UHS Journal - Fall 2018

UHS

SAN FRANCISCO UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL FALL 2018

Journal

The Health and

Wellness Issue

A magazine for the San Francisco University High School community Fall 2018 Volume XXIX, No. 2

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS LUKAS BACHO ’20 is an op-ed editor for the Devil’s Advocate, a peer advisor who mentors ninth-graders, and an actor with the UHS Theatre Department.

CAMERON EHSAN ’20 is an admissions ambassador, managing editor of UHS Digital, and a community organizer.

MARY LADD lives and writes in San Francisco. She frequently contributes to KQED.org, the San Francisco Chronicle, SF Weekly, and more.

ROXIE MILES ’19 is a peer advisor who mentors tenth-graders and plays on the varsity field hockey team.

LYZETTE WANZER, MFA, is a San Francisco author, editor, and writing workshop instructor. Her work appears in a breadth of literary journals, and she is a contributor to The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (WyattMacKenzie). She is a two-time San Francisco Arts Commission grant recipient.

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Mark Johann Eva Krueger ’20 Kira Lyons ’19 Anne Pantelick ’85, P ’19 MANAGING EDITOR Marianna Stark ’89 COPY EDITOR Evan Hulka ’00 DESIGNER Design Action Collective EDITORIAL BOARD Shaundra Bason Julia Russell Eells Alex Lockett Nate Lundy

EDITORIAL STAFF Mandy Brooks Thelma Garza Mary King Kimberley Mallory PRINTING Community Printers San Francisco University High School welcomes students of demonstrated motivation and ability to engage in an education that fosters responsibility and the spirited pursuit of knowledge.

We are a school where adults believe in the promise of every student, and together we work to build and sustain a community of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and talents. UHS challenges each individual to live a life of integrity, inquiry, and purpose larger than the self.

OUR CORE VALUES Inquiry Care Integrity Agency Interconnection CONTACT THE JOURNAL Please send alumni updates to UHSalumni@sfuhs.org.

If you have news, questions, or comments, please contact us via communications@sfuhs.org or 415-447-3116.

FOR ADDRESS CHANGES Please email address changes to communications@sfuhs.org.

The UHS Journal is a publication of San Francisco University High School, and is circulated free to more than 7,000 households of alumni, parents, former faculty, and friends of the school. Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco, California. The UHS Journal is issued two times per year, in spring and fall. Postmaster: send address changes to Mailing Records Office, San Francisco University High School, 3065 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA, 94115. ©2018 San Francisco University High School. All rights reserved.

Printed in California on recycled paper.

Cover photos: Ryan O’Donnell’s junior class cluster, Hector Castro ’20, Lulu Barron ’20.

Photos by Anne Pantelick ’85, P ’19.

Inside cover photo: Lucy Hurlbut ’21 at UHS Olympics on May 24, 2018. Photo by Mark Johann.

UHS

SAN FRANCISCO UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL FALL 2018 VOL. XXIX, NO. 2

Journal

UNIVERSE Away from Home 2 Home at My Desk: Julia Russell Eells;

Faculty Meeting; Welcome Nate Lundy; Bullseye! Showcase Hits Its Mark Again; Lit Club: Homework Encouraged; Summer Sandbox: Innovation Incubator; Molding Change; Class of 2018 Epilogue

15

ROLE MODELS: PAVING THE WAY Inspired by Spectra, LGBTQIA alumni form an affinity group for the broader UHS community

ALUMNI

16 18 20 21

Spotlight on Alumni+Student Symposium Reunion Recap One Degree of Separation Class Notes

ANNUAL REPORT

FEATURES AT UHS: 10 MENTORING ENHANCING STUDENT SUPPORT University's Mentorship and Human Development programs unite

LAYER OF SUPPORT 11 ANOTHER Corinne Limbach develops

programming that promotes the mental and physical well-being of all students

SPIRIT 14 SPECTRA Three students team up to form

a new affinity space for LGBTQIA students and advocates

Spectra Spirit (see page 14)

26 27 28 29

Board Chair Letter Treasurer Letter Alumni Association Letter Parents Association Letter

Molding Change (see page 7)

30 31 32 49 52

New Board Members Fundraising Gift Listings Thank You to Our Volunteers Join Us in Making a Gift

UNIVERSE

Home Away from Home

At my desk: Julia Russell Eells The Big Red Book.

This is a tradition that we started in 2014. I ask the ninth-graders to sign in at opening convocation to commemorate their start at UHS and to symbolize a commitment to bringing our whole selves to our work and relationships in the school, as well as to uphold our school values and honor pledge.

This is the third issue of the UHS Journal I have had the honor of bringing to fruition since coming to work at UHS in January 2017.

Last fall, we focused on the history of social justice initiatives on campus, highlighting faculty who weave activism into their teaching practice and alumni who work in social justice professionally. Last spring, in anticipation of the Global Climate Action Summit, which was held in San Francisco in September, we chose to feature our environmental science curriculum and alumni with careers related to stemming and reversing climate change.

This issue is devoted to the subject of health and wellness on campus, and how University has evolved to help students find balance in their lives.

Alumni will remember the beloved cluster program and feel proud to learn how it has been enhanced over the past few years to provide mentors (formerly called cluster leaders) with training and resources to fully support every student.

In this issue we’re disrupting the traditional format of the Letter from the Head, and asking Julia Russell Eells to share with us some of the things that keep her grounded and whole every day.

Marianna Stark ’89, Editor, UHS Journal

Photos of my parents. I stayed in the family business and every day I derive inspiration from these two educators: my mother, an elementary science teacher, and my late father, a college provost

pathways in our strategic design that you can find at sfuhs.org/ strategicdesign.

CLIF bars. Afternoons are long, and I need a quick energy boost! I keep a variety on hand at all times.

The Week magazine. My Friday morning current events student group uses this great romp through the week’s issues from various media perspectives as our guide for conversation.

Six-Word Memoirs. We do a “greeting” at the beginning of our weekly administrative team meeting. It’s my month to do the greeting, and I asked everyone

and physics professor. They had full careers and shaped the lives of many students, and they did it all while raising five children!

to share a six-word memoir about their feelings around the start of the school year. My favorite was by Dean of Students (and mom to two kids under the age of five) Alex Lockett: “Surrounded by kids, kids, kids, kids.”

But First, Ping Pong. This mug was a gift from a UHS senior, coupled with a challenge to another match at the UHS ping pong table before he graduates. I play to win.

The Athletic Complex at Paul Goode Field in the Presidio of San Francisco.

Literally! This rock is a chunk given to me by a trustee who was very close to the project, to celebrate the hours we spent working together to bring the athletic complex to life. Our students now have a home field that is a ten-minute walk from campus, meaning they can reinvest the time they used to spend traveling in buses to practice, to now spend more time with family and friends or on school assignments if they choose. n

The draft of our master plan and a communication to our neighbors. With the Athletic Complex at Paul Goode Field completed, it is time to consider how the rest of our campus responds to the immediate, evolving, and expanding needs of our academic program while also supporting community connection. This is one of the nine strategic Photos by Anne Pantelick ’85, P ’19

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Faculty Meeting This fall, University High School welcomes eleven new employees. The beginning of a new school year brings a feeling of promise and anticipation for faculty and staff as well as for students, as we meet new colleagues and are exposed to new scholarship and practices. nurture globally minded and socially conscious students. He holds a BA in history and an MA in Latin American history from San Francisco State University, and he has completed PhD work in Latin American history at the University of Pittsburgh.

Back row: Terrence Brewer, Bayete Henderson, Marcus Caimi, Rhett Jaramillo, Nate Lundy. Front row: Bridget Gleason, Juliet Ayertey, Corinne Limbach, Trude Froland. Not pictured: Mandy Brooks, Bianca Catalan ’10.

Photo by Anne Pantelick ’85, P ’19.

FACULTY

Juliet Ayertey joins us as a mathematics instructor this fall.

She is a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where she received a BSc in Actuarial Science, and of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, where she earned an MSc in operations research and statistics. She sharpened her skills as a graduate teaching assistant in the mathematics department at New Mexico Tech, and has a wealth of experience as a teacher, mentor, and youth counselor.

Terrence Brewer is no stranger to UHS, having worked with our jazz groups for the past ten years. This fall, he joins the UHS faculty as a music instructor and ninth-grade

mentor. A multiple-awardwinning guitarist and 2016 inductee into the Pittsburg Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame, Terrence has more than fifteen years of experience as a music educator, working with SFJAZZ, San Francisco Public Library, the California Jazz Conservatory, and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He is a graduate of Los Medanos College.

Marcus Caimi joins UHS as a mathematics instructor and ninth-grade mentor. Marcus graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a BA in theoretical mathematics and a minor in education, and went on to earn an EdM through the Teacher Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He comes to us from Cambridge Rindge & Latin School in Cambridge, MA.

UHS alumna Bianca Catalan ’10 returns to UHS this fall as a community engagement instructor and ninth-grade mentor. Since graduating from UHS, Bianca has studied at the City College of New York, where she received a BA in theatre; American Conservatory Theater’s Studio A.C.T.; and St. Mary’s College of California. She has spent many years working with communities to bring the arts to children and families in San Francisco and in Missouri, and she is an awardwinning poet and artist.

Bayete Henderson joins UHS this fall as a history instructor and ninth-grade mentor. Bayete comes to us from Assumption University in Bangkok, Thailand, where he taught a variety of different history classes. He hopes to help

Joining UHS as Director of Health, Wellness, and Leadership is Corinne Limbach. A graduate of College Preparatory School in Oakland, Corinne has extensive experience working with students as both a counselor and a teacher. She has worked with the Huckleberry House in San Francisco and AmeriCorps in Richmond, and is trained in a variety of aspects of youth wellness. She attended Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona and the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she received a BS in biological sciences. See page 11 for more about Corinne.

STAFF

Mandy Brooks is excited to join the UHS community this fall as the school’s first director of major giving. Most recently, Mandy worked at UC Berkeley, as director of development in the College of Letters & Science. She has worked in development for more than seven years and has a wealth of experience in the field.

In July, Bridget Gleason joined the UHS community as human resources director.

