The Williams School Magazine - Fall 2017

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Williams Fall 2017

Magazine

IMPORTANT ADMISSIONS DATES AT WILLIAMS Super Saturdays at Williams Admission Testing, Tours, and Lunch January 6, 2018 | February 3, 2018 | June 9, 2018 Information Session January 21, 2018 (Snow date: January 28, 2018) Learn about the Academic, Athletic, and Arts opportunities that await you at Williams.

Campus Tours ~ Student Panel ~ Mini Classroom Sessions by our Faculty First Round Application Deadline for Fall 2018 Enrollment February 10, 2018 First round decisions will be mailed on March 10, 2018.

Following the first round process, applicants will be considered based on availability.

Sunday “Funday” April 8, 2018 Join us for a Sunday afternoon of Academic, Athletic, and Arts workshops, a sampling of programs offered at Williams.

For up-to-date details and to register for all Admissions events, visit williamsschool.org/visit

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Saturday May 19 2018 THE WILLIAMS SCHOOL DISTINGUISHING WILLIAMS CAMPAIGN GALA 6:30 – 10:30 pm The Mystic Aquarium Mystic, CT

WILLIAMS ON THE ROAD

We invite you to join us at receptions in your area. Catch up with old friends and make some new ones, reminisce about the “good ole days at Williams,” and update us on what is happening in your life. All are welcome, including alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends. Dates are subject to change and additional information will be forthcoming. If you are interested in attending, please contact the Development Office at 860.439.2769.

DATE WHERE January 16 - 19 California February 5 - 9 Florida February 6 Philadelphia February 7 Washington, D. C. March 22 Chicago April 19 Stamford williamsschool.org/williamsreceptions

FEATURES Evolution and Change Reflected in the Williams’ Liberal Arts Tradition / 2 Health and Wellness at Williams

BLUES NEWS Congratulations Class of 2017 Arts

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Athletics

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Service Committee and Community Outreach

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Make a commitment to the Distinguishing Williams campaign between now and December 31 to have your gift matched dollar for dollar, up to a total of $250,000.

STAY CONNECTED Distinguishing Williams Williams Families

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Alumni Profile: Joanna Douglass ‘99 Class Notes

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Marriages / Births / Centennial / 37 My Williams My Gift

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The Weissman Challenge

The Distinguishing Williams campaign has raised over $2.4 million in gifts and pledges toward our total goal of $3 million.

In an effort to inspire other members of the community to join the campaign, Mrs. Janet Johl Weissman ,58 and Mr. Robert Weissman have put forth a challenge.

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Cover backdrop is a project from Digital Imaging where students studied the impact of light in various mediums with pin hole cameras and cynotype contact print.

Your gift impacts faculty, staff, and students with greater access to professional development, tuition assistance, and program enhancements.

To make your commitment or to learn more, please contact Director of Development Matt Strekel at 860.439.5474 or mstrekel@williamsschool.org.

The Williams School aims to foster the intellectual, moral, aesthetic, and physical development of young women and men in preparation for college, a lifetime of learning, and active participation in a changing society.

From the Head of School Mark Fader

A prime reason families choose to send their children to The Williams School is they understand the value of a distinguished independent college preparatory education. Throughout the School’s rich and cherished history, success has been achieved through a wellbalanced liberal arts education and high standards of excellent teaching and learning.

The times, course names, and faces may have changed since our inception, but the lessons learned from a Williams liberal arts curricula taught in our classrooms still exist today. Up and down our academically challenging program that now spans seven grades, our amazing faculty focuses on “quality versus quantity.” They strive to have their students consider the “why” and “how” versus only the “what” throughout their daily lessons. As a result, we encourage higher-level learning and sophisticated, critical thinking.

Whether our sixth graders are on a local history field trip to Fort Trumbull, our ninth graders are annotating The Odyssey, or our seniors are performing a “Physical Model Protein” lab in Advanced Biochemistry, the teaching and learning principles that inspire intellectual curiosity, collaboration, and critical thinking are prevalent. As a result of an inundation of the latest forms of technology, our students are neurologically different than those of previous generations, yet The Williams School is committed to the best balanced course of study featuring the humanities, the physical and biological sciences, mathematics, the Classics, Modern Language and visual and performing arts.

As always, please enjoy this issue of the Williams Magazine and celebrate with pride the amazing learning that occurs each and every day, as it has for 127 years. The numerous ways our students learn to communicate effectively through writing, presenting, and connecting with adults and peers undoubtedly prepares them for college and the world beyond.

Thank you for reading and please do stay in touch!

All the best,

The Williams Magazine is published for the alumni, parents, and friends of The Williams School. Send news, photos, class notes, and alumni address changes to: alumni@williamsschool.org EDITOR: Robin Cook, Director of Information Services CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Mark Fader P ’15, ’21, ’23 William Furgueson P ’17, ’20 Sharon Gaudreau Jane Hannon P ’06, ’09 Macy Kleinfelder Emily Grace Le May Matthew Strekel Kathy Trammell P ’10, ’12 CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Greg Bowerman Robin Cook Emily Grace Le May Haipeng (Mike) Yan ’19 GRAPHIC DESIGN: Lisa Reneson, Two Sisters Design ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM Mark Fader P ’15, ’21, ’23 Head of School Jane Hannon P ’06, ’09, Assistant Head of School for Program Kathy Trammell P ’10, ’12, Assistant Head of School for Finance and Operations Robin Cook, Director of Information Services Sharon Gaudreau, Director of Enrollment & Marketing Cristan Harris, Director of College Counseling Macy Kleinfelder, Dean of Student Affairs Bernadette Macca, Athletic Director Matthew Strekel, Director of Development TRUSTEES OFFICERS President - Bruce Goldstein P ’12, ’16 Vice President - Natalie Morris P ’16 Secretary - Andrew Kressley P ’16, ’19 Treasurer - Joseph Bonner P ’19, ’22 TRUSTEES 2017-2018 Genevieve Cerf ’60 Steven Daren P ’04, ’10 Patrick Doherty P ’16, ’20 Elena Boneski Dolan ’90, Alumni Board President Mark Fader P ’15, ’21, ’23 Sylvia Guinan P ’21, ’22 Park Hersant P ’07, ’17 Lee Hisle P ’16 Mary Ellen Jukoski Jared Klee ’09 Chris Knowlton P ’20, ’22 John Kronholm P ’14, ’20 Joseph Madaus P ’15, ’18, ’21 Ron Meneo P ’12, ’14 Joanne Moukawsher P ’18, Parents Association President Terry Parkinson P ’14 Carl Reiser P ’10, ’13 Victoria Reyes P ’20, ’21 Elizabeth Sandri P ’17 Bethany Seidel P ’16, ’17, ’21 Kitty Stalsburg ’79 Dean Taylor P ’13, ’18, ’23 Dwayne Xenelis P ’16, ’18, ’23

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Reflected in

THE WILLIAMS’ Liberal Arts

TRADITION

By Jane Hannon

Assistant Head of School for Program

Deeper insight to the value of a Williams education revealed by four members of Williams’ faculty who play active roles in and out of the classroom, building on the mission-centered experience for past, present, and future generations of students.

HANNON: In what ways is a liberal arts education evolving and in what ways has this evolution influenced the way you think about your teaching and your discipline?

COHEN: I see this as a diverse and well-rounded education as opposed to a narrower, purely vocational or pre-professional one—but now even more global and less exclusively Eurocentric.

Working with our students, we develop a wide and solid knowledge base in the humanities, arts, and sciences, along with the critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and communication skills necessary to apply that 2

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knowledge in “real world” settings and to interpret and deal with changing, complex situations. A modern, liberal arts education leads to personal fulfillment and empowerment along with greater success in a diverse society and global economy.

MARTINEAU: In theatre, the student actor is encouraged to relish in the process of creativity as well as moving towards a finished product. Through movement, mask work, and sign language, student actors develop “Aha!” moments.

Exploring various character personality types and genres of plays, the student actor experiences fictional or Fall 2017

not so fictional individuals’ personal dilemmas, successes, wants and desires. There is personal discovery here as well as learning a creative approach to problem solving, contemplating objectives on multiple levels.

BARTH: As young participants in society, our goal as a school is to help to keep students positively engaged now and prepare them for their future in the world well beyond formal schooling. We’re teaching a lot of different skill sets (using language effectively through writing, hands-on laboratory skills, task-based or researchbased communication with peers and faculty, and

LOUIS COHEN Modern Language Chair and Senior Class Advisor, 26th Year at Williams “It’s impossible to describe with certainty the jobs of the future, but having a wide foundation of knowledge in a variety of academic disciplines, critical thinking skills, and the ability to communicate articulately both orally and in writing, all provided by an ’updated’ liberal arts education, seems the best guarantee of success and adaptability throughout one’s lifetime.”

E vo lutio n and Change

independent research) while also teaching and encouraging them to become full-fledged contributors and leaders in their communities.

HANNON: The Williams mission speaks to “preparing students for college, a lifetime of learning, and active participation in a changing society.” How do we do this as an institution, and how are you pursuing these goals as individual educators?

MARVEL: Education is an important part of preparing students for engaging in the outside world. Intellectual curiosity is imperative when seeking information, and

JANE MARTINEAU Director of Drama, 34th year at Williams “I think the public at large, is still missing the importance of the arts in education.

Many children too often rely on the Internet for entertainment and a ’quick fix.’ We, as teachers, must engage our students to think for themselves, to make creative and intelligent choices, to realize the real world is far more interesting than a 4-inch screen.”

one has to have the ability to internalize/analyze the information and the ability to discern how best to act on it at all levels—local, regional, global. This is where I see Williams playing an especially critical role.

Educational institutions have the ability to excite each student’s interests or kill those interests. At Williams, the close-knit community and relationships between teachers and students foster and ignite these interests.

