Fall 2016
Magazine
s e t a D e th e Sav UPCOMING ADMISSIONS EVENTS
Please join us to learn more about the Value of a Williams Education. PROSPECTIVE STUDENT INFORMATION SESSIONS Get to know our students, faculty, and our campus. Sundays, 1 – 3 PM January 22, 2017 | May 21, 2017
Super Saturdays @ Williams for Prospective Students 9AM – 2PM Admission testing, lunch, campus tours, and interviews December 10, 2016 | January 7, 2017 | February 11, 2017 | March 4, 2017 |
April 22, 2017
For more information: www.williamsschool.org/visit
Williams also offers individual campus tour and interview appointments. To schedule your visit, please contact the Admissions Office ~ admissions@williamsschool.org ~ 860.443.5333.
WILLIAMS ON THE ROAD
The Williams School is coming to a city near you! We invite you to join us at a reception in your area. Catch up with old friends and make some new ones, reminisce about the “good ’ole days,” and update us on what is happening in your life. All are welcome, including alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends. Dates are subject to change and additional information will be forthcoming. If you are interested in attending, please contact the Development Office at 860.439.2769. December 8, 2016 Providence, RI Denver, CO |
Los Angeles, CA |
January 2017 San Francisco, CA |
Washington, DC |
February 2017 Florida
www.williamsschool.org/williamsreceptions
REUNION & HOMECOMING WEEKEND Reunion and Homecoming Weekend - September 22 – September 25, 2017
Philadelphia, PA
www.williamsschool.org The Williams Magazine is published for the alumni, parents, and friends of The Williams School. Send news, photos, Class Notes, and alumni address changes to: alumni@williamsschool.org
EDITOR:
Robin Cook, Director of Communications
Features
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Mark Fader P ’15, ’21, ’23 William Furgueson P ’17, ’20 Sharon Gaudreau Hillary Goldstein ’16 Jane Hannon P ’06, ’09 Matthew Strekel Kathy Trammell P ’10, ’12
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Carol Ansel Greg Bowerman Robin Cook Hillary Goldstein ’16
2
The Relationship Between Our Teachers and Students
GRAPHIC DESIGN:
20
Distinguishing Williams
Blues News & Events Commencement 2016 6 Arts 8 Athletics 12 Community 14
Jordan Kempain www.JordanKempain.com
ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
Mark Fader P ’15, ’21, ’23 Head of School Jane Hannon P ’06, ’09, Assistant Head of School for Program Kathy Trammell P ’10, ’12, Assistant Head of School for Finance and Operations Robin Cook, Director of Communications Sharon Gaudreau, Director of Admissions & Marketing Cristan Harris, Director of College Counseling Macy Kleinfelder, Dean of Student Affairs Bernadette Macca, Athletic Director Matthew Strekel, Director of Development
TRUSTEES OFFICERS
President - Bruce Goldstein P ’12, ’16 Vice President - Natalie Morris P ’16 Secretary - Andrew Kressley P ’16, ’19 Treasurer - Joseph Bonner P ’19, ’22
TRUSTEES 2016-2017
Stay Connected Class Notes 36 In Memoriam 43 Marriages / Births 44
John Brodzinski P ’12, ’16 Genevieve Cerf ’60 Steven Daren P ’04, ’10 Patrick Doherty P ’16, ’20 Elena Boneski Dolan ’90, Alumni Board President Mark Fader P ’15, ’21, ’23 Head of School Park Hersant P ’07, ’17 Lee Hisle P ’16 Andrew Jarrett P ’18 Mary Ellen Jukoski Chris Knowlton P ’20, ’22 John Kronholm P ’14, ’20 Joseph Madaus P ’15, ’18, ’21 Ron Meneo P ’12, ’14 Joanne Moukawsher P ’18, Parents Association President John Pagnozzi P ’14 Terry Parkinson P ’14 Steven Powell P ’14, ’17 Carl Reiser P ’10, ’13 Elizabeth Sandri P ’17 Bethany Seidel P ’16, ’17, ’21 Kitty Stalsburg ’79 William Verhoeff P ’12, ’14 Dwayne Xenelis P ’16, ’18, ’23
The Relationship Between Our Teachers and Students By Mark Fader
T
hroughout my 13 years at Williams, I’ve had the distinctive opportunity to meet and be with countless members of our community (past and present), and one thing remains a constant throughout all my conversations and observations: Williams teachers leave lasting impressions on their students. The close connection between a teacher and student can be formed as early as an initial greeting in class, in a weekly advisor group where hopes and dreams for the year are shared, or even a rehearsal or a sports practice, where directors and coaches encourage the students to stretch themselves by taking a positive risk in a protected setting. Remarkably, through my meetings with alumni, I’ve discovered that some of these first impressions have carried on for nearly six decades! The heart of a Williams School education lies in these relationships. To this end, Williams relies on the faculty and staff to extend themselves beyond their role of classroom teacher and to serve as an advisor, an adult mentor to all students. The advisor system we’ve established ensures that every student has at least one faculty or staff member
2
to whom a student can turn for advice and support; thus teachers and coaches all inherently develop close relationships and can appropriately handle challenges or difficulties with their students during their formative years. They are another supportive adult voicing encouragement and praise. The unique size of Williams promotes the opportunity for our faculty to teach across both our middle and upper school divisions, thus allowing teachers to witness and celebrate their students’ overall growth academically, socially, and emotionally. Suffice to say, by the time our students enter the upper school, they often spend more time interacting with their teachers than their parents. Thus, it is vital for our teachers and staff to recognize how crucial their role is beyond what is taught on our whiteboards, on stage, or on our fields. In loco parentis was, is now, and will always be part of who we are as a school. I truly love speaking to and hearing from alumni who simply adore their Williams teachers. I am fascinated how quickly the alumni can “transform” themselves back to the time they were in school and wax fondly about that Williams teacher who made a difference
Head of School Mark Fader’s Weekly Advisory meeting. in their lives. The most lasting and truly inspiring relationship still occurs between Mary Louise Till, History Teacher (1957-1959) and her students. For nearly 60 years, Mrs. Till remains incredibly close to a dozen of her former students. Mary Louise, at the request of Jan Weissman ’58 and her classmates even began attending WMI (Williams Memorial Institute) reunions starting with Jan’s 35th reunion in 1993. Whenever I speak to one of Mrs. Till’s former WMI students, they always exude such affection for her as a teacher and mentor. As Jan shared, “we had a few maiden ladies teaching us back in the day, like Jean Watson and Mary Louise, and we loved them so much because they always treated us like their kids; and after all these years we are so
fond of those teachers not for the subjects they taught but because of their caring personalities; we’ll always remember them.” Jan and Mary Louise reconnected long after both finished at Williams when Mary Louise came back to the northeast to take law courses at Brown University. Ever since, Jan and Mary Louise exchange frequent letters, make lengthy phone calls and reunite each June with other members of Mrs. Till’s classes. Several years ago, members of the class of 1960 even helped Mary Louise move into her current home in Essex. In July, I had the pleasure of attending Mary Louise’s 90th birthday celebration when ten of her former students joined Williams’ Development Office and me for Mrs. Till’s special day. (Note - even after all these years,
Seated Center: Mary Louise Till
MAGAZINE » feature
3
Cassandra Lin ’16 presents former faculty member, John Knudsen, with the Coca−Cola Scholars Foundation Educators of Distinction Award at Prize Assembly in May 2016. Cassandra was named one of 150 Coca-Cola Scholars in the spring of 2016.
As a Coca Cola Scholar, I would like to recognize a teacher who has always fostered my passion for learning. Last year my classmates and I had the privilege of watching this individual not only teach but perform his one-man history musical. Thank you, Mr. Knudsen for everything you have done for me and the Williams community.” — Cassandra Lin ’16
the ladies still addressed her at “Mrs. Till!”) Such a day like this reinforces how unique and special the bond between a Williams’ teacher and student truly can be. I venture to say that Ed and Sheila Wheeler evoke the largest amount of glowing admiration from our alumni. The Wheelers — can a teaching couple do more for an institution? With a combined 55 years of service at Williams spanning four decades, there are a countless number of former students who have been profoundly affected by the close relationship they had and still have with Ed and Sheila Wheeler. There hasn’t been a time when I’ve attended an alumni function when I haven’t received the question,
4
followed by the statement “How are the Wheelers? They were the best!” Fortunately for all of us, I am readily able to answer the question because the Wheelers visit campus often and Sheila remains a prominent presence on Facebook! Not surprisingly, any alumni event when the Wheelers plan to attend is our most popular. Ed and Sheila are determined to stay in touch with former students and the memory they have about all of their brood is as sharp as ever. Often, they travel far and wide to attend weddings and other celebrations involving their former students. This summer, the Wheelers even carpooled with an alumni parent to attend the wedding of David Cavicke ’80 in our nation’s capital!
