Progress the Magazine for Alumni of The Winchendon School

THE WINCHENDON SCHOOL

Progress

CROSSROADS OR INFLECTION POINT? John Kerney, Executive Director Greetings from Winchendon - that is the Winchendon that is no longer just a campus in MA or NY - but The Winchendon School of May 2020 which exists daily in over 325 homes and offices across our country and around the world.

These could be trying times for a school like Winchendon.

• Boarding schools, colleges and universities around the globe are working to figure out what it will take to reopen residential communities this fall - and how we satisfy students and parents that our campuses are safe places.

• There is significant uncertainty about when and if international students and families, a critical part of the fabric in a community like ours, will be able to return.

• And when we do get the students back on campus, how will life be different? Will there be interscholastic sports or theater productions? International travel or weekends away from campus?

The array of challenges and unknowns can seem overwhelming on some days. For too many schools and colleges, this pandemic and the associated financial crisis will prove to be the last straw.

Other schools and universities will flounder through it chewing up precious resources.

MAY 2020

Inside This Issue 4 Alumni Profile: Ten Minutes with Gwen Posich Myers ‘74

5 In the Classroom: Teaching in the age of Coronavirus

8 Video Series

Celebrating Our Unsung Heroes

9 Campus News 12 Students Making An Impact 13 College Ambassador Program

14 The Lloyd Harvey Hatch

Center for Learning Strategies

15 Winchendon Partners with #GIVINGTUESDAYNOW

16 Class Notes

1

For us at Winchendon, this crisis marks an

• As mentioned above, we are grappling with

many. For many of them their teacher, coach, or

whether that student is on one of our campuses

inflection point, the opportunity to get even

the uncertainty when we will be able to bring

advisor is one of the most trusted people in their

or participating virtually.

better at serving the high-potential students

any students back to campus, and especially

young lives.

who need us most. Especially now, our motto,

those from further away than a car ride. That is

Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum, guides and powers

a huge part of our student body. We now have

Winchendon’s attitude. The entire team,

to plan that at different times during the coming

the faculty, the administration, the staff, the

year some, if not many or even all, students may

students, and their parents and guardians, are

have to be able to participate through our digital

heading forward with resolve, focus, resilience,

classrooms. It may prove very hard to do much on

innovation, and a good bit of humor.

campus before the availability of a vaccine.

The very essence of what has made a

• It will certainly be a while before a group

Winchendon education so valuable for many kids

of students can hop in a van and head off to

over much of the last century is even

a service project in Leominster, an athletic

more critical in this current crisis. Hundreds

tournament in Boston, or a performance on

of millions of students around the globe have

Broadway - all of which are part of the way that

had their education significantly disrupted if

we do our important work.

not turned upside down. They are frustrated,

• What do COVID-safe dorms, classrooms

worried, and anxious about how these times will

and dining rooms look like? We need to make

impact their high school career. Online learning

sure those students from Boston, Birmingham

isn’t working for way too many. And as fears

and Beijing can all be healthy together - in the

start to escalate that this could go on for another

classrooms and the dorms, on the playing field

semester or two, those students are getting pretty

and the stage, and eating in the dining hall or at

distraught. It isn’t just the students. There are a

Dunkin’ Donuts.

lot of hilarious memes out there as parents thrust

From this turbulence, a “new and improved”

transition in education coming and have been

Winchendon is already emerging - more

rapidly transforming Winchendon for several

accessible - more contemporary - more

years. The establishment of much more digital

“frictionless” - and built on exactly the same

and community-based learning, the intentional

principles that have made us so important to so

development of remote learning capacity and

many high school students and their families over

skills, and the opening our first satellite campus,

the last 90 years. Our guarantee to our students

all position Winchendon far better than many of

and their families doesn’t change at all. We will:

our peer schools.

• Know and support you better - your interests

As we now accelerate this transition, we are

and passions, your strengths and weaknesses,

guided by our steadfast commitment to provide

and your goals.

more students better access to Winchendon’s

• Provide you with a personalized learning

unique learning experience - at the time that more

experience in a collaborative and rigorous

students need it than ever before.

academic program.

• Deliver the best high school experience possible - making your learning more fun, more impactful, and less stressful.

• Make learning more interesting and meaningful, thereby making it easier for you to achieve much greater success.

Some things are going to be very different. We

• Work with you to develop better options for

are now 9 weeks into virtual classes. Students

college, university, and life after high school.

from less than a mile away and further than

• Ensure that you feel safe and supported so that

7000 miles away are coming together for highly

you can develop and flourish intellectually and

personalized Winchendon classes, conferences,

emotionally.

The personalization, connection and engagement

an athletic practice - and even to perform

What changes is that we are committing to do

that are at the core of our Winchendon education

Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” this past weekend.

this whether a student is on one of our campuses

are exactly what could make a difference in

There is a “coffee house” this weekend, and

or participating through a digital classroom.

getting those students back on track - to help

our student athletes are staying connected and

And what is Winchendon’s specific value

them salvage their high school careers and

are even doing conditioning and skills building

proposition in this new educational order?

achieve real learning success.

sessions virtually. Students study, laugh,

into homeschooling have discovered a whole new appreciation for teachers - especially those who provide the type of personalization that Winchendon students receive.

There is no doubt that Winchendon will be very different in certain ways in the Post-COVID times.

Fortunately, we had seen the need for this major

Yes, the coming year is going to feel quite different than it did when you were at Winchendon, whether that was 60 years ago or just a handful of years ago. Next week we will celebrate not one but two graduations - and they will be fun - but virtual. It is daunting, and, at times, scary. And we also have lots of questions and details to work out. But it is also exciting and thrilling - and it is a privilege and, yes, a challenge, to guide Winchendon through this turmoil and into our next golden era. Most importantly, your Winchendon will continue to have a transformative impact on more students - wherever and however they may have to access our education.

Please take care of yourselves, keep finding ways to move forward and have fun, and stay in touch

perform, and even cry together - and just the

Winchendon is the best college prep school for

opportunity to be together is very important to

students with significant unrealized potential -

2

for further updates.

3

IN THE CLASSROOM

ALUMNI

Ten Minutes with Gwen Posich Myers ‘74

Teaching in the Age of Coronavirus

Gwen sat down with us in April from her home in Hilton Head, South Carolina to talk to us over Zoom about her father and mother, life since TWS, and of the lasting impression of The Winchendon School and the School’s core values.

We asked longtime teacher Elliot Harvey and alumnus turned teacher, James Harrington ‘11 to share with us their thoughts on pivoting from an engaged classroom to a highly engaged virtual classroom.

This year, the School is celebrating the Posich family. See page 9 for details.

My phone chirps, reminding me that B period Mathenomics begins in ten minutes.

Q: Thinking of The Winchendon School, what are the words that immediately come to mind?

A: Winchendon was a great springboard to adulthood. To get to know different people from around the world and various States and learn about backgrounds and cultures was a true gift.

Q: What do you remember from your first day on campus?

A: My sister and I were two of three girls surrounded by boarding school boys. Very interesting and different! Also, I don’t remember female teachers at the time, it was challenging being the pioneer class of girls in an all-boys school.

Q: What are your fondest memories from The Winchendon School?

A: Probably my best memory is of watching the various sports in the fall. The weather was always crisp and the leaves vibrant. The teams played hard and sometimes even won!

Q: Where did you go after attending Winchendon?

A: After Winchendon, I attended University in Switzerland and earned an undergraduate degree and a Masters in Psychology. And I attended the Carl Jung Institute. I married a Swiss national, lived in Saudi Arabia for four years, and had our two children. Now I go back and forth from Charlotte and Hilton Head Island. I am enjoying life!

Q: Would you say The Winchendon School experience gave you values you carried with you after leaving?

Ten seconds later, my computer beeps, drawing

A: Yes! It’s amazing the values instilled in me from Winchendon. As I said, the diverse student body was fascinating. And we all learned to collaborate with very different fellow students, how to work with people who may think differently than you or have a different belief system, which isn’t often apparent in a school with all American children. Because Winchendon’s student body was so diverse, I learned about adapting and compromising with diversity. This enabled me to live and adapt to world cultures easier than some of my fellow Americans I met abroad. And I learned empathy towards societies that I would never have understood had I not lived there overseas or experienced it at the Winch.

my attention to a similar Google calendar pop-up on my screen. I pull down light-blocking shades, climb my stepladder, and hang a tarpaulin across the middle of my study, covering everything behind my desk with solid blue nylon. I pour a glass of water, brew a cup of coffee, and change into an un-blue shirt, because that would interfere with my virtual background. It’s a virtual Monday morning at The Winchendon School--four straight classes, followed by a two-hour “wellness break” and two more hours of individualized tutoring during “conference”.

Q: You mentioned several of the School’s core values. Do you think it’s important today for students to learn these values in high school?

A: I do believe the values Winch teaches its students are very valuable in today’s society.

Winchendon provides skills adapted to a student’s learning style which enables them to maneuver in life. Not to mention values such as respect for one another, value for others’ opinions and differences, and yet be an individual that’s able to defend one’s own beliefs. The quality of the teachers has always been top- notch and they are very dedicated to each individual student.

Yes, this sounds like a brochure, but it’s absolutely true! Nobody can deny the values Winchendon instills in its students.

4

Elliot Harvey

and demand quiz from last week.

In some ways, teaching is easier over the internet.

I can display any image or ask any student to draw “on the board” in seconds. I can point out where to find resources and let students show their work to the class. Many aspects of class haven’t really changed; classes engage in discussions and follow lectures just like before. For me, the biggest difference between “virtual classes” and teaching from room #8 in the Newbury Building is the lack of eye contact. After thirty

Today I am teaching from the jungle, wearing

years of teaching, I can sweep my eyes through

a Hawaiian shirt and completely incapable of

a classroom and diagnose who is “getting it” and

taming my unruly hair. There are no barbers

who is lost in a second. I can tell who is working

and there’s no way I’m cutting it myself, so I’m

from who is just coasting along pretending. In

thinking about possibly adding a safari hat to my

virtual classes, I’m really too busy writing on the

ensemble. At least there are no mosquitoes in

white board or annotating websites or text to

math class.

see their faces. I ask individual questions to get

It only takes three minutes for all ten students

feedback, but I’m often shocked by what I find

to arrive, tuning in from Japan, China, England,

when their faces pop up on the screen; some are

Florida, New York, and New England. Today

clearly splitting their time between my class and

I’m going over “the basics of life insurance” and

several other virtual activities, and it takes time

how to use the Social Security Administration’s

to drag their consciousness back into the virtual

actuarial tables. We are also going over a supply

classroom. In my “normal” class, I move around

5

IN THE CLASSROOM

IN THE CLASSROOM that teleconferencing can’t replicate. I miss the

serendipitously, we’re reading “The General in

dorm dinners with my East Wing floor, and I miss

His Labyrinth” (Gabriel Garcia Marquez ) in Latin

when I’m really struggling to attract and hold

coaching my lacrosse players. I miss awkward

American Literature. And the difficulty that the

their attention.

high fives with students I don’t yet know as

General has is this chaos. There’s been a war for

well as I would like. I’m going to miss giving

20 years and you’ve got all these civil wars, and

the seniors a congratulatory handshake after

nobody is sure when it’s going to end. It shouldn’t.

they have graduated and joined the ranks of

What does that sound like? Sounds like COVID-19.

and speak directly to students. I’m improving at this “virtual” attention game, but there are days

Teaching in the Age of Coronavirus

Which brings me to my two geometry classes, with six freshmen or sophomores in each class.