COHEN: We’re equipping our students as global citizens of the 21st century—both through the linguistic skills we teach but also through the appreciation of the

cultures, customs, beliefs, and accomplishments of other peoples. This, in turn, helps them become more reflective about their own cultural and linguistic heritage.

BARTH: This past summer, I participated in the MIT Neuroscience Workshop for Science Teachers through the Center for Brains, Minds and Machines as well as a workshop at Harvard Medical School through the Personal Genetics Education Project that tackled topics in personal genetics and social justice, such as the ownership of one’s DNA and genetic testing. I’m excited to relate and apply these to my lessons, which will hopefully

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more actively engage students as they see connections to the real world.

MARTINEAU: In preparing our students for a changing society, our teachers are current on local and national affairs. If something happens in the news, our teachers, while asking essential questions to keep the students on topic, take the time to allow student discussion of their feelings, questions, concerns and ideas for possible remedies. We make a conscious effort to empower our students.

STELLA BARTH Science Teacher and Cross Country Coach, 7th Year at Williams “I push my students to be responsible for their own learning not just by answering my questions but also by stimulating their curiosity in topics to generate their own questions; the hope is that they will use what we talk about in class as a jumping off point for their own learning. I love when students come back to talk to me about a topic they have researched further and wish to discuss in greater detail with the class or with me.”

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HANNON: Change is inevitable—sometimes unsettling—but most often it results in a stronger, more vibrant experience. In what ways do you see yourself as a change agent and leader at Williams?

BARTH: We first have to recognize that society does change—sometimes gradually and sometimes jarringly—acknowledging this to students helps them process what is going on in their own lives and in the world at large. We also push students out of their comfort zones to take risks and expand themselves and their thinking. I push my students to be knowledgeable and meaningful in their communication through their writing and discussions in class—to be able to explain, to be able to have an argument or discussion using the language of science to effectively communicate “the things and the stuff ” in an articulate way.

MARVEL: As educators, one of our jobs is to challenge students—sometimes challenges result in failures, but failures are sometimes the greatest opportunities.

A small environment means that when they hit these bumps, students don’t automatically collapse, they can rebound and learn from these bumps in the road. In this environment,

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SARAH MARVEL History Teacher, Student Government Advisor, Cross Country Coach, 2nd Year at Williams “The History Department recently developed a tenth grade Modern World History Honors curriculum, so students experience this level of academic rigor early in their Williams career. We’re working with them as they grapple with challenging writing and content; we want to push students, see how they respond to the texts, and find ways to better motivate and engage them. Students may struggle, but they know they can seek guidance, and in the end they will know that they have tackled the challenge of college-level reading.”

students know they can go to their teacher or advisor to discuss these shortcomings.

Facing these obstacles early, and in an environment where one feels safe, better prepares students for future challenges.

MARTINEAU: I am a passionate individual. I try to keep an open mind and think before I respond. I carry a small notebook to record

thoughts and observations and ideas for artistic projects and class work. This notebook is vital, as all of my classes are original to me. And yes, change can sometimes be unsettling and I may grouse initially, but I pride myself on thinking and problem solving. I hope to impart that to my students daily. As a change agent or leader at Williams, I feel I continue to challenge myself in my discipline and art. I go to theatre, I exchange creative ideas with my tribe both local and out in the “wide, wide world.” I’m not afraid to put myself “out there” as an artist for my students and for my own development. To paraphrase Samuel Becket: “Try, fail. Try again, fail again. FAIL BETTER.” This is my theme for the year.

HANNON: Listening and observing all of you as you talk about your work with our students continues to inspire me—it’s the people in this community and the interactions and hope they have for young people of today and their futures as global citizens that is at the core of the Williams experience.

E vo lutio n and Change

t h r o u g h t h e l e n s o f w i l l i a m s’ a l u m n i John Weaver ’13, MPhys Astrophysics Undergraduate at the University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland “I had endless support from my peers, a natural consequence of the kind of tightknit collegial student environment that I have found nowhere else. No matter the problem, be it in coursework or in life, there was always someone willing to lend a hand. I strongly believe that these kind of character traits are sorely missing in the world today, and I am grateful to have been part of a community which prizes such outstanding generosity and friendship. I thank Williams for the world-class scholarship I have come to obtain and for invaluable lessons in humanity that I carry with me each day.”

Sarah Munson Himmelrich ’02, Director of Operations at Johns Hopkins Medicine “Looking back at my time at Williams, I have many fond memories of the traditions that were passed down each year from marking territory on the blue bench to the excitement of inheriting the senior lounge. I think the senior project was an especially unique opportunity for a high school student to define their interests in an applied way. In my position at Johns Hopkins Medicine, I am leading the implementation of health reform initiatives for one of the top hospitals in the country. Williams helped to lay the foundation for my success.”

Marion Mollegen McFadden ’90, Vice President, Public Policy for Enterprise Community Partners, Washington, D.C. “Do everything you can to seek out diversity. Williams is highly curated—your teachers and fellow students were chosen from among many others who want to be there and there are so many interesting people who will not cross your path if you do only what’s expected of you. Be intentional about exposing yourself to other cultures, ways of thinking, ways of living. Mix it up! Spend time with people who aren’t getting the kind of wonderful education you are, and let those relationships inform your world views. Then when you grow up and get to choose how to structure your own life, you’ll be making the most informed choices about what will make you happy.”

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B lues News

CONGRATULATIONS

Alaina Attanasio Sierra Beltran Julian Benchimol Sarah Billis Sophie Bullinger Grace Burleson

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Caelynn Carroll Deriyana Carter Rentongyu Chang Shawn Conroy Hannah Daitch Oliver Falla Rachel Flores

Fall 2017

Cameron Folts Olivia Foster Emma Furgueson Isobel Griscom Eli Griswold Victoria Hersant

to the Class of 2017 Class of 2017 College Acceptances and Matriculations Adelphi University Amherst College Auburn University Ball State University Boston College Boston University Brown University Bryant University Case Western Reserve University Champlain College College of Charleston College of the Holy Cross Clark University Clemson University Colby College Colorado College Connecticut College Curry College Dartmouth College Dickinson College Drew University Drexel University Duquesne University Eckerd College Elon University Emerson College

Dominyque Johnson Todd Laggis Jordan Legg Grace Linhares Matthew Littlefield Adam Morell

Emmanuel College Emory University Endicott College Fordham University Georgetown University George Washington University Georgia Institute of Technology Gettysburg College Hampden-Sydney College Hampshire College Hobart and William Smith Colleges) Hofstra University Jacksonville University Johnson & Wales University Keene State College Kent State University Keystone College Lafayette College Lasell College Loyola University Maryland Loyola University New Orleans Lynn University Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College Massachusetts College of Art and Design Meredith College Merrimack College Monmouth University Northeastern University Pace University Parsons School of Design

Pratt Institute Providence College Purdue University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Richmond, The American International University in London Ringling College of Art and Design Roanoke College Roger Williams University Rollins College Saint Anselm College Saint Michael’s College Salve Regina University Savannah College of Art and Design School of the Art Institute of Chicago Skidmore College Smith College St. Edward’s University St. Lawrence University Stony Brook University Suffolk University Syracuse University Trinity College United States Air Force Academy United States Naval Academy University of Aberdeen (Scotland) University of Alabama University of California, Davis University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara

Liam Muldro Isabella Nucci Raj Patel Nadia Penkoff Lidbeck Antonella Portugal Jonathan Powell Rachel Sandri

University of California, Santa Cruz University of Chicago University of Colorado at Boulder University of Connecticut at Storrs University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Maryland, College Park University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of Miami University of Minnesota University of Mississippi University of New Hampshire University of New Mexico University of Puget Sound University of Rhode Island University of Rochester University of South Carolina University of St Andrews University of Stirling University of Vermont University of Virginia University of Washington University of Wisconsin, Madison Vassar College Villanova University Virginia Tech Washington College Wesleyan University Whittier College 2017 Matriculation in green

Simon Schaefer Brianna Seidel Katherine Thaxton Amar Viswanathan Qianrui “Harry” Yu Haotong “Eleanor” Zheng

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Health and Wellness at Williams

Balance

Prevention

williamsschool.org/healthwellness

Safety

By Macy Kleinfelder, Dean of Student Affairs

THE VALUE OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS EDUCATION

Mindfulness

No doubt, adolescents are faced with challenging issues and ethical dilemmas, and they are able to make more appropriate decisions and healthier personal choices when armed with an underpinning of knowledge and social skills. Moreover, it is important for students to be a part of discussions around adolescent topics in order for these young adults to be able to practice self-expression, develop opinions, and navigate the diverse world around them. Health and wellness of students is integral to academic success, and knowledge of such noncognitive abilities is a life-long benefit as young adults transition to college and beyond.

The mission at Williams is to educate students who are ready for a lifetime of learning and active participation in a changing society.

In keeping with this mission, the goals of the Health and Wellness curriculum are simple: provide students exposure to social-emotional education and strengthen their ability to have sound judgment, make healthy decisions, and articulate their guiding belief systems. This focus also allows the faculty to incorporate these success skills into the academic realm through active engagement and by developing constructive habits of mind:

• Resilience, Mindfulness, and Creating Balance • Empathy and Gratitude • Integrity and Leadership • Interpersonal Skills and Decision Making • Substance Use, Abuse, and Prevention • Sexual Development and Health • Mental Health and Well-being • Internet Safety and Citizenship • Gender Identity and Sexuality • Embracing Diversity

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He alth and We llne ss

HEALTH AND WELLNESS FOR STUDENTS Middle School Enrichment Seminars Numerous subjects have and continue to be introduced to Middle School students through Williams’ Enrichment curriculum.

Grit Gregory Rutchik ’83 introduced a grit curriculum, while School Counselor Megan LaCour has worked with the eighth grade to explore the concepts of resiliency and a growth mindset, equipping them with important life skills.

