2000 Edgehill, Summer 2019

The Magazine of Peabody Demonstration Sc hool & University Sc hool of Nashville Summer 2019

2 0 0 0

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

1

We’d love to hear from you about anything you read in this edition of 2000 Edgehill and whatever you have to say about your student days here. Help PDS/USN and classmates keep up with what is happening in your personal and professional lives by kindly sending a Class Note by November 1, 2019. n

Social: Use #beyondEdgehill on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram when sharing memories and good news with friends and followers.

n

Email: Send a Letter to the Editor at jtraughber@usn.org.

Class Notes should go to pwexler@usn.org with photos attached at the highest resolution available.

n

Mail: Write to Juanita I.C. Traughber, Communications Director, 2000 Edgehill Ave. Nashville, TN 37212

Find 2000 Edgehill online at usn.org/publications.

In the article “Two Decades of Telling the USN Story” in the #2/2018 edition of 2000 Edgehill, the year of Peabody Demonstration School’s undefeated football team was incorrect. The team pictured is from 1934.

In the 2017-2018 Report on Philanthropy, several families were listed in incorrect giving levels.

University School of Nashville acknowledges their generous support:

$2,500 to $4,999 Gail & David Williams*

Vincent W. Durnan Jr. Director Juanita I.C. Traughber Communications Director Anne Westfall Development Director Patti Wexler Alumni Director Jenny Winston Archivist Copy Editors Juliet Douglas Lorie Strong Anne Westfall Jenny Winston

Corrections

$10,000 to $24,999 Greer McCurley ’97 & Sarah McCurley

This edition of 2000 Edgehill is published in June 2019 by the Communications Office and Alumni & Development Office for the Peabody Demonstration School and University School of Nashville community.

$1,000 to $1,914 Lori Ann & Brad Kehler Hayden Roche ’13 Cameron & David Simmons *deceased

University School of Nashville does not discriminate on the basis of color, creed, gender identity and expression, handicap, national origin, race, sex, sexual orientation, or transgender status in the administration of its educational, admissions, and financial aid policies, faculty and staff recruitment and hiring policies, athletics, or other programs or activities administered by the school.

University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of greater Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, 2 a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.

Photographer Kimberly Manz Contributing Photographers Matthew Haber ’98 Justin Karpinos Pat Miletich Rebecca Stokes Juanita I.C. Traughber Maria Wolfgang PDS/USN Archives

On the cover, alumnae from the 1950s have their portrait made in front of Peabody College’s Social-Religious Building, known today as The Wyatt Center at Vanderbilt University.

2000 EDGEHILL

The Magazine of Peabody Demonstration Sc hool & University Sc hool of Nashville Summer 2019

2 0 0 0 Letters to the Editor 7 Mystery Photos 8

Centennial Commencement 10 Today on Edgehill 20

Students on Stage 24 Serving Seniors of Wedgewood 26

Outdoor Classrooms 28 Reunion 32 Telling Stories: A Look Back 34

10

24

Beyond Edgehill 36

Legally Distinguished 38 Class Notes 39 Documenting History 50

32

4

2000 EDGEHILL

Our Metronome

F

orgive us for a little sentimentality this time around. This issue of our magazine arrives at the intersection of our 100th graduation exercises and the beginning of Juanita Traughber’s run as the publication’s editor. Behold the classic combination of old and new, so familiar to us here in classrooms and on our academic calendar. The familiar goal remains for us to go from strength to strength. You be the judge of how we’re doing.

We live by our dialectics at USN, a habit of mind baked into our culture by the Demonstration School, designed as it was to combine that which had proven to work with that which seemed most new and promising. What they did, what we do, anchors to a few timeless principles, among them the importance of seeing school experiences through the eyes of children, of striving in content and program for relevance (or as Thomas Alexander wrote, that “material should be interesting and real”), and of connecting as individuals to the broader societal good. But no two years, no two courses, no two students are alike.

The beautiful object lesson on display most recently and documented in the pages to follow is Commencement, the signal event of every year here for a century. We tell time by these celebrations, familiar in their ceremonial trappings but really quite different across the generations. For starters, we’ve long since outgrown the beloved Auditorium, now reserved just for Convocation, taking refuge back on the Peabody Green of our founders, under a tent for 2,000. And the medieval regalia now adorn the graduates, not their teachers, in a reversal meant to highlight the milestone for our students.

But we know we’ll have graduation. We know that each one adds another ring to the tree, with some of those rings set further apart, some more clearly distinct from others, with all combining to tell a single story of growth over time, through seasons of relative want and relative plenty. In hindsight, while so much else morphed and evolved in the PDS/USN narrative, including the switched name on the diploma cover itself, graduation is one of our essential community constants.

We draw strength and inspiration from the continuity of this central ritual. Never in danger of dwelling on the past here, it’s still worth considering what has changed and what hasn’t, as an inquiry into what matters. That thought exercise brings us back to the defining principles that cross from kindergarten to

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

Commencement, from student to graduate for a lifetime, to the chance to thrive well beyond our campus.

Happily, that last element doesn’t need to wait until graduation— engagement in pursuit of relevance can start early, as you’ll see in stories we’re excited to share about fifth graders at the recently recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site down the street, Fort Negley, or the Lower Schoolers partnering with elder care programming at Wedgewood Towers, or 10th graders hiking in the Appalachians together, or 11th graders heading out for shadowing days, an echo of Winterim in the ’80s and an invitation to a deeper internship dive.

Truth be told, while we strive to understand and appreciate “place” as a key ingredient in education done right, graduation has historically served as a slingshot for our students, launching them far afield—just look at our international distribution, not to mention the very real phenomenon of our graduates residing in all 50 states (special thanks go to Vicky Swift ’79 in North Dakota, in particular, for obvious reasons).

Nashville’s newfound boomtown status now serves interestingly as a homing beacon of sorts, drawing 20-somethings and 30-somethings back for a different, better quality of life than what they found elsewhere. But even that is different from the boomerang phenomenon familiar in other school communities, where the established presumption is that any departure from familiar surroundings is only temporary. And I’d correspondingly credit the way we think about graduation as instrumental in our challenge to students to get out beyond their known world, personally, professionally, and geographically.

All this speaks to culture, something frustratingly hard to build but reassuringly resilient once it takes root. As people who care for and about USN for the long haul, we’re keepers of this culture, and we count on the rhythms of our annual sequence to remind us of distance traveled. Kind of amazed that we’ve reached this next historic chance, as John Dewey observed, “to learn, not from experience, but from reflecting on experience.” nn Thanks for reading and for staying connected,

Vince Durnan, Director

5

W

hen I joined University School of Nashville three summers ago, I was mesmerized — by the colorful Myles Maillie staircase, the smallest students wandering halls alone to dump papers into recycling bins with lids too high for them to lift, the tallest students leaving campus for lunch and returning, and the excitement caused by 5 and 17-year-olds trotting while wearing painted grocery bags.

Even more significant was my astonishment with USN beyond 2000 Edgehill Ave. As though its classrooms breed altruism in its pupils, students of all ages look forward to serving the community and learning outside of its century-old brick walls, and the success of PDS/USN alumni reaches beyond the continental borders of our country. And so this year we began chronicling their work on social media using the hashtag #beyondEdgehill.

Continuing that narrative in these pages, the focus of this edition as I take the helm as magazine editor is on PDS/USN beyond Edgehill.

This magazine will continue to pay tribute to the rich history and traditions of the Demonstration School and early University School roots while sharing these beyond Edgehill stories. We’ve added a glimpse of the reach of alumni on pages 34-35, as well as

F

or many of you, this magazine is my first opportunity to introduce myself as the new Alumni Director. My name is Patti Wexler, and although I did not graduate from USN, I am a proud parent to Zach Wexler ’05 and Morgan Wexler Laughlin ’08. Some of you I taught in first grade in 2002-2003. Or I may have met you while working in the Business and Development Offices through the years. I am happy to be back with my USN family once again and look forward to reconnecting you with your school and keeping you up to date with your PDS/USN classmates.

At this year’s Reunion, I had the honor of welcoming over 150 alumni back to campus and celebrating the Class of 1969 as those alumni joined the Gold Circle. On Thursday night, we had an amazing crowd of local and Reunion alumni at the All-Alumni Party. And Friday and Saturday nights of that celebratory weekend, I had the pleasure of attending over 10 parties with the classes ending in four and nine (See photos on pages 30-33). I hope all who were able to join the Reunion festivities had as much fun as I did. The 2020 Reunion will be Thursday, April 30 through Saturday, May 2: classes ending in five and zero and Gold Circle members, mark your calendars.

6

Beyond Edgehill alumni spotlights interspersed with Class Notes.

And, yes, therein these pages lay a challenge to count the number of times we use the phrase “beyond Edgehill” in this magazine: frequently, though not as great as the off-campus work of alumni and students.

My goal with this biannual publication is to sustain emotional connections between PDS/USN and the 6,750 households in whose mailbox it lands — alumni, parents of alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, and friends — that lead to an increased commitment to this school. With that, you’ll see an expanded focus on sharing today’s narratives, as with Campus News beginning on page 18.

Join me in recognizing the impact PDS alumni, USN alumni, and USN students have on the Edgehill community, greater Nashville area, and the world. And if you know of an amazing beyond Edgehill story to tell, I’m at 2000 Edgehill with my door open and inbox ready to be read. nn

Juanita I.C. Traughber, Communications Director

We also just welcomed the Class of 2019, the school’s 100th graduating class, into the PDS/USN alumni community. This year’s Distinguished Alumnus, Kenneth Jost ’65, spoke to seniors during Convocation about how his writing career began at PDS and continues today in his 26th term of writing the “Supreme Court Yearbook” (Read more on page 36).