Bridget’s experience in human resources has been acquired over an extensive and varied career serving the human resources, payroll, benefits, and training needs of companies large and small throughout the U H S J O U R N A L | FA L L 2 0 1 8

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San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a BA from San Francisco State University and an MBA in strategic leadership from Dominican University of California.

We first met Rhett Jaramillo, reception and operations coordinator, this summer, when he served as a contract receptionist and helped with numerous administrative projects on campus. Rhett has a master’s degree in music composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He grew up in Temecula, CA, and has been in San Francisco for three years. Before coming to UHS, Rhett was a general manager at Chipotle.

Nate Lundy recently joined the UHS community as our new director of admissions and financial aid. Nate has worked with Bay Area students throughout his entire career and has worked in admissions and student services at both the college and high school levels, at Chapman University, The Bay School, Aim High, LickWilmerding High School (as associate director of admissions and outreach), and Live Oak School (as dean of student life). Nate graduated from the University of California, Irvine, with a BA in history, and from the University of San Francisco with an MA in organization and leadership. See below for more about Nate.

Farewell, Jon Reider Jon Reider, University’s second director of college counseling, retired last May after 18 years.

To read more about Jon’s tenure with UHS, go to sfuhs.org/farewelljonreider.

Congratulations to Kimberley Mallory, who is bringing her talents and thirteen years of experience at UHS to a new position with the development office. With this transition, you will see a new welcoming face greeting you at the Jackson Street entrance: Trude Froland joins us as our new receptionist and office coordinator. She comes to UHS with a degree in hospitality management from

San Francisco State University and more than 15 years of hospitality experience, most recently at the Fairmont Hotel. Trude is married with three children, one of whom is a current Summerbridge student.

She is a native of Norway and has been in the US for 24 years. n

WELCOME NATE LUNDY Director of Admissions and Financial Aid

N

ate Lundy joins UHS as the director of admissions and financial aid this year, filling the role left

by Aaron Mieszczanski, who has moved to Los Angeles to be the head of admissions at HarvardWestlake. Nate knows UHS from many angles: as the brother of UHS alumnus Jelani LundyHarris ’05, as a student athlete at rival Lick-Wilmerding in the early ’90s, as varsity basketball coach for over ten years at Lick, and as a long-tenured independent school professional in the Bay Area, including ten years in admissions at Lick.

“I’m proud to become a member of this community of people who want to change society for the better,” says Nate. “I’m excited to join the University community at a time when providing access and opening doors for a broad array of kids and families is at the forefront of our strategic design and the centerpiece of the school’s future.

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Our students’ experience is enriched by learning with peers who come from a wide variety of experiences. We want every student who would excel here to know about UHS when their time comes to decide where to apply.”

Enriching his deep admissions experience, Nate has held multiple non-admissions roles that have given him a valuable perspective on high school admissions and how the admissions team functions within the larger institution.

Nate comes to UHS from Live Oak School, an independent K–8 school on Potrero Hill with 336 students, where he was dean of student life for four years, and for the past five years he’s been a trustee at The Berkeley School, an independent K–8 school in Berkeley with 300 students. He’s also a past board member of People of Color in Independent Schools (POCIS) of Northern California.

“Prior to holding these positions, I viewed admissions as a more transactional exercise: I met people and invited them to apply,” says Nate. “Now, with my experience as a dean and trustee, I see what families need and what faculty need to be a part of and to serve the community. It’s my team’s responsibility to ensure families not only get to know our school during the admissions process, but know how to participate, once enrolled, to get the most of their time here.”

Nate graduated from University of California, Irvine, with a BA in history, and received his master’s in organization and leadership from the University of San Francisco. There he learned from a diverse cohort of peers who gave him insight into the approaches of different institutions, from parochial to independent to public schools, and built strong relationships that he continues to value to this day.

And what are the challenges ahead? “High school admissions are getting more and more competitive every year,” says Nate. “At the same time, there are so many excellent independent schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, students have many options.

Students may be aware of UHS, but during the admissions process you have one chance to make a good first impression.

University can continue to enroll strong, mission-aligned classes by ensuring that all prospective families know our biggest strengths: our commitment to our values, our esteemed faculty, and our beautiful campus. University deserves its reputation of being a special place.” n

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Bullseye!

I

n 2018, Decorator Showcase branched out from the neighborhoods surrounding University for the third time, and hit its mark in the Marina District. (Decorator Showcase took place in Sea Cliff in 1993 and on Telegraph Hill in 2016.) Situated on picturesque Marina Boulevard, with a breathtaking view of the bay from every north-facing window, this year’s Showcase house introduced new audiences strolling

along the Marina Green, between Fort Mason and Crissy Field, to this 41-year-old signature event.

Decorator Showcase is the primary fundraising vehicle for financial aid at University, and this year netted $500,000 for financial aid.

For the first time ever, the façade of Showcase was an exhibit itself.

Longtime Showcase contributor SB Fine Arts submitted multiple proposals for turning the outer shell from blank canvas to activated art installation, and was pleasantly surprised when the Design Advisory Board chose the most eye-catching option.

Showcase Hits Its Mark Again In another first, an alumna was Showcase co-chair! Angelina Alioto-Grace ’88, P ’19, and Natalie Stern P ’19 collaborated to lead the hundreds of volunteers who fill such roles as docent, cashier, greeter, and ad sales for the coffee-tableworthy program book. “We were excited to see the thousands of people who visited Showcase during the month of May and who helped ensure that the cost of a University High School education will never be a barrier for qualified students,” Angelina says. Natalie adds, “The exceptional team of creative designers and administrative staff, coupled with the generosity of parents, friends, students, teachers, and community members, was inspiring and made us grateful to be part of such a fabulous community.” n

Artist AJ Oishi and Stephanie Breitbard of SB Fine Arts in the lift.

It took artist AJ Oishi and four assistants four full days of painting to install the artwork on the front of the house.

The first two days were spent penciling the design onto the house exterior. Extreme rains forced the crew to pause on day one and put up a giant tarp over the façade of the house to keep the penciled layout from washing off. The weekend brought sunny skies, so the next two days of painting were in view of thousands of people enjoying the beautiful weather on the Marina Green.

LIT CLUB: HOMEWORK ENCOURAGED This is the second in a series featuring our amazing Parents Association volunteers.There are more than 20 committees made up of nearly 200 hands-on volunteers who help make the University community a welcoming place for students, faculty, and staff.The co-chairs of the Parents Association Literary Club this year are Elsa Bignoli, Mark Kushner, and Jennifer Murphy. If you’d like to volunteer for a role in the Parents Association, contact PA President Sheila Cuthbert.

T

he Parents Association Literary Club is a casual, fun, and highly evolved book club. Participants DO talk about the book; actually reading the book is encouraged but not required. And there’s even more flexibility: read only the books that inspire you, and drop in when you can.

Unlike some book clubs, study questions are not published ahead of time, because they’re not necessary, though most come prepared to parse. Conversation is spontaneous and lively. Some meetings have a cerebral and academic vibe, while others are playful and informal.

Publishing the full list of books at the beginning of the school year, an innovation from last year, has increased participation and

loyalty. Opening the meetings up to alumni (and, on special occasions, students) has energized and enlivened the gatherings even more.

Jesse Berrett (seated) with alumni who attended the PA book club featuring his book Pigskin Nation.

Co-chair duties include choosing thematic refreshments, welcoming attendees, and, of course, curating an eclectic combination of books that offers something

for everyone. Fiction, nonfiction, politics, biographies—every genre is a contender.

Last year’s assortment included books by two authors in the UHS family: Melting​ ​the​ ​Blues, ​

by UHS alumna​​Tracy Chiles McGhee ’88 and Pigskin Nation: How the National Football League Reshaped American Politics by Jesse Berrett, UHS history instructor since 1996.

Book clubbers meet monthly in the Jackson Street Lounge from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Coffee, tea, and a late-night snack in keeping with the book’s theme are served. n

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SUMMER SANDBOX: INNOVATION INCUBATOR

students would be interested in exploring an unusual subject with a beloved mentor, UHS held the first session of “Summer at UHS: Connect.Invent.Design.”

Classes in this session do not appear on a UHS transcript and do not tie directly to the required curriculum. Instead, they reach beyond the course catalog. Positive reaction from parents and students, in the form of high enrollment and resulting revenue, provided funds for faculty stipends and financial aid for students requiring it.

Class in action in The Game of Life: Financial Literacy.

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ny educator will tell you that building a new class is hard, no matter how exciting the idea or how motivated the teacher. Piecing it together takes time above and beyond the normal course load, and on top of that, you need actual students to be your beta testers.

Part of University’s strategic design (sfuhs.org/strategicdesign) is an ongoing commitment to supporting innovation in its curriculum. To fulfill this goal, the curriculum committee is responsible for creating structured opportunities for faculty to develop innovative curricula.

There are traditional outlets

Students code in Python.

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for sparking creativity, such as professional development or space to recharge through a sabbatical. Since 2017, the Lamott Endowment for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Curricular Innovation has also provided fellowships that support the design of new courses across departments. Working within the confines of the school year is complicated (due to staffing and maintaining existing course offerings), and the governance committee was looking for a nimble option to support faculty innovation.

This past summer, building on the hypothesis that some

In the first week of August 2018, thirty-five students came to UHS to take one or two of the classes offered, including Rock Criticism, with history instructor Jesse Berrett; Data Science, with science instructor Jennifer Look; and From Zero to Game: An Introduction to Coding in Python (the only two-week course), with science instructor Byron Philhour.

The most popular course, with 40 percent of the students enrolled, was The Game of Life: Financial Literacy, with mathematics instructor Megan Storti. “Personal finance is a subject we don’t talk about enough with teenagers or adults,” says Megan. “In this gamified course, we held conversations that inspired kids to have fun while learning about money as a tool. We used familiar scenarios and considered topics that might otherwise not apply to their current stage of life. It’s been a fun experience to create something different than my usual math classes.”