Substance Use/Abuse Education Through various activities and a presentation by Community Speaks Out, eighth grade students tackled the who, what, where and why of substance use and abuse, exploring and discussing the teenage brain, drugs, addiction and health risks, and peer pressure and decision-making.

Sexual Health and Education Building a comfortable, healthy, and safe classroom environment is crucial to teaching sensitive topics like puberty, the male and female reproductive systems, body image, STDs, and the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. One of the more meaningful activities includes role playing as a volunteer on a hotline for abuse called the RESPECT hotline. As students learn about topics uncomfortable for many and riddled with false information, myths, uncertainty and curiosity, they seem to rise to the occasion in their participation, respectfulness, sensitivity to the topics at hand and each other.

UPPER SCHOOL PROGRAMMING

Community Speaks Out A local organization founded to help families facing opiate and/or heroin addiction, Community Speaks Out’s Cofounder Lisa Johns, and Ashley, a woman in recovery, visited Williams to share their powerful perspective with students and faculty. The message was clear: heroin and abused prescription medications can ruin an entire family. Ashley’s courage, poise, and message to students, reminding them that they do not ever have to make that “one choice” to try a drug. There were By signing the “I’ll Stand Up” sign, our community sent tears in the audience as Ms. Johns the message that no one is an innocent bystander when it shared her story of her son’s disease of comes to Peer Mistreatment. We can be part of the solution. addiction and his ultimate death.

Mindfulness In recent years, the study and practice of mindfulness has received a great deal of attention. Numerous studies show positive results when mindfulness is integrated into school communities, including: decreasing stress and anxiety, increasing attention, improving interpersonal relationships, and strengthening compassion.

Mindfulness at Williams is defined as the practice of paying attention to the present moment without any judgment.

Enrichment covers a variety of topics focused on improving the social and emotional well-being of our students. Mindful breathing and walking, experimenting with body scan exercises, studying mindfulness of the heart and emotions, and experiencing gratitude activities, are a few of the topics helping students understand the value Mindfulness.

Physical Education Students are learning the value of balancing aerobic, flexibility, mobility, and strength training exercises. Using traditional and more innovative activities, the focus of P.E. is to build an inclusive environment focused on improving in one’s health.

Looking in Theatre A theatre group of high school students from the Hartford, CT area presented several dramatic skits around complex societal issues teenagers face today: dating violence, date rape, sexual abuse, homophobia, suicide, race and religion prejudices, alcohol and substance abuse, and more. Each vignette explored the issues with real-life examples, after which our students were able to ask the student thespians questions while they stayed in character.

T.E.A.M. Week Each year, Williams’ Political, Social Justice, Awareness (P.S.A) club designates a week to celebrate our differences. Aiming to enhance knowledge and awareness and promote the uniqueness of every individual, as well as under-represented Fall 2017

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T.E.A.M. Week: Left to Right: Grace Burleson '17. Olivia Foster '17, Grace Linhares '17, Alicia Furgueson P '17, '20, Kolton Harris '10, Caelynn Carroll '17, Rachel Sandri '17, Emma Furgueson '17, Asaada Craig '18, Sophie Bullinger '17

groups, cultures, and views, the theme for 2017 was Be Yourself, Together. The programming included a TedX Talk by Kolton Harris ’10, who spoke about finding what distinguishes oneself. Other activities included advisor groups creating a poster and a project with the prompt: “Look in the mirror, you are your own superhero, what are your superpowers?” and a newer tradition at Williams: The Circle Activity.

College Counseling Influence The College Counseling Office uses Naviance as a collegesearch and application engine and more importantly to facilitate a variety of self-assessments that help students explore strengths and uncover potential. Each student gains a detailed report outlining personality types, career possibilities, and interpersonal skills. 6th and 7th graders identify skill sets, students in eighth graders learn what it means to be successful in the Upper School, freshmen uncover how to be a leader or advocate among one’s peers, and sophomores focus on the purpose of a resume and how to create one suitable to convey a student’s interests. Juniors begin working one-on-one with their college counselor in the early stages of the college search process, establishing what they want in a school and what “fit” really means to them. Finally, seniors gain college visit experience, learning about the life skills needed to have a successful transition to college, ranging from understanding the dimensions of wellness to identifying ways to handle having a roommate for the first time, being away from home, managing free time, logistics of a schedule and navigating an open campus.

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HEALTH AND WELLNESS FOR ADULTS Parents look to raise happy, healthy, productive citizens – people who are honest, conscientious, empathetic, resilient, confident, and able to collaborate and problem solve. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Character is higher than intellect.”

In 21st century society, professional success isn’t dictated by performance in school. People are looking to hire those with the knowledge and skills to adapt, who are able to work in partnership with others, and who have integrity and are able to maintain balance. According “Who you are is to the Carnegie Institute of more important than Technology, 85% of financial what you know” success is due to skills in “human —Unknown engineering,” personality and an ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. Only 15% is due to technical knowledge.

For this reason, Williams is enhancing its traditional scholastic education by looking at the progress of personal intelligences, including work habits and responsibility, confidence and compassion, motivation and grit, teamwork and appreciating differences in others.

The core of a successful Health and Wellness curriculum is aligned with the School’s mission to develop students who are ready for a lifetime of learning and active participation in a changing society. The goal is to supply students with a solid foundation of skills, more than content, that can be used as young adults head off to college and beyond: how to maintain

He alth and We llne ss

Faculty mindfulness workshop, Brush Painting, led by Tekla Zweir P ’21, ’24, Art Department Chair, with Eleanor Day P ’18, ’20, Sharon Gaudreau, Director of Enrollment, and Joe Cote, English Department Chair.

a healthy life style, identifying core values, and cultivating coping skills and resiliency. As important as it is to educate our students, it’s equally important to teach and support faculty and parents.

Insights on Addiction As the epidemic of addiction continues to grow and impact so many, it is important to understand the disease and how to support those in need. A panel of experts has shared with parents and faculty personal experiences and offered insight on options available to families facing addiction. Ken Edwards, an inspector with the Chief State’s Attorney’s office and a former New London police captain, Dr. Ramindra Walia P ’16 and pediatrician, and Community Speaks Out cofounders Lisa Johns and Joe de la Cruz offering perspectives to parents from law enforcement to medicine has cemented the foundation of the issues families are facing at home.

Andy Buccaro, LCSW LADC, Executive Director and Founder of Project Courage, a specialized addiction treatment program, spoke with faculty about the difference between use, abuse, and dependency. Andy also provided a brief introduction to the research surrounding the brain and “reward circuit” in an effort to help faculty understand some of the biology behind these issues. Overall, while genetics and personal history can play a part in substance abuse, an addiction can develop in anyone.

Williams’ Speaker Series Through the Williams’ Speaker Series, adults and students have had opportunities to learn from several experts.

Katie Koestner is regarded as one of the country’s leading safety experts and sought-after lecturers. She’s appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine at age 18 after speaking out about being the victim of a crime of silence, has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, CNN, NBC Nightly News, and her story is the subject of movies by HBO and Lifetime. Koestner has led the charge for federal student safety legislation. Her program, Cyber Smarts, addresses online privacy, cyberbullying, digital citizenship, free speech, use of videos and photographs posted online, and the concept of a digital dossier.

Rais Bhuiyan is the founder and President of World Without Hate and a post 9/11 hate crime victim. Mr. Bhuiyan’s presentations to the Williams community allowed students, faculty, and parents to follow his experience with a variety of empathy exercises, building better understanding of differences and how to practice tolerance of each other and the world around us.

Anxiety Disorders Approximately 6 to 16% of all children suffer from anxiety disorders, and these rates tend to increase with age. Many of the anxieties seen in childhood are not uncommon in the course of normal development; however, childhood anxiety becomes a concern when it is extreme, lasts for a long time, and interferes with child and/or family functioning. Over 40 million adults (approximately 18% of adults 18 and older) struggle with anxiety in one form or another. Williams faculty had the opportunity to learn from the New England Center for Anxiety, which focuses on cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety and related disorders including, but not Fall 2017

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limited to, generalized anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety.

Gender Identity & Sexuality Erin Duran, director of the LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) Resource Center at Connecticut College, educated the faculty on basic vocabulary as it relates to LGBTQIA. Reviewing the developmental models that are typical of a person who is exploring their identity, gender or sexuality, Williams faculty have gained a basic level of understanding about what students may be experiencing or talking with peers about.

WORKING TOGETHER Faculty Engagement In an effort to practice what we preach, faculty have run a

series of workshops for each other to promote mindfulness and share ideas on incorporating health and wellness initiatives into the classroom. Arboretum walks, bird watching, partner relaxation and stretching, meditation, Sumi Brush Painting, and creating a Zentangle are just a few of the new ideas that may show up in the Williams classroom.

Parents Sharing the Classroom Jane Hannon, Assistant Head of School for Program, is leading book talks for parents: The Teenage Brain by Frances Jensen, How to Raise an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims and the most recent book Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do by Claude Steele, are creating wonderful discussions and enhancing the village it takes to raise great students.

Homecoming 2017 brought together amazing alumni whose professions are linked with health and wellness to share their insights.

Dr. Jeanna Walsh ’85 is a medical oncologist in Concord, New Hampshire. She spoke about cancer prevention, focusing on the HPV vaccine, its indications, and the impact of the cancers that it prevents.

Dr. Cristina Mitchell ’85 of Hillside Family Medicine, part of the largest primary care group in Rhode Island and a recognized leader in quality initiatives and population health management, discussed the detrimental effects of electronics on kids’ brains, and the importance of sleep.

Ms. Kate Kelly ’89, a graduate of New York Chiropractic College and owner of Active Recovery Boston, talked about how both the medical profession and the health insurance companies interact with chiropractics as a preventative form of treatment.

Dr. David Fahey ’78, an Internal Medicine Specialist with over 28 years of diverse experiences ranging from urgent care/emergency room to primary care office practice, and academic medicine, shared what the concept of good health care means and how he sees health care in general evolving in the future.

