Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

Fall/Winter 2023–24

Investing in Faculty Excellence and the Student Experience

SPRING SPRIN G

ALUMNI

GAMES Saturday, May 18, 2024

Join the Spring Alumni Games! All alumni are invited back

to campus for an afternoon of fun and friendly competition. Reconnect with your Pennington teammates and coaches as you take part in baseball, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and more! Bring the entire family to enjoy lawn games, refreshments, and cheer on our alumni athletes.

Register online and learn more using the QR code below or visit:

pennington.org/springalumnigames

contents

Head of School William S. Hawkey, PhD Editor Lori G. Lipsky Director of Communications and Marketing llipsky@pennington.org

Fall/Winter 2023–24 • Volume 64, No.2

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F E AT U R E S

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Communications Team Tina Lambdin, graphic designer Julia Molchansky, digital media marketing manager Jennifer Taverney, publications manager Robert E. Martini Associate Head of School Chad Bridges Assistant Head of School for Advancement and Strategic Initiatives Charles D. Brown Director of Admission and Financial Aid Sharon Jarboe Head of Middle School Chrissie Knight Contributing Writers Karen Balerna, Peter Chase, Jane Bott Childrey ’89, Dolores Eaton, William S. Hawkey, Lisa Houston, Suzanne Houston, Chrissie Knight, A. Melissa Kiser, Tracy Kuser, Lori Lipsky, Ami Ly ’26, Julia Molchansky, Erin O’Connell, Sarah Pawlowski, Alicia Reed, Mark Reilly, Jessie Shaffer, Melinda Van Dillen P’27, and Susan Wirsig Contributing Photographers/Artists Karen Balerna, Erica Bridges, Stephanie Cohen, Adriana DeCervantes ’09, Marc DiGiacomo, Dolores Eaton, Scott Gibbard P’19 ’21 ’22, Tyler Hope ’24 Jim Horan, Suzanne Houston, Jim Inverso, Taylor Jennings, Kathy-Lynn Kelly, Jae-Hyun Kim, Susy Kim, Chrissie Knight, Tracy Kuser, Tina Lambdin, Sarah McGarvey, Julia Molchansky, Parents for Pennington, Patrick Murphy ’80, Erin O’Connell, Sanjana Padmanabhan ’24, Susan Paige, Mark Reilly, Mike Schwartz, Tim Scott, Peter Secrest ’13, Jessie Shaffer, Christopher Sirolly ’23, and Susan Wirsig Printing: Prism Color Corporation The Pennington School 112 West Delaware Avenue, Pennington, NJ 08534 609–737–1838 www.pennington.org All materials copyright © 2023 by The Pennington School unless otherwise noted. The cupola logo is a registered trademark of The Pennington School. The Pennington School®, registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Opinions expressed in Pennington Magazine are those of the authors, not necessarily those of The Pennington School.

The Pennington School admits students of any race, religion, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression or identity, physical disability, national and ethnic origin, or sexual orientation in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and financial aid programs, employment policies, and athletic and other School-administered programs.

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INTRODUCING CAMP 9:

A new overnight orientation program developed exclusively for our ninth-grade students

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INVESTING IN FACULTY EXCELLENCE AND THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE:

ALSO INSIDE Middle School News 14 Homecoming and Reunion Weekend 18 Faculty Spotlights 26

The Forever Pennington campaign will shape the future of The Pennington School.

PfP News 44 Arts at Pennington 45

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Upper School Athletics 48 Class Notes 58

FALL HAPPENINGS:

Community Day, special events, and an impressive array of guest speakers invited student participation during a busy fall season.

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Board of Trustees News 68 Cover image by Susy Kim

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ASIA ALUMNI FESTIVAL: Alumni and friends from six countries gathered in Seoul, South Korea in November.

www.pennington.org

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SAVE the DATE! Friday, April 19, 2024 Grandparent and VIP Day D

PENNIN G TO

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♥ P ROU

Nothing brings smiles to our students' faces like a visit (and some smooches) from their grandparents and other very important people in their lives. We hope you will join us for our annual Grandparent and VIP gathering!

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Register and learn more at www.pennington.org/grandparentsday or contact Assistant Director of Development for Events Brittany Forrester at brittany.forrester@pennington.org or 609–737–6141.

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HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear Pennington Families and Friends, For me, the beginning of each academic year brings with it a renewed sense of purpose and gratitude for our Pennington School community. After our administrators spend months carefully planning the next school year, students return to campus every September and their energy and ebullience inspire me and all of Pennington’s faculty and staff to help each of them achieve their fullest potential, as students and as citizens of our increasingly global world. Our students fill me with hope—for a great year ahead, and for the future that each of them will help shape.

In the midst of rapid changes in technology, such as generative AI and other disruptive technologies, it is natural to feel a mixture of excitement about what is possible and apprehension about the uncertainties of what the future holds. However, it is essential to remember that hope is the compass that guides us through these uncharted waters.

Hope ignites our curiosity and fuels our determination to overcome obstacles. Hope isn’t just a passive wish for things to get better. It is an active commitment to enact the changes we wish to see. It’s about concentrating our energy, talents, and passions toward making a positive impact in our own lives and in the lives of those around us…and the ability to make a positive impact begins right here in our Pennington community. In this magazine, you can read many stories about some of the incredible things our youngest alumni are already doing to change the world and other people’s lives for the better.

This fall, I attended two alumni events: one in Seoul, Korea and one in NYC, and I came away from both feeling so much pride after hearing stories of what our alumni are doing and how much The Pennington School means to each person. Our Advancement Office is making great efforts to connect with more and more of our alumni all over the United States and around the world. You can read more about Pennington’s Asia Alumni Festival on pages 42 and 43, and see a photo from our alumni holiday reception in New York on page 63.

Forever Pennington campaign launch at Jasna Polana

You will also read about our plans for Pennington’s future.

Each year, I encourage every student to work toward a goal of leaving this School better than they found it. I intend to do the same! Our Forever Pennington campaign, announced this past October, is designed to sustain The Pennington School for many generations of students and teachers to come. It is the most ambitious comprehensive campaign in our School’s history, and it will support the best possible student experience as well as help us attract and retain excellent teachers. We have enjoyed several years of momentous achievement as an institution, and my hope is that you will see exponential growth in the years ahead.

Yours in Pennington,

William S. Hawkey, PhD Head of School

www.pennington.org

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C O N V O C AT I O N “Hope is a word that carries immense power. It is a force that propels us forward,

even in the face of adversity and challenges. As I look out over this crowd tonight, I am reminded of the incredible potential that resides within each and every one of you. You are tomorrow’s leaders, the architects of our future, the dreamers of what is possible, and the bearers of hope for a better world.”

—Dr. William S. Hawkey, Head of School

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023–24

The Pennington School formally opened its 186th academic year with the annual Convocation

ceremony on Friday, September 8. A brass quintet played as the students entered by grade, followed by the formal academic procession of faculty and trustees. Even a drenching downpour just as the processional began could not dampen the bright spirits of the students for this first traditional event of the academic year.

The program began with an invocation from Chaplain David Hallgren, followed by the national anthem.

After welcoming remarks from Peter J. Tucci, Chair of the Board of Trustees and a 1979 alumnus of the School, there were greetings from various School constituencies, beginning with the faculty representative, Dean of Faculty Deborah Fermo. Francesca Milou ’28 represented the Middle School, and Ishan Gupta ’24 represented the Upper School.

In his Convocation address, Head of School William S. Hawkey introduced this year’s theme of hope, saying, “Hope is a word that carries immense power. It is a force that propels us forward, even in the face of adversity and challenges.

As I look out over this crowd tonight, I am reminded of the incredible potential that resides within each and every one of you. You are tomorrow’s leaders, the architects of our future, the dreamers of what is possible, and the bearers of hope for a better world.” He also shared some of his hopes for the community this year, including academic fulfillment, appreciation for Pennington’s dedicated faculty, and for students to find success in arts and athletics.

Hawkey also highlighted the achievements of various students and faculty members and connected the theme of hope to the supportive Pennington community, emphasizing “I believe hope thrives in unity,” and ended his remarks by encouraging those in attendance to “carry hope with them every day.”

www.pennington.org

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FA C U LT Y A N D S TA F F

Pennington welcomes the newest members of our School community

Bushra Aamer joined The

Pennington School in July as the accounts receivable and student accounts coordinator. Before joining Pennington, she worked as an account supervisor at Colonial Club of Princeton. She was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, and earned a bachelor's degree from Lahore University in political science and journalism.

Joseph Brunell joined Pennington as a groundskeeper and maintenance mechanic in July. Previously, he worked as a warehouse manager in Newtown, PA. David Antonio Checo is a new

HVAC technician at Pennington and was recently married in the Dominican Republic this past September.

Elizabeth Ferrie is an accomplished

critical care registered nurse in Pennington’s Health Center. Equipped with a bachelor's degree in nursing from TCNJ, she began her career at Temple University Hospital's trauma intensive care unit as a bedside nurse.

She then transitioned to a medical intensive care unit at the University of Pennsylvania before coming to Pennington.

Lindsey Goldenbaum was

appointed administrative assistant to the Dean of Faculty and Dean of Academic Affairs in late fall 2022.

She earned a BA in social work from Bloomsburg University and, prior to Pennington, she was the executive assistant for Valley Day School after eleven years of teaching middle school English at a small private school in Brooklyn.

Melissa Halpin is an Ohio native

and Ohio University graduate. Halpin worked at the Rutgers University Foundation for the past eleven years prior to joining the Pennington community as the director of leadership giving in the Office of Advancement.

Carlos Jeremie joined The

Pennington School as an Apple technician. He earned his BS in computer science with a minor in cybersecurity risk analysis from Penn State University. Prior to Pennington, Jeremie worked as a technical specialist for Apple and as a technical support specialist for Amazon. Born in Haiti, Jeremie is a native speaker of Haitian Creole and French.

NEW STAFF

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023–24

Katherine Jurakhan was excited to join

The Pennington School as an assistant in the Health Center. She obtained her BS from Independence University in healthcare administration and her career has always been focused in healthcare.

Prior to Pennington, she worked at Eastern Dental.

Darin Repasy, Jr. became the

lead journeyman electrician at The Pennington School in July 2023. Before coming to Pennington, he worked with many other electrical companies on his way to becoming a certified Class A journeyman electrician.

New staff members (left to right): Katherine Jurakhan, Elizabeth Ferrie, Bushra Aamer, Melissa Halpin, and Lindsey Goldenbaum

New faculty members (left to right): William Dingee, Jacqueline Coppola, Adrián López-Denis, Lizabel Mónica, Ryan Totaro, Denée Dill, and Sonja Karp

as a day faculty member in the Cervone Center for Learning as well as a teacher of Upper School science and mathematics. She is excited to return to The Pennington School after serving as a part-time leave replacement last year for Middle School science. Carella received both a BS in physics and a master’s degree in urban education from The College of New Jersey.

Jacqueline Coppola first joined Pennington last year on a temporary basis and now is a full-fledged member of the Cervone Center faculty. She earned a degree in psychology at West Chester University before obtaining a Masters of Education in counseling psychology at Temple University. She resides in Bucks County, PA. Denée Dill was appointed as assistant director of the Cervone Center for Learning. Dill earned her degree in elementary education from the State University of New York in Oneonta.

Over the years, she held teaching roles in Schenectady, NY while pursuing a master's degree in reading and literacy from Walden University. Most recently, Dill was the director of academics at Chapin School.

William Dingee joined the School

this fall as a teacher of Upper School Latin. He earned his BA in classics at Harvard University, then proceeded on a fellowship to study for a master’s degree at Oxford University. He

NEW FACULTY

Marianna Carella joined the School

then moved to Princeton in 2016 to pursue his PhD in classics, which he completed in 2023. Prior to Pennington, he taught at the Peddie School and Bard High School Early College.

MA degrees (economics and Latin American studies) there before moving to the US to earn a PhD in history at UCLA. Prior to Pennington, he taught at the college level for sixteen years and at the high school level for two.

Sonja Karp, a Pennington parent

Lizabel Mónica is also a new member of the residential faculty and a teacher of Upper School Spanish.

She completed her bachelor’s degree in history with postgraduate studies in Caribbean literature at the University of Havana before earning her master's and PhD degrees from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Latin American Studies Program at Princeton University. Prior to Pennington, she taught at The Lawrenceville School, and she is also the author of works of fiction and poetry that have been translated and collected in numerous anthologies.

for the past five years and a substitute teacher last school year, joined the faculty this fall to teach French 1 on a part-time basis. She has a BA in French and business studies from the University of Hull in England. She and her husband Ryan live in Pennington with their children Ronan ’22, Kieran ’24, Declan ’25, and Shona ’27.

Grisselle Marie Laborde Carlo

joined Pennington this year as a teacher of Upper School Spanish. She was born in Puerto Rico and studied fashion design at Drexel University before moving back to Puerto Rico to complete a BBA marketing degree.

Following her passion for her language and culture, she left her career in fashion and began a new one as a Spanish teacher; Carlo has been teaching Spanish for more than two decades. Before coming to Pennington, she was a teacher at Villa Victoria Academy, The Waldorf School, and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Adrián López-Denis joined Pennington’s residential faculty this fall to teach Upper School history. Born in Cuba, he completed two BA degrees (biology and library science) and two

Ryan Totaro ’18 returned to Pennington this fall to teach Upper School history and become a member of the School’s residential faculty.

Totaro earned his BA from Haverford College and graduated summa cum laude. Before joining Pennington, he designed and taught courses in film studies at Community High School of Arts & Academics in Roanoke, VA.

This list of new employees includes everyone who joined the School between Fall 2022 and Fall 2023.

www.pennington.org

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Spotlight: Francis Harvey Green Society Member

A. Melissa (Lissa) Kiser P’01

“

For more information on the benefits of making an estate plan or life-income gift, please visit pennington.giftplans.org or contact Director of Development Christen Jones at 609–559–5033 or christen.jones@pennington.org.