Remember, you are always welcome back here at 2000 Edgehill Ave. We would love to show you around USN. Please send your news to share with the PDS/USN alumni community to me at pwexler@usn.org. nn

Patti Wexler, Alumni Director

2000 EDGEHILL

LETTERS to the EDITOR More friends from the Valdosta eclipse field trip I was surprised to see that several of the people in the earlier mystery photo were not identified. Charlie Lutin ’70, on the far right (whose older brother had also attended Peabody, I believe), and I think it’s Mr. Bradley, the other biology teacher, third from left, in the back. I recognize some of the other faces as well, but not the names. You might have all the names now, after this second printing of course.

As far as the dress code goes, we were told in 1969-1970 that we could wear “nice pantsuits” (polyester in those days) but no jeans, and skirt hems had to be at least as long as your fingertips by your side.

It’s fun to see these older pictures as well as newer ones from the reunions.

Leslie Zarker Morgan ’70

14+ Year Club member recalls classmates In the new Edgehill magazine on page 47 is a picture at the top of the page of three young kids. I think it is Tommy Cowan pulling his twin brother Dickey Cowan, and David Norris pushing from behind. We were 5 years old and in kindergarten.

Emily Magid ’64

Hilarious memories of Doc slip through time Doc Shuffett was by far the most entertaining teacher at USN, and that’s saying a lot because all my teachers at USN were completely engaging and entertaining. I really enjoyed his junior chemistry class. He had a special way of explaining molecular bonding that involved a drawing of a car that collected mud on the mud flaps as it went down a “molecular bonding” road… just a genius description that my 17-year-old mind could totally wrap itself around.

Doc was a fantastic joke teller and also had his fair share of comedic accidents happen that he was all too willing to share with the class. On one cold wintry morning in 1984, Doc arrived to first-period chemistry class with his front pants pockets terribly torn and the white pocket linings of his signature khaki chinos pretty much torn out and just hanging by threads. Of course, we were all concerned and asked him what happened? Dog attack? Mugging? What? It turned out, Doc decided he didn’t want to wear a jacket that cold morning and walked out to his car in just his white dress shirt and chinos, but with his hands stuffed down deep in his pockets. He hit a patch of black ice on his driveway, and as he explained it, his feet slipped forward and he became completely horizontal in the air about 4 feet off the ground. While airborne nature took over and his cat-like reflexes caused him to yank his hands from his pockets so violently that he tore his pants to shreds.

It was either going to be his delicate back that was already giving him trouble or the pants and his back won.

Doc told this story much better than me, and as you can guess, he had the entire class rolling with laughter. I’m pretty sure he perfected the story within the hour because I can remember hearing his second-period class exploding with laughter too while I was in math class across the hall.

Bob Gardner ’85

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

7

Mystery Photos We found these great photos in the Archives of Middle School students in the ’80s participating in some kind of festive event in the Auditorium. Do you recognize these students or know which year these pictures were taken? Any idea what they’re doing? We’d love to hear any memories they spark. Send your recollection to jtraughber@usn.org.

8

2000 EDGEHILL

Mystery Solved After lamenting the fact that I now find myself in the historical “Mystery Photos” section of the alumni magazine, yet still appreciative it is not yet the obituaries, I can shed some light on the page 5 photos of the student vs. faculty basketball game. Thankfully, someone captured a portion of perhaps one of the greatest basketball teams to ever come out of USN, the stateranked team of 1983. Pictured from left to right are Billy Jacobs ’85, Joel Corry ’85, David Brown ’83, myself, and Ricky Ewing ’83. Missing from the picture but the starting point guard from that team was Tony Werthan ’83.

Some of us now regrettably have less hair, most of us thankfully have longer shorts, and I still bite my nails. Also fun to see in another photo the great coach, mentor, and friend Larry Matthews.

Eric Rosen ’83

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

9

10

2000 EDGEHILL

100 years of Commencements highlight student-driven culture

By Juanita I.C. Traughber, Communications Director

“In

virtue of being the first graduating class of Peabody Demonstration School, we do hereby will and bequeath to all the Senior classes yet to travel this rocky road to knowledge all the respect and admiration and love and hearty support.”

Writing these words in the opening lines of their “Last Will & Testament,” the first 30 PDS seniors must have known the trail they were blazing would stretch for a century of graduates.

“We do feel sure that with this great amount of love and respect and admiration and hearty support every Senior class which is to come will be made happy and of cheerful mind.”

The Class of 1920 — 11 of whom had enrolled in the new school five years earlier — then headed to seven colleges, mostly at the university where their Commencement took place or within walking distance — Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, Ward-Belmont College, Wellesley College,

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

Nashville Historian David Ewing ’85 unearthed portraits of members of the first graduating class (previous page) and a diploma from the first graduating class (above).

Anne Frances Morris ‘20 “brought her sunny smile and happy disposition” to PDS as a junior in 1918 and “expected to attend some college.”

11

Class of 1951

Randolph-Macon College, Louisville Conservatory of Music, Columbia University, with a few alumnae undecided as of graduation.

A century later, the 93 members of the school’s 100th graduating class will matriculate much farther beyond Edgehill to 61 schools in 25 states and two countries this August.

Although mortarboards and gowns remain timeless — as does the PDS/USN tradition for seniors to have a farewell amongst themselves — the pomp and circumstance surrounding Commencement have evolved over 100 years as University School of Nashville has increasingly strived to be student-centered.

The inauguration of the first alumni

The first PDS Commencement was a formal, two-day affair with students at center stage, literally. On the eve of Commencement, students from the first graduating class presented “two comedy dramas” in honor of the event and also held a “Class Night,” where they ceremoniously passed down a “Spoon of Knowledge” to a junior. On the morning of Commencement, the opera “The Chimes of Normandy” was given at the Princess Theater for 50cent admission, as detailed in The Nashville Tennessean. On the evening of May 28, 1920, Principal James S. Tippett presented 30 members of the Demonstration School’s first graduating class with their diplomas in Peabody College’s Social-Religious building. Col. Harry B. Anderson gave the Commencement address, and Class Vice President Nelle Weather even performed a class song, whose lyrics and sheet music remain yet to be unearthed.

Two weeks later, the first PDS alumni returned to their alma mater to create an alumni organization and elect officers.

12

Time hop four decades to the 1960s, when the Demonstration School moved the formal ceremony into its own Auditorium, built in 1925. For decades, families packed inside and overflowed into the Edgehill Lobby.

“Our graduation took place in the Auditorium as there were only 65 people in the class,” said Karen Ward Knox ’66. “It was pretty warm, and there was no air conditioning in the building then.”

The ceremony itself remained mostly the same as that first Commencement, with a visiting speaker offering the official address.

1964 Class Vice President Alvin Lowe remembers sitting before Sen. Albert Gore Sr. during his Commencement in the Dem School Auditorium.

“It’s a really special day, it ought to be special for everybody here, including the parents,” Lowe said. “But as it is human nature, when you are in the moment, you really don’t remember how special it is until later.”

Other most notable Commencement speakers have included presidents and chancellors of several Middle Tennessee universities, Nobel Laureate Stanford Moore ’31, and famed journalist John Seigenthaler while publisher of The Tennessean.

Not to be excluded from the fun, juniors passed out programs and saw Commencement as a social opportunity to see their dates.

As for attire, boys wore blue, and girls wore white. Today, seniors vote on their robe colors, a far wardrobe shift from the tuxedos and white dresses of early Commencements.

2000 EDGEHILL

Class of 1966

Students take lead on ceremony

By the 1970s, with the advice of Head of High School John Mason, Commencement grew into a more student-driven event, with student speakers replacing dignitaries, setting a tradition still carried out today. At the same time, the larger class sizes forced a move back to the Social-Religious building on Peabody’s campus – this time on the front steps.

“I always sat in the back and was so conscious that it would go well, making sure students would sit in the right place so they would get the correct diploma,” said Bobbie Grubb, retired longtime Administrative Assistant, who recalled gathering graduates behind the hedges of the Social-Religious Building to pin mortarboards and put on gowns. One of the early student speakers forgot to bring her written speech to Commencement. “She did such a beautiful job. As a student of USN, she was prepared and very poised.”

One Commencement took place at Vanderbilt’s Curry Field in 1979. Veteran faculty remember “either getting drenched or burned crisp in the sun” on Peabody Green, which Vanderbilt formally named Magnolia Lawn in 1989. A trickle of faculty, parents, and guests would move from seats on the grass to stand beneath trees to escape the sun. It remains a frequent Commencement location over the decades.

Vanderbilt’s Langford Auditorium, a Commencement venue of the 1990s, was deemed too small by the 2000s. Once there, graduates tossed their mortarboards inside and one spiraled into the face of a grandmother, busting her lip and making it forbidden for USN students to throw caps now, Grubb recollected.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

Class of 1976

Events before, after as memorable for graduates

As Commencement itself has transformed, so have the rituals surrounding it. A school-wide reception planned by juniors’ parents now follows Commencement in the Auditorium and Hassenfeld Library, replacing hotel luncheons of the 1990s. Around the same time, invocation and benediction once given by parents or local faith leaders became a welcome and closing delivered by seasoned or retiring faculty.

13

In the 1990s, College Counseling began a Senior Induction, usually the second week of school, to anchor students in their senior year as colleges moved their deadlines earlier.

“It almost felt like the senior year was being skipped over for the college process. Their focus wasn’t on their senior year, it was about them leaving,” said Director of College Counseling & Senior Class Dean Janet Schneider, who joined PDS in 1974.

She and High School Counselor Anita Schmid planned a day for students to create their individual and class goals and hear from the School Director, Head of High School, and Class President.