Left to Right - Jeanna, Cristina, Kate, David and Macy Kleinfelder, Dean of Student Affairs

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V isual Ar ts Highlights

Shoreline Arts Reception

Circuits Art Exhibit February 2017

April 2017

williamsschool.org/arts

Circuits, a curated art show by Connecticut College student Bianca Scofield, was a collaboration of the College and the local New London arts community, which included Williams’ student artwork. Additionally, students worked with Williams Digital Arts Teacher Greg Bowerman and Bianca to hang the work in a harmonious display in the Marquee Gallery in New London.

James Knowlton ’20, Devin Shah ’20, and Oliver Falla ’17 were award winners in the video category of The Shoreline Arts Alliance Juried Art Show, Future Choices, at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and nine other students had their work accepted into the show.

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PERFORMING ARTS PRODUCTIONS

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October 2016

Seussical the Musical!

Middle School Production

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November 2016

December 2016

The Madwomen of Chaillot

Winterfest

(written & directed by Faith Williams ’18)

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February 2017 A Simple Cup of Coffee

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Perfor m ing Ar ts Highlights

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March 2017

April 2017

May 2017

Compchorea

Fiddler on the Roof

Spring Music Concert

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B lues News

ATHLETICS

FALL

WINTER

Cross Country (Co-ed) SENE Honors and All New England Honors: Will Jarret ’18, Catherine Shannon ’21, Mary Madaus ’21, and Grace Cassineri ’22 Boys Varsity Soccer Fehme Braish ’18 and Kevin Masson ’19 – SENE All League Team Andrew Little ’18 – WNEPSSA Class C/D Select Team Nicholas Chirillo ’18 – Honorable Mention for the WNEPSSA Class C/D Select Team Girls Varsity Soccer Katia Bourganos ’18 – Girls SENE All League Team Mia Taylor ’18 – Girls SENE All League Team Audrey Matson ’20 – Girls SENE All League Team Isabella Nucci ’17 – Honorable Mention for her defensive play this year in the SENE

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Swimming CISAC Championship The Williams boys swim team won every event in the CISAC Championship and was part of Williams history when the race of the day (the 400 freestyle relay) broke a school record. The time was 3:31.89; the school record was 3:34.85 and was set by the swim team founders: brothers Sean ’96 and Chris ’99 Boyce, Marcus Simpson ’96, and Niles Christopher ’98. Congratulations to Will Jarrett ’18, Jordan Legg ’17, Cyrus D’Arcy ’20, and Joe Sullivan ’19 for this endeavor.

• Alessandra D’Arcy ’21 placed first in the 500 free at the CISAC championship with a time of 1:09.11.

Boys Varsity Basketball Zain Alam ’19 – SENE All League Team Eli Griswold ’17 – SENE All League Team Honorable Mention Girls Varsity Basketball Katia Bourganos ’18 – EPSGBCA All Star Team, SENE All League Team Catherine Shannon ’21 – SENE All League Team • The girls (both JV and Varsity) also raised $1300 for Childhood Cancer Awareness and Research

Athle tic Highlights

2016-2017

williamsschool.org/atheltics

SPRING Girls Varsity Lacrosse SENE Champion and Undefeated Season (13 – 0) Audrey Matson ’20 – SENE Co-Player of the Year Sophie Salgar ’20, Audrey Matson ’20, Dylan Park ’21, Katia Bourganos ’18 – SENE All League Lyndsey Noniewicz ’18, Grace Linhares ’17 – SENE Honorable Mention WNEPSWLA All Stars: Audrey Matson ’20 and Sophie Salgar ’20 Boys Varsity Lacrosse Lucian Kronholm ’20, James Knowlton ’20, and Kevin Masson ’19 – All SENE Conference First Team Harry Anselmi ’20 and Eric Sale ’18 - Honorable Mention SENE Conference Team Kevin Masson ’19 – US Lacrosse All-Region Varsity Sailing (Co-ed) League Fleet Championship at the UConn Avery Point – Williams placed 3rd out of eight teams Varsity Tennis (Co-ed) Jon Powell ’17, Reese Berman ’19, and Alexandros Tsipouras ’19 – 2017 SENE All League Tennis Team Jon Powell ’17 – SENE Player of the Year

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Hungr y Lunc h Day

B lues News

Service Committee & COMMUNITY OUTREACH williamsschool.org/news

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Volunteer Week raised funds for: Haitian Health Foundation For Friday’s Rescue (dogs) Forgotten Felines (cats) High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Center Hungry Lunch Day: Once a year, we give up snacks and have a simple lunch of rice, beans, and water with the proceeds of what we would normally spend on lunch going to the New London Community Meal Center and the New London Homeless Hospitality Center.

Penguin Plunge: Fundraising efforts for Special Olympics Connecticut Canned Food Drive for Gemma Moran Food Center Walk to End Homelessness: Benefit for the Homeless Hospitality Center of New London

Penguin Plunge

Earth Day learning about the environment around us: High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Center Horses Healing Humans Friday’s Rescue (dogs) The Farmers Cow Farm Terra Firma Farm Hunts Brook Farm Cycle Against Cancer: Connecticut Sports Foundation efforts to raise funds in support of local endeavors at the Up Fitness Center in Mystic. The foundation provides grants to CT families suffering financial hardship due to cancer treatment.

Holiday Angels: Each advisor group purchases gifts for members of a family in our local community. The program is coordinated by the Child and Family Agency in New London.

Canned Food Drive

Holiday Angels

S er vic e Commit t ee & Commu nit y Outre ach Highlights

Childhood Cancer Awareness Week The Williams community, led by Amar Viswanathan '17, supported the Maina Foundation and participated in the Maina Walk for Cancer at Rocky Neck State Park.

Members of FIMRC, Service Committee, and FALL SPORTS TEAMS Cross Country walked Played for the Cure three miles on a rainy day to support the Foundation during the week of that is dedicated to the OCTOBER 17 fight against breast cancer globally, with the initiative being started in India. Foundation president, Ms. Alka Shrikhande, spoke to our students at the end of the walk: "Thank you, it is so encouraging to see young people out supporting these causes because you are the next generation that will be leading them."

Cycle Against Cancer

Cam paign

FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Since the launch of our Distinguishing Williams campaign in July, 2016, we have raised over $2.4 million in gifts and pledges towards our goal of $3.0 million. We have met with alumni, parents, and friends, and have been moved by the many stories of the lasting impact our faculty has on our students. The strong sense of community at Williams allows students to take risks that offer personal growth and development within a safe and encouraging atmosphere. A shared respect between faculty and students promotes a sense of acceptance and especially for those that might not fit a typical mold.

A portion of the campaign is focused on funding our continued efforts to attract and retain talented educators. Professional development for our faculty has been identified as a top priority. Whether teachers are in their first or thirty-fifth year, providing opportunities for growth is a critical part of retaining top caliber faculty. So as the faculty enrich the lives of our students, our goal is to enrich the personal and professional lives of our faculty as well. Here are just a few of highlights from professional development opportunities pursued this year.

Melissa Moss, Classical Languages Teacher Classical Association of New England’s Summer Institute at Brown University “This year the theme was “The View from a Distance: Perspectives on Greeks and Romans across Space and Time.” I took two courses: “Encounters Between Jews and Romans” and “Philology: What was it and what can it be for the study of Classics and the Bible?” Each of these classes was riveting, as well as hard work. In the first class we explored the interactions of the Jews and Romans via both Roman and Jewish source material. I learned so much about the history of Judaism in the ancient world and about the implications that the encounters between Romans and Jews have on modern times. I will be using a fair bit of the source material in my classes. In my Philology class, I learned about the underpinnings of my discipline and why it is that I was taught, and now teach, via a certain method. The professor pushed us to consider whether philology is still valuable in the modern age (it is!).”

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Scott Hockford, Mathematics Teacher The AP Summer Institute at St. Johnsbury

Credit: Haipeng (Mike) Yan '19

“Although Williams offers Advanced Courses and not AP, our Calculus I Advanced and Calculus II Advanced courses are similar to two levels of AP Calculus (AB and BC). I have been teaching this course for over ten years and feel comfortable with all topics, but I wanted to get better at a few. This workshop proved extremely helpful, and I came away with several books and other resources to apply to the classroom.”

Jane Hannon, Assistant Head of School for Program National Association of Independent Schools Diversity Leadership Institute “The six-day residential program brought together independent school leaders from across the country dedicated to integrating the topics of equity, inclusion, and diversity into the curriculum and daily life of their schools. Racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, disability, and socioeconomic diversity and identity were explored through speakers, small group discussions, and peer support. These topics and the broader idea of diversity, which encompasses diversity of ideas and perspectives to cultivate meaningful conversations between people to further mutual understanding and respect will continue to be a focus of advisor meetings, class meetings, assemblies, and classroom discussions.”

Alicia Furgueson, Spanish Teacher Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo “I studied at the Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo in the beautiful city of Santander in northern Spain. Each morning I had a three-hour one-on-one class with the professor consisting of a close look at key cultural, political and social issues affecting contemporary Spain. We discussed Spain’s current political system and how the weak economy and high unemployment rate are affecting the younger generation. In the afternoon, I studied another course that examined Picasso’s paintings and their relationship to music and literature. I was so excited to be able to speak Spanish every day and to further my study of contemporary Spain. There have been many changes in Spain since 2008, and experiencing these changes firsthand allows me to better teach my students about them.”