The Pennington School community has been important to my career and to my family. By including a bequest to the School in my will, I hope to help it remain strong and able to continue making positive changes in the lives of its students.

”

A. Melissa (Lissa) Kiser P’01 is a beloved former faculty member, proud parent of “lifer” David Mesrobian ’01, and a loyal Pennington Fund donor.

Kiser became a member of the FHGS in 2014, when she included The Pennington School in her estate plans, a decision that was motivated by seeing the important role Pennington played in the lives of its students. She says, “During my years as a teacher and a parent, I saw how Pennington’s small size and opportunities for individual work with faculty enabled students to surprise themselves with their success—not only by thriving academically but also through playing a sport they loved or exploring the arts in ways they had never before imagined.”

Kiser joined the Pennington faculty in 1983 and retired after 37 years in 2020. During those years she taught English—in the Edmund V. Cervone Center for Learning and in the English Department, including teaching AP English Literature for the last five years of her tenure. Beginning in 1998, she also handled communications work for the School, writing and editing various print and online publications. Kiser currently lives in Florida and enjoys writing, choral singing, traveling (including back to Pennington), and spending time with her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter.

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2022–23

LONDON

SUMMER 2023 TRIPS Pennington theatre students took a week-long trip to London, where they saw six plays, took backstage tours at The Globe and the National Theatre, visited museums and important sites, and participated in acting workshops with professionals in the field.

Highlights included working with Pennington alumnus Alex Magliaro '99 and members of his improvisational troupe, The Banana Hut Gang, as well as a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, where the students saw Shakespeare's birthplace, a production at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and took a Shakespeare workshop with one of the RSC actors. In addition to enjoying so many wonderful activities, the group was also lucky to have sun and blue skies all week long!

MALAWI

Eighteen Pennington students and alumni traveled to Malawi in June 2023.

During the trip, the team worked in a refugee camp and a rural village. The female students on the trip partnered with Plan International to give menstrual health education classes to over 75 teen girls, and visited the tailoring school where 120 teen girl refugees have learned to sew the WISSP pad (Pennington's own design for menstrual hygiene that has two USA patents pending). In addition, the Pennington students partnered with Jesuit Refugee Services to give lessons on how to test and use a greywater filtering system, called "The Better Kitchen Sink," designed by Pennington students. Twelve Better Kitchen Sink systems were left with families in Malawi to test over this year in their homes and they will then provide feedback to the Pennington team, which is working on a redesign during this 2023-24 academic year.

While visiting the schools at the refugee camp, Pennington students led LEGO™ activities with young students, took dance lessons, attended a cooking class, and hosted a community soccer game. In Lilongwe, the travelers visited markets, went to an animal sanctuary, and toured a hospital facility where women go to give birth. This year, Pennington students are designing an outdoor play space for this hospital by working collaboratively with the hospital's director and young mothers who are patients at the facility.

Pennington students plan to return to Malawi in June 2024 to continue the project work.

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PEER LEADERS HOST

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

Beginnings are so important. Everyone remembers a first day of school, a first class, a first practice, and even the first person they met during their first days on Pennington’s campus. For me, even after over thirty years of teaching, I still remember my first days as a new teacher. I know firsthand that being new is never easy.

There are butterflies to be sure, and tons of excitement mixed with fear and trepidation. At Pennington, we understand first days, and because we place the student experience as central to our mission, we wanted the first day of the 2023-24 school year to focus on having fun, building community, and—hopefully—eliminating just a bit of the anxiety of being new. We intentionally designed the first gathering for students in the class of 2027 to be memorable, welcoming, and fun. As a result, Camp9 was born.

On Tuesday, September 5, instead of worrying about finding their first class, 103 ninth-graders boarded buses for Camp9 (Camp Speers in Dingman’s Ferry, PA). Joining them on the buses were their “camp counselors,” the Peer Leaders, students in Grade 12 who mentor ninth-graders throughout the year. Just two weeks prior, these committed Peer Leaders had completed their Peer Leader training at the very same location. They, too, were ready to play. Once at camp, Peer Leaders took charge. From archery to canoeing, arts and crafts, hikes, and drama games, ninth-graders moved from activity to activity. At each location, they met a new mix of classmates, which provided the opportunity to re-establish friendships and offered space to make new ones. The most important goal was to have a first day packed with fun. By dinner time at the dining hall, new friends had been made, and laughter and singing were heard as students belted out songs

by Tayor Swift, Billy Joel, and others at post-dinner karaoke. After evening games

in their Peer Leader groups, the class gathered around the bonfire for s’mores and skits. Exhausted but happy, the ninthgraders fell fast asleep in bunks with their classmates and Peer Leader “counselors.”

The next day began with a choice of yoga, calisthenics, Zumba, or a hike before breakfast. Then more group games before a final stop in the dining hall. We ended with a gratitude circle and words of heartfelt appreciation all around for the student leaders, memorable moments, and friends old and new.

With a focus on hospitality and connection, Camp9 was a phone-free experience, allowing space for students to disconnect, be present with one another, and appreciate the outdoors. Their Peer Leaders served as their primary connections, yet Camp9 was chaperoned by key faculty members who are significant to the lives of our students, especially ninth-graders. Director of Counseling Susie Paige, Counselors Jules DeLorenzo and Rob Tuckman, Grade 9 Class Dean and Director of the Advisory Program and Student Activities Lisa Houston, Assistant Dean of Students Chandler Fraser-Pauls, and School Nurse Kenya Samad all were in attendance and helped out with drama games, relays, and arts and crafts. All of these individuals serve as support for the Peer Leadership program. These adults represent the comprehensive and supportive community of adults that make up the Pennington School faculty and staff.

When the “official” first day of school arrived on September 7, we observed a buzz in the halls, knowing nods, and words of welcome at lunch tables. One student remarked to a faculty member, “I made lots of friends because of Camp9.”

Students continue to rave about how helpful it was to establish a support group before classes began.

Mission accomplished!

—by Erin O'Connell Director, Peer Leadership www.pennington.org

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ACADEMIC NEWS

Cum Laude Eleven Pennington School seniors were inducted as student members of the School's chapter of the Cum Laude Society on Tuesday, October 17. Students inducted are within the top ten percent of their class, as determined by grade point average, and the School views selection for membership as one of the highest honors it can confer.

The Cum Laude Society is an international organization dedicated to recognizing academic achievement in secondary schools. There are 382 institutions in the Society; most are independent schools.

The new members of Pennington’s chapter of Cum Laude are pictured below. The induction ceremony was held in Pennington United Methodist Church.

After an invocation from the Reverend David Hallgren, Teacher of Music Donald Dolan provided information about the Cum Laude Society's history and motto, and Dean of Academic Affairs Scott Peeler introduced the faculty members in Pennington’s Cum Laude chapter. Chair of the Science Department Dr. Stephanie Heyeck introduced the event’s speaker, Teacher of Mathematics and Computer Science Len Leib, who gave a moving presentation. Cum Laude Chapter President Lisa L. Houston then formally inducted the students.

Left to right: Maya Meehan-Ritter, Zixi Yu, Polaris Hayes, Qingcheng Li, Garrett Hardt, Jai Raman, Shayna Mehta, Edward Molner, Kieran Karp, and Ishan Gupta (not pictured here).

National Merit Scholars Eleven students from The Pennington School have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program for their performances on the PSAT/ NMSQT®. Ten seniors were named as Commended Students, meaning they were included in a group of about 34,000 high-scorers chosen based on a national Selection Index qualifying score applied to all participants. The Pennington School’s Commended Students are picture above.

Shinyi Li ’24 has been named as a semi-finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Semifinalists have the opportunity to continue in the competition, which will culminate in the awarding of 7,880 scholarships totaling nearly $35 million.

To qualify for the 2024 program, students took the 2022 Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). The nationwide pool of semifinalists includes the highest scoring students from every state, and includes fewer than one percent of United States high school seniors. Finalists in the program will be designated in February, and winners will be announced beginning in April.

ELVES (In the History Classroom) —by Ami Ly '26

Top row: Shinyi Li, Sophia Farajallah, Natsuki Miller, Zixi Yu; Middle Row: Polaris Hayes, Maya Meehan-Ritter, Qingcheng Li; Bottom Row: Edward Molner, Nkechinyelum Nwoye, Shayna Mehta, Hengchao Xia 12

Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

In Mr. Jason Harding’s United States history classes, the E.L.F. program allows sophomores to take a step away from their textbooks. E.L.F., an acronym for Experiential Learning Friday, enriches learning by introducing aspects of history that students can interpret for themselves. In a unit about American colonialism, Mr. Harding strayed from lectures and allowed that history can be tasted in the classroom.

He brought in original sweeteners from various continents.

Earlier, he played music from each relevant country in the lesson’s time period to observe the differences between cultures. From a spoonful of molasses to traditional Native American music, students were deeply engaged in connecting different parts of history.

BOARDING LIFE

FORMAL DINNER —by Ami Ly '26

October’s formal dinner, named “Homecoming and Homemaking,” celebrated several of the season’s festivities, including National Hispanic Heritage Month, Chuseok, and the Mid-Autumn Festival. With the Pennington boarding community all eating together, students and faculty alike, the dining hall was brought to life with laughter and conversation. Especially considering many of these students’ distance from home, it was a meaningful time to share memories from home over horchata and tacos.

Bacary Tandjigora ’25 shared a prayer about the MidAutumn Festival in Chinese, which was then translated into English by Muhan Tian ’27. It spoke of unity across countries, no matter the differences, and the privilege of sharing the moon’s beauty. This set the tone of gratitude and solidarity throughout the night. Soon after, Lina Cortes ’26 explained her idea of home, influenced by her immigrant family members from Colombia. She talked about how she stays in touch with her relatives while far away, and how they remained close regardless.

The speeches continued with Grade 9 student King Liu’s sharing of the Mid-Autumn Festival, teaching about the celebration’s history and looking back on his own experiences with it. He reminisced on his experiences eating mooncakes under the bright moon in the same way his ancestors did, and wished everyone connections that survive distance—a common theme of the night. The last speech, given by Kae Kilic ’25, discussed the values of Chuseok: the importance of family, gratitude for nature, and respect for one’s elders, which are similar to Pennington’s values.

Through this formal dinner, the boarding students were able to share a taste of their traditions with the people they live with in their second home. www.pennington.org

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MIDDLE SCHOOL

MS L AUNCH

Despite temperatures in the high 90s, the Middle School Launch was a huge success! The Junior Proctors hosted a two-day Launch on September 5 and 6 to welcome the Middle School students back to school. After a quick skit to introduce this year's 24 Junior Proctors, the students met in their new JP groups. They played various name games and "get to know you" activities to make them comfortable, focused, and ready for the day. Next, they formed larger groups for additional icebreaker activities so that students could have the opportunity to start building relationships with peers outside of their smaller groups. To escape the heat, the Middle School students met with their advisors inside for lunch to review Pennington School norms and to discuss the schedule for the first day of classes. The afternoon offered students time to jump into the pool to compete in relay races with their JPs or head to the gym for indoor games. The second day started with an arts and crafts activity, during which students reflected on their hopes for the year. This piece was displayed in the entryway of Stainton Hall during the fall. Students then quickly moved into a rotation of large group games; “Ships and Islands” was this year's favorite! The day ended with an all-School balloon pop in the gym.

Students were exhausted but happy to have met new friends, reunited with old ones, and participated in one or two activities that encouraged them to step out of their comfort zones.

—by Karen Balerna

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M S R E T R E AT

The Middle School Retreat on October 11 was all that we hoped for and also a great start to the eighth-grade three-day retreat.

Amid the idyllic fall weather, the students spent the day in small grade-level groups doing a range of activities on the adventure course and low-ropes course.

This gave them opportunities to: h one their active listening skills so they could hear each other’s ideas about how to fit 13 people on a 3-foot by 3-foot square;

•

• p ractice collaboration when they

did group-builds of popsicle-stick bridges to hold rocks;

• e xercise courage when they had

to walk across a brook on a threewire bridge;

• p roblem-solve how to get an entire

group across a “lava pit” with three 2-by-4s and spaced-out cinder block islands;

• l ean into patience and perseverance when things got frustrating and tiresome;

• a nd support one another getting

in and out of a rope spider web or across the wire between trees.

Not every student did all the same activities, but the experiences and skills were universal and mixed with a lot of fun and laughter.

The eighth-graders continued with activities on the overnight trip and spent two days exploring long hikes and the high ropes courses. The evenings included karaoke, night hikes, game night, and a campfire with s’mores. Throughout our time at the Princeton-Blairstown Center, it was clear that the retreat experience helps our Middle School students develop and hone skills and mindsets that will strengthen their academic and personal pursuits on Pennington’s campus, and beyond.

—by Chrissie Knight www.pennington.org

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MS NEWS

Cultural Exchange: Grade 6 On Thursday, October 12, students in Mrs. Shaffer's Humanities class met virtually with students in the Kambiti Primary School in Machakos, Kenya. The two groups met through Creative Connections, an organization founded and led by Alan Steckler. After introductions, pairs of students in each country presented artifacts—items they felt were important to them—and explained their significance. The Kenyan students shared information about the weather, traditional dances, and the forty-six tribes in Kenya. They also displayed beautiful artifacts such as handmade wood carvings, intricate bead boxes, and table mats. Pennington students shared their items, which included ice hockey sticks, ballet shoes, fishing rods, and pictures of their dogs.

When asked about fishing in Kenya, the Kambiti teacher and students explained that only adults fish there—it is very dangerous because there are hippopotamuses in the river!

Although they live worlds apart, the two groups bonded over their shared interests and enjoyed making new friends!

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

Pole Farm Field Trip: Grade 7 On Tuesday, November 14, the English 7 students visited the Pole Farm at Mercer Meadows as part of their descriptive writing unit. Students spent the afternoon exploring the farm, making observations of the surrounding plant and animal life, and practicing writing with keen attention to sensory details and use of figurative language to create vivid mental images. Upon their return to campus, students worked on pieces of descriptive writing using the observations they gathered and the ideas they generated on the Pole Farm trip.