EXCERPT FROM THE 2012 COMMENCEMENT SPEECH BY DEAN OF FACULTY TOM KELLY
Tom Kelly, Sheila & Ed Wheeler
“...And, while it is traditional for students to thank their teachers, I have long felt that we teachers owe our students the greater debt of gratitude. After all, you create for us the wonderful illusion that what we do has meaning. So, I will end my comments today by thanking my students, especially the class of 2012, who have afforded me such great joy in their time at the School. It seems I have taught some of you all of the time and all of you some of the time over the past four years...To be allowed to participate in your lives during this time has been a blessing beyond equal...you have helped me become a better teacher. You can be sure I will look back on your time at the School as an especially bright moment in my professional life...”
The special bond between adult and student remains today. For nearly 20 years, a tradition for the senior class is for them to vote and choose their commencement speaker, the faculty or administrative member with whom the class feels closest. In June, Mr. Cory Harris was selected by the Class of 2016, and he delivered the 125th commencement address with a dramatic flair only those who know Cory were expecting! During and after Cory’s speech, it was easy for all to see how close he was with the Class of 2016. At some point during their upper school years, 45 of 49 students in the Class took an English class with Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris’s words at commencement highlighted why the Class of 2016 forged such a strong relationship with him:
quizzes where I asked you to add something, anything, to a printout of Spark notes. Who failed one of those? That being said, to be asked to be your commencement speaker is, without a hyperbole, the highest privilege and honor of my teaching career.”
“I’ve advised you, coached you, laughed with you, incessantly told you to put the dang period after parenthetical citations in your essays, listened as you recited gorgeous poems, and engaged in a bit more schadenfreude in watching you struggle on those reading
I am proud to lead an institution where adults recognize their duty to do more than just teach, advise and coach; they must learn to be their students’ advocate while lending an ear, and providing the resources to help them navigate their lives at Williams and beyond.
Much like Mary Louise Till, and the Wheelers, Cory relates to his students on so many levels; he is an adult who never takes himself too seriously and knows how and when to push when working with a broad range of students’ in both school divisions, from his most gifted senior writers in Writing As Readers to our youngest sixth grade boys on the JV soccer team.
English Teacher Cory Harris’ 2016 Graduation Speech: bit.ly/ coryharris
MAGAZINE » feature
5
Congratulations to the
Class of 2016
6
Class of 2016 Emily Ballard Noah Bavolack Allwynne Bound Athanasios Bourganos John Brodzinski Charles Bunnell IV Lucy Burr James Burris IV Amy Burzin Isabella Casteel Alexander Chirico Samantha Cohen Harry Davis Shannon Demers Shannon Desmond Charles Dickinson Abigail diMatteo Daniel Doherty Oaklea Elfström Thomas Evans
Marlena Freitas Adrienne Garcia Hillary Goldstein Hattie Grant Liam Griscom Harrison Hall John Hisle James Johnson Apolline Jonckheere Ashton Kozlowski Emily Kressley Cassandra Lin Anne Longo Luke Malcynsky Jack McLaren Olivia Mendlinger Carly Meyer Kaela Milewski Beatrice Mills Samuel Morris
Kyle Murphy Andrew Myslik Andrew Nickerson Alexandra Norman Michal Novak Alden Schuman Justin Shafner Gauresh Walia Abbigail Xenelis Co-Presidents - Luke Malcynsky & Kaela Milewski Vice President - Charles Bunnell Secretary - Abbigail Xenelis Treasurer - Emily Kressley
Class of 2016 College Acceptances & Matriculations American University* Assumption College Auburn University* Barnard College* Bates College* Bentley University Boston University Bryant University* Bucknell University Champlain College College of Charleston* City College Norwich Clark University Coastal Carolina University Colorado College* College of the Holy Cross Connecticut College Curry College Dickinson College Drexel University Duke University Elon University* Emerson College Emmanuel College* Endicott College Fairfield University Five Towns College* Florida Institute of Technology Fordham University Franklin Pierce University* Furman University* George Mason University Gettysburg College Goucher College Hampshire College* Harvard University High Point University Hofstra University Humboldt State University Ithaca College* Johns Hopkins University* Lasell College
Lehigh University Lesley University Loyola University Maryland* Lynn University Maine Maritime Academy Marist College Maryland Institute College of Art Marymount Manhattan College Massachusetts College of Art and Design Massachusetts Maritime Academy* Miami University, Oxford Monmouth University* New York University* Northeastern University* Nova Southeastern University* Pace University, New York City Pennsylvania State University Plymouth State University Providence College Purdue University Regis University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Ringling College of Art and Design* Roger Williams University* Rollins College* Saint Anselm College Saint Mary’s College Saint Michael’s College* Salve Regina University Simmons College* Skidmore College* Smith College* Southern Methodist University* St. Edward’s University St. Lawrence University* St. Mary’s College of Maryland Stanford University* Stonehill College Stony Brook University Syracuse University The Catholic University of America
The George Washington University* The University of Alabama The University of Tampa The New School Trinity College Tufts University* Union College United States Coast Guard Academy* University of Central Florida University of Charleston University of Colorado at Boulder University of Connecticut* University of Connecticut at Avery Point University of Denver University of Hartford University of Kentucky University of Maine* University of Mary Washington University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of Mississippi University of New England University of New Hampshire at Durham University of Pittsburgh University of Redlands University of Rhode Island* University of Richmond University of Rochester University of San Diego University of South Carolina University of Toronto* University of Vermont Washington University in St. Louis* Wheaton College MA Wheelock College Worcester Polytechnic Institute Yale University
*2016 Matriculation
MAGAZINE » Commencement
7
Arts Gallery
Compchorea — February 2016
www.williamsschool.org/compchorea
Cinderella - April 2016
www.williamsschool.org/cinderella
8
Visit www.williamsschool.org/arts for more detailed information on the Arts at Williams.
Spring Music Concert — May 2016 www.williamsschool.org/springmusic
MAGAZINE » Arts
9
Arts News 1
Art teacher Greg Bowerman had his artwork accepted for the The Art Educators Show, at the Windsor Art Center, Windsor, CT. This juried group show (limited to six artists) celebrated and exhibited the works of artists who all share a dedication to the education, cultivation, and appreciation of the visual arts as well as to inspire future fine artists.
2
Bella Griscom ’17 and TJ Laggis ’17 curated and sponsored a juried art exhibition, Wild and Untamed, at Avondale Arts in Westerly, RI during May 2016. Award Winners included: The Photographic Award: John Brodzinski ’16 for Intrepid, The Painting Award: TJ Laggis ’17 for Innocence, and The Award for the Most Creative Interpretation of the Theme - Wild and Untamed: Reese Berman ’19 for The Waiting Room.
3
The music composition class, (Isabella Casteel ’16, Adrienne Garcia ’16, and Noah Shafner ’19) taught by Anastasia Elliott ’08, made a podcast compiling recordings of their compositions with discussions and descriptions of their pieces. They discussed topics that they have
10
learned from taking the class: composing, recording, notation and recording software, and audio editing. They also discussed challenges, aspects of what music is, what composing is, as well as other questions they posed to each other in an interview-style format. They played an abbreviated version of the podcast at an assembly earlier in May. In most of the recordings they perform themselves, but Olivia Fetter ’18, Sophia Terry ’18, and Nadia PenkoffLidbeck ’17 also participated. bit.ly/musiccompvideo
4
For thirty-two years, “Future Choices” has provided a real world experience for The Williams School students to compete for selection to a juried art show. Ten students were selected to participate in this esteemed juried exhibition: TJ Laggis ’17, Grace Burleson ’17, Hannah Daitch ’17, Noah Bavolack ’16, Emily Ballard ’16, Oliver Falla ’17, Matthew Littlefield ’17, Eli Griswold ’17, Shawn Conroy ’17, and Raj Patel ’17. Hannah received third place in photography for two photos: Local Color and Steps. A prestigious first place in Video/Digital Animation was awarded to Oliver, Matthew, Eli, Shawn, and Raj for their stop motion animation, Down Hill, a surreal adaptation
of Theseus and the Minotaur. Additionally TJ Laggis ’17, Grace Burleson ’17, and Eli Griswold ’17 were selected by the staff at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts to receive Continuing Education Awards. bit.ly/ williamsfuturechoices
5
Students from Art I, Art II, Advanced Art Portfolio Development, and Digital Imaging courses have artwork on exhibit in the Mystic Art Museum’s Young at Art Show which showcases creative work from hundreds of regional students ages eighteen and younger in Mystic Museum of Art’s galleries. Their original artwork was a variety of media: oil, photography, sculpture, and mixed media. Art by individual students and group art projects from Rhode Island and Connecticut schools was displayed. The Williams School is proud to announce that Oliver Falla ’17 received 3rd place in 2D design with his photograph titled, Addiction.