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WILLIAMS FAMILIES Class of 2017 Graduates with their Williams Siblings 1 Chloe ’20, Cameron ’17, and Garrett Folts ’18 2 Anastasia Elliot ’08, Nadia Penkoff Lidbeck ’17, and Kyra Elliot ’04 3 C assandra ’15, Brianna ’17, and Gabby Seidel ’21 4 Riya ’15 and Raj Patel ’17

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5 Samantha ’14 and Grace Linhares ’17 6 Josh ’14 and Jon Powell ’17 7 Olivia ’17 and Jenner Foster ’13 8 Emma ’17 and Quinn Furgueson ’20 9 Amar ’17 and Ashvin Viswanathan ’13 10 Max ’15 and Eli Griswold ’17

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11 Will Seery ’07 and Tori Hersant ’17 12 Peter Littlefield ’19 and Matthew Littlefield ’17 13 Liam’16 and Bella Griscom ’17 14 JJ ’16 and Dominyque Johnson ’17

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Send your Williams family photos to alumni@williamsschool.org

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Stay Connected

beauty

is whatever makes you

feel

good yourself about

J

oanna Douglas ’99 knows all about beauty and believes that “great beauty manifests through kindness.” Having worked for ELLEgirl.com, Yahoo!, Shine, W Magazine, New York Magazine, and Seventeen, her passion for sharing her definition of beauty has propelled her to the top of the journalistic world. Currently, she is the Senior Native Editorial Director at POPSUGAR, a global media and technology company. Joanna oversees a team of editors to create native content and introduce readers to various products across beauty, fashion, and lifestyle categories by working with innovative formats, gorgeous photo shoots, and wellknown celebrities and influencers.

Over the years, she’s also started creating content that tackles the important cultural issues that she herself faced as a teenage girl and knows teens still face today—such as being able to see women who look just like you reflected in the media and well represented in pop culture, and what an impact that can have on a young person while growing up. Continuing the Williams Mission of being a lifelong learner, Joanna remarked that “Every day, I find myself learning more and more about what resonates with readers.” Her educational experience at The Williams School laid the

groundwork for her success in today’s world of journalism and marketing.

Coming to Williams after many years at Pine Point School, Joanna wondered what lay ahead for her but felt immediately that she was in the right place at the right time. Sharing memories of her first class as an incoming sophomore, she said “I walked into Mr. Eli Yim’s English class and was amazed. This guy was hilarious, smart, and able to explain the complex themes of Brave New World and 1984 in a way that made my heart race. I remember looking around the room and feeling like I’d hit the jackpot. My English classes helped fuel my inquisitive nature— particularly Mr. Yim’s English class and Mr. Wheeler’s English class.

They both encouraged me to ask smart questions and always dig deeper.” After Williams, Joanna attended NYU and took her first journalism course. It was then that everything she had learned at Williams really came together.

“Those essays and learning how to craft a great thesis and conclusion— that translates across many careers, especially mine,” she remarked.

In 2010, Joanna wrote a story while working at Yahoo; in this piece, she challenged Vanity Fair’s “Young Hollywood” cover. She

Why I love and appreciate Williams

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By Bill Furgueson Development Associate

Alumni P ro f ile

POPSUGAR is a company that delivers inspiring, informative, and entertaining multi-platform content across entertainment, fashion, beauty, fitness, food, parenting, news and more. “We help women everywhere look good, feel good, do good­—to live more fulfilling lives every day.” (popsugar.com)

asked why all nine of the women featured on the cover were “so white,” particularly given that 2010 was the same year that Zoe Saldana appeared in Avatar and Gabourey Sidibe made her mark in Precious. Her writing struck a chord, garnering over 18,000 comments and coverage everywhere from the New York Times to Access Hollywood.

Looking back, Joanna understood that this was an important moment in her career as a journalist. “It proved to me that sharing how you feel—no matter how risky or potentially controversial—is worth it, because there are likely others who feel the same way and don’t have the opportunity to be heard,” she said.

It was the supportive and safe educational environment at Williams that helped Joanna find her voice as a journalist. Today’s most popular forms of media are those that share a strong point of view, which leads Joanna to reflect upon her time in high school often. “Williams taught me my opinion matters and that people will want to hear what I have to say. That’s something I remind myself of every day.”

Joanna feels that the varied teaching styles and the diversity of classes offered at Williams really benefitted her as an adult, and that the broad scope of music classes, history classes, and artistic offerings helped fuel her passion for learning. “I think most people aren’t sure what they

really would love to do until they’re adults. Getting a taste of everything in liberal arts high schools is the best way to get a feel for all of the options available.”

During the mid 1990s, when she was in high school, her current job had not even been created. At that time, the internet was used for chatting with friends on AIM, finding directions through Mapquest, or (for the very creative) building your own website. It was not a place where research was done, and there were few sites that shared news or gave opinions on entertainment. Today, the internet encompasses just about everything.

Joanna’s writing focuses primarily on beauty products, fashion, and the entertainment world. However, to inspire her readers to comment and create a vibrant discussion, she needs to understand more than just these topics.

When thinking about teachers who were able to lead her to this broader understanding of the world, she noted that “Mr. Emanuel was the kind of teacher who is so thrilled to see people succeed and help them reach for their dreams. Having him in my corner for Music History or even during the spring musicals was always a big confidence boost. When a teacher you really respect is rooting for you in those formative years, it is so encouraging.”

Joanna offered this advice to our current Williams students: “Bring your best effort, every day. Get excited about the future, and try everything. If you know what you love, do it!”

a liberal arts education prepares you for an ever-changing job market

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Stay Connected

STAMFORD

D.C.

2017

ALUMNI EVENTS

CHICAGO

NEW ORLEANS

PHILIDELPHIA

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Class N o te s

2017

CLASS NOTES 1948

Doris Williams Huff reported that she

is “still kicking and doing all I need myself. I lost my youngest daughter to cancer on May 10, 2017. My youngest son lives next door to me and runs over to see if I need anything. I love being in Kentucky because of the weather. This past year we did not get any snow!”

1949 The 1949 “Lunch Bunch” met in July at Crown Pizza in Waterford.

Classmates Helen Kiritsis Kortesis, Doris Desrosier Lawrence, Shirley Ashburn McGrath, Vivian Traystman McGuire, Marjorie

was Cindie Pond, a member of the Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe in Maine; and Sue Wheeler, former Business Manager at The Williams School.

The Lunch Bunch meets monthly.

Please call either Betty Ann Chapman 860.445.2671 or Shirley McGrath 860.892.8272 if you would like to attend. If you have someone drive you, they are welcome to join us!

1952 Peg Curtin is finally getting a well-

deserved rest. “After serving 47 years in elective and appointive office—2 years as Mayor of New London, 5 years as President of the New London Board of Education, many years on the City Council of New London, and 21 years in the Connecticut state government (working for the late Governors Ella Grasso and William O’Neill), I have decided to leave government service.

I have enjoyed it all and thank those who had the confidence in me all those years. It’s been a great ride and I have been privileged to serve this great community”.

Pond Fisher, Zita Flaherty Smith,

1953

and Betty Ann Apicelli Chapman were in attendance. Also in attendance

Elizabeth Neale Wilson shared that

her daughter is a high school English teacher in Elyria, OH and they have enjoyed spending time together this summer.

1954 Mary Nunes Devlin reports that she

and Bill have stayed close to home this summer. They have enjoyed a couple of musical shows that featured

Debbie Dasovich, daughter of Sheila Dasovich ’54, Margaret “Peg” Curtin ’52, Mary Ellen Ruddy Hanrahan ’54, and Sheila Tooker Dasovich ’54 all were able to get together for lunch this summer.

old-time music at a nearby summer theatre. Bill is heading to Kansas over the Columbus Day weekend for his 65th high school class reunion. Mary Murphy Bayless sends greetings from the west coast and says she loves to hear from classmates, especially anyone heading to northern California.

She recently made a trip to visit her sisters, Pat and Kathy, where they “reveled for a month in family and in the rich green landscape of my beloved east coast.” They also made trips to Philadelphia and Washington D.C. where they enjoyed several cultural activities. Verna Checker Kounas reports that she is “still going strong” physically and professionally. One of her granddaughters is pursuing an advanced degree at MIT, while a grandson is entering Virginia Tech this fall to work on an engineering degree.

Daughter Melany and her family spend half their year in Europe and the other half in San Francisco. A family reunion takes place each Thanksgiving when her daughter Valerie and son David come home with their families. In what

Gloria Berkowitz ’48, Janet StewartHayden ’52, and Helen Kortesis ’49

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A REMEMBERANCE BY Rand Cooper ’76

only wantonly subverting a norm of civilization, but should be THERE’S A LOT I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT LINDA, gleaned pitied as well—both a danger and a dunce. following her death via the magic of the web. I didn’t know, for A classmate of mine who also loved Linda’s English class instance, that the B in “Linda B. Whitlock” stood for her maiden nonetheless describes it as “stressful.” Linda was demanding, name, Bolté. Or that her revered older brother, Chuck Bolté— and had a hawkeyed stare that students found intimidating. described by a Dartmouth classmate as “the golden boy of the When you were attempting to make a Class of 1941”—got a leg blown off fighting point, she listened to you with unnerving at El Alamein, became a Rhodes Scholar, fixity, then let a long few seconds lapse had a career in publishing, and was said to before answering. In that interval I often strongly resemble Orson Welles. felt a dreadful judgment was coming. But it Nor did I know that Linda served as rarely was. editor of her college yearbook at Wellesley That rigid demeanor belied Linda’s —or that it was called The Legenda, a name soft side—like the way she would tear up I assume she carried over as adviser to the while giving a talk on Martin Luther King; Williams yearbook. or her sudden emotion, in 11th grade As one of the few Williams grads to Linda was a towering English, over a passage in Heinrich Böll’s have known Linda as both teacher and novel The Clown, which impressed me with colleague, I have a lot of memories of her, figure of influence at what it meant to be moved by literature. I and a debt of gratitude. That debt traces Williams.

I remember remember the delight Linda took when a to Linda’s 9th grade English class, where group of students would show up at her we read Great Expectations and Pride and her with affection and door at Christmas to sing carols. She came Prejudice, and were introduced to Greek off as tough, but she had a tender heart. mythology via Edith Hamilton’s book. thankfulness.

