SPA Magazine Winter/Spring 2014

The Magazine

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ST. Paul acadeMy

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SuMMiT School

winter/spring 2014

the Middle school yearbook staff, which chose to use spA’s new mission statement as the theme for the 2013-14 Middle school yearbook.

REDEFINING SPA’S MISSION:

“shaping the Minds and the Hearts of the People Who Will Change the World”

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Letter from the Head Homecoming Homecoming 2013 was a week-long celebration of all things Spartan, including dress-up days, special activities, athletic contests, and plenty of blue and gold.

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On the cover Redefining SPA’s mission: “Shaping the minds and the hearts of the people who will change the world.”

In the fall of 2013, St. Paul Academy and Summit School introduced a new mission statement that was a year in the making and will serve as a lens through which the school views itself.

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Celebrating the Class of 2013 Commencement celebrations and college choices for the Class of 2013.

Departments 2

Through the Doors

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Philanthropy

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Spartan Sports

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Class Notes

Alumni/ae News

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In Memoriam

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On the cover: The 2013-14 Middle School yearbook staff. Back row, left to right: Amina Smaller ’18, Annie Kristal ’19, Maya Shrestha ’18, Zach White ’18, Riley Will ’18, Betsy Romans ’19, Jazz Ward ’19; middle row: Anjali Tadavarthy ’20, Anna Snider ’20, Imran Umer ’19; front row: Isabel Gisser ’20, Jennifer Sogin ’19, Gabby Harmoning ’19, Victoria Greeman ’20. photo by scott streble.

2013-14 Board of Trustees Officers Charlotte Shepard Johnson ’64, President Tim O’Brien ’77, secretary Scot W. Malloy, Treasurer

Members William M. Beadie ’58 Elizabeth Driscoll Hlavka Anne Larsen Hooley Ruth Seely Huss ’57 Frederick C. Kaemmer ’88 David W. Kansas ’85 Allan Klein ’64 Dr. Anders M. Knutzen David Kristal Bruce A. Lilly ’70 Ranlet Miner, Jr. Paul S. Moe Mrunalini Parvataneni Ann Ruhr Pifer ’83 Dr. Brian C. Rosenberg Gail A. Ward Timothy A. Welsh Shannon McNeely Whitaker ’78 Philip W. White ’81

Read sPA Magazine online at www.spa.edu > About spA > news and Media

The Magazine of ST. Paul acadeMy and S uMMiT S chool winter/spring 2014 sPA Magazine is published twice annually by St. Paul Academy and Summit School for alumni/ae, parents, and friends of the school.

We welcome your comments and thoughts. Please contact us at spamag@spa.edu with suggestions for stories, news, and photos, or write us at sPA Magazine, 1712 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55105.

Head of School Bryn S. Roberts Editor Ami Berger Contributing Writers Sarah Bach-Bergs, Ami Berger, Laura Billings Coleman Principal Photographer Scott Streble Contributing Photographers Ami Berger, Greg Helgeson, Christian Koch ’14, Tom Lundholm, John Severson, Eoin Small Design and Layout Kimberlea Weeks Sexton Printing

St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 651-696-1366 (phone) 651-696-1380 (fax) info@spa.edu www.spa.edu

Letter from the Head

“Shaping the minds and the hearts of

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Scott Streble

the people who will change the world.”

Do school mission statements really matter? This question has inspired plenty of debate among school leaders over the last few years. At SPA, we believe our mission statement does matter. It is a reflection of our collective purpose and our ambitions, and it tells our students, families, and alumni/ae what it means to be part of our school community. It a North Star for decisions—the benchmark against which we measure our programs, our people, and ultimately our performance.

I am proud to introduce SPA’s new mission statement: “Shaping the minds and the hearts of the people who will change the world.”

“minds and hearts”? Eventually, we landed on “minds and hearts,” because we are first and foremost a superb academic institution. The quality of our academic program has defined SPA for more than a century; our graduates are extraordinarily well-prepared for the world after SPA. We also believe that high intellectual attainment without a sense of humanity and compassion is insufficient. It’s not enough just to be a good student: you also must have the capacity to appreciate and work with the people around you. We believe this notion of fully engaged citizenship is vitally important and a crucial ingredient of a productive and happy life.

As you will read in our cover story, the process of creating this new mission has its roots in the 2011 visit from our ISACS re-accreditation team of independent school educators drawn from peer institutions around the country. SPA received a glowing report from the visiting team, but they told us that our mission statement, then a decade old, failed to capture the intellectual energy and creativity of the school they saw during their three days on campus. The visiting team instructed us to develop a mission statement that reflected our aspirations and exemplified the breadth of intellectual and social engagement that is evident every day at SPA.

The boldest element of the statement—the assertion that our graduates change the world—reflects our history.

SPA graduates have been changing the world for more than a century. In presenting the new mission to our Middle and Upper School students this fall, I mentioned a selection of graduates who have changed the world in a myriad of ways—John Doar, Steve Levitt, Carlton Calvin, Molly Wilson and David Lilly—inventors and academics, scientists and civil servants, entrepreneurs and visionaries. I made a point of sharing the story of Karen Hsaio Ashe ‘72, an alumna of SPA who is now a world-renowned scientist in the field of Alzheimer’s disease. When I talked with Karen (a current SPA parent with a daughter in Middle School) about using her photo and story in these presentations, she was delighted.

“Absolutely, use my story,” she told me. “I owe so much to the school—I know that if I hadn’t attended SPA I wouldn’t be doing what I do now.”

We wanted a mission statement that would energize and challenge. We wanted a mission that would inspire pride in our community, one that would draw people to SPA, and that would give us a high standard against which to measure ourselves and our aspirations. And these are indeed the signal qualities of our new mission statement; it is pithy, memorable and entirely different from that of most independent schools. In adopting this statement, we are stepping confidently into the future by inviting our community to think in new ways about the SPA of today and tomorrow.

Creating the mission was not an easy process. There was plenty of discussion and debate. For example, we knew that addressing both “hearts” and “minds” was important, but we struggled with how we should list these qualities. Should it be “hearts and minds” or

This is the historical foundation of our mission statement.

It is a clear message to our students: we have abiding faith in your abilities, and we know you will follow in the footsteps of generations of SPA graduates.

Bryn S. Roberts, Head of School

Winter/Spring 2014 | SPA

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through the Doors

Middle School Math Team is division champ for fourth year in a row Ami Berger

Rubicon wins Columbia University journalism award; Art & Literature wins All State Gold medal The Rubicon, SPA’s student newspaper, was named the best student newspaper in Minnesota and won multiple national and state awards this fall and winter. The school’s arts magazine, Art and Literature, and IBID, the school yearbook, were also cited for excellence in student publications.

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), an affiliate program of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, awarded The Rubicon a Gold Medal for its hybrid (print and online) publication series. The Rubicon has been honored by the CSPA before, but this was the first time that the paper has been evaluated on the strength of its combined print and online editions. In addition to the Gold Medal, the hybrid publication was also awarded All Columbian Honors from the organization. “I take this as a clear sign that we are building The Rubicon in the right ways by creating a larger online presence and incorporating news and feature video into our assignments, as well as continually reflecting on and refining our print process,” says Rubicon advisor Kathryn Campbell.

Pictured left to right, the members of the Middle School Math Team who competed in the State tournament: Michael Hall ’18, Ben Konstan ’18, Michaela Polley ’19, and Richard Chang ’20, with team advisor Jenny Borovksy.

For the fourth year in a row, the Middle School Math Team won its division championship.

At the Minnesota High School Press Association (MHSPA) State Journalism Convention in October, The Rubicon won a first-place Best in Show award for its September 2013 edition, reclaiming the title of best student newspaper in Minnesota, and was also awarded a fifth-place Best in Show for its online edition. In addition, the 2012-13 series of issues and the 2012-13 online edition were both awarded All State Gold honors from the Journalism Educators of Minnesota. “I’m so proud of the staff, the hard work and dedication they put into our publications,” says Campell. “To have the paper named the #1 student newspaper in the state and have our website celebrated as one of the top 5 in the state is a tremendous way to begin the year.”

The “Gold” team took first place for the year in the SE Metro Division of the Junior High Math League, and five members of the team took the top five individual places in the division: 1st place, Michaela Polley ’19; 2nd place, Richard Chang ’20; 3rd place, Jeffrey Huang ’19; 4th place, Ben Konstan ’18; 5th place, Michael Hall ’18. Sam Hanson ’20 took 10th place.

SPA’s arts magazine and yearbook also took home honors from the MHSPA convention.

Art and Literature earned an All State Gold award for its 2013 issue, and also garnered six first-place awards for individual contributors Madeline Graham ’13 (Magazine Art/ Illustration); Charles Rosenblum ’14 (Magazine Cover Design); William Brower ’13 (Magazine Photograph); Miriam Tibbetts ’16 (Magazine Poem); and Clara Stahlmann Roeder ’13 (Magazine Short Story). The IBID yearbook also was honored with an All State Silver award for the 2013 edition, and photographer Peter Driscoll ’13 earned a second place award in the Sports Photo category. And in January, Art and Literature magazine was awarded a “Superior” rating from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). This is the highest rating granted by the NCTE’s Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines.

Nine students also competed in the South Capitol division of the MATH COUNTS competition on February 7. The fourmember team of Michaela, Richard, Ben, and Michael placed second in the division and qualified to compete in the State competition in March. The team is coached by Middle School math teacher Jenny Borovsky.

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The “Blue” team also had a great finish, taking third place in the division. The Blue team members are Iya Abdulkarim ’18, Larry Chen ’18, Kayla Edmundson ’19, Kieran Singh ’19, Nitya Thakkar ’19, Sameer Bijwadia ’20, Fremont Forsberg ’20, and Paige Indritz ’20.

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Grade 8 focuses on Design Thinking and language immersion in two-week academic program Tom Lundholm

For two weeks in late January and early February, Grade 8 students took part in “Winterupt,” designed to engage students in World Language and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning, based on the Design Thinking curricula pioneered at the Stanford University Design Institute.

The Design Thinking framework invites students to develop a deep understanding of a problem, defining it in their own terms before developing, testing, and revising prototypes for a Grade 8 students Nikolaus Elsaesser, Mira Zelle, and Huck Sorock work on their scale model of the new outdoor space solution. According on the Randolph campus. to Middle School social studies teacher Andrew Roy, who helped coordinate yoga or flamenco. “By experimenting with what they Winterupt, the Design Thinking model aligns with SPA’s already know, students gained confidence in their ability to Middle School curriculum. “We are cultivating students who speak and understand their respective languages of study can think critically and imaginatively and who have supple in a creative and playful environment,” says Kristin Flom, minds that can synthesize, invent and build,” Roy says, who Middle School French teacher. Such an experience combined points to the Grade 6 “Rendezvous Days” and the Grade 7 language learning with the opportunity for students to trip to Camp Widjiwagan as examples of this curricular focus. creatively tackle a ‘real world’ challenge.

“These experiences aim to engage students in unexpected The afternoons of the immersion week were spent in ways, pushing beyond the familiar routines of the classroom,” preparation for the program’s second phase during the week Roy says. of February 3. This second week, the students were broken During the first part of Winterupt, the week of January 27, up into small groups to tackle a robust Design Thinking students took part in a week-long world language immersion challenge: reimagining and redefining the recreational area experience where they spent four hours of each morning fully outside of the Middle School on the Randolph campus. immersed in their language of study: Chinese, French, German During the second week of Winterupt, the students applied or Spanish. Middle School world language teachers Neil Bray, the design thinking framework to better understand the Kris Flom, Jenni Dorfsman, Diane Mancini and Lisa Lieber were challenges and possibilities of the outdoor space. In their joined by native speaker teachers and volunteers from China, small groups, the students interviewed other students from Germany, New Caledonia, Cameroon, Vietnam and Spain to multiple grade levels and examined video footage of how guide the students during the week. the space has been used in the past. They then generated Students not only spoke their language exclusively, they ideas and developed models of potential new layouts, also participated in activities designed to let them “live” their engaging in an iterative process of analysis, critique, and language, including lessons focusing on food, restaurant, and revision. At the end of the week, each small group presented market etiquette; cultural activities including cooking, singing, a proposal for the usage of the space, with a physical model, and crafts; and a physical activity such as badminton, handball, to a panel of experts.

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Senior wins first place in regional writing contest John Wilhelm ’14 is this year’s first-place winner for District VII in the Cum Laude Paper competition, which honors outstanding student writing.

John’s entry was a short story which he wrote for his creative writing class at SPA in the spring of 2013, entitled “Of Custodians, Airships, and Mattresses,” told from the point of view of a janitor on a futuristic spaceship. The story was entered into the Cum Laude competition

by US English teacher Lucy Polk; John’s work was selected for the first-place prize from hundreds of entries from District VII, which includes seven Midwestern states.

Aside from the recognition, John received an award of $500.

Senior’s research on biofuel production chosen as semifinalist in international science competition In January 2014, Lucy Li ’14 was selected as a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search (STS), the nation’s most prestigious precollege science competition. Out of the 1794 scientific research papers which were entered into the competition this year by students in 45 states and seven international schools, Lucy’s paper, “Pretreatment of Switchgrass with White Rot Fungi in Context of Biofuel Production,” is one of only 300 semifinalists who will now compete for the top award of $100,000. “This is quite an honor for Lucy and for SPA,” says US science teacher Karissa Baker, who taught the Upper School advanced research seminar for which Lucy conducted her research and wrote her paper.

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New faculty join SPA in all three divisions SPA welcomed thirteen new faculty and academic staff across all three divisions in the fall of 2013. Our new faculty are: Philip de Sa e Silva Upper School English

Helen LaRoue Lower School Grades 1/2

Natalie Leeman Lower School Grades 3/4

Nikki Loria Lower School Kindergarten

Matthew Donald Middle School Math

Natalie McElligott Middle School Math

Katie Gibson Lower School Grades 3/4

Amber Ruel Lower School Kindergarten

Ned Heckman Upper School Science

Jennie Sorensen Middle School Learning Specialist

Margo Kurth Lower School Grades 1/2

Amy Weisgram Upper School History and Social Studies

Students attend Diversity Leadership Conference In December 2013, five SPA juniors and seniors attended the National Association of Independent Schools Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) in the Washington, DC area.

SDLC is an annual gathering of about 1500 upper school students from across the country who attend leadership training focused on diversity, inclusion, and social justice. SPA students have attended SDLC six of the past nine years; this year’s attendees were seniors Marcus Alburez Myers ’14, Ava Gallagher ’14, Ysabella Johnson ’14, Jared Mosher ’14, and Mansuda Arora ’15.

“My experience at SDLC gave me a lot more confidence in myself and my understanding of my own race and ethnicity,” says senior Marcus Alburez, who identifies as multiracial. “Like a lot of students who come from diverse backgrounds, I struggle with putting a single label on my heritage and identity. At the conference I met a lot of kids like me, who don’t have a single ‘place of origin’ and who are also focused on self-reflection and building a global community. It was a life-changing experience.”

Bob Jewett showcased in retrospective exhibit in the Drake Gallery Ami Berger

In January 2013, SPA’s Drake Gallery showcased a retrospective exhibit of the work of Bob Jewett, who has taught art at the school since 1973 and will retire in the spring of 2014.

