Cyrus Summer 2015 (Issue 2)

Cyrus a magazine for alumni and friends of The Blake School

Summer 2015

Urban Pioneer

Kelley Lindquist ’71 transforms communities through art

Built to Last

Hands-on high-tech learning

League of Her Own Sarah Carthen Watson ’11 and the fight for justice

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Cyrus a magazine for alumni and friends of The Blake School Editor Kristin Stouffer Managing Editor Tracy Grimm Graphic Designer Susan Byrne Thanks to the many Blake community members who have contributed to this publication.

Our Mission The Blake School provides students with an excellent, academically challenging education in a diverse and supportive community committed to a common set of values. Students are expected to participate in an integrated program of academic, artistic and athletic activities in preparation for college, lifelong learning, community service and lives as responsible world citizens.

Our Core Values Respect Love of Learning Integrity Courage Commitment to Pluralism The Blake School Administrative Offices 110 Blake Road South Hopkins, MN 55343 952-988-3430 Why Cyrus?

Cyrus Northrop played a formative role in one of Blake’s founding institutions. In 1915, Northrop Collegiate School was named in his honor to recognize Dr. Northrop’s achievements as a nationally regarded educator and as president of the University

Creating Space We recently invited Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg to spend some time with Blake students, faculty, parents and alumni (bit.ly/KGVisit). A pediatrician, researcher and author, Dr. Ginsburg is an expert on fostering resilience among children and teens. He helps young people thrive as they face life’s ups and downs. During his visit, Dr. Ginsburg applauded the diversity of perspectives that comprise the Blake community. In our efforts to create an inclusive culture — making room for students with blue hair and bow ties, as he put it — we were “getting it right.”

While we’re getting it right in some areas, Dr. Ginsburg suggested that we all must play a role in shifting emphasis away from getting into the “right” college — an outcome that is sometimes seen as the ultimate goal of an independent school education. Rather, he says, we should prepare young people to become 35-year-old adults who lead meaningful lives. By shifting our focus, we help students shift their focus. We create the space they need to make resonant choices, not just for a narrow four years but for a full adulthood.

Creating space is at the heart of our two alumni features. As president of Artspace, Kelley Lindquist ’71 constructs affordable and inspirational live/work quarters for artists. As a Northwestern University student-leader, Sarah Carthen Watson ’11 forges the way for a more inclusive and equitable environment for others.

Whether it’s an urban landscape or a college campus, Lindquist and Carthen Watson create spaces that challenge and expand our notions of community. In the process, these two Blake alumni lead meaningful lives, following in the paths of their Blake predecessors and leading the way for graduates to come.

of Minnesota. His legacy of educational excellence continues at Blake today. cyrus@blakeschool.org

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Anne E. Stavney, Ph.D. Head of School The Blake School

CONTENTS Summer 2015

COVER STORY

ART GIVES BACK Kelley Lindquist ’71 paints brighter urban landscapes by investing in the arts.

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IN PHOTOS

DEPARTMENTS

Blake Builds

In Brief 2

Students of all ages design, program and engineer projects from concept to functional product.

Cover Story 6

PAGE 12

Q&A 16

Q&A

Justice For All Northwestern University graduate Sarah Carthen Watson ’11 loves her alma mater but has never been blind to the ways it can be better.

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In Photos 12 In Print & Production 18 Class Notes 19 Voices 29

IN BRIEF ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT

ARCHIVES

ARTS HIGHLIGHT

AWARDS

COMMUNITY

FACES ON CAMPUS

PROGRAM SERVICE

AWARDS

UNDEBATABLE SUCCESS High school debate has a power couple in Shane Stafford and Sandy Berkowitz. This year, the two became the first duo to be named Coach of the Year by the Minnesota Debate Teachers Association.

The award was presented at the state debate tournament, COMMUNITY

EXTRA! EXTRA! HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECT YIELDS HISTORIC DISCOVERY In the midst of a recent home improvement project, Blake Technical Director Chris Johnson stopped to read the newspaper. It was a serendipitous break. The paper was the Minneapolis Tribune from August 1940, the year his house was built, and had been serving as the home’s insulation all these years. As Johnson flipped through the yellowed pages he came across an ad for the Blake School for boys, boasting its 67 acres, eight tennis courts, four athletic fields, three hockey rinks, field house, library and chapel. Johnson also uncovered an August 25, 1940, issue of the Minneapolis Star Journal. One article shared news of Blake’s booming enrollment and the addition of two new apprentice teachers: Harold S. Wonson, Jr. of Bridgewaters, Massachussetts, and S. Keller Pollack of Philadelphia. On the same page, an ad for Northrop Collegiate 2 Cyrus

where Blake’s team celebrated a state championship for policy debaters Emma Wexler ’16 and Nate Nys ’16.

Berkowitz (who will be taking a position at the Harker School) and Stafford also received this year’s Bronx Achievement Award, given annually for triumph in coaching, excellence in

School promised opportunities for every student in “art, music, dramatics and rhythm.”

PROGRAM

CEDAR HOUSE EXCHANGE Last year, 17 Blake sophomores and juniors experienced life in Cape Town, South Africa, when they visited Cedar House School. This winter, the visitors became the hosts, welcoming a group of Cedar House students to Blake and giving them a taste of the Twin Cities. In addition to attending classes at the Upper School, the Cedar House students rounded out their stay with tours of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the University of Minnesota, the Twins stadium and the Basilica of Saint Mary. They also skated at the Minneapolis Depot ice rink, dined at Midtown Global Market and took in a performance at Orchestra Hall.

ARTS HIGHLIGHT

DRAGON TALES A two-story fire-breathing dragon and schools of colorful koi fish lead the way to Jackie Quinn’s art room, inspiring young artists before class even begins. The stairwell mural, designed by Japanese artist Yuya Negishi, features the original artwork of Highcroft fourth and fifth graders. Negishi compiled student sketches to create the mural, outlined the design on the wall and joined students as they painted in the details.

“The colors really came together,” says one fourth grade artist. “Painting with Yuya was really fun and our hard work paid off.”

IN BRIEF

pedagogy and contributions to the speech and debate community. Following on the heels of his Coach of the Year win, Stafford traveled to Atlanta for induction into the Gold Key Society of the Emory Barkley Forum. He was one of three debate teachers nationwide to be selected by his peers for this prestigious honor.

FACES ON CAMPUS

HEART TO HEART TALK Blake parent Dr. Benjamin Sun says he feels lucky to have a job he is both good at and loves. “I make a living saving people’s lives. What could be better?” the heart surgeon asked Blake sixth graders during a visit to Lynne Macziewski’s science class. Macziewski invited Sun to her classroom after seeing a local news segment about a groundbreaking cardiovascular surgery he had recently performed. Sun talked to students about what is scientifically known and unknown about the heart, the medical devices that can fix a heart and what it takes to become a surgeon. He noted that with only about 100 heart surgeons trained in North America every year, the field needs more.

SERVICE

CONCERT BENEFITS STUDENTS IN CHILE AND AT BLAKE World-renown Chilean folk ensemble Inti-Illimani played a benefit show this spring at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. Joining the musicians on stage were 33 Blake Upper School students who sang and accompanied on panpipes. The concert, which drew more than 300 guests and 1,000 viewers worldwide via live stream, raised money for the Sol de Illimani arts high school in Santiago, Chile. The collaboration came at the invitation

of Calle Sur, an international performing group with deep connections to South America that had previously attended a four-day residency at Blake. To prepare for the concert the students committed to learning the panpipes through weekly lessons led

by Upper School Spanish and social studies teacher Jon Dicus. In addition to the $2,250 raised, Blake families and faculty donated musical instruments to Sol de Illimani. Blake students realized that they, too, have benefited from this global connection.

One participant reflects, “I learned that people can come

together from all different backgrounds for a common good and a common goal.”

PROGRAM

NEW SPORTS HIT TARGET, FARE SWIMMINGLY Two spring sports made their debut at Blake this year, and both teams were established thanks to student initiative.

Michael Winkey ’15, who played on a clay target team at his previous school, made it his senior project to found a team at Blake. Hoping for four or five members, he ended up with 17 teammates, whom he helped coach. The team finished fifth out of 63 at the state tournament. Josie Lagerstrom ’18, a seasoned synchronized swimmer, also competed in this year’s state meet. She was integral to the inaugural synchro season for the Bears, guiding the team at practices and lending her experience at meets.

COMMUNITY

CHECKS? CHECK!

Information Support Services Assistant Director Dan Trockman was walking through the cafeteria when he noticed four students who shared his sense of style.

All five coincidentally sported checked shirts — in Blake colors, no less. “Who says there are no uniforms at Blake?” Trockman jokes.

SERVICE

HIGHCROFT HARVEST TO EASE LOCAL HUNGER Before school let out for summer, Highcroft’s prekindergarten, first and fourth graders filled six raised garden beds with plants they hope will yield cucumbers, Summer 2015 3

IN BRIEF

onions, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, basil, cilantro and oregano. Over the summer, families have volunteered to take turns tending the gardens. In the fall, students will harvest the food and deliver it to Wayzata’s Interfaith Outreach Community Partners food shelf.