Before CoronaTimes, I struggled mightily to get

Winchendon Alumni.

these two classes to focus and to work. I tried

Joanna - The irony of this whole thing is we picked

to use jokes and fun and different activities, but

It has been hard, but there is amazing learning,

the plague to teach. We haven’t taught it in four

these often just distracted the students away from

Winchendon learning, still happening. I have

years. So as COVID-19 was breaking out all over

geometry. Now, in my virtual classes, I am using

watched as my colleagues have risen to the

the world, we were actually reading about how a

challenge, pouring their energy and hearts into

plague works. And they were so shocked. They

their classes. I have witnessed my students show

were like, “Oh, I could never do that. Or I could

a level of resilience that I didn’t know

never do that. I couldn’t be in my apartment for a

was possible for a teenager. Everything I have

month.” And it did prepare our students better for

seen has made me proud to be a member of

all the disappointments they’ve had, whether it’s

this community and sure that our students can

not being able to do their sports, not being with

overcome any challenge they face.

their friends, all this distancing and protection

two different on-line learning modules

James Harrington ‘11

(IXL and DeltaMath), so I can spend all my time

For many of us, the past few months have been

designing specific exercises and helping them in

new ground as we adapt to the challenges of

small groups. Because they are trying to get their

remote learning. We have had to figure out how

homework done “in class”, they are much more

to give the same quality of education to each of

focused on math than usual. I can put them in

our students despite the many miles that divide

small “breakout” rooms and move from group

us. How can you lead a meaningful discussion

to group or person to person giving them help.

without sitting around a table? How can you

Typically, the students “share” their screens, and I

encourage a student as they struggle through a

watch them work and annotate and guide them as

math problem set over the internet? How can you

needed. More than half of them are doing better

give that reassuring pat on the shoulder through

than they were in my regular classroom. This

a computer screen? We have had to learn how

also comes with a price - I have individualized

to show how much we care about our students

conference sessions with each of them twice per

without being with our students.

week, and I frequently use the “wellness break” as well as the conference time. However, because I don’t have Sunday night duty or weekend AOD

they have to do just being home all the time.

- James Harrington ‘11

Teaching in the Age of Coronavirus Then we turned the tables and asked James Harrington ‘11 and alumna turned teacher Allegra Harvey ‘12, to interview longtime teachers Ottar and Joanna Draugsvold. Excerpts from the interview are below, You can watch the entire interview on our website at winchendon.org/connect.

The excessive screen time, the reshaping of curriculum, and the logistical corralling of

duty, I have more time to climb Monadnock!

teenagers via email are all difficult aspects of

- Elliot Harvey

is simply missing my students. While we spend

James - What has been the biggest change that

remote learning, but the biggest challenge for me time over a Zoom call to cover our academic material, there are other aspects of Winch life that teleconferencing can’t replicate. I miss the

6

you’ve noticed in your classes since a switch to virtual teaching and how are you adapting to us?

Joanna - It feels like we’re beginning teachers again. And that is very humbling. I had a happy accident this week, where my Zoom went off in the middle of a class. And fortunately, only three

James - I found it, too, so serendipitous that this

minutes left of class. And they could still hear me

is the year we’re talking about resilience as our

but they couldn’t see me. And then the next class,

great theme, because this is the greatest challenge

they couldn’t see me or hear me. And so I had to

for these kids’ resilience, ever, ever. Can you talk

use the chat to write them directions. And I said,

a little bit about what you’re seeing with kids’

“You’re going to do a spider web seminar today.

resilience?

You’re going to put your questions up on chat.

Ottar - One of the things that it turns out

You’re going to go through them. I can see every

7

IN THE CLASSROOM

CAMPUS NEWS

one of you, I can hear everyone of you and I’m going to give you a grade. So you’re on your own.”

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Incentivizes and Enhances Giving to Charities

And that really broke the ice with each other, they really stepped up. After about three weeks, I said, “Look, you’re all sitting there as if you’re passive observers of a lecture in college, and I said, you’re going to get four years of that.” But, I said, “That’s not what we do here. So, you each need to speak every time or write in the chat.” I said, “If you’re shy, you can write your questions. I’ll speak them for you.”

Allegra - What has personally been your biggest struggles since the start of online learning?

Joanna - I teach juniors, seniors and PGs and the PGs I have are all highly motivated students. So they are still class leaders and they’re still setting the tone. And all of my seniors are still really plowing through. We’re doing “Henderson the Rain King” right now, by Saul Bellow. They’re pretty into it, they like it. And so for me, the biggest challenge is I’m used to standing all day or walking around my Socratic seminar table, not sitting at my computer!

James - I walk around the building just to get some fresh air and to move a little bit. Some kids are starting to do their lessons which I love.

VIDEO SERIES Celebrating Our Unsung Heroes The Winchendon School is finding and celebrating the unsung heroes of the Coronavirus right here in our greater community. From parents on the frontlines to students producing theater and the “Waipiti Weekly,” the School’s newspaper, virtually, each week Massachusetts and Brooklyn Heads of School Laurie Lambert and Sean Duncan bring you the good news from the Winchendon School community.

Videos can be found online on Facebook, the School’s website winchendon.org, and YouTube.

8

New Gifting Opportunity for Non-Itemizers Do you usually take the standard deduction on your tax return (you don’t itemize deductions on Schedule A)? If yes, then you can claim a brand new “above-the-line” deduction for any cash gift (check, credit card) of up to $300 that you give to The Winchendon School this year. Only contributions made during 2020 will qualify for this 100% deduction.

Relief from The Minimum Distribution Requirement Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs and other “defined contribution” retirement plans have been waived for 2020. If you are aged 72 or older, this gives you more flexibility in taking distributions. Given the extreme volatility of the markets during the COVID-19 crisis, this respite can give your retirement portfolio time to recover.

“Unlimited” Deduction for Cash Gifts for Itemizers If you do itemize, you may deduct up to 100% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) for your cash gifts given this year. Non-cash gifts (stocks, real estate, personal property, or business interests) are generally limited to 30% of AGI. However, they will not hinder this year’s “unlimited” deduction for cash gifts. If you have carry-forwards from non-cash contributions made in prior years, any cash gifts over your 2020 AGI limitations will be carried forward to 2021. For cash contributions by corporations, the deduction limitations have also been temporarily increased, from 10 percent of taxable income to 25 percent.

“Charitable IRA” Rules Remain Unchanged The minimum age for making a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from your IRA - often referenced as a “Charitable IRA Rollover” - is still 70½, and the annual limit is still $100,000. The QCD is available for 2020, even though RMDs have been suspended. Or you can take distributions from your IRA and make deductible gifts in 2020, with no AGI limitation.

The information presented is solely educational and is not intended as legal or financial advice. Please contact a qualified tax or financial advisor for advice regarding any of the scenarios contained herein.

9

CAMPUS NEWS STUDENT-CENTERED STUDENT CENTERS

Laurie Lambert, Head of School | Massachusetts

Early Years on the Winchendon Campus As W. Scott Bartlett ‘63 outlines in his history of The Winchendon School, “Robert Marr’s seasoned prep school experience provided the perfect combination of skill and energy to take the School into its permanent home. As the new Headmaster in Newport during the 1959-61 academic years, Marr maintained the Hatch tutorial model while introducing his own leadership brand.

Finding a new campus location emerged as an increasing focus for the new Headmaster.

His odyssey crisscrossed New England, serendipitously coming across our present 220acre campus - the former legendary Toy Town Tavern. Thanks to creative negotiating and a major donation in 1963 by an alumnus, the late Walter Buhl Ford, III ‘62, the School purchased the property and began its current 59 years of vibrant success at this location.

The opening of the freshly relocated and newly re-named The Winchendon School in the fall of 1961 seemed seamlessly managed. The seasoned leadership of Bob Marr enabled students to sense the great traditions of Wassookeag School (1926-1951) and Hatch-Newport (1951-1961)–while also experiencing the exuberance of a revitalized school and its own incomparable setting.”

Mr. and Mrs. Marr’s pivotal tenure (1959-1973), was followed by Headmaster Lewis Posich (19731982) and his wife Violetta M. Posich (she taught Italian and piano), who continually challenged the students and faculty to dare to move forward, to inspect the status quo, to refute old ways that simply did not meet their needs. As he said in the Headmaster’s Message in the 1975 yearbook – ‘Together, we move forward – Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum – NO STEPS BACKWARD

CAMPUS NEWS

– not inrapid unthinking change but in methodical and steady progress, within the mainstream of society.’

In an effort to memorialize the good values and strong leadership that both Mr. and Mrs. Marr instilled in the young men of the early 1960’s and helped set the tone for their lives, Paul Ferber ‘62 generously donated funds for a beautiful plaque to be hung in the Marr Building to ensure that the Marrs and his classmates are never forgotten. “I thoroughly enjoyed my fellow schoolmates – to especially include my roommate, the late Briggs Carroll ‘62.”

Celebrating the Centennial Now, we look forward to celebrating The Winchendon School’s 100th anniversary in 2026 with several exciting new building projects. By creating an upgraded series of “student-centered student centers” across the campus Winchendon will meet the diverse interests and evolving needs of our student community. As we are closing in on the fundraising goals for Funds4Fun, the Board of Trustees has approved moving forward with two of the projects this summer.

One of the projects involves renovating the Marr Building to be a larger, enhanced student center for informal gatherings, relaxing and fun. On both sides of Marr, new doors will open onto Centennial Terrace, with engraved pavers, and the terrace will be the central hub for students in the heart of campus. The focus of the area will be the Class of 1968 Commons, an outdoor fire pit and grill area for both casual and dorm/advisee gatherings. The area will have picnic tables and umbrellas for small student gatherings, spontaneous picnics, and dorm functions – and even classes on a beautiful day!

10

Three members of the Class of 1968, Bob Hodde, Harwood Hull , and Mike Pierson, who all live on Hilton Head Island, SC and see each other regularly, have led an impressive endeavor to contact every member of their class to encourage them to reconnect with Winchendon and invite their support for the naming of the Class of ‘68 Commons. As they said, “It has been lots of fun to reach out and connect with our 1968 classmates via phone, email and text and learn what they have been up to these past 52 years.

Many of them we have not seen or talked to since graduation in 1968. We have not been able to reach everyone, but we have been in contact with approximately 70% - and hope to reach everyone and at least say hello. Talking with our classmates and catching up is equally as rewarding as securing a donation for the project.

It is good to know that with the Class of 1968 Commons we are helping to provide a place for current and future Winchendon students to congregate and hang out during free time and on weekends!”

Harwood Hull ‘68

Bob Hodde ‘68

Mike Pierson ‘68

The second area, The Posich Center, will be a wonderful performing arts space for music - classes, groups, and individuals - a space that works well for group practices, spontaneous evening jams, recording sessions, and Friday night open mic gatherings. Improvements will include a lesson room, secure instrument storage, and mixing and recording equipment.

As Gwen Posich Myers ‘74 shared with us: “I attended Winchendon because my father was headmaster but it’s amazing how the values instilled in me from the teachers and coaches endure. The diverse student body was fascinating. We all learned to collaborate with very different school mates through thought patterns and beliefs - which isn’t often apparent in a school with all American children. It was the same with adapting and compromising with the diversity, enabling me to live and adapt in foreign countries so much easier than some of my fellow Americans I met abroad. And, last but not least, I matured and developed empathy towards societies that I would never have understood had I not lived on campus, or experienced at the Winch.”

Despite the complexity of our current circumstances, we remain focused on our exciting future. Yes, this is a unique time, but we know, as one, we will emerge as strong – or stronger – than we have ever been. We draw confidence from your steadfast commitment…and rest assured that we are giving all we have, each and every day, to fulfill our mission, serve our community, and position our students for lifelong success.

Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum – NO STEPS BACKWARD.

11

CAMPUS NEWS Students Making an Impact: A Service Learning Story Many of our students have stepped up to be teachers and tutors to help out parents and caregivers that are facing different challenges and inequities with schools being closed. We commend Nan’kware ‘21 for her empathy, selflessness, and hard work.

“Recently, my mother expressed to me how many women in her church have been struggling to help their children with homework because of their limited English skills and time as well. As she spoke to me about it, I told her that I would be willing to help any of the parents who need it whether it’s math, science, or even those who need somewhere to leave their kids while at work. My mother contacted them and two families expressed how they needed help. Both families are from Haiti while their children are first-generation there are obviously many differences that I myself am aware of as a firstgeneration American. I now am tutoring on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If anyone needs another day of help they are free to call me so that we can FaceTime or do a Zoom call.”

COLLEGE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM (CAP)

state and then national recognition as the Massachusetts honoree of The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. In what should be no surprise to anyone, Kylee’s story was picked up by the national media.

After an interview with People magazine, the story was picked up by CNN. You can watch it May 16th at 7PM on CNN.