The exhibit, Bob Jewett: An Artist-Teacher’s Life at SPA 1973-2013, is a compilation of clay work and other mixed media pieces from Jewett’s long career at the school. The visual inspiration for the work comes from Martha’s Vineyard, where Jewett was raised.

Jewett’s retirement this spring caps 45 years of working and exhibiting in Minnesota, including solo exhibitions at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Tweed Museum.

Bob Jewett takes Upper School art students through the retrospective of his work in the Drake Gallery.

Winter/Spring 2014 | SPA

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through the Doors

Lower Schoolers “teach the teachers” at technology conference Scott Streble

Fifteen Grade 4 and 5 students from SPA’s Lower School attended the 2013 TIES Technology Conference in Minneapolis on December 17, 2013. The students’ role at the conference was to demonstrate their classroom experiences with technology with relation to engineering and the process of invention and problem-solving.

The students were accompanied to the conference by Lower School technology coordinator Joyce Teibel, Lower School librarian Emily Prebich, and Grade 5 homeroom teacher Rick Magnuson. During their two sessions, the students demonstrated coding apps for the iPad, showed several inventing kits, and created electrical circuits. Several girls also explained their “engineering for girls” experience, and Magnuson led the students through a physics lesson as a technology case study for the teachers.

Lower School students demonstrate classroom technology for attendees at the TIES conference.

Scott Streble

“Teachers attending the conference seemed to love having the ability to interact directly with our students,” Teibel says. “Likewise, our students loved becoming the teachers and sharing their expertise.

We were all proud of their accomplishments and their composure in attending a conference organized for 4,000 adults.”

Fourth annual naturalization ceremony a success In what has now become an annual event, SPA’s eighth-graders planned and hosted a naturalization ceremony in November 2013.

Twenty-seven individuals from seventeen countries became new American citizens during the ceremony, which was presided over by the Honorable Frank Noel, United States district court judge and former SPA parent. The ceremony, which is the signature event in the Grade 8 social studies unit on immigration, was featured in a “What’s Cool in School” segment on KARE-11 TV in December 2013.

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SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

Pictured left to right: Nolan Fahey, Grace Owens-Kurtz, Christopher Pifer, Christian Koch, Lucy Li, and Vittorio Orlandi.

Twenty members of SPA’s Class of 2014 have been recognized as outstanding scholars by the National Merit competition. The twenty include six Finalists and 14 Commended students. The recognized students make up 22% of the Class of 2014.

This year’s SPA’s Finalists are Nolan Fahey, Christian Koch, Lucy Li, Vittorio Orlandi, Grace Owens-Kurtz, and Christopher Pifer. This year’s Commended students are Connor Allen, Nicholas Cohen, Sonya Das, Kristen Datta, Harrisen Egly, Kaia Findlay, Charlotte Hughes, Sydney Kuller, Sela Patterson, Meera Singh, Danielle Socha, Charles Southwick, Alexander Stiffman, and Alicia Zhang.

Scott Streble

Nationally, less than 1 percent of high school seniors are awarded Finalist recognition. National Merit Semifinalists are determined by Preliminary SAT (PSAT) scores; according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, about 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the National Merit competition by taking the PSATs. Semifinalists are those students who scored the highest on the exam in each state.

SPA debate makes history by sweeping all three team spots at National qualifying tournament The SPA debate team made history in December 2013 by sweeping all three qualifying spots for Minnesota in the National qualifying tournament for Public Forum Debate. This is the first time the SPA team has claimed all three Minnesota spots in the tournament, which decides which teams will compete at Nationals; for the last two years, two of the three qualifying teams were from SPA. The team of Jordan Hughes ’15 and Shaan Bijwadia ’15, who were undefeated in winning the tournament, took first place; Mason Mohring ’14 and Tommy Toghramadjian ’15 took second; and John Wilhelm ’14 and Bilal Askari ’14 took third.

All three teams will now compete at the National Speech and Debate Association national tournament in Overland Park, Kansas June 15-20, 2014. Debate coach Tom Fones also credits seniors Connor Allen and Yusra Murad, who won 3 out of 5 of their debates at the tournament and placed seventh, as an important reason why the other students qualified, due to their research and practice.

Twelve teams qualified to compete in the tournament. The final round came down to three debates between SPA and Eastview; SPA won all three debates against an Eastview team that is “extraordinarily talented and deep,” according to Fones, who couldn’t be prouder of his entire team.

“This kind of success is made possible by the strong support that the school community gives to the debate program,” Fones says.

Scott Streble

Ami Berger

22% of Class of 2014 recognized by National Merit, including six Finalists

Grandparent Day a huge success on both campuses This year’s Lower School and grade 6 Grandparent and Special Person Days were enjoyed by more than 300 grandparents, aunts, uncles, and special friends. Held on November 25 for grade 6 and November 26 for grades K-5, the events included student performances, remarks by the principals and Head of School Bryn Roberts, and a chance for guests to visit classrooms and tour the buildings.

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spartan sports

spring 2013 season wrap-Up Lacrosse The girls’ lacrosse co-op with Visitation finished the season with an overall record of 2-13. In a rebuilding year, the team found development and improvement despite challenging competition.

Season highlights included hard-fought wins over Rochester Mayo and Mahtomedi. The girls scored more than 8 goals in 8 of the 13 games thanks to contributions from several first year players as well as a well-balanced scoring approach. Claire Ristau ’16 was named most improved player while major contributions to the team were also made by Sarah Romans ’15, Bridget Hoffman ’16, Catherine Johnson ’16 and Andrea Olson ’16.

Baseball All Conference honors went to Spencer Egly ’13, Karl Hommeyer ’13, and Matt

Courtesy SPA Athletics

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Fiedler ’13. Fiedler, who now plays for the University of Minnesota, was also selected to the Metro East All-Star Team, the Class AA All State Team, named Section 4AA player of the year and selected as the 2013 AA Player of the Year by the Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association. All Conference Honorable Mention recognition went to Dominic Dingess ’13 and Josh Johnson ’14. The team finished the regular season with a conference record of 6-4— placing them fourth in the conference—with an overall record of 14-8, including wins over Blake, Breck, Highland Park, Como and St. Croix Lutheran.

softball All Conference honors went to Jonte Claiborne ’14 while Honorable Mention recognition went to Lauren Ademite ’13 and Alex Miller

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’14. The team showed hard work and improvement throughout the course of the season and were rewarded with memorable victories over Brooklyn Center and Concordia. With a young team, the girls are wellpositioned in upcoming years to climb back into the conference race.

track and Field The track and field team had a solid season with excellent performances at the conference meet, including that of the 4 x 800 girls’ relay team finishing fourth, the 4 x 400 girls’ relay team finishing second, a second place finish

by Mary Naas ’15 in both the 1600 and 3200 runs, a sixth place finish in the 1600 and a fourth place finish in the 3200 by Mike Destache ’15, a third place finish in the 300 hurdles by John Fauver ’13, a very close third place finish by Francesco DiCaprio

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1 | Matt Fiedler ’13, who joined the University of Minnesota’s Division 1 baseball team in the fall of 2013, on the mound for the Spartans. 2 | Lauren Ademite ’13 looks for the play on the softball field. 3 | All Conference runner Mary Naas ’15 on the track.

SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

’13 and a seventh place finish by Steve Olson ’13 in the 400 meter race, the 4 x 200 boys’ relay team placing second and the highlight—a conference championship win by the 4 x 400 boys’ relay team consisting of James Hargens ’13, Olson, Fauver and DiCaprio who then went on to finish fourth in the state meet with the second fastest time in SPA history.

Out of 28 teams, the girls’ finished 11th place in the section and the boys’ finished 10th. All Conference honors went to Ellen McCarthy ’15, Naas, DiCaprio, and Fauver while Honorable Mention recognition went to Hargens, Olson, Destache, Melanie Luikart ’13, Lily Rogers-Grant ’13, and Lexi Hilton ’16.

Boys’ tennis Led by Matt Henneman ’13 and Jeremy Tong ’13, the boys’ tennis team finished the season with an overall record of 7-5 placing third in the Tri-Metro Conference, including extraordinary wins over Mounds Park Academy, St. Anthony, DeLaSalle, Providence and Minnehaha, placing second in the conference. The team advanced to the section final, losing a hard fought match to Blake. In individual play, Shaan Bijwadia ’15 placed fourth in the section singles consolation round.

The doubles team of Mick Sullivan ’14 and Tong placed fourth in the section doubles consolation round while the doubles team of Nick Ozolins ’14 and Henneman placed second in section play, qualifying them for the State

Fall 2013 season wrap-Up

golf The boys’ team sent two golfers to state to compete for the championship: Noah Parker ’15 and Drew O’Hern ’17. This is the first time in decades that two SPA golfers competed together at the state tournament. All Conference honors went to brothers Drew and Colin ’17 O’Hern.

All Conference honorable mention recognition went to Parker, Cal Nicholson ’14 and Tony Morice ’17. The boys’ golf team finished with an overall record of 10-10 and a conference record of 3-4 placing them third.

The team finished third in the SPA Invitational Tournament with a score of 327. At sections, the team was led by Colin O’Hern ’17 and finished strong in the first day.

The girls’ golf team, led by captains Delaney Carter ’15 and Annette Vargas ’15, had a strong season, including solid wins over DeLaSalle and St. Anthony.

Throughout the season, 12 golfers competitively played in varsity matches.

Section team included Carter, Vargas, Cait Gibbons ’16, Allison Ahern ’17, Katherine Schmechel ’17 and Emily Thissen ’17.

Boys’ soccer All Conference honors went to team captain Mason Mohring ’14 and Tyler Seplak ’15. All-Conference honorable mention recognition went to Jordan Moradian ’15 and Sam Suzuki ’15. The boys finished their regular season with a 3-13-1 record. This proved significant team progression and perseverance considering that 12 players were lost from last season, resulting in every starting position being filled by a new player this fall. The team embraced the challenge, faced it head on and in the end, played its best soccer in the section playoffs giving section rival Holy Angels all they could handle.

girls’ soccer The team was led by captains Zoe Matticks ’14, Alev Baysoy ’14, Meera Singh ’14 and Danielle Socha ’14. AllConference honors went to Matticks, Baysoy, Catherine Riley ’15 and Liz Shaheen ’16.

All-Conference honorable mention recognition went to Socha, the team’s goalie, and Taylor Rients ’16. The team finished the season with a 6-3 conference record— placing them second in the conference—with an overall record of 9-9 which included memorable victories over Breck (5-0), Minnehaha (1-0), Providence (2-0), St. Agnes (3-1), St. Croix Lutheran (2-0) and Roseville (1-0).

With a large group of returning players and a strong JV team, the team has a solid foundation to build off of in upcoming seasons.

Scott Streble

meet where they won the consolation bracket finishing in fifth place. All Conference honors went to Henneman and Ozolins. Honorable Mention recognition went to Sullivan.

Receiver Dalante Peyton ’16 (#2) carries the ball while his teammates take down the defense.

Football

Volleyball

Lead by the versatile captain Nick Hoffmann ’14, the line strength of Sam Carlson ’14 and the running quickness of Andrew Thao ’14, the team doubled their total number of wins from the previous year with victories over both Spectrum (25-22) and West Lutheran (26-12).

Hoffmann was selected MVP and received All-Conference recognition. Thao, O’Shea, Peyton and Carlson received All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.

The team had a talented group including Claire Foussard ’14, Sarah Goetz ’14, Alex Miller ’14, Hannah Johnson ’14, Anna Carlson ’14 and Eva Gallagher ’14.

All-Conference honors went to Goetz and Mira Grinsfelder ’15. AllConference honorable mention recognition went to Miller, Foussard and Nancy Moyers ’15. The team finished the season with an overall record of 18-10, which was the best record in recent team history— as was the 6-6 record in conference play. Memorable wins over Breck (3-0), Providence (3-0), Central (2-1), New Richmond (2-1) and Blake (3-0) contributed to this success. The season was also highlighted by two wins over local rival Highland Park in the opening match of the year as well as in the first round of section play—the first section win for SPA in over 5 years.

Quarterback Michael O’Shea ’16 passed for 799 yards on the season while receivers Dalante Peyton ’16 racked up 499 yards and Hoffmann pulled in 304 passing yards.

The running tandem of Thao and Louie Bogolub ’15 chalked up 581 rushing yards.

On defense, Luke Bishop ’15 led the way with 31 solo tackles followed closely by Carlson with 29. Ben Pettee ’15 and Jonah Mische ’15 both had 28 each.

Winter/Spring 2014 | SPA

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Courtesy SPA Athletics

spartan sports

girls’ tennis

1 | Sonya Das ’14, who

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repeated her title as Class A singles’ champion, prepares to backhand the ball. 2 | Kate Bond ’17 keeps the ball away from a Northfield High School defender.

The girls’ cross country team had strong individual and team performances. The team placed second in the Tri-Metro championships, lead by conference champion Mary Naas ’15. Five team members received AllConference honors, Naas, Lexi Hilton ’16, Clare Tipler ’17, seventh-grader Carenna Saunders and eighth-grader Val Hart. All-Conference honorable mention went to Neeti Kulkarni ’17, Alicia Zhang ’14, and Greta Sirek ’18. At Sectionals, Naas and Hilton both qualified for the state meet individually while

the entire team captured second place at the section meet and qualified for State.

The team finished in 12th place at the State Meet with Naas in second place earning All State Honors. Naas also won the Swain Invitational meet in Duluth; won the Private school championships; was Tri-Metro conference champion; and took home the section championship. In addition, the St. Paul Pioneer Press featured Naas as the Play Maker of the Week.

Boys’ Cross Country The boys’ cross country team finished fifth in the

conference championships.

Finishing sixth in a field of 18 schools at the Section meet, both Mike Destache ’15 and Charlie Southwick ’14 qualified for State. At the State meet, Southwick finished in the middle of the pack while Destache finished in 11th place overall earning All State Honors. Detache also was the Tri-Metro Conference champion; placed second at sectionals; won the Swain Invitational; and placed third at the Roy Griak Invitational finishing ahead of over 500 other runners. In addition, the Pioneer Press featured him as the Play Maker of the Week.

Boys’ 4 x 400 relay team places 4th in state Boys’ track finished out their season competing at the State Class A Championship Meet held at Hamline University.

In the trials of the 4 x 400 Relay on Friday the team of Steven Olson, James Hargens, John Fauver and Francesco DiCaprio ran 3:27.79 finishing fourth in their heat and qualifying on time for Saturday’s final. That was a five second improvement on their previous best race of the season. On Saturday the team improved once again, running a very exciting race, finishing fourth in 3:26.33 just .2 seconds behind third place Minnehaha.

That is the second fastest time in SPA history as they just missed the school record of 3:25.51. The splits for Saturday were: Steven 52.2, James 52.9, John 51.2 and Francesco 49.5.

“It was a great ending to a very successful season for the four seniors,” says coach Rob Donnelly.

“Their commitment to each other and to the goal of competing at the highest level is what we are looking for in all our athletes. These young men are great examples for their teammates on what it takes to get the job done. The entire coaching staff really appreciates the attitude they displayed and what they accomplished.”