Director Vince Durnan has students practice the “take and shake” when receiving a class-engraved keychain, a precursor for when they walk across the stage to shake his hand and receive their diplomas. There also are class bonding activities and the first class photo on the Edgehill stairs.

Honors and awards are given in Assemblies at the end of the school year. Convocation, a tradition begun in 1980 under Director Harvey Sperling, officially marks the beginning of PDS/USN graduates’ transition from students to alumni. A time of reflection, it gives students the stage again in the choir and an opportunity to hear from an alumnus whose accomplishments serve as an inspiration and as a reminder to the citizens of Nashville of the

Susan Medling ’88, Inga Harris ’88, and Leslie Alexander ’88

high-quality education that has long been a tradition here.

Seniors mirror their fall induction with Senior Day, the Friday before Sunday’s Commencement. It is the last hurrah over games they usually haven’t played since Lower School and time after lunch for students to reminisce to “have closure to their senior year,” Schneider said. “There needs to be a time of ending to their class interactions and a celebration among themselves.” There

, Convocation

Vocal Ensemble/Show Choir harmonizes “Seasons of Love,” and Amanda Ding ’19 plays “Bach Cello Suite No. 1 Prelude.”

Convocation marks the beginning of Commencement Week. It is a time for seniors, their families, and faculty to hear the Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna tell stories from his/her educational journey and offer advice to soon-to-be-graduates.

Senior Day .

Offering seniors a final opportunity to gather as a class and ensuring they attend graduation rehearsal, Senior Day is filled with games, often similar to Jeopardy! or from Lower School physical education, organized by student leaders. College Counseling also provides an open mic during lunch for students to reminisce on their time in school together.

14

2000 EDGEHILL

they receive a key embossed with their class year to add to their class keychain.

And in between the formality, there’s usually a prank to leave the class’ mark: wiring desks and chairs together, filling classrooms and offices with balloons, swiping Convocation greenery to make a beach scene in the hallways, spelling out class years with utensils from the cafeteria. Grubb said she hopped out of her car one morning to find her assigned parking space painted with the handicap emblem, a joke in which she still finds humor.

Class of 2004 Today on Magnolia Lawn, beneath a large white tent used for many Vanderbilt exercises in May, USN’s Operations staff sets out chairs for 2,000 people and as many water bottles. The centennial Commencement on May 26, 2019, marked the first time the ceremony was live streamed to out-of-town well-wishers as well as guests unable to survive the 90-degree heat.

“I have been to a million graduations, and by far USN’s is the most meaningful because it is really for the students. In many

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

ways, students are in charge. They choose [a classmate] speaker, the music, who performs, the Class President introduces the speaker. It is very much student-led,” Schneider said. “With the students being in charge, it showcases the amazing talent of the kids and is a meaningful celebration.” nn Archivist Jenny Winston contributed much research to this article.

15

Commencement

16

2000 EDGEHILL

2019

May 26

Walking across Edgehill Avenue to the tented Magnolia Lawn to sit on risers, the Class of 2019 celebrated not only its Commencement but also the milestone of being PDS/USN’s 100th graduating class. With the turn of their tassels, these 93 graduates brought the number of PDS/USN alumni to 4,141. They will head to 61 colleges and universities in 25 states, Ireland, and Scotland.

Previous page: Graham Shockley ’19 and Caroline Sigmund ’19 march in the class processional. Top left: Selected by his peers, Jake Wolfson ’19 gives the Commencement address. Bottom left: A commemorative poster for graduates by Hatch Show Print reflects the school as “traditional and strong but with a little artsy/abstraction,” the artist said.

Above: Arjun Dasari ’19, Adam Wooten ’19, and Aerial Towles ’19 sing Ryan Tedder’s “I Live.”

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

17

18

2000 EDGEHILL

PDS/USN archives

Previous page top: The Class of 2019 on the school’s Edgehill stairs.

Previous page bottom left: Arvin Jansen ’19 on trombone and Olivia Dossett ’19 on saxophone in the class band.

Previous page bottom right: Griffin Harrington ’19 and Manuel Guevara ’19 play on the stairs before dressing in their gowns and mortarboards.

Top: English Teacher Robbie McKay gives greetings. Head of High School Quinton P. Walker presents the senior class.

Sixth Grade English Teacher Katie Reen, who led the school reaccreditation process, shares a farewell.

Middle left: Mia Pretorius ’19 dons class year glasses.

Middle right: Kat Christie-Mizell ’19 and Isla Tarleton ’19 ascend stairs to take the final class picture.

Bottom: Erik Yalowitz ’19 gleefully proceeds in the Commencement line.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

19

Lower School focused on a different social-emotional learning theme each month, and After-Schoolers painted rocks to spread kindness.

Campus NEWS

USN parent Steve Gorman assembled The Invisible Hand, with Peter Holsapple, Darius Rucker, and friends, to headline Music Night.

In March, more than 700 PDS/USN Tigers across the country participated in the Tiger Give Back Challenge, designed to build community spirit and support the Annual Fund.

Students hosting the International Fair highlighted the diversity of USN and used their $3,000 profit to sponsor the education and living expenses of eight Ugandan children.

20

As the inaugural author in residence, National Book Award Finalist in Fiction Jamel Brinkley visited High School English classes and read “A Lucky Man� during a USN Evening Class in February.

2000 EDGEHILL

The Habitat for Humanity Club raised $10,500 for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville and helped build a home.

USNA installed a Little Free Library, built by USN parent Carrington Fox, at the corner of the 19th Avenue parking lot and the Outdoor Classroom to share books with passersby.

The World Languages Department chartered a USN chapter of the French Honor Society in March and inducted 10 students.

Middle School After Schoolers planted strawberries at Green Door Gourmet in the fall and returned to the nearby urban farm in the spring to pick them.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

Independent school colleagues from across the nation visited USN during the annual People of Color Conference, co-chaired by USN administrators and faculty.

21

Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment Director George Hornberger gave the annual Buhl Lecture on the impacts of population growth and food consumption on Earth’s limited consumable water supply.

Eighth Grade Mathletes Perennial Math National Champion Team

Academic Accomplishments Davidson Co. High School Mock Trial District Champion Mid-State Junior League Classical Tournament Division Champion, State Runner-Up Tennessee History Bowl State Champion Tennessee Quiz Bowl Runner-Up Science Olympiad Region Runner-Up Chemistry Olympiad Region 3rd Place The Peabody Press: Tennessee High School Press Association Excellent Rating Tennessee Chess Association Scholastic Tournament Primary Team State Champion MS Mathletes: 8th Grade Team Perennial Math National Champion, 6th & 7th National Runners-Up

Tennessee History Bowl State Champion Team

22

2000 EDGEHILL

Athletic Accolades MS Girls’ Tennis: HVAC Division-A Champion MS Boys’ Tennis: HVAC Division-A Runner-Up MS Girls’ Cross Country: HVAC Divison-AA Champion MS Boys’ Varsity Basketball: HVAC Division-A Champion MS Boys’ 6th Grade Basketball: HVAC Junior Division-A Champion MS Girls’ 6th Grade Basketball: HVAC Junior Division-A Runner-Up MS Swimming: Girls’ and Boys’ Swimming: HVAC Combined Champion HS Boys’ Cross Country: State Runner-Up HS Girls’ Cross Country: 4th in State HS Girls’ Soccer: District Champion, 3rd in Region HS Boys’ Golf: District Champion, 3rd in Region HS Girls’ Track & Field: Region Champion HS Boys’ Track & Field: Region Runner-Up HS Boys’ Tennis: Region Runner-Up HS Boys’ Ultimate Frisbee: State Runner-Up HS Boys’ Swimming: Division Champions HS Girls’ Swimming: Division Runner-Up HS Swimming: Combined Team Division Runner-Up HS Boys’ Soccer: District Champion, 3rd in Region

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

23

Theater program grows to share local stories, receive national recognition

By Juanita I.C. Traughber, Communications Director

A

top one of the highest points in Nashville with the city

“Never Known Nashville,” an outdoor, interactive play, led audience members through the history of the city’s prominent African American communities as they walked through Fort Negley Park and at times became a part of the narrative.

Students telling these narratives at a public park once slated for a high-profile redevelopment illustrates the height to which University School of Nashville’s K-12 theater program has grown and its integration with academics. The theater program at USN allows students to manage tech for shows, add musical accompaniment in the band and choir, and even build entire sets that have included rotating platforms, running water, and a conveyor belt floor.

Under the guidance of Technical Theater Director Jim Manning, who studied immersive theater during a professional development trip to Australia, students condensed what they learned over five months in social studies into a show that shared seldom-told and little-known stories of triumph of African American Nashvillians, the Edgehill neighborhood, Jefferson Street, and Fort Negley.

Theater at USN for the youngest students begins as soon as the leaves start to change colors and temperature drops, as Lower School produces Parents’ Day, a dress rehearsal for Grandparents and Special Friends’ Day. Under the direction of Lower School Music Teacher Doni Princehorn, kindergartners begin with the Turkey Trot, and students in each grade level sing and dance for

24

skyline as their backdrop, fifth graders brought story-tall puppets and props to life this spring.

2000 EDGEHILL

Previous page: The audience experiences fifth grade’s immersive theater “Never Known Nashville” by walking through Fort Negley Park and at times interacting with young performers, props, and puppets.

Far left: Technical Theater Director Jim Manning helps students plan and build the set for an upcoming production.

Left: Lillian Palmer joins USN as High School Theater Director.

Above: High School Theater presented “Side Show” as its musical in November.

summer rehearsals, costume sewing, and set building before the four-day show runs in August. Students continue rehearsing and learning new parts as they switch roles for JTF in January. an audience of more than 1,000 guests. By the time they produce the Fourth Grade Operetta, a spring ode to a medley of composers, Lower Schoolers are well-groomed thespians.

