & Procurements/ Contracts Spec. Worked for Navy, Army, and TSA - all in Wash DC area. Lost my husband (Ed George) of 18 years in 2012. I had also lost both my daughters to separate auto accidents in 2000 and 2007 (from previous marriage to Bill Spach). I remarried Jose Carrasquillo in 2014. Stayed in my newly hand-built house on the Potomac in King George, VA until I couldn’t justify the size or cost. Moved to Reno, NV in 2018. The biggest event of my time here in Nevada has been that I’ve had the time to research and find my biological family! I was a Montreal Black Market Adoptee who my parents (Minerva and Barney Polskin) paid a NJ/ NY Dr. and lawyer ring a large sum of money for me. When my father discovered the illegality and terrible conditions the mothers and babies were subjected to, he testified to a Senate Committee on the subject in 1955. I never knew anything about any of this. I DNA tested at the 4 major DNA companies and consulted with several genetic genealogists made possible by being nearer to Salt Lake City where the largest genealogy advocates (the Mormons) and their library and conventions are. In January 2020 a Search Angel (volunteers that help adoptees searching) who happens to have been adopted into the family I was adopted out of, found both my maternal and paternal
families within 2 weeks of each other. He DNA tested what turned out to be a halfsister (by my father) and a half-brother (by my mother) and I have since been in communication with both sides of my family - all in Montreal, francophones that speak Quebecois! The language barrier has been hard, but my French from Prep is coming back gradually. I got my Canadian Passport and traveled to meet my family in December. Sadly my sister died in a tragic car accident in Quebec not long after we started talking to each other and right before the pandemic lockdown in 2019. We are enjoying the western high desert in the Sierra - no insects, no humidity, no rain, beautiful recreation, no state income tax! Hoping lots of 69ers will write in updates - we were never all that good at keeping up or showing up at class reunions or Alumni events - at least not since the 80s and early 90s. Would love to hear from people.”
Eric Stahl ’74 writes “I enjoyed the ’22 reunion, honoring the Class of 1972, among others. It was fun to chat with some of the “big kids” and swap some stories about a campus that once boasted the Elm Farm, a carriage House, and a bus strip. I was shocked that Nina Bell ’71 didn’t remember her 100 yard dash win at the 1966 Field Day finale ... something none of the boys in 4th grade will ever forget. Looking forward to dropping in to say hi to the 73’s and building a big ’74 showing. Nostalgia has kicked in big time, along with Medicare. Meanwhile, I’m into year 11 of an improbable career 3 as co-owner of a Hand & Stone off the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philly. Hope you’ll drop by if you’re in the area. Photo is from Mom’s 90th in April, with co-lifer sister Dana Stahl Mermelstein ’80, 9 year prepster Jody, and my grandnephew.”
Donna Nicolaisen Yavelak ’74 and her husband John just relocated to Palm Bay, Florida after living in Georgia for 35 years. Enjoying retirement. Della Hammer Cherchia ’75 was recognized for her impact within the CPA community with a 2022 Ovation Award. Della’s significant contributions to the community were awarded by her peers, colleagues, members of the community and/or the NJCPA for advancing the accounting profession. Janet Berkowitz ’76 of Mount Laurel, NJ has been steadily using the creative arts in the mental health field throughout NJ for the last 40 years. Creative Crisis Care is the name of her business, which specializes in bullying and suicide prevention. She has written, produces
and stars in the play ‘The Wizard of Iz’, a whimsical, yet poignant look at suicide as a result of bullying and lightly based on the 1930’s movie. She is working with a team of health care professionals whose goal it is to provide a bridge between mental health consumers and providers. She serves on the NJ Adult Suicide Prevention Committee and the NJ 988 Stakeholders Committee, which is planning to roll out the number 988 as an emergency mental health alternative to the current 911 option. She has been enjoying her time with Prep’s beloved English teacher Barbara Herzberg, who is currently in assisted living. John O’Connell ’78 celebrated his 700th win with the St. Andrew’s Boys Basketball Team. The team and Coach O’Connell celebrated victory over Fort Lauderdale-Pine Crest 55-33 in January 2022. Read the Palm Beach Post article here now.