I saw this more intimately a decade What a surprise to me, a sports-obsessed later as her colleague. She still could American boy, to discover I could love unnerve me with that look, but by now I books like that! I doubt this would have knew better; and as a young English teacher I benefited from happened at a different school, with a different teacher. Linda her support and encouragement. Along with Ed and Sheila turned me into a reader.

Wheeler, sometimes Phil Van Brunt or Genevieve Wantiez, I She was a zealous steward of the English language. Her would go to Linda’s house in Waterford for dinner, enjoying views were set. She insisted, for instance, that the word her famed lobster Newberg, generous pourings of wine, good “impious” be pronounced to rhyme with “skimpy-us,” and let conversation, and a view out onto Jordan Cove. us know that anyone who didn’t pronounce it that way was not

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Class N o te s

is becoming an annual event, Sheila Tooker Dasovich and her daughter, Deborah, came to the east coast to visit friends; while in the area she got together with other WMI girls for lunch at On the Waterfront on Pequot Avenue in New London. As indicated by the picture above, a good time was had by all, and we look forward to July 2018!

1956 Claudia White Gilmartin continues

to inspire those young and old. “As long as I can, I’ll keep moving and learning new things, like volunteering at the Seacoast Science Center and their Touch Tank. I thoroughly enjoy the excitement of the young children as they watch a hermit crab go after a piece of clam.”

1965 Claudia Pine Simon has been

very busy this summer with her grandchildren. “We have been to a wide variety of parks, museums and water parks. My son, Scott, and his family live in North Dallas, Texas. He and his wife, Lisa, have two boys, Hudson (11) and Jaxson (2), and one girl, Peyton (9).

They are expecting another boy, our 6th grandchild, at the end of September.

My daughter, Margo, and her husband, Josh, have 2 children, a boy, Indy (3), and a girl, Shaka (10 months). They live in Brooklyn, NY. This past spring I received the ACM Outstanding Professor of the Year Award at Temple University. I am very fortunate to have a job I really love. I look forward to going to work every day!! Mickey and I just decided last minute to take a week to

Class of 1967 celebrates their 50th reunion (left to right): Carol Plimpton, Laurie Fiero Jonason, Shaunie Towers Bennett, Julie Schneller, Maggie Hernandez, Deb Dembo and Barbara Dillon Olds.

visit Barcelona before school starts. Love to all.” Carol Ricker Vahlstrom shared, “It does not seem as if it has been 2 years since our 50th reunion! I am still volunteer teaching at Urban Promise Academy in Camden, NJ. It is the high school associated with Urban Promise International. Part of the curriculum is experiential learning, which includes boat building, launching, and paddling.

My husband volunteers as a mentor at Urban Promise Boat Works, also in Camden. I am First Vice President of the Pinelands Hospital Auxiliary of Virtue Hospital. And, of course, there is all of the volunteer work at our church. I just finished a 3-year term as President of the Board of Trustees and am presently serving as Immediate Past President on the Board. My husband is an endowment director and lends all “of his building skills to church as well. Our happiest times are with our 7 year old grandson who lives nearby. He is with us a great deal, as his parents both travel for their careers. In August, we visited friends in Vermont and then enjoyed Tanglewood. We also vacationed at the “Jersey shore.” In October we are cruising. We are indeed blessed!”

1967 Six members of the class of 1967 celebrated the 50th reunion at Essex Yacht Club on June 2. The group was joined by Julie Schneller, a member of the class for 7th-9th grades.

1968 TRAVEL is the word for the class of 1968. Gretchen Cranz Fornof and Bill drove over 10,500 miles in 28 days during April and May as they toured national parks. They calculated that they spent 7½ full days in the car! Their only regret was a missed opportunity to visit with Martha Morrison Veranth and John in Salt Lake City. Captain Helen Deitrick expects to miss our 50th reunion in September 2018 because she and Bob will likely be cruising on Allez in the Chesapeake area. In May, Martha Morrison Veranth spent a week on a Road Scholar birding trip to Cape May, NJ. Then in June, she and John went to her 45th Wellesley reunion (where she caught up with Nan Roberts—who attended Williams for a short time with the Class of Fall 2017

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CL A SS NO TES

1968) followed by four days on the New Hampshire coast and several days with her sister and brother in Connecticut. She and John planned a 3-week driving and camping trip to Alaska with an eclipse-viewing stop in Idaho. Janice Williams Martin and Al went to Germany for a river cruise and are planning to go on a paddleboat cruise on the Mississippi over Thanksgiving. Jan also went to her 45th college reunion (the first one she’d been to) and is looking forward to the 50th. Travel, reunions, retirement, volunteering, and grandchildren—it’s all good.

1970 Eliza Marston DiScala has moved

to the coast of NC (Shallotte to be exact) and is planning to build a smaller home in a beautiful subdivision called Winding River Plantation. “We are even planning on getting a boat next year! So far, we love it here. We can take picnic suppers to the beach only 10 miles away and watch the sunset!”

1972 Kathy Yates sends warm greetings

to all her classmates. A full-time Californian, she tries to visit Mystic once a year for a working vacation in her father’s old home. After grad school at Stanford, she married Peter and they’ve been married for 31 years, raising two children. Both have retired from their day jobs, but Kathy

Holyoke College and a son who is starting at Bucknell University this fall. Jody continues to teach Biology at a small college preparatory school in Lexington, MA. She would love to hear from her classmates as next year marks the 40th anniversary of our graduation from Williams.

1980 Gail Lowney Alofsin ’80 and John Alofsin

consults on a variety of educational endeavors from a Spanish language parent-education program to a college prep charter school. Peter is an active sponsor of an Episcopal school in Haiti and involved in international Rotary projects. Their oldest works in NYC as a musician and data analyst for Pandora; their daughter is operations manager at a private school in CA and trains animals, mostly dogs and horses.

1976 Rand Cooper shared “My old friend

from high school, the artist Sharon Butler ’77, runs a superb arts-themed website, Two Coats of Paint. Last week she reprinted a short story, titled “Light,” that I wrote years ago in homage to our art teacher at The Williams School, the late Philip Van Brunt. You can read it, along with an explanatory note, here: at twocoatsofpaint.com.

1978 Jody Phillips-Clark has a daughter

entering her senior year at Mount 30

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This past July, Gail Lowney Alofsin celebrated 29 years of marriage with her husband John. They live in Newport, RI and enjoy travelling as often as possible with their son, Samuel, who is entering his senior year at Swarthmore College. Gail has worked in sales, marketing, corporate sponsorship and business development for Newport Harbor Corporation (NHC) for almost three decades. Her projects included working with a team on regional and national events inclusive of the Great Chowder Cook-off, Taste of Rhode Island, International Oktoberfest, ESPN Extreme Games and over 150 concerts from Jason Mraz to Train. The events have raised millions of dollars for nonprofits. Her current position with the company is Community Relations and Corporate Partnership Director for the Newport International Boat Show. In addition to working for NHC, Gail has been an Adjunct Professor of Communication at the University of Rhode Island since 1999 and Salve Regina University since 2014. She is the author of “Your Someday is NowWhat are YOU Waiting For?”—100% of the book sales benefit non-profits with over $35,000 raised to date. She would love to hear from friends and

Class N o te s

alumni and can be reached at gail@ gailspeaks.com. Alyson Singer shared “I am still living in the heart of Boston and working as a freelance advertising producer. Working freelance allows me a wonderful schedule, which I am taking full advantage of by traveling as much as I can. The year 2016 took me to Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy and the Caribbean. Williams friends are welcome to contact me at alyson. singer@gmail.com.” Mardy Watts Prestley reported “Greetings to all of my Williams friends and family! This has been a year of many transitions for us. Jon and I uprooted from our beloved Doylestown and moved a bit south to a leafy area in Baltimore. We have found that not having young kids and a dog in tow make landing in a new home a lot easier. Our kids have flown the nest and our goofy, lovable dog Stanley died two days after our arrival. On a positive note, everyone has flown off to good things. Emily was graduated from Tufts this spring and will begin her career in Boston come September.

Graham is pursuing business at Temple University in Philly and Eliza is writing and performing spoken word poetry at McGill in Montreal. I am getting

Gretel DeRuiter ’83 and Christine Bennet ’83

to know the Alliance Française de Baltimore and Jon is spending most of his time working with a view of the Inner Harbor. We are setting our sights on a new pup ASAP. If you would like to be in touch, I would welcome any news of you and yours at marthaprestley@ gmail.com.”

1981 Jonathan Labaree is still living in

Cumberland, ME, with his wife, Lalla, children Olivia (14) and Ben (10). In addition to a dog, they have 2 Nigerian dwarf goats, which amuse and bemuse them. Jonathan is working for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute as its Chief Community Officer. He works with New England’s fishing and aquaculture industries to strengthen the connection between the ecological and economic health of the coast. He still gets to Mystic from time to time to teach a class on fisheries management to the college students at the WilliamsMystic Program in American Maritime Studies. His father Benjamin Labaree started this program and that is what brought his family to Mystic from the Berkshires of Massachusetts in 1978. Highlights of his year include an annual river canoe trip he takes with pals every May on one of Maine’s wild rivers and the time he gets to spend on Vinalhaven Island with his family sailing, hiking, camping, and working in the woods. He’s gearing up to build another boat (it will be his 6th), most likely a mid-sized sailing dinghy for Olivia and Ben to explore coves and islands.

Gretel DeRuiter ’83 and Jamie Spooner ’83

1983 During the summer Gretel DeRuiter spent a week vacationing in Maine.

“During which time I enjoyed seeing three Williams friends! It might have been four if Turner Donnel hadn’t been heading to Maine when I was on my way home! My son and I stayed with Swansea Benham Bleicher ’84 on our trip north and had a fun time sharing memories and seeing our kids together. Then during our week at the beach in Scarborough, Jamie Spooner and her partner Carolyn came down from Friendship, ME to visit my whole family for a picnic lunch. I was mightily impressed with Jamie’s whiteboard animation work (you can see it at whiteboardanimationplus. com), and it seems like an enterprise so perfectly suited to the girl who often used to sketch our portraits while we were sitting in class. The day before I left Maine, I met up with Christine Bennett ’84 at the Kittery Land Trust, of which she is the executive director.