Jen Look adds, “This summer experiment resulted in a statistically significant amount of fun and learning, and we are eager to see the experiment repeat and expand next summer.” n

History instructor and former music writer (San Francisco Bay Guardian, Village Voice, Spin) Jesse Berrett offered the Rock Criticism course. “I wrote rock criticism for about ten years and found it a real challenge to do well. One of my favorite activities is working on writing with students, so this struck me as a fun opportunity to take something they already do (listen to music), give it some history and context and structure, and help push them to say what they think without there being any larger stakes.”

Science instructor Jennifer Look designed the Data Science course, combining math, computer skills, and thinking. Students used spreadsheets and simple computer coding to clean, visualize, and analyze data. Students learned about the types of questions to ask in order to understand data validity, and compared different ways of presenting results.

See the Data Science curriculum here: tinyurl. com/UHSDataSum18.

Physics instructor Byron Philhour’s coding course tasked students with using modern software design practices to envision and deliver a computer game from scratch in just two weeks. Check out student work from Introduction to Coding in Python here: bit.ly/SFUHSZ2G.

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MOLDING CHANGE

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racie Feinberg ’19 was devastated when her favorite teacher, chemistry instructor Kelly Peach, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

To better understand how the disease was affecting Kelly, Gracie participated in an independent study project on the biology of cancer, led by Madison House ’18. For her final project, Gracie researched inequalities in breast cancer funding. A common misconception, she explains, is that the pink ribbons promoting breast cancer awareness also support funding for research and treatment. She emphasizes how expensive breast cancer testing can be, costing women between three hundred and four thousand dollars per procedure. Although some women are genetically pre-

disposed and need to be tested more frequently, frequent testing can be unaffordable, preventing the tests from being conducted.

After Kelly told Gracie about an art project she participated in during college, in which women made plaster casts of their breasts and then painted the molds, Gracie submitted a proposal for a new independent study project so that she could replicate the installation on campus.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to honor her and address something that was upsetting me on a greater level,” Gracie says.

She wanted the art to convey a powerful message to the UHS community, showing the beauty and vulnerability of women’s bodies.

A call for participants went out, and thirty-nine women from high schools across the Bay Area—some of whom were complete strangers to Gracie—gathered in Gracie’s garage, with signed permission slips from their parents, to pose for the plaster casts. The next week, the students returned to spend hours painting the plaster molds. Gracie found it “inspiring that the women participated anonymously,” keeping the focus on the message. The finished sculptures were displayed in the Jackson Street Gallery, along with paintings, ceramics, drawings, and photographs that UHS students submitted for the exhibition.

Gracie shared her inspiration for the exhibition with the student body during all-school meeting,

and wall text accompanied the exhibition, giving the work greater context. A companion one-night fundraiser raised approximately $1,300 for Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE), to educate women about their personal risk of breast cancer and to provide testing.

Gracie hopes that her project is seen as equally powerful as “what other students are doing with regards to women’s rights and social equality.” She states, proudly, “I can’t imagine anywhere else like UHS that would allow high schoolers to do something like we did, to celebrate and acknowledge the power of women and that we need to take care of them.” n Roxie Miles ’19

L to R: Kelly Peach, Gracie Feinberg ’19, and Gracie's independent study advisor, Kristin Landowski. (Kristin served as interim ceramics instructor last year while Matthew Scheatzle was on sabbatical.); Student-crafted bowls sold at the fundraiser; The sculpture installation. Photos courtesy of Gracie Feinberg.

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CLASS OF 2018 EPILOGUE

T

he 2017–2018 school year ushered in the second year of unprecedented activism on University’s campus, which represents a microcosm of our local and global communities.

Throughout the year, students drew attention to important causes by utilizing all-school meeting, lunchtime huddles, fundraisers, and the community engagement curriculum. For the second January in a row, students protested the erosion of human rights in the US by participating in the Women’s March. And on April 19, the Class of 2018 led the UHS student body in a seventeen-minute moment of silence in the rain, standing in solidarity with students of Parkland, Florida, against gun violence in schools.

On June 4, ninety-nine members of the Class of 2018 stood proudly on the stage of Davies Symphony Hall and received their diplomas from Head of School Julia Russell

Eells and chair of the board of trustees Jane Prior. Inspiring speeches from Julia, beloved outgoing Director of College Counseling Jon Reider (retiring after nearly twenty years), and student speakers Queenie Lee and Julian Manyika all touched on the serious times and included a welcome infusion of intentional levity.

As Julia reminded the graduating class, the 2017–2018 school year might be remembered by some as the “Year of the Meme,” beginning with a fall assembly wholly devoted to the discussion of memes, and ending with senior prank day, when the Class of 2018 provided feedback to the UHS community in the form of memes.

(For those not in the know, a meme is a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc., that is copied—often with slight variations—and spread rapidly by Internet users.) These memes lampooned common stereotypes about UHS and

“If there has been anything that we’ve learned . . . it’s that when you have privilege, you have to use it to help others. So, Class of 2018 . . . please use your UHS education and experience as a way to help others.”

— Queenie Lee ‘18

Julian Manyika ’18

poked fun at faculty and infamous courses. Julia even made a meme of herself during the speech, with the help of a seagull puppet and by reading her speech “from a Microsoft document.”

Julia left the Class of 2018 with this piece of advice: “As you head to college and enter the world as an adult, it is your focus on things that matter— fresh air and clean water for future generations, basic human rights and dignity, healthy and meaningful relationships, and work with a purpose—that will define you and bring you true joy in your life.”

Queenie Lee’s speech reflected her natural gift as a storyteller by framing the class’s four-year experience as chapters in a book, with the highs, lows, drama, surprises, and morals of any great story. Commencement speech reinvented as chapterbook oral history—we would expect nothing less from the tech crew producer who directed thousands of all-school meeting announcements during her tenure.

and meaningful ongoing conversation. He recalled how he was encouraged to lean into discomfort and listen to all perspectives, even if they did not necessarily agree with his grounding ideals. Julian underscored the importance of learning, that learning is a lifelong process, and that seeking new opportunities and trying to empathize with others’ perspectives during the journey leads to a diverse and expansive identity.

On behalf of the entire UHS community, congratulations to the Class of 2018! n Cameron Ehsan ’20

Julian Manyika shared how the culture of University broadened his worldview by fostering an open-minded community Queenie Lee ’18

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Photos by Anne Pantelick ’85, P ’19

CLASS OF 2018 COLLEGE ADMISSION STATISTICS COLLEGE

American University

ACCEPT 5

ATTEND 0

COLLEGE

Connecticut College

ACCEPT 3

ATTEND 0

COLLEGE

ACCEPT

ATTEND

Pomona College

2

1

Princeton University

2

2

Providence College

2

1

University of Puget Sound

2

1

University of Redlands

1

0

Reed College

3

0

Saint Mary's College of California

1

0

San Diego State University

1

0

San Francisco State University

5

1

2

1

Pitzer College

5

2

University of Connecticut

1

0

Cornell University

5

3

Dartmouth College

1

0

Davidson College

3

3

Denison University

1

0

Dickinson College

2

0

Drexel University

1

0

Duke University

1

1

Emory University

2

1

Fordham University

5

0

Franklin & Marshall College

1

0

George Mason University

1

0

The George Washington University

6

2

University of San Francisco

Georgetown University

4

2

San Jose State University

1

0

Gettysburg College

1

0

Santa Clara University

3

1

Hamilton College (NY)

3

0

Sarah Lawrence College

1

0

Hampshire College

1

0

Scripps College

1

1

Harvard University

3

2

Skidmore College

4

0

Haverford College

3

0

Smith College

3

0

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

1

0

Sonoma State University

1

0

7

3

College of the Holy Cross

1

0

University of Southern California

1

0

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

1

0

Southern Methodist University Stanford University

3

2

Indiana University at Bloomington

2

0

Syracuse University

7

0

Trinity College

3

2

The Johns Hopkins University

4

1

Tufts University

10

7

Kenyon College

5

0

Tulane University

2

0

King's College London

2

0

University College London

1

0

Lewis & Clark College

2

1

0

5

0

The University of Edinburgh

2

Loyola Marymount University

University of Exeter

1

0

Macalester College

2

0

University of St Andrews

2

1

Marquette University

1

0

1

0

0

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1

1

The University of Warwick University of York

1

0

2

0

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

1

0

Vassar College

4

1

1

0

1

13

2

1

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of Miami

University of Vermont

Middlebury College

3

2

Villanova University

2

0

0

0

0

13

1

1

University of California, Santa Cruz

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

University of Virginia

6

3

Carleton College

3

3

Muhlenberg College

1

0

Washington University in St. Louis

0

0

1

1

1

2

The New School - All Divisions

University of Washington

Carnegie Mellon University

Wellesley College

2

1

Case Western Reserve University

1

1

New York University

11

4

Wesleyan University

4

2

0

1

0

3

7

2

Chapman University

Northeastern University

Wheaton College (MA)

4

3

1

4

4

2

University of Chicago

Northwestern University

Whitman College

3

0

0

6

1

1

Colby College

University of Notre Dame

Whittier College

0

1

0

3

2

1

Colgate University

Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences

Willamette University Williams College

3

2

University of Colorado at Boulder

6

0

Occidental College

5

0

5

1

Columbia University

3

2

University of Oregon

5

0

University of Wisconsin, Madison

University of the Pacific

1

0

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

1

0

Yale University

3

1

The American University of Paris

2

Amherst College

5

2

Arizona State University

1

0

Bard College

3

0

Barnard College

1

0

Bates College

5

1

Boston College

4

2

13

1

Brandeis University

1

0

Brown University

2

2

Bryn Mawr College

2

1

Bucknell University

1

0

Butler University

1

0

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

1

0

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

2

California State University, Channel Islands

1

California State University, Chico

1

0

California State University, Long Beach

2

0

California State University, Los Angeles

1

0

California State University, San Marcos

1

University of California, Berkeley

8

University of California, Davis

9

University of California, Irvine

3

University of California, Los Angeles

8

University of California, Riverside

3

University of California, San Diego

Boston University

0

0

0

0 4 2 0 2

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9

Mentoring at UHS:

Enhancing Student Support D o you ever have days when you find it hard to concentrate because you have something on your mind (or on your phone)? Do you occasionally find yourself distracted by responsibilities such as nurturing a healthy relationship with your partner or caring for your kids or your aging parents, while also managing your own health?

