Hotchkiss Magazine | Winter Spring 2017

Winter/Spring 2017

True Blue Friendships

Celebrating Community Life

Board of Trustees

Alumni Association Board of Governors

Charles Ayres ’77 Thomas Barry P’01,’03,’05 Robert Chartener ’76, P’18 John Coumantaros ’80, P’16,’19 Ian Desai ’00 William Elfers ’67, Vice President

Christina Bechhold ’03 VP and Chair, Nominating Committee

Chip Quarrier ’90 VP and Chair, Communications Committee

Miriam Gelber Beveridge ’86 VP and Co-chair, Gender Committee

Casey Reid ’01

Sirin Bulakul ’06

Elizabeth Ford P’11,’13

Adam Casella ’06 VP and Chair, Alumni Services Committee

Sean Gorman ’72, Secretary

Nathalie Pierrepont Danilovich ’03

Robert Gould ’77

Charlotte Dillon ’10

John Grube ’65, P’00

Meredith “Mark” Gall ’59

Charles Gulden ’79, P’12 President, The Hotchkiss Fund

Peter Gifford ’93

Elizabeth Hines ’93 Raymond McGuire ’75 Kendra O’Donnell Thomas Quinn ’71, P’15,’17,’19 Jean Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18. President Thomas Seidenstein ’91 President, Alumni Association

Caldwell Hart ’87, P’16,’20 Secretary and Chair, Membership Subcommittee of the Nominating Committee Keith Holmes ’77 VP and Co-chair, Gender Committee Annika Lescott ’06 Barrett Lester ’81 Nisa Leung Lin ‘88

Roger Smith ’78, P’08

Nicholas Moore ’71, P’89,’01,’06

John Thornton ’72, P’10,’11,’16 Officer-At-Large

Paul Mutter ’87

William Tyree ’81, P’14, Treasurer

Nichole Phillips ’89 VP and Chair, Alumni of Color Committee

Rebecca van der Bogert

Emily Pressman ’98

William Sandberg ’65 Thomas Seidenstein ’91, President Sheria Smith ’01 Thomas Terbell ’95 Michael Thompson ’66 Carolyn Toolan ’97 Gwyn Williams ’84, P’17,’19

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Craig Bradley, Head of School Katheryn Allen Berlandi ’88, P’19 Past President, Alumni Association Edward Greenberg ’55 Past President, Alumni Association Charles Gulden ’79, P’12 President, The Hotchkiss Fund Jean Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18 President, Board of Trustees

Daniel Wilner ’03 David Wyshner ’85 EMERITI

Howard Bissell ’55, P’82 John Chandler, Jr. ’53, P’82,’85,’87, GP’10,’14,’16 Frederick Frank ’50, P’12 Robert Oden, Jr. P’97 Francis Vincent, Jr. ’56, P’85

Joe O’Connor P’10, director of campus auxiliary services, received the inaugural Robert J. and Candice Barker Staff Recognition Award on Jan. 24 during the annual Anniversary Awards ceremony. The Barkers, whose combined service to Hotchkiss totals more than 62 years, came to campus for the presentation of the award, made possible through the gift of an anonymous donor.

PHOTO BY WENDY CARLSON

Arthur White P’71, ’74, GP’08,’11

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY CARLSON

14

18

24

34

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Craig W. Bradley CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Hellen Hom-Diamond EDITOR

Wendy Carlson MAGAZINE DESIGNER

Julie Hammill WRITER & DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER

Chelsea Edgar ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Danielle Sinclair VIDEOGRAPHER AND DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

Tyler Wosleger WEBSITE AND DESIGN MANAGER

Margaret Szubra CONTRIBUTORS

Joan Baldwin Roberta Jenckes Adam Sharp ’96 Roger Wistar The Hotchkiss School does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, religion, race, color, sexual orientation, or national orientation in the administration of its educational policies, athletics, or other school-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices.

Hotchkiss Magazine is produced by the Office of Communications for alumni, parents, members of the faculty and staff, and friends of the School. Letters and comments are welcome. Please send inquiries and comments to: The Hotchkiss School, 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville, CT 06039-2141, email magazine@hotchkiss.org, or phone 860-435-3122.

FEATURES

24 Celebrating Community Life: 125 Years

14

True Blue Friendships

18

A Day in the Life

24

300,000 Eggs, 35,000 Pounds of Chicken, and a Ton of “Parmageddon”

26

Cooking for a Crowd: Eating in the Dining Hall at Hotchkiss, 1892-1956

28

125 Years: As Told by The Record

36

Hotchkiss and the World

30 Hotchkiss in D.C.

30

The New Age of American Politics: Adam Sharp ’96

32

The Role of Media in Politics

34

A Seat at the Table: Annika Lescott ’06

38 Town Hill Society

DEPARTMENTS

4 Campus Connection 42 Class Notes

65 In Memoriam 68 Parting Shot W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

1

From the head

o f sc h o o l

2

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

O

PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

“The American society, the ‘interesting social experiment’ that George Van Santvoord described as a ‘relatively rare phenomenon,’ plays out constantly on campus in small and large ways ...”

ne of the greatest joys of my job is getting to know our students and learning about their paths to Hotchkiss, their favorite books, ideas, and co-curricular activities, and their lives at the School.

One of the new traditions that Elizabeth and I have begun is hosting a collective birthday party each month at Frank House. These parties are a relaxed time of cake, ice cream, and casual conversation — and a welcome opportunity to visit with relatively small groups of students brought together simply by coincidence of their birth month. These birthday groups form representative subsets of the larger student body in terms of their diverse backgrounds and interests.

Our first Frank House Birthday Party in January included preps to seniors from across the country and the globe, many of whom were meeting for the first time.

While these parties take place at the end of very full days, they are energizing and build and sustain Elizabeth’s and my enthusiasm about Hotchkiss. We especially enjoy the students’ openness to and curiosity about one another’s experience. I see this potential to learn from difference as one of our great comparative advantages as an intentionally diverse boarding school community. The experience of difference enhances students’ learning by causing them to view things from varying perspectives and to learn to weigh cultural considerations in understanding another’s point of view. This provides our students with excellent preparation for lives of consequence in an increasingly complex society.

“We especially enjoy the students’ openness to and curiosity about one another’s experience.”

One recent moment of learning from others’ different experiences in a supportive community occurred during the weekend following President Trump’s executive order restricting travel from seven countries, including countries that some current Hotchkiss students call home. About 140 students and faculty members gathered on Sunday night to discuss what had occurred, why, and the potential implications. Student body Co-Presidents Aba Sam ’17 and Jelani Hutchins-Belgrave ’17 and St. Luke’s Society head and Hotchkiss Review editor Jesse Godine ’17 worked with Director of International Programs David Thompson to organize the event. Paula Russo, co-head of the humanities and social sciences department and an instructor in history, explained how executive orders work and the process by which they can be challenged in the courts. She was joined by Basil Comnas ’65, P’18, a retired United Nations diplomat who happened to be in town visiting his daughter. Mr. Comnas has spent much of his career working in conflict areas, including countries affected by the travel ban. Some international students spoke about how the executive order may affect them directly, and others who are recent immigrants to the U.S. or whose parents are green-card holders spoke about their experiences as newcomers to the U.S. It was a rich example of how students can learn from others’ experiences.

It provided content and context, and put a human face on the potential consequences of changes in immigration policy on fellow Hotchkiss students.

The discussion about immigration and

Opposite page: Bradley announces a Head of School Holiday on Feb. 22 after a surprise faculty and staff musical performance. This page, above: Bradley poses with students after the announcement; below: Bradley and his wife, Elizabeth, watch performances on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

immigration policy called to mind George Van Santvoord’s statement that appears toward the end of Fay Vincent ’56’s book The Gift of His Example: “We are all émigrés in America, some of longer residence than others...with some sort of toleration inevitable if we are to live together...Our way is a relatively rare phenomenon, and while uncomfortable is an interesting social experiment.”

The American society, the “interesting social experiment” that George Van Santvoord described as a “relatively rare phenomenon,” plays out constantly on campus in small and large ways, from collective birthday parties

to impromptu School gatherings to discuss immigration policy changes, and especially in the daily interaction among friends in the dorm, on teams, and in classrooms. Of course, in the School context, it is less experimental; we are intentional in our efforts to learn and grow from the comfortable and uncomfortable moments, seeing those moments as integral to the education we provide to students whom we expect to assert leadership in our society.

That is an important part of our purpose and our promise.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

3

Campus

con n ec t i o n

A Message from the Board of Trustees ROBERT CHARTENER ’76, P’18

The trustees gathered in Lakeville in late January for two days of board meetings, committee meetings, and casual conversations with students and members of the faculty and staff. The trustees addressed several topics, including:

Faculty Chair Recipients – Five faculty members were honored with teaching chairs in recognition of their exceptional service to Hotchkiss students at an All-School Meeting in December 2016. The trustees invited the recipients to the meeting, expressed their deep appreciation for their commitment to the School, and congratulated them on their achievements. The recipients (profiled on page 5) were Adam Lang (the Meredith Mallory George ’78 Teaching Chair), Emma Wynn (the Class of 1942 Teaching Chair), Abdoulaye Fall (the George Van Santvoord ’08 Teaching Chair), Letty Downs (the George Norton & Jodie Stone Teaching Chair), and Bill Fenton (the William Elfers ’37 Teaching Chair).

Mission Task Force – The task force charged with clarifying the statement of the School’s mission reviewed a near-final draft. Faculty members Richard Davis and Letty Downs P’12,’15, and task force chair Elizabeth Hines ’93 led the presentation.

The draft is considerably briefer and more succinct than the current mission statement, and the mission task force will now circulate it to a broader group for fine tuning and for confirmation that it accurately reflects Hotchkiss’s mission, values, and distinctive character. The board hopes to approve a final version at its May meeting.

Budget and Financial Matters – Bill Tyree ’81, P’14, treasurer, led a discussion of the 2017-18 budget. Its goals include creating a sustainable financial model for Hotchkiss, moderating tuition increases, maintaining high-quality programs and facilities, and retaining and supporting our faculty and

4

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

staff. A complicating factor is the School’s unexpectedly high admissions yield last year, which resulted in opening enrollment of [nearly 630] students against a target of 600.

Highlights of the approved budget include a tuition increase of 2.5 percent to $56,650 (the smallest increase since 1982); a five percent increase in spending on plant preservation, repairs, and maintenance; and an overall expense increase of 2.7 percent. The School plans to reduce total enrollment to 600 over the next two years.

Investment Results – Bob Gould ’77, chair of the Investment Committee, reported an endowment return of just under five percent for the first six months of 2016-17, based on preliminary data. This was a welcome turnaround from a very difficult 2015-16 year, when the endowment suffered an investments loss of 6.2 percent. The five-year compound annual return for the endowment is 7.2 percent, which exceeds the School’s six percent long-term assumption, but the ten-year return, which includes the 2008 global financial crisis, was only 4.4 percent, a disappointing result. Since its inception, the endowment’s compound annual return has been 9.3 percent.

An investment committee of approximately 15 Hotchkiss alumni and parents oversees the endowment with the assistance of Cambridge Associates. With interest rates still at historically low levels and US equities reaching new highs, the Investment Committee is focused on maintaining a globally diversified equity portfolio and building on Hotchkiss’s participation in the highest-valued-added segments of the private equity markets. The Committee remains cautious about exposure to fixed income.

Strategic Planning – The School has begun to create a new strategic plan. As envisaged

by Head of School Craig Bradley, it will continue several initiatives begun as part of a plan adopted by the trustees in 2012 and will address other priorities as Hotchkiss begins its next 125 years. The trustees and members of the faculty and staff will meet over the coming months to complete the process. Mr. Bradley expects the new strategic plan to serve as a guide for enhancements to the curriculum, cocurricular activities, and community life, and it will help quantify the financial priorities for an upcoming comprehensive campaign.