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Courtesy SPA Athletics

girls’ Cross Country

The girls’ tennis team, with new coach Jono Martin, racked up 8 wins and a 5-4 record in conference play.

Defending State Class A singles champion Sonya Das ’14 won the Class A state champion in singles for the second year in a row, losing only 5 games in her 8 section and state tournament matches.

Alida Mitau ’14 and Sarah Colton ’14 anchored the SPA doubles teams, finishing third in the section doubles tournament. All-Conference honors went to Das and Mitau while All-Conference Honorable Mention recognition went to Colton and Sheila Sullivan ’15.

girls’ swimming Earning All Conference recognition were Jackie Olson ’15 (diving) and Kathryn Schmeckel ’17, while senior captain Anna Matenaer ’14 earned All Conference Honorable Mention. Notable finishes at the Section level include a seventh-place finish for Olson in the diving competition as well as the relay performances of Schmechel and Matenaer.

Schmechel broke the :27 second time barrier and 1:00 time barrier in her 50 and 100 Freestyles and Matenaer achieved a personal best in her 100 Freestyle split with a 1:01. The team ended the season with a 2-3 conference record, placing fourth in the St. Paul City Conference with nine top six finishers.

spartan Faces in the Crowd sonya Das ’14: tennis

girl’s basketball building a strong foundation under new head coach nick novak Christian Koch ’14

Das, a force to be reckoned with on the court, claimed her second consecutive Minnesota Class 1A state singles tennis championship title in the fall of 2013, and was deservingly named the WCCO/Aspire Prep Athlete of the Week for her outstanding state tournament performance.

Das had an incredible run in the state tournament, not giving up a single set and finishing off the entire season undefeated.

Mary naas ’15: Cross Country Naas proved a fierce commitment to excellence this season after placing second in the Private School Championships and simultaneously setting a new school record of 14:58. In team performances, Naas was a key contributor at the Tri-Metro Championships leading the girls’ team to a strong third-place finish. Finishing second in the section championships, Naas qualified for the state tournament where she finished 12th out of 175 runners and received All-State and All-Conference Honors. nick Hoffman ’14: Football Hoffman, a dedicated three-sport athlete and captain of all three teams, had a strong year on the gridiron with 25 receptions, 304 yards, 1 touchdown, 25 solo and 13 tackle assists, plus a fumble recovery. Aside from his stats, he is an emotional leader on the field and “an excellent example of what hard work looks like. Nick finds a distinctive way to take an extremely physical game and make it enjoyable for everyone around him,” says Mike Brown, Assistant Athletic Director. noah parker ’15 and Drew O’Hern ’17: golf Parker and O’Hern made SPA history when they both qualified for the State golf tournament—the first time in decades two SPA golfers competed together at State. Despite less than ideal weather conditions that shortened the 36 hole event to 27 holes, O’Hern finished with a total score of 119 and Parker finished with a total score of 122.

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New head girls’ basketball coach Nick Novak (far right) with his players.

Nick Novak, who joined SPA this year as the new head coach for girls’ varsity basketball, has always looked to be a part of a school that stresses academics as well as athletics. It’s why he’s proud to now call SPA his home.

Novak, who attended, and played basketball for Hamline University, began his coaching career at the age of 20 as the head JV and assistant boys’ basketball coach at Blaine High School. He then coached the Breck girls’ basketball team for one year before taking on the girls’ basketball head coach position at International School of Minnesota (ISM).

So far at SPA, he’s off to a good start: the girls had a 13-13 season this year and played into the post season. “I can’t begin to express how proud I am of the girls,” he says.

“The significant improvement the team has made upon our record from last year can be accredited to the players who come in each and every day, work hard, and give it their all.

They’ve developed into a really great team.”

Novak’s goal is to build a strong foundation for a girls’ basketball program that will be a highly-competitive contender for years to come. He wants SPA to be the school with the best student-athletes in the Twin Cities, with players that not only excel on the court, but also in the classroom and in their other extracurricular activities.

“I’m proud to say we truly have a group of remarkable young ladies,” he says when speaking of the girls’ basketball team.

“They’ve endured a coaching change, persevered through many injuries this season, and have had to learn a different coaching approach than what they’re used to. Through it all, their diligence, hard work and team cohesion has never waned.

I’m lucky to work with such a talented team of athletes and am already looking forward to the many successes next season will bring.”

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Homecoming 2013

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photos BY scott streble

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Homecoming 2013 was a week-long celebration of all things Spartan, including dress-up days, special activities, athletic contests, and plenty of blue and gold.

The highlight of the week was Friday, the traditional Blue and Gold dress-up day. This year’s Spartan (Connor Allen ’14) began the day with a trip to the Lower School to rev up the littlest Spartans, and the afternoon featured the Pep Fest, the all-school Homecoming Carnival, and the Homecoming football game—a 26-12 victory over West Lutheran.

September 23-27, 2013

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1 | The traditional Storming of the Field before kickoff. 2 | The football team just before the game. 3 | The team executing on offense against West Lutheran. 4-5 | Lower School girls and boys enjoy the Homecoming Carnival. 6 | Upper Schoolers in their blue and gold before Pep Fest. 7 | Blue and gold facepaint was a popular accessory. 8 | The junior class cheers at the Pep Fest.

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1-5 | The faces of Homecoming. 6 | This year’s Spartan, Connor Allen ’14. 7-9 | The crowd cheers during Pep Fest. 10 | The finals of the Ping-Pong Tournament. 11 | Walking arm-in-arm to the football game.

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Shaping the minds and the hearts

changing the world:

Redefining the Mission of SPA BY laura billings coleman | photos BY scott streble

Organizational mission statements are often generic and uninspiring. But the year-long process of redefining the school’s mission has given SPA a new focus.

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of the people who will change the world

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In many small ways, all schools are reinvented at the beginning of each new school year. Students anticipate returning to their classrooms with varying levels of excitement and nervousness, and even master faculty who have taught for decades know that every cohort brings its own questions and perspectives to the classroom.

The opening of school at St. Paul Academy and Summit School in the fall of 2013 included a reinvention of a different sort. The school introduced a new mission statement that was a year in the making and that will serve as a lens through which the school views itself and the ways in which it serves students.

The new statement, “Shaping the minds and the hearts of the people who will change the world,” is unusual for both its brevity and its scope. “It’s an audacious statement,” says Head of School Bryn S. Roberts, “but it’s an affirmation of our students, our teachers, and indeed the entire community here,” he says. “We’re saying we produce graduates who have the intellectual capacity and the compassionate understanding of the human condition—this blend of the mind and the heart—to do remarkable things after they’ve left SPA.”

Board of Trustees elected to rewrite the mission during the 2012-2013 school year, Tait was invited to take the lead on the effort. He created a six-month process that focused on discussions with students, faculty, trustees and alumni/ae to identify what defines SPA today.

“There were a lot of powerful themes that emerged in these discussions, and one of the messages we heard on many fronts is that this is a school where there’s no sense of entitlement,” says Tait. “It’s not a place where people come to be showy. There’s hard work going on here.”

Throughout the process, Tait asked each group to reflect on the skills SPA students will need in the future as they pursue college and careers, and contribute to their communities. “In these discussions, people also talked a lot about the need for creativity now and in the future,” says Tait. “America is a country that’s going to be depending on people who can work with ideas, and come up with

From the isACs final report Blending the past and the future

Scott Streble

The aspirational element of the new mission statement has its genesis in the school’s 2011 re-accreditation process with the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS). The ISACS team of educators that assessed the school for reaccreditation had universally positive reports about every aspect of school life—with the exception of the mission statement, which dates from 2000. That statement read: “In pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning, St. Paul Academy and Summit School educates a diverse and motivated group of young people for leadership and service, inspires in them an enduring love of learning, and helps them lead productive, ethical, and joyful lives.”

While the 2000 mission statement was perfectly serviceable, the ISACS report stated, it didn’t capture the spirit that set SPA apart from other independent schools. “What the ISACS team saw when they visited was an SPA that had moved well beyond that mission, and that now had a bolder, more energizing vision of what we were going to do,” says Roberts.

The final ISACS report recommended a substantial overhaul of the school’s mission statement. “Their report about the school was so glowing and positive that when they looked at the existing mission statement, they said, ‘You’ve already achieved this. This is a statement of fact rather than an aspiration for where you want to be,’” says Bruce Tait, an SPA parent and Minneapolis branding consultant who has worked with the school since 2010. When the SPA’s

“st. Paul Academy and summit school’s current mission statement …was adopted by the Board in October of 2000, and has been in effect, without change or modification, since that time.

“The statement has the virtues of being brief and combining academic excellence with humane values, but it is not particularly reflective of SPA’s distinctive identity. No one would argue against the goals it espouses but it could easily be applied to many independent schools. It does not set sPA apart.

“In fact, the school already seems to have moved beyond its current statement, judging from the definition of sPA’s purpose contained in its 2009 strategic Plan…where the school’s vision for the future and its role in the lives of its students is presented with compelling vigor.

“The IsACs visiting team recommends that the st. Paul Academy and summit school: “1. Reframe its mission statement so that it more accurately reflects the new vision and verve of the school. Properly articulated, the mission can serve as an aspirational compass, a summons for how to learn and live for students and faculty, and the inflection point for strategic planning and fundraising.

“2. Use the recreation of the mission statement as a launching pad for the School’s efforts to develop a “curriculum of the future” for sPA, and as a rallying point for the Board and the faculty across the school to imagine what that curriculum would look like and how it could be put into action.”

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Shaping the minds and the hearts original thoughts, both individually, and in collaboration with others.” Other elements that arose from these conversations were attributes like resilience, innovation, and risk-taking.

Noticeably absent from the conversations were many of the typical words often included in school mission statements—“excellence in education,” “life-long learners,” or “leaders in the community.” One specific example Tait cites: a statement about “leadership” is often included in school missions, but the SPA group made a deliberate decision to go in a different direction. “We elected to stay away from that because the idea of producing ‘leaders’ is a relatively unsubstantial concept,” says Roberts. “We know that sometimes in life you need to be a leader, and at other times you need to be part of a collaborative effort. ‘Leadership’ is not the goal; understanding the nuances of a situation and taking appropriate action—that is the goal.”

As the conversations around the school’s mission moved away from laundry lists of individual qualities and towards a holistic sense of graduates’ role in the world, SPA’s long history and traditions began to move into the forefront of the discussion. Looking at the century-long thread that connects one generation of SPA graduates to the next proved more helpful as the group settled on a working mission statement, says Roberts. “There’s a historical argument that the education and the culture of SPA, going back to the early 1900s, has produced men and women who’ve gone on to do extraordinary things in an array of fields that have literally changed the way we think about the world, or the way people live their lives,” Roberts says. “Supporting our students in becoming those men and women is and always has been the true mission of this school, and our mission statement needs to reflect that.”

This process of discussion and discovery concluded in the spring of 2013, when Tait presented the final, fourteenword mission to school leadership and the Board of Trustees. Roberts considers both the process and the outcome an unconditional success. “The entire process from start to finish was a very healthy exercise for the school,” he says. “The new mission gives us a better sense of direction that I think has been very energizing for SPA.” Roberts expects SPA’s new mission statement will inform the school’s choices about the future of the curriculum and the classroom experience. “In my mind we need to use the mission statement as something that serves as a filter or guide against which we measure programs and aspirations and conversations within the school,” he says. “Whenever I’m thinking of a program or significant change, the question I ask is whether the choices we make are consistent with our aspirations and our definition of who we are.”

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A new mission in motion With the opening of school in the fall of 2013, the new mission was introduced to the community. The statement was a topic of conversation at opening meetings for teachers, “Back to School” events for parents, and most importantly, at opening assemblies for Middle and Upper School students. During the first days of the school year, Roberts visited with students to introduce them to the new 14-word mission statement, and to encourage them to think about what “changing the world” means to them as they pursue their studies.

“I’m not sure I even knew what the old mission statement said,” admits Nick Cohen ’14, a Carleton College-bound senior who didn’t think the new mission would make much difference to him during his final year at SPA. But Cohen changed his mind after Roberts’ presentation to Upper School students about the new mission, which included an overview of the statement and how many graduates of SPA have already “changed the world.”

“It was cool to see SPA alums who have gone on to do some amazing things in their fields,” says Cohen. “The idea of ‘changing the world’ is a pretty big one, but I think the lesson we got was that, big or small, there are lots of ways graduates go out to make the world a better place.” Madeeha Rizvi ’16 agreed: “I think it gives the school a clear goal, just having it there. It helps the school focus on what’s important,” says Rizvi, who is one of several students interviewed about the new mission statement in the fall issue of The Rubicon, SPA’s award-winning student newspaper. [Read an excerpt from The Rubicon story on page 17—Ed.] The wording of the new mission was also inspirational to SPA’s Middle Schoolers, says Middle School principal Jill Romans.

“When Bryn rolled this out at the beginning of the year it was fascinating to me to see how the Middle School students and teachers responded,” she says. “There was a lot of excitement about it because people feel like it captures what they do here every day.”

Throughout the year, both students and faculty have been encouraged to think about ways to apply the ideals of the mission to their learning at school. The Middle School yearbook’s student staff decided to use the new mission statement as the theme of its 2014 yearbook, and Middle and Upper School faculty have developed several new courses and programs this year that are reflective of the ISACS team original directive to “use … the mission statement as a launching pad for the School’s efforts to develop a ‘curriculum of the future’ for SPA.” When SPA parent and Trustee Tim Welsh hears that the school’s new mission is inspiring students and teachers, “I am ecstatic,” he says. “I think an important part of what we do as trustees is to raise the aspirations of our students. They are incredibly capable young people who will indeed change the world, and who have received an extraordinary education that’s prepared them to do just that.”

of the people who will change the world BY boraan abdulkarim ’16

Excerpted from The Rubicon, september 27, 2013. Reprinted with permission.

The gymnasium buzzed at the start of a new school year on Aug. 27. Slowly, the conversations hushed and the Welcome Assembly began.

After the greeting and a presentation by Upper School Principal Chris Hughes, Head of School Bryn Roberts presented a speech about one of the many new changes to the school this year: a new mission statement. Throughout the speech, everyone was quiet. Roberts, with the click of a button, advanced to the culminating slide of the power-point presentation with the new St. Paul Academy and Summit School mission statement printed clearly in the middle. shaping the minds and the hearts of the people who will change the world.

Though the mission statement is new, the concept is not; it describes the SPA community as it is. “The mission statement is like a guide, a north star. It’s very important in capturing the essence of the institution,” Roberts said.

Sophomore Madeeha Rizvi agreed: “I think it gives the school a clear goal, just having it there.

It helps the school focus on what’s important,” she said.

Last year, nobody could have rattled off the mission statement of SPA. According to Hughes, “[a mission statement] becomes meaningless if you have to go and look it up.” Now, though, the SPA mission statement has undergone a transformation. It’s quick and straight to the point. Those 14 words sum up the ambitions of SPA. “I think if a mission is going to be valuable, it ought to be something people know and understand,” said Hughes, who along with many others, noticed that the mission statements of other schools all follow a similar pattern. “There’s always stuff about leadership, and service and community and learning and passion. And those are all great things, absolutely who we are, but

there’s no way to distinguish one school from another,” he said.