Ken Ross ’83 is starting a new position 6/20/2022 with The Great Expressions Dental Centers in the Tampa Bay Area as a Periodontist. Just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. Our daughter Katie has completed her first year at Florida State and aspires to be an orthodontist! Love my yearly visits catching up with Bobby Kothari ’84 and Les Book ’83 in Bradenton. Looking forward to our 40th reunion next year at RPS! Craig Sherman ’83 published a book no good deed. In the preface he references a few of his RPS English teachers including Mrs. Lange, Mrs. Howell, and Mrs. Herzberg. More information can be found on his website at https://www. craigshermanwrites.com/.
Class Notes Madonna, Macintoshes and Make-Shift Classrooms (1984-1999) Paige Macdonald-Matthes ’85 writes: “May was quite a busy and proud month for me and my family. My daughter, Haley graduated from Delaware Law School and will join a Philadelphia law firm as an associate following the Bar Exam in July ’22. My son, Alex graduated from Lafayette College (my alma mater and my daughter’s too!) and he will be working for a financial institution in Wilmington, DE starting the end of June 2022. As a partner with Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP, I fortunately continue to be extremely busy with my litigation practice. My husband, Steve continues to enjoy his position as Chief Counsel for the Pennsylvania Auditor General. I enjoy seeing the posts from my 1985 RPS classmates on social media, and look forward to reuniting with everyone in person someday soon! Evan Pickus I hear is going to cook dinner for all of us after making us all pine for his food every Sunday evening with his pictures of his weekly Sunday dinners- right Evan? :)” Steve Freedman ’87 and his wife Lisa celebrated 20 years of marriage recently and their daughter Alexa will be attending Steve’s alma mater Emory University in the fall of 2022. His daughter Julia is a rising sophomore at high school in Atlanta. Since exiting his direct marketing business in 2013, Steve has been very involved in forming and running peer
groups for entrepreneurs all over the USA. Melissa Betron Levine ’88 was Steve recently saw Kama Bethel ’87 who promoted to Director of Special Services for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional recently relocated to Atlanta. School District in Mercer County.
Class Notes - RPS 2.0 (2000-Current) Sudipta Bandyopadhyay ’04 and Christina Avgerinos ’05 celebrated their wedding on April 30 at The Shadowbrook at Shrewsbury, where they attended prom together in 2004.
L to R: Michelle Gawrys (Maid of Honor) ’05, Dan Schaer (Groomsman) ’04, Ted Kelly ’04, Brian Cronin (Groomsman) ’03, Sudipta Bandyopadhyay (Groom) ’04, Christina Avgerinos (Bride) ’05, Stefanie Capizzi ’05, Benjamin Wolk ’04, Adam Levy ’04, Mike Avgerinos (Groomsman) ’11, Ralph Avella, Matt Rafla (Best Man) ’04
L to R: Thomas Smith ’15, Danny Varga ’19, Christian Klipstein ’15, Reaves Klipstein ’12, David Klipstein ’81, John O’Connell ’78, Chad Fiedler ’07, the bride Brittany, Ryan Klipstein ’07, Fred Reisen ’07, Rory O’Connell ’75, Max Stransky, Tara Klipstein ’81, Kevin O’Connell ’73 Ryan Klipstein ’07 married Brittany on Eric Loy ’09 married Samantha Garvey October 9, 2021. They were surrounded by on November 27, 2021, in New Hope, PA. family, friends, and countless Argonauts on their big day. Catherine Rand ’08 welcomed Elizabeth Louise Rand on April 6.
L to R: Steve and Philomena Loy, Bill Utasi ’09, Eric Loy ’09, Larry Santowasso ’91, Matt Loy, Sam Garvey Loy, Scott Skolnick ’09, Gary Neiditch, Andrea Cunnell, Meredith Santowasso (peeking through!), Liz Mulvey ’13, Mark Nastus ’94, Brenda & Keith Stensland
Bill Utasi ’09 Co-founded an animal shelter in the DMV area prior to relocating out west. Please check out Maryland Animal Adoption Center online and on our social media profiles! (mdadopt.org) We support the whole northeast and have delivered pups up to NJ and Philly in the past! Blessie Banayat ’10 visited campus to talk with Carole Zboray’s Anatomy and Physiology Class. She is currently completing her occupational therapy doctoral capstone experience at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ and is in the middle of collecting data for her research study on the feasibility and usability of a mobile health (mHealth) resource application for young breast cancer survivors. If all goes well, she will be graduating on August 16, 2022 with her OTD (doctor of occupational therapy)!
