AROUND THE POND
Young Alums Help the Fund For ten days in January, an enthusiastic group of recent graduates joined the Alumni Office to help further the Annual Fund cause. Working morning, afternoon, and evening shifts, they called alumni/ae who had not participated in the Annual Fund for over five years. Though frustrated at times with the abundance of answering machines they reached, these college students enjoyed talking to the many men
and women they did contact. In addition to their success in raising money for the Annual Fund, the recent grads enjoyed talking with fellow alums from different generations. As Ben Pastor ’97 said after a 20-minute conversation with an alumnus from the Class of 1939, “He was really interesting to talk to because he told me what Taft was like when he was here. It sure has changed!”
Winter Formal Taft’s traditional winter formal had a new venue this winter, thanks to the orchestrations of Associate Dean of Students Bob Campbell ’76 and the school monitors. The entire event was moved from campus to the Southbury Hilton, where students enjoyed a four-course meal, followed by live Calypso music and dancing. Magicians, a caricaturist, a karaoke DJ, and a few pool tables provided alternate entertainment for those with tired feet. “Having it at the Hilton was amazing,” one student told The Taft Papyrus. “Go school mons!”
Swingin’ at the Ritz During the first weekend in March, acting and video teacher Rick Doyle and company brought an evening of song and dance to Taft in the third annual “Ritz” production. The show has gained a following after its huge success last year and tickets sold out in one night. Seated from left, Eileen Fenn ’98, Rachana Katkar ’98, Ben Pastor ’97. Standing, Ann Grasing ’97, Courtney Cappa ’97, and David Soderberg ’97.
Seated from left, Mike Osiecki ’96, Cristin George ’96, Spencer Tuttle ’98. Standing, Dan Trombly ’97 and Chris Snow ’97.
National Engineering Design Challenge Taft students took second place at the annual NEDC competition at the Univ. of New Haven on February 3. Taft had two teams entered in the regional competition. This year’s project was to design and build a device to assist an elderly person from a sitting position to a standing position. The upper-school team placed second with the “AirLift” device. Congratulations to captain Adam Aronson ’99 and presenters Husain Chhatriwala ’00, David Hotchkiss ’00, Kat Liu ’00, and Kristine Marigomen ’99.
Taft Bulletin
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