Students agree.

“I think that this mission statement is a lot better because it’s actually possible to remember it. It stays with people,” sophomore Elena Youngdale said.

Freshman Noel Parker thinks the new statement will “prepare [students] for bigger things.” Senior Nick Cohen does not see the mission statement changing SPA life, but views it as important for newcomers to SPA. “I think the place that [the mission statement] is going to be important, is outside relationships,” Cohen said.

Cohen was part of a committee of students, teachers, and faculty that helped with the development of the new statement with consultant and SPA parent Bruce Tait. “[We] didn’t sit down at a conference table and say ‘I think this is what the statement should be,’” said Cohen said about the committee’s work.

Rather, the group “did a lot of activities to try and flesh out what the ideals of the school are.” Cohen described one activity in which multiple pictures were laid out on the table, and the members of the committee were asked to choose pictures that represented SPA, and what SPA aspires to be. “I think [the committee] actually had a lot of input and a lot of weight in the process,” he said.

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“We Are the chAnge” Middle Schoolers Live SPA’s New Mission BY riley Will, Class of 2018

Riley Will and his fellow Middle School yearbook staff chose to use SPA’s new mission as the inspiration for this year’s yearbook theme. Below are Riley’s thoughts on why the mission—and the change it implies—are important.

Our school mission statement has changed, from something that no one could remember to “Shaping the minds and the hearts of the people who will change the world.”

This year is all about change. We also are going to start work on the new performing arts center, at last starting on something that has been in the works for a long time. The Geography Bee was new this year, along with Cardboard Design Challenge and a trip to We Day. And finally, we won our homecoming football game, against St. Croix Lutheran. There are also changes we will remember about this year: Nelson Mandela died, the Winter Olympics were held, and we had a huge amount of cheese in school snack.

But we are also still the same. The same friendly and welcoming SPA atmosphere is still here, welcoming incoming sixth graders and other new students. The same great education is still being offered. Widji, SLUDGE, Rendezvous, exams, are also still here, unchanged.

In the spirit of change, students have been asked to answer the question “I hope to make a change in the world by…” because there is so much out there that needs to be changed. Will we make a change and find a cure for cancer? Will we make a change and end world hunger? Maybe we will. We hope we will.

Scott Streble

Change was picked for the theme for this yearbook because change has always been an important force in the history of SPA, and this has been one of those years where you can see it everywhere you look. We are riding on the very crest of the wave that is change. Our Middle School, our generation, will change this world in ways that we never would have thought of. And that is why “We Are the Change.”

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“the curriculum of the future” Design Thinking brings the new mission to life for Upper Schoolers.

When the ISACS accreditation team encouraged the school to use its new mission statement as a launching pad for developing the “curriculum of the future,” SPA’s faculty took that directive to heart. In the fall of 2013, Upper School teachers John Wensman (English) and Dr. Steve Heilig (Science) introduced a new course for Grade 9 and 10 students focused on problem-solving, innovation, and collaboration—elements that were identified as critical to SPA’s future in the process of developing the new mission statement.

Ami Berger

Team-taught by Wensman and Heilig, the class was based on the “Design Thinking” model, a five-part process for problem-solving pioneered at Stanford University’s Design Thinking Institute. An increasingly popular area of study in universities and business schools, design thinking promotes the power of empathizing with the needs of the community, reframing problems as opportunities for innovative solutions, brainstorming, building prototypes, and going back to the drawing board to toss ideas that aren’t working.

“To a certain extent it was a class without a curriculum,” says Wensman. Students in the project-based course were charged with identifying areas within the SPA community that needed rethinking; projects included addressing facilities issues with lockers and doorposts, and rethinking the tutorial period in the Upper School’s new schedule. When guest speaker Chris Tolbert, a Councilman for the City of Saint Paul, mentioned a new

teen space project underway at the Highland Library, the class found its capstone project. “A couple of telephone calls later, the architects were here presenting their plan for the library and asking us to help them design the new Teen Space for the building,” Wensman says. The class’s charge: design a 28 x 34 foot space that brings young people to the library.

The class launched a design cycle that included site visits, stakeholder interviews, a landscape review that included a Twitter campaign, and finally, an “idea sort”—the process of organizing research with an a eye for surprises, tensions, contradictions, and insights before creating Point of View statements. The students presented their final recommendation to the architects in December 2013, pictured above.

“It was a totally different class from anything I’ve had at SPA,” says class member Lexi Bottern ’16. “We did everything from designing doorstops, to learning how to interview people, to brainstorming about what belongs in a library teen center.” Bottern says she and her classmates particularly enjoyed the chance to work on the teen center. “What I liked about it is that we ended up talking not just about the things that should go inside the teen center, but also about how those things would affect the users,” Bottern says. “Learning about empathy was probably the major thing I took from the class— learning how to work within a group, and really listening to people.”

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Class of 2013: Commencement

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BY ami berger | photos BY greg Helgeson

The 89 members of the Class of 2013 became alumni/ae at SPA’s 113th Commencement on Sunday, June 9, 2013.

Ceremonies opened with the “Graduation March,” performed by Sarah Colton ’14 and Taylor Rients ’16 on violin and Vittorio Orlandi ’14 on piano.

Comments from Head of School Bryn Roberts, Board of Trustees President Charlotte Shepard Johnson ’64, and Upper School Principal Chris Hughes followed, along with the remarks of Senior Class Speakers Chinaza Nwaneri ’13 and Clara Stahlmann Roeder ’13. This year’s Commencement address was given by Charlie Zelle ’73, an alumnus, parent, and former Trustee of SPA.

Chinaza Nwaneri (above) and Clara Stahlmann Roeder were selected by their classmates to be Senior Class Speakers.

After the presentation of diplomas, the Class of 2013 made the customary recessional through an “honor guard” of SPA faculty. Although Commencement itself was held in Briggs gymnasium due to inclement weather, the rain cleared by the ceremony’s end, allowing the graduates and their families to enjoy the post-Commencement reception on the North Lawn.

View more photos from Commencement 2013 at stpaulacademy.smugmug.com > events > Commencement 2013

Charlie Zelle ’73 addresses the Class of 2013.

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Showing off their diplomas: 1 | Saif Ahmed; 2 | Claire Anderson; 3 | Jonah Wang. All smiles during the Recessional: 4 | Marie Siliciano, August King, and Laura Dahl; 5 | Ariana Amini, Steven Olson, and Emily Nasseff.

6 | Anne Klus directs the Upper School chorus during the ceremony. 7 | A well-wisher gives Farez Siddiqui and Sophia Myers-Kelley a high-five.

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senior Awards

Melanie Luikart and Clara stahlmann roeder were the recipients of the 2013 Head of School Bowl, awarded to those members

sam wood received the 2013 Faculty

of the senior class who

Bowl, awarded to that senior who has

have been recognized by

shown unusual breadth and depth of

their peers and teachers for

intellectual interest and outstanding

significant contributions to

commitment to academic excellence.

the school.

Ben Oppenheimer was the recipient

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of the 2013 Erik Flom Memorial Award,

Francesco Di Caprio received

given to that member of the senior

the 2013 Alumni/ae Bowl, which

class who has demonstrated unusual

is presented to an individual

courage in the face of personal

elected by the faculty from

hardship or, in the opinion of his or

nominations made by the senior

her peers, has made an exceptionally

class. It is given each year

meaningful contribution to the relief of

to that member of the class

anguish in other persons either within

deemed to be most outstanding

or outside the school.

in many areas of school life.

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3 1 | Danny O’Shea, Reid Kett, Ben Kachian, Matt Henneman, Karl Hommeyer, Peter Wood, Josh Gray, Sid Dicke, Cameron Causey, Ben Braman 2 | Camille Horne, Serena Hodges, Maria Aguilar 3 | Saif Ahmed, Ibad Jafri, and Fariz Siddiqui (center) celebrate with their families 4 | Laura Goetz, Claire O’Brien, Clara Stahlmann Roeder, Maddie Flom-Staab ’15, Claire Flom-Staab, Ellie Fuelling, and Sophia Myers-Kelley

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Class of 2013: College Choices

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Greg Helgeson

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Alumni/ae news

Alumni/ae Council Corner

2013-14 Alumni/ae Council

Dear fellow alumni/ae:

Joe Benson ’68 Dan Citron ’89 Aram Desteian ’01 Lindsay Giese ’05 Hilary LeBon ’91 Maggie Moss ’97

The Alumni/ae Council (AC) has been busy implementing programs and hosting events for the alumni/ae community and we are excited to share our work with you! winter holiday party: The AC Events Committee hosted a successful holiday party on November 27, 2013 at Sweeney’s Saloon in St. Paul. Over fifty attendees spanning the classes of 1985 to 2009 attended the event. Members of the Spartan Gold Club were also recognized and received a complimentary beverage ticket. The AC continues to encourage alumni/ae from the classes of 1998 to 2013 to contribute to the Annual Fund and automatically become part of this new giving society.

Mock interviews for spA juniors and seniors: The AC Volunteer Committee continues to assist SPA’s Office of College Counseling by connecting interested SPA juniors and seniors with local SPA alumni/ae for mock interviews.

This program, which just finished its inaugural year, gives current SPA students the opportunity to gain new skills, confidence, and receive constructive feedback that they can then use during college interviews and job and/or internship interviews. If you would like to help the AC by volunteering your time in this effort please contact Jen Jung, Alumni/ae Relations and Giving Manager, at jjung@spa.edu or 651-696-1302.

Host a senior project: The AC Volunteer Committee is working to create a new list of Senior Project hosts. In the past, parents of current/former students have been instrumental in helping secure Senior Project opportunities and the AC believes that the Twin Cities-based alumni/ae community can be of similar assistance. If you are interested in hosting a student or participating in the career interview portion of the Senior Project, please contact Jen Jung.

Courtesy Lauren Nuffort

The AC will be looking for new Council Members to start their term in August 2014. If you are interested in serving on the Council, please contact me and we can discuss the role in greater detail.

Lauren nuffort ’02 Alumni/ae Council President lauren.nuffort@gmail.com

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Lauren Nuffort ’02 Zach Pettus ’99 Mike Ristau ’85 David Salchow ’88 Craig Smith ’87 Nikki Stennes ’05

Save the Date!

Reunion Weekend, September 5-6, 2014 Mark your calendars now and plan to join us for this year’s Reunion Weekend, September 5-6, 2014. All St. Paul Academy and Summit School alumni/ae are invited to participate in the weekend’s Reunion events, including the All-Alumni/ae Art Show and Reception on Friday evening. Classes ending in 4 and 9 will celebrate their Reunions with Class parties taking place all over the Twin Cities on Saturday evening, September 6.

To ensure you receive reunion-related materials, please be sure to update your contact information by visiting the SPA Alumni/ae Center at www.spa.edu > Alumni/ae. Also, those interested in serving as a Reunion Volunteer can check out the Volunteer page in the Alumni/ae Center or contact Jen Jung, Alumni/ae Relations and Giving Manager, at jjung@spa.edu.

See you at Reunion!

Hockey alumni gather to reconnect, cheer on the Spartans Hockey alumni came back to SPA on Friday, February 7, 2014, for an Alumni Pre-Game Reception and to cheer on the Spartans that evening as they took on Providence in Drake Arena.

Former SPA players, managers, and coaches gathered in the Summit Center to reconnect with each other and hear from Director of Athletics Peter Sawkins ’81, who spoke about the Spartans’ strong season. Head of School Bryn Roberts also addressed the group, noting that the school will be focusing on fundraising for athletic facilities in the near future. After the reception, the group headed over to Drake Arena to watch the Spartans win a convincing 6-0 game over Providence Academy.

We plan to host more Spartan alumni/ae athletic events next year. Contact Jen Jung, Alumni/ae Relations and Giving Manager, at jjung@spa.edu for more information.

Reunion Weekend 2013 a huge success

Reunion kicked off on Friday, September 6 with the Alumni/ae Art Show in the Harry M. Drake Gallery, which featured the work of alumni/ae artists Peter Brooks ’63, Peter Zelle ’83, and Molly Lamb ’93. Afterwards, alumni/ae from all years gathered for the All-Alumni/ae Reception under a tent in the Lilly Courtyard. More than 100 alumni/ae and guests from the 1940-2000s enjoyed food, drinks, live music, and the unseasonably warm weather.

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On Saturday, September 7, Summit alumnae were welcomed for coffee and building tours at the Goodrich campus, formerly the Summit School. Saturday morning also featured the Heritage Brunch at the Randolph campus, in honor of all classes that graduated fifty or more years ago. The highlight of the weekend was Saturday night’s class parties, hosted throughout the Twin Cities in local restaurants and alumni/ae homes.

The five- and ten-year Reunions were held on December 26, 2013. More than 60 classmates attended the two events, bringing total Reunion 2013 attendance to over 400 alumni/ ae and guests (see pages 32-33 for photos of all 2013 Reunion Class Parties). photos from all reunion events can be viewed online at http://stpaulacademy.smugmug.com > Alumni/ae and Advancement > reunion-weekend-2013.

Greg Helgeson

Thank you to the more than 350 alumni/ae and friends we welcomed back during Reunion Weekend 2013! The classes ending in 3 and 8 celebrated their milestone reunions with class parties, and alumni/ae from 30 different class years came back to the School to reminisce, rekindle old friendships, and reconnect with classmates.

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5

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Pictured above: 1 | Lisa Schilling Greenman ’73 and SPA math teacher Bill Boulger. 2 | Jamie Goins ’63 and Ginger Goins. 3 | Eric Clark, Mercedes Henderson ’88, Fred Kaemmer ’88, Gerard Lagos ’88, and Kharma Kochendorfer Parker ’88. 4 | Alumni/ae from all classes enjoyed the Alumni/ae Art Show in the Drake Gallery on Friday evening. 5 | Todd Johnson ’83 and Aaron Schloff ’83. 6 | Bob Mairs ’45 and Roxy Freese ’50. 7 | Summit alumnae during the Saturday morning tour of SPA’s Goodrich campus, the former Summit School. 8 | Hector Rupert ’51, Dick Diedrich, Judy Parish Diedrich ’58, and Michael Foote ’58. 9 | Annemarie Sawkins ’83, Ann Ruhr Pifer ’83, and Peter Zelle ’83.

Winter/Spring 2014 | SPA

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philanthropy

Scott Streble

At left: an architectural rendering showing the Huss Center, as seen from the Southwest.

Building Futures

The Campaign for St. Paul Academy and Summit School This fall and winter were busy and exciting for the Building Futures campaign. With over 110 gifts, the total amount raised now stands close to $19 million, with nearly $6 million of that raised since September 2013. The campaign is more than 98% of the way to the $19.2 million needed to construct the facility, which is on schedule to break ground in the late spring or early summer of 2014.

The new building will be known as the Huss Center for Performing Arts, in honor of John and Ruth ’57 Huss, who were among the first donors to the Building Futures campaign and are responsible for laying the foundation for the campaign’s success over the past several years. “John and Ruth’s unwavering commitment to SPA and their vision for the future of the school have been our inspiration,” says Head of School Bryn Roberts. “We are both grateful and proud to name the Huss Center in their honor.”