The Winchendon School is excited to announce the formation of a new program to bolster our commitment to individualization and personal connection. The College Ambassador Program (CAP) will match young alumni with current Winchendon seniors that are contemplating their final college decision. Once a senior is accepted to a certain college or university and would like to get a better understanding of daily life on campus, we will connect them with a Winchendon alum that is currently attending classes or recently graduated from that college or university. College Counseling and the Alumni Office worked together to build this phenomenal resource to support our students. If you are interested in becoming an ambassador, please email Robert English renglish@winchendon.org.

We’re excited to see where her adventures take her after graduation on May 23rd.

Arizona State University Josh George ‘16

Fashion Institute of Technology Raye Parks ‘19

Quinnipiac University Liam Cunningham ‘18

Assumption College Nick Uchendu ‘14

Framingham State Katherine Stallons ‘15

Regis College Ariana Brown ‘16

Becker College Katie Puumala ‘19

Franklin Pierce University Katherine Potts ‘13, Keyshawn Kirkland ‘19, Stefanie Caban ‘19

Roger Williams University Ashley Greene ‘18

Our Students Do Remarkable Things: The Cast of “As You Like It” The Winchendon School’s production of “As You Like It,” recorded on Zoom in three different countries and as many time zones, premiered on YouTube. Directors Elizabeth Peterson and Claire Parker said they were incredibly proud of the resilience shown by the cast, who volunteered to continue working on the show even when we couldn’t come back to campus.

We applaud the faculty and students who found ways to adapt and work collaboratively using today’s technology!

Bishops University Arianne Charette ‘17 Boston College Sophie Frushell ‘17 Boston University Isabelle Frenette ‘19, Mitch Liu ‘19 Castleton University Alina Stevens ‘17, Sophia Vingi ‘16 Cazenovia College Katherine Potts ‘13 City University of New York - Brooklyn Nafisa Basir P’20 Clark University Rebecca Levine ‘19

Saturday, May 16 at 7:00 PM on CNN, meet The Winchendon School senior, Kylee McCumber

Colby College Howell Eglin ‘19 Connecticut College Alle Adams ‘19

In Massachusetts Head of School, Laurie Lambert’s latest video chat, she discussed how the School’s weekly newspaper, “Wapiti Weekly” hasn’t missed a beat since the School went online. The reason for that is the dedication of the student staff and faculty. Kylee ‘20 is one of the student editors. Kylee was also recognized earlier this year by WCVB in Boston as an A+ Student for her work with her non-profit Kylee’s Kare Kits for Kidz. That work earned her

Curry College Freddy Drewes ‘19 Dean College Katherine Stallons ‘15 Emmanuel College Emma Frushell ‘16

12

George Washington University Josh Krentzman ‘17 Hamilton College Philip Bernstein ‘19 High Point University Cam Cullen ‘18 International University of Puerto Rico Khalyl Lopez Morales ‘19 Juanita University Alice Urvanova ‘16 Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Miller Ouellette ‘16 Maynooth University John Myers ‘19 Merrimack University James Corcoron ‘18 Middlebury College Bair Lambert ‘17 Northeastern University Lauren Kelly ‘14

Saint Anslem College Hunter Newsham ‘18 Salem State University Meghan Black ‘14 St. Mary’s College Catherine Niles ‘16 Stanford University Bryan Perla ‘17 Suffolk University Joe Vingi ‘16 Trinity College Abigail Lambert ‘19 University of Arkansas Mason Schnieders ‘17 University of Dayton Nate Espelin ‘19 University of New England Jessica Tolzman ‘17 University of Vermont Kiley Robles ‘19

Quest University Alice Urvanova ‘16

13

Winchendon Partners with #GIVINGTUESDAYNOW

The Lloyd Harvey Hatch Center for Learning Strategies Our commitment to support students with different learning styles, challenges and profiles has been the cornerstone of the School since its founding by Lloyd Harvey Hatch nearly 100 years ago. The training, mentoring, advocacy and support provided to them through the Hatch Center programs propel them to become confident, independent learners, and empower them through their years at Winchendon, college and beyond. Developing confidence and self-esteem are integral to their success.

DON’T LET COVID 19 DISRUPT YOUR CHILD’S HIGH SCHOOL SUCCESS

Our Philosophy Remains The Same The programs offered through the Hatch Center provide an individually designed path for students to achieve independent academic success. A common goal for all students in these programs is to transition out of the program over their time at the School as they become confident, independent, self-directed learners.

Learn more at winchendon.org

Learn more online. winchendon.org/ summer-sessions-online

Coming Soon: Website Updates We’re working to provide an easier to navigate website for our prospective families and still provide our alumni a “one-stop-shopping” experience with everything you need to connect with The Winchendon School.

Look for it soon. winchendon.org/connect

Help your child catch up, move ahead, or follow their curiosity and explore something new. Introducing Advantage and Boost Virtual Classes and Summer Design ColLABs for Summer 2020 Introducing High Contact Virtual Learning. Don’t let this current pandemic and financial crisis disrupt your child’s high school education - your child can come out on top, and have a good time being successful in the classes they don’t necessarily like or in pursuing an independent project or job - for credit!

The Winchendon School shares the belief that generosity has the power to unite and heal communities in good times and bad. A global threat like COVID-19 touches every person on the planet, and it presents an opportunity to come together as a global community.

Winchendon is partnering with #GivingTuesdayNow to raise awareness about the amazing work our students and teachers are doing on the virtual platform, in and out of the classroom. In addition to their core academics, our students are continuing their work with Service Learning. In their own home communities, they are tackling and transforming global issues through the lens of youth activism as well as continuing to work remotely with local Winchendon nonprofits. Additionally, we also want to ensure that our students are supported if their family circumstances have changed for the 2020-21 school year.

Please visit our Support Winchendon Students site and see how you can help. The site will be live through 6 pm ET on Friday, May 22.

Thank you!

CLASS NOTES Part of the Funds4Fun project is the creation of a beautiful patio and walkway that will help tell the story of those who have gone before and paves the way for others to join the community. You have the opportunity to buy an engraved paver and help build the future at The Winchendon School. Please visit the website today! winchendon.org/paver-purchase/

14

Progress is published online six times a year and emailed to alumni, current and alumni parents, current and former faculty and staff, and friends of the School. Our goal is to inform readers about Winchendon; to tell stories and celebrate the achievements of alumni, students, faculty and staff, share strategic thinking from the administration and Board of Trustees, and provide a forum for alumni and former faculty through class notes. We are fortunate that Mr. Elliot Harvey, a 29-year veteran science and math teacher, mentor, coach, advocate, photographer, and friend is helping the alumni office reach out. You can send him your story at mrharvey@winchendon.org or email us at alumni@winchendon.org. We’d love to hear from you!

15

CLASS NOTES The Ferber Company, a privately held real estate development and investment company headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, has joined forces with restaurants to serve meals to frontline medical staff, public service workers and families in need across the state of Florida. The company has already partnered with several of the restaurant tenants to deliver over 1,000 meals all over the state. As many companies are coming together to do what they can during the COVID-19 crisis, Paul Ferber ‘62 landed upon a unique giving strategy for everyone involved. Ferber donations will be spent purchasing food from tenant restaurants, allowing them to prepare and deliver meals to area hospitals as well as local police and fire departments. The Ferber Company, in business since 1907, has seen many nationwide struggles over the expanse of their 100+ years in business. Ferber, Chairman of The Ferber Company and 3rd generation to lead the family-owned commercial real estate business, says he is confident the industry will eventually bounce back. “Our company has survived through World War I and II, the Spanish Flu pandemic, several market crashes and the tragedy of September 11th. We’ve made it through these dire circumstances, and we will rebound from this as well.”

Bruce Henderson ‘63 shared: “Not graduating from college after five years but avoiding Viet Nam, which was my goal, I followed my dreams and headed to NYC to get back into the music business. Produced a couple rock shows in Madison Square Garden with Janis Joplin and

The Moody Blues. Was recruited by Agency for the Performing Arts to be an agent for Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds and several other artists that kept me on the road a bit. Left to open Sign of the Elephant, a live music club in Woodstock, NY where I had a home. Discovered a band in Buffalo and got them a record deal before moving back to the city to join the Jimi Hendrix organization after Jimi’s death and help with re-organization. My offices were at Electric Lady Studios which lead to an association with GLS Productions in LA and their clients: Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Elton John, Rod Stewart and Queen. Then I got married, developed a music fundraising component for Year of the Child a division of Volunteers in Service to America, and on the birth of a little boy decided it was time to leave ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll’ behind. We moved to NC where I messed around in real estate sales for several years. Produced a few fundraisers for Hospice before landing a job as a Marketing Director for a shopping center in Wilmington, NC where I have been. Retired this past December.

I never made a lot of money in the music business because the artists I worked for in most cases weren’t signed to me; but I have had a lot of fun and being surrounded by the best of the best in music is a rush that is hard to describe. Life turned out pretty well. Can’t say the same for retirement…”

John Walker ‘66 shared: “What a wonderful experience I had going to Winch. No one really has a true appreciation for life during the learning stages. What I have come to find, I’m only 72 and still learn every day! It is comforting

CLASS NOTES

to know the current TWS faculty and leadership often discuss being life-long learners. The class of ’66 was very athletic and won several championships while we studied hard and helped each other grow up. Most of us had parents who we didn’t see very often, so ‘we’ became great to us. Robert Marr and his wonderful wife were our backbones. What a great team they made! My classmates of ‘66 were special, Jack Jesser, a great football, and lacrosse sportsman, a great guy; John Francis, positive enlightenment for many; Roger Merriman, always there for us.

I could go on. The Marine Corps and Army helped me discipline my way of thinking, but, my will to be the BEST excelled my position in the world. I’m very private in terms of online communication, but will always help everyone I can. It’s about doing what is right regardless of who sees it. MAKE A DIFFERENCE!”

Gwen Posich Myers ‘74 - Gwen divides her time between Hilton Head, SC and Charlotte, NC. See the interview with her on page 4 of this Progress.

Gil Pontius ‘70 is the President of Lakeshore Foods Corp in Michigan City, IN.

Judith Gibbons Sugg ‘78 is living in Norman, OK. She is a retired Mom of three, and has been married for 30 years. She has two daughters: Abigale (27) is a Sargent in the Army; Jacquelene (31) lives in IN; and one son Gordon (30).

Hailing from Conklin, NY Peter Graham ‘72 is a photographer and computer designer for GnG Artisans and a volunteer fireman for the Conklin, NY Fire Department.

Peter Harper ‘76 works as a Career Counselor II for Serco in Watervliet, NY. He assists US Army, National Guard and Reserve, and other military personnel to transition from active duty to civilian life.

After graduating from Winchendon, he received his BS in Psychology and Masters in Education in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from Springfield College.

Donna Lussier Lyne ‘78 - Donna lives in Kissimmee, FL and “during normal circumstances” works in marketing. She shared that she spends her free time in New Orleans, hitting up the blues clubs for good music and dancing. She is “totally enjoying life!”

Jay Orchard ‘ 82 checked in from St. Louis, MO and let us know that he is doing well staying very busy with his family’s interests supporting research for ALS, Parkinsons and brain injuries.

Peter Graham ‘72 & his wife AnnMarie Conklin, NY Volunteer Fire Department

16

After Winchendon, Jim Marrs ‘82 graduated with art degrees, focusing on photography and pastels, an Associates in General Studies, a BFA in Photography from Mitchell College, and

graduated from the Art School at the University of Hartford in CT. He is now an experienced sales executive for Jos. A. Bank., a retailer of men’s clothing and accessories, in West Hartford, CT where he lives with his wife Elizabeth. Jim’s photography was recently featured in a show at the West Hartford Center.

Larry Fein ‘83 is a nurse at the Albertina Kerr Centers in Portland, OR and wants everyone to stay safe! He has two teenagers, a 14 year old boy and a 16 year old girl. He’s been an RN for 29 years specializing in Intellectual & Physically Disabled long-term care.

His hobbies include long distance bicycling and disc golf.

In early March 2020 just as we all had to be considerate of travel restrictions, a small group of alums from the 80’s traveled to Boston to share updates, tell stories, and look through yearbooks. The group included Dan Logcher ‘87 from Woburn, MA, Scott Reilly ‘89 and his wife Lori from Lebanon, PA, and Scott Jakubik ‘88 and his wife Amy from Palm Harbor, FL. They all hope a larger group can gather together soon - either on or off campus!