Put yourself in the shoes of a UHS student with a full course load and extracurricular activities, perhaps including volunteer work or a part-time job. Next, imagine that you are making new friends, learning how to date, and trying to keep your self-esteem high while going through puberty. Teenagers are navigating all of these complexities—some of which are quite new and untested for them—while explosions of

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growth and activity are going on in their brains.

Helping teenagers to maintain balance throughout this stressful time in their lives is one of the principles of University’s strategic design (sfuhs.org/ strategicdesign). Along with providing a dynamic and challenging education, University has been paying special attention to enhancing its structures and practices to promote wellness, care, and the wholeness of the individual. During the past three years, UHS’s Mentoring program and its Human Development (HD) program have collaborated and evolved to support these enhancements, as University continues to grow and expand its efforts to foster excellence, educate deeply, and support its students in becoming more fully realized students and citizens.

CLUSTERS EVOLVE

University’s original advising concept began in its very first school year, in the fall of 1975, as an outgrowth of the school’s original founding vision. The founding trustees wanted to prepare students not just for undergraduate education, but for a rewarding life, in an environment that encouraged risk taking, experimentation, and personal growth for students and faculty. The advising concept centered around a model of clusters of roughly 15 students, who would meet weekly with an adult leader. This leader was intended to serve as an academic advisor who could also respond to personal needs and shape positive attitudes and behavior. Alumni often remember cluster meetings as recharging or debriefing sessions that occurred at weekly check-ins.

These meetings were often relaxed and informal, taking place on Fridays, and serving as a kind of release valve for stresses during the week.

The Mentoring program began when school leaders realized that the advisory relationship between a central adult and a group of students had a wealth of undeveloped potential. First begun in the fall of 2013, the Mentoring program intends to make this relationship a foundation upon which students can build their four-year experience—academically, socially, and emotionally. As a result, advising at University has been transformed from the informal atmosphere of the past into a more intentional program through which mentor adults engage with their mentees multiple times a week, to support students through the

F E AT U R E S

many issues that they face.

Shoba Farrell, assistant dean of professional growth and development and eleventh-grade mentor, summarizes the Mentoring program’s guiding principle as that “every student should feel fully supported and have a definitive go-to adult on campus—ideally, an adult who understands the entirety of the student’s experience and remains with that student until graduation.”

Time and regularity are important components of the Mentoring program. Mentors’ contact with their mentees is especially frequent during the ninth-grade year, when students are navigating new sets of academic and personal expectations.Through this frequent contact with firstyear students, the mentor can establish relationships that provide mentees with not only a source of release from the regularity of academics, but also a place to process the ups and downs of the complex social and personal landscape of identity formation.This frequent contact is aided and reinforced by two student peer advisors (PAs) per cluster, who work specifically with that cluster and its mentor.

The PAs apply for the role in the spring of sophomore year, and begin their work as juniors, when they are paired with a ninth-grade cluster, which they then work with closely for two years. PAs go through a rigorous selection process, and receive regular training in order to support their advisees and help guide them through the ups and downs of new, complex experiences.

UHS recognizes the importance of giving mentors the time and space to serve as robust support systems, in order to give students the support they need. Recognizing that mentoring ninth-grade students and teaching should be considered equally important, UHS has taken the bold step of providing a full course relief for ninth-grade mentors to do the

Another Layer of Support Meet Corinne Limbach, University’s new director of health, wellness, and leadership, who joined UHS in August 2018. Corinne is responsible for promoting the mental and physical well-being of all students and leading trainings on relevant topics for the school community, including faculty and staff, the forty junior and senior peer advisors, and student leaders.

Corinne’s areas of expertise define her new role: sexual health and consent, substance abuse, sexual identity, gender identity, and mental health are all hot, and vital, topics for today’s students. Corinne also incorporates the HD course material for ninth- and tenth-graders into her work as the point person supporting junior and senior peer advisors—for instance, training them as they prepare to deliver the HD curriculum in clusters.

Corinne comes to us from Huckleberry House, where she spent four years focused on crisis remediation and crisis intervention for teens from all walks of life. Relationships with clients could last just a single day or continue for as long as three weeks.

“I found myself searching for the ability to develop long-term lasting relationships with teens, wanting to nurture and witness their growth throughout their adolescence,” Corinne says. “I kept returning to my own high school experience, as a peer health educator. That work was fundamental for me, and, in fact, made me want to be a doctor. But after two years studying osteopathic medicine at

Western University of Health Sciences, I realized that I wanted to have more intimate client relationships than I could have as a physician.”

Corinne started her professional career as an AmeriCorps National Service Volunteer with Bay Area Youth Agency Consortium, working with youths who had been deeply impacted by stressors and obstacles.

“Working in settings with youths in crisis taught me to engage with youths and families on a deep and genuine level, because authenticity gets youths to buy in.

That skill translates to teens from every background, and as a proud alumna of the College Preparatory School, I instinctively understand the culture of a small, independent secondary school like UHS.” As part of the interview process, Corinne met in a group setting with UHS peer advisors. Corinne heard firsthand that students “want someone who will speak with them openly and honestly about sex, mental health, and drugs,” and she’s up to the challenge.

“I am extremely impressed by the Human Development curriculum at UHS,” says Corinne. “We take for granted how difficult it is to talk to teenagers about sex, substances, mental health. UHS HD faculty are already talented communicators who have self-selected for their role and have gone on to master the skills to have challenging real-life conversations. I am proud to be joining the team.”

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F E AT U R E S

important and time-consuming work that is asked of them in their mentees’ crucial first year of high school. Additionally, all new mentors participate in an intensive weeklong training in August, meet weekly as a group, and receive individual support from a mentor coach.

These training and support efforts give mentors the skills and time to serve as the central hub of support for each of their mentee students, and to get to know these students deeply.

Dean of Students Alex Lockett compares the Mentoring program to providing “primary care,” rather than the “urgent care” that may be needed if students lack a regular, clear support system.

A breakthrough moment in the design of the Mentoring program came when the program designers realized that adults need as much support as they are expected to give. To that end, mentors are supported by a mentor coach—a dedicated point person who supports the team of mentors and guides them through the process of supporting the whole student. Schools often mistakenly assume that a teacher should just know how to effectively support students outside the academic purview. While many of the skills of mentoring and teaching are complementary, it can take a real shift for teachers

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to realize that, often, the best support that they can provide as a mentor is to just listen and stay curious, rather than jumping to resolve a given issue or provide an answer. “Mentors report that their teaching practice has been transformed by their mentoring role,” Alex says. “Insights into the entirety of the student experience, adolescent development stages, and skillful engagement with challenges have all contributed to a more satisfying teaching experience for adults and students.”

INTEGRATING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT University’s four-year Human Development (HD) curriculum includes five key sectors: developing metacognition (awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes), building equity literacy, maintaining mind and body wellness, community engagement (sometimes known as “service learning” at other schools), and a college counseling experience that emphasizes self-discovery. The curriculum supports cognitive, social, and emotional development through experiential, project-based learning.

Early in the Mentoring program’s evolution, the HD

faculty recognized that clusters could be an ideal venue for examining complex and often personal topics. Tenthgrade cultural competency discussions on bias, inequities, privilege, and beliefs can be especially complex for students, due to the sensitive nature of the topics. Tilda Kapuya, director of equity and community and chair of the Human Development department, notes the challenges of addressing such topics in large settings: “Before HD became an academic department four years ago, the programs related to learning and metacognition, health and wellness, equity literacy, community engagement, and college counseling were delivered in grade-level meetings in the theater. Theater seating is not conducive to helping students share experiences and concerns within a safe, personalized environment. Mentors truly know the teens in their cohort; they can see who is in the room, and assess and understand how students are participating.”

Thus, mentors were enlisted in the facilitation of certain key HD lessons in ninth and tenth grades, and HD faculty worked in tandem with mentors to both develop and implement the lessons.

Tilda uses the metaphor of an “ecosystem of support”

to describe the goal of the partnership between the Mentoring and HD programs.

Addressing issues such as privilege, racism, and inequity on a local level can become deeply personal and troubling for both students and teachers.

Supporting students in addressing these issues supports their development and use of critical thinking skills and social and emotional tools that will serve them well throughout their teen years and beyond.

“We feel an institutional responsibility to help students be well and whole, as well as have integrity and a sense of agency when navigating the waters of bigotry and bias,” says Tilda.

English instructor Ryan O’Donnell serves as both an eleventh-grade mentor and a mentor coach. Working with the HD curriculum has allowed Ryan to address and interpret national and worldwide issues in real time with his cluster, exploring these issues with a greater depth of collective thinking and potential action. While facilitating a lesson exploring the white nationalist march in Charlottesville and the ensuing violence, he was moved by the level of trust and care that his cluster exhibited: “One student took an exceptionally long time absorbing the articles we used as a springboard for our discussion and was responding with disbelief and confusion. Multiple students stepped in, trying to explain why they thought such things were occurring, and helping her to process them. It was powerful to be present at a moment when a student was encountering information about this event for the first time, and to help make sense of a complicated moment.” As this anecdote illustrates, the small cluster group, with its tendrils of care and support, has proven to be an ideal place to process complex issues of

F E AT U R E S

importance, whether societal or personal.

THE CLUSTER SPACE AS HOME BASE A key component of both the Mentoring and HD programs is the bonding and connections among the group of 12–13 students in each cluster, which are strengthened in the unstructured time that they share every Friday. This relaxed cluster period has been retained from the original advising program and given a more intentional form that involves group activities such as the rose-and-thorn mindfulness game; Pictionary; or “two truths and a lie.” The cluster serves as a kind of family within the school—a group of peers that stays together across all four years and stays connected to its mentor.

Students’ family members have observed the power of this cluster family, which often provides them with a sense that their child is being cared for not just intellectually, but emotionally. Elizabeth Rizo, parent of Sarah Camacho ’19, says of her daughter’s experience, “Sarah has had the opportunity to be part of a little family at school. She has cared for others in concrete ways, enjoying the small and big ways a group comes together. At home, Sarah

has been taught to observe the golden rule: ‘treat others the way you want to be treated.’