The Highcroft Community Garden received a grant from the Minnesota Statewide Health Improvement Program to fund the service learning project.

ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT

THE WORLD SCREAMS FOR ICE CREAM

COMMUNITY

ROUND LIKE A RECORD Anne VanderVorste’s kindergartners sat transfixed as an old vinyl album went round and round on a record player — or “that suitcase thing,” as one child called it. Interested students spent their self-directed learning time listening to music and discussing this historic artifact.

Kamie Page’s ice cream-loving second graders wanted to know what people in other parts of the world think of the treat. They created an online survey asking participants where they live, if ice cream is popular there, what their favorite ice cream flavor is and the most unusual flavor they’ve tried. Promoting their survey via social media, the students received 747 responses from ice cream fans around the globe — representing all continents but Antarctica — who confirmed that the dessert enjoys popularity nearly everywhere. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can always try these flavors: green bean, black sesame, basil, bleu cheese and chocolate, garlic or the carbonated beverage Irn-Bru (a.k.a. Scotland’s other national drink).

music educators across the country. This year the group sang a 25-minute concert of seven pieces, ranging from Renaissance to gospel music.

They infused their selections with the movement, dance and a spirit that only middle school students can bring.

ARTS HIGHLIGHT

CHORISTERS HIT HIGH NOTE AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE Blake’s Middle School audition-only mixed ensemble, the Choristers, has a reputation that keeps it in high demand as performers. For the eighth time since 2002, the talented group, directed by music teacher Dan LeJeune, was invited to showcase its work at the national conference for the Organization of American Kodaly Educators, a professional organization for 4 Cyrus

COMMUNITY

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS CAUSE CHAIN REACTION Highcroft’s pre-kindergartners began building a paper chain to visually record the acts of kindness they showed one another. As the chain grew, the students decided to move it outside their classroom and invite everyone on campus to add their acts of kindness. Eventually,

word spread to Blake’s other campuses, where staff and students were encouraged to send links for the growing chain. “An older student was walking by the chain outside our classroom and commented how kind our school is,” says Pre-K teacher Dennis

Gilsdorf. “Having a visual reminder of the importance of small acts of kindness can have a transformative effect, just like the act of kindness itself.”

IN BRIEF

ARCHIVES

Morse Code and Blake at War

“We of the Class of ’43 are graduating under conditions which, with no distortion of fact, could be called the most unusual that have ever faced a Blake Senior Class, for all our activities have been subject to the uncertainties and curtailments of war.” —1943 Call O’ Pan yearbook

The realities of a second World War forced Blake faculty and students to adjust nearly all expectations for the immediate future. The school instituted a summer program so seniors called to duty could graduate early. Nine Blake teachers left to serve in the military, and college careers were put on hold as Blake students enlisted or were drafted.

In 1943, students enrolled in a new course at Blake: the Morse code class, taught by Harold Hodgkinson. The class served the dual purposes of teaching a universal language and being of use to those entering the armed forces, since the Army required that its service members know Morse code and did not give trainees much time to learn it.

The Call O’ Pan cited that anyone who could send 10 code words per minute — the ultimate goal of the Blake course — had a decided advantage. In the same yearbook, senior Chuck Hanson was declared “a veritable genius in Morse code.”

Draft regulations eased for students by 1945, and wartime courses like Morse code ended. But the world, and Blake, would continue to feel the war’s effects. The 1945 Call O’ Pan was dedicated to the 11 alumni and one faculty member “who died in the service of our country that future generations might live in peace.”

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Kelley Lindquist is the consummate connector. As president of Artspace, he has shown how investment in the arts can result in fundamental societal change. From offices in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Washington, D.C. and Seattle, Artspace manages nearly 2,000 live/work units for artists and their families, as well as millions of square feet of non-residential space for creative enterprises.

This year marks Lindquist’s 28th with the organization, and by all appearances, he’s just getting warmed up.

COVER STORY

ART GIVES BACK KELLEY LINDQUIST ’71

Written by Lori L. Ferguson Illustrated by Owen Davey Photograph by Murphy Byrne

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University of Minnesota graduate, Kelley Lindquist started his career overseeing personnel issues and P&L statements for JB Hudson Stores throughout the Midwest. In 1983, he joined the staff of Minneapolis’s famed Guthrie Theater, advancing to senior director of facilities and operations. By age 33, Lindquist was ready to take on a new challenge and make his mark.

“I was at a time in my life when I wanted to strike out on my own,” he recalls. “I wanted to work with a nonprofit and further develop my leadership skills, and it felt like the right time to make a move.” Lindquist was familiar with Artspace — at that time a young advocacy group dedicated to championing affordable space for artists — because he had visited the organization with a friend in need of studio space. So when the previous director left, Lindquist jumped at the opportunity to take on the job.

“The first two or three years were super painful,” Lindquist readily confesses. “I 8 Cyrus

had no idea how hard it would be to transform Artspace from an advocacy organization into a nonprofit real estate developer — and it was really hard.

Traditional real estate developers usually start with money in hand to invest. Artspace had no money. As I recall, the annual budget my first year was $28,000.”

A PASSION FOR PROBLEM SOLVING

Lindquist quickly concluded that Artspace needed to move from talking to doing. He immediately secured board members with real estate development skills and began positioning Artspace as an entity that could solve the very real challenges facing artists and arts organizations — being forced from communities by rising costs driven by the very same revitalization that their presence had initially prompted — while at the same time dealing with related agendas, from economic development and housing to creative placemaking and historic preservation.

In 1990, Lindquist and his

team saw their dreams become reality with Artspace’s first official project: the Northern Warehouse Artists’ Cooperative in St. Paul. The building was both Lindquist’s proving ground and a harbinger of things to come. “The Northern Warehouse project was so hard that we thought it would be the only one,” Lindquist candidly observes. “It was a huge undertaking — we started with a 120,000 square foot building that had a collapsed roof — and the project took us three and a half years to complete.” Artspace achieved its aims by leveraging existing assets: low-income artists who were psychologically invested in the community; a group of motivated nonprofits; and a generously sized, though considerably underutilized, historic warehouse and environs. The organization had also pioneered a new means of project funding, using low-income housing tax credits to create affordable housing for artists and their families. “We were the first group in the nation to try this approach,” Lindquist explains. “No one in

the U.S. had ever used this powerful tool in this way, but we were forging new paths with the state to see what they would allow. And in the end, we had a tremendous space that was owned by Artspace and would always be preserved as affordable live/work space for the artists who were essential to the community’s revitalization.”

Completed at a cost of $5.6 million, the previously dilapidated six-story building was transformed into a vibrant space containing 52 affordable live/ work units for artists and their families together with office, studio and commercial space for commercial artists, nonprofit arts organizations and neighborhood businesses, including a coffeehouse and art gallery.

Lindquist and his team learned a lot about securing funds, cultivating relationships and solving the multitude of problems that such an enormous undertaking naturally involved, and as their expertise and experience grew, so, too, did Artspace’s roster of successful projects.

In the mid-1990s, Artspace

“CREATING PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE LIVE/WORK SPACES FOR ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN A COMMUNITY HAS A POWERFUL RIPPLE EFFECT.”

added non-residential initiatives to the mix, starting with the development of the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art, an historic bakery in the Minneapolis Warehouse District that Artspace repurposed into 24 studios for mid-career artists. As Lindquist and his team continued to rack up successes close to home, calls for intervention began to come from communities outside of Minnesota.

“In 1999, officials from Chicago invited Artspace to consider taking on an artist live/ work project in the Garfield Park neighborhood,” Lindquist recalls. “Then-Mayor Daley was familiar with our work in Minnesota and wanted to capitalize on our knowledge and experience. He was eager to affect change on the West Side and didn’t want to lose valuable time waiting for local organizations to learn the lessons we’d already grasped.” In the intervening years, many other cities have followed suit, and today Artspace has 37 projects in operation across the U.S., from California to Connecticut, with another 11 currently in development.

A TRUST IN THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS

In the two decades since the Northern project, Lindquist has seen his early efforts yield great dividends, not only for Artspace itself, but also for artists who seek to remain in, and give back to, the communities they have

area. “During my nearly 30 years with Artspace, there has been a sea change in the way that the arts are viewed by members of a community,” he asserts. “It used to be that only one in 10 officials we spoke to would understand the potential impact that working artists can have on a

Kelley Lindquist ’71

helped to transform. By creating permanently affordable sites for artists and arts organizations, Artspace has moved the ball down the field in terms of the way communities understand the impact the arts can have on the safety and livability of an

neighborhood, but that’s totally changed. Now people can witness firsthand the ramifications of giving artists a stable climate in which to live and work. Residents and business owners learn to respect and embrace the artists, and in turn

these new relationships generate a sense of joy that permeates the community.”