Rebecca Hadley Liska ’10 was selected as Teacher of the Year for the 2021-2022 school year at South River Elementary School. Rebecca has been a fifth grade teacher in the district for four years.
Steven Polansky ’11 married Lauren Krinker of Winter Park, Florida on Saturday, March 19 in Winter Park, Florida. They met in Manhattan and currently own a home in Rumson, NJ. The best man is Steven’s older brother, Jason Polansky ’09, who currently resides in Jersey City, NJ with his fiancé.
L to R: Kevin Ferraioli ’11, Josh Denenberg ’11, Lauren (bride!), Steven Polansky ’11 (groom!), Brad Hagan ’11, Jordan Crystal ’11, Michael Dunleavy ’11, Ben Radin ’11
Soraya Selamie ’11 was welcomed back to campus to speak to the Environmental Science Club. Club members selected Soraya due to her expertise in the field of environmental health and safety testing.
Kara Mae Sheft Hughes ’12 and her husband Casey welcomed a baby girl, Ava Andersen Hughes on April 8, 2022.
Lilah Galdi Olsson ’12 snapped a photo of her daughter Averie Olsson who is wearing her Argonaut swag!
If you’re in Indiana, you might see a fellow Argonaut on TV over the next few months. For Sarah Parr ’16, being an actor and a copywriter and a production professional always makes doing any kind of work on commercials an all-consuming experience in the absolute best way possible. And you can see her as the Clerk/BBQueen in this winter’s Hoosier Lottery commercial: https://youtu.be/qoVjlvO0fV0.
Josh Kutner ’17 reunited with baseball alums and coaches at the team’s final game of the season.
in my first rotation as a part of the Global Product Development TRACK Program as a Project Engineer. Please feel free to reach out with any questions about my experience at Clarkson University and my time at General Motors using my phone number or through LinkedIn.”
L to R: Josh Kutner ’17, John Langenfeld ’17, Jack Withum ’17, Justin Henry ’17, Sam Beck ’17
L to R: Coach Mark Nastus ’94, Coach Hameier, Coach Larry Santowasso ’91, Justin Henry ’17, Jack Withum ’17, Josh Kutner ’17, Coach Biondolillo, John Langenfeld ’17, Sam Beck ’17, front row Pete D’Agostino Rohan Chatterjee ’18 writes “I graduated from Clarkson University with a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering in May 2022. I am currently working for General Motors out in Warren, Michigan. I am currently working
Charles Mann ’21, Geoff Loose, Michael Slass ’20, and Ben Tomfohrde ’21 had an impromptu golf reunion at Quail Brook Golf Course in May! Charles is attending Lafayette, Michael RPI and Ben Penn State.
Class Agents Class of 1945
Class of 1965
Class of 1974
Class of 1947
Peter Lederman plederman@lomurrolaw.com
Robert Frisch yagmot@aol.com
Larry Sporn lawrencem@sporn.us
Class of 1975
Gerald O’Brien job@consolidated.net John Witmer witmer@nctv.com
Class of 1948
Clyde Harms clydeharms@gmail.com
Class of 1950
Kearney Kuhlthau elmwoodcemetery@verizon.net
Class of 1952
William Cramer wjc72536@yahoo.com
Class of 1954
Elfriede Riddering Heidelberg
Class of 1958
Jim Burke jvburke11@gmail.com
Class of 1959
Linda Levy Hamelsky queenbeee7@comcast.net
Class of 1960
Henry Gurshman gurshmanlawfirm@aol.com
Class of 1963
Charles Collard cecollard44@gmail.com
Class of 1964
Stephanie Matusz Stillman stillstef@msn.com Robert Sutherlin suth9@yahoo.com
Vivian Czarda Andrus vivandrus@aol.com
Class of 1967
Peter Lampen peter.lampen@gmail.com Alisa Pasternak Zlotnikoff alisazee@aol.com