The Building Futures campaign leadership has also grown over the fall and winter, and now includes new Board members and alumni/ae. These committed volunteers have met with dozens of individuals and families over the past five months in the Twin Cities and around the country. With this newly engaged leadership team, the campaign has been able to speak to more families, alumni/ae, and parents about supporting the campaign with a leadership gift.

The mix of individuals and families who have supported the campaign thus far is unique in the history of St. Paul Academy and Summit School. “The campaign is anchored by a cohort of families who have supported SPA for generations and recognize the importance of the Building Futures vision,” says Building Futures

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SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

Tim O’Brien ’77 and Libby Hlavka ’82, Co-Chairs of the Building Futures campaign

co-chair Tim O’Brien ’77, “and those traditional donors have been joined by a new and energetic group of families who are new to the school but who are just as committed to SPA’s future.” Libby Hlavka ’82, fellow campaign co-chair also notes that the nearly $6 million raised in the last five months has come primarily from families and individuals for whom the Building Futures campaign is the first they have contributed to as a leadership donor (gifts of $100,000 or more). “This expanding base of philanthropic leadership is a critical piece of the campaign’s success,” Hlavka says.

As the school prepares to break ground on the new facility in a few months, an impressive project team has been assembled. This team includes Nelson, Tietz & Hoye, owner’s representative; McGough Construction; the fundraising consulting firm CCS; and renowned architect Tim Carl of HGA Associates.

“We are immensely grateful to the donors who have propelled this campaign to new heights in an unexpectedly short period of time,” says Roberts. “This success speaks to the strength of the campaign and the trust SPA has built in the community with its current families, alumni and leaders.”

SPA community breaks records on Give to the Max Day 2013 The SPA community once again came out in full force on GiveMN’s fourth annual Give to the Max Day on November 14, 2013, in support of the SPA Annual Fund. SPA parents, alumni/ ae, grandparents, faculty, and staff managed to work around technical issues that shut down the GiveMN website for part of the day to raise a total of $47,476 from 155 individual donors—both new SPA records for Give to the Max Day. Many donors contributed good wishes as well as dollars on SPA’s GiveMN website. “We are so fortunate to have SPA for our children’s education,” wrote one parent donor. “Thank you for the outstanding academics and for the caring and nurturing community. We are truly grateful.”

2012-13 Annual Report Additions

The Annual Fund: Supporting students, connecting our community Show you care. Giving is a tangible way to affirm your SPA connection—to show your support for our students, faculty, and community. continue the tradition. For more than 100 years, members of our community have given to improve and strengthen the school. It’s a tangible way to affirm your SPA connection.

space for ad?

Share the commitment. Each of us plays a part in SPA’s success. The more members of our community who contribute, the greater impact we have together.

BE PART OF THE EQUATION. The Annual Fund 2013-2014

Please note the following additions to SPA’s 2012-13 Annual Report. We extend our apologies for these omissions.

Sasha Aslanian should have been listed as a donor in the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Class of 1986.

Linda Forsberg should have been listed as a donor in the Grandparents donor list.

Trip Johnson should have been listed as a donor in the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Class of 1983.

Make your gift online at www.spa.edu/giving

Winter/Spring 2014 | SPA

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Class ClassNotes notes

Have news to share?

Email your news to alumni@spa.edu or send it to Class Notes, St. Paul Academy and Summit School, 1712 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55105. We look forward to hearing from you!

Become a Class Agent!

Class Agents keep in touch with their classmates and provide updates on SPA happenings. Class Agents also help with special events and reunions. All classes welcome additional volunteers and multiple Class Agents are encouraged. To become a Class Agent, please contact alumni@ spa.edu or 651-696-1366.

1952 CLASS AGENT:

Dean Alexander promedica1@aol.com Dean Alexander writes, “Austin Pryor recently claimed that he had his cataracts removed and could see again; that he was still playing golf; was a Webmaster for two organizations; and that he was still of sound mind. Since my wife and I had not seen Austin and his lovely wife Dorothy for 11 years, we decided to travel to Connecticut and personally confirm that these were not spurious assertions.

It was truly wonderful to see them both. We were classmates at the Academy as well as at Yale and have been friends for 66 years.

Some events in life are truly special…and this was one of them. To top it off, we also celebrated the publication of my adventure novel, The Barami Legends, written to entertain my grandsons.

Austin was able to purchase it on Amazon Books and I was gratified to learn that his 28

SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

health and heart were strong enough to withstand the excitement of reading it!”

s Austin Pryor with his wife Dorothy and Dean Alexander.

1953 CLASS AGENTS:

Judy Blake judith.blake@att.net

Races, featuring the Head of the Charles where he has now advanced to the Senior Veteran’s Singles. Felicity is still singing in community choruses. She is also finishing up a six-year term as a Board member of Safeline, Inc., an agency serving victims and survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence in Orange County, Vermont. She and Townsend plan to visit her brother, peter Vaughan ’55 in Sarasota in January when he visits from France.

1956

John Holman copas2@msn.com

CLASS AGENT:

The Class of 1953 celebrated its Reunion during Reunion Weekend, september 6-7, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

Daphne roberts Bell recently

1955 CLASS AGENT:

Kate K. piper mintypiper@aol.com Felicity Vaughan swayze writes that she and Carol Davis trapp had a very

long lunch at Bistro Zinc in Chicago in September. “We enjoyed delicious quiche on a lovely day, warmed by sunshine from the restaurant windows which opened onto the street. We could almost have been in Paris!” Felicity was visiting her daughter, India, and grandchildren, Savitri (14) and Ivan (11) as well as her son, Peter and his wife Rebecca, all Chicago residents. She returned to Vermont and picked up life again with her husband of 54 years, Townsend Swayze. He is a sculler and is just finishing up a series of fall Head

Brenda r. griffin Braudenbush2@comcast.net

retired after nine years on Hamilton City Council. She is looking forward to moving on to the next chapter in her life.

She and her husband Mike plan to do some of the great walks and cycle trails on the South Island. She also reports that last year her mother died at the age of 107 years old, having lived an exceptionally long life where she was in good health and clear mind up until the end.

Bob Fisher writes, “Hi to everyone in the Class of ’56.

Ellie and I are still living near San Francisco, with a daughter here and a son practicing medicine in Miami—and a grandson on each coast.

We just celebrated our 53rd anniversary and are both continuing to work and enjoy the work we do. More about the work I do at www.rll.com.

I look forward to our 60th reunion, with sweet memories of the good times we shared at our 50th.”

ginny (Low) Campbell and

her husband, Stuart, spent the summer shuttling back and forth from Madeline Island. Since they were having some work done on their house in Bloomington, they needed to go back and forth to oversee the process.

Ginny writes, “We’re happily stuck in Minneapolis! I love the fellowship, the comfort, the convenience, the choices that being here has to offer.

I feel kind of ‘done’ with the north woods, and will take the woods of Bloomington any day. A little nature, for me, goes a long way.”

In June, tom and Brenda (raudenbush) griffin headed to camp and hike in the Western Mountains which they have done for 18 years. They continue to look forward to it every year. sara torrison ewald writes:

“We still spend winter and summer in the mountains of Colorado—always beautiful.

In the spring and fall, we head back to Weston, Massachusetts where we have four grandchildren (ages seven to 10) within five minutes from our home. Our daughter and her family are in Dallas.

They have two boys, ages nine and 10, and are able to get to Colorado a lot when we are there. Our youngest son is in New York City. Fred and I celebrated our 50th anniversary on December 23, 2011—hard to believe!! To celebrate, we took all our children and grandchildren to the Dominican Republic for a week of warm weather and beach time. This has been a sad year for our class—loosing Sandy Hammer and Peggy Page. It has made me realize how important it is for all of us to keep in touch.”

1957 CLASS AGENTS:

Dutton Foster duttonfosters@comcast.net susan rose ward cswsrw@comcast.net

This past summer, tuck Langland and his wife Janice visited the Orkney Islands in Scotland for the 7th time to view progress on the Ness of Brodgar dig, uncovering a massive collection of huge buildings dating from 5,000 years ago. When fully unearthed, this site promises to be the largest and most important neolithic site in Britain, if not all of Europe.

In addition, Tuck just finished two Pathfinder Awards for Indiana Sports Corporation, a portrait of Dr. Esch for the University of Indianapolis and a double portrait for WishardEskanazi Hospital. He will also deliver an exhibition to the University of Indianapolis called Heads: Real & Imagined.

Also, their second daughter, Victoria Langland, was hired as a tenured Associate Professor of Latin American History at the University of Michigan. Her book, Speaking of Flowers, a describing of the 1968 uprisings in Brazil, was also published. Last but not least, Tuck and his wife were given their first grandson by daughter Victoria, to add to their two granddaughters (one from daughter Victoria, one from daughter Susan).

Jim Mairs reports that for nearly fifty years he said he would publish books even if he didn’t get paid. For over ten years his publishing company, The Quantuck Lane Press is proof. “Let some flee to ebooks,” states Jim. “I’ll cater

to the die-hards!” Additionally, and perhaps ironically, his son is interested in an age-old trade as well—he collects fine books, vinyl records, and takes photographs on film. tom Milton writes, “My eighth published novel, Outside the Gate, was launched in July of this year. In this gripping suspense story, a woman confronts a parent’s worst nightmare when her daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers. You can buy it at my publisher’s website: http:// nepperhan.com/outside.php.

It’s also available on Kindle.” ellen widmer is still very

busy at Wellesley College, in her seventh year of chairing the department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. She happily and thankfully sees a lot of her sons. Overall, she reports that she has no complaints, other than “it would be nice to get back to Minnesota more often.”

Don Drew writes, “My dear

friend, please do get up off your knees; begging is not seemly for members of the Class of ’57!”

John ratigan recently became President of the Arlington (VA) Philharmonic. He’s humorously unsure if this is a wise career choice at his age. In October, he and his wife Barbara took a trip with Tom and Sally Patterson to Patagonia— Argentina, Chile, as well as the Cape Horn area. grant nelson reports that he and his wife Judy are still professionally active. Judy teaches algebra part-time at Our Lady of Malibu School and Grant is still full-time at Pepperdine Law School with plans to retire at the end of

the 2013/2014 academic year.

Thereafter, he hopes to teach half-time for a year or two.

They continue to spend a lot of time with their three local grandchildren who live only three miles from them.

Barry whitman celebrated his

74th birthday on September 6, 2013. He writes, “Each year following my birthday, I ask my trainer—whose directions I attempt to follow on Thursdays and Saturdays—whether I can get stronger in the coming year (contemplating the intersection of aging and training-effect curves that might be plotted graphically).” Apparently, his trainer always responds with a “No problem.” To that, Barry states, “Actually, I’m pretty sure there is a problem, but, as it turned out this year, not insuperable. It’s not going to get easier…”

Marna page reports that she recently embarked on the journey of obtaining hearing aids. She humorously writes in regards to them, “Yes, aging is progressing here!” However, she keeps busy “depleting her energy” given both of their kids and two young grandkids live nearby. She also reports that they are going to trade houses with their daughter in June 2014 resulting in a downsize for them and an upsize/great school for their kids and grandkids! From there, Marna hopes to explore and travel more—including getting to St. Paul more often.

She wishes best to all!

Barbara Janes writes, “Alec

and I continue to summer on the North Shore; winter three months in Naples, Florida (yes, we’re old); and make an annual trek to New York City,

where we have children and grandchildren. We still reside in a Kenwood town home in Minneapolis, and are in the phone book. I would truly love to see any and all!”

Mike roach moved from Rochester to Florida for the winter with his wife and they are now true “snowbirds” (six months in Florida and six months in Vermont). Their kids are in Vermont, Boston and Ohio and they have four grandchildren (from ages 16 to three years old!) patsy spadavecchia writes,

“I continue to divide my time between Greenwich Village, Florence and the Island of Salina which is off the coast of Sicily. There is never enough time in either place. I have a suggestion—why not have a reunion on my island? All are welcome! I have three bedrooms that sleep two each and there are nice Bed and Breakfasts around. Plus, the island is on the Mediterranean which, realistically, is sort of like Lake Superior only warm and calm! Just a thought…” walter “King” Andrews writes, “I’m still doing a very poor job of imitating a retired person: reading Ottoman poetry with interested graduate students; running a large research project (21 undergraduate research interns last year...

Google “svoboda diaries newbook”); writing, and lecturing occasionally. I’m still playing golf, tennis, running and doing drama with grade school kids. Best wishes to everyone.” tom and sally patterson are

still spending their winters skiing in Colorado. However, after 20 years of master’s

Winter/Spring 2014 | SPA

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Class notes

1957

continued

competition, Tom hung up his race skis last year which seemed “the sensible thing to do” at the age of 73. Sally has ended her term as Chair of a large private foundation, but they remain involved in a number of organizations that they care about and that are trying to make St. Paul the best place it can be. All three of their grandchildren are SPA/ SS students and are in 8th, 11th and 12th grades. They state, “As the late, iconic, Jack Chapman would have said, “tempus is fugitin’!” And he might also say “Gasp,” at our having a high school senior grandchild!” They agree that SPA continues to be a great place and that it is rewarding and exciting to experience it from the grandparent perspective. When in St. Paul, they are regulars at concerts, games and other school functions. They, too, took a trip to Patagonia in October with the Ratigan’s and a couple of college friends.

This was their 7th overseas trip with them since their retirements. ruth Huss writes, “Still alive, still kicking and still traveling.

This fall, a trip to Israel and Jordan; in February, a visit to the Amazon; skiing in March; and in April, Nepal and India at game parks looking for tigers, etc. Going while we still can!”

Cindy sutton reports, “I was

offered an exciting opportunity this past summer. I worked on an international team in China for three and a half weeks as an educational consultant.

Our project focused on working with teachers to bring 30

SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

inclusive education to the city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province. The teachers were wonderful—hesitant at first— but they began to understand the concept, new to them, that all kids should be included in quality education. The food was spicy and fabulous; the temperature was over 100 degrees every day; and the baby pandas were adorable!” tom Mears’ summer highlight

was the annual gathering of his family’s siblings—John and Missy—at the lake with all of their children and grandchildren for a week.

“Summer is simply wonderful in the woods and on the lake,” states Tom. Tom’s brother John had got married last February and when at the lake, they cohosted (with Missy and Kent) a reception for the newly married couple. Tom states, “I would be surprised if John’s bride ever revisits our side of the family!” The next week, he and his wife Joan took two of their grandchildren to Washington D.C. This is based off of a tradition that when their grandchildren reach 11, they take them on a trip of their choosing in the continental U.S. This site was elected, so last Christmas they made their grandchildren members of the Smithsonian and they all planned where they wanted to go. Much fun was had with their grandchildren on the trip.

s the summit Class of 1963 snapped this class photo during Reunion Weekend 2013. Pictured are (from left): Taffy Field Mitchell, Nancy Leavitt Mulvey, Dianne Adair, Lee Brown Pitman, Sally Wilkinson Thompson, Sally Owens, Sue Krueger Skinner (behind), Susie Turner Lynch, Incy Metcalfe Brooks, Carol Read Ekman, Mary Biorn Carlson. Front Row: Gian Griggs Hartner, Hazel Lamp Magnuson. See pages 32-33 for more class photos from Reunion Weekend. along,” states Susan. “More travel would be nice, but we always get two trips a year.