Honor Code Week: November 7-10, 2023 Honor Code Week is an annual event when Middle School students and teachers focus on the Pennington Honor Code and how it relates to the daily lives of our Middle Schoolers.

During this week, Advisory met on Wednesday and Thursday, when the students learned about honor codes in general, and Pennington’s Honor Code specifically. Each Advisory then delved into one specific part of the Honor Code and created a skit to teach it to the whole Middle School during a Community Meeting on Friday. Early the next week, students gathered in Class Meetings to reflect on what they learned and how the Honor Code applies to their individual choices, words, and actions, as well as for their Class as a whole. With their new understanding of the Honor Code, students committed to aspire to follow the Honor Code via a “handsin” activity.

M S AT H L E T I C S

SOCCER

Coach: Will Burke; Assistant Coaches: Chauncey Farrington and Joselle Lamoutte Middle School soccer had a great season this year. We had enough players to form two teams, and over the course of the season each and every player grew tremendously. We had some excellent wins against Hun, Wilberforce, Princeton Charter School, and PDS. But even in the games we tied or lost, the teams always held their heads up high and played with pride.

FIELD HOCKEY Coaches: Dawn Nelson and Laurie Volpe

The Middle School field hockey team finished a highly successful and extremely fun season with a record of 7-1-1. This group of 23 hilarious and spirited Middle Schoolers demonstrated skill, commitment, and improvement each week.

Positivity, enthusiasm, sportsmanship, and encouragement were the hallmarks for this crew! The team was led by a strong group of eighth-graders, comprised of both veterans and outstanding newcomers!

CROSS COUNTRY Coaches: Alex Gibbons and Taylor Jennings

The Middle School cross country season was marked by dedication, teamwork, and personal achievement. Athletes showcased tremendous grit and perseverance as they trained to improve their endurance and times. Led by the eighth-graders, the team participated in challenging meets, faced formidable opponents, and demonstrated outstanding resilience and sportsmanship.

As the season concluded, the team celebrated not only their collective accomplishments, but also the individual growth of each athlete.

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R E U N I O N S A N D A L U M N I G AT H E R I N G S

HOMECOMING HOMECOMI NG

There was no shortage of Pennington pride and School spirit on display this past October! Homecoming and Reunion Weekend 2023 was full of special celebrations and memorable moments for our entire community.

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This fall, alumni enjoyed spending time on campus visiting with their former teachers, coaches, and classmates.

AND REUNION WEEK EEKEND END REPLAY!

Alumni in class years ending in 3s and 8s celebrated milestone reunions. The Class of 1973 gathered for a 50th reunion dinner hosted by Board member Stephen Tan ’73.

www.pennington.org

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The Classes of 2013 and 2018 tied for the most reunion attendees at Friday night’s Brews and Barbeque event, making them this year’s Battle for the Bus winners!

Scan this QR code to view more photos from the weekened.

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

more photos

OF REUNIONS AND A L U M N I G AT H E R I N G S

The Gold Guard (alumni from the Class of 1973 and earlier) assembled on Saturday for the annual luncheon and all generations gathered for the All-Alumni Party.

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S T U D E N T S TA K E C E N T E R S TAG E Friday’s Pep Rally kicked off the weekend festivities in style. Faculty and students cheered for the performers, who helped supercharge the crowd’s Homecoming spirit! Throughout the weekend, students donned their Pennington gear, took to the field for the weekend’s athletic competitions, and provided refreshments to the crowds on Homecoming Row.

PA R E NT S SH OW TH E I R PE N N I N GTO N PR I DE

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A little drizzle didn’t dampen the excitement of the crowds as Pennington parents and families cheered on the Red Hawks throughout the weekend. Parents for Pennington (PfP) hosted their annual tailgate party for parents on Saturday afternoon, which brought parents and students in from the rain for a fall festival.

This year’s Homecoming and Reunion Weekend included two special events honoring alumni accomplishments. On Saturday, the community came together for a ribbon-cutting celebration with Bob Pearl ’63 and his family to dedicate the Pearl Family Stadium, which includes the new Mike Pearl ’61 press box and Bob Pearl ’63 scoreboard.

SPECIAL CELEBRATIONS

The photography of Tom Scanlan ’17 was on display in the Silva Gallery of Art for an exhibition titled 6 ½.

Alumni, friends, faculty, and art enthusiasts joined Scanlan (pictured wearing navy sweater) for an opening reception on Saturday evening.

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C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S ! to this year’s remarkable Alumni Award recipients and Athletic Hall of Fame inductees who were honored at the Head of School Breakfast during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend.

A LU M N I AWA R DS Four dedicated alumni were recognized for their accomplishments and service to the School: B Craig Jurgensen ’58 received the Alumni Service Award; C Marly Faherty ’08 received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award; D Quinn Salamandra ’93 received the Alumni Achievement Award; E Lynne Brashier Lindenthal ’73 received the Head of School Award.

B

C

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D

AT H L E T I C H A L L O F FA M E

B

This year’s Athletic Hall of Fame inductees included: B the Football Team of 1962, which was represented by team members John Biddiscombe ’63, Edwin Hann III ’63, Michael Porter ’65, and Edward Swiderski ’63 P’03 ’06;

C Lisa Pachence ’03; D Casey Ramirez ’08; and E Steve Thomson ’73.

C

E

D

E

www.pennington.org

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Samantha Stern-Leaphart BA, MA, MS Ed -by Peter Chase

O

ver the last dozen years, Samantha Stern-Leaphart has worn several hats at Pennington and, in doing so, has played an important role in making the School a stronger institution.

Since joining the School in the fall of 2011 as a member of the English Department, Stern-Leaphart has taught many interesting courses. These include the Grade 10 Honors English course, American Identities, as well as electives including Gender and Sexuality, American Literature, Film and Visual Media, Finding Identity, and Creative Writing.

As the names of some of these courses suggest, it is no surprise that Stern-Leaphart, often called “Ms. S.,” was named and has been serving over the past several years as the School’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In this role, she espouses a commitment to creating a community in which every person— from a student in Grade 6 all the way to a member of our Board of Trustees—is seen and feels included.

Although Pennington is, in comparison to many others, a small school, Ms. Stern-Leaphart remarks on how wonderfully diverse our community is. “Not only do we boast some forty nationalities, but also our School community includes a wide range of religious, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Throw in all of our various learning styles, and we’re talking about a number of perspectives all co-existing in our educational space.” She points to one of her English classes as an example of a microcosm found at Pennington. “Of eleven students in this particular class, we have seven who speak other native languages, we have students of color, and we have non-binary students.

Working together is not always easy, but it is beautiful.”

One exciting opportunity that students at Pennington have taken advantage of is the yearly Student Diversity Leadership Conference, which is sponsored by the National Association of Independent Schools. For several years, students have traveled to such destinations as Atlanta, Houston, and Tampa to spend two-and-a-half long but productive days learning how to better navigate their world. “From 8:00 a.m. in the morning to 10:00 p.m., our students are off in family and affinity groups learning about self-advocacy as well as what it means to be an upstander and ally to others.” Stern-Leaphart points out that the format of these conferences influenced us to start forming family groups at Pennington, in which three or four advisory groups occasionally come together for activities and discussion.

In addition to serving as Director of DEI and teaching classes, Stern-Leaphart was recently promoted to Upper School Dean of Students, effective July 1, 2023. She had been working as

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

Assistant Dean of Students for the Upper School since 2018. In this (at times) difficult but crucial role, she helps our students to grow. “High school is a place where some students make mistakes, and we’re here to see them through the rough patches and come out better on the other end. I really feel that it’s an act of love to help students move on to college from Pennington after having learned valuable lessons from their mistakes.” In her newly expanded role as Dean of Students, Stern-Leaphart takes on more responsibility for handling student matters, including any behavior issues and those consequences.

Like many educators, Stern-Leaphart hasn’t stopped learning herself. In July 2023, she earned her second master’s degree, this one a master of education in school leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Among her other coursework, she delivered a dissertation of approximately ninety pages. Her topic: “How Students of Color Experience Inclusive Curriculum and How this Affects Student Belonging.” Indeed, the mission of the DEI Office is to “strive to cultivate an authentic sense of belonging for every member of the Pennington community. The DEI Office works to make The Pennington School a fully inclusive campus where all of our students not only excel, but also thrive. Our goal is to amplify the voices of our diverse community and to ensure that all students are at Pennington, and of it as well."

We wish Ms. S. much continued success in all of the roles in which she serves at Pennington!

FA C U LT Y S P O T L I G H T S

Donald Dolan BM, MM, DMA earned a master’s degree in music from the University of Michigan, and then spent about ten years playing piano in numerous concerts. These performance opportunities also included international competitions. Dr. Dolan performed in such beautiful locations as Lisbon, Portugal; Locarno, Switzerland; and Belgrade, Serbia. It was actually in Serbia where Dolan didn’t mind getting knocked out of the competition a bit early; the country was still engaged in civil conflict, so his departure to the airport was more like fleeing for safety than anything else!

I

n 2008, when Dr. Don Dolan began offering piano lessons to Pennington students, he had no way of knowing that what was meant to be a short-term gig would develop into a nice career at Pennington. He had just completed his doctorate at Rutgers University; he had

As a part-time teacher giving piano lessons, he noticed that Pennington students dressed well. At the time, boys were required to wear a tie more frequently. Dolan, who had been dressing casually for his lessons, thought that he should up his game, so he began to appear in more formal dress. Shortly thereafter, the music department felt that Dr. Dolan was a talent that should not be left to a part-

-by Peter Chase time role, so the School soon offered him a full-time position!

Today, Dolan teaches a wide range of courses, including Music Theory and AP© Music Theory, Music Technology, Instrumental Lab, and Middle School exploratory courses. He has also taught keyboarding foundations courses. Dolan is able to draw on the experience he gained from the instruction he gave at Rutgers while working on his doctorate; not only did he teach classes in keyboarding foundations and applied piano, but he also served as a studio pianist for professors teaching voice, violin, saxophone, and other instruments.

The piano is not Dolan’s only instrument. He has trained on several wind instruments such as the French horn, trombone (which he played so often that it broke!), baritone, tuba, saxophone, and clarinet. On top of these, he has also taken violin lessons – from his wife, Sarah Sensenig, who is a conservatory instructor at Rider University.

Dolan regularly performs

publicly as the church organist for the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton. Along with weekly services, he also plays the organ for weddings and funerals.

He feels that the pressure of performing regularly in public helps to keep his skills sharp, and this experience also aids him when helping students work through any performance angst that they may have.

Although Dolan has made a lifelong commitment to the arts, he turns to sport, specifically biking, to provide balance in his life. Over the years, he has participated in several bike races, routinely bikes between 50 and 60 miles on the weekend, and is a member of the Princeton Free Wheelers. He also led Pennington’s bike club. During the winter season, we also find Dolan “in the trenches” leading our pit bands, which provide all the music for the School’s musicals. Regardless of where he is, students are in safe and very talented hands!

Peter Chase BS, MAT The American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) recognizes German teachers and programs for their outstanding contributions to the teaching and learning of German in the US. The 2023 award recipients were recognized at a virtual presentation that was held on November 12. Our own Peter Chase won a Goethe-Institut/ AATG Certificate of Merit for his achievements in furthering the teaching of German, along with five other teachers of German across the US. Priscilla Layne, president of the American Association of Teachers of German, noted, “With their dedication to excellence in German language instruction, these award recipients promote the transatlantic friendship between the US and German-speaking countries and foster the much-needed intercultural awareness so their students can lead successful lives in a globalized world.” Chase is also the co-author of a new textbook for beginning German, InterKulturell 1, that was recently published by Wayside. Congratulations to Mr. Chase!

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T

he Pennington School is at a pivotal moment in its 185-year history. Having already distinguished itself as an extraordinary institution, Pennington is now poised to build on its core strengths and harness the momentum experienced in recent decades to provide an even richer educational experience for future generations of students.

The Forever Pennington campaign was launched in October with a goal of raising $50 million in support of priorities vital to Pennington’s distinctive mission and the School’s vision for the future. Faculty excellence and the student experience are at the heart of this campaign. These two key pillars, which emerged from Pennington’s recent strategic plan, translate into campaign priorities for building community, attracting and retaining the best faculty, ensuring the School’s financial sustainability, and creating inspiring spaces and lifechanging experiences for students. Investing in these priorities secures The Pennington School’s future success.

This is the most ambitious fundraising endeavor in the School’s history and its success will rely on a concerted commitment from the entire Pennington community. Head of School William S. Hawkey said, “This historic effort calls for each member of our community to be as bold as the School’s founders and as generous as those who first believed in and supported their vision.” Donations to the Forever Pennington campaign will touch every aspect of campus life and shape the future for the next generation of learners and leaders.

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

The $50 million

Forever Pennington

campaign includes strategic priorities for creating inspiring spaces and experiences for students, building community, attracting and retaining faculty, ensuring our financial sustainability, and enhancing our campus.

Investing Investin g

in Faculty Excellence and the Student Experience

Join us. The time is now… Forever Pennington.

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STUDENT EXPERIENCE Financial Aid and Scholarships: Supporting financial aid sustains our mission and allows us to build a unique and strong community—one rich in differences and diversity of all types.

Academic and Leadership Programs: Support for Pennington’s specialized academic offerings, like the Global Studies Certificate Program or one of the School’s signature character and leadership development initiatives, is a direct investment in enriching the student experience—both in and beyond the classroom.

Residential Housing: Old Main accommodates over half of our boarding students and these spaces are some of the areas most in need of renovation on campus. Refurbished student spaces will help attract and retain boarding students.

FOREVER PENNINGTON will leave a lasting mark

FACILITIES AND CAMPUS IMPROVEMENTS O’Hanlon Green Expansion: Removing the driveway from the current main entrance and expanding O’Hanlon Green will create a pedestrian-friendly, natural center of campus that builds community and promotes student interaction.