Creating permanently affordable live/work spaces for artists and arts organizations within a community has a powerful ripple effect, Lindquist continues, and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in Lowertown St. Paul, where Artspace has played a fundamental role in neighborhood revitalization initiatives. “There are approximately 40 buildings in Lowertown. When Artspace first began transforming the Northern Warehouse, 20 of these structures were empty and underutilized. The neighborhood was dirty, seedy and unsafe. City officials simply didn’t perceive it as a neighborhood they wanted to invest in.

Now, Lowertown is the fastest growing neighborhood in St. Paul and again and again is voted as the best place to live.”

With the completion of the Northern Warehouse and Tilsner Artists’ Cooperative projects, the neighborhood gained enough critical mass to start attracting new businesses.

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“THE ARTISTS WERE ESSENTIALLY URBAN PIONEERS, CATALYSTS FOR POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.”

Then the city started investing, and for-profit developers started investing, launching a juggernaut of interest that has resulted in neighborhood population growth of nearly 400 percent since the early 1980s. “The artists were essentially urban pioneers, catalysts for positive development throughout the community,” Lindquist says. “By

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providing affordable live/work space, Artspace created a place for artists and their families, which in turn lowered crime and boosted commercial development. And in 2011, we refinanced the Northern, thereby ensuring that the building will remain affordable for another 30 years without any need for annual philanthropic support.”

The breadth and depth of the artists and arts organizations bolstered by Artspace’s initiatives is equally dazzling.

Artists work in a plethora of disciplines, from dance, digital media, and printmaking to photography, theatre arts and film. For example, Swiss-born, Ghanaian-American actor Ansa Akyea, winner of the 2013

Minnesota Playwright Center’s Many Voices Fellowship, makes his home in Minneapolis’s Tilsner Artists’ Cooperative, while fashion and portrait photographer Carlos David, whose images have been featured in publications in the U.S., Mexico and Europe, works from El Barrio’s Artspace PS109, a 19th century former public

“I’VE TRAVELLED ALL OVER THE GLOBE, AND NO ONE IS DOING WHAT WE’RE DOING . . . CREATING LIVE/ WORK SPACE IS MONUMENTALLY HARD, BUT WE’VE FIGURED IT OUT, AND WE HAVE LOTS TO SHARE.”

school building in East Harlem.

In every instance, the artists and their families bring a vibrancy and vitality to their communities that would otherwise be lacking.

AN EYE TO THE FUTURE Artspace’s many groundbreaking initiatives have not gone unnoticed by the larger community. The organization has been the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Honor Award for contributing to the revitalization of inner-city communities and the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Best Practices in Affordable Housing award. Its initiatives have also received plaudits from such public figures as Hillary Rodham Clinton and National Endowment for the Arts Chair Rocco Landesman.

Lindquist himself has emerged as a thought leader on the role of the arts in our society, speaking and consulting frequently both at home and abroad on the role of artists and art facilities in the push

for urban revitalization. But he is not resting on his laurels.

“Artspace is by far the largest of the national arts developers,” he observes. “We’re a standard bearer, but there is much to be done and many opportunities yet to explore. We now own and operate nearly 40 facilities, and when we visit a city to discuss a potential new project, we get a warm reception. We’re a proven entity with a successful track record to share. This is not to say that we never get any pushback from communities — sometimes we do. But we’ve been doing this a long time now, and we understand that every neighborhood is different and has its own rich, fully developed cultures and concerns.”

The key to Artspace’s recurring success, Lindquist asserts, is that the organization listens extremely carefully to every constituency with which it interacts. “Our work is very community-based; when we start a project in a new city or neighborhood, we spend a lot of time getting to know the residents and working to build alliances with leaders at city and

state levels. We’re patient and we follow through on our promises, and that builds trust.”

Time and again, Lindquist and his team have witnessed the transformative power of the arts in a community, and he only sees the trend continuing. “I think that Artspace still has a big role to play. I can even envision it evolving into a governmental role. I can also see Artspace eventually doing work outside the U.S.”

In light of current global trends, Lindquist suggests that Artspace’s first international projects are likely to be sited in Mexico, Costa Rica or other Central American countries. “Our recent work in El Paso, Texas, and other towns along the Mexican border has taught us a great deal about working with these culturally rich Spanish-speaking countries, and we feel that we would most likely be very welcome in these communities.

I’ve travelled all over the globe, and no one is doing what we’re doing,” Lindquist says. “It’s more common to see work space being created; creating live/work space is monumentally hard, but we’ve

figured it out, and we have lots to share.”

Lindquist’s work is based on a deep commitment to building better communities with the arts.“We’re showing communities that supporting creativity offers a solid return on investment. Artists can play a valuable role in helping to solve a community’s problems. I have a feeling that this trend toward realizing the socio-economic power of the arts will continue to grow stronger. Artists are proving to be a galvanizing force in communities across the country, and officials at all levels of government are noticing and spreading the good word. The more you celebrate art, the more art gives back.”

Lori L. Ferguson (writerloriferguson.com) is a freelance writer based in New Hampshire. She enjoys writing on lifestyle and human interest topics as well as all things artistic.

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IN PHOTOS

BLAKE BUILDS ENGINEERING AND PROGRAMMING IN THE CLASSROOM

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N BLAKE’S PRE-KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOMS, tiny hands stack oversized blocks, creating roads, bridges, castles and anything else young imaginations can conjure. By fourth grade, students are designing amusement park rides, building them with Legos and using computers to program them.

The Middle School robotics club gives students a chance to take their programming skills to the next level. They engineer robots that can perform specific tasks and put them to the test in regional competition.

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At the Upper School, the robots get bigger, the tasks more complicated and the competition more intense. Students have access to a 3D printer that they use to make game pieces, model replicas and stencils for art class.

From pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, Blake supplies the foundation and the tools children and adolescents need to grow as programmers and engineers. Students bring the creativity, problem-solving strategies and determination to take their projects from concept to functioning finished product.

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5 ROBOTS AT WORK BANANA PIANOS (Photo 1) A Lego figure dubbed “Malcolm” gets a ride aboard a Blake robot during competition.

(Photos 2-3) Members of the Upper School robotics team, Bearbotics, compete in regional competition at the University of Minnesota.

(Photos 5-6) A Middle School robotics team member talks with a judge about her team’s programming, design and building process; a referee explains how he scored a Middle School team’s match.

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(Photo 4) Upper School students test the coding skills they used to build a piano with bananas and other materials. And yes, it really plays!

(Photo 7) Missing game pieces are not a problem for Blake’s chess club.

Students just create a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file of the piece and print it on the school’s 3D printer.

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TECH TANK

WILD RIDES

(Photos 8-9) The girls in Highcroft’s after-school Tech Tank program build and test a solar oven. Tech Tank allows girls to explore engineering and programming through hands-on projects.

(Photos 10-13) Fourth graders test and refine the amusement park rides they design in their engineering and programming class.

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Q&A

JUSTICE FOR ALL NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SARAH CARTHEN WATSON ’11 LOVES HER ALMA MATER BUT HAS NEVER BEEN BLIND TO THE WAYS IT CAN BE BETTER.

Photograph by Zahra Haider. Reprinted with permission from North by Northwestern.

Sarah Carthen Watson has spent the last four years advocating for a safer campus climate for all Northwestern University (NU) students. As leader of the university’s black student alliance, For Members Only (FMO), she has exposed local racial injustices and given voice to fraught national issues like the Ferguson shooting. This fall, Carthen Watson heads to law school, leaving NU a better place for having been.

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Question: What was the catalyst for your on-campus advocacy?

Answer: I wanted to leave Northwestern a better place than when I came, and so a lot of the work I’ve done on campus has been around that. During my freshman year there were a lot of racial incidents that happened on campus. It was a hostile time to be a student of color at Northwestern. I thought, “This is unacceptable.

I worked too hard to go to this school to not be safe here, to not enjoy my time here.” That thinking really shaped the legacy I wanted to leave.

Q: What’s prepared you to speak out on behalf of yourself and others?

A: I was part of the Blake debate team all four years of high school. Debating taught

“ACTIVISM IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT. YOU HAVE TO BE IN IT . . .

THAT’S HOW YOU MAKE LARGE-SCALE CHANGE.”

me some of the basic skills for how to construct a speech, how to be persuasive. I also never underestimate the power of sharing a personal story. I try to weave my own personal narrative — my experience at Northwestern, my experience as a black woman — into these very political, hot-button issues.

It’s those personal stories that convince people that maybe we need to take a step back and look at how policies affect students.

Q: Is there something unique about being an advocate in the digital age?

A: I definitely think so. The reality of this age is information can be viral within seconds.

You could be photographed in the background at a party doing something crazy and then all of a sudden your credibility is out the window. It can be kind of stressful, but I think that it’s incredibly important to maintain a positive image when you’re such a visible leader. I’m a face for leadership at Northwestern, and I need to be accountable for that at all times.

Q: In addition to leading FMO, you were director of SHAPE (Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators) and served as an advocacy chair for minority students in NU’s School of Education and Social Policy.