Class of 1968
Barbara Paulus Lampen barbara.lampen@gmail.com
Class of 1969
Jonathan Kaufelt jonathan@kaufelt.com
Class of 1970
Bryna Greenwald Pomp bgpomp@aol.com
Class of 1971
Victoria Daniel Kozo vkozo@rci.rutgers.edu
Class of 1972
Bill Ihling billihling@gmail.com
Class of 1973
Merryl Colburn Bernstein merryl.bernstein@gmail.com Jack Kamin whosetheboss2001@yahoo.com
Walter Deutsch whdii@aol.com
Rory O’Connell rory07960@yahoo.com
Class of 1976
Charlie Daniel mjd095@hotmail.com
Class of 1977
Mark DiGiovanni guaranteed1@gmail.com
Class of 1979
Peter Clarke pl.clarke@verizon.net
Class of 1980
Dana Stahl Mermelstein dana.mermelstein1@verizon.net
Class of 1981
Marla Siegel Kurzec mkurzec@aol.com
Class of 1982
Janine Orlando janineorlando@gmail.com Sueanne Schulman sueanne212@aol.com
Class of 1983 Ellen Berman ejb512@aol.com
Dawn Hughes dawnt49209@aol.com Anita Kothari Walsh akw1184@gmail.com
Class of 1984
Joshua Greenstein joshuagreenstein@gmail.com
Nicole Finner Mordecai nicolefinner@gmail.com
Veronica Lippencott (nee Akinyi Ouma) verouma@hotmail.com
Nicole Fiumefreddo Rafanello nicole.rafanello@gmail.com
Class of 1991
Camile Melton Brown camimelt@hotmail.com
Jason Grey greyjason@hotmail.com
Alexis Balsamides Wade aawade@mac.com
Geoffrey Gussis geoff@gussis.com
Class of 1985
William Somers somers515@yahoo.com
Marc Bromfeld bromfeld@yahoo.com Diana Davidson Lerner dianalerner1226@gmail.com
Class of 1986
Erika Barnes Holliday happyholliday@comcast.net John Miller gringoscholar@gmail.com
Class of 1987
Donna Goodman dl.goodman@yahoo.com Mark Nathan nate3564@hotmail.com
Class of 1988
Brian Cohen bcohennyc@gmail.com
Class of 1989
Todd Haedrich tmhaedrich@gmail.com Tim Herrmann therrmann@intuitivevp.com
Class of 1990
Megan Coakley Glover megcoakley@hotmail.com
Class of 1993
Luis Garcia luisfergarcia@gmail.com Erica Golliday Higgins ericamhiggins@hotmail.com
Class of 1994
Jwan Allen jwan.allen@gmail.com Violette Renard Recinos violette.recinos@gmail.com
Class of 1995
Tara Auciello tara.a@alumni.duke.edu Sara Papa Belyea sbelyea@gmail.com
Class of 1996
Ria Rasalan Gaviria Rasalan@gmail.com Matthew Scherb mascherb@gmail.com
Class of 1997
Amanda Lin yi_zue@hotmail.com
Class of 1998
Jeremy Hollander jerholl7@gmail.com Sripriya Radhakrishna sripriyaprince@gmail.com Jeremy Wang-Iverson jwangiverson@gmail.com
Class of 1999
Jessica Belser jessbelser@gmail.com Nakul Rao nakulrao@gmail.com
Class of 2000
Vanessa Abreu Deyhle vadeyhle@gmail.com Portia Hunt portia.hunt@gmail.com Liz Lampen Kim lizlampenkim@gmail.com Patchaya ‘Beam’ Seilaudom itsbeam@gmail.com
Class of 2001
Rachita Bhatt rachitabhatt@gmail.com Lauren Michaels laurenmichaels@gmail.com Jose Torres josetorres527@gmail.com
Class of 2002
Jordanne Owen jordyowen@gmail.com
Ashley Merchant ashley.merch@gmail.com
Melissa Zaccagnino m.zaccagnino@gmail.com
Sarah Thornton sarahelizabeththornton@gmail. com
Class of 2003
Class of 2008
Charles Cunnell parakuihi@gmail.com
Lauren Wink Brenner lauren.brenner30@gmail.com
Class of 2004
Ariel Strauss ariel.r.strauss@gmail.com
Katie Shimalla Bartolucci kcbartolucci@gmail.com
Sudipta Bandyopadhyay sudipta@bandyopadhyay.me Ilana Galex ilanag86@gmail.com
Nikhil Anbarasan nikhilanbarasan@gmail.com
Class of 2009
Ashwin Karanam akaranam@me.com
Shirley Torho shirley.torho@gmail.com
Kelsey Rene kelseyarene@gmail.com
Class of 2005
Ankita Thakkar ankita.m.thakkar@gmail.com