Athletics – Robin Chandler ’87 and Danny Smith P’18, ’20, co-directors of athletics, led a discussion about the shifting landscape in athletics, including trends in athletic recruitment and potential implications for the Office of Admission and the College Advising Office. Greater specialization at a younger age is a noteworthy element. These issues will be analyzed further as part of the upcoming strategic planning process.

These summaries are hardly exhaustive, and the trustees were struck by the high level of energy and activity on campus. Mr. Bradley is leading many initiatives, including the hiring of a new dean of faculty and new dean of students, assessing how Hotchkiss evaluates teachers and promotes their professional growth, and planning a curriculum review in 2017-18. I look forward to reporting on further developments in future issues of the Hotchkiss Magazine.

Honoring Excellence in Teaching

PHOTO BY WENDY CARLSON

F

ive H otchkiss instructors were awarded endowed teaching chairs at an All-School Meeting last December.

The chairs, presented by Dean of Faculty Tom Drake, recognized faculty members for outstanding teaching and commitment to academic life.

Instructor in Economics Adam Lang received the Meredith Mallory George ’78 Teaching Chair, a five-year term. Lang came to Hotchkiss in 2014; previously, he worked as an innovation manager for the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Healthcare Innovation. His experience in that role led him to create a two-semester elective course at Hotchkiss called “Design for Social Impact,” which is being offered for the first time this year.

Instructor in Philosophy and Religion Emma Wynn received the 1942 Teaching Chair, a five-year term. Wynn joined the Hotchkiss faculty in 2011 after spending three years as the head of the theology department at La Lumière School in La Porte, Ind. Since 2013, Wynn has served as co-chair of the humanities department at Hotchkiss.

Instructor in Physics and Astronomy Bill Fenton received the William Elfers ’37 Teaching Chair, also a five-year term. Fenton came to Hotchkiss in 2006 from Moultonborough Academy in New Hampshire. At Hotchkiss, Fenton designed the AP Physics I course, as well as other courses in astronomy and robotics.

He played a key role in planning for the Hotchkiss Observatory, which opened January 2016. Fenton was also this year’s recipient of the Berkshire Community Foundation’s James C. Kapetyn Prize for excellence in teaching.

Instructor in Modern Language Abdoulaye Fall received the George Van Santvoord ’08 Chair, a permanent chair. Fall, who came to Hotchkiss as a French instructor in 2005, began his teaching career in the public school

From left to right: Instructor in Economics Adam Lang, Instructor in Humanities Emma Wynn, Instructor in Modern Language Abdoulaye Fall, Instructor in Math Letty Downs, and Instructor in Physics and Astronomy Bill Fenton

system in Sedhiou, Senegal. After studying at the University of Wisconsin in Madison on a Fulbright Fellowship, Fall taught in Senegal and Poland before joining the modern language department at Hotchkiss. Fall recently completed an advanced certificate in Intercultural Communication from the Institute of Communication and Leadership in Lucerne, Switzerland; this year, he created a course on intercultural communication at Hotchkiss.

Instructor in Math Letty Downs received the George Norton and Jodie Stone Chair, a

permanent chair. Downs came to Hotchkiss in 1991. She has participated in the Exeter summer program in science and mathematics, International Baccalaureate training at United World College at the North Carolina School of Science and Math, and the Summer Teaching Symposium at Hotchkiss. She has also taught in the School Year Abroad program in Rennes, France. Downs will be the recipient of the 2016 Lufkin Prize.

During this community-wide, 125-hour-long giving challenge, The Hotchkiss Fund will receive a special matching gift of $125 for every donor – up to $125,000!

Celebrate With Us! 125 Years | 125 Hours | $125,000

April 1-6, 2017

Please visit hotchkiss.org/125challenge for more information.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

5

Campus

con n ec t i o n

Recognizing Excellence Jackie Nichols Recipient of the 2017 Margot J. Hooker Award

6

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

J

ackie Nichols, associate director of school operations, received the 2017 Margot J. Hooker Award on Jan. 24 for her conscientiousness and dedication to the well-being of everyone in the Hotchkiss community during an Anniversary Awards ceremony. But her job title doesn’t capture the extent of her engagement in the School: she keeps the dean’s office running smoothly by supporting staff and faculty, and she acts as a liaison for parents and students. The award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a staff member who exemplifies the qualities of thoughtfulness, punctuality, and loyalty of longtime staff member Margot J. Hooker.

“Her finger is on the pulse of this place. Jackie is fierce in her loyalty and belief in the School and works tirelessly to make sure that students, staff, and faculty alike are being well taken care of, considered, and heard,” Dean of Faculty Tom Drake said.

For Nichols, who came to Hotchkiss in 2005, the best part of working at the School is the students.

“They’re the reason I’m here,” she said.

Joe O’Connor P’10 Recipient of the 2017 Robert J. and Candice Barker Staff Recognition Award

J

oe O’C onnor , manager of campus auxiliary services, which includes the Campus Store and the Hotchkiss Press, was awarded the inaugural Robert J. and Candice Barker Staff Recognition Award, established with the gift of an anonymous donor and supported by Hotchkiss parents and alumni.

“Not only is Joe a great worker, he is a caring and kind supervisor. He is dedicated, hard-working, loyal, kind, and humble.” said Melissa Woodin, his manager and the School’s controller, who presented the award.

O’Connor, whose career at Hotchkiss spans three decades, said he enjoys every aspect of working here — especially the opportunity to interact with students. “I feel like I’m here for the kids,” he said. His wife, Patty, is associate director of alumni relations.

The Barkers, both of whom were present at the award ceremony, led distinguished careers at Hotchkiss. Robert Barker taught history at the School for 39 years, holding the E. Carleton Granbery Teaching Chair for two decades, among numerous other administrative roles, including dean of dormitory life and interim dean of admission and financial aid. In 2004, he founded the Summer Portals program, serving as its director until 2010. Robert’s wife, Candice Barker, joined Hotchkiss in 1988 as director of admission for summer programs. During her time at Hotchkiss, she also served as registrar, executive assistant to the head of school, and director of events before retiring in 2011.

“For Candy and me, the staff are the heart and soul of the School,” Barker said. “They make this an extraordinary place to live, work, teach, and learn.”

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

7

Campus

con n ec t i o n

“The Spilled Milk Doctrine”

H

otchkiss honored the legacy

of D r . M artin L uther K ing , J r . with an open forum on Sunday,

Jan. 15, and a day-long celebration featuring speakers, performances, and community voices in Elfers Hall on Monday, Jan. 16.

The events kicked off on Sunday, Jan. 15, at a community meeting hosted by the StudentFaculty Council Committee for Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity. Students and faculty members packed into an English classroom to discuss the progress of initiatives this year and future steps toward building a more inclusive environment at Hotchkiss.

8

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

On Monday, Jan. 16, Gyasi Ross, a Blackfeet writer, attorney, and performer, delivered the keynote speech. In his address to the Hotchkiss community, Ross explained what he called “the spilled milk doctrine”— the idea that everyone should have a stake in addressing issues that concern the equality and well-being of others.

“This generation is the first to hold previous generations accountable for their spilled milk,” he said — whether it’s climate change, systemic racism, or gender inequality. Ross urged students to use the power of a Hotchkiss education to make a difference in the world.

Later, both students and faculty took turns

sharing personal experiences and reflections in Community Voices, a two-hour long program meant to encourage listening and foster understanding.

The day also included dance performances

by Baye & Asa, a duo from New York City, and Studio8Sixty, a troupe from Hartford, Conn., along with musical performances by the Hotchkiss Gospel Choir, the a cappella group Calliope, and several student soloists.

To see a video of MLK activities, go to hotchkiss.org/news

PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

Hotchkiss honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“This generation is the first to hold previous generations accountable for their spilled milk,” Gyasi Ross said — whether it’s climate change, systemic racism, or gender inequality.

F a l l

2 0 1 6

9

Campus

con n ec t i o n

“More importantly, all students now have a space that is devoted to quiet studying.”

— Jane Herold, study skills coordinator

A

fter a year of renovation , the

Class of 1964 Teaching and Learning Center opened this fall, advancing the School’s efforts to support the learning needs of the entire student body and the professional development of faculty.

In honor of their 50th Reunion in 2014, the Class of 1964 raised more than $1.8 million in commitments for the Teaching

10

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

and Learning Center. The idea for the gift first took shape several years ago through a series of conversations between former Head of School Kevin Hicks and classmates Ken Wallach and Edgar Cullman, Jr. “We wanted to do something a little different for our 50th Reunion that would have a lasting impact on the School,” Wallach said. “Hotchkiss was not a particularly easy place to go to

school when I was there. It was academically demanding, but it changed my life for the better.” At Hotchkiss, he said, “I learned to be disciplined, how to write, how to think, and how to form good work habits, all of which became fundamental to me later in my life.”

Looking back on those years, Wallach felt that if the School had had a resource center for students with different learning

PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

The Class of 1964 Teaching and Learning Center Opens Its Doors

styles, it would have helped a number of his classmates. The Teaching and Learning Center seemed like an ideal way to both honor and benefit the School.

Cullman agreed. “When we were at Hotchkiss, it was sort of a sink-or-swim place,” he said. “So we wanted this new Center to be a place where students who need help can get it, and where students who are doing well can help them. And we wanted it to be a welcoming place,” he added.

A portion of the gift was used to fund the extensive renovation of the space for the Center, which is located on the second floor of Main Building. The balance will be used for the establishment for the Class of 1964 Teaching Chair, which will be held by the director of the Center, to be selected this year.

The director will work closely with the dean of academic life and the dean of faculty to bolster curriculum development and faculty training.

One of the major new features of the

Center is the video classroom, which allows instructors to tape classroom sessions and then review their teaching methods.

After moving from her cramped quarters in the English wing, Study Skills Coordinator Jane Herold said the new center is a hive of activity, day and night.

“While the study skills program has always focused on the entire student body, and the needs of kids at all different levels, at different places on their Hotchkiss journey, we have much more room now to accommodate them,” she said.

Students can access the Center throughout the day and evening for study hall, peer tutoring, and drop-in math and science help.

“More importantly, all students now have a space that is devoted to quiet studying,” Herold said.

The Center features three study rooms, one large open study area, several offices, and the video classroom.

The director’s office will honor John Virden ’64, whose classmates wanted to recognize his remarkable 35-year career as a faculty member and former dean of students.

Other areas in the Center will be used for special workshops, including sessions to help students prepare for exams and to train peer tutors. Three of the rooms feature whiteboards and large monitors for laptops, allowing students to work more effectively on group projects.

Students like prep Laura Hart find it easier to stay focused on studying in the Center. “I can’t watch Netflix or talk to people, so I just focus and get work done. I often complete assignments ahead of time,” she said.

The welcoming atmosphere also makes students feel less inhibited about asking for help, said Lisa Fenton, one of the three staff members who help students with language skills, math and science, and time management.

For senior Kyle Davis, who came to Hotchkiss as an upper mid from a public school, the Center has been instrumental in helping him adjust to the School’s academic rigor.

“It helped me to adapt and to be better organized,” he said. “And that helped get me started in the right direction.”

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

11

Campus

con n ec t i o n

THE INDOMITABLE LINDSAY REED ’18

BY ROGER WISTAR

At six feet tall, she’s an imposing figure in the net — and now, she’s an international ice hockey champion. In the Under-18 Women’s World Championships in the Czech Republic last January, Reed helped Team USA win a gold medal, pitching two shutouts along the way.