Fitness and Well-Being Center/Small Gym Renovation: Imagined as a translucent, open, and welcoming space, the Fitness and Well-Being Center will be a highly visible “front door” to Pennington athletics and provide an accessible, state-of-the-art facility for students and faculty.

Old Main Plaza: Restoration of the entryway and front porch of Old Main will create an inviting front yard with a more prominent physical presence and an enhanced campus perimeter.

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

!

FACULTY EXCELLENCE Endowment for Faculty and Leadership Positions: An endowed leadership role, chair, or faculty position is the highest honor that the School can bestow, and one that lasts forever. These investments provide essential funding for quality of life, professional development, and compensation.

Faculty Housing: Old Main accommodates twelve faculty apartments. Refurbished living spaces in Old Main are becoming increasingly important to attract and retain the best faculty.

Makerspace and the Center for Teaching Excellence: The Makerspace allows students to invent, design, and build.

Expanding the space onto the roof above the Lecture Center will offer an enlarged classroom and a Center for Teaching Excellence. The Center for Teaching Excellence will provide opportunities for faculty collaboration and professional development.

The campaign priorities will ensure that Pennington is forever a place where learning thrives, confidence is instilled, creativity is inspired, and lives are transformed.

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY The Pennington Fund: The Pennington Fund provides annual, unrestricted dollars for the School’s operating budget and enriches every aspect of the student experience.

Campaign Unrestricted Fund: Support to the Forever Pennington campaign’s unrestricted fund provides flexibility for capital projects to proceed on schedule as multi-year restricted commitments are fulfilled.

The Pennington School Endowment: Unrestricted endowment gifts to Pennington are an important source of financial strength and sustainability.

Scan this QR code to learn more about the campaign priorities 31

Leading Le ading the Way:

QA +

with Campaign Co-Chairs

A dedicated group of Pennington champions are leading the charge for the Forever Pennington campaign. Campaign Steering Committee co-chairs Jordan Gray ’91 P’22 ’26 and Kathy Rosa P’21 ’23 shed some light on the campaign, the School’s critical priorities, and the potential impact for our School and community.

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

Q:

Why is the campaign named Forever Pennington?

Gray: This campaign is equally about where we have

Q:

What are some of the priorities included in the campaign’s $50 million goal?

come from and where we are heading. Pennington is shaped by its founding values, while also having successfully evolved over almost two centuries—and it has earned an impeccable reputation for teaching excellence and its care for students along the way. This campaign is about honoring where we have come from, building upon all we have accomplished, and creating a successful future for centuries ahead…forever.

Gray: There are critical campus enhancement projects

Rosa: One interpretation of “forever” is the sense of a

Rosa: We already mentioned the priorities that focus on

promise in perpetuity. This campaign calls on each of us to step up, and I hope the name Forever Pennington serves as a reminder that schools like Pennington rely on the promise and commitment made by members of their community. We are the stewards of this School and make the promise to Pennington students and families to continue succeeding at our mission. No matter what giving level or involvement you seek, each of us has a role to play in Forever Pennington.

Q:

What should we know about the two key pillars of faculty excellence and the student experience?

Gray: These pillars emerged out of Pennington’s strategic plan for good reason. As a graduate and, more recently, as a parent of Pennington students, I have seen and experienced the quality of our faculty firsthand. I would not be where I am today without the teachers and coaches I had at Pennington. The care, attention, and support each student is given is unequaled by other schools. We need to provide the housing, professional development, and support that will help attract and retain these amazing teachers. We owe it to our faculty members to help them thrive.

Rosa: Both of these campaign pillars resonate for alumni,

parents, and friends of the School. Pennington is known as a place that puts the student experience front and center, and my sons thrived here in ways we could have only imagined. Forever Pennington will make Pennington accessible to students who would otherwise be unable to attend, increase funding for our signature academic and co-curricular programs, and support needed renovations to housing for our boarding students and residential faculty.

included in the campaign that emerged from the School’s master plan, such as the expansion of O’Hanlon Green and Old Main Plaza. Peter [Board of Trustees Chair Peter Tucci ’79 P’16 ’16] talks about the importance of creating a “pedestrian campus” at Pennington and the role that will play in creating a community-centric and inspiring environment for our students.

financial aid, faculty support, and residential housing, but we should also shine a light on financial sustainability.

Gifts to the Pennington Fund, the unrestricted campaign fund, and the endowment are essential for strengthening the School’s foundation and enabling needed flexibility and future growth. Contributions to these sustaining priorities make everything else possible—they create the “forever” we are talking about.

Q:

What else do you think our community should know about Forever Pennington?

Gray: As a member of the Board, I’ve seen the School’s leaders at work and had a glimpse behind the curtain.

Having built my career on assessing sound business models and making bets on excellent leaders, I can say Pennington is the real deal. Investing in the Forever Pennington campaign—whether as a donor, volunteer, or passionate advocate—will have a meaningful impact. It is no small feat to successfully run an institution balancing the importance of being mission-driven, market-focused, and bold. I am continually impressed with the School’s leadership team and my fellow Board members.

Rosa: I want to make sure everyone knows that their

individual generosity is what becomes the collective power that makes this effort successful. Each gift is part of the bigger picture that ensures our strong future. We can all be drawn in by seeing stories that celebrate big gifts in campaigns like this one. But that story is as important to reaching our $50 million goal as the parent who decides to increase their annual gift to $200 a year for the campaign, or the alumnus who makes a first-time $1,000 leadership gift in honor of their 25th reunion. We celebrate and appreciate each donor, each gift, and each act of generosity from our community! www.pennington.org

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Faces of FOREVER PENNINGTON: Each of us has a place in this campaign.

Playing a role in shaping Pennington's future comes in many forms. Pennington alumni, parents, and friends can make a meaningful impact no matter their area of interest, preferred commitment type, or giving level. There is a place within the Forever Pennington campaign for each of us to make a difference. Many in our community are already inspiring us with their commitments to the Forever Pennington campaign.

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

JEANNIE AND JOE COLALILLO P’06 ’11 ’18 ’20 are passionate about supporting Pennington’s dedicated teachers and established the Colalillo Family Endowment for Faculty Excellence. Jeannie says, “This campaign gift is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to all the faculty members who nurtured what is special in our kids, and who do the same for every student.”

MARY ANNE AND JORGE GUERRERO P’94 have given back to Pennington with their service, leadership, and generous philanthropy for the past twenty-five years. They serve as visible advocates for Forever Pennington and have made both a multi-year leadership pledge to the Pennington Fund and a documented planned gift as part of their generous commitment to the campaign. The Guerreros shared, “Including The Pennington School in our estate plans and stepping up as leaders allowed us to craft a meaningful legacy at a School we hold dear.”

JAE HEO ’08 is the youngest member of the Board of Trustees and is having a big impact with his leadership and support at Pennington. Jae lives in Singapore and South Korea and is dedicated to the School’s efforts to deepen global connections with alumni and parents. He says, “Pennington has truly shaped a large part of who I am today, a sentiment with which I believe many graduates would agree. Giving back is about being grateful for an amazing experience and connecting with those who share similar ones. The size of a gift or amount of money you are able to donate to Pennington is not what matters, it is about being part of making sure future generations of students will also be able to cherish Pennington's unique colors. There is great potential for deepening and broadening our reach with this campaign, and I am honored to be part of that work.”

ELLEN AND ALAN M. MECKLER ’63 GP’24 are proud Pennington grandparents and generous supporters of the Forever Pennington campaign and the Pennington Fund. "I received the very best training at Pennington that set me up for success in life," says Alan. "Supporting what is happening at the School today ensures that current and future students will continue to benefit from the same great education I received."

ANJALI AND RAHUL SHAH P’27 set an impressive example with their generous support and volunteer leadership. They are members of the PLC (Pennington Leadership Council) and have made a multi-year commitment to the campaign as 1838 Society donors to the Pennington Fund. They say, “We are part of this effort because we believe in Pennington’s mission. The School provides the academic, social, and moral scaffolding that enables students to achieve their full potential, pursue their passions, and become kind and thoughtful individuals.”

GINA SPAZIANO ’97 is a PLC member and has made a leadership gift commitment to the Pennington Fund for this campaign. She says, “I want to demonstrate my sincere gratitude for the people and culture that have made such a positive impact on my life. I realize that no amount of effort or dollar amount is too small in giving back to Pennington. Everything counts, and if we all contribute, even in a small way, it adds up and spreads the joy and love we have for this special place.”

STEPHEN TAN ’73 is a Board member and School champion who has made significant contributions to every major capital campaign for Pennington over the past fifty years. For the Forever Pennington campaign, Tan has made a significant gift for the major renovation of the small gym at the heart of the campus. He says, “I believe in giving back to the priorities that will best serve our students and faculty. These commitments are a way to show my trust and belief in our mission.”

CINDY AND SEAN WOODROFFE P’22 established the Lauren Nicole Woodroffe ’22 Endowed Scholarship Fund as part of the campaign to demonstrate their gratitude for their daughter’s (Lauren Woodroffe ’22) matriculation. “We were keen to fund a scholarship that would offer students of color, who are eager to learn, the opportunity to experience a similar breadth and depth of academic prowess that Lauren richly enjoyed at Pennington” says Cindy.

Forever Pennington is

a comprehensive campaign, which means every gift made during the campaign is part of this community-wide effort. No matter the amount or purpose, your gift to The Pennington School will be included in the overall progress of the campaign’s $50 million goal!

www.pennington.org

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The members of the

Campaign Steering Committee inspire and strengthen our School community through their leadership and generosity. We are grateful for their collective commitment to Pennington’s mission, values, and vision for the future.

Campaign Co-Chairs Jordan Gray ’91 P’22 ’26 Kathy and Carlos Rosa P’21 ’23 Honorary Co-Chairs Pam and John McGuire P’98 Bishop John Schol Marian and Joseph Wesley GP’93 ’94 ’94 ’95 ’98 ’99 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’03 GGP’26 ’26 ’27 ’27 ’30 Board Division Chair Erich Stegich P’21 Alumni Division Chair John Biddiscombe ’63 Gift Planning Division Co-Chairs John Biddiscombe ’63 Peter Brown ’65 United Methodist Church Division Co-Chairs Rev. Dr. Ginny Cetuck Rev. Dr. David Mertz International Division Co-Chairs Stephen Tan ’73 Jim Wang P’25 Committee Members Lisa Espinoza P’23 ’26 Kristin Gray P’22 ’26 Jamie Griswold P’19 ’22 William S. Hawkey P’10 ’12 ’20 Jacob Levy ’09 Christopher Long ’91 P’12 ’17 ’20 David Long III ’86 P’16 ’18 ’20 Swati Navani P’16 ’21 William Oldsey P’15 Brenda Martini O’loughlin P’19 Matt Pauls P’11 Jason Ridings ’05 John Shamsey P’22 ’24 Peter Tucci ’79 P’16 ’16 36

For additional information on the Forever Pennington campaign, please visit pennington.org/foreverpennington or contact Assistant Head of School for Advancement and Strategic Initiatives Charlie Brown at 609–737–6103 or by email at cbrown@pennington.org.

Scan the QR code to the right to learn more about the campaign.

BE PART OF

Shaping the Future Join us!

The Forever Pennington campaign is about more than financial contributions.

As we embark on our bold vision for the future, your involvement as an active member of the community is crucial to our success. We invite you to learn more below or contact the Advancement Office at 609–559–5311.

STAY IN TOUCH Do you have a new address or email? Eager to share life milestones? Want to hear about the latest from your classmates? Check out the website resource pages online that were created for alumni and community members to stay in touch and connected to everything Pennington. Read the latest news, update your contact information, submit a class note, request a transcript, and more. pennington.org/community/alumni GET INVOLVED Want to be a guest speaker for a class or program? Interested in volunteering?

From a calendar of upcoming events to a list of volunteer opportunities and School contacts, you can learn more online about how you can get involved at pennington.org/community/alumni/get-involved.

BUILD YOUR NETWORK Connect with us on social media and build your network! We are on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Flickr. You can find links to the School accounts and pages at the bottom of any page on our website at pennington.org.

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FALL HAPPENINGS

C O M M U N I T Y D AY

EXCEL SIS PERCUSSION

QUANTICO TRIP

COMMUNITY DAY On Friday, November 10, Pennington hosted a fall Community Day for the entire student body, designed to prepare students for their service work with the HomeFront organization, which seeks to break the cycle of poverty for families in Central New Jersey. The keynote speaker was Sarah Steward, HomeFront’s chief executive officer. She provided statistics and challenged the typical notion that homelessness is a situation of adults living in tent cities; in actuality, homelessness is often a family crisis which affects many children in Mercer County. Steward reported that 28% of the homeless population in Mercer County are children under the age of 18. She ended her presentation by saying that we, as a community, can help by "caring through action." The Pennington School HomeFront Holiday party is one example (see page 54).

Students also watched a short clip of the documentary "Divisible," which highlighted the history and current impact of redlining in the United States. After the film, a panel of guest speakers answered a number of questions from the audience and continued to engage the students on this topic. The panelists were Lizzy Barrett, filmmaker; Schmeeka Simpson, director of tours at the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation; and April DeSimone P'11 '15 '17 '19, the founder of The Practice of Democracy and a transdisciplinary designer working at the intersection of architecture, planning, and systems thinking.

EXCELSIS PERCUSSION The Pennington School welcomed the Excelsis Percussion Quartet to campus in early October for a three-day, musicians-in-residence program for our students. The Quartet also performed at an evening concert on Wednesday, October 11, in the Stainton Hall Lecture Center.