4
2
1
3
2 5
MAGAZINE » Arts
11
Athletics Winter 2015-2016 Post Season Awards
Boys Basketball
Harrison Hall ’16 - First Team All-SENE Div 2 Roman Rios ’19 - Honorable Mention All-SENE Div 2
Girls Basketball
Claudia Pagnozzi-Schwam ’18 - SENE All-League Team Beatrice Mills ’16 - SENE All-League Team
Swimming
While swimmers aren’t afforded the recognition of an all-conference team, several swimmers placed first at their two conference championship meets. Jordan Legg ’17 CISAC: 50 Free [SR], 200 Free, 100 Back SENE 100 Free [SR], 500 Free [SR] Will Jarrett ’18 CISAC: 200 Individual Medley [SR], 100 Fly [SR] SENE: 200 IM Cyrus D’Arcy ’20 CISAC: 100 Breast Alessandra D’Arcy ’21 CISAC: 100 Back Elizabeth Li ’21 CISAC 100 Breast Jordan Legg ’17, Will Jarrett ’18 , Cyrus D’Arcy ’20 , and Andrew Little ’18 CISAC: 200 Freestyle Relay [SR], 200 Medley SENE - Southeastern New England CISAC - Connecticut Independent School Athletic Conference SR - School Record Thank you to our whole community for the support during our Childhood Cancer Awareness week in January. We raised more than $1,000 for a great cause – Mad About Madeline – while showcasing our school spirit.
Spring 2016
Post Season Awards
Boys Varsity Lacrosse
Noah Bavolack ’16 All-SENE First Team Davis Burleson ’20 All-SENE First Team Kevin Masson ’19 All-SENE Honorable Mention David McCarthy ’18 All-SENE Honorable Mention
Girls Varsity Lacrosse
#1 seed in the SENE playoffs, beat Marianapolis in the semifinals, lost to St. Andrews in the championship game Audrey Matson ’20 All-SENE First Team and The Day’s 2016 All-Area Girls’ Lacrosse Team Bella Griscom ’17 All-SENE First Team Grace Linhares ’17 All-SENE First Team Beatrice Mills ’16 All-SENE First Team Allie Norman ’16 All-SENE Honorable Mention Lindsey Noniewicz ’18 All-SENE Honorable Mention
Varsity Tennis
Undefeated in conference play this year and SENE Champion Jon Powell ’17 SENE Singles Champion James Burris ’16 All-SENE Joe Reiser ’18 All-SENE Reese Berman ’19 All-SENE
The following athletes were recognized for their contributions to Williams’ Athletic program: Senior Awards
Athlete of the Year - Lucy Burr ’16 and JJ Johnson ’16 Athletic Leadership Award - Noah Bavolack ’16 and Abby Xenelis ’16 Dauer Student-Athlete Award - Emily Kressley ’16
Underclass Awards
Underclass Athletes of the Year - Will Jarrett ’18 and Cammie Werbinski ’18 Underclass Leadership Award - Grace Linhares ’17 and Colin Madaus ’18
Middle School Awards
Middle School Athletes of the Year - Davis Burleson ’20 and Audrey Matson ’20 Middle School Athletic Leadership Award - Katie Burzin ’20 and James Knowlton ’20 Thank you to all of the athletes, coaches, and parents for another great season of Blues Athletics!
12
Varsity Tennis
Varsity Girls Lacrosse
Varsity Swimming
JV Girls Basketball in Mad About Maddie Game Shirts
Boys Varsity Lacrosse MAGAZINE Âť Athletics
13
SERVICE & ACTIVITIES April 2016 On Tuesday, April 19 we took time out of our regular schedule to celebrate Earth Day. Our students explored the trails of our athletic complex, the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, and Connecticut College Arboretum and Mamacoke Island. Led by student tour guides, members of Dr. Oliver’s Environmental Science class, our community learned about various aspects of the flora and fauna. Members of Service Committee, faculty, and parents participated in the The Walk to End Homelessness. The walk is sponsored by New London’s Homeless Hospitality Center (located right down the street from our school) as a means of obtaining the finances needed to provide services for the people they help. Whether it be to feed everyone, pay medical bills, or buy someone a suit and bus fare for a job interview, all proceeds went to those who need it. FIMRC (Foundation for International Medical Relief for Children) sponsored a Canned Food Drive to benefit the New Reach Program in New Haven, collected donations to purchase health packets for UNICEF, and they sponsored Food Allergy Awareness Week.
May 2016 Endangered Species Club Helps Out at Mamacoke Island Elliot Dombkowski ’21 started a new club on campus to educate our community on how we can help endangered species in our region. Club members helped out on a Saturday morning at Mamacoke Island, part of Connecticut College’s Arboretum property. Elliot, Lauren Spitzer ’22, Sydney Swann ’22, Sjodin Fedikovich ’22, Navia Ladd 21, Skye Gardiner ’21, Samantha Karlson ’21, and faculty member Stella Barth joined others to clean up human trash that would adversely affect many species that call the land and water around Mamacoke Island home.
14
Cassandra Lin ’16 and Amar Viswanathan ’17 were recognized as student leaders at the Annual Education Leaders Breakfast sponsored by The Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut:
Cassandra Lin ’16 Cassandra’s greatest achievement outside of school has been her work with T.G.I.F. (Turn Grease Into Fuel), a recycling program she started in her middle school years that empowers residents and restaurants alike to recycle their used cooking oil into home heating oil for needy community members. Her efforts are an environmental game changer, unique, exemplary, and certainly worthy of the Brower Youth Award earned in 2013. Additionally, Cassandra has presented on this initiative at national and international conferences, giving speeches in both English and Spanish. Her work has been the subject of documentaries and news features, including CNN Heroes, the Nickelodeon Halo Awards, and MTV, to name a few. She has chosen Stanford University for her next step in her education.
Amar Viswanathan ’17 Amar is the co-leader of The Williams School chapter of FIMRC (Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health of families through innovative and sustainable programs. He also participates in the Service Committee and leads the School’s Horticulture Club. Reflecting all of these commitments, Amar recently helped lead the charge for a canned food drive benefiting the New Reach Program in New Haven and collected donations to purchase health packets, including vaccines for children in need and mosquito nets to help families fight against malaria, via UNICEF. Additional recent service efforts include work on behalf of the New London Food Bank and Homeless Hospitality Center. Furthermore, in the summer, Amar can be found volunteering in hospitals, reflecting his interest in a career in medicine.
Earth Day
Mamacoke Island Cleanup
MAGAZINE » Community
15
New Initiatives
Learning Commons and Learning Lab Open Fall 2016
T
he Learning Commons is a place where students and teachers work together to cultivate and engage sharp thinkers, creative minds, and thoughtful citizens. To foster and facilitate the connection of ideas across disciplines and to explore knowledge outside of existing departmental silos, the Learning Commons provides resources both to extend work in the classroom and to pursue individual interests and passions. In addition to engaging in traditional research individually, in small groups, and as a class, students utilize the Learning Commons to collaborate on projects, make use of interactive technology, and record and edit videos and podcasts. The resources are also available for faculty to use to support their classroom teaching and professional development. The design of the Learning Commons includes an open teaching area, an area for collaborative group work, a quiet study room, and the Learning Lab. In addition, the Learning Commons is home to a hands-on tinker space for students, which includes our 3D printer and portable maker cart.