The New Jersey native has been a strong varsity player in both field hockey and ice hockey for all three of her years at Hotchkiss. But hockey is her passion: she’s already committed to suiting up with the Harvard Crimson in 2018. We spoke with Lindsay about her Team USA experience, how Hotchkiss has opened doors for her, and her game day mantra.

12

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTO BY WENDY CARLSON

You wouldn’t want to try to score on Lindsay Reed.

Q&A How did it feel to win the gold?

When we scored the empty net goal, we just celebrated so hard. It was crazy. There were three seconds left. I went on the ice way too early and threw my gloves in the air. When we got out of the pile, I hugged my goalie partner.

We just thought, “Wow, we’re world champs.

That’s insane.”

You managed to pitch two shutouts during the tournament. How did you get into the zone?

I was thinking to myself, “Just make the first save,” because once I made the first save, I knew I would be okay. When I was on the ice, I thought, “Oh my gosh, I’m actually playing for Team USA and playing against Sweden.” And then I just thought, “Go back to your basics, and when you make the first save, you’ll get into your rhythm, and it’s just another normal hockey game after that.”

Is there a mantra you keep in your head when you’re in the net to help you focus?

“Prove people wrong.” Before the tournament, someone wrote an article saying that I probably wasn’t going to play in any of the big games. So I wanted to prove those people wrong, but also prove the people right who believed in me.

How did you feel during the selection process?

Once I made the cut from six to three [goalie candidates], I sort of knew in my heart [that I would make the team]. There was only one other goalie to beat and I knew there was nothing that was going to stop me from throwing on the USA jersey and making that team.

PHOTO BY TOM HONAN

How did it feel to play with so many of the best under-18 girls in America (including nearly half of the team being from Minnesota)?

I play on a club team out of Boston [the Junior Eagles]. Those girls are obviously very good hockey players, but then these Minnesota girls, they’re in a league of their own. They’re just crazy.

How do you think that experience affected you — how did it make you better to be facing them in practice every day?

It gave me a boost of confidence going into the games, because you have to think, you’ve practiced with the best shots in the world, so the team you’re facing, their shots aren’t going to be as good. You’re prepared for what lies ahead.

When did you first play goalie?

What was the experience like for you?

What’s it like playing for Coach Cooper?

How has the Hotchkiss ice hockey program helped you in your hockey career, both here and looking forward?

He’s a character. He’s a great guy to play for. Everything’s spontaneous, not everything needs to be perfect, just go out there and play your game, just play the hockey you know.

He helps build us as players and then once it’s time for the game, he lets us go out there and do what he’s taught us.

I was probably seven years old in Mites. We were playing shinny [cross-ice hockey] one day, and they just threw me in the goal. I remember putting on all the pads, but I don’t remember how it went. Apparently, people thought I was pretty good.

What do you like best about being at Hotchkiss, outside of athletics?

What’s the best thing about being a goalie?

Which subject areas at Hotchkiss have you enjoyed the most, and why?

Having control of the game, being able to see the entire game. Most people are like, “I could never be a goalie, I’d be so alone,” but I take pride in being alone back there, having time to myself and defending my own net.

What’s the hardest thing?

Definitely confidence issues. If you get a bad goal scored on you, then you could just deflate, so you have to work on your mental skills.

How do you do that?

I do it physically. I swipe the ice on the goal line, pushing away the ice, pushing away the past.

What are your biggest strengths as a goalie?

When you look at me, first of all, I’m six feet tall, big frame in the net, sort of intimidating. After that, just being able to move quickly with my height.

I like getting to know people from around the world and around the country, something that back home, I wouldn’t be able to do. I’d still only have friends from New Jersey or New York.

I definitely like science classes. Chemistry is a lot of fun for me. In [AP Environmental Science], I like being able to learn about the world and how things work, and about climate change and how it’s so relevant in our lives.

Anatomy is really interesting to me because it’s sort of sports-focused. We’ll get cases like, you’re an EMT on the scene: what do you have to do?

You play two sports at an elite level, but you have very different roles — goalie in hockey and center forward in field hockey. How did you end up going down such different paths?

Since I started ice hockey as a forward, I always missed scoring goals. Being a goalie, you know where your weaknesses are, and what you don’t want the forward to do. When I play forward, I think about what the goalie doesn’t want me to do, and then I do that.

Tyler Wosleger contributed to this story.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

13

Celebrating Community Life

TRUE BLUE FRIENDSHIPS At Hotchkiss, students learn together, dine together, and live together 24/7 — and in the process, they form deep and lasting bonds.

Sometimes, these connections endure well after graduation, laying the groundwork for lifelong friendships. We asked two sets of alumni friends from different eras about what drew them together, and how they’ve kept their friendship alive.

14

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

THE DUET

BY WENDY CARLSON

How a reclusive music student and an outgoing athlete forged a lifelong friendship

A love of music first sparked a friendship between Clayton “Peter” Westermann and Jonathan Bush, both from the Class of 1949. On the surface, they might have seemed an unlikely duo: Westermann, an aspiring musician, was shy and reclusive; Bush was a varsity athlete with a magnetic personality. But the two hit it off when they started a singing group, the Eight Flats, in their upper-mid year at Hotchkiss. According to Westermann, it was Bush’s ebullient personality that inspired other boys to join. Bush demurs, insisting that the group wouldn’t have succeeded without Westermann’s musical talent. “That was in 1949,” Westermann says. “We’ve been friends ever since.” Their bond strengthened when both men attended Yale, where they joined the venerable a capella group, the Whiffenpoofs. After Yale, both men went on to pursue very different careers: Bush as a successful businessman (his brother is President George H. W. Bush and his nephew is President George W. Bush); Westermann as a distinguished conductor. Here, the two friends reminisce about their Hotchkiss days and reflect on what has kept their friendship going strong for the last 68 years.

How are both of you doing?

Jon: No, no, no, don’t be silly.

Peter: Jon, how are you doing with your pneumonia?

Peter: No, it was your thought, your idea.

You started that.

Jon: Oh, I kicked it in the pants. I’m fine.

Peter: Good man, good man.

What were you two like in your Hotchkiss days?

How did your friendship begin?

Peter: I didn’t do much in the way of sports, except embarrass myself, but I certainly did like music. Jon was a fullback for the Hotchkiss football team, and he was also the kicker. And he played both football and baseball at Yale.

Jon: It really started when we began a singing group together at Hotchkiss.

Peter: It was Jon that started the Eight Flats.

I’d say everyone in the class was a friend of his. I was completely secluded with my music books, and I sang in the choir and the glee club. I was studying music, learning piano.

I was buried in my music. We were just in two different worlds. He’s the only one that I can think of at Hotchkiss who could possibly have put together an octet of such disparate members.

PHOTOS: THE MISCH

Jon: It was a pretty good group.

Peter: It was a pretty good group, Jon. Nobody could put it together but you.

Jon: The big thing was music though, because football ended for me in my sophomore year at Yale. I had a skiing accident and I was finished, for which I was thankful, because I hated it. But then I got really into the singing. All the way through Yale, Peter and I were singing together in the Whiffenpoofs. We were rehearsing together and singing together all the time.

And Peter was going on to greatness in music. He got a doctorate at Yale and conducted for Robert Shaw. He was just a

1949 classmates Jonathan Bush, top, and Clayton “Peter” Westermann, bottom

great, great musical talent. Over the years, Sunny’s music has been inspiring to me.

Still is. He’s a brilliant conductor.

Why do you call Clayton “Sunny”?

Jon: Does anyone else call you Sunny?

Peter: I am honored to have my own special name from Jon Bush. [They both laugh.] He’s the only one who calls me that, and he’s entitled.

Jon, did you keep singing after college?

Jon: I spent about five years in show business, did some singing there.

Peter: He traveled around the country with a touring group.

Jon: We sang at the State Fair of Texas and the Chicago Starlight Theatre and lots of other places. I did Oklahoma, Showboat, and South Pacific. I was Will Parker in South Pacific.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

15

Does that mean you can still belt out “Oklahoma?”

What do you two like most about each other?

Jon: Sure. I did last year. But Sunny can sing that better than me. I’ll defer.

Peter: Jon Bush is the most loyal person I ever met. I’ve learned from him how important loyalty is.

Peter: [laughing] Nah. No way.

Jon: Peter is in a different league. He has a beautiful, strong voice. My voice is not that good.

Peter: One thing you should know is that throughout my conducting career, Jon Bush would show up for my concerts wherever I was and support me. So he’s been a real friend all the way since Hotchkiss.

Jon: For me, it was a thrill to be a part of it — to see this wonderful man doing these great things. [Editor’s note: Jon was honorary chairman of the board of Hunter Symphony, which Peter conducted from the 1960s until 2002.]

How often do you get together?

Jon: A couple times a year, probably.

For family occasions, you know, but I probably keep in closer touch with Peter than with anybody else. He comes down from Long Island and we meet at The Homestead in Greenwich for lunch.

Do you sing when you’re together?

Jon: I think we try to be very considerate and don’t [sing].

Jon: Oh — Peter: Yes, I have. When my son graduated from college, who offered him a job? Jon Bush. He’s right there to support you all the time. He’s as loyal as they come.

Jon: Holy mackerel...Well, Peter — he’s a thoroughly ingenuous person. As nice a person as you could ever hope to meet.

Secondly, I admire his talent, his ability to impart musical knowledge. I admire his ability to lead an orchestra. He goes over to Germany every summer and helps tune the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. I admire anybody in that field — to make a living and make a success in a very difficult field is totally admirable. He’s given so much joy with this talent. I’ve always admired his unique devotion to music.

Peter: Well, Jon, you’ve got me in tears over here. Cut it out.

You two are like the odd couple.

Peter: Probably, but I don’t think we fight.

That’s the thing. We never fight. So we don’t quite make it into the odd couple category.

Peter: Jon Bush doesn’t slow down for a moment. He’s the most energetic guy I can think of.

Jon: No, no, come on.

M a g a z i n e

Charlotte Schmidlapp ’04 and Chase Delano ’07 may have only overlapped for one year at Hotchkiss, but their friendship encompasses three sports, two coasts, and countless laughs and shared experiences — plus (at least) one day of hooky. Today, Chase does marketing for SoulCycle in New York City, and Charlotte works on utility power projects for the solar energy company SunPower in San Francisco, but the two of them make an effort to get together — and get back to Hotchkiss — as often as they can. Here, the two former teammates talk about how they keep in touch.

How did you two meet?

Jon: He writes wonderful stories.

Peter: I think the thing is that while I have a few friends that I would call as close as Jon, I think Jon Bush knows more people and has more friends than anybody I know of. So the whole world seems to know Jon Bush.

Charlotte: I think I saw a lot of myself in you. I had been one of two preps on the field hockey team in my prep year, and Chase was the only one on the team in her prep year. I remember the seniors on my team really welcomed me, so I tried to do that with Chase.

Jon: Sunny, that is absolutely the worst kind of horseshit.

Chase: From day one, I definitely looked up to Charlotte. She was an incredible field hockey player and athlete, and she was an amazing captain on our team. I was grateful that she took me under her wing and helped me develop as an athlete.

March 10, 1949 copy of The Record.

Westermann, pictured third from left; Bush, fifth from left.

H o t c h k i s s

BY CHELSEA EDGAR

Chase: We met during our field hockey preseason. Charlotte was a senior captain and I was a prep. What did you think of me as a little prep, Charlotte?

Peter: And all I do is sit at home and write my stories.