The mentoring program is the perfect opportunity to practice towards the individual and the collective.”

Emily Gillingham, parent of Edith Meade ’20, adds that the cluster is “both a respite and a bright spot during intense studying. [It can also] be a time for students to process external events and schoolwide concerns, providing a place to reflect on circumstances that make no sense.” The cluster space supports students by serving as a safe, warm, and regular environment in which they can process the complications of an unpredictable world.

THE POWER OF UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT The unconditional support provided by the Mentoring and HD ecosystem is “key to making students feel as if they have a direct source of support, regardless of their circumstances, gender, race, economic status, or level of comfort with themselves,” says Ryan. “Establishing this deep, ground-level foundation is key, because it is the bedrock upon which growth and learning occur. Once you establish that

RECOMMENDED READING Overloaded and Underprepared: Strategies for Stronger Schools and Healthy, Successful Kids, by Denise Pope, Maureen Brown, and Sarah Miles (featuring the UHS Mentoring program on page 142) Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta Hammond

ground-level trust, you can do more complex work when it is called for—providing a safe place for students to be themselves; providing a firm challenging perspective when students need boundaries; and providing perspective to help contextualize their experiences.”

A 2015 Harvard Center on the Developing Child study found that “[e]very child who winds up doing well has had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult.” Providing such a relationship has been shown to increase achievement in a multitude of ways. UHS’s ongoing innovation and leadership in relation to the emotional lives of its students has received national attention, and Alex is often contacted by other schools that are trying to understand what makes the UHS programs successful. When describing the reasons for these programs’ effectiveness, she often emphasizes the power of individual human relationships: the mentors’ individual commitments to be a stable, regular presence for their mentees form the basis of the programs’ shared philosophy and are what make the programs successful.

Edith Meade ’20 reflects upon the growth she experienced after being paired with her mentor: “Before arriving at UHS, I was used to not relying on others for help. I rarely spoke to my friends, teachers, or parents about schoolwork because I was scared. Chatting with my mentor relieved a lot of the pressure that I put on myself, making me become a healthier and happier person.” For Sarah Camacho ’19, working with her mentor, history instructor Jesse Berrett, was just the sort of support she needed, because his office “has always been open for unscheduled, casual chats.” Sarah shared how her mentor helped her with the

scholarly challenges that are endemic to teenage life: “We created a plan, in the spring of my sophomore year, where I would take on less to handle my desired larger course load.

My mentor suggested what I should and shouldn’t take on.

That academic year would not have run as smoothly without his guidance.”

SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN A COMPLEX WORLD Alex acknowledges that helping to minimize unnecessary student stress was a driving factor when developing the Mentoring program. A major goal of the program is to reduce “having students lose energy over stress—which is a waste when they could be thinking about a physics theory, who they are, or how to give back.” One of the central truths at the core of the mentoring process is that a healthy, whole student is ultimately someone who is free to access and utilize their full potential as a thinker, an emotional being, and a community member. As teenagers are constructing their identities and their interests, creating a strong foundation is of paramount importance.

UHS wants students to walk out of its doors having learned a great amount about themselves and the world around them—not only through the lens of their academic disciplines, but also by learning to process the complexity of their experiences fully and with their own personal flair. With a strong network of support, each UHS student can emerge from the crucible of the teenage years equipped with a sharpened intellect, a fortified sense of self, and an ability to navigate a complex world with grace and care. n Mary Ladd and Lyzette Wanzer, with special thanks to Ryan O’Donnell

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SPECTRA

SPIRIT

I

saad Shaikh ’19 wasn’t expecting to come out in December 2017 at the National Association of Independent Schools Student Diversity Leadership Conference, but he was moved by how safe the environment felt there.

“From the get-go, I wanted to create a similar feeling at UHS,” says Isaad.

Over winter break after the conference, Isaad reached out to then-sophomores Hayden Deffarges ’20 and Sadie Scott ’20. As Hayden put it, “Sadie and I were inspired to create Spectra thanks to the success of the LGBTQIA affinity group session we led on Community Day during our freshman year.” All three were unified in their desire to, accord-

ing to Isaad, “create a safe space for every member of the community, regardless of how open they are about their sexuality," while educating the student body about the LGBTQIA community and the issues they face. It was Sadie who suggested calling the club Spectra, “to emphasize our focus on the spectra of gender and sexuality.”

Isaad, Hayden, and Sadie believed that by convening weekly and making frequent all-school meeting announcements, they would form a strong presence in the school community and make all students feel welcome.

“Because our identities are diverse, we push one another to see every side of the issues we discuss,” explains Hayden.

After the three launched Spectra, nearly fifty people showed up at

the first meeting, spilling out into the halls of upper campus.

In order to create a foundation for future conversations, they began that inaugural meeting by explaining the significance of every identity encompassed by the LGBTQIA acronym.

For every meeting, the leaders have planned discussion topics designed to educate the group on LGBTQIA rights. One topic that they’ve covered is the legal battles that queer couples face as they work to legally transfer US citizenship to children they have adopted from other countries. Isaad hopes the UHS community will recognize how its LGBTQIA members are “different . . . but different in a very good way.”

Spectra also offers special affinity group sessions, open only to students who self-identify as LGBTQIA. These sessions also feature specific conversation

L to R: Hayden Deffarges ’20, Sadie Scott ’20, Isaad Shaikh ’19. Photo by Anne Pantelick ’85, P ’19.

topics, and encourage productive tangents that allow the group to focus on what they feel most passionate about. Isaad proudly recalls how “the conversation didn’t stop for a split second” when the affinity group members discussed how coming out impacted their lives at UHS. The leaders report that in the closed affinity groups, such essential conversations flow naturally. Isaad appreciates that “everyone is very open with what they want to say” and that “people are very raw with their emotions.”

Ultimately, Isaad, Hayden, and Sadie hope that Spectra continues past their graduation, and that new students step up to lead. While the trio are still on campus and can effect change in person, they want to encourage students to feel comfortable supporting Spectra by attending meetings in person, instead of voicing their support from afar. n Roxie Miles ’19

F E AT U R E S

Role Models: Paving the Way

L

ast spring, the Alumni Association launched an affinity group for LGBTQIA alumnx, current and former faculty, and allies. The purposes of the group are to encourage fellowship and support in the adult UHS LGBTQIA community, to nurture a network for professional and charitable opportunities, and to provide and

L to R: Owen Christoph ’14, Vicky Hierro, Ariel Traiber (rear), Jesse Costello-Good ’97, Christopher Raisbeck ’81, Katie Hultquist ’92, Jenny Wald ’85, Bruce Lamott.

Not pictured: Lindsey Chung ’17 and Amy Silverstein ’84.

promote positive role models to UHS students. The group will start out in virtual mode and grow over time. So far, more than three dozen alums have signed up.

Honorary chair Katie Hultquist ’92 hosted the group’s first gettogether at SFMOMA’s Café 5 on May 31. A dozen alums turned out, representing

Katie Hultquist '92 (right) with her wife Laura Cox and their children, Rory, Nicholas, and Willa Cox-Hultquist.

every era of UHS, plus two former faculty members, Bruce Lamott and Vicky Hierro, and current faculty member Ariel Traiber, who is now in his seventeenth year at UHS. All were able to introduce themselves to the full group and connect on a personal level.

formed the basis of my career and life.” Last year, Katie became the West Coast director of OutRight Action International, which works to advance the human rights of LGBTIQ people around the world. She lives in Seattle with her wife and three kids (shown at bottom left).

“Although I didn’t come out until college, I still remember the panel about LGBT acceptance and awareness when I was a junior, and the faculty who spoke,” says Katie. “Having faculty members who were out and proud and a school culture that embraced this diversity is something that made a huge difference for me in accepting myself, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I also believe that UHS’s commitment to the wider community and helping students think about how they can contribute is something that set me on the path of activism and community support that has

Katie is looking for a few people to help lead a steering committee for the group, from a diversity of identities, ages, and cultural backgrounds. This steering committee will recommend further ways to reach out to the UHS LGBTQIA community and plan future meetups.

To join the virtual group, go to facebook.com/groups/ SFUHSorgLGBTQIA. n

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ALUMNI

Spotlight on

Alumni+Student Symposium A s soon as I arrived on campus the morning of the symposium, I felt a palpable energy of optimism and mentorship around the upper and middle campuses, that lasted throughout the entire program.

I started out in my assigned panel, which featured a sampling of five UHS alumni who worked in a range of careers, from construction and software development to academia and environmental finance.

Claire Espinosa ’21

On May 4, 2018, University High School held the first Alumni+Student Symposium, part of Reunion Weekend, on the theme of “inventing and sustaining your own vision of success.” On the main stage, UHS honored the 2018 recipients of Alumni Honors, Dr. Njema Frazier ’88 and George Watsky ’05, and in breakout sessions, students met alumni who shared news from their professional fields and wisdom that they had learned in the course of their careers. Our keynote speaker was Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, grandmother of Ben ’18 and Ellie ’21 Schatz, introduced by Justin McMahan ’93, who studied under her at Georgetown University’s Edmund A.Walsh School of Foreign Service. Dr. Albright shared the story of her own career trajectory, becoming the first female United States Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001 under President Clinton, and discussed her April 2018 book, Fascism: A Warning.To read bios of all of our alumni participants, go to sfuhs.org/alumni/reunion/alumnistudentsymposium.

“I wouldn’t say I have an idea of what I want to do in the future, but I feel better about not knowing.”

—Dray Banfield ’20

I

At first, I was aware of my lingering fears that the program would simply make me anxious about my future and lack of professional direction, but my qualms soon dissipated with the lively introduction given

by Mark Kushner ’79 (father of Kyra ’20), an expert in the field of education; founder of one of the first charter schools in California, which opened in 1995; and former instructor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. The initial sense of distance between students and alumni in the room disappeared as he stood up and began relating to us in a conversational manner, punctuated by humor, making the future seem real and imminent instead of abstract and distant.

One alumna in particular made a strong impression on me. Sydney

n the spring of 2018 we began a new tradition called Alumni Honors, designed to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of alumni who embody our core values of inquiry, care, integrity, agency, and interconnection.