However, I have to say that I’ve always felt more travel is better.”

Dutton Foster writes, “Although a recent Tuesday morning was not so good—I discovered a) our vandalized van was undrivable, victim of an apparent failed theft and b) I need hernia repair—Caroline and I are doing well, spending time up north each month, seeing our kids and grandkids, trying to be creative in various media, keeping track of the birds. Love the fall weather in Minnesota and wish it would last three months! We’re contemplating a March birding trip to Belize with a couple of wonderful guides we’ve enjoyed before.

s Merle Lee Freeman writes, “This summer my mother ’38 (posthumously) and I were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Over the summers, we visited over 40 major ballparks together. Our photos and profiles have been placed in the archives. We were both inducted as Twins, and it is truly an honor for these two avid baseball fans to be among the baseball greats, such as Harmon Killebrew, in perpetuity!”

1963

susan ward reports that

two of their grandchildren are graduating from college in June 2014 and one in December 2014 (who then is planning to attend Medical School). The other three grandchildren are all in their sophomore year in college.

“Charc and I keep plodding

1960 CLASS AGENT:

raleigh Ormerod

CLASS AGENT:

nancy Mulvey nancymulvey@gmail.com The Class of 1963 celebrated its Reunion during Reunion Weekend, september 6-7, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

1967

1968

CLASS AGENT:

CLASS AGENT:

phil Bratnober

Anne Cowie cowieanne@hotmail.com

Mary Bradford Clark just

finished writing a book called “The Making of a Mother”, a book about people and their traumas and how they individually and uniquely learn to cope with them. It can be found for sale locally at “Common Good Books” on Snelling Ave. Charlie stryker, former SPA/

United Hockey coach, is among members of the first class of coaches that were inducted into the Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame on October 11, 2013 at the Schwan Center in Blaine.

The Portland Rose Gardens was the location for a chance meeting between Summit School and St. Paul Academy graduates from several 1960s classes. shotsy ’64 and ward Johnson ’64 were traveling with Allan Klein ’64 and Allan’s wife Harriet Lansing in Portland (where they attended a forum on Oregon wines and visited with Michael Foote ’58).

While on a visit to the Rose Gardens in Portland, the four ran across Jon Lunseth ’67 and his friend Mary Kellogg. Pictured left to right are Allen, Harriet, Shotsy, Ward, Jon, and Mary.

The Class of 1968 celebrated its Reunion on December 26, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

On Saturday, September 7, members of the St. Paul Academy Class of 1968 gathered under the old trees at the Somerset Country Club for a 45th Reunion Dinner.

Greetings to the group were conveyed from several not present (Jeff Alden, gardner Bemis, and Dan starjash).

Locally-based attendees Joe Benson and wife Taffy, Bill Bierman, Otto Christenson, David Herr, Jim Kamman and wife Elizabeth, Doug Kusske and wife Lynn, Bill Levin, nick Linsmayer, Doug McMillan and wife Ann, David Megarry and wife Rose, Dar reedy and wife Geri, Bill sjoholm and wife B.J., Jack thera and Jim Vaughan were joined by visitors Jim Borchert (who came in from New Hampshire) and tom Verhey and wife Linda (who came in from Chicago).

Having lost classmates rick Olson and Bill tongen since our 40th Reunion, the group was determined to meet and initiate plans for a 50th Reunion in 2018. Thanks go to all attendees and Reunion committee members Bill Levin, Nick Linsmayer, Doug McMillan and Dar Reedy. Once again, in the familiar words of Ed Read, “a good time was had by all.”

1971 CLAss Agents: thomas wood woodman53@comcast.net Alice Berquist aberquist@comcast.net Don Lewis led the internal

investigation portion of two independent investigations commissioned by the City of St. Paul on the tragic Lilydale Park avalanche that killed two elementary school students last May. Based upon the investigation findings, the tragedy was deemed an unforeseeable natural occurrence.

1972 CLAss Agents: John edgerton jedgerton@propertiesedge.com Andy Fulton, the president

of ME Global, which operates a thriving foundry in Duluth, was featured in a New York Times online video titled “Bounded by Geography”, an interesting photo journalism article about the twin ports of Duluth/Superior.

1973 CLASS AGENT:

Charlie Zelle czelle@jeffersonlines.com The Class of 1973 celebrated its Reunion during Reunion Weekend, september 6-7, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

1977 CLASS AGENT:

Hank Brandtjen hbrandtjen@kluge.biz

Please join us on our dedicated Facebook page titled SPA Class of 1977. It is a lot of fun to see the many amazing things our class continues to accomplish and is a great way to keep in touch with old friends.

Catherine Dybiec Holm will

have two new books published this year: Voice Lessons, a short story collection; and, The Great Purr, a cat fiction novel.

Kyle Hart checked another item

off his bucket list by taking a hunting trip to Russia. The hunt was successful in that he bagged a nine foot bear!

In August, Charlotte wright Lewis and her mother opened an art show at Concordia University in St. Paul. The show, entitled A Mother—Daughter Art Retrospective, displayed pieces created throughout their lives including oil paintings, ceramics, etchings and collages.

The message delivered through the display was that art is to be created without worry as to its perfection; that art is to be celebrated in everyday life. pamela Mcinnes ran into sarah wilson Johnston at a teacher

technology training workshop.

Pamela is starting her seventh year teaching middle school science. Her summers are happily packed full with travel.

She recently took a breathtaking tour of Ireland with her mother where they cycled, visited cloister ruins in the countryside and, best of all, simply enjoyed spending quality time together. sam Kuller spends time loving the outdoor life. She recently rafted the American River in California and then went diving in Roatan. She also comments that life in Breckenridge, Colorado isn’t bad either!

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Class notes

SPA REuNIONS

s the Class of 1948 Back row Standing: G.R. (Dick) Slade, Jim Prest, Charles Morrison, John Elsinger, Pat Butler. Middle row standing: Sue Elsinger, Sandra Weschcke, Catherine Hartzell, James Hartzell, Twiss Butler, George Millard, Don Buehler. Sitting front row: Frances (Dee) H. Gladish, Sue Cammack Hodgson, & Carl Weschcke.

s the Class of 1973 Pictured are (back row): Richard Brynteson, Rob Kroeger, Omar Johnson, Richard Waterfield, Bruce Derauf, Ford Nicholson, George Weed; (next row): Winnie James Dick, Rick Weyerhaeuser, Tom Vannelli, Anne Carroll, Susan Austin Degregorio, Charlie Zelle, Charley Bathke; (next row): Barney Harris, Lisa Schilling Greenman, Cindy Norton Tocho, Lynn Schilling Brown, Lisa O’Brien, Dorothy Goldie, Cindy Werner, Kate Boardman Walters; (front row): Katie Simonton, Leta Glenn, Mary Mundahl-New, Ginny Clapp Buell. the Class of 1978 Back row, left to right: Andrea Garretson Potter, Phil Stringer, Renee Heine Patnode, John O’Brien, Bob Albrecht, Mary Holman Vance, John Butler, Phil Foussard. Front row (leaning over), left to right: Hunter Bancroft, Sheila Gretsch Payzant.

s

s the Class of 1953 Front row: Mary Dosdall Guyer, Nicky Benz Carpenter, Caco Myers Baillon, Wally Ritchie, Mac Seymour, Jim Gesell, Ed Stringer. Second row: Marlene Heger Bixby, Judy Blake, Gail Victor Hogg, Reyn Guyer, John Milton, John Holman, Dick Pryor, Charlie Hauser. Back row: Ann Luyten Dieperink, Jim Stevenson, Peter Raudenbush, Bill Langford.

s the Class of 1968 Joe Benson, Jack Thera, Jim Vaughan, Doug Kusske, Greg Pierce, Doug McMillan, Otto Christenson, David Herr, Jim Kamman, Tom Verhey, Bill Bierman, Dar Reedy, Bill Levin, David Megarry, Bill Sjoholm, Jim Borchert, Nick Linsmayer.

s the Class of 1963 Back row from left to right: Dan Neumann, Peter Brown, Jeff Willius, Jack Sjoholm, George Powers, Sheila ffolliot, Charlie McMillan, Jim Goins, Todd Otis, Carol (Read) Ekman, Lee (Brown) Pitman. Middle Row from left to right: Warren Olson, John Wolff, Sue (Krueger) Skinner, Peter Brooks. Front row from left to right: Mike Booth, Sally Owens, Hazel (Snookie Lamp) Magnuson, Sarah (Sally Wilkinson) Thompson, Mary (Biorn) Carlson, Harriet (Incy Metcalf) Brooks, Dianne Adair, John McMann, Susie (Turner) Lynch, Gian (Griggs) Hartner, and Nancy (Leavitt) Mulvey. Not pictured: Phil Fitzpatrick, Nancy (Taffy Field) Mitchell, Vickie (Bechik) Hickman, Ed Lechner, Channing Donahower, and Gary Goodwin.

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SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

s

the Class of 1998 Tanya Adelman, Aaron Bergad, Kevin Kramp, Michael Lorberbaum, Sarah May, Erica Sandy, Mara Schanfield, Wilhelmina (Mauritz) Shoger, Kat Thompson, Kristin Vukovic, Bree Yaeger.

s the Class of 1983 Front row, L to R: Cindy Wilson, Andrea Kauffman Gruber, Cindy Makiko Wilson, Jennifer Abussahab, Mollie Ward, Ann Ruhr Pifer, Georgeanna Lewis, Peter Zelle, Susan Schloff, Jennifer Sahlin, Jim Rathmanner. Rest, L to R: Annemarie Sawkins, Todd Johnson, Jesse Singh, Bert Wilson (in back), Tim Miner, Aaron Schloff, Paul Ormseth, Amy Sundberg O’Brien, Vicki Smith Ademite, Ben Ford, Johnny Arbogast, John Seymour, Rich Geist (in back), Michael Sands, Ned Patterson, Trip Ward, Dave Aronson.

s the Class of 1988 Back row, left to right: Dan Barsness, Mohsin Ansari, Dan Deuel, Fred Kaemmer, Jeff Johnson, Derek Milloy, Mark Ferris, Andrew Arashiba, Darren Gerke, Kharma (Kochendorfer) Parker, Dana Nelson, Amy Myrbo, Rick Epstein, Gretchen Pick, Theresa (Zotola) Drift.

Middle row (kneeling behind the sofa) Gerard Lagos, Ben Seymour.

Front row seated, David Salchow, Bill Boulger, Mike Libby, Pat Kambhampati, Mercedes (Henderson) Clark, Laura Erdmann-Luntz, Chris Cheney, Dawn White.

s the Class of 1993 Left to right: For the picture, from left to right: Nate Johnson, Dave Kunert, Tascha (Geiger) Bartsh, Sonia (Wong) Warmuth, Noah Rouen, Matt Nelson, Judd Gilats, Dana Swayze, Mike Milinovich, Nick Coughlin, Peter Peterson, Miriam Dickler, Keri Schultz, Bill Fleming, Carrie (Higinbotham) Menk, John Cosgriff. In attendance but not pictured: Stan Shepard, Tomo Klepp, Scott Rubin, Karen (Etter) Vail, Mary (Dickinson) MacDonald, Robyn Cohen, Anika Stafford, Sarah (Gores) Rudolf, Sarah (Ruvelson) Steele, Jim Delaney, Abby Moore, Amber Junnila, Ben Sheets.

s the Class of 2003 Front (L to R): Anjali Becker, Anna Kromroy, Elizabeth Graber, Kevin Rank, Cassi Chrzanowski (Haug), Angela Narayan, Madeline Teisberg (black shirt, dark hair). Back (L to R): Bryce Meredig, Brenden Goetz, Emmett Lamb, James Bohn, Sam Starkman, Sarah Thompson. Not pictured: Natalie Jones, Nicolas Allinder, Neil Griffin, Anika Sjoholm.

s the Class of 2008 Standing: Peter Morice, Kelly Walters, Tasha Rhodes, Eliza Hartley, Kathleen Cann, Kenzie O’Keefe, Jessi Rick, Alex Schutter, Anja Crowder, Kelly Smith, Maren Frisell, Meredith Lis, Louise Parker, Hayley Petersen, Jonah Finkelstein, Mondraya Howard, Travis Churchward, Frank Brittain, David Liston, Vincent Erispaner, Everett Wenzel, Tim Bohl. Kneeling: Peter Wilson, Willie Gambucci, Bryna Helle, Jessie Garretson, Katie O’Brien, Emily Phillipp, Sarah Hwang, Max Ambrose, Sam Donaldson, Pierce Norton. Seated, back: John Wight, Peter Schwartz, Charl Coetzee, Austin Lilly. Seated, front: Max Zimmerman, Aaron Olson.

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Class notes

1977

continued

1982

Jamie Forman is the owner/

CLASS AGENT:

member/attorney at Oberman Thompson, LLC in the Twin Cities. This year Jamie also enjoyed taking advantage of all the major league teams the Cities has to offer.

David weyerhaeuser dweyerhaeuser@gradstaff.com

sarah Caruso, a veteran

business and nonprofit executive, has been chief executive officer of the Greater Twin Cities United Way since November 2009. Caruso and her board of business and community volunteers, and 180 nonprofit agencies funded

by United Way, have tried to increase effectiveness during a several-year period of flat funding and increased client demand by focusing on basic needs: keeping people fed and sheltered—while also focusing on long-term initiatives to assist fragile families, get kids ready for kindergarten and school success, and help people achieve good health.

1978 CLASS AGENT:

John Butler jbutler@mairsandpower.com The Class of 1978 celebrated its Reunion during Reunion Weekend, september 6-7, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

David weyerhaeuser, is

principal and Chief Financial Officer of GradStaff, the Minneapolis-based college recruiting service. The company, which has 35 employees, has nine largecity locations in addition to its Minneapolis headquarters and is opening one or two offices a year.

1984 CLASS AGENT:

tom guyer tom.guyer@winsorlearning.com Kevin sudeith is a modern-day

petroglyphist with a master’s degree in painting from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He has a longtime fascination with ancient stone carvings, or petroglyphs, and in 2007 he began carving images into rock formations in undisclosed locations in New York. He has since carved his way across the continent, from California to Nova Scotia.

For his work, he has received press coverage from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Hyperallergic.

Alumni from the 1980s took to the ice for a pond hockey tournament. Pictured left to right are rigger poore ’82, tad Lundborg ’81, Charlie stringer ’81, and todd Harris ’81.

34

SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

Kevin’s first solo exhibition of pigmented impressions of his carvings, photos, and time-lapse video was available for viewing in Manhattan this past summer.

1988 CLASS AGENT:

Dan Deuel dhd823@comcast.net The Class of 1988 celebrated its Reunion during Reunion Weekend, september 6-7, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

1989 CLASS AGENT:

Dan Citron dancitron@gmail.com Mike LaFave is the Vice

President and COO of the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), an organization that helps “incubate” small business development in minority and low-income neighborhoods by providing financing, accounting, expense control, marketing, hiring, etc.

Entrepreneurs they serve are overwhelmingly immigrants, people of color, and low-income folks who would not otherwise qualify for bank financing.