16

A PREP, A SENIOR, AND THE WINNING SEASON THAT BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER

Charlotte Schmidlapp ’04, top, and Chase Delano ’07, bottom

Chase: Yeah, I’d agree with that. Robin helped foster this environment of development and openness and fun. And for that reason, I think the field hockey team had something unique.

We wanted to go hang out at dinner together after a long, hard practice, and laugh and joke around together in the hallways. It was the whole experience she created that made us want to be together.

What’s the bond that keeps you together now?

Charlotte: Chase was a very talented athlete as a prep, but maybe didn’t know exactly what her role would be, and I kind of felt that way at her age. So I tried to help her with the mental part of the game. But I also probably played too many pranks on her.

Chase: After one practice on a cold fall day in my prep year, I was showering and just starting to warm up when out of nowhere, this huge garbage can of ice water got dumped over the stall. They were always keeping me on my toes. But I never felt picked on. If anything, it made me feel more loved.

How did you develop such a strong friendship in a relatively short time?

PHOTO: THE MISCH

Chase: We also ended up playing ice hockey and lacrosse together, so we got to know each other really well with those three sports. One thing that was amazing about Charlotte is that even after she graduated, she still took an interest in the friends and teammates she left behind at Hotchkiss. Me in particular — if you’ve heard the expression “sophomore slump,” at least in athletics, I went through

that a little bit my lower-mid fall. Even though Charlotte had gone on to Cornell and was playing a D1 sport and getting acclimated to college life, she still took the time to check in on me and help walk me through difficult things. She gave me an inspirational quote that I’d read before games, and it made me remember Charlotte and my freshman year of field hockey and what it felt like when we won the New England championship.

She looked out for other teammates, but we definitely shared a special bond. She passed down her number 11 to me.

Charlotte: Even though it was only a year, the teams I was on were always very close — especially the field hockey team. That was also the first year we won the field hockey championship, and the beginning of a yearslong winning streak for the team. So that year was really special in a lot of ways. We all had a tight bond with each other, and I think that’s why the team has been so successful over the past few years. [Coach Robin Chandler’s] attitude is that the team is stronger than the individual, which has created a lot of close friendships, especially mine and Chase’s.

Chase: We started off with this sports friendship, but Charlotte and I share a lot of other things. We both love music, and we’ll send music back and forth. Or we’ll have an hourlong catch-up on the phone. I moved to San Francisco after graduating from Middlebury, and Charlotte was in New York, and today, Charlotte’s in San Francisco and I’m in New York City. And we’ve stayed in touch throughout that and overlapped friends and experiences. And we definitely always make an effort to get back to Hotchkiss and see Robin and the Coopers and the Wynots and all the incredible faculty members who were huge parts of our lives. Hotchkiss is the common thread that keeps us coming back together and staying in touch.

Charlotte: One day, I played hooky from work, and Chase and I went and saw a Hotchkiss hockey game in Greenwich and saw Robin and Mr. Cooper.

Chase [laughing]: That was fun.

What do you two like best about each other?

Charlotte: I really value Chase as a friend, because I know she’ll always be straightforward and honest with me. Chase is a phenomenal athlete, and she has a great work ethic. And she’s pretty positive.

Chase: Charlotte is one of the more determined people I know. She can accomplish whatever she sets her mind to.

She’s very strong-willed. She’s taught me to be more decisive and go after what I want. She’s always been a form of courage or inspiration to me, and she makes me laugh.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

17

A Day in the

at Hotchkiss THE STORY THAT LED MARK GALL ’59 TO LAKEVILLE

BY WENDY CARLSON

F

lipping through a magazine one afternoon in March 1954, Meredith “Mark” Gall came across an article about Hotchkiss that would change his life forever.

18

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Much has changed on campus since that article was published in LIFE in 1954. The photos on the following pages offer a glimpse of a day in the life at Hotchkiss, then and now.

ON ; WENDY CARLS ON ; WENDY CARLS PHOTO S, CLOCK WISE FROM TOP LEFT: COLLEC TION /GET T Y IMAGES CHT ’54, ALL AN GR ANT/ THE LIFE NED L AMBRE CHT ’54, NED L AMBRE

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

19

I

n the spring of that year, Gall was a bookish seventh grader at a Catholic school in San Francisco who rarely ventured beyond his tight-knit, blue-collar neighborhood. His parents, like millions of people across the country at that time, subscribed to LIFE, one of the first American photo weeklies of its kind. When the magazine arrived in the mail, Gall and his mother would pore over it, carefully turning over each of the 50 pages of glossy, black-and-white photographs. For young Gall, each photograph was a window to a world of possibilities, and of places far beyond his block.

“We had radio, of course, but television was just coming into its own, and it wasn’t very good at that time. LIFE connected me to what was happening in the rest of the country and the world,” says Gall, 75, who lives in Eugene, Ore. One particular photo essay in that March issue caught his attention. “Boys’ Prep School” was the third in a series of LIFE articles on secondary education in America. For millions of readers, including Gall, the article was their first glimpse of a private boarding school, lavishly revealed in the 8-page photo spread. Dominating one page was an image of a student hiding in a dorm shower stall, cramming for a final exam after lights-out; on another, history instructor Thomas Stearns, looking every bit the ex-marine sergeant he was, surveyed his class over his glasses. A portrait of the venerable Headmaster George Van Santvoord, Class of 1908, smoke curling

20

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

out of his pipe, ran with the subhead “A Tough Diet of Learning.” Yet another photo captured Van Santvoord walking through Chapel, reprimanding students: “‘You are barbarians,’ he growled. ‘You are uncivilized.’”

That LIFE chose Hotchkiss to illustrate boarding school life was no coincidence.

Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, both from the Class of 1916, founded Time magazine in 1923. Luce bought LIFE magazine in 1936, turning it into a weekly news magazine with an emphasis on photography.

Newspaper and magazines had long been using single photographs to illustrate stories, but LIFE pioneered photojournalism, a new form of storytelling in which text was often condensed into captions, allowing photos to tell the story.

The LIFE article, with those sumptuous photos, placed Hotchkiss in the national spotlight. But the attention rankled Van

Santvoord, who, perhaps, thought the story portrayed the School as cold and austere in some ways and chaotic in others. In response, he commissioned a student photographer, Ned Lambrecht ’54, to create the School’s own photo essay in the style of LIFE, which he mailed to parents and prospective students.

Lambrecht, who was photo editor of the Misch and The Record at the time, recalls rushing to set up the School’s first darkroom in a dorm basement and arming himself with a 4x5 Speed Graphic and a Leica to record student life.

Van Santvoord then selected the images to create a more curated portrayal of student life at Hotchkiss.

Absent were some of the candid, carefree scenes that ran in LIFE, which showed young men cheekily holding dinner plates in front of their faces and jostling each other on the way to class. Several of Lambrecht’s photos

TOP PHOTO: THE MISCH

Mark Gall ’59

TOP PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON ; BOT TOM PHOTO: NED L AMBRECHT ’54

ts might use Above: Today, studen e of transport. skateboards as a mod Lambrecht, a Below : In 1954, Ned The Record, caught photographer for the as they at tempted to students by surprise Main Building. sneak a VW Bug into

— including a shot of students attempting to roll a VW Bug into a dorm building — never made it into Van Santvoord’s photo essay.

But this sanitized version of life at Hotchkiss never reached the Gall’s mailbox.

Instead, Gall and his mother found themselves more and more mesmerized by the LIFE photos: boys in tweed jackets and starched shirts and ties, studying intently, skating on the pond, performing skits, trudging across the snowy campus — even the looming portrait of Van Santvoord, whom the article described as an “overzealous father.”

The article gave Gall the impression that Hotchkiss students were driven hard academically, and that appealed to him — and to his parents. His father was a supervisor in a machine shop with an eighth-grade education, and his mother worked occasionally at night as a hatcheck girl at the big hotels in San Francisco. They could never afford private

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

21

school tuition, but one sentence in the LIFE article had given them hope. “I remember reading that one out of every five Hotchkiss boys is on part or full scholarship,” recalls Gall.

So his mother suggested that he write Hotchkiss for information about scholarships and admissions testing.

“I suppose I performed well on the tests, because someone at Hotchkiss asked me to be interviewed by one of its graduates. I remember going to downtown San Francisco and being interviewed by a graduate, who, fortunately, was friendly and not intimidating.

It was the first time I had ever been in an executive’s office,” Gall says.

Ultimately, Gall was offered a scholarship to Hotchkiss. He still remembers attending an

22

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

orientation with his father, and when it was time for him to leave, Gall started sobbing.

“I remember my father saying, ‘You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.’ But something deep inside me said I’d be okay,” Gall says. He said goodbye and walked up to his dorm.

As a scholarship student in those days, Gall was required to work in the Dining Hall, serving meals. He also earned extra cash working at the soda fountain for an hour or two each day — “I think the administration knew I had no money,” he says. And much

like the LIFE photo of a student furtively studying in the shower, Gall also received demerits after getting caught reading in the lavatory after lights-out.

Looking back, what he remembers most is not those daily chores or demerits, but the relationships he formed with other students “who were brighter than me, and whom I looked up to as role models,” he says.

After Hotchkiss, Gall went to Harvard, where he earned a B.A. in English and an M.A. in education. After earning a Ph.D. in

TOP PHOTO: ALL AN GR ANT/ THE LIFE COLLECTION /GET T Y IMAGES; BOT TOM PHOTO: MARCO QUARONI ’16

ine photo shows A 1954 LIFE magaz ring white shirts Hotchkiss boys wea a breakfast of and ties, enjoying a, orange juice, crackers, cake, te e privacy of a dorm and apricots in th l they were allowed room, the only mea e Dining to eat outside of th “feeds” are held Hall. Today, dorm nd nights, during regularly on weeke vour pizzas or which students de m sundaes. indulge in ice crea

TOP AND CENTER PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON ; BOT TOM PHOTO: NED L AMBRECHT ’54

psychology from UC Berkeley in 1968, he began a career as a psychologist and teacher educator. In 1975, he joined the faculty at the University of Oregon, where he currently holds the title of professor emeritus in the College of Education.

Throughout his life and career, Gall, who serves on the School’s Board of Governors, has remained grateful to Hotchkiss for the opportunities it gave him. In 2003, he established the Gall Family Scholarship at the School to help economically disadvantaged students. He keeps a dog-eared copy of that LIFE issue, and he sometimes tells friends and acquaintances about the article that changed his life.

“One little thing can come along, something we could never anticipate, and it could be lifechanging,” he says. “As the saying goes, ‘Our lives can turn on a dime.’”

In dorms, like Redlich Hall, pictured above, students still adhere to a strict lights-out policy. In 1954, a group of boys sneak quietly back to their dorm rooms.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

23

24

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

300,000 EGGS, 35,000 POUNDS OF CHICKEN, AND A TON OF “PARMAGEDDON” STORY AND PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

The Dining Hall menu has come a long way from the meat-and-potatoes fare of the School’s early years. Today’s global student body cares about ethically, sustainably sourced food that reflects a diverse range of cultures.

“We’ve become more local with the food we serve, but we’ve also become more international,” says Mike Webster, general manager of dining services. The School’s Fairfield Farm supplies about 30 percent of the produce used in the Dining Hall from August through December, and another third of the ingredients — honey, eggs, milk, pork, beef, and vegetables — are sourced from nearby farms. And while pizza has remained a Friday lunch staple, dinner on any evening might be a cultural mashup, like Jamaican jerk chicken with sweet potato, curried black beans, and fried plantains, or an African-themed meal, like goat meat stew. More recently, the Dining Hall has introduced a number of new dishes: hamburgers with grass-fed beef from Whippoorwill Farm, located just a few miles from campus; Asian noodle bowls; and build-your-own chicken parmesan (known as “Parmageddon”) are big hits among students.