We took an exciting hike through some of the protected areas, and I hope

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Bill Furgueson, Russell Learned ’86 and Peter Emanuel got together after Russell shared his familial connection to Harriet Peck Williams as well as sharing some artifacts from our founder.

to be back up and visiting this area throughout the year to photograph for the Land Trust the numerous species of flora and fauna found in its protected areas. A couple months ago Greg Rutchik asked me to copyedit a piece he was writing and it was fun to lend my editorial skills to his creative endeavor.” Tom Warner wrote, “It’s been a while I know but I’m still alive and kicking. I’ve been in the Caribbean most of the time and currently manage a couple of restaurants in the British Virgin Islands called Foxy’s (foxysbar. com). Married. Two kids. All of that.

We are thinking about a visit to the States later this year and will probably drive by the school anyway. We were in Stonington a couple of years back, but only for a day on a whirlwind tour.”

Gretel and Marc Bokoff traded emails and will soon begin planning for next year’s 35th reunion!

1984 Revell Carr and Ansel have had a

momentous 2017 so far. They welcomed their first child, a boy, Jerico Revell Elkins-Carr on April 21st. After 10 years

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Alumni Career Day Speakers Nikki Polidori ’93 P ’21 Dan Cruz ’02 and Matt Johnson ’98

Kim Shockley ’01 and Bill Furgueson

1996 at UNC Greensboro, they are moving to Lexington, KY, where Revell has accepted the position of Director of the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music at the University of Kentucky.

Ansel has also accepted a position at the University as a Writer in Residence in their creative writing program. They are excited to reconnect with Stephen Trask who lives there as well.

1988 Jeffrey Williams had a fun trip to New

Hampshire’s White Mountains with his children, ages 13 and 17. They hiked to Arethusa Falls, the highest waterfall in the state, swam in a mountain river, and crawled and scrambled through 3 different boulder caves in the area.

1989 Congratulations to Dylan Chalk on winning the National Robert Bruss Book Awards Silver Award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) for his book, The Confident House Hunter, available on Amazon and in bookstores.

Beany Callaway has started her own

horseback riding program, EquiFabula, in Oakland, CA. The program serves underprivileged kids, the autistic community, veterans, and the population at large. EquiFabula strives to bring humans and horses together in a way that is safe, fun, and benefits everyone!

Check out her EquiFabula facebook page.

1997 Molly and Charlie Pascal celebrated the arrival of their second golden retriever, Tucker; Steven Wilson’s vet practice was happy to admit the romping puppy as a regular patient. Jon Martson, wife Josie, and big brother Colby (5) welcomed baby sister Gray Sullivan on November 2, 2016. While Gray’s got a couple months on her betrothed, Steve Wilson, her main infatuation for the moment are Mom and her big brother (who is, in turn, keeping an eye out for little Peter). The Marston, Wilson and Pascal families get to see Penny and Matt Hemond

Class N o te s

Jillian McKay ’08 and Nancy Spillane

Nora Christopher ’07 and Tory Fallon ’07 met up in Tuscany this summer

and their twins, Alice and Henry (3) as frequently as possible; the twins are well on their way to topping 6' tall by 4th grade.

1998 Matt Johnson attended Joe Kremer’s

wedding in Grand Lake, CO. The weekend featured plenty of musical performances and sing-alongs, as well as some dicey weather that cleared just in time for a beautiful ceremony.

Joe and his wife, Elizabeth Sperber, moved to Denver a year ago where Joe is teaching high school physics at the Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design, and his wife is a professor of political science at the University of Denver. They have an adorable dog named Dorothy who carried the rings and chases chipmunks.

Big Papi with Julio Garcia ’06

2006 Jamie Schellens passed the Certified

Financial Planner (CFP) examination.

The certification focuses on retirement, tax, investment, education, and estate planning. Jamie shared that it “it took about 3 years to complete from when the coursework began until I passed the test.” Rabia Malik just finished her residency and is now Dr. Rabia Malik. Jacqui Parker completed 12 of the 21 stages of the Tour de France in the name of charity. What an amazing accomplishment! David Martineau added some great news about his band Bearstronaut. “On Aug. 17th Bearstronaut performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

2003 Congratulations are in order for Lisa Mercurio, who reports, “I passed! I’m finally an EMT!” Rabia Malik ’06

2007 Julie Neusner is attending Stanford

Law. Megan Bowden Peterson will be defending her Ph.D. this semester at UConn. Her dissertation focuses on policing cybercrimes. Megan has also accepted a research position at Central Connecticut State University.

2008 Nancy Spillane, former Science teacher and parent of Kristen ’01 and Hilary Sueoka ’05, drove from Morgantown, WV to Knoxville, TN to see the eclipse.

En route she stopped at a Tennessee welcome center to learn more about Tennessee state parks. At the welcome center she saw a familiar looking face, and after a few minutes of 20 questions the two finally figured out the connection—The Williams School!

Jillian McKay ’08 had Nancy as her chemistry teacher about 10 years ago.

Jillian was also heading to see the eclipse, but in North Carolina. It was just an amazing coincidence that they were in the same small, random place at the same time, that their paths crossed, and that they recognized each other.

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2009 Riley Richards began his fourth

year at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. He’s decided to go into pathology and will be applying for residency in the fall.

Jared Klee and Tess Williams were married in September in Lakeville, CT. They honeymooned in Thailand and currently reside, with their dog Oliver, in Manhattan’s East Village. Justin Klee’s company, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in collaboration with The ALS Association, ALS Finding a Cure®, and the Massachusetts General Hospital, announced on August 8, 2017, that the first patient was dosed in the CENTAUR study, a Phase II clinical trial assessing the efficacy and safety of AMX0035 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Neurological Clinical Research Institute (NCRI) at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS) will oversee the trial, and 25 NEALS member medical centers across the United States will participate. Justin lives in Cambridge with his wife, Danielle Briggs Klee ’10. Chris Schellens

ran in this year’s Boston marathon.

He recently moved downtown to the Financial District in Manhattan. He works at CitiBank and is the credit card marketing organization on the Digital Acquisitions team. Frasier Esty finished a successful summer performance on the bocce court.

He competed in this year’s NYC’s 5 Borough regional for bocce. His team is the two-time league champions

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Emily Benson ’11 at Elon Law School

and placed 8th overall in the citywide tournament this year. They will compete in nationals in October.

He has recently moved downtown to SoHo in Manhattan. Frasier works for Bessemer Trust Company in New York City and works as an Associate Client Advisor. He works with high net worth individuals and their families with investments, estate planning, and family office services.

Sam Burd is a project manager with a lighting construction company, Chelsea Lighting, and is living in Brooklyn. Zoe McLean is working for Goldman Sachs in NYC, and living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Val Vesnaver Wiseman has moved to Hyde Park, Chicago with her husband Trent.

David Sayet graduated from Stanford Law and is now working as a Mergers &Acquisition lawyer in Los Angeles.

Senator Richard Blumenthal and CJ Thomas ’09

Charlotte Gotfredson moved to

Wicker Park, Chicago. She is starting an environmental branding company called Spark as a branch off the firm Partners by Design. Environmental branding is the process of marketing that communicates a brand in threedimensions to create a customer experience. She is also enjoying her new puppy. Amelia Eichengreen completed a Masters at Columbia University in Classical Studies, and this fall will be starting a PhD in Classical Archaeology at the University of Michigan. Lucia Kalinosky moved to Minneapolis to start seminary this fall at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Lucia will be working on a Masters of Divinity in Interreligious Chaplaincy and a certification as a

Mattie Renn ’12 joined her parents and her mother’s business partners at the 2017 Tony Awards to celebrate Come From Away, a new Broadway musical.

Class N o te s

professional chaplain. Lucia will also work part-time at the Minnesota AIDS Project signing people up for healthcare. CJ Thomas had the honor of meeting Senator Richard Blumenthal at the Connecticut State House after she passed the bar exam and became a lawyer.

FACULTY & STAFF RECOGNITION LUNCHEON JUNE 2017

2011 Isacc Davis is working at Rockwell

Collins, an American multinational company providing avionics and information technology systems and services to governmental agencies and aircraft manufacturers.

He does software engineering for the Airborne Systems department in the Government Systems division.

He works on avionics simulation software. In June, Emily Benson got engaged to Jacob Chatzky. Emily began studies in August at ELON University School of Law, where she is an advocacy fellow.

2012 Alyssa Benincosa is

in Morgantown, West Virginia where she has started graduate school for Physical Therapy at West Virginia University. Meggie Carter was in Connecticut and just completed the Yale School of Management’s Publishing Course in July, 2017. She is looking forward to relocating to Nashville, TN in the fall. In the interim she is working at the ProMatura Group, a marketing research firm, in Oxford, MS. Meggie also does work on special projects for numerous businesses in the Oxford area.

Louis Cohen, Ellen Kelly, Mark Fader, Karen Ulrich, Tekla Zweir

Louis Cohen • 25 years of service Ellen Kelly • retiring after 15 years at Williams Karen Ulrich • retiring after 13 years at Williams and 49 years in teaching Tekla Zweir • 15 years of service

2016-2017 BRIAN CAREY TEACHING AWARD Each year two faculty members are honored with a monetary award given on behalf of former Chairman of the Board and Parent Brian Carey “for faculty dedication and most outstanding work on behalf of Williams students.” — Galina Frisby and Tekla Zweir Galina Frisby, Mark Fader, Tekla Zweir

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2013 Rebecca Knudsen graduated Magna

Cum Laude with a BA in Elementary Education from Roger Williams University. Emily Hamilton graduated from Trinity College in May and started working for an environmental consulting firm called GeoInsight in June. She is working for both their compliance and field divisions and is involved with completing reports/ permits and different types of sampling.