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LETTERS OF INTENT

The New York City-based group includes musicians Marcelina Suchocka (Poland), Aya Kaminaguchi (Japan), Britton-René Collins (United States), and Mariana

FA LL S PE A K E R S

Learn more at www. excelsispercussion.com

QUANTICO TRIP Twenty Pennington School sophomores were invited to spend the day with the Marine Corps to discuss leadership, character, and the value of public service. Teachers Laurie Volpe and Jack Payne joined Mark Reilly as chaperones, as well as alumnus Chris Long ’91 P’12’ 17 ’20, who helped arrange the trip. The students visited the Officer Candidates School (OCS) and experienced the Leadership Reaction Course (LRC). Afterwards, the students and instructors unpacked the event over a lunch of MREs (meals ready-to-eat), and discussed ideals such as honor, courage, and commitment; the Marines emphasized consistency and justice in leadership; encouraged taking care of each other; and underscored how habits become character. The Pennington group later toured the Museum of the Marine Corps. before attending an address by Mrs. Marta Sullivan, a retired Marine Corps colonel, wife of a general, and mother of four. Her speech focused on self-awareness, “finding your people,” and realizing that our decisions and actions determine who we are.

The next day, the group visited Arlington Cemetery and witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Students also traveled to the Mall to see both the Lincoln and Vietnam memorials before heading for home. The Class of ’26 is grateful to General Ellison and his Marines for taking the time to share their stories and offer a memorable glimpse into their world.

SENIORS SIGN NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT On November 8, The

Pennington School celebrated several athletes who have committed to colleges or universities for the fall of 2024. Keane Brown, from New Hope, PA, Justin Davidyock, from Newtown, PA, Kieran Karp, from Pennington, NJ, Morgan Kotch, from Hamilton, NJ, Hailey Adamsky, from Lawrenceville, NJ, and Kendall Malmros, from New Hope, PA, will all be playing Division I soccer. Bryce Meccage, from Pennington, NJ, will be playing Division I baseball. Emma Nelson, from Yardley, PA, will be playing Division I field hockey. Morgan Matthews, from Lawrenceville, NJ, will be playing Division I basketball. Congratulations to our senior student-athletes!

The Pennington School community was treated to presentations and lectures by a number of speakers this fall.

The Global Studies Speaker Series invited four people to address students in the Global Studies program. Dr. Cara McClintockWalsh P’24 ’26, a professor of English and women’s studies at Northampton Community College, spoke to students on October 12 about Narrative 4 (N4), a global nonprofit whose mission revolves around concepts of radical empathy and leadership. N4 aims to develop this first generation of empathetic leaders by engaging them in the story exchange process. N4 has worked in twenty-five countries and more than twenty states in the U.S. and has found that these sessions can foster participant connections and have the power to lead to institutional change.

McClintock-Walsh encouraged the students to “find something you can do, on campus or beyond, that can lead to radical empathy.”

G LO BAL S TU D I E S

Ramirez (Mexico), who performed a wide repertoire for their show, entitled “Sonic Dreams.” The group described the performance as “an audio-visual fantasy featuring the magic of the marimba, dreamlike blending of percussive sound worlds, and sound exploration through various genres.” The concert was open to the public and generously sponsored by Brenda Martini O'loughlin and Thomas O'loughlin P’19.

Brooke Wilkinson, a pediatric nurse practitioner, is in her second year at The Pennington School as the director of health services. From 2009 to 2011, Wilkinson served in the Peace Corps, a government-led organization that sends volunteers to work at the grassroots level in over 60 countries. On October 20, she spoke about her experience; she entered the Peace Corps due to her preexisting interest in medicine, which only solidified during her service. Her work involved an almost two-year-long cultural and language immersion in Ecuador. According to Wilkinson, the local communities allowed her to educate them on sexual health, work as a midwife, and implement programs that allowed women to gain financial independence. While that work was undeniably difficult and strenuous, she stated that “[...] it was the most rewarding experience I’ve had in my life.”

Audrey Plimpton ’16, a communications

associate at Salzburg Global Seminar, spoke to students on November 8. Her journey to Austria was inspired by her time at The Pennington School, particularly by the academic experiences in Italy and Germany she had over breaks. Her Pennington mentor, German teacher Peter Chase, first pushed her to study abroad. Her next international experience was in Italy with former Latin teacher Wendy Morris. After graduating from Davidson College, Plimpton was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to spend a year teaching English in Austria. She also unexpectedly obtained the opportunity to enroll in a dual master's degree program in Rome, where she completed her degree in international relations before returning to the University of Salzburg to acquire her M.A. in European Union studies. She currently works at a nonprofit that brings global leaders together to acknowledge and benefit from their differences. The main lesson she imparted to the audience was to “embrace the unexpected!”

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FA LL S PE A K E R S

Dr. Alyssa Sharkey P'25 spoke to students on Thursday, November 9. Sharkey is a lecturer in the School of

Policy and International Affairs at Princeton University and also works as a consultant in global health–most recently for UNICEF and the World Health Organization. Between 2010 and 2021, she was a senior health specialist with UNICEF, working both in their headquarters and in their South Asia regional offices. She focuses on maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and has worked as a health policy analyst, program officer, and policy researcher within a variety of academic, research, and non-governmental settings both internationally and in the United States. Dr. Sharkey explained the current role of UNICEF today and some details of its operations in over 190 countries and territories around the world.

The Pennington School welcomed Brigadier General Kyle B. Ellison, Deputy Commanding General, III Marine Expeditionary Force; and Commanding General, 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, to our campus on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, where he addressed the Upper School students and faculty during Chapel in honor of Veterans Day on November 11. Brigadier General Ellison spoke to the audience about his time in the Marine Corps, keeping hope alive, and the honor of being a veteran in our country. He also answered questions after his talk.

APPLIED SCIENCE

The Applied Science Speaker Series brought three people to campus this fall, as well as inviting a current senior to share his STEM-related work. On Friday, September 15, senior Sebastian Drezek gave a presentation about his work with the Pennington Rocketry Club and building the tallest rocket ever constructed by a high school team. He explained different engineering philosophies and shared a timeline of some of the Rocketry Club’s work.

Drezek also displayed simulation data used in planning some of the club’s launches and showed a video of one of their prototypes that did not work as originally planned. The club’s next project is called Red Hawk, and he showed some of the physical pieces that will be going into that rocket. Drezek invited students to get involved in Rocketry Club, saying, “If you want to build cool stuff and learn a lot, we’re the place!”

Chris Bluni, a systems test and integration engineer at Lockheed Martin, spoke to Applied Science students on Friday, October 20. Bluni graduated from Lafayette College in 2023 with a BS in mechanical engineering. He led his senior design group in developing a new addition to firefighters’ suits. During his talk, Bluni described the role of a system test engineer and his work at Lockheed Martin. He also presented two of his mechanical engineering projects that he completed while at Lafayette–building an RC car from scratch and designing an addition to firefighters’ suits that allows them to navigate safely through smoky environments. All of these projects use the problem-solving skills that Pennington’s Applied Science students use in the engineering design cycle to help them develop solutions to real-world problems.

Gabriela Cano ’19 returned to campus in October. Cano had always planned on being a doctor, but the Applied

Science Certificate Program at Pennington helped her discover her interest in design engineering, which led her to major in biomedical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. While at UPenn, she worked with a small team on a project called Sonura; they designed a beanie that newborns in the NICU could wear to filter out the loud sounds of the hospital while allowing parents’ voices to reach them via an app. Last spring, the team was awarded Penn’s President’s Innovation Prize for their work. She shared a few lessons she felt were important for students undertaking this kind of work: be passionate, stay open-minded, find your team, ask questions, learn through experience, and don’t wait! She also emphasized the importance of reaching out to contacts, saying she would be thrilled to be able to help students from The Pennington School!

On October 27, Sydney Gibbard ’19 spoke to students about her journey from The Pennington School to her new job with Boston Consulting Group in January 2024. While at Pennington, Gibbard took a School service trip to Haiti, which first inspired her interest in medicine. In the summer of the same year, she co-founded Girls Code the World, a non-profit organization that provides educational programming, extended mentorships, and intersectional support in STEM-related fields for women and girls, often in low-income areas. In 2019, she traveled to Malawi, which inspired her to start the initial design of the Women in STEM Solving Problems (WISSP) menstrual pad. That experience led her to study biomedical engineering at Penn State. Gibbard closed her presentation by reiterating that she made sure the transformative experience she had at Pennington stayed with her through her journey in college so she could continue to make a difference, now and in the future.

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Meet

Bruce Wood ’67!

Bruce Wood ’67 is a member of the 1838 Society and an exemplar of a loyal leadership donor with an impressive forty-plus years of consecutive giving to the Pennington Fund! Early on, Wood realized that his Pennington experience had dramatically shaped the trajectory of his future and views giving back as a personal responsibility.

Wood attended Pennington under the leadership of then-Head of School Dr. Charles R. Smyth (Class of 1929). During his tenure from 1958 to 1970, Smyth is credited with placing the School on solid financial footing by growing the endowment, making needed changes to ensure sound institutional management, and increasing the focus on academic rigor. For Wood, Smyth was more than an exceptional leader and role model. “My mother worked as Dr. Smyth's secretary for years. His kindness to our family, belief in me, and encouragement to attend the School was life-changing.

He is the reason I came to Pennington and, ultimately, the catalyst for my involvement and giving today.”

Wood, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, had a successful career in Washington, D.C. as vice president and associate general counsel of the American Insurance Association. Previously, he served as a legislative assistant to a member of Congress, as labor counsel for the House Education and Labor Committee, and as executive assistant to the chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. Wood has put his political skills to work at Pennington as an active class agent for decades. He comes back to campus for reunions and stays connected to the people and memories he cherishes.

Thank you, Bruce, for keeping Dr. Smyth’s legacy alive and helping to lead the way!

“

Giving back to Pennington

is part of my personal story and

emanates from my deep belief that we are stewards of the opportunities we have been granted in life.

It is important for each of us, as alumni, to take account of where we have come from, consider the impact this experience

If you would like to make a gift to the Pennington Fund in honor of your reunion or are considering becoming a Class Committee volunteer, please contact Assistant Director of the Pennington Fund Traci Scott Karro at 609–559–5554 or traci.scottkarro@pennington.org.

had in our lives, and make sure other students have the same possibilities in the future.

”

www.pennington.org

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PENNINGTON is the TOAST OF SEOUL!

The Pennington School hosted the Asia Alumni Festival in Seoul, South Korea this past November. The event (the third since the festival launched in 2017) brought alumni and friends together from six countries for a fun-filled weekend. The threeday event, headquartered at Lotte Hotel Seoul, was filled with celebrations, guest speakers, time with friends, delicious meals, and opportunities to experience Seoul's rich culture.

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

Head of School William S. Hawkey, PhD and Chair of the Board of Trustees Peter J. Tucci, Esq. ’79 P’16 ’16 joined Asia Alumni Festival Honorary Chair Chairman Byeong-Yeop Park P’08 ’12 to welcome guests for the special occasion.

Three Pennington champions were recognized during the event. J.R. Kim ’90 received the Alumni Achievement Award, William Lo ’05 received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award, and Richard Tan (son of Board member Stephen Tan ’73) was recognized for his advocacy of the School as the recipient of the Global Ambassador Award.

Board members Jae Heo ’08 and Minsoo Kim ’99, who served as co-chairs for the festival’s planning committee, played important roles in making the three-day event a success.

Board member Stephen Tan ’73, who was joined by his wife Joyce and son Richard for the event, was surprised with a special moment to celebrate a milestone birthday amid the weekend festivities.

The Pennington School’s Robert E. Martini Associate Head of School Chad Bridges ’96 and Assistant Head of School for Advancement and Strategic Initiatives Charlie Brown enjoyed reconnecting with alumni from across generations.

Director of Alumni Relations Jane Bott Childrey ’89 was on hand to celebrate the School’s many dedicated alumni volunteers, like Ratchanee Trillit-Mamanee ’90, Sonny Yoon ’90 P’19, and Thirachart Viravan ’86, whose efforts over the years have created momentum with global engagement, building connections within Pennington’s Asian alumni community.

Thank you to the leaders in our community who graciously served on the Asia Alumni Festival committee and whose generosity helped make this event a very special weekend!

Honorary Festival Chair: Chairman Byeong-Yeop Park P’08 ’12 • Festival Co-Chairs: Jae Heo ’08, Minsoo Kim ’99 Honorary Co-Chairs: Chris Chearavanont ’83, Dan Mahony P’18 ’21, Stephen Tan ’73 Planning Committee: China: Zhongyuan Ma '13, Philip Yang ’85 • Japan: Rie Furuuchi ’93, Jin Ishige ’95, Satoru Suzuki ‘83, Junko Tomita ’93 South Korea: Anne Huh ’06, J.R. Kim ’90, Sung Hun Park ’12, Sonny Yoon ’90 P’19 • Taiwan: Howard Fang ’94, Allen Liu ’99 Thailand: Ratchanee Trillit-Mamanee ’90, Thirachart Viravan ’86 • United States: Terry Choi ’13

www.pennington.org

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PA R E N T S F O R P E N N I N G T O N Before the new School year started, Parents for Pennington was busy welcoming new families to The Pennington School! Together with the Admission Office, PfP co-hosted a June ice cream social on campus that allowed new families and students to mingle, ask questions, and get to know each other. It was a sweet welcome for our new families!

B

C

The official start of the School year was busy!

In addition to opening day activities, PfP helped MS sports coaches pilot a snack sign-up program and we were thrilled to be able to sponsor snacks for the first games of the season for each sport. The start of the year also means time for a PfP tradition—class welcome parties! We are grateful to all our host families who welcomed parents at the start of the year and provided us with the opportunity to meet one another.

At our fall general meeting, we introduced the 2023-24 PfP board members and gave a brief presentation about their roles and responsibilities. Clubs and activities were the highlight of the meeting, showcasing the many ways Pennington parents and guardians can get involved in the Pennington community.

PfP hosts both morning and evening book clubs, a walking club, a tennis club, a DEI interest group, as well as a popular wine club.

Events are announced in Pennington Postings to the entire Pennington parent community and anyone is invited to join an activity at any time. The clubs are up and running and it is never too late to be a part of the fun! If you are

interested in more information, please email us at pfp@pennington.org.

Homecoming was another chance for PfP to celebrate the Pennington School community!

Try though it might, the weather did not deter us, and parents and students were invited to join us indoors in the dining hall for a delicious potluck tailgate party. The PfP tailgate has become a tradition for families of all grades to gather together for a little food and fun in between the football and soccer games. October ended with PfP and other parent volunteers decorating the small gym for the Halloween dance and making goody bags for the students.