The sheer volume of food served on a daily basis is mind-boggling. During the last academic year, dining services spent over $1,370,000 in food and served more than 300,000 eggs, 35,000 pounds of chicken, 40,000 pounds of local turkey, and 2,500 pounds of coffee. Over the past few years,

dining services has changed the way it procures its food — particularly meats — to support small, local farms. “Instead of serving pre-frozen meat from distant farms, we purchase whole animals from local farmers.

It’s a great way to keep our money local while supporting our farmers year-round,” says Webster. Adams Farm, a USDA-inspected, family-owned business in Athol, Mass., custom cuts and packages the beef, lamb, pork, and bison, and delivers it directly to Hotchkiss. On occasion, the School has purchased whole bison from Mohawk Bison in Goshen, Conn., less than 30 miles away.

When it comes to desserts, the Dining Hall has taken a more conservative approach. Pie, cake, and ice cream were once served at both lunch and dinner; today, dessert is available just once a week, and there are bushel baskets of fresh fruit at every meal. Desserts still might include old standbys like rice crispy treats,

The School’s Fairfield Farm supplies about 30 percent of the produce used in the Dining Hall from August through December, and another third of the ingredients — honey, eggs, milk, pork, beef, and vegetables — are sourced from nearby farms.

apple pie, and double-layer chocolate cake, but there’s also locally produced frozen yogurt and an occasional ice cream sundae bar.

And there are more choices at each meal: the Dining Hall features a sauté station in addition to the standard salad and deli bar, allowing students to make their own stir-fry dishes using eggs, rice, and fresh vegetables. There’s also a designated area for those with special dietary needs or preferences, offering gluten-free bread, non-dairy cheese, Lactaid, and soy milk.

Students take an active role in deciding what food they’re served by participating in the Real Food Club (RFC), which audits food purchases twice a year to ensure ethical buying practices.

Hotchkiss is one of the top RFC schools in the nation. Students also have the option of joining the Cooking Club, a co-curricular that teaches them culinary skills.

Even the appearance of the Dining Hall has changed to reflect the increasingly diverse student body. Maria Hotchkiss’s portrait still presides over the room, but 87 flags, representing all the countries in the Hotchkiss community, hang from the beams. Despite all these changes, the Dining Hall remains a place where students, faculty, and staff come together as a community. “What I really like about it,” says lower mid Emily Swenson, “is that this is a place where I can have some downtime and just be among friends.”

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

25

In the School’s early years, the kitchen staff baked its own bread.

COOKING FOR A CROWD: Imagine life at Hotchkiss on a windswept, snow-covered January day in 1918. Some days are so cold that Headmaster Huber G. Buehler cuts Chapel short, sending students off to class, where it is warmer. With the country’s entry into World War I the previous April, kitchen workers are increasingly hard to find, but in the Dining Hall, waitresses fill sugar bowls and set out coffee cups. There, three times a day, a staff of 26 men and women feed students, faculty, and guests.

If there is a mantra for the history of dining at Hotchkiss, it could be that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Today, nearly two decades into the 21st century, the School still feeds an army of students, faculty, and staff. Hotchkiss also has its own farm and procures a portion of its food from local and regional sources, a scenario not so different

26

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

from the Hotchkiss of a century earlier, when much of its meat, milk, and vegetables was produced locally.

Between 1892 and 1956, Hotchkiss meals were cooked by School employees. Throughout this period, attendance at all meals was required, and seats were assigned. In the early part of the 20th century, students sat with a different faculty member every two weeks, a tradition instituted by Buehler, who believed strongly that interaction with the faculty — especially faculty wives and children — at meals was important for Hotchkiss students.

Uniformed waitresses worked in the Dining Hall. In turn, they supervised the scholarship students, who waited on tables. They ate earlier than other students, then donned their white coats and lined up with their trays.

Student waiters had to put condiments, water,

BY JOAN BALDWIN

bread, and soup on each table before students and faculty entered the Dining Hall, then brought desserts after waitresses served and cleared the main course. In 1940, Headmaster George Van Santvoord ’08 brought an end to the term “scholarship boy,” at least in the context of the Dining Hall. In a letter to Catherine Lindsay, the School’s dietician from 1930 to 1942, he wrote, “I think these boys should be called ‘waiters’ and not scholarship boys...I hope, therefore, we will stop speaking of the special table for boys who wait on tables as the scholarship boys’ table.”

Throughout the early 20th century, school staff ate separately, served by their own waiters. Most of the Dining Hall staff lived on campus in a servants’ dormitory, located behind today’s main building. A matron developed the menus, which were approved

PHOTOS: HOTCHKISS ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Eating in the Dining Hall at Hotchkiss, 1892-1956

The Dining Hall featured in this photo was designed

by Ehrick Rossiter in 1910, a renovation of the original Dining Hall designed as part of the Main Building in 1892. The room featured mounted moose and caribou heads, as well as a sailfish.

Scholarship students were once required to wait on tables at meals.

“I am convinced that everybody eats too much and that we give the boys entirely too much meat.”

— Headmaster Huber Buehler, 1922

weekly by the headmaster. Her support staff included a butcher, baker, baker’s assistant, second cook, three dishwashers, a pot washer, and scullery maid, as well as employees who supervised the coffee, tea, and steam tables.

The infirmary had its own cook, as did the headmaster’s house — in addition to a housekeeper, butler, and maid.

In a sense, meals punctuated days of classes, sports, and study hall, with moments of conviviality when the entire student body sat down to eat. According to a 1928 letter in George Van Santvoord’s files, breakfast was served from 7:30 to 8 a.m., lunch lasted from 1:10 to 1:40 p.m., and supper began at 6:30 p.m. Lunch was the main meal of the day. It began with soup, followed by a roast — beef, lamb, and pork were favorites — accompanied by potatoes. A sample menu in the School Archives from 1921 shows potatoes — boiled, creamed, mashed — served at 10 out of 14 meals in a single week.

Fish was the main course at lunch on Fridays.

All meals ended with cake, pie, or pudding.

Breakfast invariably included a cereal — oatmeal, puffed or shredded wheat or corn flakes — followed by eggs, hash or bacon, but

never all three together. Supper meant protein again — a soup, stew, or ragout — and more potatoes, concluding with cake or pastry.

The heaviness of the meals was apparent even to Buehler. Writing to his friend Horace D. Taft, headmaster of Taft School, in 1922, Buehler noted, “This is probably reactionary for I am convinced that everybody eats too much and that we give the boys entirely too much meat. I honestly think that a breakfast of cereals and meat only once a day would be a better diet than the bountiful table which we provide, but I have never had the courage to act on this conviction. I myself have given up eggs, fish, and meat and feel ten years younger.”

In 1928, the School spent $92,000 on food, serving 330 students in addition to faculty and staff. In 1914, The Record reported that the School went through 90 dozen eggs daily for breakfast. A dinner of steak meant students consumed almost 300 pounds of steak in one sitting, and they ate as many as 111,600 pancakes from September to June. During the first half of the 20th century students remained at the School for Thanksgiving.

In December 1932, The Record reported that in one Thanksgiving meal, the School

downed 40 gallons of tomato soup followed by 700 pounds of turkey. The same reporter estimated that a year’s worth of eggs put endto-end could encircle and then cross Lake Wononscopomuc.

The Dining Hall and kitchen, which had seen only modest renovations since Buehler’s day, received a complete overhaul in the spring of 1946. The new construction meant moving East Cottage — once the home of math teacher Joseph Estill and the mirror image of the original headmaster’s house — from the end of the old Main building near Route 41. Designed by George Waterbury of the architectural firm Delano & Aldrich, the new wing continued the Georgian theme established with the Chapel design and echoed in Buehler, Tinker, Coy and the School gate.

In the newly designed space, only the pantry was located on the same floor as the Dining Hall; all cooking was done in the new basement kitchens, where there were five wall ovens, a grill for steaks, a massive brick oven, a 10-foot high bread mixer — all bread was made on site — potato peeling machines, and storage for canned and dry goods. In addition to ample storage space, the new facility included a butchering room and a bake shop as well as a staff dining room. Food made its way from the basement to the first-floor pantry via dumbwaiter. The Dining Hall itself seated over 375 at rectangular tables with straight backed chairs.

Like so much of Hotchkiss history, the story of its Dining Hall is intertwined with the social and cultural history of the country, its menus reflecting the day’s trends and beliefs about nutrition. During the two World Wars, Hotchkiss stopped serving bread and grew its own vegetables. And the advent of coeducation resulted in an increased student body, which led to the creation of dining shifts. Throughout the years, one thing has remained consistent: the Dining Hall has been a focal point of community life at Hotchkiss.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

27

125 Years: As Told by The Record

BY WENDY CARLSON

A

t first glance, there’s nothing earth-shattering about the headlines running across the front page of the May 12, 1937, issue of The Record — just the usual announcements of Headmaster Holidays, construction projects, departing faculty members, and athletic victories. But three columns to the left, a jaw dropper appears: “F. L. Belin, ’32, Leaps from Flaming Zeppelin, Hurtles 30 Feet Through Air.” As it turns out, Belin had been aboard the ill-fated Hindenburg a week earlier, when the German dirigible caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock at the Naval Air Station in New Jersey. Of the 97 people on board, there were 35 fatalities. Belin was one of the lucky survivors of one of the most spectacular airship disasters in modern history.

Six months later, in an October issue of The Record, an article below the masthead chronicled the misadventures of Harry Hammond ’37, who was traveling in Germany with several friends. The group had unwittingly taken photos of German tanks, soldiers, and guns while visiting Dresden.

The police, accusing them of being Belgian

28

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

spies, threw them in jail, where they harshly interrogated them. The boys were eventually released, but their tale was a harbinger of the horrors of the war to come.

In yet another issue from that year, a story running below the fold tells of the retirement of a much-loved old laundry horse named Dick. On Sunday morning, the article reads, “Dick would appear at breakfast time and visit one by one all the dormitories, standing patiently in front of each until the laundry bags had been loaded into the wagon.”

And so it goes. Browsing through decades of issues of The Record offers a snapshot of everyday life at Hotchkiss — and a look at how world events affected the school on the hill. Even the paper’s early ads — for musthave items like Pinaud hair tonic, raccoon coats, and knickerbockers — reveal the style and culture of the day.

Today’s student newspaper bears no resemblance to the first student publication produced in 1892, the year the School opened.

That publication, The Hotchkiss Annual, was a slim volume of essays hardbound in rich blue cloth, with the title imprinted on the front in

gold Gothic lettering.

The Annual was a more of a literary magazine than a newspaper. Students submitted scholarly essays about history, travel, and visiting lecturers, along with original pen-and-ink drawings and ads. A year later, in November 1893, The Record began publication. It, too, resembled a magazine in format and substance, but with several distinctions. An editorial board had been formally established, and the publication’s mission was clearly articulated: “We wish The Record to represent the opinions of the students on all matters connected with school life.”

It wasn’t until the early 1900s, when the future co-founders of Time, Inc. — Briton Hadden ’16, who was The Record editor, and Henry Luce ’16, who wrote for The Record and edited The Lit — began publishing The Record on a bi-weekly basis. By then, The Record had evolved to resemble a newspaper more than a magazine, adopting a broadsheet format with six columns running across the front page.

Inside, there were full-page ads for Chesterfield cigarettes and the latest luxury automobiles, as

Snapshots from The Record 1936-1938

Many noted writers had their first works published in The Record, including Pulitzer Prize-winners Archibald MacLeish ’11, John Hersey ’32, and Tom Reiss ’82; National Book Award-winner Peter Mattheissen ’45, and former editor of Harper’s Magazine Lewis Lapham ’52. well as photos and editorial cartoons.