The Middle School Theater Department has evolved into an award-winning and nationally recognized program, even gracing The New York Times in 2018, the year students won an Outstanding Performance Award at the world’s largest gathering of musical theater students. And Middle School students earned the Outstanding Production Showcase 2019 award and an Excellence in Acting award for their two performances before more than 6,000 people at the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta. The latter came with a standing ovation and judge’s tears during “Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr.” A decade prior, that show had been Middle School Theater Director Bakari King’s lackluster inaugural production at USN. The veteran actor and director is not shy to admit his 2007 performance of “Schoolhouse Rock” was daunting as he juggled directing, creating costumes and props, and doing hair and makeup even; students never rehearsed the entire show.

Since then, parents have pitched in, becoming the backbone of a hallmark of the first week of school. The Middle School musical has evolved into a nearly year-around production that begins shortly before Spring Break with workshops for students to learn materials for the upcoming show, April auditions, and weeks of

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

“Learning from our mistakes and lifting each other up through them is such a part of what USN strives to be, and (at JTF), we were reminded of the rewards that come when we do just that,” Manning said.

High School Theater welcomed Lillian Palmer as Director in August, bringing a fresh perspective and original ideas. She began with a party where students threw darts at balloons to unveil “Side Show” as the HS musical; two months later she hosted a special dress rehearsal for Middle School After School, and intermission carnival games and popcorn accompanied performances.

A few months later, students met “Eurydice” playwright Sarah Ruhl, and the English Department incorporated that Greek myth into its curriculum before winter performances of the show.

Palmer said she hopes to make HS Theater increasingly collaborative, with students designing programs, marketing the show, and being responsible for ticket sales. She also wants to give students professional experience with junior shadowing opportunities beyond Edgehill at the Nashville Repertory Theatre.

“To me, the arts are so all-inclusive of all academic areas,” Palmer said. “There are so many components that I feel like there is a place for everyone in theater. So much of my philosophy as an educator is building a culture of inclusiveness.” nn

25

Lower School learning expands to serving community By Jordyn Sheats ’20

U

niversity School of Nashville has always been heavily involved in the success of the Edgehill neighborhood; however, Lower School’s two-year partnership with Wedgewood Towers is special. Each week a Lower School class spends time with senior citizens living in the federally subsidized, high-rise apartment building just a mile east of USN. Teachers and students participate in other community outreach opportunities, but this project is the first time the Lower School has united to support one group consistently.

The initiative started with a project Second Grade Teacher Melissa Sherman began while studying at Vanderbilt University’s Independent School Leadership master’s program to integrate service learning into the school day. Also, with the retirement of High School Service Learning Director Betty White, Sherman felt that it was her time to step up and create a program that would have an impact on an entire division.

26

Sherman said she had a desire for Lower School to do more in the community. The results have been astonishing for both the residents and students. While playing chess, Bingo, and card games or teaching residents new technology and how to use robots, students are leaving with the understanding of the importance of being active members in their community and thinking of others.

“I think focusing our visits on one place provides a real consistency for the residents, allows some connections to be developed, and residents and students benefit from the ongoing relationships,” said Head of Lower School Amy Woodson. “Kids learn to think of others and demystification of people who are different from them.”

While fourth graders and residents play card games, the room is filled with laughter and joy. At this moment you could see how much of an effect this interaction had on both parties involved. It also demonstrated that while people have different stories, they still have something in common. That is an important lesson to

2000 EDGEHILL

Lizzie Ammerman’s first-grade class plays games with residents of Wedgewood Towers. The time Lower School students and senior citizens spend together each week builds community and opportunities to learn about mature topics like needs versus wants and socioeconomic status as well as how to be cordial to people different than themselves.

learn young as the world is changing and getting more diverse every day.

Even beyond Wedgewood Towers, Lower School teachers have integrated service learning into their classroom curriculum by partaking in drives and then teaching the significance behind them. A recent collection drive focused on providing necessities, like toiletries, and luxuries, like candles, to those in the Edgehill community. Not only were students helping the neighborhood, but they also learned the difference between items needed to survive and items that make people feel good. Teachers explained why it is essential to at least have basic items and what those items are.

As far as luxuries, teachers explained how the simplest thing could be a luxury and make life more enjoyable. That is a major part of the new goal of incorporating service learning into the curriculum as students are not only learning to give back to the community but also are gaining life lessons along the way.

Woodson explains service learning as “giving time, talent, and treasure” as students are taking time to build relationships with people who have different backgrounds and experiences. While students are spending time with the residents of Wedgewood Towers and developing relationships with them, students are also gaining phenomenal lessons and experiences that can be applied to future endeavors.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

Outside the classroom, Lower School faculty and students have been involved in other initiatives around the neighborhood: Edgehill Night Out Against Crime, the Edgehill Community Garden, and a movement to turn the land of the first African American to have a solo exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York into a green space with fruit trees and sculptures.

Individual classes have decorated holiday cards for assisted living residents, collected preloved clothes and toys for nonprofits, made blankets, assembled gift bags for those in need, donated pet supplies and food, and grown seedlings for a local nonprofit planting urban gardens. All of these endeavors have had a significant impact on the greater Nashville community and Lower School students.

As someone who has been at USN since kindergarten, I am grateful to Lower School administrators and teachers who have taken the time and energy to find a way to incorporate service learning into the curriculum as it is teaching students to want to be involved in something beyond Edgehill. Lower School efforts have been a success thus far, and I can only hope that the initiative’s success continues to grow as the years pass. nn

27

By Matthew Haber ’98, Sophomore Class Dean & HS History Teacher

High School begins year with experiential learning through retreats

A

nyone who grew up spending their winter mornings as I did, with hands clenched in prayer, hopes fervently rising as they watched the Snowbird report crawl across the bottom of the television screen, only to see those hopes cruelly dashed when it spelled out “University Heights Academy (KY)” instead of “University School of Nashville” knows that even Mother Nature must do her absolute worst to deny USN students their chance to attend their regularly scheduled classes.

And yet, every fall, High School presses pause on the standard curriculum for almost a week for retreats and other programs.

What could be so important as to take precious minutes of time away from classroom teachers? The High School retreat sequence aims to create space and time for students to investigate them-

28

selves, their peers, their community, and their place in the world within grade-level experiences carefully designed to be valuable, developmentally appropriate steps along each student’s path to life after USN. Every August, USN welcomes roughly a hundred freshmen. New freedoms, new social and co-curricular opportunities, and new academic challenges abound. Maybe the most obvious and significant change, though, is the introduction of 20 to 30 new faces to the freshman class. The ninth-grade retreat makes it possible for students and faculty to connect, in the words of Dean of Student Life Justin Karpinos, “in an environment that’s a little uncomfortable and new for everybody, so the students to get to know

2000 EDGEHILL

Previous page: Tenth-grade’s retreat to Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, where they experience a hiking and backpacking trip and raft the Nantahala River.

Above: In the treehouse villages of Barefoot Republic in Kentucky, ninth graders stay in dorms and participate in low ropes challenge courses, climbing, and rappelling.

Below: Retreats allow for rich social interactions among faculty and students.

“It was a good chance to branch out and meet new people.”

each other in groups outside of their preexisting friend groups.”

That environment is the Barefoot Republic Camp and Retreat Center in southern Kentucky, where they spend three days and two nights engaging in a variety of community building activities such as low ropes challenges, climbing, games, hiking, dining together, and sharing cabins. They also participate in programming that encourages them to think about how to define their place in the High School community, led by the Peer Educators and the Office of Diversity and Community Life.

“I was never bored, so that was good,” said Kendall Burgess ’22 of her retreat experience.

She also appreciated the newfound freedom of High School life. “I feel like we were supervised well. There were times when we could be alone; there were times when we weren’t.”

Kendall also pointed out that “most of the people who

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

—Kendall Burgess ’22 weren’t new have been here [since Lower School]. It was a good chance to branch out and meet new people.” The feeling seems to run both ways, as students new to USN are able to integrate quickly into their new community, and even run for student leadership positions soon thereafter. “After we return,” Karpinos explained, “they think of USN as their school.”

The 10th-grade retreat sends students to North Carolina for a three-day, two-night backpacking adventure in the mountains of Pisgah National Forest. The capstone to USN’s naturalist curriculum, organized and guided by Adventure Treks, a company with which USN has partnered for over two decades, the trip is designed to build community and confidence by expanding students’ individual and collective comfort zones. Being in the backcountry and carrying all their necessities literally

29

For juniors, educational adventure beyond the traditional classroom means shadowing Nashville professionals. Sydney Stevenson ’19 (left) learns about legal careers from U.S. District Judge Aleta Arthur Trauger for three days while Maggie Robinson ’19 prepares vegetarian meals with Sunflower Cafe Head Chef Stephanie McKay.

on their backs push teenagers in unexpected ways. As much as 21st-century students can fairly accurately predict what the terrain (challenging), the weather (usually cool), and the bathroom situation (here’s a trowel, start digging) will be, the surprises and the way students respond make the trip worthwhile.

Science Teacher Wilson Hubbell, who has chaperoned the trip eight times, described how “the students find a way to support each other through difficulty. There’s always complaining, but somehow the group, together — every time — finds a way to make it jovial and mutual.”

“It was a really good bonding experience for my group,” recalled Lauren Scovel ’21. “I physically struggled a lot… There were definitely moments when I was like, ‘I’m going to die. I’m going to get eaten by a bear. It’s going to happen. Tell my mother I love her.’ But looking back, it was a good challenge. It was fun.”