Adam Collins will start working at UBS in London next week in their graduate training program. Aaron Hosking is working as personal trainer in Mystic at Advantage Personal Training. Tim Marcinek is currently working at the Grove School in Madison, CT as a teacher and counselor. He is living at the school and at the time of publication was still waiting to hear his assignments for what classes he will be teaching.

Drew Watson is excited for his new job working in a rural Colorado school system teaching the students about environmental sustainability.

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Sam Buffum, Emily Hamilton and Lindsay Barber were all able to get together at Trinity College’s Commencement Ball at the Hartford Club.

2014 Ben Lahm worked as a summer

intern at Medline, a manufacturer and distributor of medical devices and supplies, in the Chicago area.

2015 Maddy Lahm is studying abroad at the

University of Edinburgh in Scotland this fall. Maddy, Grace Purcell and Ali Diouk are planning a reunion somewhere in the U.K. Josh Goldstein was studying in England this past summer. Katie Hodgkinson recently returned from a gap year spent touring the Perth, Australia area, doing service work in South Africa, then visiting

other countries including Turkey, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Katie has accepted a job offer at a health & life insurance company in Old Lyme. She plans to return to college sometime in the near future. Ali Diouk is studying abroad at Oxford University, taking courses in International Politics and Literary Studies.

2016 This was Emily Ballard’s last summer on board the Exploration Vessel, Nautilus. Emily worked as a video engineer, having responsibility for ensuring the cameras on the ship worked correctly, and teaching others how to use them. Emily and her father, Dr. Robert Ballard, spent a day with film director, James Cameron, showing him around the ship. Emily shared that she is also one of the producers on a TV show on Ithaca College’s station ICTV. Charlie Bunnell has been working as an EMT for the summer at American Ambulance. He is certified in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Annie Longo is working as a sailing race coach at Groton Long Point Yacht Club and won a race during Block Island Race Week. Sam Cohen spent her first semester of her freshmen year in London with a program at Northeastern called N.U.in.

Class N o te s

in memoriam Dorothy M. Yates

1935

Carol Bailey

1946

Willamina Quarry

1936

Shirley Apanaschik

1946

Rose A. O’Brien

1936

Carol MacDonald

1946

Edna C. Osinski

1936

Nicoletta Howard

1947

Alicia E. Gayle

1936

Shirley Smith

1947

Winifred J. Donovan

1938

Marica Margolis

1947

Elizabeth Kenyon

1938

Arlene Margolis

1948

Avis Dobrosky

1939

Anita Hood

1948

Elizabeth Johnston

1939

Barbara Bentley

1948

Eleanor MacKenzie

1939

Marcia DeWolf

1949

Margaret J. Geer

1940

Cleopatra Poulios

1949

Elizabeth Ladd

1940

Nancy Tashash

1949

Helene Pike

1941

Margaret Wells

1949

Lillian Kolodnicki

1942

Margaret Maynard

1950

Edith Gipstein

1942

Gladys Bly

1950

Florence Barth

1942

Geraldine Kaplan

1950

Theodora Belknap

1942

Patricia Hill

1950

Helen Drabik

1943

Carol Lite

1951

Nancy Good

1943

Beverly Kosloff

1952

Ruth Mannis

1943

Mary Veillette

1952

Harriet Rahm

1943

Mary Gobeli

1952

Mary Luty

1944

Beverly Eastty

1953

Josephine Esposito

1944

Sandra Levy

1953

Millie Bletcher

1944

Marjorie S. Gildor

1958

Marjorie Aubrey

1945

Glenn E. Dawson

1982

Marilyn P. Turkowski

1945

Mathew A. Kendall

1988

Mary Tietz

1946

Bradford J. Frost

2000

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1

2

3

Marriages 1 Stephanie Freeman ’00 and AJ Staniszewski 2 Alex Russell ’02 and Brittany Reid Russell 3 Zoe Hoffman ’03 and Humar Miranda 4 Anne Gillie ’06 and Zach Pytka 5 Laura Marcinek ’06 and Tim Purtell 6 Monica Tine ’06 and Joel Cunningham 7 Hillary Holmes ’08 and Brian Mezzi 8 Hope Culliton ’10 and Nick Tomanelli

4

6

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5

8

Class N o te s

Births

Celebratio l a i n nn

Cen te

1 • Jericho Revell to Ansel and Revell Carr ’86 on April 21, 2017 2 • Eliza Dorothy Rose to Karen and Joseph Price ’95 on July 19, 2017 3 • Maisy Elizabeth to George and Kathryn Rampellini Applegate ’96

3

on June 13, 2017

4 • Peter Matthew to Katherine and Steve Wilson ’97 on June 18, 2017 5 • Derek Lee to Tony Glick and Katie Lee ’00 on June 7, 2017 6 • Maggie Fisher to Charlie and Meris Tombari Enright ’04 on June 16, 2017

4

Elsie M. Spring Lignelli ’35

celebrated her 100th birthday on July 20, 2017. State Senator Heather Somers read a proclamation from Governor Malloy in honor of Elsie’s special day. Trevor Spring ’06 and former Director of Development, Ellen Spring, were on hand to celebrate.

7 • Conner Avery to Jennifer and Josh Miller ’04 on June 13, 2017 8 • Nonoka Tine to Kaoru Sasaki and Stephanie Tine ’06 on April 20, 2017 9 • Henry Noah to Kathy Gisin and Greg Elperin ’07 on June 6, 2017

5

1

2

6

8

7

9

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Cam paign

MY WILIAMS

my gift

own children, to how I think about participating in my own “I MOVED TO CONNECTICUT for my last two years of high community. Think critically, act with integrity, and do what school, and I was fortunate to find Williams. I came from a you can to make a difference. bigger school, and had to adjust to a smaller group of people I give back to Williams because I want to continue to see and a smaller campus. But the small community suited me. people have the same I made friends who I kind of experience that continue to count among I had. Nothing better my closest. I found can prepare you for the teachers who were deeply world than an ability invested in their students, to think critically and and who worked hard communicate effectively, and with great passion and Williams does that to teach us their subject exceedingly well. A small matter, but also, to be community allowed me an active community to feel supported and of thinkers and doers. connected before heading They didn’t allow lazy out into the wide world. thinkers, questioned us, One lesson I learned was and implored us to be that the world is big, and critical of what we read there is an infinite amount and what we and other to learn and explore, but a students said. I carry a Charlotte, Ryan, Wyatt, Kate, and Will Ogg small group of dedicated lot of Williams with me. and passionate people can From my friendships, help get you out there to to how I thought about do your best. If you can choosing a school for my help, you do.”

Graduated from Reed College with a degree in Art History in 1994 and earned her JD from Brooklyn Law School in 2005

Kate Bieber Ogg ’90

Serves on the Board of Sanctuary for Families; a non-profit providing comprehensive services related to domestic violence and related forms of gender violence to over 15,000 people each year in New York City Married to Ryan Ogg for 13 years; mother of Will (11), Charlotte (9) and Wyatt (6)

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Saturday May 19 2018 THE WILLIAMS SCHOOL DISTINGUISHING WILLIAMS CAMPAIGN GALA 6:30 – 10:30 pm The Mystic Aquarium Mystic, CT

WILLIAMS ON THE ROAD

We invite you to join us at receptions in your area. Catch up with old friends and make some new ones, reminisce about the “good ole days at Williams,” and update us on what is happening in your life. All are welcome, including alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends. Dates are subject to change and additional information will be forthcoming. If you are interested in attending, please contact the Development Office at 860.439.2769.

DATE WHERE January 16 - 19 California February 5 - 9 Florida February 6 Philadelphia February 7 Washington, D. C. March 22 Chicago April 19 Stamford williamsschool.org/williamsreceptions

FEATURES Evolution and Change Reflected in the Williams’ Liberal Arts Tradition / 2 Health and Wellness at Williams

BLUES NEWS Congratulations Class of 2017 Arts

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Athletics

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Service Committee and Community Outreach

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Make a commitment to the Distinguishing Williams campaign between now and December 31 to have your gift matched dollar for dollar, up to a total of $250,000.

STAY CONNECTED Distinguishing Williams Williams Families

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Alumni Profile: Joanna Douglass ‘99 Class Notes

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Marriages / Births / Centennial / 37 My Williams My Gift

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The Weissman Challenge

The Distinguishing Williams campaign has raised over $2.4 million in gifts and pledges toward our total goal of $3 million.

In an effort to inspire other members of the community to join the campaign, Mrs. Janet Johl Weissman ,58 and Mr. Robert Weissman have put forth a challenge.

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Cover backdrop is a project from Digital Imaging where students studied the impact of light in various mediums with pin hole cameras and cynotype contact print.

Your gift impacts faculty, staff, and students with greater access to professional development, tuition assistance, and program enhancements.

To make your commitment or to learn more, please contact Director of Development Matt Strekel at 860.439.5474 or mstrekel@williamsschool.org.

NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #130 SPRINGFIELD, MA

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Williams Fall 2017

Magazine

IMPORTANT ADMISSIONS DATES AT WILLIAMS Super Saturdays at Williams Admission Testing, Tours, and Lunch January 6, 2018 | February 3, 2018 | June 9, 2018 Information Session January 21, 2018 (Snow date: January 28, 2018) Learn about the Academic, Athletic, and Arts opportunities that await you at Williams.

Campus Tours ~ Student Panel ~ Mini Classroom Sessions by our Faculty First Round Application Deadline for Fall 2018 Enrollment February 10, 2018 First round decisions will be mailed on March 10, 2018.

Following the first round process, applicants will be considered based on availability.

Sunday “Funday” April 8, 2018 Join us for a Sunday afternoon of Academic, Athletic, and Arts workshops, a sampling of programs offered at Williams.

For up-to-date details and to register for all Admissions events, visit williamsschool.org/visit

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