You also coach debate for the Harker School in California.

Do these activities share commonalities that drew you to them?

A: I’m a fixer. I like to fix things and make them better.

I think the organizations that I’m a part of are an example of that. Also, in my mind they are all social justice oriented.

FMO is an inherently political organization, founded around the same time that black students at NU organized a takeover of the university to demand better resources for black students. SHAPE, while education-based, is also an advocacy group. We fight for gender equality, respect for all sexualities, education on sexual violence and the end of rape culture. It’s about the larger culture and what we can do to bring change. I see being a debate coach in very much the

same way. I think that there are going to be a lot of debaters who change the world someday, and I see debate as instrumental in providing the tools to do that.

Q: What advice would you give others considering advocacy work?

A: You need to make it personal without taking it personally.

A lot of the things that drive me are based on my own experience, even if I’m talking about them on a larger scale.

I do my best not to internalize every little thing that happens because I’ll get bogged down, disappointed, upset. I try not to take everything personally and instead think of things on the macro level — how we can make society better on a larger scale. My other advice would be get your hands dirty. Activism is not a spectator sport. You have to be in it. You have to be at rallies. You have to talk to people. You need to build connections across communities. That’s how you make large-scale change. It’s all about group organizing and building a community base.

Q: What do you enjoy most about the work?

A: The community that forms around it. There’s something so refreshing about doing work with people who share similar values and who value you as a human and your experience.

The Black People Making History Committee (NU’s Black Lives Matter) is a group of probably the 15 most hardcore campus activists I could find.

The conversations that I have with them, the support, the caring and the way we build each other up as we do this really hard work is probably the most rewarding part of all of it.

You win some, you lose some, but I think the community is definitely what keeps me going.

Do you know Blake alumni who are doing interesting work? Let us know at cyrus@blakeschool.org.

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IN PRINT

& PRODUCTION

SCOTT DONALDSON ’46

The Impossible Craft: Literary Biography (Penn State University Press)

SUZANNE CONGDON LEROY ’72

Nightingale: A Memoir of Murder, Madness, and the Messenger of Spring (Kitai Press)

Literary biographer Scott Donaldson recounts his experiences profiling the lives of famed 20th century American writers. He shares insightful tips for conducting interviews, advice about how closely biographers should identify with their subjects and an examination of the ethical obligations of the biographer. “The Impossible Craft” is a highly readable insider’s introduction to literary biography.

KATHERINE SLADE ’84

Verminville

“Nightingale” tells the story of Elisabeth Mannering Congdon, heiress to a mining fortune and victim of one of Minnesota’s most notorious homicides. In her book, Congdon’s eldest granddaughter, Suzanne Congdon LeRoy, combines lived experience with meticulous historical research, detailing a perilous journey as LeRoy tries to escape her own mother, a dangerous serial criminal falling deeper into madness. Congdon emerges not as heiress or victim but as the key to her granddaughter’s survival.

LAURA GABBERT ’85

City of Gold

(Cattail Publications)

One family’s mess is another family’s idea of paradise. With vivid illustrations and amusing rhymes, “Verminville” gives young readers a roach’s eye view of life in a house in which the humans cannot be bothered to clean. A growing family of cockroaches thinks they’ve found an ideal new home with a thriving, writhing community of creatures.

Or have they?

Laura Gabbert writes and directs this documentary of legendary L.A. Times food critic Jonathan Gold.

The film explores the transformative power of food and how food writing shapes our perceptions of where we live. In the film, Gold casts his light on a vibrant and growing cultural movement and plays culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.

Alumni are encouraged to inform Blake of their publications, recordings, films, etc., and, when possible, to send copies of books and articles. Contact us at cyrus@blakeschool.org.

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Burton Hersh ’51 The Hedge Fund: Where Blood Meets Money (self-published) “The Hedge Fund” is the first in a trilogy about the Landau family.

Peter Driscoll ’68 The Airman’s Arctic Survival Guide (Salty Press) A mix of practical information, wilderness history and philosophy drawn from the original works of Belmore Browne, a military advisor during World War II and the Korean War.

Arthur Phillips ’86 Bloodline Arthur Phillips writes for the first season of this Netflix Original series about a family of adult siblings who find their secrets revealed when their black sheep of a brother returns home.

Aaron Rapport ’99 Waging War, Planning Peace: U.S. Noncombat Operations and Major Wars (Cornell University Press) Aaron Rapport investigates how U.S. presidents and their senior advisors have managed vital noncombat activities in the midst of fighting or preparing to fight major wars.

Larkin McPhee, Blake parent and trustee Caring for Mom and Dad (PBS) Americans are living longer than ever before. Who will take care of those who can no longer care for themselves? “Caring for Mom and Dad” seeks to answer this question as it explores the everyday challenges facing many caregivers.

CLASS NOTES Class notes and photos received after May 2015 will appear in the next issue of Cyrus. Notes are provided by alumni or their friends and family and have been edited for length and style.

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At age 90, Henry Hart continues to raise and sell Christmas trees.

He writes, “I’ve planted 75,000, which put four children through college and grad school.”

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Scott Donaldson (See In Print & Production)

Anne Crosby Nichols writes, “I left Northrop in the tenth grade and went to Miss Hall’s School. I enjoyed Northrop so much and the teachers and friends I made. Several of my cousins and relatives went there.”

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Bob Litfin spent the winter exploring Southern California

by RV.

REUNION

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Sharon Gallagher Walsh retired from the travel industry

30 years ago.

Fred Boos reports that he is the only person in Minnesota history to be elected by his peers to both the Minnesota Hospitality Hall of Fame and the PGA-MGA Hall of Fame. He writes, “The famous

all-state hockey line at Blake played golf together last week in Tucson, Arizona, after 67 years: the A-B-C line of Pete Ankeny ’50, Fred Boos and Muzzy Crosby. The ref was Jack Taylor from St. Paul Academy. He claims to have won.

We said he was too old to have won and cheated.”

Burton Hersh will be part of an upcoming 10-hour documentary on the Kennedy family. He was asked to contribute to the film as the author of two books: “Bobby and J. Edgar, 1907” and “Edward Kennedy, An Intimate Biography.”

(Also see In Print & Production)

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Jim Woodhead writes, “My family and I are still enjoying Del Mar. I feel fortunate to be feeling my best. I am still doing some painting, which keeps me busy.”

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Steve Olmsted and his wife, Mary, celebrated their 80th birthdays with family and extended family in April. They enjoy travel, book clubs, bridge and University for Seniors.

REUNION

55

John Howard moved to Parrish, Florida, in April. His daughter, Jennifer, is in Washington, D.C., and is on the production team for Memorial Day and July 4 concerts on the Capitol Mall and participates most weekends in Spartan races all over the country. His son, Topher, lives in Arlington, Texas, and is executive personal assistant to the CEO of JCPenney. John’s wife, Marilyn, remains executive director of the Manatee Community Foundation. John is happily retired, along with his Tibetan terrier, Maggie Howard.

John Wilder has a new job as director of maintenance for Connections for Life, a program that helps women coming out of prison find a pathway to a new life.

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Chuck Lane recently retired after 29 years as a meeting and event planner for Humana in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He writes that he is “looking forward to living life to the fullest on the shores of Green Bay.” Julia Meech is curator for a private collector of Japanese art. This

spring, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco hosted an exhibition of his collection “Seduction: Japan’s Floating World — The John C. Weber Collection.”

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Rick Gilmore has two grandsons, Eli Gilmore-Cyr (age 3) and Julian Barbeito (age 2). In 2010, he founded the nonprofit Global Food Safety Forum, which now includes 60 corporate members and an office in Beijing.

Bob Schmidt moved from Newport Beach to La Jolla, California, to be closer to his grandchildren. He writes, “Visitors welcome, but you may need to bring your own water.”

Cynthia Spencer is a retired Episcopal priest living in Carmel, California. She is enjoying the Monterey Peninsula as a writer and photographer.

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Kirk Nelson writes, “I’ve achieved what I consider to be perhaps the most critical and important success of my life — a successful retirement. And a successful retirement in this day and age says a lot!”

Summer 2015 19

CLASS NOTES

“SELFIE,” JIM WOODHEAD ’52 ANNE DALRYMPLE HULL ’33 CELEBRATED HER 99TH BIRTHDAY IN APRIL SURROUNDED BY FAMILY, INCLUDING SONS TEX HULL ’59 (SEATED AT LEFT) AND TOM HULL ’66 (AT RIGHT).

Inspired Design

In 1980, Sonya Berlovitz ’74 began her career as costume designer for the then relatively unknown Theatre de la Jeune Lune in Minneapolis. Since then, both Berlovitz and the Tony Awardwinning theater, for which she served as resident costume designer for 28 years, have made a name for themselves on the national stage.

In addition to more than 50 Theatre de la Jeune Lune productions, Berlovitz has designed for acclaimed theaters such as the Guthrie, Jungle Theatre, Minnesota Dance Theatre and the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Recently, her designs graced the stage in Washington, D.C., for the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of “Tartuffe.”