Each year, Alumni Honors celebrates one alumnx who is an emerging leader in their field and is already making important contributions at a local, national, or international level through personal accomplishment, professional achievement, or humanitarian service.

We invite our entire community—alumnx, current students, current and past parents, and current and former faculty and staff—to nominate candidates. Please submit your nominations through our online form at sfuhs.org/alumnihonors.

Nominations will be accepted through January 31, 2019. Our honoree will be invited to speak at the Alumni+Student Assembly on May 3, 2019, during Reunion Weekend (see sfuhs.org/reunion for details).

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La Londe Blumenkranz ’04 relayed a concrete, memorable anecdote about how she left the kind of job she had told herself she wanted since childhood, for something she suspected would be more applicable to her future career goals. And it paid off. She left her prestigious job at an art auction house to successfully pursue marketing and communications in banking. Now, back in the art world, Sydney has been able to combine her previous arts expertise with her marketing and communications experience, and apply both skill sets to her latest career endeavor as the director of marketing and communications at an international art gallery.

Throughout the day, I interviewed students about their experiences and how it felt to meet a range of accomplished people who originated from similar backgrounds. Many students remarked that they felt they were still too young to glean insight from the panelists into what they wanted to pursue. That sentiment was echoed by the majority of panelists, who said they did not know what they wanted to do professionally when they entered the workforce. Many experienced a lot of uncertainty before they settled on an occupation they were passionate about.

SELECTION COMMITTEE

Katie Albright P ’18, P ‘21, chair of the UHS board of trustees Leonard Chung ’98, chair of Alumni Honors Julia Russell Eells, head of school Oscar Flores ’89, SB ’85, P ‘13, co-chair of the Summerbridge Annual Fund Frances Hochschild ’80, P ’21, co-chair of the Alumni Annual Fund Katie Hultquist ’92, honorary chair of the LGBTQIA alumni affinity group Thomas McKinley ’02, co-chair of the Alumni Annual Fund Marianna Stark ’89, UHS director of alumni engagement and giving Julayne (Austin) Virgil ’94, trustee and president of the UHS Alumni Association Andrew Williams ’00, former UHS director of community engagement (2014–2018)

ALUMNI

“It’s interesting to hear where people’s lives went after UHS and what skills they learned here.”

—Ava Jo ’21 Some students pointed out that the panels lacked diversity. Later, I had a chance to ask Julayne Virgil ’94, president of the UHS Alumni Association, about this. She responded, “Many alumni participated from the classes of ’88, ’93, and ’98, celebrating thirty, twenty-five, and twenty years, respectively. Our school is more

diverse today than it was decades ago, and we should all be proud that we’ve continued to move the needle.

It is understandable that current students would like to see more representation on the panels, and we commit to doing more outreach to alumni of color, in order to encourage participation in events like this in the future.”

“We learned that life is not a set path.

It’s more like a squiggly line.”

Despite some lingering concerns about diversity on the panels, the atmosphere that day—as confirmed by the students I talked to—was filled with opportunity and anticipation.

Ultimately, the most important lesson for me was that the most daunting risks are often the best ones to take. n

—Darius Yamini ’21

Lukas Bacho ’20 U H S J O U R N A L | FA L L 2 0 1 8

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Reunion Recap Last May, the classes of 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, and 2013 celebrated milestone reunions at Decorator Showcase. Next year, classes ending in 4 and 9 will be honored.

The Class of 1993 also celebrated its 25th anniversary at the head of school’s home.

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ALUMNI

A big turnout from the Class of 1988, celebrating its thirtieth!

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ALUMNI

One Degree of Separation W

e asked alumni in our private LinkedIn group to share stories of working with and volunteering with fellow alums or current students.

What’s your One Degree experience?

Send us the story: UHSalumni@sfuhs.org.

which are necessary parts of running any business. For food shoots, I was in charge of the colored paper background and assisting in selecting the right color for each photo. For a baby shoot, I was in charge of the kids, making sure they stayed in the right spot! I also helped with the creative part—photo inspiration. Thanks, Maren!”

presents evidence that there is an increased rate of ASD in people with Costello Syndrome regardless of their age, refuting claims made in a previous paper.”

Zoe Yzabella Taylor ’19 + Lande Ajose ’83

Olivia Young ’19 + Misha Vysotskiy ’11

Dylan Chow ’18 + Alex Mann ’86

“For the past two summers, I worked as an intern at the lab of Dr. Lauren Weiss at UCSF, alongside PhD candidate, UHS alumnus, and former Summerbridge teaching fellow Misha Vysotskiy ’11. The Weiss Lab studies the genetics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and Misha and I worked together to take a computational approach, where we used coding to analyze data. Misha is currently focusing on the 16p11.2 CNV, a region of chromosome 16 where a deletion or duplication of a section of DNA is associated with ASD. Last summer, I studied the contribution of epistasis (interaction between genes) in the PI3K biological pathway to ASD. I feel so lucky to have worked in the same lab as Misha.

He helped me learn two new coding languages when I first joined the lab and has given me invaluable advice as a friend and mentor. One highlight of my experience at the Weiss Lab was a correspondence that I firstauthored, which was published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics last March. The paper

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The leaders of Riot Club, and Lande Ajose (above right)

Kira Upin ’19 + Maren Caruso ’90

“When I first heard Lande Ajose ’83 speak on her success as a woman of color from the private independent school system at an A Better Chance workshop, I knew that I needed her as a keynote speaker at our second annual Riot Conference.

Lande is the Executive Director of California Competes, which is a think tank that focuses on the challenges of California’s higher education system and the actions policymakers must take to address them. To my luck, I learned Lande was a UHS alumna, so it was a match made in conference-planning heaven.

During her closing speech at the Riot Conference, Lande stressed the importance of healing and experiencing things as women of color, together as one. After experiencing the full day with us, Lande noted that a benefit for women of color who attend schools like UHS is ‘being in community with one another.’”

“At the close of the school year, Marianna Stark ’89 in the UHS Alumni Office connected me with professional food photographer Maren Caruso ’90. Marianna had hired me to photograph the 2018 reunion at Showcase, so she knew of my interest in the field.

Working with Maren was a great experience because I learned a lot about what it is like to work in a commercial photography studio setting, including lighting techniques and working with clients. Tasks included organizing drawers and paper, picking up lunch, and taking out the trash,

“Last spring, Alex Mann ’86 gave a presentation for University students on summer job search best practices, but I wasn't able to attend. I found out that he told the group he was looking for summer interns, so I emailed Alex, introducing myself, and included my resume. Alex invited me over to his office at ClickTime for a conversation and offered me a job. I was eager to accept because I wanted experience working at a commercial tech company, building on my experience undertaking tech projects of my own design. I sought the experience of collaborating in a professional work environment, understanding management, rush-hour commuting, and staying healthy while working nine-to-five hours. I think that I achieved those goals (to the best of my ability) while at ClickTime.” n

ALUMNI

Class notes 1978 The Class of 1978 celebrated its fortieth reunion last spring!

Thanks to an anonymous donor who put up a matching gift challenge to pay for half of every classmate’s ticket and successfully helped goose turnout!

Brooke Joseph shares: “I have founded an organization called Commit the Vote with the goal of increasing the percentage of Americans who vote consistently. I am able to travel frequently with this job and remain an active member of Obama for America. I have two sons: Benjamin, 28, is a musician, and Coby, 25, works in the field of urban planning and sustainability.

I have been happily married to Marc Joseph for 34 years and am thrilled to reconnect with pals from University.”

And from Martha Palmer Callan: “I’m a senior executive sales consultant for the top general agent in CA. We help our broker partners strategize on their company employee benefit programs. I have two wonderful adult children. My son Matthew is married and living in Japan.

He would love to tour you around the Kyoto area near his home. Our daughter Courtney is a licensed insurance consultant working in employee benefits for one of the top privately held firms in the US. She is living the life in SF. My husband of 30 years, Bill, and I live in Half Moon Bay. All is great!”

1980 Dr. Paul Negulescu received the 2018 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize. The Warren Alpert Foundation, in association with Harvard Medical School, honors trailblazing scientists whose work has improved the understanding, prevention, treatment, or cure of human disease. Paul was recognized for leading the work on a nearly twenty-year cystic

fibrosis (CF) research project at Vertex Pharmaceuticals that has resulted in the approval of three treatments that address the defect responsible for CF. 1982 Roger Hochschild, president and chief operating officer of Discover Financial Services since 2004, became president and CEO of the direct banking company earlier this fall.

1986 Greer Hendricks published her first novel, The Wife Between Us, last January.

Her writing has been published in The New York Times and Publishers Weekly. Greer lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children.

Cathy Lara moved back to San Francisco after a decade living in Berlin, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam. Her company, Cathy Lara & Associates, offers translation services for all Germanic languages.

Sascha Mornell’s GetMyBoat has been getting a lot of attention from the media over the past year. The start-up improves access to boating for everyone and makes it easy to search, find, and book on-the-water experiences globally. It enables boat owners to offer rentals and guided water experiences as a full-time business or hobby.

Claire Myers and her sons Jamie and John Michael traveled to New York to see the twentiethanniversary performance of the groundbreaking Symphonie Fantastique by Basil Twist ’87.

Dr. Alison Pearlman’s book, May We Suggest: Restaurant Menus and the Art of Persuasion, was pub­lished by Agate-Surrey in October 2018.

She is an LA-based art historian who writes about contemporary art, media, design, and restaurants, and is a professor of art history at Cal Poly Pomona.

Trevor Traina was confirmed by the Senate to become the next US ambassador to Austria after a unanimous vote by the Foreign Relations Committee to approve his nomination. Trevor’s grandfather also served as ambassador to Austria in the 1970s.

1987

Bay Area. See her art and workshop schedule at marydaniel hobson.com.

1988 Writer-director Ari Gold’s second feature film The Song of Sway Lake, a tale of the orphaned remnants of the Sway family, set in the golden light of late summer on the Adirondack lake that bears their name, was released in a limited engagement in ten cities after a multipleprize-winning festival run. As with Gold’s Student Academy Award-winning autobiographical short Helicopter and with his first feature, the epic comedy Adventures of Power, original songs and score were created for the film by Ari’s brother, the composer and performer Ethan Gold. Find more information at swaylake.com, arigoldfilms.com, and ethangold.com.