Some students complained that Luce and Hadden published too much about about current events. But the two editors were intent on breaking down the insularity of the School; they even got Theodore Roosevelt to contribute the first of a series of articles by famous Americans on world affairs. And the paper covered the mundane details of Hotchkiss life, like food consumption statistics: the June 9, 1937, issue of The Record stated that in the average school year, each Hotchkiss student drank about 320 quarts of milk and ate 540 eggs.

In the ensuing decades, the design of the newspaper continued to change, but students, guided by faculty advisors, would remain in charge of editorial content. During the ’40s, in deference to a nationwide paper shortage, The Record cut back to two issues a month. In one issue in 1942, an editorial revealed that 77 percent of the boys enrolled were eligible for the draft: “[Seventy-seven] per cent of a class,

most of whom could be said to have been born with a silver spoon in their mouths, unless someone was using it to mix martinis. Seventyseven per cent of a class, called for duty greater than rattling in their Continental Cabriolets.

This draft is going to bring many a Hotchkiss lad to earth with a sickly thud….The days of leisure, gentlemen of leisure, are over.”

Throughout the following decades, The Record remained an outlet for students to assert their opinions on topics affecting the School, ranging from drugs to race relations to co-education — not to mention a trend of campus streakings. In 1974, The Record became so embroiled in School politics that then-headmaster Bill Olsen decided not to mail it to parents for fear of how the content might reflect the School. In reaction to Olsen’s control over The Record, a group of students founded The Whipping Post as an alternative outlet, which circulated internally.

Today, The Record, published bi-weekly, continues to be a forum for students to

express their views on controversial issues that affect the School. The editorial staff keeps its fingers on the pulse of the community.

“The other editors-in-chief and I joke that we have the school calendar tattooed to our arms, but there is actually a lot of truth to that sentiment,” says editor-in-chief Sarah Kuehn ’17. “More than any other activity I participate in, The Record has truly connected me with the life of the School, and that is something we try to share with our readers.”

These days, the paper’s front-page headlines typically don’t reflect world news or current events. Says Kuehn: “We are not experts on worldly affairs; we can look to The New York Times for that. Nor are we experts on the latest celebrity gossip or pop culture culture trends; we can look to social media for that.

But we are the experts on Hotchkiss, on this little section of the northwest corner of Connecticut, which is why The Record continues to be relevant to the student body 125 years after its inception.”

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

29

Hotchkiss and the World I

n 1999, The Class of 1948 established the Office of International Programs and the Fund for Global Understanding in honor of their 50th reunion. Since its founding, the office has sponsored campus speakers, travel programs, and facilitated teacher and student exchanges.

“All of our travel programs are directly tied to the academic and co-curricular program,” says Director of International Programs David Thompson, now in his his 10th year in the office. “Students have a chance to connect what they are doing on campus with the outside world, and to have their travel experience enrich their time in Lakeville.”

“We have a unique opportunity as a boarding school to create a microcosm of the larger world, and work to highlight the perspectives of the 25 percent of our students who come to Hotchkiss from 35 countries and territories abroad.”

During the 2016-17 academic year, the School offers 12 off-campus that include faculty-led academic and cultural immersions, volunteer programs, and travel programs with other schools. In addition, students have the opportunity to go on exchange to countries such as India, South Africa, Australia, Columbia, Germany, and France.

FROM 2007-2017: Hotchkiss has organized more than

More than

An average of

Nearly

Hotchkiss students have traveled through these programs

of the graduating class have traveled on a program, 33% at least twice

students have come to Hotchkiss on exchange from schools abroad

300 1,300 52% 100 travel programs abroad

30

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Oh, the places we’ve gone... and will go.

Hotchkiss has hosted travel learning programs and exchanges to areas throughout the world, including: QuĂŠbec New Mexico Russia New Zealand South Korea Colombia China Israel

Italy Sweden Australia France Germany India Kenya South Africa

Antarctica (and the South Atlantic) Chile Cuba Ecuador England Greece Honduras

Ireland Morocco Peru Poland Senegal Spain Zambia

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

31

HOTCHKISS IN D.C.

The New Age of American Politics

BY ADAM SHARP ’96

T

he election of D onald T rump represents myriad

transformations of our culture.

Shifts in how we engage with institutions, brands, and public figures stand foremost, shepherding with them tremendous developments in presidential campaign communication.

The most effective way to gain a vote remains the firm handshake and look in the eye. That much has never changed. But for even the earliest presidential campaigns, at the turn of the 19th century, our nation was already too vast for meaningful “retail” campaign craft.

The campaigns of that era epitomized Tip O’Neill’s “all politics is local” aphorism of two hundred years later. Voters rarely saw or heard directly from candidates. Local supporters gave the speeches and distributed pamphlets of quotations. Commerce had a similar local flare.

What you didn’t make yourself, you bought from local producers or port-city traders.

By the late 1800s, a second age emerged.

Advances in transportation brought politics and commerce to the front porch with the first mail-order catalogs and barnstorming politicians. Other candidates brought the voters to them. William McKinley’s campaign famously delivered 700,000 supporters — the equivalent of one-in-ten of his election-day voters — to hear him speak from his Canton, Ohio, front porch in 1896.

The last whistlestop runs of FDR and Truman faded into misty nostalgia as a third era took hold. The broadcast scale of radio and television eclipsed one-on-one connections. The packaging of candidates became no different from that of primetime stars or boxes of soap.

32

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

The 20th century closed with a fully wholesale process: political messages delivered more widely through 30-second ads and sound bites rather than handshakes or speeches. Unless you lived in the dwindling battleground, candidates became unapproachable celebrities and “brands” more than individuals. Commerce grew equally impersonal, with small shops squeezed out by big box stores, global brands, and online shopping. News consumers similarly began gravitating from local sources to national ones for all but the weather.

A new, technology-fueled phenomenon has emerged in recent years: the impression of personal contact without sacrificing scale.

Amazon’s algorithms tailor virtual shelves to our tastes. Netflix uncannily predicts the movies we want to watch. Social media feeds deliver a new front page that prioritizes well-liked content over editors’ journalistic judgment. Even the largest corporation can appear to be the bartender who always remembers your drink.

Into this paradigm stepped Donald J. Trump of New York, empowered by the real-time, public, conversational nature of Twitter. His use of the platform exhibits an agility with core pillars of effective social communication: engagement, immediacy, relevance, and diversity.

Candidate Trump’s engagement was often little more than a retweet, a subtle act still poignant enough to convey “I’m listening” to millions of followers. A 2011 study found that, for many groups, such engagement has the same impact as meeting a candidate in person.

His tweets rarely hew to the antiquated “news cycle” of six o’clock deadlines. Trump

engages with his followers in real time, bypassing journalists’ contextual perspective — or what his supporters would claim to be filtering bias.

Those who dismiss as “unpresidential” Trump’s tweets about live television miss the popular impact of engaging when most relevant. CNN or Fox News pique curiosity in magnitudes of more Americans than the best Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. Diversity in non-political topics creates bonds with those who distrust one-dimensionality. His oft-inability to stay on message confounds traditionalists but contributes to an “own man” mystique among supporters.

Trump’s social messaging buttresses an essential perception of authenticity. It provides a sense of connection the electorate has hungered for, and delivers the one-on-one handshake on a national scale for the first time.

A 2013 study found the most telling predictor of engagement with politicians on Twitter was whether users believed the candidates did their own tweeting. Trump’s tactical success made his Twitter profile among the platform’s most visible. His tweets were viewed more than one billion times per month during the campaign.

That’s more than the ten most-followed celebrities combined.

Today, the perception of authenticity now trumps truth, partisanship, and policy. The president’s persona, as seen in the immediacy, relevance, and diversity of his Twitter engagement, stands in contrast to the more cautious and impersonal front of the Clinton campaign. Her polished packaging, a textbook execution that would have seen success in the prior age, distracted from her potential impact in critical communities throughout 2016.

For such an archetype of 20th-century-styled TV stardom, it may be surprising that Trump adapted so readily to this age in which his opponents struggled. Perhaps it’s the previous era he adapted to; the new one is a more natural fit. Today’s culture yearns for the manufactured intimacy with which his innate approach aligns, where perceived authenticity in the messenger is more critical than any content of the message.

The Trump brand has indeed always been one of the individual, his golden moniker emblazoned across every façade.

Adam Sharp ’96 is a consultant, speaker, and entrepreneur in Stamford, Conn. Having previously worked as a journalist and as a communications director for Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, he led news and politics at Twitter from 2010 through 2016.

PHOTO BY WENDY CARLSON

Today, the perception of authenticity now trumps truth, partisanship, and policy.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

33

The Role of

Media in Politics In the nation’s capital, an alumni panel unpacks the Trump presidency political spectrum. David Hawkings ’78, a veteran political journalist and senior editor of CQ Roll Call; Dan Lippman ’08, reporter for Politico; Natalie Boyse ’09, former presidential campaign staffer for Republicans Mitt Romney and Senator Marco Rubio; Raffi Williams ’07, reporter for Circa.com; and Adam Sharp ’96, former head of news and elections at Twitter, each shared their views on press coverage of President Donald Trump’s first weeks in office, concerns over fact-checking the White House, and the role of social media, particularly Trump’s use of Twitter, in the 2016 presidential election.

“This discussion couldn’t have come at a more perfect time,” Brown said, referring to

the rapidly shifting political landscape.

Following the conversation, the panel took questions from audience members, who raised concerns ranging from the role of the judicial branch in balancing Trump’s agenda to the security of First Amendment rights. Panelists from both sides of the political divide took an optimistic view of the latter. Hawkings, who has spent most of his career covering national politics, believes that freedom of the press will ultimately prevail.

“The First Amendment is always stronger than any administration,” he said.

To see a video of the panel discussion, go to hotchkiss.org/news

Hotchkiss alumni talk politics at the National Press Club in D.C.

34

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTO BY WENDY CARLSON

A

gainst the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s turbulent first weeks in office, an alumni panel of political and media insiders gathered on Jan. 26 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to discuss the new administration’s relationship with the press. The event, sponsored by the Hotchkiss Alumni Association, included a reception and Q&A and drew 61 alumni and guests.

The discussion, moderated by Lisa Brown ’78, who served as staff secretary during President Barack Obama’s first term, followed the format of “Meet the Press,” with perspectives from panelists across the

What’s your view of the changing relationship between the media and the White House?

Natalie Boyse ’09

David Hawking ’78

Former presidential campaign staffer for Senator Marco Rubio 2016 and Romney/Ryan 2012

Senior editor, CQ Roll Call

From a campaign perspective, it’s impressive that Trump was able to pull it off. No one was expecting it. I don’t think his campaign can be replicated. He was good at making ridiculous statements, and the press had to report on them. Most of what he said would have sunk any other candidate. He tapped into a message that worked at that time, and he’s still trying to run a campaign out of the White House by attempting to speak directly to people through Twitter. So the media is in a tough spot because they are trying to hold him and his administration accountable, but the administration is attacking them. So there is more pressure on the media to make sure that the news is factual. Every time they make a mistake, it’s undermining their credibility.

Lisa Brown ’78

Vice president and general counsel, Georgetown University; former staff secretary for President Obama We’re in a completely different era in terms of how the administration is going to interact with the media. And there’s a lot that remains to be seen. But it’s starting out in a very antagonistic way, unfortunately, which does not serve the public well, because our democracy is founded on citizens having accurate information that enables them to engage in the political process effectively. When you have the media and White House battling each other, it’s not good for anybody. There’s always some tension in how any administration deals with the press, but it’s very different when you come in calling the media an “opponent” instead of recognizing that they have a role to play in our democracy. What’s also fascinating is the President’s use of Twitter.