16
The Learning Lab is designed to provide academic support for students and teachers. If a student is having academic difficulty, that student’s advisor or teachers may refer the student to the Learning Lab. In coordination with the student’s advisor and teachers, the student and Learning Lab support teacher will schedule times during the rotation when the student can meet either individually or in small groups for assistance with specific learning challenges. This may involve focusing on time management, working on developing more effective study habits and skills, working on organization, or focusing on course specific strategies.
Williams Kicks Off Health and Wellness Initiative “Adolescents are faced with challenging issues and ethical dilemmas, and they are able to make more appropriate decisions and healthier personal choices when armed with a foundation of knowledge and social skills. These noncognitive abilities, or soft skills, are essential to success as young adults transition to life beyond Williams. As such, we are aiming to create a multi-pronged, age-appropriate plan that will inform students and strengthen their ability to have sound judgment, make good decisions, and articulate their guiding principles.” — Macy Kleinfelder, Dean of Student Affairs Over the next three years we will incorporate Health and Wellness in all areas of school life via Middle School Enrichment, Upper School Seminars and Guest Speakers, Faculty Professional Development, and Parent Programming.
Faculty Recognition Luncheon June, 2016
5 Years:
Stella Barth Cory Harris
10 Years:
Fred Oliver Megan LaCour Kathy Trammell
25 Years:
Peter Emanuel
30 Years: Topics the Health and Wellness Curriculum Aims to Cover: Mindfulness, Stress Management, Resiliency Substance Use, Abuse, and Prevention Sexual Development and Health Empathy Gender Identity and Sexuality Internet Safety and Social Media Mental Health, Depression, and Suicide Nutrition and Fitness Financial Literacy Leadership Self Defense
Bo Parish
Brian Carey Teaching Award: “for faculty dedication and most outstanding work on behalf of Williams students.” Each year, Head of School, Mark Fader announces the recipients of two monetary awards given on behalf of former Chairman of the Board and Parent Brian Carey Louis Cohen Scott Hockford
MAGAZINE » Community
17
125th
Anniversary
Gala
1
3
2
4
6
5 7 18
9
10
11 8 12
13 14
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Brian Davis & Melissa Moss Kerry & Mike Gallagher P ’22 Dr. Chris D’Arcy & Dr. Victoria Reyes-Darcy P ’20, ’21 Mary & Peter Simpson Amy & Adam Goldstein P ’15, ’18 Michael & Rosemary Collins P ’10, ’13 Kathy & Jim Trammell P ’10, ’12 Adam Feinberg ’91 & Ndidi Foy Feinberg ’92 Matthew & Leslie Strekel and Suki & Mark Fader P ’15, ’21, ’23
10. Cristan & Cory Harris 11. Standing, L to R: Crystal Walsh, Hugh O’Brien P ’18, Karen Hanson, Debbie O’Brien P ’18 Seated L to R: Patrick & Joanne Moukawsher P ’18, Erin & John McCallum P ’18, Rhonda Marchesi P ’18, ’21 12. Kelsey Ziegler Vlieks ’91, Chris Stone ’87, Patrick Day P ’20, ’18 13. Suki & Mark Fader P ’15, ’21, ’23 and Dwayne & Melinda Xenelis P ’16, ’18, ’23 14. Thomas Parkinson, Ann Parkinson, Louisa Evans P ’07, ’10, ’11, ’16, Terri Parkinson P ’14, Andrew Parkinson
MAGAZINE » Community
19
Dear Friends, At our 125th Anniversary Gala in May 2016, we publically launched our Distinguishing Williams campaign, which will raise $3 million for The Fund for Williams and endowment by June 30, 2018. There are many things that have distinguished Williams in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Our outstanding faculty, inclusive arts, athletics, service opportunities, and our distinctive academic program create the foundation upon which each student’s preparation for college and a lifetime of learning is built. Each piece is crucial to the Williams experience that impacts each of our students and our alumni. Gaining an innovative liberal arts education in southeastern Connecticut is unique. We challenge our students on a daily basis to question, to think critically and beyond themselves, and to constantly ask “Why?” Building a community of lifelong learners is not just within our mission statement, but something we all truly believe in. This campaign seeks to further distinguish our already exciting and robust experiences for students – now and in the future. In the next few pages you will see our progress to date and our plans for growth throughout the campaign and beyond. The campaign itself focuses on sustaining and supplementing operating expenditures through the Fund for Williams while also growing and enhancing our programming through gifts to the endowment. Each commitment to the campaign is split – with 50% designated to the Fund for Williams and 50% designated toward endowment. Through the Distinguishing Williams campaign, we look to create and maintain programs of distinction that set our institution apart from other educational options. As a community, we have the opportunity to take advantage of the current shifting educational landscape and set ourselves apart as a school of enriching experiences integrated into and beyond the classroom. In order to facilitate this goal, and thereby attract and retain top quality students, faculty, staff, and administrators, we have evaluated areas of potential growth for Williams and identified six priority areas that align with the strategic plan of the Board: • • • • • •
Affordability STEM Program Enhancements Athletics Arts Faculty and Staff Retention and Incentives
Each priority is vital to the health of our institution, and we hope you will support the Distinguishing Williams campaign as we embark on our next 125 years at The Williams School. Sincerely,
Matthew L. Strekel Director of Development
20
Campaign Priorities Affordability “My parents did their best to keep me focused on school and not the financial aspect of attending Williams. For me, financial aid is all about access. Access to resources is imperative in the realm of education. If I had not been given support, I wouldn’t have been able to come into contact with the resources available at Williams both educationally and artistically. If it were not for access, Williams would have also been missing me from its community.” — Kolton Harris ’10
independent schools. Williams is determined to keep tuition low while offering a large portion of students need-based financial aid. In order to accomplish this goal, the Distinguishing Williams campaign will help to create funds that are permanently endowed for the exclusive purpose of providing financial aid.
The Williams School awards over $1.25 million in financial aid to approximately 41% of the 235 students who attend Williams. Each year, we continue to see an increase in those families who apply for financial aid as well as a marked increase in the amount of aid requested. Consistently, Williams delivers a high quality education at a lower cost to comparable Connecticut and Rhode Island
MAGAZINE » feature
21
Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math “Purposeful integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in a meaningful, relevant curriculum and a continued focus on oral and written communication across disciplines will prepare Williams students not only for the next step in their formal education but more importantly for an increasingly complex global economy.” — Jane Hannon P ’06,’09, Assistant Head of School for Program Building learners who have a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) has gained importance in recent years. At Williams, there remain opportunities to continue to integrate these disciplines into current areas of study, in addition to creating STEM curriculum outside of traditional classroom experiences. Williams desires to remain at the helm of educational leadership as we navigate in new waters around interdisciplinary learning. Investment in the endowment directed for STEM will allow our faculty to enhance the quality of program within these areas, including aquaponics, robotics, aeronautics, coding, web design, and so much more.
Arts “The Arts provide the tools which fuse the connection between intellect and emotion. Having awareness of self is vital to a complete and successful education. The Arts at The Williams School seek to engage students in a personalized creative process. Our primary focus is the process of the journey and not the eventual destination. They are provided with safe opportunities to take risks on various personal, academic, and performance levels.” — Jane Martineau P ’00,’06, Arts Department and Theater Instructor The Williams Arts curriculum encourages students to think creatively, communicate effectively, and contribute uniquely. Students across all grades have the opportunity to draw, paint, photograph, perform, dance, and study music regardless of ability. There are few other places where a student can perform in a Christopher Durang play in the fall, take a music theory class, and be in a dance performance in the spring. Gifts to endowed funds directed toward the arts at Williams will benefit areas such as dance, music, visual arts, and theater. Creation of endowed funds for the arts will allow the department to enhance everything from set design and equipment to guest teachers and master classes.
22
Program Enhancement “Any robust college counseling program requires regular travel and, ideally, participation on tours with colleagues from other independent schools. It is here that relationships with colleges and decision makers are formed, the quirks and distinguishing features of campuses detected and the journey toward understanding “fit” for our students begins. As a school deeply committed to knowing and valuing the individuality each student brings, it is crucial that our recommendations for their next four years reflect that knowledge and continued commitment to their growth as scholars, community members, and individuals.” — Cristan Harris, Director of College Counseling Williams continues to explore ways that we can enhance the student and family experience in unique ways. Historically one hundred percent of Williams students go on to four-year colleges and universities. A fund designated for enhancement of our college counseling program will allow for the Director and her staff to travel more to increase our visibility with the most competitive institutions in the country. Students emerge from Williams well-rounded and knowledgeable in a broad range of subjects. They are scholar athletes, musicians, performers, and artists. Investing in program enhancements will ensure that they are continuing their educational journey appropriately prepared and in the right place.
