Dr. Mark McLaughlin ’83 with Physical Education Department Chair Joe Forte and Sharon Forte at The Westin Hotel in Princeton.
Dr. Mark McLaughlin ’83 was inducted as an “Outstanding American” into The New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on September 18. An internationally-registered neurosurgeon, author, speaker, and teacher, he is Medical Director for Princeton Brain and Spine Care, and Director of Neurosurgery at the University Medical Center at Princeton. During a pre-recorded interview for the ceremony, Mark emphasized the impact that wrestling made on his life; he thinks about and acts on everything based on his wrestling experiences. Further, he spoke about the three lessons he learned from wrestling: resilience, life-long learning, and finding mentors and being a mentor. Later, in his acceptance speech, Mark said, “You don’t have to be in the operating room to save a life. You can be in a wrestling room or a classroom and have the same effect. Wrestling changed my life, and I promise to make sure it will change many others to come.” After 15 years of coaching a successful youth program in Princeton, Mark is working to establish a youth wrestling program in Trenton. Mark was a four-year wrestler at Pingry, becoming the first wrestler at the time to reach 99 wins (99-10 with 70 falls). He was also New Jersey Prep State Champion in 1982, a finalist in the National Prep Tournament, and an All-American Honorable Mention in Amateur Wrestling News. “He is one of the most energetic, aggressive wrestlers I’ve ever had,” says Coach Joe Forte. Later, Mark was a four-year starter and captain at William & Mary, leading the team to a state championship. Twice named an All-American, he was the college’s Outstanding Senior Athlete and Wrestler of the Decade. He was inducted into William & Mary’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000 and Pingry’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.
1981 Brian O’Donnell returned to Pingry this summer. He is an assistant coach for U.S. Soccer’s U20 Men’s National Team, which trained for a week on the Basking Ridge Campus. They were training to qualify for the U20 World Cup in South Korea in May 2017.
Ketaki Tavan ’19, Leo Zhu ’19, Ethan Malzberg ’19, and Miro Bergam ’19 with The Denan Project’s Vice President, Jarret Schecter, during last spring’s walk-a-thon.
Pingry Students Partner with The Denan Project Last year, Jessica Barist Cohen ’88 reached out to Pingry’s Director of Community Service, Shelley Hartz, in an attempt to recruit students to help increase awareness through social media of a charity she is involved in—The Denan Project (TDP). “The Denan Project is a non-profit run entirely by volunteers, and we love the idea of getting younger people involved and encouraging philanthropy early in life,” she says. Pingry students Miro Bergam ’19, Ethan Malzberg ’19, Ketaki Tavan ’19, and Leo Zhu ’19 eagerly answered her call. TDP is devoted to providing medical clinics, potable water, education, and economic development to some of the most impoverished places in the world, including Denan, Ethiopia; Uratari, Peru; Tariat, Mongolia; and Chinle, Arizona, a Navajo reservation in the United States. While it is officially stationed in Connecticut, its volunteers lend their help from all over the world—for example, Jessica, the Director of Communications, lives in Belgium. Impassioned by their work with TDP, Miro, Ethan, Ketaki, and Leo have gone far beyond simply advocating awareness of the organization through social media. Together, they have organized several fundraising events, including a pizza sale and walk-a-thon, and, among other future initiatives, plan to create a student network that connects other schools to the charity. “We thought it might be a great fit if Pingry students could help us with Facebook or Twitter outreach, but it turned out that they had many more ideas than just social media,” Jessica says. “I shouldn’t have been surprised—Pingry has always helped students develop an incredibly strong work ethic, and it’s fabulous that the School now focuses on community outreach as well. We are thrilled to have these kids on our team. They have already made a tremendous impact.” For more information, please visit www.thedenanproject.org, and follow the organization on Facebook and Twitter @thedenanproject.
1985 Katherine (Apruzzese) Sherbrooke has published her first novel. Read more on page 70. FALL 2016
79