Berlovitz’s approach to each production begins with a read through of the play and a discussion with the show’s director. From there, she looks

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to fashion images from the era in which the play is set as well as current trends. “I often combine the two in my designs to suggest the period, not necessarily to replicate it,” she says. She also finds inspiration by visiting fabric stores to find color and texture to add to her designs.

“In general I have a lot of creative flexibility,” Berlovitz says. “I’m lucky to work with a lot of the same people each season, and we have developed a nice trust so that I have freedom to be creative with regard to color, fabrics, designs.”

In addition to taking a historically eclectic approach to her designs, Berlovitz is a fan of distressing a costume, making it look dirty or worn. She also uses asymmetry in her designs. “I think of the body always in motion so a costume is in constant movement with the actor, who is rarely symmetrical,” she says.

After three decades in the business, Berlovitz still has projects she’d like to tackle. “Of the Shakespeares I haven’t yet designed MacBeth,” she says. “And I would love to design an opera. I also look forward to my next creative collaboration — probably with the Moving Company, a new company of artists from Theatre de la Jeune Lune.”

To learn more, visit sonyaberlovitz.com.

Harry Piper and his wife, Mary, have three children. His son Bob lives in the Seattle area with his wife and three boys. Bob works for Microsoft and for a startup company, MPIRICA, which uses Microsoft technology. Daughter Risa is a student at the University of Minnesota and son Andy is at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. Mary is an Episcopal priest, and Harry is retired from being a trial attorney and then a ranch salesman in Montana. He tries to do as much fly fishing as possible.

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In January, Mark Burns retired after 45 years of practicing law. He and his wife, Michele, immediately began a new adventure by adopting a shelter dog named Katie, who, Mark writes, “is truly a blessing!”

Ted Meads is the senior vice president of national sales for the startup health company Welvie.

His position involves significant domestic travel. He writes, “Fortunately, I thoroughly enjoy the work, and retirement remains a long way off.” He and his wife, Susie, moved from the Lake Minnetonka area to Hudson, Wisconsin, three years ago to be closer to their

children and grandchildren. They have eight grandchildren, the eldest of whom will attend Ted’s alma mater, Cornell College, this fall. Ted writes, “We also travel as often as possible and will head for Cambodia and Vietnam next winter. Life is wonderful, and I wish the very best for all of my Blake classmates.”

Tom Skramstad competed as a member of the United States water ski team in the World Waterski Championships for skiers older than 35. The five-day event featured 350 skiers from 36 countries. Tom finished sixth in trick skiing. He writes that it was an honor to ski for his country.

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Katharine Winston is a master water steward for the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the Freshwater Society. This February she spoke with Blake fourth graders about their water conservation projects.

She writes, “We had a delightful time doing various experiments using pepper flakes (dried leaves/ lawn fertilizers – #1 polluter ), peppercorns (rabbit/geese poop), garlic pills (dog poop – #2 polluter), empty capsules (plastic bottles) and olive oil (motor oil). We talked

CLASS NOTES

JACK MITHUN ’55 AND HIS WIFE, LONNIE HARRIET BASKERVILLE PETERSON’S ’59 GRANDDAUGHTER KELSEY TURNED 2 IN JULY. “WHAT A BLESSING AND JOY SHE HAS ADDED TO OUR LIVES!” WRITES HARRIET.

MARK BURNS ’63 WITH HIS DOG, KATIE TED MEADS ’63 AND HIS WIFE, SUSIE, WITH THEIR GRANDDAUGHTER GEORGIA

about how all of that is flushed into the storm drains with the first inch of rainfall and what we can do to prevent that from happening. They created marvelous mock-ups of their own street scenes as well. A good time was had by all.”

REUNION

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Rolf Canton is the author of “Minnesotans in the Movies,” “Behind the Cameras” and “The Moriarty Principle: An Irregular Look at Sherlock Holmes” and has several other books and booklets available on Amazon KDP. He writes, “Writing is good for my soul. I lived in Bonn, Germany, for 11 years with my wife, Nahid, and son, Yusuf, teaching English to Germans and writing. Austerity cuts eliminated my classes by 2013, and I returned to Minnesota.”

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Mary Scott is looking forward to reunion 2016.

Scott Mitchell, who regularly travels on business to Portland, Oregon, reached out to his former wrestling coach, Don Mezzenga, who lives in the far western part of the state. Coach Mezzenga invited Scott for a visit. “So, after 50 years,

I drove 100 miles west of Portland to a beautiful spot on the Pacific where Don and his wife live and have enjoyed decades of the good life. Don immediately guessed my weight, which wrestlers are apt to do, and I guessed his: a trim 180.

His age is 85, but he looks so much younger. I work out almost every day, but at 65, I wouldn’t want to grapple with Coach Mezzenga.”

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Peter Driscoll (See In Print & Production)

Liz Lott is retired as dean of graduate programs at King’s College, where her husband is a history professor. She accompanied him on his sabbatical to Europe, where they spent April in Munich and May in Salzburg.

She writes, “In between shopping and eating, we are making trips to several archives, where my husband is researching his next book on medieval history. We have both lived in Germany and Austria before, and we are both fluent in German, so this is really like coming home. We fly home in June for a week before leaving again for Wales. My husband is giving a paper at the University of Cardiff, and then we hope to spend some

time touring the castles of Edward I. Life is good!”

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Suzanne LeRoy (See In Print & Production)

Barbara Wonson-Liukkonen is happily retired and enjoying living in Two Harbors, Minnesota, where she serves on the Friends of the Library board and as co-president of the board for North Shore Horizons, a crisis center for victims of domestic and sexual violence. She writes, “We love company so if anyone comes up this way or wants a place to stay, please let us know.”

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John Saunders writes that in February, a dozen class of 1973 friends gathered for a weekend of golf at the Gallery Golf Club in Tucson, Arizona. He reports, “Many stories were shared about virtually all Blake and Northrop ’73 classmates and teachers. It was agreed by all that none of us has really changed that much and it is unique that our friendship has endured for 42 years. Such lasting friendships are also a testament to our Blake alma mater, one that we all loved and still honor.”

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Christine Olson Gedye’s latest body of work, Arboreality, features paintings that provide a visual meditation on the beauty of trees. It was on display this March at the Fountainhead Gallery in Seattle.

Alison Townley is back at Blake as chief advancement officer. In this role, she leads Blake’s Institutional Advancement team and oversees all fundraising and advancement efforts for the school. She brings more than 15 years of experience leading multi-functional teams and agencies for start-ups, national nonprofits and global brands such as MasterCard International, L’Oreal, A3 the America’s Cup Team, Chevron and Dreyer’s/ Nestle. Before coming to Blake, she served as executive director of Citizen Schools International and, before that, as executive director of Playworks. Both organizations provide programs and support for elementary and middle schools in low-income communities. Alison spent eight years on the United States National Rowing Team and is a two-time Olympian. She and her family relocated to the Twin Cities from Oakland, California,

Summer 2015 21

CLASS NOTES

SCOTT MITCHELL ’67 RECONNECTS WITH FORMER BLAKE WRESTLING COACH DON MEZZENGA. TOM SKRAMSTAD ’63 AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE WORLD WATERSKI CHAMPIONSHIPS

and her three children (Phoebe ’17, Patch ’20 and Theo ’23) now attend Blake.

John Randolph ’80 shares the sad news of the death of his sister, Betsy Randolph. He writes, “Elizabeth lived in Baltimore, Maryland, and has a wonderful family of daughter Lyla, son Finn and wife Louisa. She battled cancer for several years and had a spirit and dignity that was inspirational to all. Betsy graduated from Stanford and spent 15 years in the publishing industry, successfully building a reputation respected in her business. She started her own consulting business after attending graduate school to begin a second career. Upon her passing she was employed by M&T Bank in the area of web design and strategy. Betsy will be missed by her many loyal friends, family and her children.

Betsy shared a very special blog of her last eight months of life that is an inspiration and captures her true spirit, eblissandme@blogspot.com.”

84 22 Cyrus

Katherine Slade (See In Print & Production)

KATHARINE WINSTON ’64 SPEAKS WITH BLAKE FOURTH GRADERS ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION.

85 86

Laura Gabbert (See In Print & Production)

In January 2014, Todd Hayes purchased the construction company Crawford Merz LLC, which was established in Minneapolis in 1886. He is owner and president.

Arthur Phillips (See In Print & Production)

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David Blood relocated to Baku, Azerbaijan, last year and is managing a U.S. government-funded international development project.

91

Jennifer Connor lives in Chicago, where she has been growing her business, www.MustardGirl. com, which went national this year. She writes, “Mustard Girl just got accepted into Target and Publix. A real dream come true!

Now friends near and far can have access to delicious and healthy mustards, just in time for summer barbecues. Sending lots of love and well wishes to everyone, and I look forward to next reunion!”