Benicia Gantner was one of several collage artists participating in the Paper Cuts: Large-Scale Collage exhibition at the Palo Alto Art Center, on view last summer.

Basil Twist received the 20182019 Rome Prize and Italian Fellowship for visual arts. Recipients receive a stipend, workspace, and room and board for a period of five months to two years at the American Academy in Rome’s eleven-acre campus.

1989

Claire Myers ’86 and her sons visiting Basil Twist ’87 in New York.

Danny Hobson’s photocollage series Invocation and Sanctuary is on view as part of a four-person show through December 30, 2018, at the Datz Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea. Danny frequently gives workshops on collage and photography in the

Dr. David Ganz spoke on campus last spring as part of the Alumni Association’s Fireside Chat series. He shared stories of his more than twenty years of experience in natural resources management, including several years working abroad consulting on large-scale natural resource management, especially

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ALUMNI

food-water-energy projects. To hear the podcast, go to sfuhs. org/firesidechat.

Matt Peek reports he has been busy designing hazard-resistant homes in SF and NJ and received a 2018 design award from the American Institute of Architects, New Jersey, for his LEED Hurricane House, an adaptation of his “floodproof house” at Stinson Beach. And on a personal note, “My daughter Alessandra is off to the University of Chicago— parenting has been a wonderful journey . . . anyone free for a drink?” See Matt and all the ’89ers at your 30th reunion this May 3 & 4, 2019! Go to sfuhs .org/reunion for more details.

Dr. John Saroyan was honored with the 2018 Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Award, which recognizes doctors who show extraordinary dedication and leadership in helping patients and their families navigate end-of-life decisions and care.

Dr. Saroyan has focused his entire medical career on hospice and palliative care and is currently the medical director for BAYADA Home Health Care Hospice in Vermont and New Hampshire.

1990 Ted Levinson shares the news that his impact investment firm, Beneficial Returns, has funded a loan to Ecofiltro, a nine-year-old social enterprise bringing clean, affordable drinking water to Guatemala and beyond. Beneficial Returns is designed to support the growth of leading social enterprises that use the power of markets to tackle poverty and protect the natural environment in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Investors activate their philanthropic capital for deep impact and get their investment back

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with interest. The firm is actively seeking more borrowers and new investors.

1992 Louisa Luna published her fourth book last January.

Two Girls Down is a thriller that received rave reviews from The Wall Street Journal and others.

1994 Rashida Adams was appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Governor Brown on November 2, 2017. Rashida had served as a senior appellate court attorney at the Second District Court of Appeal since 2009, and she was an appellate court attorney from 2008 to 2009. She was an associate at Caldwell Leslie and Proctor PC from 2005 to 2007 and at Bernabei and Katz PLLC from 2002 to 2005. Rashida earned a JD degree from Yale Law School and a BA degree from Harvard University.

1996 For the second year in a row, Rob Walker’s UpCycle Builders sponsored the Jim Tracy 5K to Defeat ALS. Jim Tracy, the Red Devils’ inspirational crosscountry and track coach, lost his courageous battle with ALS in early 2014. Jim touched countless lives during his remarkable coaching career, which spanned two decades and 40 seasons at UHS. Katy Chamberlain Hope ’96 and Tom Hope ’97 live in San Francisco with their two boys.

Tom is on the radiology faculty at UCSF, where he is developing imaging techniques and nuclear therapies for treating prostate and

neuroendocrine cancer. Their son Dylan (7) just started second grade at Town School. Dylan loves drawing, singing, and climbing with mom and dad. Thatcher (4) is attending preschool at UCSF and loves Paw Patrol and swimming.

Katy and Tom enjoy spending time with fellow UHS alums in the city, from kids’ play dates with Elizabeth (Jensen) Blumberg ’96 to family dinners with Jesse ’97 and Allison (Hoover) Eisenhardt ’97 and girls’ nights with Crissy Wong ’96 and Leslie Manace ’96.

instructor at Tri-Tech Forensics in Kansas City, Missouri.

1997 Kate Taylor Faust and Jeremy Faust welcomed baby Maya Taylor Faust. Jeremy is an emergency room doctor at Brigham & Women’s and teaches at Harvard Medical School. Kate is a New York Times reporter on the metro desk covering education.

2003 Dr. Alon B. Neidich married Julia A. Connolly on May 12, 2018, at the Boston Public Library. His best man was his younger brother, Dr. Eitan M. Neidich ’06, and one of his groomsmen was Michael Gorelik. Alon is finishing his residency at Mount Auburn Hospital/ Harvard Medical School and is enjoying that his brother is also nearby as a surgery resident at Tufts.

1998 Lizzie Hammerman has launched Hammerman Engineering Consulting, LLC, offering services to the pharmaceutical industry. She continues to lead franchise development and operations for Alkalign, a health and wellness company offering services such as fitness and nutrition coaching.

1999 Second editions of Hillary Daluz’s books Fundamentals of Fingerprint Analysis and Fingerprint Analysis Laboratory Workbook were published in October 2018. Hillary is an

2005 Chris Crawford’s company Loudr was acquired by Spotify in April 2018. Loudr (loudr.fm) is a rights clearance platform that makes it easy for independent artists, content aggregators, and music services alike to distribute content online. Chris is now head of US publisher relations and services with Spotify in New York.

ALUMNI

2007 Best wishes to Neha Goel, who married Alexander Bolano in Indian Wells, California, on January 14, 2018.

2014

2006 Thanks to Alex Berggruen for taking UHS alumni, parents, and students through selections from the Christie’s spring auction on display in a pop-up exhibition at Minnesota Street Project in April.

Alex is the head of the afternoon session and a specialist in postwar and contemporary art at Christie’s in New York.

Sydney Campos published her first book, The Empath Experience: What to Do When You Feel Everything. Sydney was discovered by her publisher, Simon & Schuster, through her blog posts for mindbodygreen. Professionally, Sydney’s practice includes client mentoring, public speaking, and podcasting on the subjects of emotional intelligence, intuitive empowerment, and authenticity.

She is a certified holistic health coach, a 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher, a Reiki Energy Healer, and a Certified Akashic Records Practitioner. Sydney has been featured in Forbes, mindbodygreen, Refinery29, Bustle, and New York magazine.

Genevieve Hulley collaborated with art instructor Jenifer Kent to curate HOME, an exhibition that asks viewers to reflect upon the ways we are each defined by histories of land, migration, and family. The exhibition in the UHS Jackson Street Gallery featured the work of Rodney Ewing, Lisa Solomon, and Hannah Perrine Mode.

economic opportunities. In order to continue this work, Tiwale has a goal to raise $7,000 for annual operating expenses and $60,000 to build a full-time secondary school, including four classrooms, a teachers’ office, a library, and dorm housing. Ellen and fellow Tiwale board member Maddie Brown encourage you to learn more at tiwale.org/donate.

2009 Hannah Kingsley-Ma was named first runner-up in Joyland Magazine’s 2018 Open Border Fiction contest for her short story, “A Brief History of Appetites.” She is a student in New York University’s master of fine arts in creative writing program.

2010 Bianca Catalan returned to UHS this fall as a community engagement instructor and ninth-grader mentor. For more about Bianca, see page 3.

2013

In 2012, Ellen Chilemba started the nonprofit Tiwale, in her hometown of Lilongwe, Malawi. By GDP per capita, Malawi is the world’s poorest country. Most girls marry early in exchange for a dowry. The cycle of early marriage and insufficient schooling has created a substantial population of women who are undereducated, jobless, and facing extreme poverty. Tiwale is a youth-led community-based organization that empowers women through educational and

Layla Rao graduated from Tufts University with a double major in biology and political science, and summa cum laude distinction.

She has also been inducted into the Delta Chapter of M.A. Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society.

After graduation she relocated to Brooklyn, New York, for a two-year paralegal position in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

2017 Sarah Ancheta writes, “Greetings from Cal! This summer I founded the UC Berkeley Summer Chorus, sponsored by the Music Department. I’m so grateful to UHS and Doc for introducing me to choral conducting! Christina Warren, a UHS alum, is also singing in the chorus.” Sarah conducted the summer chorus in a performance on campus at Hertz Hall on August 5.

FACULTY NEWS Joseph Di Prisco, beloved English teacher from 1986–1993 and founding chair of the Simpson Family Literary Project, published his latest book, Sibella & Sibella, last August. Joe, we knew you were a punster with a

love of alliteration, and your new book does not disappoint!

Artists Matthew Scheatzle, UHS ceramics instructor, and Jenifer Kent, UHS drawing instructor, were featured in a three-person solo show last summer at Dolby Chadwick Gallery. Jenifer has been represented by the gallery for a few years now, and Matthew joined its stable earlier this year.

L to R: Diana Morris, Everett Rosemond, Diane Schroeder, Jim Chestnut, Mal Singer, Ann Pogrel, Rob Spivack, Sudie Sides, Bruce Lamott.

Self-proclaimed “old-timer” retired faculty members got together at the end of the summer for the third annual “Schadenfreude” party. According to Diane Schroeder, “the gathering is timed to be on the first day of faculty/staff meetings, and the picture is sent with love to those at the meeting, seeing the retirees enjoying our retirement with food, wine, and good UHS company.”

Helena Senatore, Spanish instructor and chair of the Language Department, shares the photo below, taken at Summerbridge Celebration last August.

"Grace and Hanna were my Spanish students, and Hanna was also a teaching fellow at Summerbridge. My son is a seventh-grader in the program." n

L to R: Grace Leupold ’17; Helena Senatore, Spanish instructor; Hanna Kim ’17, Summerbridge teaching fellow; Helena’s son, Tómas La Sala SB ’20 (front); and R.J. Ramírez SB ’20.

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PIZZA PARTY! When you get three alums together for pizza or any other food, the Alumni Association will cover $50 (max) of the bill! Just send a copy of the restaurant check and photo, with “PIZZA” in the subject line, to UHSalumni@sfuhs.org.