Athletics “Investment in our athletic program will allow us to more deeply develop our athletic offerings and facilities, allowing our studentathletes the ability to succeed both in the classroom and in athletics. With additional endowment and capital resources, we will improve our current facilities to maximize practice and competition opportunities at The Williams Athletic Complex. We will also be able to attract and retain quality coaches with an investment in a coach’s salary endowment fund, which will continue to maximize the success of our athletic offerings. Most immediately, we would like to develop our tennis program to be a multi-level program, and having our own tennis facility would make that possible.” — Bernadette Macca, Director of Athletics Williams has witnessed a rise in the popularity of the soccer and lacrosse programs in recent years, with tennis, sailing, swimming, cross country, and basketball continuing to remain competitive within the New England Prep School Athletic Conference and Southeastern New England Conferences. Approximately 75% of Williams’s students participate in athletics. Funding the growth of endowed funds that are directed toward facility enhancements for athletics and maintenance therefore will help greatly in improving our facilities and fields. In addition, more attractive salaries for our coaching staff will hopefully continue to strengthen our programs and commitment from these wonderful mentors and coaches.
MAGAZINE » feature
23
Enriching the Faculty and Staff Experience In order to attract and retain the most talented independent school educators, The Williams School has identified priorities and benefits that will make sure our students are taught and engaged by the best teachers, staff, and administrators. These top priority areas are: Salaries, Professional Development, and Advanced Degrees. The student to faculty ratio of 8:1 and the average class size of 12 offers teachers and staff the environment to know every student and foster that relationship in their roles of teacher, advisor, coach, or club leader.
24
Goal
D
$3 MILLION
OUR PROGRESS TO DATE 63% of goal ($1.91 MILLION RAISED IN GIFTS AND PLEDGES)
100%
OF ANNUAL FUND GIFTS COUNT TOWARD CAMPAIGN
100%
FACULTY AND STAFF PARTICIPATION
74
INDIVIDUAL COMMITMENTS TO THE CAMPAIGN
90%
OF GIFTS AND PLEDGES ARE UNRESTRICTED
2
MAJOR FOUNDATION GIFTS
100% TRUSTEE PARTICIPATION
MAGAZINE » feature
25
Reunion & Homeco
(Left to Right, Back): Mary Danenberg, Steve Danenberg, Rand Cooper, Paul Baumann, John Knudsen, David McCabe, Ed Wheeler, Laura Smith (Left to Right, front): Sandi Davis, Mary Mirabito, Claire Merritt, Bea Fratoni, Neva Herrington, Susan Wheeler, Jody Phillips-Clark ’78, Tom Gotwals, Charlotte Rea, Sheila Wheeler, Deborah Caldwell Also in attendance, but not pictured was Kevin Reddall.
4, Charlotte aster 1978-199 dm ea H of rg be k Fader - Head Steven Danen 98-2008, Mar 19 ol ho Sc of Rea - Head present School 2008 -
FORMER FACULTY AND STAFF LUNCH
F
ormer colleagues enjoyed reconnecting with each other and the School at a first-ever former faculty luncheon held on Sunday, September 25, 2016. After enjoying a catered meal, the group was treated to a tour of the School by a Student Ambassador who shared his/her insight of “what Williams is like today.” A highlight of the luncheon was seeing three heads of Williams gathered together to enjoy this special event.
26
oming 2016 r looking at thei Class of 1991 yearbook
Rowley Class of 1946: Jean pont Du e ett and Antoin
a Beal (Lis d Dayna n a r e g o R e ’81) Wetmor
Class of 1991 — (Left to Right, Back): Nora Immordino Feldpausch, Alyssa Cramer Cohen, Jacqueline Hemmerdinger, Allison Rogovin, Amy Danenberg King, Kimberly Bennett, Adam Feinberg, Sarah Grady Spence (Left to Right, Seated): Julie Vinick Aronwald, Kelsey Vlieks, Cameron Frost Parisi
Development Associat e Bill Furgueson P ’17, ’20 and Landon Potts ’01
Mr. an (Suzan d Mrs. Love ne Solo mons ’7 6)
Class of 2006 — Julio Garcia, Dan Sprouse, La Katharine Murph ura Marcinek, y, Ellis Grace Sa nt’Andrea, Ben Clark
ALUMNI DINNER
A
lumni ranging from the class of 1946, celebrating their 70th Reunion, to the class of 2006, celebrating the 10th Reunion were present at our third annual Alumni Homecoming and Reunion Dinner on Saturday, September 24, 2016. Enjoying a catered dinner, hearing our featured alumna speaker Antonia Dupont van der Meer ’75 talk about her times at Williams and the impact it had on her career, and getting a tour of their alma mater, the event was a lively affair. The Class of 1991 had the most alumni return with twelve members, over 25% of their class, in attendance.
MAGAZINE » Community
27
Jean Rowley ’46 and friend
Class of 1945 — Antoniette Miceli Purdy, Madge Cohen Solomon, Mary Ellen Ruddy Hanrahan
Shifro Traub Preston ’42 and Shoshana Traub Teicher ’50
d Nola Talmadge Kiki Halikas ’38 an ley Bunk ’46
Alumni Board President Elena Boneski Dolan ’90 and Louise Fabrykiewicz ’47
’50, Shifro ub Teicher ra T a n a tteria sh t): Sho ine LaGro ck to fron y Rohde ’52, Joseph a b rten , a g ft in le n ise We Case (Seated o ont): Lou , Kathleen fr 2 s ’52 ’4 is to e n k o W c st s a e e Holm right, b v Traub Pre li n O o , d 4 ’5 te a (Se artin Kelley ’52 Vinyard M z ’47, Sally ic w ie k ry b Fa
Class of 1951 — Joan Flaherty Johanson, Jean Cleary Uguccioni, Nancy Cook Murray
e Jane Manley ’37 sat with the Class of 1953: Dian ey Browne Crampfield, Beverly Blair Eastty, Shirl Lazerow Sherman, Marjorie Voelker D’Amico
PRE-55
ALUMNA BRUNCH
W
illiams Memorial Institute alumnae enjoyed a brunch at The Williams School in the Weismann Student Center on Sunday, September 25, 2016. Alumnae in attendance ranged from the class of 1937 to 1954. The WMI ladies enjoyed getting together and sharing stories of the past in our present building.
28
Class of 1954 — Judith Marion Cammarata, Maureen Shea Dickson, Durelle Holden Alexander, Marjorie Winslow
Director of Development Matt Strekel led Jean Rowley ‘46 (wheelchair) and Betty Ann Chapman ‘49 to “class.” They were attending class together not at the Broad Street campus of WMI, but at the 182 Mohegan Avenue campus.
el ‘87 met d Suzanne Podurg Dayna Beal ‘81 an for the first eir way to “class” in the foyer on th ars. time in over 20 ye
ALUMNI
CLASS VISIT DAY
A
lumni of all ages returned to the classroom for Alumni Class Visit Day on Friday, September 23, 2016. Some were active participants in the lessons, while others sat back and were amazed at the quality of education and level of expertise our young students demonstrate.
ALUMNI & FORMER FACULTY
AUTHOR TALK
W
here else could one hear a Holocaust survivor, two children’s authors, a NY Times magazine writer, a motivational speaker, a celebrated environmentalist, and a poet? Only at Williams. On Sunday, September 25, 2016 over 35 people gathered in the Daren Performing Arts Center to listen to a panel of alumni and former faculty authors. The speakers were: • Gail Lowney Alofsin ’80 - Your Someday is Now • Mary Budzik ’73 - Basher Series Author a writer for hire • Rand Cooper ’76 - Author of The Last to Go and Fatherhood, I Now Learn, is a Young Man’s Game • Louise Fabrykiewicz ’47 - Environmental pamphlets about Alewife Cove • Alice Goldstein ’49 - A Holocaust survivor and author of Alice Goldstein Survivor Testimony, and Ordinary People, Turbulent Times • Anna Westbrook ’08 - Children’s Author, You Can’t Read this Book • Neva Herrington (FF) - Poet, Blue Stone and Other Poems, and Her BMW and Other Poems The audience was captivated as the panel shared a little bit about their book/s and the role their Williams experience had on their writing.