From Left: Scott Jakubik ‘88, Dan Logcher ‘87, Scott Reilly ‘89

Serge Vassil ‘87 lives in Germany and is working in real estate.

Larry Fein ‘83

William “Tad” Green ‘84 has been a member of the Avon, CT Volunteer Fire Department since 2000.

William “Tad” Green ‘84 (Standing behind flag)

Jana Phillips ‘88 shared: ‘I am a cat wrangler, flower growing, conceptual furniture designer and innovator. My website is bohmod. com and I live in Hawaii.”

Photo by: Jana Phillips ‘88

17

CLASS NOTES Robert Sour ‘89 is a member of the Bedford, NY Fire Department.

Robert Sour ‘89

Tom Coyne ‘89 wrote in: “I’m weathering the virus and staying put. I have settled down in South Portland, ME and am enjoying semi-retirement from behavioral health. I am, however, crushed that the NBA got cancelled. But life is good.”

has worked at during his coaching career including Kent State, Iona, State College of Florida/Bradenton, Monroe College, College of Eastern Utah and City College of New York.

Through the years he has earned a great reputation as a hard-working recruiter, having passion and energy on the court, and has played a key role in skill development.

After graduating from Winchendon, Brock played collegiately at Rhode Island before transferring to Assumption, graduating in 1998 with a degree in business communications. He said that the “Then Head Coach Scott Spinelli and the entire Winchendon family truly changed my life!!!”

Alberto Swett-Mata ‘90 is a Principal Software Engineer at Microsoft. He works in the Office division working Office applications, used by hundreds of millions of Office users. He says “it is truly rewarding to be able to reach and impact so many people.”

Alberto and his wife Carolyn live in Redmond, WA. Marcie Karlins ‘90 works for the CT State Police in an administrative capacity and is deemed essential for the virus.

Peter Anthony ‘90 lives in ND and works in the oil fields.

Brock Erickson ‘94 recently shared with us that he is the new Assistant Coach for Men’s Basketball at the University of Illinois/Chicago. For the past two seasons he worked at Bryant University as the associate head coach. He has played an integral role in program building and winning at each school he

Brock Erickson ‘94

Nathan Smith ‘94 played Division I collegiate ball at American University and was a four year starter. Nate also competed in the ESPN televised National Three Point shootout at the NCAA Final Four in 1998. He was a GTE Academic All American and Rhodes Scholar finalist from the state of WV, and a finalist for the Naismith Award at the Basketball Hall of Fame. At American Nate scored 1500 points in four years while netting 293 three pointers.

His professional career began

CLASS NOTES

with the DC Congressionals of the USBL, followed by one season for AZS Lublin in the Poland First Division. He spent two seasons at Landstede Basketball Zwolle, Holland where he holds numerous records for three pointers made in one game and in a season (11 and 146 respectively). He was one of the top shooters in the United States and in Europe. For the past 12 years, Nate has been working with area athletes of all ages, including the WVU Mountaineers to help them improve their skills. Several of the athletes he has worked with have gone on to play at the collegiate and professional level. For more information on Nate and the Nate Smith Basketball School’s private and group instruction as well as upcoming events please visit www. natesmithbasketball.com After he graduated from Winchendon, Scott Caron ‘94 started his machining career working on military and nuclear work, learning CNC controllers and G-code. On the weekends he would plaster for a Plastering Company for extra money. Eventually he started his own plastering company called Scotty’s Skim Coat Plastering. He ran that business for four years, but then closed it to get back into machining with more advanced machining and programming. Now he lives in Ashburnham, MA on Sunset Lake with his beautiful family of four and a large house with a machine shop of his own. Scott has a huge passion for machining, building, designing small inventions, and working on projects. He now works for Greenleaf Corporation as a Sales and Service Engineer. He works from home and travels through

18

New England working with shops in aerospace machining on all kinds of exotic metals and alloys.

Scott enjoys his off road activities.

He has an innumerable machines and equipment and participates in all kinds of events and activities: Endura Racing, Motocross, Side

by Side, and Boating. Scott stays in touch with Jamison Sommers ’92 as they share a passion of sport cars and racing. Scott wrote: “Winchendon was a huge learning curve for me. I learned that strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t. I carry that strength inside me every day now.”

Andreas Lukoscheck ‘96 shared with us: “After graduating from Winchendon, I studied International Management & International Relations in Germany, Switzerland, Costa Rica and in the States. During my college studies, I interned at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and other consulting and financial companies.

My first job after college graduation was at Monster.com in Germany; later I worked for different newspapers as the Head of Online Sales & Crossmedia. One day I decided to become a photographer - this was kind of a shock for my family and friends because I was giving up a good career for my age, but I felt that something was missing. I had the desire to be creative and at the same time I wanted to build up my own enterprise. The first few years were pretty tough as a photographer but I found my niche. As I had worked before in a b2b environment and in media, I knew the business language and habits and I knew

what companies were looking for. So, I went into commercial advertisement and corporate photography. Three years ago, I had the idea to combine my skills and knowledge bringing together photography, online media and companies. I started officedropin. com, a place where you find the best startups, tech, IT and cool companies. Officedropin is used by companies as an employer branding tool....at this point, I can prove that the magazine is running well, and I am looking now for venture capital or an investment partner. These days, becoming an artist who makes enough money to have a good life requires more than just being creative - it is also very important to have very good managerial, sales, and marketing skills. I live with my wife in Germany and in Denmark.

Last year, we bought a house, which we are renovating, to have enough space for the next generation of Lukoscheks. Memories from the Winch? I remember team spirit and open arms. From the first week on, students, faculty and staff, were very open and nice to each other.

This helped me quickly become a member of the Winchendon community. Being the captain of the Cross Country Running Team and the Ski Team was an honor for me and I am still impressed how team members where motivating each other to achieve better results.

Also fresh in my mind are the educational lectures delivered by teachers, who really cared; teachers who liked their jobs and who put a lot of effort and patience in their work - during class, at study hall or even during their spare time. I think you can have a great time at Winchendon, but you have to be active, you have to follow the rules

- study hard, be nice and support each other - and you will earn more space, freedom, and respect.

After Winchendon Jeremy Tarrant ‘96 spent nine ½ years in the United States Marine Corps. After plying his skills in both the public and private sector, including a five-year stint in Law Enforcement, Jeremy obtained a degree in Anthropology and currently works for a military contractor in training support.

He also divides his time writing esoteric pieces about the role of evolution in geopolitics, taking care of his children, and studying neurobiology from an evolutionary perspective. https://linkyou.blog/ author/servicesix/ Garvin McHale ‘97 shared with us, “As a Boston Police Officer (one of six family members currently working for the department and a 3rd generation officer) and being married to an ER nurse (Garvin married Samantha Laudano in May 2019), things have been a little crazy during the past few months! Despite how crazy things have been, I wouldn’t change a thing about what I chose to do for a profession or the woman I was blessed enough to marry, or her profession. We have also been blessed enough to buy my childhood home from my parents (who moved all the way next door) and are living happily in Dorchester, MA. The only thing we can do at a time like this is take the proper precautions and hope for the best. There are a few other Winch alums who are serving as members of the Boston Police Department: Detective Charlie Daniels ’97, K9 Officer Sean Pero ‘01, and Officer Kevin Golden ‘99. As of

19

CLASS NOTES now we are all healthy and hoping to stay that way. There are a few classmates that I keep in touch with in person and via Facebook: Ryan Kiley ‘97 (thanks to me getting him the puck all the time - he played at Merrimack College after Winchendon.) It’s also nice to get an occasional text message or email from Rachel Goldman ‘98, who owns her own catering business.

I have also had the pleasure of speaking to former teachers like Coach Michael Byrnes and Coach Dan Driscoll. Below is the photo I took with coach Driscoll at a Bruins game I was working and bumped into him. Yes, the young guy with zero gray hair is older than I am, the gray haired guy in uniform.”

Garvin McHale ‘97 and his Winch Hockey coach Dan Driscoll.

After graduating from EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University, Jennings Stambaugh ‘98 started working with Lockheed Martin (now Leidos). Today he works in flight management for Leidos in VA. Patricia Squitiero ‘98 shared with us that she “struggled with math and science in public school.”

After attending Winchendon, and under the guidance of her teachers/ mentors: Elliot Harvey, Dan Shattuck, and Bill and

CLASS NOTES

Bonnie LaBelle, she excelled in her academics and went on to college. Patricia has co-authored in a scientific research journal, Bone Journal, and was mentioned in the Baltimore Sun for contributing to a research project for contaminated water. She is currently working as a regulatory subject matter expert and implementation specialist for iMedRIS Data Corporation using a cloud-based software that optimizes research administration and facilitates documentation of research studies including Coronavirus/ COVID-19. Patricia earned a BS in Biology at the University of MassachusettsAmherst, has conducted Master’s Studies at Bay Path University, one in applied science and lab operations and one in forensic science and technology. She lives in Silicon Valley, CA.

Winchendon I packed my bags and went on to tour with “Lord of The Dance” for a couple of years. I then obtained a BA in Communications from Boston College. After moving to CA for a year and then Ireland for a year, I came back to Boston and got married to my husband Mark in 2008. At that time, I also opened my own competitive Irish dance school for seven years. With a heavy heart I closed my dance school when my son was a year and a half. Now I am at home with my two children, Luke (5) and River (2). I manage our rental properties and also adjudicate Irish Dance Competitions but most of my time is spent with my family. I keep in touch with Kate Watson Martin ‘00. When she is back in MA from CO, we try and arrange to meet and our children enjoy playing together too!”

Rachel Goldman ‘98 is the Owner and Executive Chef of D’Lish Intimate Catering (https://www. dlishintimatecatering.com/) and shares her passion for why she started the business: “I am infatuated with fresh whole food, have fallen in love with cooking, and I feel pure joy when I watch family, friends, clients and their friends enjoy the meals I prepare.

My love for food grows with each meal and each experience I take on.

I truly enjoy meeting local farmers and visiting local family-owned shops. It is this curiosity that has led me to discover the finest butchers, cheese shops and produce purveyors.”

Sharif Kellogg ’99 shared with us: After I graduated from The Winch I moved down to MD ending up in Baltimore where I got married and started a family. I also found my calling as police officer serving in the Baltimore Police Department. I have a passion for playing music. In fact, since 2000 I have made time playing keyboards and bass with the same band. Playing music and spending time with my family helps keep me sane. With all the time I spend in the city, I find that the experiences I miss the most from The Winch are tied to the land: the expansive forests and trails to explore, the sky so clear you could see the Milky Way at night, the vibrant fiery colors of the leaves as they turned in the fall, and the serenity of fresh snow on the golf course overlooking Whitney Pond.

However, some of the fondest

Attracta Quinn ‘99 shared with us: “A lot has happened since graduating “The Winch” 21 years ago! Right after leaving

20

memories I have came from when Mr. Harvey introduced me to Blitz Chess. With all of the friends and teachers who played, I’ve never been able to immerse myself into the game like I did at The Winch. I think that while I was there, I didn’t fully appreciate what I had. Now, I’m glad I have those experiences to look back on.”

TK Kim ‘99 shared from Korea: I went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an engineering college upstate NY and majored in computer science. For the last 10 years I have been working in IT as an engineer. I started working as a network engineer at FM Global in RI, but then I became homesick, since most of my close friends went back to Korea and I became tired of living in the USA just with a visa.

At that time, I already had two kids, and decided to go back to Korea. I currently work as a system engineer for Cisco. I do pre-sales as an engineer, selling Cisco products and solutions. My family’s well-being is my first priority; my passion is to continuously grow my career and to support and take care of my kids and wife. I am in touch with many friends from Winchendon; I regularly meet Jongsun “Danny” Woo ‘99 and we have fun. Mari Osani ‘97 visited Korea and when I was on business trips to Japan a few times, she always welcomed me. American boarding school life is very unique for Korean students.

Stressful competition to get into a fine college makes high school life in Korea miserable, so they are pretty much stuck with only academics. I was fortunate to have had a varied experience with trips, varsity sports, and sharing many international cultures and friends.