Historically, Twitter has been a curated way of getting your message out. But Trump is making news with it.

I’ve been working in D.C. for 30 years, and I thought I understood the patterns. The start of this administration is like none before, and that’s not an ideological observation.

Trump promised he’d do it very differently, and he is fulfilling his promise. I never thought I’d be writing words like “falsehood, lie, and untruth” in the same paragraph about the President of the United States, but now I’ve done it. It’s off-putting, and I’m trying to recalibrate for the new world order. He’s shaken up Washington, and that’s what people said they wanted. So all the old assumptions have been thrown out the window. You would think that a unified government, an all-Republican government, would have a certain predictability to it, but Trump didn’t run as a regular Republican.

He’s the least conservative Republican president since Eisenhower. You have to wake up every day, not counting on old assumptions on how the day is going to unfold. What you thought was true and perceptive when you turned your story the night before might be totally overtaken by events the next morning.

Daniel Lippman ’08

Reporter for Politico and co-author of Politico’s Playbook There’s never been a more important time to be a journalist because of the unprecedented current occupant of the White House, and the norms that he’s been flouting. The media has a very important role in the next few years to play with Trump in power and keeping him in check. I think people are newly appreciative of the role of media, and so we’re seeing more subscribers to lots of different news organizations because people want to get independent coverage so they can better understand what’s happening in Washington.

Lots of different factions of Trump world are using media to accomplish their goals of backstabbing, which creates the palace intrigue that we’re seeing on an hourly basis.

Adam Sharp ’96

Former head of news, government, and elections at Twitter It’s a really interesting time in American politics. Certainly Donald Trump has come into office, in large part, through his use of social media, making an authentic, direct connection to the voters that we haven’t seen for a century. What we’ve seen instead has been this move toward mass media politics, the wholesaling of politics, sitting in a TV studio and getting your message out that way. But through his use of Twitter and other platforms, Donald Trump made this campaign much more of a one-on-one with his constituents, and he seems to be heading to making that the core operation of his presidency.

Raffi Williams ’07

Political reporter, Circa.com I think we’re faced with something America has never seen before in terms of the amount of information the President can directly give to the American people. The media is trying to deal with their diminished standing in the president’s direct pipeline and figuring out how to report on a president that doesn’t fit into the Democratic and Republican ideology. The challenge we in the media are facing is how to give Trump a fair shake and accurately report what’s going on.

To do this, we have to dig deeper, to talk to the people who matter and put what’s happening now into historical context. We have to try to distill how his statements will become policy. That’s the challenge: separating his hyperbole from reality.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

35

A SEAT AT THE TABlE In Washington, D.C., Annika Lescott ’06 is building a career in public service

BY CHELSEA EDGAR

Annika Lescott

36

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTO BY WENDY CARLSON

I

f you ask

about her job, she probably won’t tell you much — and no, she doesn’t work for the CIA. As a presidential management fellow in the Executive Office of the President of the United States, she spends her days doing non-partisan housing policy analysis and putting together the commander-inchief ’s budget. But she can’t talk about any specifics — like which policies she’s researched, or is researching, or might research — because she’d be violating the law. Without breaking her chipper tone, she launches into a disclaimer outlining all the things she can’t discuss before she even begins to talk about her work.

“I can’t talk about anything that is not public, first and foremost. I cannot give an endorsement of the federal government, or any non-federal entities or people in my official role. And anything I say is my own personal view and not necessarily the view or position of the current administration or the government.”

Lescott’s position isn’t a political appointment. No matter which president is in the White House, she has to put aside her own views and work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to carry out the priorities of the administration.

When she evaluates a policy, she gathers all the facts she can find on that issue, then

I think it’s important to be that voice for people who can’t sit at the table.

That’s what I’m driven by. offers recommendations based on the evidence, “independent of whatever party likes [the policy] or dislikes it,” she says.

This empirical approach requires her to compartmentalize her own political beliefs.

“I often have to divorce my personal views from what I do at work,” Lescott says. “I can’t make decisions based on ‘values’ — my own personal values or feelings about the President.”

“I think that’s the hardest part of my job,” she adds.

Because of the federal government’s strict ethics rules, Lescott doesn’t have the luxury of chatting with her friends about work — “I’d be giving away state secrets,” she jokes — but she takes pride in knowing that her work has an impact on people’s lives.

Since her Hotchkiss days, Lescott has been drawn to a career in public service.

The daughter of Trinidadian immigrants, she grew up in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, a neighborhood of Orthodox Jewish and Caribbean families. Lescott came to Hotchkiss through Prep for Prep, a program that prepares low-income students in the inner city for private boarding and day schools. After graduating from Hotchkiss, she earned her bachelor’s at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s in public administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She was then selected as a presidential management fellow, a highly competitive program that provides training and development within D.C.’s federal agencies. In her role in the Office of Management and Budget, she’s had the opportunity to rotate in different policy areas; before she worked on housing policy, she helped to implement landmark legislation to strengthen workforce development programs.

In each position she’s held, Lescott has focused on what she can do to improve public services for those who depend on them.

“I think it’s important to be that voice for people who can’t sit at the table. That’s what I’m driven by,” she says. And she believes that she wouldn’t be where she is today without the people who have advocated for her and bolstered her confidence along the way: “I owe a lot to my mentors from Hotchkiss, like the Haikos, who were always supportive, and Mrs. [Carolyn] Demaray, who made me feel welcomed and like I could do anything.”

In her Hotchkiss days, Lescott says, she was “manager extraordinaire:” at various points in her four years at the School, she managed the varsity girls and boys track teams, the varsity boys basketball team, and the thirds girls basketball team. “I’ve never been much into sports, but I pay attention to detail,” she says.

She also worked as an athletic trainer and studied photography with Bob and Sandy Haiko (“I don’t do that anymore,” she says wistfully).

From a young age, Lescott has been ambitious: in her prep year, she was class president, and she set her sights on becoming a Hotchkiss trustee. “I felt like people who looked like me weren’t given a seat at the table to make decisions,” she says. “Often, the people most impacted by policies — at a school level, a local community level, or a national level — are not the ones whose perspectives are taken into account.”

Currently, Lescott is a member of the Hotchkiss Alumni Association Board of Governors, which keeps her engaged with the alumni community and the School. She remembers how she felt when Phil Pillsbury ’53, a trustee during Lescott’s time at Hotchkiss, would ask her what she thought of things that were happening at the School.

That experience of being heard has stayed with her.

“Part of being a public servant, I think, is paying that forward,” she says.

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

37

A Message from Frederick Frank ’50, P’12 Chair of the Town Hill Society • Former President of the Board and Trustee Emeritus

Dear Members of the Hotchkiss family, As our school celebrates its 125th anniversary, I am mindful of the many individuals who have acted with forethought and generosity to ensure that the excellent education Hotchkiss offers will be available to future generations. The Town Hill Society recognizes those who have provided for the School in their estate plans.

From creating a memorial for a beloved family or faculty member, to naming a fund that will support a program of particular interest, or to providing unrestricted support for the School, members of the Town Hill Society ensure that Hotchkiss will remain a preeminent educational institution for years to come.

We are deeply indebted to the Town Hill Society members whose names grace the following pages, for they have demonstrated their unwavering confidence in and support for Hotchkiss and its long-standing mission.

Class of 1899 Mr. William K. Wallbridge* Class of 1902 Dr. Ethan F. Butler* Class of 1903 Mr. Hubert C. Williams* Class of 1908 Mr. Raymond B. Bowen* Mr. Arthur Lehman Goodhart* Class of 1910 Mr. Alexander D. Chiquoine Jr.* Mr. Gerald Watson Hinkley* Mr. Henry Holman Ketcham* Class of 1911 Mr. Sidney Otis Cowles* Class of 1912 Anonymous* Class of 1913 Mr. and Mrs. Richard E. Pope* Class of 1916 Mr. Wildey Hubbell Mitchell* Class of 1917 Mr. Robert E. Blum* Mr. Richard Peale Towne* Class of 1918 Mr. Stanley Hart* Mr. W. Wilson Holden* Mr. William Heath Lyon* Mr. W. Bartlett Marshall* Mr. C. D. Williams* Class of 1919 Anonymous* Mr. John Dalzell II* Mr. Robert Elverston Dodd* Mr. Valentine Chamberlain Hart* Mr. John Sherwin*

38

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Class of 1920 Mr. Edward Jewett Carleton* Mr. Harry B. Clow Jr.* Mr. James Hall Stackpole* Class of 1921 Mr. Lucius Hilliard Barbour* Mr. Clarence A. Earl* Mr. Richardson Harwood* Mr. Arthur McClement* Class of 1922 Mr. Edwin Alfred Adey* Mr. Webster Ward Benton* Mr. & Mrs. Richard O. Billings* Mr. Hawthorne Deming* Mr. John E. Ellsworth* Mr. Frederick Latham Emeny* Mr. William O. Field Jr.* Mr. George H. Flinn Jr.* Mr. Sayre MacLeod* Mr. Thomas Edwards Rhodes* Mr. Leighton Hale Stevens* Mrs. Comfort L. Stuart* Mr. Frederic A. Ward* Class of 1923 Mr. John Hills Beardsley* Mr. & Mrs. Frank E. Calhoun* Mr. William Ballard Derby* Mr. Robert B. Flint* Mr. Frederick F. Robinson* Class of 1924 Anonymous Mr. Howard C. Judd* Mr. Robert V. Massey Jr.* Mr. Paul H. Nitze* Class of 1925 Anonymous Mr. Thomas W. Armitage* Dr. Burwell Dodd* Mr. Stephen H. Hartshorn* Mr. Richard C. Overton* Mr. John J. Quinn* Mr. George Warren Wyckoff*

Class of 1926 Anonymous Mr. James Coffinberry Brooks Jr.* Mrs. Robert W. Ehrich* Mr. Clement Sullivane Henry* Mr. James T. Patterson Jr.* Dr. Benjamin V. White* Mr. H. Hunter Williams* Dr. Francis M. Woods* Class of 1927 Mr. J. J. Brooks* Mr. Brice H. Hereford* Mr. Francis M. Hughes* Mr. David C. Knowlton* Mr. Edward C. Marshall* Class of 1928 Anonymous Mr. Redfield David Beckwith* Mr. Alfred Dennis Bell Jr.* Mr. Charles Fiske Bound* Mr. Richard A. Buck* Mr. & Mrs. Joseph T. Hall* Mr. William V. Hodges Jr.* Mr. Edward F. Knight* Mrs. John C. Schenck* Mrs. Cameron Waterman* Class of 1929 Anonymous (2) Mr. A. G. Agnew* Mr. Samuel Heffelfinger Bell* Mr. Charles J. Harrington* Mr. & Mrs. Richard V. Holahan* Dr. Joseph W. Johnson Jr.* Mr. F. D. Lapham* Mr. Thomas Nichol Jr.* Mr. Hugh R. Sharp Jr.* Mr. Brewster Weed Smith* Mr. Hoyt Smith* Mr. John Q. Tilson* Mr. M. P. Warner* Class of 1930 Mr. Churchill Gibson Carey* Mr. John Whitin Curtis*