MAGAZINE » Community
29
125TH ANNIVERSARY SPEAKER SERIES 2015 - 2016
williamsschool.org/125speakers
Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang ’89 with former math teachers Ann Dickson ’49 & Mary Mirabito
Mrs. Katie Koestner, Executive Director, Campus Outreach Services “A Cyber World of Trouble”
Dr. Katherine Bergeron, President of Connecticut College “A New Liberal Arts for the 21st Century”
30
Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, ’89, Associate Professor of Education, Psychology, and Neuroscience at The University of Southern California “Rest is Not Idleness in the Brain: Insights for Education from Neuroscientific Research on Social Emotion and Self”
Dr. Ralph Nurnberger, Principal at Gray Global Advisors “Is Israeli-Palestinian Peace Feasible in the Near Future?”
Moments during our 125th Anniversary Celebration.
MAGAZINE Âť Community
31
ALUMNI BIOGRAPHY
Justin Klee By Hillary Goldstein ’16
J
ustin Klee’09 came to The Williams School from Waterford as a 7th grader; intrigued by the great education, warm community feeling, and strong faculty connections. His freshman year Justin and his twin brother Jared ’09 left Williams to try another high school, but after just six weeks they decided that it wasn’t working and wanted to return to Williams. Justin recalls meeting with Mr. Fader on a Friday, and then being greeted and welcomed back by cheering and smiles the following Monday morning in the PAC during assembly. Justin says they came back because “there are just so many teachers who really care about the students and there’s such a warm community that promotes students and teachers really getting to know each other.” His one regret during his time at Williams was leaving for those six weeks. During Justin’s time at Williams he was an active athlete, participating in cross-country, tennis, and swimming, where he was awarded ‘Athlete of the Year’ as a junior and also broke multiple swimming records throughout his years on the team. Both Justin and Jared were outgoing students who participated in a variety of school activities. Justin comments saying, “having two of us was probably a handful and Williams did a pretty good job handling that.” Some of his favorite classes included American History with Mr. John Knudsen and Algebra II with Mrs. Mary Marabito. He was always a science type of student and his true passions were in AP Chemistry and Biology. Those two classes particularly, prepared him for the greater science world and are two subjects that he still uses daily in his current job. After graduating from Williams in 2009, Justin attended Brown University and graduated with a degree in neuroscience. When he first stepped foot on Brown’s campus he didn’t know what he wanted to study, bouncing from one major to another. After exploring a vast amount of majors he eventually found neuroscience. What Justin finds interesting about neuroscience is that it is a hard objective science and that it is such an unknown field with a human aspect to it. For example, when studying about how hearing works it’s easy to examine how you personally hear and then break it down to learn the science behind it. In addition, Justin loves how the brain is such a complex system, explaining, “we know so little about it, in the past ten years there has been such tremendous progress in knowledge in how the brain works.” This only made Justin want to discover more about it. During his junior year at Brown, Justin started working in a neuroscience lab where he spent over 40 hours a week researching and working because he was so intrigued in his study and enjoyed the people he was working with and the strong connections he was creating. The ability to create strong and valuable connections were a crucial aspect into how he started his biotech business; first learning this skill at Williams where he would spend time talking to teachers about topics he was passionate about. Justin explains, “the
32
most important part of the company is finding people who are very experienced and knowledgeable of the industry who are willing to work with us and advise our development. It’s really not any different than going to 9th period to learn more about a subject or to get help with an assignment. That was something so special I learned and experienced at Williams.” I think that was such an important thing, and I’m lucky to continue to keep these connections.” Justin stresses that the skill to both create and maintain connections is such a huge part of “the real world” and agrees that Williams does an excellent job in teaching that in the relationships that students are able to make with faculty. Currently Justin is the President and co-founder of a small biotech company called Amylyx Pharmaceuticals. His company has a drug candidate for ALS and Alzheimer’s and they are aiming to be in clinical trial by early next year after three and a half years of hard work. He started Amylyx as an undergraduate at Brown University with one of his close friends, Josh Cohen. Ultimately they decided to start Amylyx because they were looking into neurodegenerative diseases and realized that in both ALS and Alzheimer’s, there are many trials that don’t succeed. Although there are a few drugs out there now that help with the diseases, they don’t do much for the long run which causes a sad problem that more and more patients and families are beginning to face each day. Justin’s company looked at how other trials were treating them and realized that they were all treated in similar ways. Many attempted treatments have had very similar and overlapping hypotheses so his goal was to find a new way and create a more creative hypothesis. After discovering this, his company decided to go back and look into finding a new way to treat ALS and Alzheimer’s. What they found was that in all neurodegenerative diseases the neuron dies. In Alzheimers it’s in the memory centers. In ALS it’s in your motor cortex. The body’s immune system thinks it is under attack and as a result it fights back which kills more neurons, making the patient worse faster. The goal of Justin’s company is to stop that process from happening. If they can intervene successfully they could at least slow down the disease, and maybe even halt it for good. As their research expanded, they began testing in pre-clinical models and the results were promising. Their next goal is to test the drug in real patients with the disease. As they proceed into the steps of clinical trial, Amylyx hopes to test the drug with ALS patients early next year and then in Alzheimer patients afterwards. A big part of starting his company was being able to talk and work with mentors and people who had experience in this field. From the time he first started to where he is now, Justin, says, “there has been a ton of learning of what not to do and what to do.” This past July, Justin married his high school sweetheart, Danielle Briggs ’10 in Rhode Island. The two began dating at Williams and continued through Justin’s time at Brown and Danielle’s time at The University of Texas at Austin. Danielle just completed two years in Teach For America, and she is now a publicist in Boston.
ALUMNI BIOGRAPHY
ANTONIA “TONY” DUPONT VAN DER MEER ’75 Sharing The Story In A Way That Captures Her Readers by Bill Furgueson
literature, as well as the support of my mother, who as a 1946 graduate of Williams herself who understood the importance of this Williams School education.”
Antoinette Loiacono Dupont ’46 and Antonia “Tony” Dupont van der Meer ‘75
About the Author
H
illary is the epitome of a Williams student. Starting in the seventh grade, Hillary embraced life at Williams in the classroom, hallways, and pool. Her welcoming smile, willingness to help others or seek their help allowed Hillary to take the lead of our new Media Team. During her senior year, Hillary developed our Pinterest page and encouraged students to help out with our other social media channels. Now a freshman at Skidmore College, Hillary sought to stay connected to Williams by reaching out to alumni for our series of alumni profiles. What she discovered is really what Williams is all about:
“...I’ve been emailing Justin Klee for a few weeks and today we talked on the phone for about 45 minutes (if not more) and it was probably one of the coolest things to do and hear. Granted I’ve known Justin since we swam together pre Williams, so it was fun to catch up and compare a little, but I just found it so fun and interesting to hear what he has done and about his time at Williams. It was really neat to see how many Williams characteristics are the same and how I’ve had similar types of Williams memories to what he had. His company was also incredibly interesting to hear about (and that is coming from someone who was definitely not a science person these last 6 years, but it definitely made me curious!)...it was really kind of a cool experience to hear from him, especially as I head to college in a few weeks.”