We had so much fun at “Friend’s Garden” and I miss the weekly Searstown Mall trip, Chopsticks Restaurant and Boston Trips, hanging around in the gym, spring afternoons on the weekend when I finished all of my homework and had to do nothing but lie on my bed listening to music. When I was younger, when someone asked me, “What did you like most in studying overseas?” I used to answer—good English language, international perspective, and so on. But now if someone asks, I say “global friends”; whenever I travel for vacation or business, I have someone to contact and meet, and this is an amazing thing.”

Alan DeBenedittis ’00 studied golf course management and marketing at New Mexico State. He wrote:“In 2009 I lived in Beijing for two years and Kunming for one, during which I taught golf. For the last eight years I’ve been living in Thailand playing golf semi-professionally but mostly caddying all around the world. My passion is being beside world class professional golfers helping them make the right decision in every single shot they hit. I keep in touch with Kate Watson Martin ‘00 from time to time. I miss the Saturday’s and Sunday’s when Vinny Rushioni and I would play 36 holes on Saturday and try for another 36 on Sunday!”

Ludmil Hadjisotirov ‘00 “Udo” wrote in: “I am currently living in Bulgaria. After college I played 6 years of professional basketball in Bulgaria, Greece and Switzerland, as well as for the Bulgarian Senior Men’s National Team. In 2010 I had to stop for medical reasons.

Since then I have been a head

coach: Long-time champions Lukoil (where we had several NBA players including Bruno Sundov ‘99 for two years); and now at one of the best pro clubs in Bulagria - Rilski Sportist. I was head coach of the U16, U18 and U20 Bulgarian National Teams as we played European championships.

Now I live in Sofia with my wife.

Winchendon was a useful and good experience for me and I miss some things: great friendships; it was like a brotherhood. Playing basketball there was great with the coaching staff and all the talent.

The education was also good as it prepared me well for University and made my adaptation to the US life and systems easier and smoother.”

Mark Ferisin ‘00 recently wrote in: “So what I miss about the Winch… so much. From snowboarding on Mount Wachusett with Kate, playing tennis until it got too dark to see the ball with Kate, Vito and Ginga, to enjoying all the time I had to read Ayn Rand and discuss with my study hall dorm parent (Mr. Harvey!). I keep in touch with Kate and getting our families together on the Cape is highlight of every summer. I have a new baby - Olivia is six months old and very smiley.

My older daughter, Samantha, is a first year at University of Delaware.

I am a VP of my Toastmasters club, competing speech contests. I’ve come to enjoy public speaking as well as the leadership of running a club and developing new speakers.

At home, my wife Carolyn and I love to go for walks along the Old Croton Aqueduct with our dog Reggae who is a brown colored Potcake dog from the Cayman Islands. We live in Tarrytown, NY in a Cape house that we have

21

CLASS NOTES been fixing up for the past three years. I am a licensed Engineer and I actually designed the deck that my carpenter and I are building!

Currently, I’m working as a Civil Structural Engineer at the New York Power Authority. My specialty is design and construction of highvoltage transmission lines. We are building the infrastructure that will help NY get to its ambitious renewable energy goal. Somehow, I have found time to get half-way through my Master’s degree in Transmission and Distribution Engineering at Gonzaga University but that’s been on hold since the baby came!

Anna Speer Stamos ‘01 checked in from FL: “I have two kids-- a son (8) and a daughter (6). I have been living here in Florida for six years now and am a CNA. I love to go fishing and being at the beach. Being close to the water is my calming. I don’t really stay in contact with anyone from Winchendon, but miss it dearly.

What I miss most is my old friends and being in the snow.”

Ivana Sundov ‘01 shared with us: “After finishing the Respiratory Therapy program at Indiana University, I moved to NYC where I worked in a hospital as an RT for a year. Then, I spent some time in my hometown in Croatia working in a nursing home. For last 12 years I have lived in small town west of the capital Zagreb, near the Slovenian border. and work for a large corporation that manufactures equipment for sleep disordered breathing and home respiratory care. I support 18 different countries in Central and Eastern Europe as the Clinical

Manager for Respiratory Care. My focus area is clinical education in the field of home mechanical ventilation of lungs. I miss the lake in Winchendon, nature in Ingleside and what town looks like in spring.

Most off all I miss the entire Harvey family and Mr. Shattuck.

My favorite memory from Winch is when 4-year old Allegra Harvey was teaching me how to pronounce the word ‘vegetable’. It’s a miracle that now I am confident enough to teach others in English almost every day. Thank you, Allegra, my youngest teacher ever :). P.S. There was a misunderstanding about my name on the first day we met, so girls called me Iguana all the time.”

Maneenat “Jan” Tavisaengsiri ‘01 wrote in: “I am working for my family‘s business in Bangkok, Thailand. Looking back at my experiences in Winchendon, I feel as if the time has flown by quickly.

Thinking of Winchendon reminded me of how I got here, what I learned, and what experiences were meaningful to me, and at the time, I didn’t realize it as such. I can’t say that I loved everything about my Winch days; I probably hold Winchendon in a higher regard than I did when I actually WAS there. Essentially, there are things I will never forget about Winchendon. I won’t remember it as “the best time of my life”, but nonetheless, a good period to think about and always make me smile. What I cherish the most are the friendships which have grown stronger even after we graduated.

I am quite lucky that I get to travel often and hardly miss any chance try to reach out to those friends from Winchendon who are all over the world. I also have the

CLASS NOTES

pleasure of hosting some friends as they visit Thailand. This gives me great joy. Besides the lasting friendships, I also remember my interactions with faculty, extracurricular activities, and plenty of fun moments in and out of the classroom. The most important lessons in my life are: 1) To stay in the present, and 2) Happiness is a choice; it’s your decision to choose to feel happy. Happiness is not defined by an external event but rather an internal attitude. I don’t know where I am going to live in a year, who I am going to meet, or what I will be doing; but do you know what I do know? I know that I will make every moment count and that I will live it to its fullest.

And so, I am leaving you with these messages: “Try! Take A Risk! Be You! Live Your Life! Make Mistakes!

Get It Wrong To Get It Right!”

Easton, MA with her husband and their two little girls (8 and 5)., She is a stay at home mom and also sells children’s clothes. She says, “What I miss most about Winch is that my biggest fear was finding out if all my teachers would sign my weekend slip! I also miss the community of kids and teachers, and knowing everyone and everyone knowing everything!! I guess I just miss the more simpler times!!”

Matthew Mierzwinski ’01 passed away on March 1, 2019 in Lexington, KY. After graduating from Quinnipiac University, he lived in the Los Angeles area for 14 years and was a medical IT consultant working at hospital groups. Matthew was a loving son of Robert and Anita Mierzwinski of Norton, MA. Survived by brother Christian, his wife Heather, twin sister Megan, and her husband John Feteira; he will be forever missed.

Matthew also leaves his long-time partner Lulu Zatikyan, and beloved fur-baby “Nixon”. He enjoyed spending time with his family, and will be remembered for his sense of humor, love of music, and devotion to the Red Sox and Cleveland Browns.

David Pomeroy ’04 lives with his wife and two boys (6, 11 months) in Santa Clara, CA. He is a Frustration Eliminator at Google, focusing on portfolio management tools and helping Google managers invest in the right priorities. His older son recently started as a Cub Scout and, before the quarantine, they were just getting ready for a great season of hiking and camping. They love being outdoors and frequently go on family bike rides. David shared, “Some things I miss about Winchendon are the beautiful fall colors, Mountain Day, and making maple syrup in Mr. Shattuck’s class.

My son often asks me why I like the real maple syrup on my pancakes and I always tell him that it’s one of those small luxuries that reminds me of New England.”

Dana Green Cohne ‘02 lives in

22

For the past five years Nelson Pickering ‘02 has been working as a fuel oil and distillate trader for a firm headquartered in Tallinn Estonia, Arte Bunkering LLC. For the previous five years he worked for a chemical tanker owner in Norwalk, CT, previously living in ME and FL. He just bought a house in Stratford, CT.

David Pomeroy ‘04 - and his family

Megan M Kuszewski SMSgt USAF AFRC ‘04 currently lives in Annapolis, MD working at Joint Base Andrews. She is a SMSgt (E-8) and holds the position of the Aircrew Flight Equipment Superintendent. She oversees the inspection, maintenance and Quality Assurance of aircrew lifesaving equipment (parachutes, life rafts, oxygen masks etc.) in the event of an in-flight emergency.

This also includes training aircrew in combat and water survival skills.

Megan loves leading and training young airmen. Outside of work, she enjoys the outdoors: hiking, kayaking, or cycling through the backcountry roads. Her 0400 workouts keeps her motivated to make the most of the day ahead.

She shared: “What I miss the most about the Winch is the faculty.

Many have made an impact on my life and it has been my goal to pay it forward. Ms. LaRocque/Layton was one of those teachers that always rooted for me, had faith in me, mentored me, and it has been a goal to prove to myself what she already knew. She and I touch base a couple times a year, even after 20 years!”

Minji Kang ‘04 sends greetings from Seoul! “Since my graduation in 2004, the journey has been very interesting. At my art schools — Savannah College of Art and Design and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I enjoyed learning about cinematic art, aesthetics, and experimental film art. This solid training taught me how to trust my own instinct and voice. At Columbia University where I spent five years of styling film directing, I spent much of my time reading and writing screenplays and directing narrative films. I have encountered many talented filmmakers and collaborators. The feature film I’m currently developing was first written during my time at Columbia. My creative producer is also a Columbia classmate. Since the first inception of the story, it has been seven years but it is still the top priority in my life. This USKorea co-production film is titled ILLICIT and it is a Psychological Thriller set in Los Angeles; now in the Casting and Financing stage. Last year, it was selected for the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival ‘It Project’ Market and Busan Link of CineAsia Project market, led by Busan Film Commission. Director Mike Figgis is godfathering the project and recently a notable Korean producer came on board. My film project has been selected for Bifan/ Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival’s official entry for Cannes Fantastic 7 forum which will be online this June! In Korea, I occasionally meet up with Angela (Hea-won) Baek ‘04. She is fun to be around and I appreciate our friendship. I still play the violin, enjoying playing Bach Partitas and Sonatas — very meditative.” She

23

CLASS NOTES shared that while writing this note, all the memories from Winch came back — crispy fresh!

Adam Studniarek ‘06 recently shared: “I am currently a general surgery resident at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School with a career goal to pursue a colorectal surgery fellowship and work as an academic colorectal surgeon in the future. I have dedicated two years of my residency to a colorectal translational and clinical research at University of Illinois at Chicago.

I have been involved in numerous surgical societies and young physicians organizations.”

Adam Studniarek ‘06

Chawntell Divoll McAuliffe ‘06 is a phlebotomist at Heywood Hospital in Gardner, MA. She and her husband Keith and their 2 children live in Orange, MA. Alex Telepciak ‘07 lives outside of Boston with his wife and three children. After Winchendon, he attended Northeastern University for undergrad and grad school. He is a CPA and work at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC doing international tax consulting. When he’s not at work, he loves cycling and spending time outdoors with his kids. Alex shared: “My fondest memories from Winchendon are

the long bus rides for hockey and lacrosse games with Mr. Taplin.

Not being allowed to give my valedictorian speech because the Headmaster’s wife was afraid of what I might say was also a highlight...”

After Olesya Levo ‘07 graduated she went back to Ukraine and got accepted to Kiev Polytechnic Institute, majoring in Editing and Publishing. As a junior she got a press secretary job at the professional basketball club Kiev and since then she has been working in basketball. In 2015 she graduated from college with her Masters in Communications.

She then moved to Moscow to work at the Association of Student Basketball (similar to the NCAA Basketball Tournament).

Now Olesya does domestic and international college basketball projects part-time and works fulltime for the All-Russian Amateur Basketball League (2,000 teams).

“I still talk to Papa Lo ‘07, Elisa Morales ‘07, Sergio Elias Zairick.

Now, as I think back, the time I spent at the Winch seems like it was in a previous life. Almost 13 years since graduation…wow.

As I get older I realize that was a great turning point in my life which helped me become an adult, ready to make my own decisions.

I would recommend that every student spend some time studying abroad, it is a truly life-changing experience.”