Members of the Class of 1988 after celebrating their thirtieth reunion at the Decorator Showcase on May 5.

Suniqua Thomas ’97, SB ’93; Gladys Silva ’98; Maura McGinnis-Gibney ’99, SB ’95; Myesha Jackson ’98, SB ’94

“Last winter a few of us got together to enjoy pizza while visiting our friend Myesha Jackson ’98, SB ’94, at her house in Sacramento. We have been close friends since leaving UHS, and get together every year during winter break, for Carnaval in the Mission District, and throughout the year when we’re all near the City. Myesha, Sunny, and I all met as students of Summerbridge, so we’ve now been friends for almost 25 years!” (Maura McGinnis-Gibney ’99, SB ’95) Left: Class of 2014: Gabrielle Roberts, Debbie Cheng, Adair Rosin, Ottillia Ni, Samantha Andow, Jacqueline Epstein.

Below: Claremont Colleges meetup organized by Josh Guggenheim ’15: Nate Huntington ’17, Linda Huang ’17, Rowan McGarry-Williams ’17, Josh Guggenheim ’15, Max Fisher ’17, Hanna Kim ’17.

Past faculty Diane Schroeder, Caroline Hughes Jones ’80, Sarah Moore Barron ’83, Frances Hochschild ’80

Class of 2017: Rachel Wu, Jeanelle Tsai, Andrew Hariri, Miles Johnson, and Henry Hongo.

Submitted by CJ Dowd.

Right: Class of 2017: Ethan Isenman, Ishmael Maxwell, Rowan McGarry-Williams

L to R: Ronald Young P ’93, Ivy Young P ’93, Mark Young ’93, Marianna Stark (Perry) ’89, Helen Hui P ’97, Safire Lin ’97, Sam Perry, Lexy Loewenstein ’80, Levi Loewenstein, Tay Perry, Andrea Fono ’82, Frances Stark ’93.

The first UHS Red Rovers family outdoor outing began bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 9:45 a.m. on an August Sunday morning in the Branson School parking lot for a hike around Phoenix Lake in Marin! To those of you who texted to say you overslept, we missed you!

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Los Angeles alumni gathering. Back row L to R: Scott Cooper ’78, Adam Rosenblatt ‘96, Eve (Needleman) Hill ‘83, Jamie Rosenblatt ‘91, Elizabeth Saveri-Stevenson ’83, Elizabeth (Sutton) Eshel ’83, Grant Winfrey ’84.

Front row: Ethan Gold ’88, Head of School Julia Russell Eells, Joshua Kwan ’13, Chinaedu Nwadibia ’04, Ted Collins ’90.

ARE YOU EXPECTING? We’d love to send you a Uni baby onesie to welcome the littlest Red Devil to the family! Available for sizes six months, twelve months, eighteen months, and twenty-four months.

Send an email with birth announcement and photo to UHSalumni@sfuhs.org with “ONESIE” in the subject line.

JOIN US IN MAKING A GIFT TO THE ANNUAL FUND TODAY “UHS played a special role in my life, honing and shaping my perspective and preparing me for college and to excel professionally, to be a leader and an advocate for a better society. At UHS, I had the opportunity to push myself, explore, create, and lead.”

—Julayne Virgil ‘94, Trustee, President, Alumni Association

“UHS made a tremendous impact on me. I cherish my teachers and friends who are still some of the most influential people in my life. At UHS I felt supported, challenged, and empowered to become a leader and bridge-builder in my community.”

—Katie Hultquist ’92, Honorary Chair, LGBTQIA alumni affinity group

“UHS is where I learned to write, think, and play basketball. It was the best group of teachers I ever had. I give because I’d like to ensure the next generation of kids enjoy the same benefits that I had.”

“I give to UHS because I support UHS’s mission. University gave me the building blocks for success, and the academics continue to inform my thinking and daily work. Giving ensures that others will also leave UHS best prepared to achieve their pursuits.”

—Sherief Meleis ‘88, Trustee

—Clayton Timbrell ‘00, Trustee

“I give to say thanks for my experiences (special shoutout to my field hockey teammates and our coach, Diane Schroeder!), in appreciation for the friends I’ve made in the alumni and parent communities, and to support the students of today and the future, including my daughter Isabella ‘21.”

—Frances Hochschild ’80, P ‘21, Co-Chair, Alumni Annual Fund

“UHS was and is a special place for me and I want to give back in a way that will impact every student. To me, a gift to the Annual Fund means that a UHS education and experience remain accessible to talented and deserving students in the Bay Area.”

“I give to honor the incredible teachers I had during high school. The education I received at UHS gave me a strong foundation for the rest of my life, and I hope to preserve that excellence for future generations.”

—Dr. Louise Greenspan ’86, Trustee

—Thomas McKinley ‘02, Co-Chair, Alumni Annual Fund

“My time as a student at University laid the foundation for my critical thinking skills and desire to be a good public citizen. On a daily basis I am thankful for the friendships I made at UHS.”

“I support the Annual Fund because I value the impact of education and respect the values fostered

by UHS and Summerbridge.

The institution is always evolving to support each student inside and outside the classroom. As a parent of Brenda ‘13, I see this promise continue across generations.”

—Oscar Flores ‘89, SB ’85, P ‘13, Co-Chair, Summerbridge Annual Fund

“Like most of us, my love of learning was nurtured at UHS. University gave me the early confidence and skills to pursue my interests beyond the classroom.”

—Boe Hayward ‘96, Trustee

—Leonard Chung ‘98, Honorary Chair, Alumni Honors

“I give to UHS because I believe that the school is helping to create well-informed, kind, thoughtful, creative leaders of tomorrow. We need more of those, and soon.”

“I give to pay it forward to the next generation of leaders in our community and to ensure that UHS continues to deliver its world-class academic program.”

—Margaret Charnas ‘76, P ‘09, Trustee

—Matt Farron ‘98, SB ‘94, Trustee

SFUHS.ORG/ANNUALFUND

Questions? Please contact Mary King, Associate Director of Development Mary.King@sfuhs.org | (415) 447-3137

CLASS OF 2018

Row 1 (front). Sarah Li, Jason Li, Kate Elkort, Mimi L’Engle, Queenie Li, Catherine Carter, Jojo Nordwall, Hannah Scherr 2. Jolie Villegas, Kara McBurnett, Drew Colman, Jane Rand, Nicole Bray, Emily Ehsan, Alessandra Jacimovic, Julia Munz 3. Nicole Wilkinson, Carlyn Strang, Maddie House, Katherine Hosie, Anise Crump, Alex Vozar, Alaina Shuman, Angela Savage, Lucia Tice, Brian Kirz 4. C.C. Clark, Catherine Kaler, Michael Casey, Bella Fleming, Cassie Marzke, Mike Poole, Will Hespe 5. AndrÊ Corrales, Ananya Sadarangani, Katie Larson, Emma Scala, Grace de Benedetti, Christina Howard, Phoebe Blanks, Nico Bykhovsky 6. Kevin Lo, Ben Schatz, Caroline Rotenstreich, Gabor Ptacek, Ben Wadsworth, Caroline Zanze, Jeremy Liu, Estella Bond, Josef Milstein 7. Nate Kral, Sam Fisher, Kavita Parekh, Peter Consagra, Jan Wignall, Robby Nooney, Ethan Ariowitsch, Isaac Teich 8. Eliza Dean, Lexi Roumeliotis, Elliot Britton, Jack Halper, Kendall Alexander, Maeve Miller, Claire Jackson, Claire Anderson 9. Georgia Gardner, Matt Halper, Nick Michael, Nico Petry-Mitchel, Marco da Cunha, Noah Wright, Erik Ross, Zach Eng 10. Yang Luo, Ben Miller, Deren Owji, Justin Sze, Brian Plotkin, Christopher Michael, Niel Schrage, Warren Niles 11. JT Munz, Matthew Huang, Courtney Resch, Matthew Davis, Dylan Chow, Eldridge Clark-Herrera, Ronan Gissler, Jonathan Som Row 12 (back). Kian Chamine, Khalil Adams, Jack Boas, Nadav Shenkar, Will Kuechler, Leo Hainline, Julian Manyika, Spencer Spivy

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 10748 SAN FRANCISCO, CA

3065 JACKSON STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115 @SFUHSorg

See sfuhs.org/alumnicalendar for times and details, and additional events, including networking opportunities and Fireside Chats.

Current/past faculty & significant others welcome at all events.

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20

ALUMNI HOLIDAY PARTY 6:00–7:00 p.m.

Alumni panel talk on trends in urban planning 7:00–9:00 p.m.

All-Class Gathering

REUNION WEEKEND

ALUMNI LEADERSHIP CIRCLE COCKTAIL PARTY

• Alumni+Student Ignite Talks

Honoring alumni who give $1,000 or above annually Head of School’s Home

Boys Basketball Sat 11/24 | 2:30 p.m.

sfuhs.org/reunion

FRIDAY, MAY 3

ALUMNI LUNCHEON

• Alumni+Student Assembly honoring 2019 Alumni Honors recipient

ALUMNI vs. STUDENT SPORTS Girls Basketball Sat 11/24 | 1:00 p.m.

Celebrating classes ending in 4 or 9 For more details, go to

San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) 654 Mission Street San FranciscoWEDNESDAY,

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27

NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR

Our distinguished alumnx award program DEADLINE JANUARY 15, 2019

sfuhs.org/alumnihonors

SATURDAY, MAY 4

Girls Soccer Mon 12/24 | 10:00 a.m.

Boys Soccer Mon 12/24 | 11:30 a.m.

Badminton Thurs 12/27 | 6:00 p.m.

Baseball Sat 5/4 | 10:00 a.m.

REUNION AT SHOWCASE

$35 in advance $40 at the door

See sfuhs.org/athleticscalendar for details

NEED A JOB WELL DONE? HIRE A UHS ALUM!

MENTORSHIP

ALUMNI MARKETPLACE sfuhs.org/alumnimarketplace

Want to share what you’ve learned along the way? sfuhs.org/alumnimentors

ALUMNI CLASSIFIEDS sfuhs.org/alumniclassifieds