There is a roster of parent coffees scheduled for this year to give parents and guardians more opportunities to meet each other and socialize. Coffees often include invited speakers to present on a variety of topics that may be of specific interest to our parent community. These events cover such subjects as the transition to high school; social media; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and more.

PfP’s fall season wrapped up with our first-ever Parents’ Night Out! Thanks to the generous support of Raoul and Maria Dominguez-Momo P’26, it was a casual evening of food and fellowship at Eno Terra in Kingston, New Jersey. Stay tuned for upcoming Parents for Pennington spring activities and please reach out to us with any suggestions or questions you may have.

B PfP hosted its fall general meeting in September. C PfP Board members at Homecoming (L to R: Shannon Kimmel P'25 '29, Joy Hall P’25 ’30, Karin Sanderson P’25, Jessica Vincent P’26, Melinda Van Dillen P’27, Kate Klukowski P’25 ’30) D Sweet treats welcomed new families. E PfP and parent volunteers decorated for MS Halloween Dance. F A PfP tradition: class welcome parties.

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T H E AT R E

ARTS @PENNINGTON

THE ALIBIS

BY JONATHAN DORF, TYLER DWIGGINS, KATHRYN FUNKHOUSER, PATRICK GREENE, MORA V. HARRIS, CARRIE MCCROSSEN, IAN MCWETHY, AND JASON PIZZARELLO

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

BY SUZANNE HOUSTON

The Alibis is technically eight short plays, each by a different playwright, tied together with a series of prologues and epilogues. With a famous detective and musical butler at the helm, it features the interrogations of eight potential murder suspects. In real life, such a situation would be taken very seriously; however, the more these suspects reveal about themselves and their alibis, the more ridiculous everything gets.

Theatre at Pennington always seeks to challenge the students with its theatrical productions. But this fall, instead of deeply analyzing and exploring a heavy topic or complicated theme, we decided we just wanted to laugh. This show, albeit a zany murder mystery/comedy, still offered many fun challenges.

Our costume crew had great fun designing original looks that amplified the colorful characters. Our tech crew designed and built different rooms to house all types of wacky scenarios, and they had fun making some pretty unique props. Our actors were challenged to bring to life over fifty different odd characters of all ages. Matthew Passalacqua ’25 and Lekh Connor ’26 composed, recorded, and mixed original music to enhance the action on stage. And in the Black Box, Tech Shop, and dressing room, we all spent several weeks laughing.

Guffawing. Cackling, even.

Earlier this fall, Dr. Hawkey and Reverend Hallgren tasked our School community to spend the year finding hope and reveling in the ordinary or simple moments that “glimmer” and keep us going. At a rehearsal early in the process, the wise Mrs. Cusack said, “There’s hope in laughter.” The real world is a scary place with extremely real problems. But during the run of the show, we invited the audience to try to leave the real world outside, settle in for some good ole murder mystery fun, and find hope in their laughter.

I am grateful to all the people who helped make this production possible. Special thanks to my partners in crime, Mr. Sulton and Mr. Totaro, for helping me every day in the Black Box and bringing some other laughs into the space beside mine; Mr. Harding and Mr. Vogt for scrupulously investigating the script to make sense of the various locations for eight plays; the costume syndicate of Cusack, Secrest, and Laborde, who led their team of designers in creating specific costumes for every character that also tied the entire piece together; and my production stage manager, Ananya Madireddy '24, who has bailed me out on more than one occasion–she is always ready with an original point of view that can fix a problem. And to our band of seniors, many of whom started at Pennington when I did, seven years ago; we’ve made a lot of mischief and caused a lot of scenes down here in the Black Box. The talented artists of 2024 will leave their collective fingerprint on this program, and will be greatly missed. Thank you for showing the underclass folks the way and keeping them on the straight and narrow.

THE ALIBIS is produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com) 45

MUSIC

B

C

D

Music at Pennington presented an Instrumental and a Vocal Concert this fall under the direction of Dr. Don Dolan and Mr. Jim Horan. Live music is alive and well at Pennington!

B This year the Orchestra performed selections from the scores of Apollo 13 and Star Wars. C The Treble Tones performed “An Evening Prayer” from the opera Hansel and Gretel. D The Jazz Band put an exclamation point on the instrumental concert with a fantastic performance of the theme from Shaft.

E The Pennington Singers performed winter holiday selections that put everyone in a joyous mood.

E

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

6½

S I LVA G A L L E R Y O F A R T

T

om Scanlan ’17 brought his talent back to Pennington! Six-and-a-half years after his special exhibition in the Silva Gallery with Colin Schostak ’17, Scanlan once again transformed the Gallery into a place of beauty and contemplation.

A reception for the artist took place during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend on October 7, 2023, and it was very well attended by alumni, faculty members, and friends. The exhibit was on display from October 2 through December 14, 2023.

A combination of four series of works, along with examples of his commercial photography, brings the viewer on a journey through Scanlan’s photographic eye that ultimately functions as a self-portrait of the artist. Along with exquisitely printed large format photographs, Scanlan integrated into this exhibition objects representing his family heritage and other elements from the places where each series of photographs was shot. Shells and sea glass from Cape Cod, chairs from his grandmother’s house, and even benches that once resided in Rittenhouse Square Park in Philadelphia, all bring a narrative to the work without the need for explanatory text.

Through the chosen photographs and objects, his statement about the show comes to life. Scanlan wrote, “I personally believe you will never be able to truly look at yourself…Sure, you can look around easily, and find your legs, feet, arms, and hands.

If you cross your eyes hard enough, you can even find your nose. You can selfconsciously stare at a reflection of yourself in the mirror… Yet, this vision will never be the same as the way you can see the people you surround yourself with or any person you may encounter on the street. I believe this idea can apply to any of the individuals pictured in this show. You may never get to see them in the same light that I have. But through my perception of these people, I think you will find that this show is just an attempt to see myself.”

Tom Scanlan is an artist, photographer, and filmmaker based in New York. He received his BS in photography from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Working as a commercial, editorial, and fine art photographer, he currently serves as the in-house photographer for the American clothing company Bode, while his personal work focuses on portraiture and social documentation. Scanlan’s work has been featured in Vogue, GQ , Architectural Digest, i-D, Paper magazine, and Document Journal.

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2023 FA L L AT H L E T I C S

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FOOTBALL Head Coach: Mike Watkins Assistant Coaches: Blair Thompson, Adam Cooley, David Hallgren, Tom Bock, David Garrison, Joseph King

• T he 2023 football season was an exciting one!

• 6 -2 record was the result of the team growing together every day

• T eam leaned on its senior leadership to bond with new faces in uniform and new voices on the staff; the team mantra was “All In!”

• S eniors Alex Lee, Alex Brackin, Jack McCune, and JT Shamsey all made outstanding contributions to the season.

• F ootball program is growing, with a bright and exciting future

CHEERLEADING Head Coach: Kathy-Lynn Kelly

• Cheer season 2023 started out strong with returning

captain Lia Taranto ’24 and new co-captain Marie Ancil ’25, along with veteran Coach Kelly. We ended our epic preseason with a team dinner and sleepover.

• Our brand-new, custom-designed Red Hawks

breakthrough banner was showcased at the beginning of the year and used throughout the football season.

• Our team was at its max of twenty enthusiastic

girls, who showcased their dancing, tumbling, and stunting skills throughout the season, despite the daily changes and challenges thrown our way each day. Weather presented one of those challenges this year, from leaving at halftime due to extreme heat to canceling a game due to torrential rain.

• P ep Rally was held twice this year and our cheer team got the crowd hyped up with both their cheers and dance routines.

• H omecoming looked a bit different this year cheering on the other side of the field, but one tradition we kept was wearing the football jerseys. We made the best of it and hit the halftime routine.

• S enior night was a banner night, all decked out in pink

for the very first time. Our team wowed the crowd and performed two entire dance routines, a total of sixand-a-half minutes minutes (a Pennington record!) that included challenging choreography, tumbling, and stunts at halftime in front of an attentive audience.

• O ur season ended as beautifully as it began; new

captains were chosen for next season and another successful team dinner was enjoyed by all. www.pennington.org

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GIRLS' SOCCER Head Coaches: Bill Hawkey, Patrick Murphy ’80 Assistant Coaches: Jorge Rodriguez, Tim Summiel

• O ne of the best seasons in program history! Beat

nationally ranked Rutgers Prep 2-1 in the NJISAA state championship and finished the season with a #7 national ranking by United Soccer Coaches

• O verall record of 21-0, a Mercer County

Tournament championship, a New Jersey Independent School Athletic Association (NJISAA) State Prep tournament title, a Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) championship, and a victory over Hopewell HS in the Battle of Route 31 Cup

• Morgan Kotch ’24 became the School's all-time

(boys or girls) career goal scoring record-holder (108)

• H ailey Adamsky ’24 set a new record in the girls'

soccer program for assists in a single season (21)

• T he team bids a fond farewell to seniors Hailey

GIRLS' CROSS COUNTRY

Adamsky, Lina Ballmann, Olivia Davis, Catie Kain, Mackenzie Kotch, Morgan Kotch, Kendall Malmros, Sophia Murphy, Ava Surtz, and Ashton Bridges.

Head Coach: Rick Ritter Assistant Coaches: Marisa Fraser-Pauls, Elizabeth Roehm

• Overall season record:

6–4; notable team victory over Hun

• Team participated in

Kutztown University Invitational and Shore Coaches Invitational

• Very close (two point) loss to Blair in regular season

• Team placed 5th at States and 5th at MAPL

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

BOYS' SOCCER Head Coach: Chad Bridges ’96 Assistant Coaches: Sean Davies, Ryan Stokes, Tim Summiel, Lukas Palker

• Varsity Boys’ Soccer finished a historic season with a 15-0 record!

• Ninth win overall at Mercer County Championship; eighth-straight title (a Mercer County record)

• Winners of the NJISAA Prep Tournament, defeating (previously #1 in the nation) St. Benedict's Grey Bees in the final at Roberts Stadium at Princeton University

• Captured Pennington's first-ever Mid-Atlantic Prep

Championship during the School's inaugural season in the MAPL

• Outscored opponents this year with an astonishing 94 goals for and only 11 goals against

• Seniors Matt Lynch and Kieran Karp were

recognized as part of this year's High School All-American Game, while seniors Keane Brown, Justin Davidyock, Felix Shapiro, and Brandon Napolean were recognized to participate in this year's Mercer County Senior All-Star game; senior class of fourteen members led the team this season

Head Coach: Ken Palumbo

• O ur team finished with a 6-4-1 record.

• S enior Polaris Hayes went undefeated in

• S ophomore sisters Olivia Craig and Grace Craig won 11 doubles matches together, and made it to the finals of the MAPL tournament. Both also had a great season at singles.

• H eidi Shi ’27 won her first-ever singles and

GIRLS' TENNIS

the regular season, going 11-0, and was the winner of the Mercer County Championship at #1 singles.

doubles matches!

• J uliet Walton ’25 went 4-2 at 1st doubles.

• O ur team had more fun and enjoyment this

season than anyone ever dreamed possible! www.pennington.org

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FIELD HOCKEY Head Coach: Kristin McCarthy Assistant Coaches: Lauran Hocquaux, Kat Horsley ’18

• S eason record: 9-9 • T eam was led by terrific co-captains Sammy Lambdin ’24 and Emma Nelson ’24, with contributions from Paloma Szyfer ’24

• M ade it to semifinals of the Prep Tournament and finals for the Mercer County Invitational Tournament

• S ammy Lambdin ’24 made her 150th career save; Genevieve Valieres ’26 scored twenty goals.

• T wo ninth-graders, Shona Karp and Adrianna Cano, made amazing contributions to the team.

• Much talent is returning for next season: juniors Devan Tirendi,

Olivia Cano, goalkeeper Kayla Capuzzi, and Genevieve Valieres ’26.

BOYS' CROSS COUNTRY

• T eam won nine games, and the defense recorded five shutouts!

Head Coach: Rick Ritter; Assistant Coaches: Marisa Fraser-Pauls, Elizabeth Roehm

• Overall season record: 5-4; notable team victories over Hun and Wilberforce

• Team participated in large invitationals including Kutztown HS Invitational at Kutztown University and Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel Park

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

• T eam placed sixth at MAPL, fourth at States • I shan Gupta ’24 was in tenth place at State championship • M onte Huffman ’26 won second place at States (fourth overall A and B).

WAT E R P O L O Head Coach: Bill Hutnik

• T eam added ten new players this year (including five from Middle School!)

• L ed by only three returning players this

fall—senior Hunter Shaffer, junior Caroline McGraw, and sophomore Alex Loh— the team had fun and set a great foundation for next season.

• T he season concluded with full squad competitive scrimmages.

• P WP finished the fall 2023 season with much hope for a bright future!

Check out the new press box and the new scoreboard the teams enjoyed this fall!

www.pennington.org

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H O M E F R O N T H O L I D AY PA R T Y

THANK YOU! The Pennington

community was “all in” on Saturday, December 9, for the on-campus return of the HomeFront Holiday Party. Following a pause in our live event due to pandemic restrictions, we were delighted to be able to welcome HomeFront clients back to Pennington for a holiday celebration once again.

Operations and CulinArt served as the backbone for the event, miraculously turning Sparks Gymnasium into a lovely restaurant and event hall. Nearly 180 volunteers, including students, faculty, staff, and parents, were the heart of the party, serving as hosts and food servers. Peer Leaders served as elves in the toy shop, Book Club members manned the book nook, Dance Club served as dance motivators, and Junior Proctors, along with Middle Schoolers, served as arts and crafts helpers and playmates out on the turf ( a highlight of the day). Of course, Santa returned, and the Photo Club captured our guests’ pictures with Santa.