Here’s what we hear from Rebecca Brooks D.C. ‘07: “I’m still working in Boston and Cambridge as a Chiropractor at Fort Point Chiropractic and Harvard Square Chiropractic. My daughter Juliette

CLASS NOTES

(6) is enjoying her time home until it is time to go back to Kindergarten! I’ve been teaching her basic baking skills, working on cultivating an outdoor garden, and doing some composting. My daughter and I moved back from the UK in 2017, and I got married this past February; we are planning on celebrating with a reception later this year! We currently live in Framingham, MA and are saving to purchase our first home early next year.

After graduation Timur Valitov ‘07 went to Boston College, graduating in 2012 with a dual degree in Finance and Philosophy. Then he returned to Russia, initially to continue his studies in Philosophy at the PhD level but decided to work as an economist. He shared, “I spent a few years working for Russian Railroads, an infrastructure company in Nizhny Novgorod (my hometown). In 2015 I moved to Moscow and started working as a civil servant at a Federal transportation oversight agency.

I found myself bored with daily duties and decided to move to more project-oriented occupations and found a great job at Moscow City Pedagogical University, doing research on regional development as well as teaching philosophy.

This academic job allowed me more freedom so when I was not teaching, I worked on a project for vocational education school reform for Yamal, one of the northern most Russian regions. The project’s goal was to establish relations between trade schools and potential employers to provide better skills and employment opportunities for the local population. Then in 2018, I started with the Moscow

24

Department of Social Service on a city project for the elderly, “Moscow Longevity,” which provided free activities such as digital literacy, dance, art, gym and language classes on underutilized municipal properties such as public schools, local libraries, and gyms. I developed and taught some courses and published a booklet on long-term care. Since then, I have been working for a non-profit called “University 20.35”, overseeing execution of the Federal project “Human Capital for Digital Economy.” This is new to Russia since it requires cooperation between different ministries to work on overarching goals of increasing the number of graduates with degrees in information technology, raising the national level of digital literacy, and working to support various educational technology companies. My passion as a student was reading literature and philosophy, pondering on various historical events and concepts. Now, I am more focused on finding concrete applications of various ideas, using best practices. I like studying how various countries approach social and economic issues and seeing whether some of these solutions could be adapted in Russia, or in some cases whether some of the Russian practices could be presented to the world as well.

What do I miss about the Winch?

Walking around the campus in the fall, playing piano in the main building, the delivery food - pizza and Chinese. My teachers and advisors! Mr. Taplin, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Harrington - they were all helpful and fun at the same time.

After graduating from Richmond University in England, Antonio

Alegrado ’08 is back in his hometown in Cebu City, Philippines. Three years ago he established his own Real Estate business where he builds and sells townhouses for the middle-income market, and, as he shared, “so far it is doing well with my first three projects selling out prior to construction completion. I am looking forward to building more affordable houses in key locations within the city and around the country in the near future.” On weekends, he enjoys going to the beach with his friends and family.

His favorite past time is riding his motorcycle to remote places in the country. Antonio shared, “One thing I miss most about the Winch is playing golf right after my last class. It was a nice activity to destress. Another is waking up to the first day of snow during winter. I was also fond of daily conversations in the dining hall with the many international friends I made at the school.”

Arthur Riddle ‘08 is a Director at a specialized staffing firm in Boston, Atlantic Group, assisting. people in finding Finance and Accounting, Information Technology, Quantitative Finance and Capital Markets, Healthcare, Administrative or Corporate Services job throughout the greater Boston area. He said that he has met with a few Winch alums regarding job searches! He shared “I live in South Boston right now and have a great group of friends, and a beautiful girlfriend. I still golf all the time, go hiking, camping, and making/creating music. Music is definitely still my #1 passion.

What I miss most about Winch is definitely just having the ability to

walk outside and play nine holes all the time. I certainly took that for granted!”

Kieran Nygren ‘08 worked as a mechanic but recently transitioned to working at Friot’s water treatment in Ayer, MA. “Tiana and I got married in October of 2017 and brought our baby Killian into the world on May 6, 2020.”

Kieran Nygren ‘08 and baby Killian

Since graduating from Winch, Brittany Lyons ‘09 played Division I ice hockey at Quinnipiac University after which she played professional hockey in Europe and then in Boston. She then joined the Amtrak Police Department. For the last four years she was a patrol officer in New Haven and just recently started with the explosive unit job at the Boston Amtrak. She is also on the Patrol Rifle Team, is a Homeless Outreach Officer, and a Peer Support Officer. She says, “My passion is playing for team USA Ball Hockey; I’m one of the captains.

I love my job and am passionate about people. The fortunate, the less fortunate, and helping protect in any way that I can!”

Brittany Lyons ‘09

25

CLASS NOTES Geun Mook Lim ‘09 lives in New York. He shared that “My passion is design thinking to deliver innovation, finding the problem and solving it. With my degree from Parsons, I am now doing design consulting such as UI/UX and Visual design, and I’ve been studying data science for my future career. Mostly I keep in touch with Korean friends with Dobin, Dajin, YoungTae, Albert Han, DongYub, SeungYun, SungEun, YoungTek, and HyunJoo. I miss weekend brunch, gym, dormitory life (Ford 3, Merrell 1), friends, Chinese restaurant, and watching varsity basketball games from Winch.”

so, he developed a passion for fitness, working out and healthy living. After graduation he got a personal training certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and is now a certified personal trainer in the Wallingford, CT area. “He also loves to travel, watch sports and am passionate about my teams. After the Winch, I kept in touch with a few guys through social media (Akeem Williams, Pat Coloumbe, Adam Kemp, Nick Savage to name a few). I miss playing baseball at school as well. I enjoyed it more that I thought I would as it was my second sport.”

Junjie “JJ”Hu ‘10 is married and living in China. He and his brotherin-law recently opened a restaurant In NHa Trang City, Vietnam. It is called Robatayaki, serving grilled seafood. They are hoping that they will reopen very soon! JJ has hosted a homecooked meal at his home in China recently with 3 other schoolmates from Winchendon: Amy Hui ‘11, Hengyi Zhou ‘10 and Yiwu Chen ‘10.

Kyle Goulart ‘10 recently wrote in:“I am located in Cranston, RI where I am a branch manager at Enterprise Rent A Car and have been with the company since 2015.

I have a strong passion to help others and am committed to doing so. I thoroughly enjoy the career I selected because even though we rent cars, it’s about turning transactions into interactions and solving issues. I get to develop and watch my employees grow into exceptional employees and young men and women. Thinking of the time I spent at the Winch, I thoroughly miss the staff and the mindset of ‘being in it together.’

The sports teams all had a nice bond because we all were on the same page trying to get scholarships and applying ourselves academically. Everyone was amazing and would help out by any means and even offer to spend their time to help me on weekends.”

Having a home-cooked meal in JJ’s home in China, left to right: Amy Hui ‘11, Hengyi Zhou ‘10, Yiwu Chen ‘10 and JJ Hu ‘10.

After graduating from Winchendon John Palmieri ‘10 went to Central Connecticut State, getting his degree in Communications (focus in Promotions and Public Relations) and played hockey. While doing

CLASS NOTES

Winthrop University with my Bachelor’s. Immediately after graduation, I started working full time in a sales role in Charlotte, NC. One afternoon after working in Charlotte for almost two years, I decided that I was ready for something new. From there I was promoted within my company and within a month I was driving across the country to CA. I have been living in Orange County for four years and am very happy with my decision to get up and move. I have been working in sales, construction management and just recently got back into my old industry. I am passionate about giving back and helping people. For the past two years, I have been a volunteer assistant youth tackle football coach. My teams have consisted of middle school boys and they are very good! This coming season (pandemic permitting), I have been asked to become the head coach of the team. I am looking forward to working with a new group of kids and winning football games. Sorry, just to clarify I am not married and don’t have any kids!”

Samantha Michaud ‘10 had a baby girl, Josie Lee, born on 4/10/20.

She runs her own business, Camp Cummington out of her home, walking and caring for dogs.

Nick Savage ’10 shared: “After graduating from Winchendon, I moved to SC and graduated from

26

Since leaving Winchendon, DeAsia Delaney ‘11 attended Chowan University. “I was there for five years and received an degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in General Studies, minoring in Criminal Justice. After graduating I worked at Riverbanks Zoo here in Columbia, SC for a few months, then started working at Three Rivers Behavioral Health and the Department of Social Services.

In 2017, I met my fiance working at Three Rivers. I asked him out on an unofficial date to the state fair. We have been together for almost three years! We will be getting married in July of 2021.

When asked about life - post Winchendon, Ryan O’Toole ‘12 wrote in: “It truly seems like it was yesterday; but my postWinchendon journey began in May of 2012. Following graduation, I packed my stuff up from East-Wing and returned home in Oxford, MA from The Winch. My plan upon graduation was to play junior hockey in Marlborough, MA – the Junior Bruins. I was able to play two years with the Junior Bruins which was an amazing experience.

It not only allowed me to showcase my talents further but I was also able to travel all over the East coast. This opportunity helped me mature, which is probably for the best and what I needed before entering college. In 2013, I was fortunate enough to commit to playing hockey for Castleton University in VT and played with them for four years. I graduated in May of 2018 with a degree in Accounting. Knowing the real world was rapidly approaching, I took on an internship close to home. Today, I remain living in central-MA,

working as an asset manager for a commercial real estate developer, Ferris Development Group, developing and executing business plans, valuations, oversight of leasing brokers and property management teams, all to maximize investors’ returns and the building’s revenues. I still play hockey – I can’t give it up, albeit playing in the “beer” leagues now. I love to travel – my favorite city is Nashville, TN. I also remain a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan and attend as many games as I can. To this day, there are many friends I remain in touch with from my time at the Winch and I am looking forward to seeing many once this global pandemic ends.”

Guowei “Tim” Zheng ‘12 lives in Beijing, and is the founder/CEO of the Chinese creative art label — ZJZM, a brand and platform composed of artists, architects, designers and media who are focused on immersive universes, global visions and fashionable acuity. Born and raised in southern China, Tim moved to the U.S at the age 16 to pursue a dynamic global education at Winchendon.

In 2016, he graduated from Pepperdine University with a B.B.A in International Business and chose to incorporate his passion for art with his degree by exploring the entrepreneurial side of the art world. Having lived in China, Switzerland, Hungary and both the east and west coasts of the U.S., Tim has adopted a global perspective that aims to build a common ground for individuals with various viewpoints. Since launching ZJZM in 2018, Zheng has connected with over 500,000 millennials across the globe through immersive experiences.

As an entrepreneur and creative mastermind, Tim combines his artistic vision along with his educational background to create impactful experiences that blend food, art and culture in a way that attracts and engages millennials.

Zheng currently travels between Beijing, Budapest and Los Angeles, and is obtaining a Master’s degree in Art Business from Tsinghua University in collaboration with Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

Tim Zheng ‘12

After graduating from Winchendon, Vladislav Markov ‘12 received his BFA in Studio Art from Parsons School of Design, The New School, and his MFA from Cornell University, He lives and works in New York City. His work has been included in the exhibition Donovan, Markov, Mildenberg, Tjaden Gallery, Ithaca, NY, (2018) Brian Dario, Liza Lacroix, Vladislav Markov, M23, New York (2018), and Big Snack, Signal, Brooklyn, NY (2018). Reviews of his work can be found in ARTFORUM, The Art Newspaper, HYPERALLERGIC, and Brooklyn Magazine. In August 2018, Markov was invited to participate in Harvard University’s visiting artists program as guest lecturer. In May 2019 Markov’s work was part of Cornell University’s Department of Art presentation of Or High Water, 2019 M.F.A. Exhibition at Safe Gallery in Brooklyn.

27

CLASS NOTES Yingying Chu ‘12 received her BS in Economics from the University of Michigan and her MS in Business Analytics from Wake Forest School of Business. She currently lives in the San Francisco area and is a data analyst for Poshmark.