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Mayank Keshaviah has lived in Los Angeles for nearly 10 years and continues to work on playwriting and screenwriting projects in addition to reviewing theater as a drama critic for the LA Weekly and Stage Raw. His newest play, “La Ruta,” was produced this spring as part of L.A. Views VIII, an annual 10-minute play festival put on by Company of Angels. The theme of this year’s show was “At Your Service,” which highlighted the lives of service workers.

Ebin Sandler writes, “After 10 years in New York, I immigrated to Israel in 2011 to join my wife, Yochana Chava. We live in Jerusalem, where I work as a writer and try to keep up with our beautiful daughters, Nissel Avigail and Yosefa Bracha. Any Blake alums visiting the Holy Land, please give a holler.”

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Stephanie Payne is a fund development manager at Aeon, an award-winning nonprofit affordable housing developer.

Aeon has built or renovated more than 2,160 affordable apartments and townhomes in the Twin Cities area, providing homes to more than 4,000 people each year,

including individuals and families with low to moderate incomes and formerly homeless individuals.

Stephanie writes, “Aeon does not just build affordable homes — our organization is committed to helping people create a home in a safe and secure environment and connecting them to the community around them. Of our 36 properties, 26 offer additional supportive services to help residents in achieving housing stability and personal goals.”

Psychiatrist Alex Strauss made the 2015 Top Docs for Kids list as selected by readers of South Jersey’s SJ Magazine.

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Robby Bershow writes, “We are happy to announce the first anniversary of the birth of our second daughter, Beatrix Eliza Bershow. Big sister Imogen just turned 4 and is surprisingly good at sharing her toys; her extracurricular interests include running to and fro, negotiating for more books at bedtime and ketchup.

I recently took a new job with Sports and Orthopaedic Specialists (part of Allina Health) as a sports medicine physician, and Andrea continues to work as an academic dermatologist at the VA.”

CLASS NOTES

CLASSMATES PETE PREUS ’69 (CENTER) AND STEVE WALKER ’69 MET UP AT THE 2014 ROLEX MONTEREY MOTORSPORTS REUNION, WHERE PETE WAS CREWING FOR A FRIEND AND STEVE WAS COMPETING IN HIS VINTAGE BMW CSL. ALSO PICTURED, STEVE’S WIFE, MARY.

Sovady Phe Huston and Jeff Huston continue to enjoy parenthood in Minnesota. She writes, “Our toddler is now a full-fledged little girl and time is moving too quickly for us! We are adding to our family with a little Huston due to arrive in the fall. Big sister Olivia will be ready to be a good helper (we hope) as she will be turning 3 around that time. In the meantime, we are all looking forward to lots of sunshine, camping trips, soccer and softball. Sovady will miss out on the Boundary Waters trip this year, but Olivia is happy to have Momma all to herself for Memorial weekend.”

Jill Yablonski Kresse has founded Yellow Light, Write and is encouraging mothers to “slow down and tell their tales.” Her difficult birth and postpartum experience motivated her to create Birth Story Writing Workshops, which were recently featured in MN Parent Magazine. Workshops are held monthly in Minneapolis and are open to moms of all ages, not just new moms. Jill would love to see some Blake alumna at an upcoming session. Find more information at yellowlightwrite.com.

FRIENDS FROM THE CLASS OF 1973 TEED OFF IN TUCSON THIS FEBRUARY. PICTURED (FRONT ROW, L TO R): PAUL WALSER, JOHN SAUNDERS, GARY NYSTEDT, SANDY DONALDSON AND ROBERT OWENS (BACK ROW, L TO R): TIM RYAN, CRACKER RITZ, BILL MACMILLAN, JOHN SHELDON, CLINT MORRISON AND STEVE WYMAN.

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Aaron Rapport (See In Print & Production)

Born to Brew

Michael Olson married Courtney Hennessey on April 4, 2015, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Michael continues to tour and perform with his band Lake Street Dive (look for their new recording in early 2016).

Courtney is co-owner of Higher Ground Farm, an urban rooftop farm located eight stories above the Boston Harbor. They reside in Jamaica Plain.

Stephanie Swanson married Giorgio Mosoni on May 31, 2014, in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Stephanie is a graduate of Williams College and Harvard Law School.

She worked in New York City, practicing corporate and securities law and teaching at NYU Law School. The groom, who is from Lima, Peru, and is also a Williams College graduate, worked in wealth management for Morgan Stanley in New York City. Stephanie and Giorgio met at Williams when both rode for the college’s equestrian team. The couple traveled for an extended period in Africa and Southeast Asia and are currently living in Lima.

SCOTT FORBES ’82 (AT RIGHT) AND JON LEVY ’82 HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CATCH UP WHEN JON WAS VISITING DENVER. SCOTT WRITES, “JON’S VISIT MADE ME WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE FROM OUR CLASS THAT IF YOU’RE EVER IN DENVER, GIVE ME A CALL AND I’LL SHOW YOU THE FINEST THAT MY FAIR CITY HAS TO OFFER.”

If craft brewery owner Fritz Rahr ‘85 could have a beer with anyone, he’d choose his great-great grandfather, his great-grandfather and his grandfather — three previous generations of Rahr brewers.

He’d ask them about their vision for the family business, which began with its first brewery in 1847 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and grew to become a leading malt supplier to breweries nationwide. “What drove them? I’d really like to know if they’re the same things that have motivated me,” says Rahr, who, along with his wife, Erin, has owned and operated Rahr & Sons Brewery since 2004.

While brewing is a family tradition, owning a brewery wasn’t in Rahr’s original career plan.

Poised to become vice president of marketing for a railroad company, Rahr realized he wasn’t happy with what he was doing. So he and Erin put their house on the market. “We told ourselves, ‘If the house sells quickly, then it’s a sign we should start our brewery,’” he says. The house sold in two days.

Erin and their two young sons moved to Fort Worth while Rahr continued working in Woodlands, Texas, keeping quiet about the business plan he and Erin were developing. Within the year, Rahr selected a location for his brewery and resigned from his job.

“We jumped in with both feet and a lot of hope,” he says. “We struggled the first four years, and then something happened. It was like Mother Nature flipped on the beer switch.” Craft brewing took hold.

Rahr admits he can’t tell how long the trend will continue, but he’s confident Rahr & Sons will stand the test of time. One day, he hopes, his sons will take over. “They both have a really good interest in wanting to get involved in the company,” he says. “It’s something I can see my grandchildren running, and maybe their grandchildren. Before long maybe we’ll have 170 years of history too.”

Learn more about Rahr & Sons at rahrbrewing.com.

Summer 2015 23

CLASS NOTES

MAYANK KESHAVIAH ’92 (AT CENTER) WITH THE DIRECTOR AND CAST ON THE OPENING NIGHT OF HIS PLAY “LA RUTA” EBIN SANDLER ’92 WITH HIS WIFE, YOCHANA CHAVA, AND THEIR DAUGHTERS

02

Kara Weinblatt Frank works for Paramount Real Estate Corp as a commercial real estate sales and leasing associate.

Legal Ease

03 Bisi Agunbiade Wilson ‘97 (at left) says the best professional advice she’s ever received is “you don’t have to be Superwoman. Set achievable goals you can be satisfied with and work toward them.” These days Wilson, a litigator and mother of two, finds her goals more attainable with the support of fellow mother attorneys. That’s why she and Brooke Anthony ‘97, also a litigator and mother of two, joined the founding board of the Minnesota Mother Attorneys Association (MMAA).

The classmates reconnected in 2010 when Anthony returned to Minneapolis. “I didn’t necessarily appreciate the extent of the Blake community when in school, or even after graduation,” says Anthony, “but I certainly appreciate it now as an adult creating my network and navigating different issues, both professional and personal.”

Since its launch in 2014, MMAA has grown to include 100 members from a variety of legal backgrounds and experiences. The group hosts

24 Cyrus

professional development and networking events — some of which include children — to achieve its mission to “promote the professional development of mother attorneys by capitalizing on the opportunities and skills that arise from motherhood to drive career excellence.”

“MMAA provided me with a resource to connect and reconnect with similarly situated and like-minded attorneys,” says Anthony, who lived away from Minneapolis for more than a decade. “And I get to do it while also spending time with my kids. It’s a great combination.”

The group’s current membership consists mostly of mothers with school-aged children, but is open to everyone. As MMAA evolves, Wilson says, the board will fine tune its events and hopefully grow in membership numbers. “The goal,” Wilson says, “is to give our members the tools and opportunities to improve and excel.”

Learn more about MMAA at mnmaa.org.

Luke Roloff graduated summa cum laude from the Johns Hopkins University master’s program in global security studies in May 2014 and won the award for Best Thesis in the Area of Strategic Studies. He currently works as a consultant for Deloitte’s federal sector in Washington, D.C. Luke and his wife, Beth, reside in Alexandria, Virginia.

04

Craig Lindahl is director of outreach for Sponsors of Educational Opportunities in San Francisco.