Mr. George E. Dix* Mr. Booth Hemingway* Mr. Joseph W. Lewis* Mr. William Gelon McKnight Jr.* Class of 1931 Anonymous (2) Mr. George R. Atterbury* Mr. John B. Calfee Sr.* Mr. Joseph F. Cullman 3rd* Mrs. George O. Elmore Dr. Charles S. Houston* Mr. Robert M. Krementz* Mr. William J. Larkin 2nd* Mr. Constable MacCracken* Mr. Alan Cleaver Vedder* Class of 1932 Mr. Arthur L. Connell* Mr. Robert B. McKellar* Mr. William G. Mennen Jr.* Mr. Norman L. Neville* Dr. Robert P. Noble* Mr. Joseph G. Standart Jr.* Class of 1933 Dr. Edward H. Ahrens Jr.* Mr. & Mrs. Preston I. Carnes* Mr. David W. Dangler* Mr. Robert M. Gillespie* Mr. Benson Hamlin* Mr. George P. Haskell* Mr. & Mrs. Wallace R. Hughes* Mr. & Mrs. Woods McCahill* Mr. H. Lawrence Thompson Jr.* Class of 1934 Mr. Jack K. Busby* Mr. Allen F. Edwards Jr.* Mr. James H. Flinn Jr.* Mr. George S. Lewis II* Mr. Thomas R. McMillen* Mr. Ashley W. Olmsted* Mr. Frederick Rust Van Vechten Jr.* Mr. Oswald G. Villard Jr.* Mr. Robert B. Wilson* Class of 1935 Anonymous Mr. G. d. Belin* Mr. H. T. Emerson Jr.* Mr. Franklin M. Haines* Mr. David R. Hubbard* Mr. Collister Johnson Mr. George D. Kellogg Jr.* Dr. Stephen H. M. Plum* Class of 1936 Mr. Edgar M. Cullman Sr.* Mr. William Louis Dommerich* Dr. William Warner Field* Mr. Robert Treat Larkin* Mr. James L. Nammack* Mr. Robert D. Orr* Mr. Andrew D. Orrick* Mr. Henry Seymour Robinson Jr.* Mr. Talcott Stanley* Mr. W. S. Thompson Jr.* Mr. Charles M. Wilds* Class of 1937 Anonymous Mr. George W. Blossom III* Mr. Robert C. Carman* Mrs. Robert W. Crandall*

Mr. William Elfers* Mr. Philip R. Freeman* Mr. Robert B. Gardner Jr.* Dr. William P. Given* Mr. Richard L. Hatch* Mr. Charles T. Larus* Mr. Marc R. Prass Jr.* Mr. William O. Rockwood* Mr. William M. Schutte* Mr. Bruce S. Williams* Class of 1938 Anonymous (2) Mrs. Philip Case Mr. Ralph W. Halsey Jr. Mr. William P. Munger Mr. Edward V. Nunes* Mr. Roger E. Pearson* Mr. Horton R. Prudden Sr.* Mr. & Mrs. Frank A. Sprole* Mr. Donald S. Tuttle Jr.* Mr. Arthur Kittredge Watson* Class of 1939 Anonymous Mr. Thomas Barbour* Mr. David D. Coffin Mr. David L. Dean* Mr. Russell Frost III* Mr. Stephen K. Galpin* Mr. Maurice Goodman Jr.* Mr. Lyttleton B. Gould Jr.* Mrs. William B. Jordan III* Mr. Joseph A. Lee Jr.* Mr. Thomas D. McKone* Mr. Eugene Horton Morrison* Mr. Zeph Stewart* Mr. George D. Wrightson Jr.* Class of 1940 Anonymous Mr. Edward R. Bulkeley* Mr. Merrell E. Clark Jr.* Mr. H. P. Converse* Mr. Edward W. Cook* Mr. & Mrs. Charles P. Cooper Jr.* Mr. & Mrs. Walter F. Goodman* Mr. Marc M. Griggs* Mr. Archibald McClure Mr. Robert S. Morton* Mr. Willard J. Overlock* Mr. Charles N. Schenck III* Mr. Burton G. Tremaine Jr.* Mr. Charles M. Weis Class of 1941 Anonymous Mr. John W. Anderson II* Mr. & Mrs. Alexander T. Brown* Mr. Rawle Deland* Mr. Richard F. Goodman* Mr. John D. Gregory* Mr. John Izard* Mr. Wilson A. Jaicks Jr.* Mr. Malcolm B. Lowe Jr.* Mr. David L. Luke III* Mr. John McIntosh III* Mrs. Barbara H. Noyes Mr. Harrison C. Noyes Jr.* Mr. James Jacobs Robison* Mr. James A. Schnaars* Mr. Miles B. Suchin* Mr. Edward F. Swift III* Mr. John C. Virden Jr.* Mr. Murray W. Warner*

Mr. John L. Worrilow* Class of 1942 Anonymous (3) Mr. Wendell W. Anderson Jr.* Mr. John G. Bowen* Mr. Walter H. Brown* Mr. George G. Conyngham* Mr. Joseph E. Devine* Mr. Bruce G. Duncan* Mr. Edmund M. Hayden Jr.* Mr. Harrison R. Johnston Jr.* Mr. Robert P. Knight Mr. Robert Knox* Mr. Robert J. Royle Mrs. H. Nelson Slater* Mr. Richard C. Smith Jr.* Mr. Richard A. Vaill* Mrs. Adele Ziegelmeier* Mr. Robert A. Ziegelmeier* Class of 1943 Anonymous (2) Mr. Robert R. Austell Jr. Mr. Robert M. Ballou* Mrs. Charles E. Cooney* Mr. William C. Ford* Mr. James S. Gratton* Mr. Peter W. Lufkin Sr.* Mr. Leonard L. Marshall Jr. Mr. Skeffington S. Norton III* Mr. Daniel E. Slocum* Mr. Leonard E. Smith Mr. William B. Troy Mr. William Truesdell* Class of 1944 Anonymous Mr. Compton Allyn* Mr. John E. Bigelow* Mr. Robert B. Bottomley Mr. John C. Calhoun Jr.* Mr. Eliot W. Denault Jr.* Mr. Randolph F. Funsten Jr.* Mr. Lester C. Gunther* Mr. Paul F. Heymann* Mr. Edward B. Leisenring Jr.* Mr. Richard H. Needham* Mr. Paul van Marx* Dr. John C. Roberts Mr. John L. Way II* Dr. Francis A. Wood Class of 1945 Anonymous Mr. John M. Allen* Mrs. Elizabeth P. Allen Mr. Christopher H. Ballou* Mr. Maynard C. Bartram Jr. Mrs. Robert S. Bryan* Mr. Blair Childs Jr. Mr. Kent R. Costikyan Jr.* Mr. Wesley M. Dixon Jr.* Mr. Lansing C. Holden III* Dr. Peyton H. Mead Mr. Francis F. Randolph Jr.* Mr. Jonathan W. Sloat* Mr. John B. Veach Jr.* Class of 1946 Anonymous (4) Mr. Stephen Birmingham* Dr. Lawrence S. Krotzer Mr. George Labalme Jr.* Mr. Paul C. Lambert

Mr. Chauncey F. Lufkin* Mr. Alexander McAfee Mr. Frederick D. Montgomery* Mr. Edwin R. Motch III Mr. Morgan J. Murray Mr. Robert P. van Marx Dr. Joseph M. Winston* Class of 1947 Anonymous Mr. & Mrs. John R. H. Blum Mr. David Chang* Mr. Thomas W. Costikyan Mr. William D. Dana Jr.* Mr. Denis C. Debost Mr. Alan I. Greene Mr. Bruce Hausman Mr. Lawrence O. Houghton* Mr. John Kittredge Mr. Andrew J. McDonald* Mr. Howard I. McMillan Jr.* Mr. Kenneth A. Menken* Mr. Middleton Rose Jr.* Dr. John N. Schullinger Class of 1948 Anonymous (3) Mr. Theodore T. C. Bijou* Mr. William Vail Brokaw* Mr. Richard H. Childs Mr. & Mrs. John W. Hincks Mr. William Press Hodgkins Jr.* Mr. Craig A. Nalen Dr. Lawrence A. Norton* Mr. Saturnino L. Salas* Mr. Elward Smith 3rd* Class of 1949 Anonymous (5) Mr. Baird C. Brittingham* Mr. & Mrs. Peter Bulkeley Mr. Howard C. Carr Mr. James D. Dana* Mr. Anthony P. Halsey* Dr. Gilbert F. Hogan Mr. Arthur B. Hudson Mr. Theodore S. Jadick Mr. Stanley J. Kahrl* Mr. Dan W. Lufkin Mr. Forrest E. Mars Jr.* Mr. Arthur F. Murray Mr. Frank T. Pagnamenta Mr. F. Herbert Prem Jr. Dr. Edward L. Richards Jr. Mr. Frank M. Sims Class of 1950 Anonymous (2) Mr. Peter O. Crisp Mr. Frederick Frank Mr. David R. Maginnes Mr. Donald R. Ober* Mr. Bailey Smith* Mr. Howard H. Williams III* Class of 1951 Anonymous (2) Mr. Harvey N. Black Jr. Mr. John French III Mr. Richard W. Goss II* Mr. Nicholas Kucherov* Mr. Eugene Latham* Mr. Charles O. Matcham Jr.* Mr. Parker Murray* Mr. Arthur E. Pew III

Mr. Charles W. Roraback Mr. Richey Smith Mrs. Monique B. Swift* Mr. Henegouwen Van Bergen* Class of 1952 Anonymous Mr. Harrington Bischof Mr. Julian L. Coolidge Mr. Andrew G. Emerson* Mr. Noel M. Field Jr. Mr. Richard P. Goldman Mr. Thomas A. Kahrl* Mr. Nicholas S. Kirkbride* Mr. Ernest Kolowrat Mr. Donal C. O’Brien Jr.* Mr. Robert S. Ogden Jr. Mr. Daniel C. Rebhun Jr. Dr. Stephen K. Scher Class of 1953 Anonymous (4) Mr. Bruce P. Arneill Mr. & Mrs. John R. Chandler Jr. Mr. John T. Chase* Mr. Charles Gulden Jr.* Mr. Hiram P. Maxim 2nd* Mr. John J. Roche* Mr. Peter J. Rosenwald Mr. Donald H. Streett Mr. Ernest N. Wasserman Class of 1954 Mr. Thomas H. Dixon Mr. Alfred L. Ferguson Mr. William M. France* Mr. William F. Gillespie III* Mr. Edward F. Lambrecht Jr. Mr. Sam B. Marcus Mr. Charles D. Owen Jr. Mr. R. A. Pew Dr. David T. Watson The Reverend Donald Roderick Welles Jr.* Class of 1955 Mr. Joseph W. Barnett Jr.* Mr. Henry H. Erbe Jr. Mr. Edward J. Greenberg Mr. Christopher Larsen Mr. Winston Lord Mr. P. M. Mitchell Mr. Thomas Ronald Smetana* Mr. Philip W. Terrell Jr. Mrs. Thomas A. Williams* Class of 1956 The Reverend Canon Lance K. Beizer Mr. Allison B. Durfee Mr. Francis T. Vincent Jr. Class of 1957 Mr. John C. Bennett Jr. Mr. Preston I. Carnes Jr. Mr. Richard H. Johnson Mr. Jonathan Z. Larsen Mr. Harry S. Parker III Dr. Daniel F. Ryan Mr. Peter W. Thoms Mr. E. M. Williams III* Class of 1958 Anonymous Ambassador Robert M. Beecroft Mr. Thomas S. Childs Jr. * denotes deceased members

W i n t e r / S p r i n g

2 0 1 7

39

Hotchkiss Reunions June 16-18, 2017

•

Classes ending in 2 or 7

Online Registration is Now Open Visit www.hotchkissalumni.org/reunion to register

Class of 1967 • Save The Date The 50th Reunion will be on October 20-22, 2017

Hope to see you in Lakeville!

Alumni Association