Hubbell also pointed out that “the 10th-grade retreat is the only time in High School when we essentially force kids into an opportunity to appreciate what it’s like to be surrounded by the natural world and have the bare minimum of things required to push forward… So often we think about being in nature as about seeing something beautiful, but I think it’s more about the relationship to the land, to the earth, and to experience a little of our animal side for once.”

30

Perhaps more than they would expect, students seem to appreciate the fact that they’re required to disconnect for a few days: from school, from their parents, and maybe most noticeably, from their phones.

“I enjoyed being able to be without a phone,” Lauren said. “It kind of showed me how much I really use my phone.”

Since 2016, 11th graders have used retreat week to explore possible career paths through USN’s shadowing program. In the spring, rising juniors begin connecting with adults in the community who work in an area of interest to them.

“It doesn’t have to be the job they’re going to do,” according to 11th Grade Dean Robin Lynn Clinard ’88, who organizes the program. “It can just be something they’re curious about, and want to spend three days learning about.” In preparation for the shadowing experience, students meet in small groups with faculty sponsors, who, Clinard explains, coach them through logistics and workplace etiquette. “How do you ask somebody if you can shadow them? How do you thank them afterward? How do you make sure you have your ducks in a row to go do what you do? You might be shadowing a musician, or a baker, or a lawyer, and those have very different needs.”

“Honestly, it was such a good experience,” remembered Abby Liff ’20, who spent her week shadowing orthopedic surgeon and USN parent

2000 EDGEHILL

Brett Babat. “I learned that even though it’s a lot of work — I hear all the time that there’s so much work that goes into becoming a surgeon, and I don’t know if it’s worth it — they really seem to love what they do, and they have a really fun time while they’re doing it. I would like to be part of that kind of atmosphere when I get older.”

Reports of the real world aren’t always quite so glowing. “I sat in an office,” another junior said. “Lunch was the most exciting part of my day.”

But Clinard would argue that there’s value in that as well.

“I think for some of them, it helped them see what they might like to do, and for some of them, what they might not like to do, and both versions are useful.”

With the underclassmen away, seniors take advantage of the empty hallways by focusing on preparation for life beyond Edgehill with a three-day college application workshop.

has most seniors applying to at least one college through either the Early Decision or Early Action process, which accelerated the timeline such that students now need time in early fall to get ahead.

“It’s just gotten more complex, too,” Schneider continued, “so it gives us a chance to work with the students more indepth and help them understand all the pieces of it.”

Additionally, during the week, an outside speaker coaches the seniors on ways to manage stress, while students also get to hear from some of their own teachers about their experiences applying to college.

“It personalizes it so they know that they’re not the only ones who have had stress with this,” Schneider said. “But it all turns out OK in the end.”

Rachel Becker ’19 appreciated the opportunity. “Coming out of junior year, you expect for senior year to be a lot less stressful. Having the time set aside and being able to focus on our college stuff was really beneficial.”

“It’s like a conference or a camp for students to really immerse themselves in [the Wall climbing and other physical adventures help students identify their strengths application process],” explains and take ownership of their High School experiences.

Director of College CounselSydney Stevenson ’19 pointed ing and 12th Grade Dean Janet out a bonus. “It was nice, beSchneider. “We cover all aspects of what they need to be doing, fore the year really got started, to spend time together before we and we also begin doing it. [This dedicated time] gives them a all leave,” she said. head start on a lot of the work.”

Added Rachel, “it was a time for the seniors to recognize we’re all A recent trend in college admissions both nationwide and at USN in this next phase together.” nn

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

31

6 N I O U E

2019

R

N

z

May 2-4

USN

zz

PDS

Above: Gold Circle alumni including the newly inducted Class of 1969; Below, left: Ronnie Wilker ’59 proudly wearing his PDS letters; Below middle: Frank Ghertner ’59, Scott Ghertner ’85, and Nan Eisenstein Speller ’64; Below right: Class of 2004 friends Stephen Rodriguez, Kyle Blackburn, Hannah Bennyworth Gardner, and Katie Yeaworth

zzzz

R

eunion 2019 celebrated class years that ended with four and nine and all Gold Circle members, including a table of friends that graduated in the ’40s. The weekend festivities kicked off with the All-Alumni Party at The Aertson Hotel on May 2 where alumni both local and from across the country gathered to reconnect with each other and reminisce about their days at PDS/ USN. On May 4, alumni came to campus for the Reunion Luncheon, to hear a panel of Distinguished Alumni, and to see the Class of 1969 inducted into the Gold Circle. nn

32

2000 EDGEHILL

Top left: Class of 2009 celebrating its 10th reunion Top right: Alumni siblings Emily Loveman Kisber ’54 and Andy Loveman ’59 Middle left: Class of 1999 gathered at Gracey Lipman Donahue’s home to celebrate Bottom left: Former and current faculty Grace Melchiore, Marcia Pope, and Debbie Davies Bottom middle: Amy Talbot Dorris ’69 and Wes Birdsong ’66 enjoy the All-Alumni Party at the Aertson. Bottom right: Director Vince Durnan with Distinguished Alumni panelists Gideon Yu ’89, Lisa Gurevitch Cohen ’84, and Greg Downs ’89

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

33

Top left: Class of 1999 at the Reunion Luncheon Top right: Class of 1969 gathered at Director Vince Durnan’s house to celebrate its 50th reunion Middle left: Class of 2009 celebrated its 10th reunion at Southern Grist Brewing Co. Middle right: Date night at the All-Alumni Party for Ellen Duke Haber ’00 and Matthew Haber ’98 Lower left: Class of 1994 enjoyed getting together at its class party with Reunion Co-Chair Sneha Channabasappa Oakley ’94 Lower right: Members of the Class of 1989 enjoying their 30th reunion party at the home of Brad Gulmi ’89

34

2000 EDGEHILL

Top left: Class of 2004 reunited at classmate Mclaine Richardson’s ME Studio to celebrate its 15th reunion Top right: Local alumni Scott Collins ’05, Clare McKenzie ’04, and Adrien Saporiti ’06 reunited at the All-Alumni Party at The Aertson to kick off Reunion weekend.

Middle left: Classmates Emily Payne Midgett ’74 and Susan Fesmire Rowe ’74 gathered at Frank May’s home to celebrate their 45th reunion.

Middle: Classmates Daniel Blaser ’99 and Gracey Lipman Donahue ’99 Middle right: Melinda and Mike Nixon ’64 Bottom: Members of the Class of 1984 on the front lawn after enjoying the Reunion Luncheon.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

35

Beyond Edge International Alumni Live In

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom

36

2000 EDGEHILL

Coldest Alumni

2 in Fairbanks, Alaska

Number of Alumni

PDS (1915 - 1975) 1,240 USN (1976 - 2019) 2,901

Highest Participation in the Tiger Give Back Challenge

hill

Chicago

Largest Alumni Population Outside of Nashville

Alumni in Nashville

1,870

163 in New York City

Most Active Alumni Washington, D.C.

Warmest Alumnus

1 in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

The scope of work and success of Peabody Demonstration School and University School of Nashville alumni span quite a distance outside of the century-old brick walls of 2000 Edgehill, the length of Tennessee, and even the continental United States. Nearly 2% of alumni live abroad, as far as Victoria, Australia some 9,664 miles away. While making an impact in boardrooms, nonprofits, and their own startups in metropolitan cities around the world, many remain passionate about their alma mater and continue to support the school’s great legacy to benefit younger generations, even those who have yet to enroll. nn

Out-of-Town Alumni Events o o o o

Chicago Alumni Dinner, October 23, 2018 Denver Alumni Dinner, November 7, 2018 Philadelphia Alumni Dinner, January 28, 2019 Los Angeles Alumni Dinner, February 28, 2019 (See page 47 for photos)

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

To find where the next PDS/USN alumni dinner will take place, visit usn.org/alumni/events-for-alumni.

To keep in touch with your alma mater and classmates, send your updated email and mailing address to pwexler@usn.org.

37

Kenneth Jost ’65 named Distinguished Alumnus

By Juanita I.C. Traughber, Communications Director

At

9 a.m. May 20, USN hallways are bustling with lastweek-of-school anticipation, and most seniors are winding down. Yet their Convocation speaker sits in the Director’s Office printing off volumes of U.S. Supreme Court decisions released mere minutes earlier. It is Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s opinion affirming a Native American’s right to off-season hunting in a Wyoming national forest decided on an 1868 treaty that sends Kenneth Jost ’65 to euphoria. Although he’s hundreds of miles away from the country’s highest court where he tweets and writes as a member of the SCOTUS press corps, Ken has brought his enthusiasm for it to 2000 Edgehill to share with students.

“This school set me on the path to a lifetime of learning and to some success in my chosen profession.”

“This school set me on the path to a lifetime of learning and to some success in my chosen profession,” Ken told seniors, their parents, and faculty during Convocation that evening. “Peabody was what I hoped for: a challenging intellectual environment, because of teachers and classmates.”

Ken’s more than 50-year career in legal affairs writing began at PDS in fall 1962 when the 15-year-old began writing for The Paw Print, then High School’s newspaper published six times a year. His first article was about a student-led boycott of nearby restaurant Campus Grill after the owner refused to serve a Scarritt College student from Fiji. Soon thereafter, he wrote an editorial calling for PDS to integrate. After it was censored, he authored a second editorial criticizing school administrators for silencing the student newspaper. Both pieces were eventually published, and USN enrolled its first African American students his senior year.

“I wasn’t marching, but I was fully engaged in my heart and mind in civil rights in the fight for racial justice, and I still am,” he said.