This year’s party featured so many opportunities for authentic interaction, talking, sharing stories, laughing, and playing together. Hosts were patient, kind, generous, and engaging. As the Peer Leader elves shopped with guests, they listened to stories about the children as they thoughtfully and carefully helped parents select a gift; many senior Peer Leader parents worked tirelessly to beautifully wrap each present. Every family member also received hats and gloves that had been donated to our giving trees. Chris Marchetti, director of HomeFront’s Joy, Hopes and Dreams Program, noted that “Pennington was ‘all in’ everywhere I looked.” Our neighbors in need were the priority that day as the Pennington community said “yes” at every turn. At the HomeFront Holiday Party, community service was more than an idea— it was authentic and direct. Hearts were opened all around, and it felt like the official start to the holiday season.

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Special thanks to Karen Balerna, Nancy Brunner, Byron Kou, Adrienne Papa, Kirk Reichert, Jennifer Roberts, Blair Thompson, Annie Van Beveren, and the over 30 faculty and staff who volunteered, along with over 150 student volunteers and Peer Leader parents!

—by Erin O'Connell Director, Peer Leadership Program

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x x x x x Winter Holiday Candlelight Celebration

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x x x x x Hanukkah Celebration

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Middle School Secret Snowflake and Holiday Skit

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S U CC E S S

AKEYA FORTSON-BROWN ’18

CLARE LONG ’16

STORIES

Founder and Product Expert, Black Vanity LLC Founder and Lead Consultant, The Hustle Lab LLC

Second Grade Teacher, Convent of the Sacred Heart

Young alumni are launching remarkable careers!

Akeya Fortson-Brown ’18 is an entrepreneur at heart. She started her first business, Black Vanity, five years ago as she simultaneously earned her BS in business administration from Rider University.

A few years later, she launched The Hustle Lab. She says, “The most surprising thing about being an entrepreneur has been the amount of growth I've been able to experience in such a short time.

Over five years I have been able to successfully launch and run two businesses simultaneously, and my confidence level has soared.”

Transitioning from the classroom to the professional world can be both challenging and exhilarating for our young alumni. Here are some inspiring stories of recent graduates who have successfully launched into a variety of career paths and the insights and valuable lessons they've learned along the way.

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

Fortson-Brown credits Pennington with stoking her entrepreneurial spirit. She says, “My experience gave me a sense of autonomy and encouraged my self-expression. My teachers empowered me to explore interests and see where opportunities could lead. It helped me develop a confidence that I still use every day in my work.”

Fortson-Brown was able to launch her career as a full-time serial entrepreneur by pursuing internships, doing online research, networking, and seeking support from early investors.

For others who are hoping to pursue their dreams, she offers this advice: “Remember that you are in control of how you tackle opportunities. Don’t let fear stop you in your tracks. Break your big goal down into smaller pieces, and then work on accomplishing those. Before you know it, that big goal will become your reality!”

“Growth does not happen

where comfort lives. It's your job to forge ahead and try new things and reach new heights.

”

Clare Long ’16 attended Columbia University for her MA in literacy and is planning to continue on to Columbia’s PhD program. She considers her career as an elementary school educator her calling and found her first teaching position (at Greenwich Country Day School) at a job fair she attended after college. She says, “I have loved every moment of my career. There are surprises in the classroom every day. My students are kind, caring, and intelligent.

I love their humor and stories and am so grateful for all of them.”

“Being a Pennington

alumna is something I will cherish for the rest of my life; it taught me how to be a citizen of the world.

”

Long recalls a highlight from her sophomore year at Pennington, when she invited a colonel in the Marine Corps and the mother of a fallen soldier to come speak to the Pennington community. Long says, “This was a powerful talk focused on leadership and serving a greater good—being part of something bigger. This day changed my life.”

Her advice for the students of today is to make the most of their time at Pennington and try new things. Long says, “At Pennington, I learned who I was and who I am supposed to be. I failed many times, but I also succeeded!”

CALLING ALL

ALEX SALTSTEIN ’17

NYHSERE WOODSON ’17

Core Software Engineer, Art Blocks

Senior Private Credit Analyst in Fund Management, The Carlyle Group

Alex Saltstein ’17 attended the Stevens Institute of Technology and earned an MA in software engineering and a BS in computer science. His love for the field blossomed during his time as a student on Pennington’s computer science and robotics teams. Saltstein credits Pennington teacher Len Leib for ensuring he had the necessary knowledge to move into the field successfully. He says, “Thanks to Mr. Leib, I was prepared for even the second year of computer science at college. All my practice with contest problems made technical interview questions fun!”

Saltstein’s early career success is directly linked to an unwavering work ethic. He says, “I finished my master's degree early while working full time and am proud I was able to receive a promotion within eighteen months of employment at Art Blocks. Knowing hard work is rewarded in my industry is what drives me.”

His advice for others pursuing a similar track: “It was much harder to land an internship and job in this field than I originally thought! Networking and relationships have been paramount to my success so far. These are the most valuable currencies in today’s market.”

“Nothing is guaranteed.

Work as hard as you can and never give up!”

“Learning how to lead, be accountable, and to work hard are skills that shape who I am today and the success I have found in the corporate world.

”

Nyhsere Woodson ’17 earned his BS in finance from the University of New Haven and is proud to be working in the finance industry. He found his current job through LinkedIn, landing his coveted role at The Carlyle Group. He says, “Working at such a storied firm in this dynamic industry and being surrounded by intelligent and hardworking individuals inspires you to become the best version of yourself.”

Woodson credits his football and Horizon experiences at Pennington with his ability to gain a foothold in the corporate world. He says, “Being part of a team taught me life lessons I carry with me today. Horizon gave me the confidence to tackle complex topics and apply what I learned to the real world; it taught me the value of connections.”

ALUMNI! Check out the latest alumni events and volunteer opportunities:

Submit a Class Note:

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His advice for today’s graduates is to maintain the connections they made at Pennington: “Pennington is a special place with a tight-knit community; alumni go on to do great things and are always willing to help. You should reach out to alumni in your field of interest and find mentors who can help guide you.”

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1960s

Francisco Villegas ’60 passed away

in July of 2023 at the age of 81. His family submitted a class note to share that Villegas was a proud Pennington graduate and told many stories of his beloved years at the School. In recent years, Villegas underwent a heart procedure and was cared for by a surgeon whose own father had also attended Pennington. These memories bring his family much comfort in the pain of his absence. L

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Peter Brown ’65 recently reconnected with Fred Finkelstein ’65, who is now living on the West

...and new arrivals

Coast. Finkelstein has been staying busy with video and documentary production and, following a battle with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, he produced My Skin’s on Fire, a film which has aired on five continents.

Finkelstein has also been an ESL teacher for twenty years and works as a University of California, Berkeley radio host, where he had a chance to interview classmate Kate Bornstein ’65. Finkelstein is hoping to attend his 60th reunion in 2025!

David Chambers ’65, George Goodell ’65, and Andy Schwarz ’65 met in June 2023 over cocktails

and dinner in Baltimore, MD. They enjoyed three years together at Pennington as inseparable friends and spent hours sharing stories and catching up on all the life events they missed over the past 58 years. Schwarz and Goodell remained close over the years—both working on Wall Street— but had lost touch with Chambers after he moved to Germany. This delightful reunion serves as a testament to their enduring friendship formed at Pennington. M

Stuart Silver ’65 has retired and

is celebrating fifty years of living on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.

In June of 2023, he returned to Pennington to present a diploma to his great nephew Joshua Finkle ’23 at Commencement. N

Ron Simon ’65 is thoroughly

enjoying his retirement and filling his days with playing saxophone, vegetable gardening, enjoying the beauty of nature, and reading modern poetry.

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PHOTOS: B Alexandra Mesaros ’12 recently celebrated her engagement to longtime partner, Christopher LaChapelle. C Alison Cuccia ’07 married Corey Osland in October 2023 with an intimate family ceremony near their home in Washington, D.C. D Gianna Russo ’07 married Christian Bonacore in December 2023 at the Valley Regency in Clifton, NJ. E Mike Allen ’09 was married on November 18, 2023, to Melissa Wasser at Cross Keys Estates in Andover, NJ. F Steven Hawkey ’12 married Amanda Barroca on a beautiful fall day in September 2023 in Riverhead, NY. G Michael Keating ’13 (son of Jeffrey Keating ’81 P’13) married Ashlee Belkevich on April 21, 2023 at the Lake House Inn in Perkasie, PA. H Marisa Kaplan ’12 married Robert Beckmann in a beautiful ceremony at the Trenton Country Club in August 2023.

I Tatiana Fried ’16 and Duncan Zavanelli ’16 were married at Jasna Polana in Princeton, NJ, in October 2023! J Emma Garry ’19 and Gerrit (Crater) Garry ’17 were married on August 5, 2023, at Pen Ryn Estate in Bensalem, PA. K Lisa Pachence ’03 and her husband Randy celebrated their first year of being parents to their son, Wesley Emmett.

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1970s

Kim McDonald ’73 and Daniel Seyler ’73 are two of the alumni who came

back to campus this past fall to celebrate their 50th reunion. Both McDonald and Seyler (B pictured sharing a laugh with 50th Reunion dinner host Stephen Tan ’73) shared class notes expressing their appreciation and enjoyment of the wonderful time they spent in October with former classmates. McDonald was grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with so many alumni and former faculty members (C such as Terry Burns, pictured right with McDonald) who are near and dear to his heart.

1980s

Thomas Chiodi ’81 caught up with

several of his former classmates this summer! In August, he spent a weekend with Ron Rick ’81 P’08 ’09 and his wife Cathy, Gerard Lieggi ’81 and his wife Debbie, and Andrea Colender Kawecki ’82 and her husband Matt. In September, Chiodi (pictured center) attended a Pennington football season-opener tailgate reception (see photo E) hosted

by Jordan Gray ’91 P’22 ’26 (pictured far left), and was joined by fellow football alumni Jeff Karkut ’82 (next to Gray) and P.J. Vinch ’81 (far right).

1 3 Maida Davis Brooks ’76 and

her wife Kim retired and bought a home in southwest France in summer of 2023. D

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Michael Parker ’88 was appointed to the board of

directors of Suffolk University in fall of 2023.

Jane Bott Childrey ’89 and Kimberly Ellis Stein ’89 enjoyed spending a week catching up and making

new memories during a girls’ trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in August 2023. During their vacation, they met with Steve Thomson ’73. G

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Soopakij (Chris) Chearavanont ’83, member of the Board of Trustees,

attended a special ceremony on November 8, 2023, at which Japan's Emperor Naruhito awarded Chris's father, Dhanin Chearacanont P’83, the "Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star" for his role in promoting the Thai and Japanese economies. Chris is featured in the photo F, fourth from the left, and to the right of his father. (Photo credit: The Nation)

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

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1990s

Jin Tae Park ’97 visited Pennington

last summer and saw many of the new buildings and campus improvements made over the past twenty-five years. He was joined by former faculty members Alice Hay-Tolo and Marc Tolo as tour guides for the day. H

Danielle Folda Petaja ’99 and her

family recently relocated to Switzerland.

Petaja and her husband Kyle will continue in roles at their respective companies while living abroad. Their sons, Evan (11) and Sean (13), are enrolled in an international school. The Petajas welcome all Pennington friends to come visit! I

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Phil Prassas ’99 P’28 (far right) hosted

a Halloween party this past fall which brought a number of alumni together to celebrate, including (left to right): Nick Farr ’08, Chris Farr ’05, Rob Millstein ’99, Sarah Abraham Millstein ’02, Domenick Paparone ’99, and David Millstein ’02. J

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2 000s

Drew Rucks ’01 was promoted to the rank of engineer for the City of Charlotte (NC) Fire Department in May of 2023. K Douglas Whittlesey ’02 earned his CPA license in 2022 and is presently working as a controller for Solutran, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. In 2023, he earned the Elijah Watt Sells Award for outstanding performance on his CPA exam.

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Anthony Betancourt ’03 joined the faculty of the University in Scranton, his alma mater, in fall 2022. As an assistant professor in the psychology department, he was asked to develop the University’s new Black studies program. Betancourt is excited to contribute to educating the next generation of psychologists. In 2020, after earning his PhD in educational psychology from the City University of New York, he founded ABLE Research in Lawrenceville, NJ, which produces scientific reports, articles, digital media, and consulting services to address bullying, scientific racism, learning disabilities, and economic inequality.

Send your updates and news to pennington.org/community/alumni/class-notes, or email Director of Alumni Relations Jane Bott Childrey ’89 at jane.childrey@pennington.org.

www.pennington.org

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Lisa Pachence ’03 and her husband Randy celebrated their first year of being parents to their son, Wesley Emmett. [see photo on pg 59] The couple is staying busy running their own businesses, parenting, and traveling wherever they can! In October of 2023, Pachence was inducted into Pennington’s Athletic Hall of Fame during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend and enjoyed catching up with friends and former teammates Robyn Horner ’03, Jackie Wollett ’03, and Candace (Coville) Dunning ’04! B Kylee Rossi Flynn ’05 was inducted

into the Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame. In addition to Flynn’s family, Bob Turner ’69 (pictured left), Patrick Murphy ’80 (pictured right), and Head of School Bill Hawkey were in attendance to celebrate her accomplishments. C

Julia Bruskin Garland ’05 is featured in a beautiful new book, Images of Hope

by Dana Klein, which inspires hope to individuals and families facing cancer diagnoses. Five years after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Garland is now happily cancer-free and living in Park City, UT. She and her husband Noah recently celebrated their ten-year wedding anniversary with their two daughters, Ava (6) and Zoe (2). D E Corina Shika Kwami ’06 started a new

role in September 2023 as senior director, strategy and head of EMEA at Purpose, overseeing and delivering high impact campaigns and storytelling to tackle global and societal challenges. Ever the Renaissance woman, Kwami continues to gather international attention through her established presence in jazz and was named the “Queen of Storytelling” by Jazz in Europe. She performed at the London Jazz Festival in November 2023. F

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in October 2023 with an intimate family ceremony near their home in Washington, D.C. [see photo on pg 58]

Gianna Russo ’07 married Christian Bonacore in December 2023 at the Valley Regency in Clifton, NJ. Julianne De Lorenzo ’07 was the matron of honor.