Adil Ahmed justadilahmed@gmail.com Mark DiGiovanni markf.digiovanni@gmail.com
Class of 2010
Georges Richa georgesmricha@gmail.com
Rick Halmo rick.halmo@gmail.com
Kammi Shah kammishah@gmail.com
Class of 2006
Syed Moazam Shah moazamshah@gmail.com
Sonal Bhatt sonal1021@gmail.com Kenneth Feibush kfeibush@gmail.com
Class of 2011
Niki Kakarla nikila.kakarla@gmail.com
Class of 2013
Annette Browne browne.annette@yahoo.com Prastama Perkasa prazperkasa@gmail.com
Class of 2014
Samantha Bernstein samanthabernstein509@gmail. com Megan Groner groner.megan@gmail.com Timothy Magier timmagier@gmail.com
Class of 2015
Christian Klipstein dcklipsteinjr@aol.com Lindsey Schafer lschafer08@aol.com Kendra Sullivan kendrasullivan@comcast.net
Class of 2016
Tanvi Kodali tanvi.kodali123@gmail.com Sarah Parr sarahaparr@gmail.com Riya Patel riya112197@gmail.com
Class of 2017
Josh Kutner kutnerjoshm@gmail.com
Jordan Hollander jsfhollander@gmail.com
Kim Krauszer krauszerk@gmail.com
Class of 2007
Class of 2012
Rayan Dutta dutta.rayan@gmail.com
Rebekah Park bekahpark@gmail.com
Ryan Klipstein klipstein.ryan@gmail.com
Andrew Parr parrandr@gmail.com
Joseph Ramallo jvramallon@outlook.com
Victoria Hartmann Bishop hartmann.victoria@gmail.com
Madison Mento madiepink13@gmail.com
Class of 2018
Grace Del Buono grace.delbuono@gmail.com Varun Kadikar vkadikar@gmail.com
Pranav Wadhwa pranav_wadhwa@yahoo.com
Riya Lahiri riyalahiri02@gmail.com
Class of 2020
David Merges david.merges@gmail.com
Julia Chorun juliac707@aol.com
Alexandra Schantz allyschantz@gmail.com
Samatha Kodali samatha2k@gmail.com
Nolan Patel nolanpatel@gmail.com
Nikhil Lahiri niklahiri2000@gmail.com
Tylan Porterfield tylan.mykia@gmail.com
Skyler Scioscia skyescioscia31@gmail.com
Matthew Romage mromage87@gmail.com
Class of 2019
Gurnoor Virdi gurnoorvirdi@gmail.com
Elizabeth Romage liz.romage@gmail.com
Class of 2021
Christian Wright boscob2110@gmail.com
Brynn Bean brynnabean@aol.com Nima Majidi nima.majidi23@gmail.com
Kiran Lahiri klahiri02@gmail.com
Sontee Scott sonteescott801@gmail.com
Class of 2022
Samantha Balaban sbalaban6562@gmail.com
In Memory of... Herbert Beaujon, Class of 1949, May 31, 2022 Robert “Bobby” Grossman, Honorary Class of 1982, March 8, 2022 Anne Glennon, Retired Faculty, July 16, 2022 Charles Heitz, Class of 1982 Gary Laden, Class of 1965, February 1, 2022 Todd Milligan, Class of 1976, February 12, 2022 Deborah Rosenstock, Class of 1975, May 24, 2022 Harry H. Selover, Jr., Class of 1948, September 24, 2020 Harold “Hal” Sirkin, Class of 1975, January 19, 2022 Tommy Watts, Class of 1982, June 5, 2022 Peter Wilson, Class of 1962, May 23, 2022
Did You Know RPS accepts Cryptocurrency Donations?
Cryptocurrency is a great way to give to Rutgers Prep. Donating cryptocurrency is a non-taxable event, meaning you do not owe capital gains tax on the appreciated amount and can deduct it on your taxes. This makes cryptocurrency donations one of the most tax-efficient ways to support RPS. You can donate nearly any type of cryptocurrency to Rutgers Prep directly on the School’s website. *In accordance with Rutgers Prep's Gift Acceptance Policy, all contributions of cryptocurrency are converted to cash immediately upon acceptance and cannot be refunded for any reason. While we are happy to honor requests for anonymity, Rutgers Prep is required by law to identify all donors who make a charitable contribution.