“Students and young people through history have played an im-

38

Kenneth Jost ’65 delivers the Convocation address to the Class of 2019.

portant part in forcing important issues to the top of the political agenda. That’s the great thing about journalism today. You can go online just as yourself and generate as much audience and support as you can.”

Ken’s online audience is 3,100 Twitter followers, people interested in his take on legal affairs. Even more abundant are the clicks on his 11-year-old blog “Jost on Justice” and the circulation of the “Supreme Court Yearbook,” which he is in his 26th term of writing.

He graduated from Harvard College with honors and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After covering courts for The Nashville Tennessean, he studied at Georgetown Law School, earning his Juris Doctor as first in his class and as the first evening division student to be elected editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal. He since has written several legal texts, including “Supreme Court A to Z,” “The New York Times on the Supreme Court,” “Obama’s Agenda,” and “Trending Toward #Justice” and is an adjunct professor of media law at Georgetown Law School. nn

2000 EDGEHILL

CLASS NOTES

Class of 1968 lunch

Charlie Appleton ’56

1956

1971

Charlie Appleton and wife, Eben, are involved with Teach North Korean Refugees and brought the founder of the group to USN to speak to High School students.

Shannon Paty attended a tennis alumni event at the River Campus hosted by tennis coach and alumna Patty Pangle Diehl ’71.

Tom Lackey wrote, “As soon as I graduated from Peabody College, I packed my car and headed for Hollywood to try and fulfill my childhood dream of working in the movies. After five long years of learning about filmmaking, humility, gratitude, courage, and perseverance, I finally got a breakthrough movie for the career that I wanted as a Motion Picture Location Scout. A location scout is given the script, then begins the complex task of putting together the many pieces of a puzzle that will bring the writer’s words to visual life.

It is by far one of the most creative jobs in the movie industry. Last October marked the 40th year of my ‘dream come true’ career.”

1969

1975

Summit Records has released a recording of Rodney Lister’s piece “Squares and Oblongs” by the Boston University Wind Ensemble, conducted by David J. Martins, along with works by other faculty composers in the Boston University School of Music.

2008 Distinguished Alumna and Violinist Kate Ransom is the Founder and Creator of the new Serafin Ensemble, which launched June 1.

Serafin Ensemble, “The Serafins,” is a group of internationally acclaimed performing artists devoted to collaborative chamber music performances of repertoire. The ensemble evolved

1968 Sam Stumpf, Robert Hoge, Barry Kammerud, Judy Hopton Lawrence, Diana Blackwell Wiles, Shannon Paty, Zana Gentle, and Bonnie Magid Small enjoyed lunch together recently.

Patty Pangle Diehl ’71 and Shannon Paty ’68

from the former Serafin String Quartet and continues the nearly two-decade-long Serafin legacy of passionate commitment to presenting exceptional performances of small ensemble repertoire. In addition, Kate serves as Founder and Artistic Director for new chamber music festival Serafin Summer Music in Wilmington, Delaware in June. Serafin Summer Music is a collaborative effort between Serafin Ensemble, the University of Delaware Department of Music, and The Music School of Delaware, where Kate serves as President.

continued on next page

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

39

n

usn.org/alumni

1977 Sarah Land White Bagby retired after more than 40 years service with Baptist Hospital/Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital.

Sarah Land White ’77

The Governor of Massachusetts appointed Matt Hills to the Board of Education (the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education).

1979 Molly MacMillan is a ceramic artist living in Des Moines, Iowa. She has two boys and is married to John Twardos. They love hanging out at home, cooking, laughing, and doing the most mundane and wonderfully trivial things in life.

Essence magazine named civil engineer Cheryl McKissack Daniel as a corporate trailblazer in the construction industry in “Breaking New Ground,” an article in its May 2019 issue.

In 2000, Cheryl took the helm of McKissack & McKissack, the oldest minority-owned professional design and construction firm Cheryl McKissack ’79 in the United States.

There she leads the planning, design, and construction of more than 6,000 projects. Cheryl also was honored at City & State’s 8th Annual Above & Beyond Gala, receiving the Above & Beyond Award for Real Estate.

1980 Ronald Lawson and basketball teammates were featured on the Facebook page of the Nashville Interscholastic League, which highlights some of the greatest high school athletes and coaches in all sports to come out of Music City. He would enjoy hearing from his former USN basketball teammates at ronald.lawson@tn.gov.

Beyond Edgehill Whit Martin ’85 Whit Martin, who served on the National Alumni Board of Visitors from 2012 to 2016, moved to France in 2017 and is loving the adventure of living abroad.

Q: How long have you lived in France?

A: I’ve lived in Paris since August 2017 with my wife, Lauren, and children, William (10) and Eliza (8), who attend Marymount International School here.

Q: What is your profession?

A: I am Head of Mergers &

Acquisitions for Air Liquide, a French multinational company that produces medical gases, hydrogen for energy transformation, specialty materials for semiconductor and solar industries, and other gases for industry & health.

Q: What do you love most about where you live?

A: What I love about living in Paris is the exposure my family

and I are getting to a new culture, a different language, and new places in France, Europe, and beyond. It’s also nice we’re near my wife’s family, who lives in England. I can say for sure that living abroad is a constant adventure for the whole family.

Q: What are some of your favorite memories of USN? A: Some of my favorite memories of USN are the great teach-

ers (especially Debbie Davies, Polly Fields, Ann Wheeler), participating in theater productions, and as a senior buying and delivering a big thrift-store electric blue couch for Ann Wheeler’s class… plus great friends. nn

Jon Shayne was featured February 8 in the music section of The Washington Post in an article titled “Who would’ve thought a bluegrass spoof of atonal music would take off on YouTube?” Classical Music Critic Anne Midgette describes Jon, aka Singer Merle Hazard, as “a financial manager in Nashville, who has pioneered a form of comic bluegrass economics.” View his bluegrass videos on YouTube.

40

2000 EDGEHILL

usn.org/alumni n

Braden Boucek ’94 and Will McLemore ’94

Andrew Brandon ’97

1981

Braden Boucek is the Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Beacon Center. He has been instrumental in helping classmate Will McLemore ’94 prevent what they call “the unnecessary regulation of online auctions in Tennessee over the past four years.” The Beacon Center of Tennessee gave Braden its Beacon’s Heroes award in November 2018.

Harold Jordan Jr. visited USN while he was in town to attend a ceremony at Vanderbilt Medical Center honoring his father and former PDS/USN Board Member Harold Jordan Sr. In his honor, Vanderbilt has established the Dr. Harold Jordan Diversity and Inclusion Lecture series.

1985 Chris Chamberlain wrote an article in the Nashville Scene promoting USN Evening Classes.

Chris taught five classes this winter to share his expertise in food and drink.

1990 Anil Somayaji has lived in Canada since 2003 and is moving back to Nashville this summer.

He will remain a professor at Carleton University, working remotely and traveling to Ottawa periodically.

1994 Pilchuck Glass School appointed Benjamin Wright as its Artistic Director. For the past four years, Ben has held the position of Director of Education at Urban Glass in New York. He has taught and exhibited his unique approach to art making at numerous schools including Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Craft, and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and abroad in Germany, Turkey, Denmark, Japan, Belgium, Poland, and Australia. He also has produced exhibitions at the Museum of American Glass, Islip Art Museum, and Urban Glass, among others.

1996 Hayley Hovious was one of six celebrity dancers competing in Dancing for Safe Haven to benefit families experiencing homelessness in Nashville.

1997 Andrew Brandon returned to USN in January to speak with juniors on some of the legalities around drugs, alcohol, and other substances as they relate to driving and parties. Andrew is an attorney in the Federal Public Defender’s Office.

Washington Post investigative reporter Roz Helderman co-authored the commentary and analysis introduction to The Washington Post’s publication of “The Mueller Report” and was featured on NPR’s “Fresh Air” in April.

1999 The Criterion Channel featured Sam Smith in its “Studio Visits” series and his print for a Belcourt Theatre screening on “Art-House America.”

Eric Jewett ’91 and his family

2000 Claire Meneely taught an Introduction to the Fine Art of Sourdough Breads class for USN Evening Classes. She owns Dozen Bakery in Nashville.

NYC Magazine named Daniel White to its 40 Under 40 list. He is a Senior Executive at the public policy and communications firm Geto & de Milly. Daniel also advocates for nonprofits addressing issues such as health care, arts, education, and criminal justice.

2001 As part of observing Veterans Day, Joe Starnes ’01 returned to USN to speak to students. A former U.S. Marine Captain and Helicopter Pilot, Joe is now a Vice President in health care after completing his MBA at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.

Chef Julia Sullivan of Henrietta Red was a 2019 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef.

Max Goldberg and Benjamin Goldberg ’98 of Strategic Hospitality were among the semifinalists for a 2019 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur.

2004 Alan Perlman recently taught a class for USN Evening Classes called Flying Drones for Fun and Profit.

continued on next page

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

41

The Hollywood Reporter named Cate Adams ’04 to its list of “Next Gen 2018: Hollywood’s Rising Executives 35 and Under.” She is Vice President of Warner Bros. and spearheading what will be Robert Zemeckis’ next movie, “The Witches,” and “Harry’s All-Night Hamburgers.”

2006 Davis Chambers was traveling in Kentucky on a service trip with his medical school, Des Moines University, and had an unexpected PDS/USN reunion. He and his classmates were visiting Jackson City School students to talk about their paths to medicine. The school chess coach hosted them for dinner after the presentation. As the conversation unfolded, Bess Key Douthitt ’61 mentioned she graduated from PDS. She and Davis could not believe that they were meeting each other in Kentucky. Bess shared her memories with Davis of attending PDS during the civil rights era.