Katherine Potts ‘13 wrote in: “Since leaving The Winch, I worked at Franklin Pierce University for two and a half years in Residential Life while I pursued my MBA in Leadership. In my last year, I also was the DOT Compliance and Logistics Manager for my parents’ company Atlas PyroVision Entertainment Group, Inc. I recently began working at Keene State College in Residential Life and the Student Conduct Offices. I am applying to Ph.D. programs in Education specifically looking at Policies and Leadership.”

sports business from SNHU after receiving an undergraduate degree in 2019 with a major in business administration and minor in sports management. His DJ name is “Sterno” and he has been a DJ for the past two years. His ultimate goal is to DJ in all major cities. He has a huge passion for music and he thinks with the right guidance “I can definitely make a run at a name for myself.”

Brett Strawn ‘14

Katherine Potts ‘13

Patrick Harrington ‘13 - Patrick married Alia Jones on November 9, 2019. They welcomed a baby girl Sadie on May 20, 2019. They are expecting another baby in October. Patrick graduated from U Mass Lowell and is working as a Manufacturing Engineer at Biomedical Polymers. He and his family are living in Winchendon.

Brett Strawn ‘14 is getting his MBA with a concentration in

After graduating from Middlebury College with a Bachelors in Sociology/Anthropology and Chinese, Chris Boutelle ‘14 is now a Senior Research Assistant at PRIDE at Hunter College in New York. While in college he worked under a sociology professor to collect instances of racial discriminations and stigmas within the LGBTQ community, and he conducted his own research ethnography in Beijing on the topic of contemporary drag queen culture. The ensuing honors thesis was nominated for a senior’s award in Middlebury’s GSFS department and awarded highest honors in the Sociology/Anthropology department. Chris continues his background in racial and sociocultural theory by working across each study at PRIDE. In

CLASS NOTES

collaboration with the labs here, he sees daily appointments, conducts qualitative interviews, and utilizes motivational interviewing methodology for electronic intervention sessions. He plans to enroll in a PhD-track program to achieve a degree in health-focused sociology.

Colin Hinrichs ‘14 played lacrosse at Dean College and was the 2018 NECC Player of the year. Colin now works in finance and lives in New York City.

Judah Lewis ‘14 was finishing the second semester of his senior year at Howard University, studying Political Science and English, when COVID-19 caused classes to move online. The path to his final year wasn’t easy but he worked hard to get back to the DC campus.

Now he feels like the rug has been pulled out from underneath him.

Lewis talked on New York Public Radio about how the pandemic has jeopardized his post-graduation prospects and his anticipated job with Teach for America, where he is currently scheduled to teach in Texas.

Lauren Kelly ‘14 recently graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in Criminal Justice and works for the Watertown Middle School as an Instructional Assistant for the Special Needs program. She plays Professional Hockey for the Boston Pride.

Marissa Monahan ‘14 shared: “I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the Boston University College of Communications. I loved Boston so much I decided to stay there post-

28

grad. Right now I am head of the PR department for a woman-led startup wedding planning company called Love and Marij. I love what I do and the work-life balance I’m able to have. It’s an extremely rewarding experience being part of a company’s growth. I hope to grow individually within the industry myself.”

Matthew Tufts ‘14 is a nurse at Metro West in Framingham. His wife Arielle works in the COVID ward at Newton Wellesley Hospital.

Matt Tufts ‘14 and his wife Arielle

After graduating from Salem State in 2018 with a Bachelors of Applied Sciences in Biomedical Sciences, Meghan Black ‘14 is a lab technician at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center.

Trelawny “TigerLily” Robinson ‘14 graduated from Wheaton College in 2019 with a BA in International Relations and Affairs.

She now teaches Grade 4 at Success Academy Charter School in New York City.

Adam Letarte ‘15 recently wrote: “Since I left Winchendon, I’ve started my flying career that ultimately led me to Daytona Beach, FL at Embry-Riddle. I have a few hundred hours of flight time and I am close to graduating this summer! I am about to take my commercial pilot federal exam so that I can start being paid to fly.

Once I’ve gained enough flight hours, I have a job flying United Express for ExpressJet Airlines.

After I graduate, I will be obtaining my multi engine rating and my flight instructor certification. On a side note, this year will make seven years that I have been in a relationship with Gabby Casper ‘14. I hope all of my peers have had a pleasant college experience and are on their ways to living their dreams.”

in a very difficult and challenging time. Concurrently I am preparing for my 2nd Actuarial exam. I am most passionate about the dig data analytics field and am using my skills and experience to support other people. I haven’t been singing or playing my guitar, but I have been trying to keep up with making new music in other ways, including doing instrumental music or even writing my own. What do I miss about Winchendon? The supportive community made up of my teachers!

Ally Wolski ‘16 taught the optional distance HIIT/Fitness and Strength workout to students on Winchendon’s Brooklyn campus!.

Doug Ferreira ‘15 graduated with a BA in Accounting from Stonehill College in 2019. He is now a staff accountant for L.E.K. Consulting in Boston, a global strategy consulting firm helping clients achieve high impact results with deep industry expertise and rigorous analysis.

In 2019 Niuniu Zhang ‘15 graduated from Union College with highest honors, double majoring in Math and French. Niuniu is now in a graduate program at NYU in Visual Arts Administration, and working in art management. He is considering pursuing an advanced degree in math/quantitative analysis with an eye on the investment business.

Sze Yui “Seles” Li ‘15 shared with us: “I moved back to Hong Kong after I graduated from WPI in May 2019 and am searching for a job

Ally Wolski ‘16

After a very successful athletic career at Winchendon as a threesport athlete for four years playing soccer, hockey, and lacrosse, Meghan Ballentine ‘16 played soccer for Elms College and Becker College, graduating from Becker in Sports Management. She is now doing an internship as a Fitness Coach at Power Source Training Center in Leominster, MA while working towards her Masters in Sports Management from Lasell University.

29

CLASS NOTES Corey Desgroseilliers ‘16 wrote “All has been well, recently became an uncle, which is certainly pretty cool. As of now, next move with the Army is to California.”

Justine & Corey Desgroseilliers ‘16

Justine (Michaud) Desgroseilliers ‘16 wrote “Happily married in NC, super excited to finally be an aunt! In a few more months I’ll have my Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Administration from Purdue Global. Our next chapter will be in California and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!”

Justine (Michaud) Desgroseilliers ‘16

Joshua George ‘16 will be a senior at ASU in the Fall of 2020. He plays ACHA club hockey at Arizona State Uuniversity and has made the Dean’s list every semester. Joshua is hoping to do an internship with Southwest Airlines in the next year.

Sophia Vingi ‘16 is a Senior at Castleton University where she is studying Business Administration

and Management. She is the captain of the Women’s Ice Hockey team, is a representative on the college’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee, and is on the Dean’s List.

Vasilisa “Alice” Urvanova ’16 wrote in: I am currently in the midst of polishing my keystone(senior thesis) at Quest University Canada. The topic is a legacy event we have on campus called “Cabaret”. I am compiling an oral history and arguing that a long-term creative project should be included as an essential component of a liberal arts education. Once finished, I will be officially done with my Bachelor’s Degree of Arts and Sciences. And next is… well, freedom! Even though there is a fear of the unknown I feel ready and am eager for what’s ahead.

I share this perspective with a couple of other Winch friends, namely Victoria McGuire’16 and Kayley Irvine’16 who are also getting ready to graduate with their Animal Behavior and Prelaw degrees respectively. We often share virtual calls and catch up on our lives. The “Odd Balls crew” (Victoria McGuire’16 , Kayley Irvine’16 , Lola Robinson’16 , Josh Kretzman’17, Bair Lambert’17, Ian Holden’17, and Isabella Whitney’18) is still keeping in touch, and I could not be more happy about it. One memory that always brings a smile to my face is sharing meals all together in the dining hall. I remember exactly where our crew would sit. Oh, the countless laughs we shared at that table by the window, overlooking the green of the Winch golf fields. I will forever cherish those memories in my heart… that is until we meet

CLASS NOTES

up again and make countless more!

Another memory is the DoI&T colLAB trip called “Voices from the South.” Lead by our fearless Arkansan leader (also known by his beloved students as Mr. Magee), our group embarked on an adventure across the Southern United States.

Some highlights included hearing music on the streets of New Orleans, Aunt Coleen’s delicious pecan pie, visiting the Memphis National Civil Rights Museum, and Ms. Charlotte’s hospitality. It was such an incredible learning experience, and one that I will never forget.”

After graduating early from the University of Washington, Xinyi “Alina” Zhang ‘16 started her masters in ERP at Columbia University.

Alina Stevens ‘17 is a junior in the honor’s program at Castleton University and plans to graduate in the spring of 2021 with a degree in mathematics. She is a member of the Women’s Ice Hockey Team. She writes: “I am not sure which career path I want to pursue yet, but I anticipate attending grad school to study architecture or engineering.”

Bair Lambert ‘17 is a Junior at Middlebury College, studying Philosophy and Theatre. Bair is very active with Middlebury’s premiere Mamajamas Acapella group, serving as assistant music director in Fall 2018. He has acted in several of Middlebury’s theatre productions including Melchior in Spring Awakening, the soldier in Sunday in the Park with George, and Johnny in American Idiot. He was on the Dean’s List in Fall 2017 and was recognized as a College Scholar in both Spring and Fall 2019.

30

Dren Dedushaj ‘17 is studying and playing basketball at Bryant University.

Josh Krentzman ‘17 is a junior at George Washington University, majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a focus on Biomechanics and Medical Imaging. He is involved as VP for his fraternity, is in the Engineering Society, and is involved with theatre.

Luca Domeniconi ‘17 recently shared: “I thought I could give a unique perspective since I decided not to pursue college. I currently live on my own in NYC and have started a marketing agency, Omniisa. We do a wide variety of tasks from hunt lists and PR to digital marketing. Now two years in business, we have a team of 15 people, and work with varied clients from financial firms and pharma, to clothing lines and Ecom stores. I learned a lot of what I needed to know to start a business online when I was at Winch and just pretty much continued my online education once I graduated.

I also learned a lot by ‘just doing’.

I got interested in marketing and automation during an internship I did during DoI&T and ColLABS. Concurrent with running Omniisa, I am also trading stocks and forex and am considering real estate.

I am also starting up another business around RPA which is the automation of repetitive tasks to save businesses money. While I wasn’t always a great student at Winch, I learned a lot: to be curious, open minded, and that the internet is a world of knowledge at your disposal. Stats class and Mr. Duncan’s weekly presentations have also come in very clutch

when I have to make reports and proposals. I am glad I had a solid foundation once I got out of high school to do what I am now.”

Ashley Greene ‘18 is finishing her sophomore year at Roger Williams University where she is studying Legal Studies and Political Science.

She is on the Dean’s List and has participated in intramural sports.

Cameron Cullen ‘18 is studying International Business at High Point University. He has been very active in school, playing club baseball and serving as an RA in the dorms.

Kam Tou “Johnny” Lok ‘18 is an engineering student at Pratt Institute in NYC. After graduation, Liam Cunningham ‘18 has continued to explore and hone the skills he developed and learned during his tenure at Winchendon. At Winch he co-founded the robotics team which has been successful due to his hard work and quality leadership. As an athlete, Liam recalls fondly the car rides to lacrosse games and playing golf! Liam now attends Quinnipiac College where he is majoring in Entrepreneurship and small business management helping to build the Quinnipiac Car Club. In five years, Liam hopes to be an entrepreneur, owning a small business dealing with excavation.

In hard times, Liam turns to the words of Frank Ocean: “Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.”

Hoang Nhu “Phuong” Nguyen ‘19 is studying at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY.

Howell Eglin ‘19 is a freshman at Colby College, studying English and Economics and playing baseball.

He is a member of the Colby Consulting Group and volunteers for Colby Cares About Kids. He hopes to go into management consulting.

Jake Gigliotti ‘19 was originally from Auburn, MA and spent only one year at Winchendon before committing to Northeastern University for baseball. He was a star pitcher at Winchendon and helped lead the team to the New England Prep School Championship. Jake tossed 7.0 strong innings in the semifinals of New England Prep School tourney, striking out 11 players. Outside of the championship tournament, Jake posted a 2.82 ERA and struck out 15.2 per 9 innings. Throughout his high school career, he earned many all-state accolades and was elected T&G all-star. This past November, Jake pitched against the Boston Red Sox. At Northeastern University, Jake pitched his first game against Alabama on February 14, also marking the day of his first strikeout. Jake also struck out two players during the game on March 4, against Western Michigan.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Jake’s season at Northeastern was brought to a drastic halt. We will all look for him again next season!