REUNION

05

Mia Greene Como and her husband, Jessen, welcomed their son, Levon Oliver Como, on March 4, 2015. She writes, “We are overjoyed (and tired!) and slowly figuring out life with this awesome little person.” Levon is also the first grandchild for Mia’s mom, Kita McVay ’68.

BEATRIX ELIZA BERSHOW, DAUGHTER OF ROBBY BERSHOW ’98

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Divya Chari completed medical school at Columbia University and is now a first year otolaryngology-head and neck surgery resident at the University of California, San Francisco.

Max Gold was filming in Iceland this spring for his new feature, “Beast,” starring Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson, who plays “The Mountain” in “Game of Thrones.”

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Lizzie Aby graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School and began internal medicine residency training at UCLA. Clara Arnold writes, “After four years of living in Turkey, I am moving back to the states. I will be starting graduate school this fall at Columbia University Teachers College, where I will be studying teaching English to speakers of other languages. My fiancé will be joining me, and we are planning to marry this summer. I am extremely excited to be starting this new chapter in my life and would love to connect with other alumni living in New York City.”

Marshall Kelner is the play-by-play broadcaster for the Florida-based

CLASS NOTES

MICHAEL OLSON ’01 AND COURTNEY HENNESSEY WERE MARRIED ON APRIL 4, 2015.

JILL YABLONSKI KRESSE ’98 AND HER HUSBAND, TIM, WITH THEIR DAUGHTER

STEPHANIE SWANSON ’01 MARRIED GIORGIO MOSONI ON MAY 31, 2014, IN WILLIAMSTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

THIS LITTLE BOOKWORM IS THE DAUGHTER OF SOVADY PHE HUSTON ’98.

Dunedin Blue Jays, a minor league affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

He is calling 140 games this season across the state of Florida, all of which will be available online at dunedinbluejays.com.

Natalie Owens-Pike is the executive director of LearningWorks, a public-private partnership between Minneapolis Public Schools and Blake. The program offers a two-year, 500-hour, tuition-free academic enrichment program to highly-motivated Minneapolis Public School students and provides teaching opportunities to high school seniors and college-age students.

Previously, Owens-Pike served as LearningWorks’ alumni director where she redesigned Leadership Academy to focus more directly on high school readiness. She also expanded the program’s alumni networking opportunities with leading local and national organizations.

08

After nearly seven years in New York City, Katy Marshall is moving to Boston to attend Harvard Business School (HBS).

While sad to leave New York (at least temporarily), she is excited about the opportunities that await

her at HBS, as well as the chance to reconnect with Blake friends on campus. She is leaving her current role at the Boston Consulting Group in June and plans to spend the summer traveling to Australia, Southeast Asia and Europe. If you ever find yourself in Cambridge, please let her know.

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After working as Blake’s assistant Annual Fund director for nearly two years, Emily Blease will return to school this fall to pursue a master of philosophy in anthropology at the University of Oxford.

Devin Durant graduated in 2014 from Northwestern University with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering.

Jay Jasper earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Purdue University and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Along the way, he participated in the development of over a dozen robots, including Andy, winner of a half-million dollar Milestone Prize in the Google Lunar XPrize mission, a competition to land a privately funded robot on the moon. Jay

has begun work as a mechanical robotics engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology.

JPL is the leading U.S. center for robotic exploration of the solar system.

Ummul Kathawalla is a research project coordinator at Northwestern University. She will join the University of Minnesota’s counseling psychology doctoral program this fall.

Ande Saunders is development coordinator for Civic Works’ Baltimore Center for Green Careers, a nonprofit that trains Baltimore residents for jobs in the emerging green economy. She helps to grow and sustain funding for the program’s work, coordinate partnerships and research potential areas of program expansion. Ande is applying to various schools to pursue a doctorate. She plans to identify applications of decentralized sanitation methods to address ecological and human health problems. In her spare time, Ande participates in historic 1812 reenactments, pursues opportunities to sing and volunteers with local advocacy groups. She enjoys creative writing and is compiling a collection of her poetry for future

Births & Adoptions Robby Bershow ’98 a daughter, Beatrix Eliza, May 8, 2014 Mariya Connors Melby ’04 a son, Theodore Temple, March 5, 2015 Mia Greene Como ’05 a son, Levon Oliver, March 4, 2015

Marriages Michael Olson ’01 and Courtney Hennessey April 4, 2015 Stephanie Swanson ’01 and Giorgio Mosoni May 31, 2014 Kristin Ankeny ’03 and John Bickenbach August 9, 2014 Nellie Connolly ’04 and Alistair Thornton September 6, 2014

Summer 2015 25

CLASS NOTES

LEVON OLIVER COMO, SON OF MIA GREENE COMO ’05

KRISTIN ANKENY ’03 MARRIED JOHN BICKENBACH IN RANCHO SANTA FE, CALIFORNIA, ON AUGUST 9, 2014. THREE GENERATIONS OF BLAKE AND NORTHROP GRADUATES WERE IN ATTENDANCE, INCLUDING PETE ANKENY ’50, MARGIE DAYTON ANKENY ’51, DON ANKENY ’74, SALLY ANKENY REILEY ’77, PHIL ANKENY ’81, LISA ANKENY ’01, DONALD CHUTE ’11, TEDDY ANKENY ’14, ELLIE ANKENY ’16, CHARLIE ANKENY ’18 AND MAGGIE ANKENY ’20.

Play Ball

Yogi Berra once quipped that 90 percent of baseball is half mental, and pitcher Ben Hughes ’09 can’t argue with logic like that. “I’ve found the mental game of baseball to be extremely challenging,” says Hughes, a second-year player with the Saint Paul Saints, an independent professional baseball organization.

“Professional baseball is without a doubt a full-time job and can be tough to enjoy when you’re not playing well. Your job is always on the line,” says Hughes, who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2011 and released in 2014 before signing with the Saints.

“But I’m also very thankful that I still get to enjoy a kid’s game and spend my days outside at the baseball field six months out of the year.”

26 Cyrus

This year, the Saints opened their season in a new stadium. “I thought CHS Field looked good in the pictures,” Hughes says of the ballpark.

“It looks even better in person. The entire grass surface is like a putting green, the infield perfectly flat and the pitcher’s mounds pristine. We all enjoyed playing in St. Paul at Midway Stadium, but this field truly feels like professional baseball.”

Hughes also appreciates the friendships that develop among teammates who share entire days traveling, playing ball and living together during spring training and the Saints’ 100-game season. Like Hughes, a majority of independent baseball players have been released by an MLB affiliate club and are trying get back into the league. “The reality is that professional baseball is a business, and the players are a commodity that can be traded or let go at any time,” he says.

But for Hughes, the love of the game trumps the sometimes harsh realities of the business of baseball, and he offers advice for aspiring players. “Control what you can control. Most importantly, have fun with the process, and the results will be worth it in the end.”

publication. The collection is in honor of her mother, who passed away in January 2014 due to complications from a decades-long battle with multiple sclerosis.

REUNION

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Asma Mohammed is the student and family services director for LearningWorks at Blake, where she taught social studies for the program’s summer sessions before graduating from Macalester College. She rejoins LearningWorks following her time as a grassroots organizer for Senator Al Franken’s re-election campaign.

Javi Reyes is a guitarist and vocalist for Dolores, a Madison, Wisconsin-based psych pop rock group that started in February 2014. The group just released its first fulllength album, Peach Fuzz, which can be downloaded at mydolores. bandcamp.com. Javi writes, “I feel that Blake is very responsible for helping me find myself musically.

Being able to use those practice rooms in the east wing during my free periods may have distracted me from doing my schoolwork, but it definitely helped satiate my unquenchable thirst for music, especially during (what seemed like) a long day of school.”

11

Maddie Stead is beginning dental school at the University of Iowa this fall.

This spring, former Blake hockey teammates Hillary Crowe and Dani Cameranesi ’13 played each other for the NCAA Division I Women’s Hockey National Championship. During her senior year at Harvard, Hillary had an impressive season record with 10 goals, seven assists and two game-winning goals. Dani, playing as a sophomore for the Gophers, was named one of 10 finalists for the player of the year award and a 2015 Second Team All-American. She had 23 goals and 39 assists for the season.

The Gophers won the championship game 4-3.

This spring, Marielle Foster competed in the International Computer Programming Competition world finals in Marrakech, Morocco, with her team from Carleton College. The ICPC is the oldest, largest and most prestigious programming contest in the world.