Adrien Saporiti hosted a monthly seminar on entrepreneurship for USN seniors. It culminated in May with a three-day series open to all High Schoolers that featured local entrepreneurs including Historian and Author David Ewing ’85.

2007 TJ Ducklo visited USN in December to share reflections on the news industry and television while he worked as the Senior Communications Director for NBC News, working primarily with “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.”

In April, the Biden for President campaign announced TJ would be Vice President Joe Biden’s National Press Secretary, serving as a national spokesman and senior member of the campaign communications team.

2008 Jen Plumridge is a knitwear designer and manages a contemporary knitting shop in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood called Nina Chicago. Her bags and notions cases, under the label of J.M. Plumridge, are sold in the store.

2009 Alex Spieth recently appeared in an offBroadway production of Shakespeare’s “Love’s

Alice Lanier wed Jason Eskind ’05

Davis Chambers ’06 and Bess Key Douthitt ’61

Labour’s Lost” and finished the third season of the web series “[Blank] My Life,” which she wrote and created.

Samson March has created the Smarch Watch, a gadget that shares email, calendar, and other phone notifications on wrists, and its accompanying charging cradle. It cost him $50 to make and has a seven-day battery life. Samson has shared DIY instructions and was featured on engadget.com.

2011 David Kuhn and his band Light Brand released the new album “Done Dreaming.”

He wrote the music and lyrics and played the guitar with friends playing bass, drums, and singing. David describes his music as progressive rock music that fits the mold of Led Zeppelin, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Esperanza Spalding. Listen to his music at lightbrand.bandcamp.com/releases.

Jordan Lavender moved to Orlando, Florida to join a USA Track & Field high-performance training camp last fall, after two good postcollegiate years at the University of Virginia.

She competed at the University of South Carolina in April and posted a big win in her season opener, earning her the then No. 2 spot in the world in the women’s 400-meter division. She recently reconnected with Krishna Curry ’06 at a competition in Belgium and said Krishna gave her great advice about the transition from college athlete to becoming a professional athlete.

2012 Tennessee Playwrights Studio, a Nashvillebased new play development lab in partnership with Actors Bridge Ensemble, named Preston Crowder a fellow and associate for 2019.

He graduated from Oberlin College in 2016 with a degree in theater and a concentration in playwriting. Preston is devoted to creating

Edward Gottfried wedding: Dan May ’07, Newton Allen ’07, Henry Gottfried ’09, Ari Schiftan ’07, Nani Durnan ’09, Mary Allen ’09, Beth Green ’07, Edward Gottfried ’07, Kayer Verville, Douglas Schatz ’07, Grace Curley, Emily Berger, Drew Berger ’07

Avery Durnan Akkineni ’07

plays that focus on social justice and activism.

Marcus Maddox started interning for Vogue Australia in 2016 and worked on the Nicole Kidman cover issue. Soon after the internship, he started working on his first monograph “Pom Poms,” a book of his music photography the Elephant Gallery in Nashville released in 2018. He recently won the Independent Phocontinued on page 42

42

2000 EDGEHILL

Beyond Edgehill

usn.org/alumni n

Bryn Sivley Toledano ’91

“If you only knew” is on the cover of the USN yearbook the year Bryn Sivley Toledano was a senior. Did she have any idea then that she would be living on an island? Today, she lives in the Dominican Republic with her five boys and owns an ecolodge on the north coast of the island.

Q: What motivated you to study and live abroad?

A: After I graduated from USN, I attended Butler University in Indianapolis. It had a strong debate program, which I had actively participated in at USN. The following year, I transferred to The American University of Paris. I studied anthropology and international history and spent much of my time in Paris wandering through museums, quartiers, and art galleries. I traveled extensively through Europe and North Africa.

I learned to be an expat and how to speak French. It has opened so many doors for me.

Q: What do you enjoy most about living in the Dominican Republic?

A: To live in such proximity to natural beauty with both the ocean and mountains at our doorstep is such a privilege. My boys attend school with other children from around the world. Evolving in such a cross cultural, multilingual environment is a great gift that I know will continuously benefit them throughout their lives, especially if they have a bit of wanderlust like me.

Q: What inspired you to own El Gallo Ecolodge and what would

surprise people about the work you do?

A: The ecolodge sort of evolved into existence. It was initially our home. There were several cabins built for friends and family and each time someone would come they would want to send their friends — and the ecolodge was born. We have guests from all walks of life looking to reconnect with nature and slow down.

El Gallo Ecolodge specializes in sustainable tourism which aims to have a positive impact on the environment, community, and economy. We work closely with local businesses and community service groups providing opportunities for our visitors and guests to give back to these exceptional rural communities. El Gallo was built with sustainable materials, we are powered solely by solar energy, and our water comes from an underground spring – but no worries, we have Wi-Fi. Much of our food is grown on-site in our organic gardens, and we specialize in vegetarian Dominican cooking.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

Q: Tell us some of your favorite memories of USN. A: I have such fond memories of USN – especially Model UN, Youth Leg, and debate competitions. I loved the academically competitive environment these organizations fostered and was always so proud to represent our school.

Q: What was it like being at USN in the ’90s?

A: USN in the ’90s was multicultural before

this was even a thing. I was cognizant even then that it was a special school in what was at the time, a fairly homogenous Nashville.

I especially loved the comparative literature classes. I still have my copy of “Labyrinths”

by Jorge Luis Borges on my bookshelf.

Q: What is the most significant difference your USN experience has made in your life today?

A: My USN experience taught me to think outside of the box. I did not feel pressure to conform socially or educationally. Difference was encouraged, and I think I have mastered that pretty well.

Q: What words of wisdom do you have for USN students and young alumni?

A: To have immense patience with yourself: you are doing just fine. If you’re not fine now, you will be soon. Meanwhile, you are exactly where you are supposed to be. We put so much pressure on ourselves, especially with the illusions of social media (guilty), that we almost always feel as if we are underperforming. But appreciating every moment, even with its imperfections, as it comes, and not always focusing on some end goal can sometimes be enough. And being enough is a beautiful thing. Get out of your comfort zone. Study abroad. Learn another language. Embrace another culture. It’s ok to be lonely and awkward and homesick.

You will be a better, more compassionate person for it. nn

43

Samson March ’09

Left: Jillian Berkman ’08 to James Greer, April 13, 2019 Right: Dani Wald-Spielman ’08, Jillian Berkman ’08, Raffi Friedman ’08, and Rachel Zolensky ’08

COP24 in real time. Will is a graduate student studying climate change at the University of Maine and volunteers through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Office in a program aimed at inspiring grade-school students to be scientists and researchers.

tographer’s 2018 Open Call Award judgedby Vogue Italia Visual Director Alessia Glaviano.

Marcus recently shot product photos for Questlove’s limited popcorn bowl featured in Williams Sonoma. His work will be exhibited in Barcelona and Berlin in October. Marcus lives in Philadelphia and is working on his second monograph “Pom Poms Vol. 2.”

2013

Will Hardy Kochtitzky traveled to Poland in November 2018 to follow global climate change negotiations during the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Using his Twitter handle @UMaineFAR_Will and through followaresearcher.org, he offered a virtual way for students in grades 3 to 12 to follow

The Tennessee Medical Association honored Alexis Hood as Student Doctor of the Month.

Alexis’ interest in pursuing medicine began in High School as she volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Alexis said her journey as a medical student at Meharry has taught her “the importance of ‘healthcaring’ and being cognizant of the totality of my future patients.”

Linde LaChance joined Ice Creative Entertainment to perform in an ice skating show called “Peter Pan and Friends On Ice.” The national touring production features acrobats as well as national and internationally ranked skaters like Linde. She also sings live for the show.

Friends Bennet LeMaster and Garrett Mills ’14 held a month-long show of their artwork in December 2018 at the Rockwall Gallery at Houston Station in Nashville. Bennet describes herself as an abstract expressionist. Garrett is a fashion photographer shooting for Onyx, Amax, and Eye, among other modeling agencies.

2014 Tennessee State University’s Department of Athletics gave Rosario Falzone its Top Male Academic Excellence Award for the highest GPA among male student-athletes. Rosario played golf for the TSU Tigers.

2015 Hop Mathews completed a year of economic study in Singapore.

2016 McKenna Harrington, a theater major at Fordham University in New York City, was cast in her first off-Broadway show, “The Mountains Look Different,” which has a two-month run at Theatre Row on West 42nd Street in New York through July 14.

2018 Left: Kalpana Vallabhaneni ’09 and husband Nate Trench Right: Shalini Vallabhaneni ’06, Marion Siman ’09, Victoria Stabile ’09, Kalpana Vallabhaneni ’09, Sreyas Reddy ’09, Rohit Venkat ’08, Sathvik Reddy ’12, Morgan Pitt ’09, Erin Drake ’10, and Pujita Venkat ’06 in front

44

During USN’s Fall Break, Jonathan Hudson ’18 gave Marin Rorex ’27 a personal tour of the National Weather Center at the University of Oklahoma, where he is studying meteorol-

2000 EDGEHILL

Beyond Edgehill

usn.org/alumni n

Alex Loosen ’04

Alex Loosen moved to Germany after finishing his undergrad degree at Purdue in 2008. Having grown up with exposure to German culture, as his father was born there, Alex knew that if he didn’t make the move at that time it would probably never happen. The European lifestyle, culture, history, and mindset were always intriguing to him, so he took the plunge and is enjoying his life in Frankfurt. Today Alex is a Technical Consultant for large scale solar power plants.

Q: What inspired your line of work?

A: I was interested in working in renewable energy,

and in 2008 the German renewables market was still one of the biggest. I ended up getting a master’s degree in 2009 with a focus on solar energy in Germany. As a Technical Consultant for large scale solar power plants, we support our clients in all project phases from planning and construction through decommissioning. The job has sent me to places all over the world, which is a great feature.