The businesses created from these efforts locally employ people in the neighborhoods, occupy previously vacant buildings, create community and pay decent wage jobs.

Some examples of their most successful projects are Midtown Global Market and the redevelopment of the corner of Dale and University in St. Paul (Frogtown Square).

The NDC was started by Bill Sands from Western Bank to spur development in the neighborhoods along University Avenue.

1990 CLASS AGENT:

Darren strafelda darrens@mlazgar.com Katrina Mitchell writes, “I recently co-founded Waste Wise, a new initiative aimed at sharing solutions to the global waste crisis. At Waste Wise (www.wastewise.be) we are using 21st Century tools to bridge the gap in waste solutions expertise worldwide. Compared to existing ways information is shared—conferences and complex studies—we think our initiative has great potential for expanding access to thought leaders while achieving nearly zero environmental impact and extreme affordability.” Panel conversations using Google+ Hangout will be regularly hosted featuring an impressive line-up of speakers on a broad range of topics relevant to solving the waste crisis.

Speaker bios and a schedule of the upcoming conversations can be found at www.wastewise.be.

Marty Chester and his wife Haley Schaffer were delighted to welcome their third daughter on the Fourth of July! Rose Isabel Schaffer Chester joins big sisters Ella (7) and Sophie (5). Marty and Haley live in Minneapolis, and Marty continues to work as a lawyer at Faegre Baker Daniels. You can reach him at martinschester@gmail.com. rick Magnuson writes, “My wife Martha and I just moved into a new house in St. Paul.

I am starting my 5th year teaching at the Lower School where my two daughters Erin (5th grade) and Greta (3rd

grade) go to school as well.

This year I am teaching 5th grade. There are quite a few alumni who have children at SPA. Last month, David Murphy, Bob Larson, Darius semmens, Charlie neimeyer, John Bradford and I spent the weekend at nick Johnson’s house and cabin in Duluth.

Everyone is doing well.”

Marc Olson has three kids, ages 11, 12, and 15, all of whom are busy with sports and activities. In fact, his oldest made the Chanhassen girls’ varsity soccer team this fall. He is the Vice President of Finance at Allianz Life and when he’s not working, he finds himself busy coaching soccer.

Dan sharp writes, “My wife Laura Wolford and I live in New Orleans with our 1 1/2 year old son Artie (who is admittedly cute but wakes us up way too early) and our 6 year old Elio (who doesn’t yet realize that Mardi Gras, red beans and rice on Mondays, and speaking only French at school aren’t usual in the rest of the U.S.). I teach ethnomusicology and Latin American studies at Tulane University. I’m currently finishing a book and app titled Between Nostalgia and Apocalypse: Popular Music and the Staging of Brazil”.

Matt Heffernan moved to

Los Angeles from the Twin Cities 13 years ago to continue work on films, television and commercials. He had originally started in Minnesota working in production with movies such as The Mighty Ducks 3, Jingle All the Way, Sugar & Spice, and Joe Somebody.

To follow the career path

he started in Minnesota, he moved out west. Since then, he’s worked on many films and TV shows throughout the world. He continues to reside and work in Los Angeles and currently is working on the ABC show “Modern Family”.

Joel weitzman admittedly finds

it hard to believe he’s lived in Boston for over 20 years now.

“It has really become home,” he states. “However, I do miss Minnesota and all of my fellow Spartans.” He’s the president of a printing and marketing company just north of Boston and spends most of his free time coaching his son AJ’s mite hockey team—“working hard to get Massachusetts hockey up to Minnesota’s level”. sandhya sathyakumar is an infectious disease physician in Chicago. Socially, she sees Jenny toth, Adam Benepe, Von Kolpe and Maia Allison fairly regularly. She writes, “If there are any SPA people in Chicago, it would be great to catch up!”

Jeffrianne Young (Droel)

writes, “We still live in Des Moines, Iowa where I am a partner in my ophthalmology practice. With that said, my mind is mostly occupied by raising our three children—ages 8, 6 and 4. At the moment, I am navigating our eldest’s fascination with Lady Gaga’s music, our middle’s love of both Superheroes and Jake Bugg’s music, and our youngest’s stuffed animal menagerie. Although the Midwest is very pleasant for raising our family, we love to travel both within the US and internationally as much as we can.”

shauna Colman sanidas and her husband Oli live near Denver, Colorado with their two children, Luke (9) and Ella (5).

She continues to enjoy her work doing design specifications for spec and custom homes on a part-time basis. “With both kids in school, I love the opportunity to pay closer attention to my work as well as to have time to volunteer in the elementary school” she states. Overall, she reports that life is good!

Kitty Higinbotham lives in St. Paul with her partner and their 16-month-old twins, a boy and a girl. She is a writer, and most of her work can be found in the realm of public relations, technical writing and grant writing. She also enjoys playing squash when she can.

Dan smith lives in Washington, DC with his wife Jamie, and their three children Claire (7), Ben (5) and Sarah (3).

He practices law as in-house counsel at a non-profit organization.

Jenny toth and Adam Benepe ’91 will be celebrated

their son’s first birthday on December 20, 2013 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico with Mr. Scruffles and friends.

1993 CLASS AGENTS:

Ben Beach beach_benjamin@hotmail.com Jim Delaney jdelaney@poweredbyengine.com John Cosgriff john.w.cosgriff@gmail.com Mary Dickinson MacDonald mgdickinson@yahoo.com

The Class of 1993 celebrated its Reunion during Reunion Weekend, september 6-7, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

We apologize that John Cosgriff’s name and email address were misprinted in the Class Notes section of the most recent magazine.

His correct email address is john.w.cosgriff@gmail.com.

1997 CLASS AGENTS:

Dena Citron Larson denacitronlarson@gmail.com Jeff Jarosch jeff.jarosch@gmail.com

s Alison Crossley graduated in June with a PhD in sociology from the University of California-Santa Barbara.

She celebrated with a beach party in Santa Barbara. rhys Conlon and raj Boopathy, Hilary gebauer and Marc Katz, and Dena Citron Larson came to California for the fabulous graduation festivities. Matt Felt and Chad Kampe came to Santa Barbara the next week for another round of celebrations. Alison just started a postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research. She and her partner Tim Kelso are excited to explore the bay area and to have visitors!

Charlie Knutson, Jay gordon, Zameer Baber, peter Melloy, Daniel Johnson, trevor Axner, Mike Kremenak and Winter/Spring 2014 | SPA

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Class notes

1997

continued

Morgan Montgomery make it a

dedicated point to get together the first Thursday of every month to catch up, reminisce and build camaraderie. The group is self-titled the “Old Man’s Club.”

1998 CLASS AGENTS:

Mara schanfield maraschanfield@gmail.com The Class of 1998 celebrated its Reunion during Reunion Weekend, september 6-7, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

2000 CLASS AGENTS:

its debut last year and is made out of “food grade” plastic and 100% recycled material. The entire supply chain to make the product is sourced within an hour of their office. The Cuppow has become hugely popular; customers have bought more than a quartermillion of them.

balanced life while working full-time and studying parttime has been a challenge, but he is happy to be pursuing something that will create many new opportunities for him in the future.

peter grinager married tracy Lappegaard ’03 on August 3,

CLASS AGENTS:

2013 in St. Paul, MN.

2003 CLASS AGENTS:

emily shor emilyshor@gmail.com Aleksander sims aleksander.sims@gmail.com thomas Christ kiselblat@gmail.com

evan Berquist berquist.evan@gmail.com

Brenden goetz brendengoetz@gmail.com

Jesse Markman markman.jesse@gmail.com

The Class of 2003 celebrated its Reunion on December 26, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

noah Mehlan nmehlan@hotmail.com Ann Marie winskowski winskowski@gmail.com Michael O’Halloran, co-owner

of O’Halloran & Murphy Cremation and Funeral Service, represents the fifth generation of family funeral home owners.

They recently announced the Grand Opening of O’Halloran & Murphy’s fourth location in Woodbury, MN—their first building expansion since 1961.

2002 CLASS AGENTS:

Lauren nuffort lauren.nuffort@gmail.com Aaron panone designed a reusable, drink-through lid that fits on a Mason jar. The lid, called the Cuppow, made 36

SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

emily gleason completed her

PhD in Biology this past spring and is currently a fellow in a program at Harvard Medical School designed to train people for careers in science education. sara neal writes, “After

several years of working in the advertising business in Minneapolis, I recently moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan where I’ve been enjoying exploring and adventuring around my new home!”

Brenden goetz has been

working in the Disability Services Program at the University of Denver for the past year, and recently started a Master’s program in Business Intelligence. He admits that maintaining a healthy and

2004 Andria Cornell andria.m.cornell@gmail.com Ashley Malecha Anton antonashley@gmail.com tyler Olson tylermolson@gmail.com Maya Dusenbery recently

became Executive Director, Editorial and Operations at Feministing, a community blog that exists to provide a platform for feminist and pro-feminist writing, to connect feminists online and off, and to encourage activism. With Feministing since 2010, Dusenbery likes to blog and speak about abortion access, sexuality, economic justice, masculinity, and her favorite TV shows.

Arne gjelten starred in the new

upbeat Fitz and the Tantrums video titled The Walker. He stars as the “main character” in the video.

2005 CLASS AGENTS:

Jack Adams adamsjackc@gmail.com Lindsay giese lindsaygiese@gmail.com nicole stennes nikkis2100@aol.com sarah wald skwald@gmail.com Julie (Leffingwell) and Frank Doolittle were married on May

4, 2013.

peter Mcgarraugh and sara stalland were married on Oct.

18, 2013.

2006 CLASS AGENTS:

Lien Bui lbui@gustavus.edu rory Collins roryfcollins@gmail.com Alex gast agast88@gmail.com Marjahn golban mgolban@gmail.com Henry parker henrysparker@gmail.com Annie Heise recently starred in the new Lifetime movie “The Good Mistress”. In the movie, Heise plays Sandy, a young woman struggling to recover from alcoholism who after a tragic automobile accident caused by her addiction, moves to a new town where her high school friend, Karen, has offered her a job. After becoming involved with a mysterious gentleman, Sandy (Heise) soon finds herself in jeopardy when she discovers that he is actually Karen’s husband, Sam, a candidate in the county elections and a suspect in a murder investigation.

2007 CLASS AGENTS:

Derek schaible derek.schaible@gmail.com samantha Hodges has

recently been selected as a Women’s Policy Institute (WPI) fellow, a program of the Women’s Foundation of California. The WPI amplifies the voices of women who are leading grassroots social justice work, training them

on how legislation is made and connecting them to those in power. Through WPI, Samantha will work on a social safety net policy advocacy project and sort through the California budget process. In her day job, Samantha runs the Sacramento Hunger Coalition, and is looking forward to bringing deeper policy expertise to that table. She might even pass a new law!

Ali Hussain recently moved back to the Twin Cities after finishing up graduate school at Oxford. He is currently working in management consulting and looks forward to connecting with old friends in the area.

2008 CLASS AGENTS:

Jessie garretson Jessiepiper@gmail.com nolan Filter nolan.f.filter@gmail.com Vanessa Levy vanessalevy1@yahoo.com

Mark Battles is currently

information.

s wyatt wenzel and ian Middlebrook, members of the USA Bandy Team, participated in the World Championships in Siberia.

2011 CLASS AGENTS:

taylor Billeadeau shootingstars262@hotmail.com

s Louise parker is working as an international model and was recently featured on the January 2014 cover of Spanish Vogue. She also will be featured as a runway model for the Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2014 Show.

2010 CLASS AGENTS:

Katherine Labuza klabuza@gmail.com

studying at Western University of Health Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine.

paige Owens-Kurtz owenskur@stolaf.edu

Jenny Helfand is currently

participated in an internship with NASA last summer.

The satellite she worked on during the internship will launch in October 2014. She

working at a food systems and social justice learning center, called Pie Ranch, south of the Bay Area.

2012 The Class of 2012 is looking for Class Agents! Please contact alumni@spa.edu for more

The Class of 2008 celebrated its Reunion on December 26, 2013. see pages 32-33 for Reunion class photos.

studying at UBC Vancouver in August 2013 as a Master’s candidate in Food and Resource Economics within the Department of Land and Food Systems. returned from 10 months of study in the Ecuadorian Amazon on a Fulbright scholarship researching how indigenous nationalities negotiate local autonomy within global natural resource marketplaces. Currently living in Madison, Wisconsin, he continues to consult for climate change and development projects abroad.

most of the journey on dirt roads. Eventually, he finished his journey by horseback. To complete the program, he also completed a one month independent study.

CLASS AGENT:

Ariella rotenberg rotenberg.ariella@gmail.com

Ariel Kagan recently started

sam Kanson-Benanav just

will graduate from George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, with a degree in Mechanical EngineeringAerospace Concentration, in May 2014. She continues to be involved with NASA as a NASA Ambassador.

Julia Claire wolf wilhelm

Kaia wahmanholm kwahmanholm@gmail.com ross Baker, a junior at the University of Denver, returned home on December 10 from a semester study abroad in Mongolia. He chose Mongolia as his place of international study as he wanted to travel to a country where he’d most likely not travel to as an independent adult; he presumed he can easily travel to Europe, South America, Australia, etc, on his own but wouldn’t have another chance for full immersion in Mongolia in his future life. The study abroad program includes two urban home stays in Ulan Bator, plus a two week home stay with a nomadic family in their one room yurt. To get there, he took a bus on paved roads, and then continued for

s Dom Dingess recently graduated from Air Force Basic Training. He was named Element Leader for the final seven weeks of basic training and Honor Graduate for his flight.

In addition, he was awarded the honor of being the flight’s Guidon Bearer throughout basic training; an Expert Ribbon for a perfect score on the rifle range; and a Warrior Flight Coin for his leadership throughout all tasks given.

2013 CLASS AGENT:

sophia Myers-Kelley smyerskelley@gmail.com Ben Braman, goalkeeper for the St. Olaf Men’s Soccer Team, was named All-MIAC honorable mention as a freshman after starting all 19 games this past season and posting a 0.70 goals against average. Overall, the team was 14-4-1 and placed second in the MIAC.

Winter/Spring 2014 | SPA

37

in Memoriam

1935 David M. Lilly peacefully passed away on February 12, 2014 at the age of 96. He was born in St. Paul, graduated from St. Paul Academy class of 1935, and Dartmouth College class of 1939. After a short stint at the US Treasury Department in Washington, DC, and in spite of his 4F status, he resourcefully managed to enlist in the US Army in 1942.

He served in the South Pacific for three and a half years, working on the resupply of 150-200 ships in the US fleet while stationed in Australia, a management-byfire experience that was to influence the rest of his career. He once was ordered to throw the weekly payroll (in gold bullion) out the door of a DC-3 to preserve altitude; the plane recovered, the payroll did not.

Upon his return to St. Paul, he met and married Perrin Brown and invested in the Toro Company, where he worked as president from 1945 until 1978. He was then appointed by President Ford to fill an unexpired term as a Governor of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. He was recruited to become Dean of the University of Minnesota School of Management (now the Carlson School) and after five years was appointed as Vice President for Finance and Operations for the entire University, a job he often referred to as one of his favorites. He finally retired in 1992, at age 75.