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Andre Hinds is entering his senior year at Gettysburg College, pursuing a bachelor’s

CLASS NOTES

NELLIE CONNOLLY ’04 MARRIED ALISTAIR THORNTON ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2014. ALUMNI IN ATTENDANCE INCLUDED (FRONT ROW, L TO R) GEORGIA NOLAN ’20, MAC NOLAN ’18, ALISTAIR THORNTON, NELLIE CONNOLLY THORNTON (MIDDLE ROW, L TO R) BETSY STEINER HAWN ’99, BRUCE ATWATER ’48, GRACE NOLAN ’12, DIANA NELSON ’80, LIBBY MACFARLANE ’04, MAGGIE HERFURTH ’04, CELIA BOREN ’04, LAUREN TAYLOR ’04, MAGGIE SEVERNS-O’NEILL ’04, ALISON SPENCER ’04, ANNA TOBIN ’04, OLIVIA NOLAN ’15, MARY CONNOLLY ’07, BETSY ATWATER HANNAFORD ’75 (BACK ROW, L TO R) BEN HAWN ’94, BILL MCLAUGHLIN ’74, JOHN ATWATER ’79, MARY HARTFIEL JACKLEY ’80, JAY JACKLEY ’76, ED SPENCER ’72, RUFUS WINTON ’78, FRED STEINER ’05, PAUL CONNOLLY ’09, CASSIDY JOHNSON STEINER ’96, ANDREW STEINER ’96, BOB MITCHELL ’61, MARY ATWATER JAMES ’77, JOAN ATWATER NOLAN ’81 AND LUCY CROSBY MITCHELL ’66.

degree in physics. He is spending the summer training for the discus and doing research in data analysis and cluster modeling with Dr. Ryan Johnson, a theoretical astrophysicist and professor at Gettysburg College. He writes, “The work Dr. Johnson and I are doing this summer will be used in my senior thesis on galactic cluster mergers where I will explore gravitational interactions on the largest scales in the known universe. Once I finish my research for the summer, I will return to Minnesota to continue discus training for the upcoming collegiate season and for the Jamaican Olympic trials next summer.”

Lars King works for Summit Series, which hosts three-day experiences for innovators, entrepreneurs and tastemakers.

The winter weekends at Powder Mountain in Utah are designed to inspire attendees to push their personal and professional boundaries. Summit Series also hosts an annual event that attracts the world’s top innovators, such as Peter Thiel, Richard Branson and Bill Clinton. This year’s annual Summit At Sea takes place in November and begins in Miami.

Briaunna Minor received early acceptance to the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

She applied as a sophomore and was awarded acceptance this past winter.

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Eric Holton is doing genetic research at the University of Minnesota.

Hannah Randolph was recognized

by Denison University as a top 50 scholar-athlete, based on her GPA. She is a sophomore varsity soccer player and a psychology/education studies major.

Former Faculty

Sally Barry and her husband have moved to Venice, Florida. She writes, “We have many friends here, and we love the beaches and the community. We have moved into a community that offers a number of activities for us to join. We are returning to the state where we went to college, Jacksonville University, and are looking forward to attending a number of JU events throughout the year. We plan on traveling this summer to spend time with family and friends on the beaches in Connecticut and Rhode Island.”

Michèle Cassavante spent this winter in Naples, Florida, and will head to France this fall to serve for a semester as assistant director and French teacher for the Village Program. Offered through the University of West Florida, the program is for non-language majors

NATALIE OWENS-PIKE ’07 (AT LEFT) LEADS LEARNINGWORKS AT BLAKE WITH HELP FROM TEAM MEMBER ASMA MOHAMMED ’10.

who wish to have a study abroad experience. She writes, “It will be wonderful to be with students again (the part I miss most) surrounded by lovely countryside, vineyards, wonderful markets and beautiful walks in the Loire Valley.”

In Memoriam Katherine Aby ’65 March 26, 2015

Steven Garmaker ’79 February 27, 2015

John Bailey ’82 December 13, 2014

David Goldberg ’85 May 1, 2015

Gloria Rice Beckmann ’48 February 26, 2015

Burton Grossman ’52 February 26, 2015

Sally Head Bosanko ’51 January 25, 2015

Helen Bros Hauser ’51 January 13, 2015

Wilhelmus “Bill” Bryan ’43 April 12, 2015

Jean Stevenson Haverstock ’44 December 8, 2014

John Burton ’40 December 5, 2014

Samuel Dutton Helfrich, Jr. ’69 March 1, 2015

Rodney Burwell former parent, former trustee, March 29, 2015

Carla Skellett Huntting ’49 October 18, 2014

Theodore Carter ’38 January 19, 2015 William deLaittre ’71 March 23, 2015 Mary Hardenbergh Dethier ’39 December 17, 2014 Jane Lee Jackson Eddy ’42 March 12, 2015

Howard McMillan ’48 April 20, 2015 Henry Norton ’48 December 26, 2014 Elizabeth Randolph ’83 April 17, 2015 Samuel Rogers ’55 December 11, 2014

Please inform the Institutional Advancement Office of Blake community member deaths by calling (952) 988-3430 or by sending an email to advalum@blakeschool.org.

Summer 2015 27

CLASS NOTES

KYLE BOYD ’08 FOUND HIMSELF WORKING WITH FELLOW TWIN CITIANS — AND ALUMNAE OF FAMILIAR SCHOOLS — ANNALISA TESTER (AT LEFT) AND DAISY PELLANT WHEN HE WAS A TEACHING ASSISTANT AND ADMISSIONS INTERN AT BUCKINGHAM BROWNE & NICHOLS SCHOOL IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSSETTS, THIS YEAR.

EMILY BLEASE ’09 IS READY TO TAKE OXFORD

BY STORM AS SHE HEADS TO GRADUATE SCHOOL IN THE FALL.

JAVI REYES ’10 (SECOND FROM RIGHT) WITH HIS BAND, DOLORES

Gary Nash writes, “After 41 years, I bid farewell to my work-life at Blake, but not to Minnesota and the Blake community. My wife, Sally, and I have deep roots here with family, neighbors, friends and community connections nearby.

With the precious gift of time, I will catch up on old relationships, house projects, landscaping and neglected hobbies, and I will joyously be able to pursue new interests and opportunities as they come along.

Travel plans include an East Coast road trip and a winter Hawaiian vacation, followed by Mediterranean, Baltic and Eastern European adventures.”

Barb Seebart retired this spring and is looking forward to spending more time with family and friends. She writes, “I also plan on doing some traveling to Italy and Costa Rica. After 31 years at Blake, I hope to find ways to stay connected with colleagues, students and their families.”

Paul Vetscher, the last continuously employed teacher from Northrop, retired after 44 years teaching math in the same building. He writes, “The ‘art to do when I retire’ file is quite thick. But first is to clean out the farm buildings, trying to get the farm ready to put on the market. Then we’ll

BLAKE BEAR AND GOLDEN GOPHER DANI CAMERANESI ’13 WITH THE NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY SHE HELPED HER TEAM WIN THIS YEAR.

move somewhere around here — on a lake would be nice. But first, we’ll travel to Provence and take a Rhone river cruise in late August to symbolize the break from the old life to the new life. Oh, and I’ll play with my new grandson, Sebastian ’33 (or so!)”

Hats off to our newest alumni!

Rebecca McKenna retired after 31 years teaching in Blake’s Lower School. She and her spouse, Jane, are now living in Portland Oregon, near their daughters Molly McKenna ’90 and Emily McKenna ’92 and their families. We are all going on the adventure of having three generations living close together and investing in family. I can’t wait.”

BEST WISHES, CLASS OF 2015, AND BE SURE TO SEND US THOSE CLASS NOTES!

SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES AND PHOTOS TO CLASSNOTES@BLAKESCHOOL.ORG. 28 Cyrus

VOICES Find Perspective, Open a Book

Rachel Hertzberg ’15 graduated from Blake this spring and will attend Bryn Mawr College in the fall. But first, she hopes to read Helen Oyeyemi’s “The Icarus Girl.”

What do we lose when we stop reading for pleasure?

Obviously, we lose the enjoyment that reading brings, but we also lose the opportunity to step outside of ourselves and see new perspectives.

A couple years ago I read the novel “Lucy” by Jamaica Kincaid. It’s the story of a teenage girl from the Caribbean who nannies for an affluent American family. Lucy is filled with an insatiable bitterness. She’s angry at her withholding mother, her uncaring father, her entitled employers. She’s angry at the sexism that made her feel worthless as a girl, and the imperialism that makes her feel worthless as an adult, and she refuses to apologize for her anger. Lucy is one of the most realistic characters I’ve ever encountered. Though her circumstances are vastly different from mine, I relate to and admire her aggressive and passionate spirit. Reading this book forced me to think about the immigrant experience and my role as a citizen of the developed world.

Literature also allows us to see a reflection of our own experiences. Have you ever read a book that made you realize, “Oh, other people feel this way too”? That feeling can help contextualize your perspective into the broader human narrative and realize that you are not alone. I first read “Old School” by Tobias Wolff four years ago. The book’s protagonist is a teenager whose dream is to become a writer and who attends an elite boarding school in the 1960s. At the heart of the story is the question of what it means to tell the truth. The narrator, who feels out of place at his prep school, fabricates an identity to fit in.

As a recent high school senior, as an aspiring writer, as a person trying to decide who I am, the story of this boy learning to cast off artifice and pretension touches me deeply. “Old School” has assured me that my insecurities are normal, and it has inspired me to overcome them.

Don’t lose the wonder and joy of escaping into a book.

Keep reading.

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