Jiawei “Alan” Li ‘19 is a student at NYU and is on their dance team.

Even though Kelly Butts-Spirito ‘19 only spent a PG year at Winchendon, the impact he had on the community was far-reaching.

From the moment he first stepped foot on campus, Kelly emerged as a

31

CLASS NOTES leader, delving into a wide array of interests and forming connections with many people. In the fall, Kelly was an integral part of the crosscountry team and played a lead role in the fall production Our Town.

Additionally, he was a member of the Varsity Baseball team that won the 2019 New England Championship. Just less than 24 hours after his Winch graduation, Kelly drove to San Diego, CA where he interned for The Studio.

Growing his name in the film industry, he went on to help shoot for the viral college account on YouTune - ImShmacked, with Major Lazer. Kelly began the 201920 school year at the University of Evansville where he was to continue his cross country and baseball careers, but ultimately, after being contacted by numerous artists and professionals in the industry, decided to pursue his dream of filmmaking. Kelly worked with David East while touring in Boston and recently returned from a month of filming in Puerto Rico.

The short film he made while there will be released this spring for a travel company on YouTube. This summer, Kelly will film a cypher video in NYC and travel to other parts of the country to film!

Raye Parks ‘19 is a freshman at the Fashion Institute of Technology where she is studying Fashion business management with a Sustainable minor. “I’m also I’m a fashion week volunteer for the school and other agencies. My ideal career would be a stylist for either tv runway or red carpet!”

Rebecca Levine ‘19 is a freshman at Clark University where she is studying Comparative Literature

and Theatre Arts. She participates with Clark Musical Theatre as a stage manager. She has also written for Clark’s newspaper The Scarlett.

Stefanie Caban ‘19 is a freshman at Franklin Pierce University where she is studying Criminal Justice.

She is involved with Women’s Ice Hockey.

A Cum Laude graduate of Winchendon, Michael Mills ‘19 is an acting major at the College of Fine Arts Department of Theatre at Texas Christian University. In only his first year, he was cast for roles in TCU’s productions of Sister Act and A Streetcar Named Desire.

Michael is also a defenseman on TCU’s Division II Hockey Team, scoring his first collegiate goal on a slap shot blast from the point with 5:38 remaining in the 3rd period of TCU’s final regular season game to give the Frogs a 5-2 win.

A teammate retrieved the goalscoring puck, which his teammates presented to Michael following the game. Mills was honored with Player of the Game!

FORMER FACULTY

FORMER FACULTY Raman and Alex Magay have been enjoying life in Greater Boston after many memorable years at the Winch! Alex is now the Director of Development and Alumni Affairs at Learning Prep School in West Newton, MA. Founded in 1970, LPS has established a wellearned reputation for providing a safe and supportive learning environment for students with complex language-based learning profiles. Raman is now a personal trainer, yoga teacher, health coach, and structural bodyworker and has been working with her clients online during the pandemic. They both enjoyed their vacation to Spain last summer and had fun catching up with Winch alumni Albert Roma ‘98, Moises Segura ‘00 and Jesus Vela Iglesias ’15. In February, Alex had fun climbing Mount Monadnock with his brother Chris, Elliot Harvey and Sam Johnson, and they had a great visit with Dan and Travis Shattuck after their climb. Alex and Raman would like to congratulate the entire Class of 2020 for all their hard work and wish them all well in their future endeavors.

Boyan Hadjisotirou is living in Singapore and is the coach of the Sinagapore Tennis National team.

He and his brother Ludmil ‘Udo” get to see each other a few times a year, mostly in Bulgaria.

Dave Leahy wrote in: “Since I left Winchendon I continued to teach history for 12 years at a small private school in Quincy, MA called The Woodward School for Girls. I have continued to coach

32

soccer. I have coached club soccer for all kid ages and for varsity high school teams, Thayer Academy and currently for Whitman-Hanson High School. I actually gave up teaching a year ago in order to coach full time. I currently work for a soccer club, The Galway Rovers, all year round and coach several teams, including my high school team. I live in Norwell, MA with my wife and two kids. I keep in touch with a lot of old Winch peeps from the 2003-2006 time period on Facebook. The Winch was where I started my adult journey. I remember this time fondly and how important my working there was to my life since.”

After nine years of teaching physics, Harold “Hal” Pederson says that he “returned to playing guitar and singing folk music for several years, mostly at local “open mics” and a few small concerts.” He made several CDs during that time, which anyone from the Winch can have for free; just email him your mailing address at: Halped06@ verizon.net. He also has a Youtube channel with most of the songs on it: Halped06.

We recently caught up with Vernon Wright who shared: “Teaching at Winchendon was my first professional job; I was 26 and recently married. I taught ESL and public speaking. My wife Kat, infant son Owen, and I lived in “Cottage”, an all-girls dorm. High points included the close-knit family feeling among the faculty and going out to eat at a Korean restaurant with South Korean students. I am still close friends with Elliot Harvey and occasionally hear from Elspeth

Wooster-Bigalow or Giselle and Sarkis Boyadjian. I taught for one academic year before pursuing a Masters of Divinity at Andover Newton Theological School. For the past 20 years, I have been a pastor of various Congregational, UCC churches from Helena MT to Attleboro MA. The ministry has led me to many exciting vistas, from writing speeches for senators, to doing justice work with local police forces. I am now serving a parish in lovely Scituate MA, on the sea.

Kat and I have three children. Owen (23), River (19) and my daughter Brynn (15). They have all excelled at competitive swimming. When not pastoring, or helping out at swim meets, I enjoy sailing our small cruiser on the ocean with family and friends. We continue to be Siamese cat lovers.”

Pam Blair wrote and shared: “Jack and I moved to Verona, VA, after I retired in 2016. We love living close to two of our four kids and five of our nine grandkids. Being able to spend time with them is a joy! I also spend my time walking, reading, teaching Sunday School and a Bible study, playing bridge, doing yoga, taking online courses, and my most recent avocation, oil painting.

Joanna Draugsvold helped me to get started while I was still at The Winch, and she still offers really useful suggestions. Jack and I took a cruise down the Seine to Normandy a couple of years ago. That was a place that we had both hoped to see, and it was a very moving experience. I’ve also traveled twice to Daejeon, South Korea, to visit our daughter Annie, who is the literacy specialist at an international school. On the second trip, we also spent a week in Thailand, and I

took a side trip to Seoul, where I spent time with HaGyong Lee ‘06 and Ki Woong Han ‘08. They were delightful hosts, and I had a very memorable time with them.

Jack and I continue to spend our summers on Prince Edward Island, where I love to swim, kayak, and bike. I miss the School and my friends there, but I love retirement!”

Painting by Pam Blair

Peter and Kristin Mantius moved to VT in 2014 when Peter started teaching history, working in a boys’ dorm, and coaching girls’ tennis at St. Johnsbury Academy. In 2018, Kristin joined SJA as an English teacher and girls’ soccer coach.

They live in the neighboring town of Danville and have two children: Willa (7) and Wyatt (6). Kristin and Peter last visited The Winch in 2015 and talked with Dan Chretien and had lunch with the Giusti family.

They saw Sam Johnson crushing the Vermont City Marathon in 2016, had dinner with the Leahy family in August 2017, and ran into Elliot Harvey hiking Mt. Lafayette in November 2017. They spend time with former faculty member

33

FORMER FACULTY Line Mui in Montreal or VT several times a year, and would love to be in touch with teachers from 20022007.

Stacey Viola Summers wrote in: “After two illustrious years as a Spanish teacher, writing teacher, volleyball coach, dorm parent, and J-Board chair extraordinaire, I moved to Boston and took a job in corporate America financial services. I started as an administrative assistant and within six months was able to get myself into a marketing role where I was better able to utilize my skill set.

20 years and one company-hop later, I now oversee a large team of investment communications professionals, responsible for everything from client reports, to RFPs, to marketing materials, the website and PR/social media.

I’ve been with Acadian Asset Management for 15 years, though the management role is relatively new as of late last year. It’s a great company and I’ve been able to really build my career here and foster relationships with some really terrific mentors. On a personal front, I am married with two little boys - Brennan is in third grade and Kieran is in first. They are amazing but make me a little nuts too - ESPECIALLY as we’re all home together day in and day out. My kids have either been in daycare or school since they were tiny so there’s a big part of me that absolutely treasures this time together, and another part of me that realizes, with alarm, how ill equipped I am to be a stay-at-home parent. But we are getting through just like everyone else! And I do not miss my awful commute for a second, so there’s another

silver lining. Winch-wise I am in contact with a handful of alumni and fellow faculty, but really only sporadically over social media. I love seeing what the old crew is up to: Stephanie Weinfurt, Katrina Brown, Aaron Lee, Jimmy Dolan, Alex Magay. My volunteer work is also super important to me – I am a CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocate) for youth in the foster care system in Suffolk County and I currently work with a 10-year old boy in Mattapan. We normally (again, pre-quarantine) spend one day a month together and I try to help facilitate and coordinate across all the stakeholders in his case - courts, social workers, and foster family. In my spare time we are involved in lots of sports and activities for the kids - we’re a big lacrosse household as my husband used to play and still does in an old man league (when NOT in quarantine). The boys love baseball and along with my husband are HUGE skiers. I have forced myself to get back on the slopes, too, in the hopes it will be one of the few things the kids might actually want to do with us as a family as they get older and cooler and more friendfocused. I’m still terrible but I enjoy coasting slowly and carefully down a green or a blue and just taking in the mountains. Our dream would be to relocate to VT someday.”

Since leaving Winchendon in 2015, Lauren Brozowski Fogell taught for one more year at Dexter- Southfield then decided to go back to graduate school. She went to Northeastern where she got her MBA/MS in Accounting. Since graduating in 2017, she has been working at KPMG in the Audit function, and recently passed the CPA exams.

FORMER FACULTY

She got married, and she and her husband moved to Colorado about a year ago. They have loved the adventures the wild west has brought them!

Katrina Brown Nygaard lives with her family in Thompson Falls, MT. She teaches Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus, and Calculus at the small public high school (170 students). Her husband teaches high school science. They have a son,Theo (14), and a daughter, Solveig (12), two dogs, and three chickens. She also coaches junior high girl’s basketball and they organize the youth soccer program in town. They love to camp, bike, hike, and spend time outside. Their children raise pigs for 4H and participate in basketball, soccer, and track.

Tom Patty shared: “I truly do miss many of the wonderful people that I taught and coached with during my eleven years at Winchendon!

In the six years since we left, there have been many things that have happened. One of them being the completion of the renovation of our lake house in Ashburnham, MA. I never thought that I would be applying my math skills in the real world. I learned quickly that I can apply linear equations, slope of a line, and the Pythagorean theorem to helping me rebuild my house! My daughter, Nola, is going on 14 and heading to high school next year. My son, Finn, is turning 9 and moving on to fourth grade.

Although it was a huge adjustment for me moving from a private high school to a public middle school, I absolutely love teaching 8th grade math! I have a tremendous team of teachers that I work with and an

34

absolutely amazing administration that supports us. I am also going on my 5th year coaching NCAA college hockey. I am now the assistant coach (in charge of the defensemen) and the director of recruiting for the Fitchburg State University men’s hockey team. I am proud to be able to say that my first ever recruit for Fitchburg State helped us win the MASCAC championship and took us to the NCAA National Tournament.

He also won rookie of the year, became an All-American, and is now playing professional hockey in Switzerland. When I’m not teaching, prepping for teaching, coaching or recruiting, you will find me either skating on my frozen lake or driving my pontoon boat when it’s not frozen!

CONGRATS KELLY! Coming aboard in 2010, our own Alumni/ Development Office Associate (and Petey Wapiti) Kelly D. was married on April 19, 2020.

Plans may have been changed due to the Coronavirus, but she was able to have a small wedding outside her home with her sister officiating.

Congratulations to Jason and Kelly Bourgoin. Wishing you all the best!

LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT ISSUE - SUMMER 2020 The Winchendon School | 172 Ash St. | Winchendon, MA 01475 | winchendon.org