During his many careers, he also served on many corporate and civic boards. He loved his family and had an uncanny knack for merging his personal passions with his various careers, as well as always reading and educating himself on all issues of the economy and politics. He was tireless in his pursuit of the perfect golf swing, maintaining a single digit handicap well into his 70’s; skied until age 87 and was a relentless fisherman.

He served SPA in many ways, joining the Board of Trustees in 1956 and helping the 38

SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

school’s transition from a boy’s military academy to a coeducational merged school. He established the Lilly Courtyard on the Randolph campus in 1972, and provided other support to the school in addition to encouraging others to give. His appreciation for great teaching led him to establish the Lilly Faculty Development Fund, which funds faculty professional development. Most importantly, he provided nearly 60 years of wise counsel to many Heads of School and Trustees.

He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Perrin Brown Lilly ’41; his children, David, Jr. ’66 (Diane), Bruce ’70 (Paula) and Susanne ’73 (Zenas) and six grandchildren; Zenas ’04, Henry ’08 and Perrin ’12 Hutcheson; Irene Lilly ’05, and Austin ’08 and Robert ’10 Lilly.

1940 Conley Brooks passed away in his home on December 16, 2013. The eldest son of Edward and Markell Brooks, Con was born in St. Paul and attended St. Paul Academy through high school. He grew up at the family home, Eastcliff, which since 1960 has been the residence of the Presidents of the University of Minnesota. He matriculated at Yale University in 1940 as a member of the Class of 1944, but World War II intervened, and he left college in 1942 to join the Army Air Force. In March of 1944, he married Marney Brown ’41 of St. Paul, a marriage that would produce five children and last almost 68 years until Marney’s death in 2012. In 1946, Con joined the family business, Brooks Scanlon, Inc., a lumber manufacturing company founded in Minnesota in 1900, with operations in the South and the Pacific Northwest. Thus began a career of over 60 years with Brooks Scanlon and its successor companies, for which he served variously as Director, CEO, and longtime Chairman. One of his highest ideals and proudest accomplishments was keeping the extended Brooks family together as engaged owners. He never formally retired, and regularly came to his office every day until slowed by a stroke at age 89. In addition to a very longstanding interest in photography, Con enjoyed cars,

sailboats, shotguns, skiing, hiking (always with one of numerous walking sticks he collected), and all things mechanical.

Con’s family included two brothers Edward ’40 (Ted) and Dwight ’47, both of whom predeceased him, and his sister Markell ’44 (Binky). He is survived by his five children: Conley Brooks, Jr. (Carol), Marlow Brooks, Sky Brooks, Stephen B. Brooks (Rachel), and Markell Hapka (Rick); ten grandchildren; and eight greatgrandchildren. A service to celebrate Con’s life was held on January 6, 2014.

1945 Edward Leonard Bronstien Jr., age 86, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and formerly of St. Paul, MN, died peacefully on Saturday January 18, 2014 following an extended illness. He was surrounded by his family. Ed was born in St. Paul on November 11, 1927 and graduated high school from St. Paul Academy in 1945.

He attended college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota Graduate School. Ed was a photographer in the US Air Force during WWII. After the war, he began a long and distinguished business career originally as a metallurgist with the Atomic Energy Commission; as President of US Bedding Company (King Koil), a third generation family owned business; and then as President and owner of Spencer Boat Company (Rybovich). Ed was a Director of Northwestern National Bank of St. Paul; a Director of HB Fuller Co.; a Director of Prenor Group, Ltd; and a Director and Chairman of Island National Bank and Trust in Palm Beach. He was very active in his community, including 54 years as a Rotarian in both St. Paul and Palm Beach. Ed married Elsa Shapiro in 1951, she preceded him in death. Ed was also preceded in death by his sister, Sally Fischbein ’48. He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Rosemary; two daughters, Janie Leiser of Denver, CO and Linda Kalin (Bruce) of Sioux City IA; and a son, James “Jim” Bronstien ’78 (Kathy) of North Palm Beach, FL. Additional survivors include ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

1946 Benjamin Glyde Griggs, Jr. passed away in Denver, Colorado on July 4, 2013 at 85 years of age. He was born in St. Paul, MN on May 16, 1928, the third of five children of Benjamin Glyde Griggs and Martha Baker Griggs. He was educated at St. Paul Academy and graduated from Yale University in 1950 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Sociology. He married Myra Clemans Macfarlane on August 13, 1952, and they went on to raise four children together. Mr. Griggs spent his entire working life with Northwest Airlines. By 1961 he had become Assistant to the President, and then was appointed Vice-President for Operations in 1964. At the time of his retirement in 1989, he was Executive Vice-President, Operations—a position which oversaw groups comprising more than 10,000 employees. Mr. Griggs was predeceased by his sisters, Elizabeth Clark ’41 and Martha Drewry ’43, and by his wife, Myra Clemans Macfarlane (Mimi) of Seattle, WA. He is survived by two sisters, Juliana Marty ’49 of San Mateo, CA, and Mary Wells Mack ’51 of Nevada City, CA, four children, Benjamin III ’71 (Ghada) of Yorba Linda, CA, David ’73 (Stella) of Denver, CO, Vikki GriggsDemmin ’75 (Jeff) of Sonoma, CA, and Douglas ’79 (Beth) of Bayfield, WI, and ten grandchildren.

Henry Brandtjen, Jr., age 85, passed away on January 4, 2014 at his home in St. Paul, surrounded by family, as cancer finally called his spirit away. Born on November 29, 1928 in St. Paul, Minnesota, he is preceded in death by his parents, Henry & Gladys and his brother, John ’45. He is survived by his two children, Julia Mitchell Fink ’74 (Michael) and Hank Brandtjen III ’77 (Kirstin); four grandchildren, Jerry Mitchell III (Jessica), Charlie Mitchell, Isabel Brandtjen ’18 and Henry Albert Brandtjen IV. A Celebration of Life Service was held on Saturday, January 11.

1948 Joan Adams Mondale, who became known as “Joan of Art” for her promotion of the fine arts during the political career of her husband, the former U.S. senator, vice president and presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale, passed away on February 3, 2014. She spent much of her childhood in Ohio and Pennsylvania before moving during high school to St. Paul., Minn., where her father became a chaplain at Macalester College. She received a bachelor’s degree in history there in 1952. In her youth, she worked as an assistant librarian at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. She met Mondale, the son of a Methodist minister, in 1955.

Joan, a self-described “traditional political wife,” was widely recognized as one of the most prominent political spouses of her era. Walter Mondale was appointed to the Senate seat previously held by Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey, who had been elected vice president under President Lyndon B. Johnson. While raising her three children Joan was a regular volunteer at the National Gallery of Art and collaborated with other cultural groups in Washington. In Washington and around the country, Joan became known as a tireless advocate for the cultivation of the arts. During her tenure as “second lady” of the United States, President Carter named her honorary chairman of the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities. Besides her husband, Joan is survived by her two sons, Ted and William, and her sisters Jane Adams Canby ’51, and Joyce Adams McGinn ’55. She is preceded in death by her daughter, Eleanor.

1950 Lawrence Anthony “Larry” Schlick passed away on June 14, 2013. Larry graduated from St. Paul Academy and Macalester College. He worked for 12 years at the Worthington Daily Globe as photo editor, where he won many awards for his photography. In 1969 he began teaching at what was then the Academy of

Basic Education, now Brookfield Academy (B.A.). He retired from teaching at B.A. in 1996, and taught for several years at Mercy Academy. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Patricia Cramer Schlick and four children, Deborah Schlick (Brian Miller), Laura LaBlanc, Michael Schlick (Nancy), and Mary Peveto (Mikal). He is also survived by seven grandchildren.

1954 Donald K. Bacon, Jr. passed away on October 28, 2013. He is survived by his twin brother Roger Bacon ’54 and his life-long companion, Lore Robinson. Per his request, he is buried at sea.

David Alexander Seymour, age 76, passed away on May 13, 2013, in Denver.

David was born July 15, 1936, in St. Paul. Along with multiple generations of his family, he graduated from St. Paul Academy, where he developed many lifelong friendships. He then attended Williams College and graduated from The University of Minnesota, and served in the U.S. Army Airborne in Europe. He had a long career in finance and human resources, first in Minnesota and then in Denver, which involved a great deal of travel and connecting with a diverse array of people. David is survived by his wife of 24 years, Ellen Huse Seymour, his children Anne Katherine ’79 (Amy Keyser), John Alexander ’83 (Rachel Saturn) and William David (Stephanie), his former wife Judith Ingemann, his step-sons Stephen Huse Van Ness (Kerri Baker) and Thomas Gregory Van Ness (Karey Lontz), his four Seymour grandchildren, Emma, Nathan, Alex and Max, his brother McNeil V. ’53 (Mary), his sisters Charlotte Johnson ’56 (Leonard, deceased) and Jean Johnson ’62 (Jack), his twelve nieces and nephews, and devoted friend Quincy, Springer Spaniel.

Winter/Spring 2014 | SPA

39

in Memoriam

1955 John H. Frohlicher peacefully passed away on Friday, January 31, 2014 in Springfield, VA. John was born in St. Paul, MN on December 12, 1937 to the late John C. and Vera Hanawalt Frohlicher. He graduated from St. Paul Academy and held degrees from Harvard Univ. (BA in English Literature), Wharton School of the Univ. of Penn. (MBA) and Georgetown Univ. Law Center (JD), graduating 4th in his class.

John worked as an attorney in private practice for many years and also for the U.S. Department of Education. He was a world traveler and enjoyed music, playing bridge and reading.

1956 Margaret Anne Page (Peg) McCubbin passed away on July 13, 2013.

Peg graduated from Summit School and then Macalester College with a degree in Biology. She married D. Bruce McCubbin.

They lived in St. Paul where Peg was an elementary school teacher in the St. Paul school district. In 1971, they pursued a dream to move to the country, built their log house, making Center City their home and Chisago Lakes their community.

Shortly after Bruce’s death in 1980, Peg returned to her first passion: teaching, in the Chisago Lakes school district. Peg had no children, but she developed a family relationship with John Rydning and his wife, Lisa of Center City. Peg took immense interest and pride in her three grandchildren: Philip, Annalies, and Chersti. She also warmly embraced Philip’s spouse, Jessica and Anna’s spouse, Zachary. Peg gained the status of becoming a great grandmother, with the addition of Zayne to the family one year ago. Peg is survived by her brother, Dennis ’59 (Susan) Page; John and Lisa Rydning; three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

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SPA | Winter/Spring 2014

1957 Norman “Tim” Slade passed away on December 20, 2013. Tim was born in 1939 in St. Paul, MN, and was an avid hockey and chess player in his youth. Tim attended St. Paul Academy ’57, Phillips Exeter Academy (class of ’57), Amherst College (class of ’61), and then received an MA in classics from the University of Minnesota. Tim moved with his growing family to Winona, MN, in 1967. After teaching classics at St. Mary’s College and Cotter High School, Tim focused upon his lifelong interest in farming. His favorite farming memory was producing endless flowing windrows of freshly raked hay on the farm in Wilson Township. He is survived by his friend Helene Smith; children John (Wendy), Rachel (John) and Will (Andrea); three grandsons; sister Elizabeth “Lee” Driscoll ’50; and brothers James ’54 and Richard “Dick” ’48. Tim is preceded in death by his parents G. Norman and Elizabeth “Betty” Slade.

1961 Lawrence “Larry” Church Baker, passed away on July 14, 2013. Larry, a resident of Marine on St. Croix, passed away at the age 69 from an aneurism.

He is survived by his sons, Sean (Darla) and Larry Jr (Andrea); grandsons, Eli, Max and Simon; sister, Dora “Doje” Baker and brother, Harold (Janet) Baker; and his beloved dog Five. A celebration of the passing of Larry’s life was held on Saturday, July 20, 2013 at First Universalist Church in Minneapolis.

1963 Lee Brown Pitman, passed away on February 1, 2014 after a long illness. She is preceded in death by her brother Gordon Brown ’72, and survived by her husband John Pitman, children David Pitman ’86 (Carrie Walsh) and Holley Haas ’88, three grandchildren, and sister Linda Brown Harris ’65 and brother-in-law Norm Harris ’62.

1994 Rachel Benepe passed away at the age of 37 on November 2, 2013 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota after battling cancer for several months. She was born on June 10, 1976, in St. Paul, Minnesota, the youngest of three children.

After graduating from SPA, she attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied history and was a letter-winner in softball in 1995 and 1996. She joined Prudential Securities in New York City as an investment-banking trainee, and then moved to research at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., focusing on metals and mining. After receiving a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia Business School in 2003, she researched beverages at Gabelli & Co. in Rye, New York, and at Citigroup Inc., and then worked as an investment analyst focusing on consumer, retail, media and industrials for New York-based Artemis Advisors LLC. In 2008 she joined First Eagle Investment Management, and took over as a Portfolio Manager of the Gold Fund in 2009, which, under Rachel’s management, outperformed competitors as gold prices declined.

Rachel also served as a Senior Analyst on the Global Value team. Her interests included squash and golf. Rachel is survived by her mother, Sharon, and two older brothers, Adam ’91 and Jason ’87.

2011 James Adams died on February 28, 2014 in a tragic automobile accident outside of Northfield, Minn., where he was a junior at Carleton College. A full obituary and tribute to James will be printed in the Summer 2014 issue of SPA Magazine.

Faculty, staff, trustees & Friends Scott Robinson, former St. Paul Academy and Summit School teacher, passed away in Atlanta on June 14, 2013 after a long battle with sickle cell anemia.

He was 47 years old. Scott taught English at SPA from 2000-2003.

performances

upper School Fall Play Caucasian Chalk Circle, November 2013

Middle School Fall Play The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood,

John Seversen

John Seversen

October 2013

upper School Spring Musical

upper School Pops Concert December 2013

For more photos from SPA’s student performances, visit www.stpaulacademy.smugmug.com/performances

Greg Helgeson

John Seversen

Hairspray, May 2013

Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 3400

1712 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105-2194 Change Service Requested

tO pArents OF ALUMni/Ae: if this is no longer the current mailing address for your son or daughter, please let us know at alumni@spa.edu or 651-696-1366.

M A R K YO U R C A L E N D A R S

april 2014

upper sCHool VoCal/ orCHestral spring ConCert & Community CHorale saturday, April 26, 2014, 7 p.m. the o’shaughnessy, st. Catherine University middle & upper sCHool Jazz band ConCert sunday, April 27, 2014, 2 p.m.

Converse Auditorium, goodrich Campus may 2014

upper sCHool spring musiCal, Once On This island Friday, May 16 & saturday, May 17, 2014, 7 p.m. sunday, May 18, 2014, 4 p.m.

Converse Auditorium, goodrich Campus

Greg Helgeson

middle sCHool spring ConCert thursday, May 29, 2014, 6:30 p.m. the o’shaughnessy, st. Catherine University June 2014

Summit alumnae and their guests enjoyed a tour of SPA’s Goodrich campus, the former Summit School, during Reunion Weekend 2013. For more on Reunion, see page 25.

CommenCement sunday, June 8, 2014, 4 p.m. north Lawn, randolph Campus