Antonia “Tony” Dupont van der Meer is a multi-genre writer, who, no matter the topic, captures her readers and wraps them in her writing. She has mastered the craft of expressing her ideas through the medium of writing. Her mastery has taken her from the hallways of 182 Mohegan Avenue in 1975 to Brown University, to becoming a celebrated non-fiction author, to being Editor-in-Chief of Coastal Living magazine, and currently a National Geographic collaborator. An exceptional journey of someone who has been described as a woman who “lacks an ego,” but is “a smart, dynamic, and decisive leader with a gift for inspiring, and has a shrewd understanding of the ever-changing media landscape.” It started in our halls While at Williams, it was her work as coeditor of the Legenda and the editor of the Literary Magazine The Hilltop that sparked her interest in a career as a writer. “I really got my first taste of working on a team, having a staff, utilizing the great visuals my classmates had created. It was all I wanted to do.” As a member of a class of only 16 girls, Tony says she learned to “lean in before it was fashionable, and to be fearless.” After graduating from Brown University, she got her first job at Seventeen Magazine and brought her “Williams School girl there - my desire to learn new things and not be afraid.” “Often times in high school we find out what we are not good at, and we tend to find the one thing that we are good at,” It starts in high school: the self-discovery of finding one’s passion, that understanding of a topic that one can turn into a career. “In high school we are asked to be good at many things, but I felt like I was good in one area, and that was writing, reading and editing. What a lucky girl I was to have attended Williams and have the experience of the great teachers, the great
A veteran magazine editor After three years at Seventeen Magazine, Antonia freelanced and began writing about a dozen non-fiction books. But soon she says she “missed what I had at Williams, the feeling I had being the editor of the Legenda and the literary magazine” and returned into the magazine industry. She first served as Editor-in-Chief at Condé Nast of three of its magazines: Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, and Your Prom, and most recently at Time Inc. as Editor-in-Chief of Coastal Living.” All of these magazines had great success under Antonia’s leadership. In her role as a writer and editor, she has also appeared frequently on national television, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS: This Morning, and many other shows. A prolific and successful author Antonia is presently the author of 14 nonfiction books published throughout the world, on topics ranging from health and beauty to home decorating. Her most recent book, Beach House Happy was published in April of 2015. She is currently working on the Beachcomber’s Bible with National Geographic. Her love of the water was fostered growing up in New London. “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” — Jorge Luis Borges It is clear that from the many mediums, and the long history of success in her field that Antonia Dupont van der Meer is an exceptional writer, editor, and leader in the literary field. Where she has worked has been enhanced by her mastery of the craft of writing. Whether it be the teenager looking to learn more about Lindsey Lohan and Taylor Swift, the nervous bride preparing for her wedding, the homeowner trying make their living room perfect, or the everyday reader wanting to sit and enjoy a good book, Antonia is able to impactfully write to her audience. We are proud to call her an alumna of Williams and believe that in Borges’ Paradise there is at least one book written and a magazine published by Antonia Dupont van der Meer.
MAGAZINE » Community
33
34
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 13
10
11
14 Class of 2016 Graduates and Their Williams Siblings 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
11. 12. 13. 14.
Oaklea Elfström ’16 and Petra Elfström ’14 Ian Regee Garcia ’12 and Adrienne Garcia ’16 Lise Freitas ’13 and Marlena Freitas ’16 Justin Shafner ’16 and Sarena Shafner ’13 John Brodzinski ’16 and Emily Brodzinski ’12 Max Novak ’09 and Michal Novak ’16 Andrea Goldstein ’12 and Hillary Goldstein ’16 Xavier Mills ’15, Grace Mills ’12, Beatrice Mills ’16, and Caroline Mills ’10 Emily Cohen ’13 and Samantha Cohen ’16 Thomas Evans ’16, Elizabeth Evans ’07, Samuel Evans ’10, and Katharine Evans ’11 Tucker Norman ’12 and Allie Norman ’16 Benjamin Ballard ’12 and Emily Ballard ’16 Cassandra Lin ’16 and Alexander Lin ’10 Catherine Malcynsky ’13, Luke Malcynsky ’16 and Caitlyn Malcynsky ’07 (not in picture: Emily Malcynsky ’11)
12 MAGAZINE » Class Notes
35
STAY CONNECTED We love to hear from you! Please send your news, milestones, and photos to alumni@williamsschool.org or Classnotes - The Williams School - 182 Mohegan Avenue - New London, CT 06320. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. She belongs to the Ledyard Senior Center book club, where she participates in monthly book discussions. Her oldest granddaughter enjoyed a two-week vacation in Europe with other students from Stonington High School.
CLASS NOTES
Alice Finch Flanders wrote that she and Bill celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and are “still going strong.” Family members will gather from various parts of the country for their annual reunion during the summer. Alice enjoys the news from New London and WMI by way of Facebook.
1936
80 Year Reunion Rose Delia O’Brien celebrated her 97th birthday and her 80th high school reunion.
1946
70 Year Reunion Bea Carey shared, “On August 6, 2016, seventeen members of the WMI Class of 1946 held a 70th Reunion at the Main Street Grille in Niantic. Many fond memories were recalled. We had attendees from the local area as well as from Tucson, Arizona and Sebring, Florida.”
1949 New class secretary Betty Ann Chapman shares, “I hope I can do as good a job as Helen Kiritsis Kortesis did for thirty-seven years. With heartfelt sympathy to the families of Ethelyn Howard Dwire (who made our lunch reservations), Alma Carradori Ruggiero (who was secretary of the pre-55 Alumnae Association for many years), and Gloria Hratko all who have passed away this year. Classmates from 1949 meet on Tuesday, once a month, at different restaurants. Usually attending are Eleanor Satti Butler, Marjorie Pond Fisher, Noreen Prosser Jones, Helen Kiritsis Kortesis, Doris Desrosier Lawrence, Shirley Ashburn McGrath, Vivian Traystman McGuire, Zita Flaherty Smith, Margaret Pugsley Wells, and Betty Ann Apicelli Chapman. It is amazing that this past June marks sixty-seven years since we all graduated WMI. If anyone would like to see the list of our departed classmates, please let me know.”
1953 The ladies of the Class of 1953 have been meeting for lunch at different restaurants in
36
’36 (Standing Center): Rose Delia O’Brien
the area, catching up with the news. They do this every two months on a Wednesday at noon. They usually have 10-15 classmates attending. They report that they have a mixed group, which makes it fun and they welcome anyone from their class to join them. You may call Barbara Blair Eastty (860-437-3727) or Marge Voelker D’Amico (860-440-4195) to find out when and where they are meeting next.
1954 Mary Nunes Devlin described a trip that several classmates made to Blue Bell, PA in early April where they attended Durelle Holden Alexander’s 80th birthday. Mary and her husband Bill were joined by Madge Cohen Solomon, and Maureen Shea Dickson, and her husband Joe. The party was hosted by Durelle’s two gracious children Justin and Athena. The weekend was capped off for Madge when her son Mark, who happened to be in the area, joined the group the next day for breakfast. Marge Winslow wrote to share that she had openheart surgery in mid-May. She said that she is doing well, although it is expected to be a fairly long recuperation. Marge remains very active. She enjoys seeing shows at Goodspeed and looks forward to getting back to dancing herself.
The request for sharing news and thoughts provoked some memories for Mary Murphy Bayless. Mary asked, “Does rereading Moll Flanders count as a milestone as I approach my eightieth birthday?” She remarked how a freshman class in Communications taught by Jane Schelander taught her to read between the lines and stimulated a lifelong pleasure in reading. She went on to say that her education at WMI (including Mr. Tudhope’s art class) influenced both her reading habits and her itinerary on a recent trip to New York where she and her daughter enjoyed visits to the Guggenheim, MOMA, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her trip to the east coast also allowed the opportunity to visit sisters Kathy and Pat in Virginia. As a mini-vacation, Sheila Dasovich had a great time visiting Stonington Boro this past July with her pre-55 friends, especially Mary Ellen Ruddy Hanrahan who was her maid of honor at her wedding over 60 years ago! Sheila showed her family WMI, the USCGA, The Williams School, Conn College, and many other local places that impacted her childhood. She was sorry to miss the pre-55 brunch during Homecoming 2016 but heard great things about this year’s event from her classmates who attended. While visiting, Sheila along with Barbara Whiton Kaisand, ’53, Antoinette Miceli Purdy, Peg Curtain ’52, and Mary Ellen Ruddy Hanrahan were able to meet up. Mary Ellen shared, “We enjoyed our ‘second annual’ luncheon at the Main Street Grill in Niantic. It was great to see everyone, and the conversation never lagged!”
Find your class agent at: www.williamsschool.org/classagent or call Bill Furgueson, Development Associate, at 860.439.2769.
1968
’54 (Standing Left to Right): Mary Hellen Ruddy Hanrahan ’54, Toni Miceli Purdy ’54, Margaret “Peg” Curtin ’52, Barbara Whiton Kaisand ’53 (Seated): Sheila Tooker Dasovich ’54
1955 Nancy Brooks Marculewicz and her husband are now residing in a Retirement Community in Peabody, Mass. Nancy is still drawing and doing a little painting. Their son and his family live in Maryland and their daughter and family formerly lived in Texas and moved to Norway two years ago. Both families like to return to Boston’s North Shore for vacations, especially in the summer. Shirlee Bousa Johnston and her husband Don say hello to all from Santa Rosa, California. They miss the East Coast, but are enjoying their California home in wine country, which is located between two mountain ranges.