Also in attendance were Brandon Smith ’07, Kyle Price ’07, Jesal Trivedi ’07, Ashley Reeves ’07, Angelo Crea ’10, Alex Jingoli Smolar ’11, Kevin Smolar ’12, Joey Jingoli ’15, Michael Jingoli ’85, and Director of Middle School Admission Lynn Zahn. [see photo on pg 58] Jason (Garber) Harder ’08 lives with

his husband, boyfriend, and their six cats in downtown Westminster, MD. Harder graduated from McDaniel College in 2012. With his husband, he owns and operates a highly successful residential and commercial cleaning company. In 2017, the

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Alison Cuccia ’07 married Corey Osland

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

A L U M N I G AT H E R I N G S pair started the Westminster Pride Festival Fund, a 501(c)(3) that supports the Westminster Pride Festival, which is the first of its kind in Carroll County, MD. Mike Allen ’09 was married on

November 18, 2023, to Melissa Wasser at Cross Keys Estates in Andover, NJ. [see photo on pg 59] A few months earlier, Allen gathered with Pennington friends (G left to right) Matt Liwosz ’09, James Osterstock ’09, and Will Wojciechowski ’09 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for his own bachelor party.

Boston

This past October, alumni met at Rosa Mexicano in the seaport area of downtown Boston for a wonderful night of reconnecting with Pennington friends and sharing memories. Everyone was eager to spend time with special faculty guests Gretchen Overhiser and Bill Hutnik as well as Director of Alumni Relations Jane Bott Childrey ’89 P’18 ’21 ’24.

Amber Brooks ’09 drove up from Virginia with boyfriend Jay and dog Henley to watch the Pennington Varsity Girls’ Soccer team play at Mercersburg and to hand treats out to the Pennington athletes after the game. Brooks played in two national championships at University of North Carolina and now plays professionally for the Washington Spirit. H

Winter Alumni Games

With Speedos in the pool and sticks on the ice, alumni came out ready for some competition at this year’s Winter Alumni Games—held on campus on November 25. Alumni and students from the swim team and ice hockey teams joined in the fun!

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NYC Holiday Reception

Alumni, friends, and family celebrated at Pennington’s annual New York City Holiday Reception on November 30. Held at the Great Jones Distillery, alumni were treated to festive fare and cocktails, and Pennington spirit and good cheer filled the room.

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Want to join an upcoming alumni event or activity?

Learn more by scanning the QR code or visiting pennington.org/community/alumni.

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2 010s

Danny Connors ’10 was recently named general manager of the Rip City Remix, the G-league team of the Portland Trail Blazers, where he has worked since 2016.

As the first general manager of the Rip City Remix, Connors looks forward to growing the program and having many winning seasons with the team! B Trent Perrine ’11 is a captain in the United States Marine Corps, stationed in New Orleans and, with his wife Meri, he visited campus in early March. Robbie Uzupis, his former teacher, took the couple on a tour around campus. C Steven Hawkey ’12 married Amanda

Barroca on a beautiful fall day in September 2023 in Riverhead, NY. The couple celebrated with many Pennington family and friends in attendance! [see photo on pg 59] Marisa Kaplan ’12 married Robert

Beckmann in a beautiful ceremony at the Trenton Country Club in August 2023. [see photo on pg 58]

Alexandra Mesaros ’12 recently celebrated her engagement to longtime partner Christopher LaChapelle.

Mesaros works for Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, and privately coaches high school students preparing to audition for performing arts colleges.

She also continues to cultivate her career as a voiceover artist for animated series, video games, and commercials. Her fiancé is the senior museum educator at the Penn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. [see photo on pg 58] Henry Sheeran ’14 wrote and produced

an original play, Ted Bundy’s Volkswagen, which had a limited engagement run at the IRT Theatre in New York City this past November. Several Pennington friends came out to enjoy the play and support Sheeran, including: Sophia Su ’13, Charlie Sproul ’14, Saif Naqvi ’14, Liam Krivcov ’17, and faculty members Jason Harding, Lisa Houston, and Peter Secrest ’13. D 64

Harrison Cohn ’15 is living in Boston

after graduating from Suffolk University School of Law in Boston, MA. Cohn now serves as in-house counsel for a tech company.

Michael Keating ’13 (son of Jeffrey Keating ’81 P’13) married Ashlee

Belkevich on April 21, 2023 at the Lake House Inn in Perkasie, PA. In addition to his father and uncle (Dennis Keating ’79 P’08 ’09 ’18), many Pennington friends and family were on hand for the celebration, including: Connor Donovan ’13, Ryan Donovan ’11, Dane Kunkel ’13, Adam Levi ’13, and Jessica Ratner ’13. [see photo on pg 58] Tatiana Fried ’16 and Duncan Zavanelli ’16 were married at Jasna

Polana in Princeton, NJ, in October 2023! [see photo on pg 58]

Jinwoo Kim ’16, Dong Jun Kim ’16, Sabrina Tucci ’16, and Jae-Bum An ’16

all gathered at the Asia Alumni Festival in Seoul this past November and enjoyed a fun weekend together! E

Audrey Plimpton ’16 received two master’s degrees from universities in Salzburg, Austria and Rome, Italy. Since March, she has been working in public relations at Salzburg Global Seminars, which is located at the “Sound of Music” palace, Schloss Leopoldskron. Faculty members Peter and Jenny Chase visited Plimpton in Salzburg this past summer. F Ella Arata ’17 and Ellie Paige ’17 were two of ten alumni who were guests of Alex Cooper ’13 in Philadelphia this past November to attend a showing of Cooper’s “The Unwell Tour.”G Bridget Carmichael ’17 moved to Italy to teach English during her gap year between undergrad and law school. While abroad, she traveled to over thirty cities, eight countries, and two continents in her first six months!

Bree Seiler ’17 reconnected in July 2023

with Kathi Bawidamann, her friend from the Pennington/Regensburg exchange program. When Seiler was a senior,

Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

Bawidamann came to stay with her at Pennington for a month. Afterwards, the two friends returned to Regensburg for the final month of the program. H Francesca Iucolino ’18 ran the Dietz

& Watson Philadelphia Half Marathon in November. I

Nicholas D’Amour ’19 won gold at 2023’s recurve Central American Caribbean Games. He qualified for the World Archery Championships in Berlin in July and, while there, competed in two matches, winning the first with a score of six points. This event in Berlin was the first qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics. J Horacio Cruz-Mendoza ’19 graduated

from Bentley University this past May and is now pursuing his master's degree in global sports business management at Rutgers University.

Emma Garry ’19 and Gerrit (Crater) Garry ’17 were married on August 5,

2023, at Pen Ryn Estate in Bensalem, PA. The couple started dating at Pennington in 2017 and became engaged at halftime of the Pennington Homecoming football game in 2021. The wedding was attended by many Pennington friends, including four faculty members: Rick Ritter, Wendy Morris, Byron Kou, and Nancy Brunner. [see photo on pg 58]

Maddie Lamb ’19 is currently

attending Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine and looks forward to obtaining her doctorate in veterinary medicine.

Matthew Robertson ’19 accepted

a position at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom in Bay Lake, FL, as a conservation education presenter. In this role, he shares his knowledge and inspires action in conservation and environmentalism to children and adults from around the world. K

Alex Stevens ’19, an All-American

swimmer and Pennington swim team record-holder, joined Princeton University this past October as the new women's team assistant swimming coach. L

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Submit Class Notes by scanning the QR Code here.

www.pennington.org

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2 020s

Vincent Colalillo ’20 and Kate Long ’20

spent their 2023 spring semesters studying abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The pair stayed connected after graduating from Pennington and enjoyed their adventures, like seeing the Randwick horse races and a Sydney Swans Australian Football League game. Rickey Eng ’20 visited his classmates during their time in Australia for a mini-reunion and he was able to do some sightseeing during his stay, including attending a Sydney Kings championship basketball game, exploring Coogee and Bondi Beach, and trekking around downtown Sydney. B C

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Kirsten Griswold ’22, Jeriah Mickens ’22, Luke Kavulich ’22, and Max Gibbard ’22 reunited to cheer on Penn

State University in one of their fall 2023 football games! The four alumni are currently sophomores at PSU and enjoyed some game day fun together. D

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Former Faculty Nancy Fox earned her PhD in rhetorical studies from the University of Washington (2020), where she was awarded the Hilen Dissertation Fellowship. She currently teaches rhetoric and writing at the University of West Florida and is enrolled in a creative nonfiction writing workshop at Stanford University. She is currently working on a book about adoption in America.

Dee and Frank Spera P’89 spent a day with Minsoo Kim ’99 at

the Towne Club Windermere in Atlanta, GA this past fall. The trio spent hours catching up and enjoyed discussing their favorite Pennington memories, as well as Minsoo’s new business ventures! E

Wendy Morris played in the Masters PanAm Field Hockey Games in Argentina this past December on the USA Over-60 team.

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Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

4

IN MEMORIAM

Gerd T. Benda ’43 Bernard DiGiovacchino ’44 Stephen T. Bard ’51 Francis Goeke ’51 Frank W. Gyetvan III ’51 Charles F. Baunach, Jr. ’53 David Talone ’55 Francisco T. Villegas ’60 Robert A. Davidson ’63 Joseph K. McClurkin ’63 Albert Merrion ’63 Chandler J. Stowe ’63 Renee Pollack S’64 George T. Wolfson ’64 Susanne Copenhaver S’66 Joseph Vitella P’72 GP’01 ’04 John J. Snyder ’73 David W. Lynch ’76 John Keating P’79 ’81 ’85 GP’08 ’09 ’13 ’18 Thomas R. Vesey ’83 Robert Lindsay ’87 Sally Sorbello P’90 ’91 Deborah Cook P’90 ’94 FF Christine Laura Matthews ’93 Charles W. Gravener III P’04 ’08 John Kite GP’06 ’10 Margaret Kite GP’06 ’10 Robert Hillas P’07 Doris Reardon GP’14 ’17 Ronald Reardon GP’14 ’17 Philip Bancroft P’19 ’21 ’21 FT Loretta Charbonneau GP’23 Marisa Bradshaw P’24 ’27 James Cassel GP’26 Edmund Gauss FF Fran Bowers FHS FTS

With sadness we remember the following members of the Pennington community who died or whose death we learned of since the publication of our last magazine.

S–Spouse; P–Parent; GP–Grandparent; FF–Former Faculty/Staff; FT–Former Trustee; FHS–Former Head of School Spouse; FTS–Former Trustee Spouse 67

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The Board of Trustees welcomes three new members from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Jeff and his wife Loredana are the proud parents of alumni William ’17 and Christopher ’22.

They live in Lambertville, New Jersey.

Arti Patel P’17 ’23

G. Geoffrey (Jeff) Cromarty P’17 ’22

Jeff Cromarty is the senior vice president and chief administrative officer of Thomas Jefferson University (formerly Philadelphia University) and has held that position since 2002, when he was the principal lead in the merger of the two universities. He has extensive experience in higher education leadership and previously served as the director and special assistant to the president and interim chief of staff at the University of Pennsylvania.

Cromarty’s other organizational affiliations include serving on the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education Alumni Board, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, Leadership in Educational Facilities, Society for College and University Planning, and the Swan Creek Rowing Club. He is also the current director of the East Falls Development Corporation and has served as a board member (gubernatorial appointee) for the New Jersey Cultural Trust.

A graduate of Western New England University with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Cromarty went on to earn a Master of Governmental Administration from Fels Center of Government and a Doctor of Education in higher education management 68

Pennington Magazine Fall/Winter 2023-24

Arti Patel is an anesthesiologist affiliated with New Brunswick Anesthesia Associates.

Previously, she practiced in an academic setting as an assistant professor at Northwestern University, specializing in pediatric anesthesia and pain management within an academic setting. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from the University of Rochester with a bachelor's degree in biology and psychology.

She earned her medical degree at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Her post-graduate specialization also occurred at Northwestern University, with dual pediatric anesthesia and pain management training.

Patel and her family have been an integral part of the Pennington School community for over a decade. As a proud mother of Shaan ’17 and Simon ’23, she has actively engaged in various volunteer activities and provided support for initiatives to enhance teacher professional development. She and her husband Samir live in Princeton, New Jersey.

Melinda Van Dillen P’27

Melinda Van Dillen is a language arts instructor at the Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) Princeton campus. She has worked as a second- and third-grade instructor for three years, teaching the craft and art of effective communication by focusing on the components of writing and building an appreciation of language. Prior to working at AoPS, Van Dillen was a senior communication professional with over fifteen years of experience conducting effective and targeted public relations campaigns, creating and executing corporate branding strategies, managing crisis communication plans, and leading internal communications efforts both as a freelance consultant and during her ten-year tenure at Bertelsmann AG in New York. She holds a BS in writing for television, radio, and film from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications and is a volunteer with the nonprofit Princeton Area Women’s Club. She joined the Parents for Pennington board in the fall of 2022, serving as the executive vice president and chair of the Red and Black Bash.

Van Dillen and her husband Erik are the parents of Zach ’27. The family resides in West Windsor, New Jersey.

The Pennington School Scholarship Classic

The P e

ool ch

June 10, 2024

ington S n n

h

ss

Sc

ol

ic

The Bedens Brook Club, Skillman, NJ a r s hip C l a

Come out and play!

Golf, tennis, pickleball, lunch, auction, prizes...and more!

Everyone is welcome to join in the fun for the annual Scholarship Classic. Proceeds from the event directly support student scholarships at The Pennington School. All experience levels are welcome, and we hope to see you there!

Thank you to this year’s

Platinum Sponsor

For more information on registration and event sponsorships, please contact Director of Alumni Relations Jane Bott Childrey ’89 at jane.childrey@pennington.org.

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The Pennington School 112 West Delaware Avenue | Pennington, New Jersey 08534-1601 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

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Visit the campus store online by scanning this QR code or at www.pennington.org/community/campus-store

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