Q: What do you love most about where you live?

A: Frankfurt is the financial center of Europe outside

of London. There are a lot of infrastructure, great museums, food, and history.

Q: What are some of your favorite memories of being at USN/PDS? A: Beating Christian Brothers in our run to become the State Runner-Up in the 2004 Division II soccer tournament.

ogy. Jonathan built USN’s two weather stations during his senior year independent studies.

Marin has taken an interest in the atmosphere, too, and may follow Jonathan’s footsteps into meteorology.

Q: What is the most significant difference your USN experience is making in your life today?

A: USN was a challenge for me at times. It taught me that you have to work hard to achieve, and that you should not set low standards for yourself. Overall USN really taught me to enjoy learning. The enthusiasm of the teachers and their high standards give you such a great mindset moving forward.

Q: What words of wisdom do you have for USN students and new alumni?

A: You have so much ahead of you and you have a great foundation to embrace it all. Seize the opportunities, take the leaps, and follow your heart and your instincts. They will guide you better than you realize. nn

2019

WEDDINGS

The Criterion Collection features Milly West and Claire Yezbak in its video essay on the Belcourt Theater. The two new alumnae participated in the nonprofit’s Strong Leads program.

Jason Eskind ’05 and Alice Lanier, February 2, 2019 Avery Durnan Akkineni ’07 to Sree Akkineni, April 20, 2019

continued on next page

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

45

Will Hardy Kochtitzky ’12

Bennet LeMaster ’13

Garrett Mills ’14

Edward Gottfried ’07 and Kaye Verville, September 15, 2018; Groomsmen included USN classmates Dan May ’07 and Ari Schiftan ’07, his brother Henry Gottfried ’09, and Newton Allen ’07 was a reader in the service.

Jillian Berkman ‘08 to James Greer, April 13, 2019 Kalpana Vallabhaneni ’09 and Nate Trench, July 7, 2018

BIRTHS Medha Raval and Eric Jewett ’91 welcomed daughter Kiran Jewett on October 2, 2018.

Hop Mathews ’15

Heather Hewlett and David Hewlett ’99 welcomed son Hudson Jo Hewlett on January 28, 2019.

Lindsey Kever Magner ’02 and Sheldon Magner welcomed daughter Mira Willow Magner on August 30, 2018.

Langhorne King Coleman ’00 and Andrew Coleman welcomed son Mark Alexander Coleman on February 18, 2019.

Molly Cunningham Snow ’06 and Michael Snow ’06 welcomed daughter Lila Katherine Snow on January 19, 2019.

Julie Godfrey and Caleb Petrey ’00 welcomed son Jackson Caleb Petrey on January 8, 2019.

Tessa Lamballe Stewart ’06 and David Stewart welcomed daughter Cora Katherine Stewart on February 21, 2019.

Katie Ries ’02 and Stephen Martin welcomed daughter Margaret Webb Martin born November 20, 2018.

McKenna Harrington ’16

Jonathan Hudson ’18

Andrea Wolf Bernstein ’02 and Hunter Bernstein welcomed son Jack Bernstein on December 22, 2018.

46

2000 EDGEHILL

Hudson, son of David Hewlett ’99

Mark, son of Langhorne King Coleman ’00

Jackson, son of Caleb Petrey ’00

Margaret, daughter of Katie Ries ’02

Jack, son of Andrea Wolf Bernstein ’02

Mira, daughter of Lindsey Kever Magner ’02

Lila, daughter of Molly and Michael Snow ’06

Cora, daughter of Tessa Lamballe Stewart ’06

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

Alumni

In Memoriam

Helen Winfield Sterling ’32 Elizabeth Stubblefield Pirtle ’37 August 29, 2018 October 14, 2015

Gloria Burton Hood ’46 March 12, 2019

Bud Zander ’53 November 12, 2018

Kim Massie ’47 December 2, 2018

Bobby Nellums ’38 January 2, 2018

Leon May ’39, January 25, 2019

Beverly Douglas ’44 October 17, 2018

Dorothy Glasgow Anderson ’45 November 18, 2018

Dorothy Elliott Pettit ’48 March 3, 2019

Patsy Smith Watson ’49 October 4, 2004

Bobbie Hickerson Norton ’50 February 6, 2019

Marsha Lautenbach ’53 July 7, 2017

Jack Gayden ’62 October 5, 2018

Harry Ward ’62 November 24, 2018

William Dwight Dozier ’63 May 2, 2019

Nicholas Anthony Beauchamp ’53 Nancy Jordan DeVenny ’58 December 24, 2017 January 26, 2019

We remember these deceased alumni for their contributions to PDS/USN and beyond Edgehill. Included on this page are those of whose deaths we have recently learned, even when some years have passed. To read their obituaries, visit usn.org/publications.

Tina Lavely Kraft ’67 December 5, 2018

48

Jack Spann ’69 March 30, 2019

Moreland Wilson Thomas ’72 September 20, 2018

Stephen Force ’76 February 1, 2019

2000 EDGEHILL

usn.org/alumni n

The annual Young Alumni Party was held on campus in December to reunite 49

graduates from the Classes of 2014 through 2017.

Clockwise from top left: English Teacher Katie Greenebaum catching up with Cooper Standard ’18 and Henry Standard ’18; Katie Campbell ’15 and Kennedy Turner ’15 reminiscing with Social Studies Teacher Matthew Haber ’98; Classmates Zach Babat ’17 and Wolf Robinson ’17 with Joe Noser ’16

Young Alumni Party Out-of-town Events Bringing together alumni from the Classes of 1952 through 2018, PDS/USN dinners took place in Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia,

Chicago

Denver

and Los Angeles this academic year. Visit usn.org in August for upcoming alumni dinners across the country.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE

Los Angeles

Philadelphia

49

Left: Cover of the first annual, published in 1920 Midde: Original illustration by Helen Salter ‘20 Right: Yearbook photo of the 1920 Glee Club

By Jenny Winston, archivist

Glimpse into early PDS days through first yearbook

G

raduating the inaugural class of seniors wasn’t the only first for the Dem School in May 1920. At the same time, the “Volunteer” staff published their first annual — a slight, paper-bound booklet only marginally thicker than the monthly magazine* from which it evolved.

A peek into the pages of “The Peabody Volunteer” of 1920 offers the clearest picture of student life in PDS’ fifth year. Extracurricular activities were predictably few, just Glee Club, Dramatic Society, “Volunteer” staff, and Student Council. On the athletic side, football reigned supreme as a “bright feature in the annals of Peabody,” with girls’ and boys’ basketball and baseball enjoying popularity as well. Yes, the girls had an indoor baseball team.

Unlike the thick and colorful publications today’s technology makes possible, this early yearbook relied on pages of simple type, sparsely punctuated with photographs and intricate drawings by students. By 1920, the Demonstration School had officially grown into a nursery school-through-12th grade program, yet just the juniors and seniors were individually pictured in the yearbook, with

50

the seventh through 10th grades photographed only in groups.

Students in the Lower School weren’t pictured or named at all.

Most importantly, this first issue of “The Peabody Volunteer” serves as a link back to the earliest pieces of our story — a story begun in no small part by the members of the senior class this annual honors. Features dedicated solely to the 30 members of that senior class — including a detailed “Class History” and “Last Will & Testament,” a creative story predicting life in 20 years, and even a heartfelt “Class Poem” – make clear the affection the Class of 1920 felt for classmates and the school these students helped cultivate.

Check out more images from the 1920 “Volunteer” at usnarchives.omeka.net. Special thanks to Natalie Rittenberg ’21 for her help in the archives digitizing it this past spring. nn *The “Volunteer” magazine, published monthly from 1918-1951, functioned as part school news, part literary journal and earned high recognition annually in national high school magazine competitions.

2000 EDGEHILL

Make the Impossible Possible in One Sentence

Class of 1969

Remember University School of Nashville in Your Will What if all you had to do to ensure USN is successful for years to come is write a simple sentence?

Securing the future of USN, our students, and faculty is as simple as one sentence. By including a gift to USN in your will, you can support the school’s mission tomorrow without giving away your assets today.

If you are ready to include a gift to USN in your will, contact USN Development Director Anne Westfall at awestfall@usn.org or 615-277-7495, and also share the suggested sentence with your estate planning attorney: I give, devise, and bequeath to University School of Nashville, a not-for-profit corporation, ______ dollars ($______), or ______ percent ( _____%), or all of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to be held as an endowed fund and known as the (name of donor or other memorial) Fund, for the use and benefit of ____________ (purpose).

Including USN in your will is the most common planned gift at USN because it is: n Affordable. The actual giving of your gift occurs after your lifetime, so your current income is not affected. n Flexible. Until your will goes into effect, you are free to alter your plans or change your mind. n Versatile. You can give a specific item, a set amount of money, or a percentage of your estate. You can also make your gift contingent upon certain events.

How a Gift in Your Will Works Your estate planning attorney can help you structure a gift so your loved ones will be taken care of first after you’re gone. He or she will include this sentence in a new will, or add it to existing documents through an amendment called a codicil. A popular option is to leave a percentage of what is left of your estate after other beneficiaries have received their share. This way, your gift remains proportionate to the size of your estate, no matter how it fluctuates.

Disclaimer: The ideas presented here are suggestions and general in nature. This information is not intended as legal or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal and financial professionals about your particular circumstances.

usn.org Unive r Schoo sity l Na s h of ville

f @USN.PDS l @USN_PDS @USN_PDS

i University School of Nashville To keep up with PDS/USN news between biannual issues of 2000 Edgehill, follow us on social media.