1956 Claudia White Gilmartin ’56: “As long as I can, I’ll keep moving, learning new things, like volunteering at the Seacoast Science Center at their Touch Tank, thoroughly enjoying the excitement of the young children as they watch a hermit crab go after a piece of clam.”
1960 Sally Doherty Dussere shared “Cuba was great. I really enjoyed it. I wanted to go before all the hordes of American tourists arrived. There are lots of other tourists of course but the only other American tourists we saw were on big
’68 Captain Helen Foster Deitrick and her husband Chief Engineer Bob Kovach group tours, which are also very expensive. We went very inexpensively with our plane and accommodations organized by a group near Boston called CubaToDo. They told us there is now essentially a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on tourism. We went by ourselves and were free to do whatever we wanted. The Cubans are very positive about Americans.“
1965 Anne Scheibner reported that her “mother – and longtime Williams librarian - Anne Scheibner (Mrs. Henry Scheibner) died in April at the age of 98. We interred her ashes in Stonington next to my father who died in 2007. Last August I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy at Backus Hospital. So far so good but, of course, it will be four more years before I’m declared “cancer free.” I’m back at St. Francis House here in New London, but hope to get (finally!) a long delayed sabbatical to do printmaking starting this fall.” Claudia “Cappy” Pine Simon shared: “My daughter, Margo, is expecting her second child in October. She has a two-year old son, Indy. My son, Scott, has three children, Jaxon, 1, Peyton, 8 and Hudson, 10. I am still teaching in the Computer Science Department at Temple University. I totally love what I do. Last November 2015, I received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Mentoring from Temple’s College of Science and Technology. I am looking forward to another great year.”
Congratulations to Gretchen Cranz Fornoff, who reports “One year cancer free!” Captain Helen Foster Deitrick and her husband, Chief Engineer Bob Kovach, have completed the Great Loop, the circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water. John and Martha Morrison Veranth have spent the summer moving into a condo in Salt Lake City and completing a house they’ve been building since 2010 in southern Utah. Martha is becoming adept as a carpenter’s helper.
1969 Bailey “Betty” Staub Johnson volunteers at a Hospice facility feeding patients, sitting with confused patients for comfort and safety, and helping the nursing staff. Betty also winters in Zephyrillis, FL, and enjoys playing shuffleboard. Lyell Erwin Franke has been happily married to her college sweetheart for 43 years and resides in Duxbury, MA. They have three children, (two sons and a daughter, ages 39, 37, 32.) The boys are married with two children each. Their daughter is engaged to an emergency room doctor finishing his residency in NYC, and their wedding is planned for next year. Lyell has been involved in many community organizations including the Duxbury Education Foundation, the South Shore Conservatory, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. A small retail business owner for twenty years, both Lyell and her husband are retired and look forward to sharing time with grandchildren and traveling.
1981 th
35 Reunion Ted “Buf ” Bremer, wrote: “Always good to hear from people at Williams. My family and I just moved from Paris to Ireland. We’ve enjoyed the change of scenery and all the green. A fond memory for me was Mrs. Martineau trying to teach me to dance. She was dedicated to her craft even then!” Nicole Liebig Vernstrom and her husband, Lance, retired last October and moved from Santa Barbara to Wofford Heights, CA in the southern Sierras. They live in the southern section of Sequoia National Forest. Nicole said, ‘‘We enjoy hiking, exploring the forest by jeep, kayaking and fishing on Lake Isabella. I spend MAGAZINE » Class Notes
37
lots of time gardening and participate in our local farmer’s market. I still do a little freelance graphic art for friends and old clients. We’ve travelled a little bit to see my nieces in Florida and look forward to going to Mexico this winter. I hope all is well with everyone at Williams.” Dayna (Lisa Wetmore) Beal currently lives in Colchester, CT. Dayna recently attended the 35 year reunion at Williams and had a great time talking with the alumni that attended. Dayna said that “physically, the school is very different from when I attended but after visiting the school and observing a couple of classes I can tell that the spirit of the school is still the same.” Dayna is the Vice-President of the Parent Council of Norwich Free Academy where her three children attend (sons are in the senior & junior classes and daughter is a sophomore). Now that her children are attending school (all were homeschooled through freshman year) she is renewing her teaching certification for CT and hopes to be teaching math and science classes very soon.
1982 Gail Houston Bacon has started a new job as the Director of Nursing for Mid Columbia Medical Center’s Outpatient Clinics in The Dalles, Oregon. She writes, “we have a new granddaughter, Mackenzie, born February 2016 to our second son, Garrett, and his wife, Ciara. David and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal, which was a wonderful gathering of family and friends at our Mount Hood home. Our youngest son, Liam, will graduate from the US Merchant Marine Academy in Long Island N.Y. in June so we will be back to the East coast for a visit. I am still teaching and judging highland dancing. My email is gail@bacon-family.com I’d love to hear from classmates or contact us if you are in the area. The Columbia River Gorge is a National Scenic Area and is beautiful to visit.”
1983
Eva Schlesinger shared that “performing at The Moth Grand Slam last October was great. The event was held at San Francisco’s historic Castro Theater, the world’s largest Grand Slam venue. My story made the audience of 1,400 laugh nonstop. Since then, I’ve performed at many local story slams, as well as at the Berkeley Marsh. I also had a poem published in Cooking with The Muse: A Sumptuous Gathering of Seasonal Recipes, Culinary Poetry, and Literary Fare by Myra Kornfeld and Stephen Massimilla (Tupelo Press, 2016).”
38
’84 Janie Feng and Dave Duncklee practicing for Dancing with the Santa Fe Stars.
1984
Kimberly McDermott Esty shared, “The members of the Class of 1984 have had a wonderful year. Many of us have already turned 50, and the celebrations continue! My husband and I still live in Madison, CT with our two fun dogs. My big summer adventure was learning to play bridge - ha!! Our boys get home from time to time which is very fun. Frasier ’09 continues to love living/working in NYC, and Spencer ‘11 loves living and working in DC. This year, I have had the pleasure of visiting with Janine Feng, Karin Mallory Bell, and Kent Haines. Karin lives in New Hampshire. When she’s not traveling to exotic places (most recently the Galapagos Islands), she is raising her two teenage girls, running her massage therapy business, managing her AirBNB property, and planning concerts in her area. She has more energy and enthusiasm than most people I know! We had dinner with Kent, his wife Lisa, and their two kids, Zach and Abby, last week. They are such a fun family and will soon take Zach to Bentley University to start his college career. Eric Weissman lives in Maryland, and just married his partner of 24 years, Joe. Congratulations, Eric! Jennifer Lowney continues to improve the smiles of hundreds of people in Connecticut when she’s not on an adventure with her husband and daughters. And their eldest will be heading off to Marist College this fall. David Wilson and his wife, Tara Hageman Wilson ’83, live in Massachusetts with their two kids, Nate and Kaitlin. They, too, will be dropping their eldest at college this fall, and Nate will be attending Quinnipiac College. I’m pretty sure Christine Bennett is training for her first half marathon. Greg Bernier still has his photography business and now also owns a charter fishing boat in Niantic called the Dot E Dee. Claire Bardenheier Bloch lives in Bethesda,
MD where she is a Special Ed teacher, and this summer she and her family took a long and fabulous trip to Europe. Stephen Shiller is an avid mountain biker and lives in Colorado. John Jacey sent a wonderful update: “We’re still living in Arlington, MA and, when not there, bounce back and forth between Jackson, NH and Humarock, MA. One of my summer highlights was heading to Ft. Benning on the Alabama/Georgia line to see our oldest son, Sam, graduate from Army Airborne School as part of his ROTC program at Syracuse (I could not jump out of a perfectly good plane.) Still at home are Ben, who will be a senior (dragging us around the Northeast for college visits this summer) and Elena, who will be a freshman. So glad to be done with that middle school stuff! On the work front, I’m in my 12th year in the pharmaceutical anti-counterfeit world and helped grow my current company from 10 employees six years ago to nearly 250 today. Good times and very rewarding if we can prevent just one patient from getting fake medicine.” Congrats to you, John!!” Janine Feng shared that “my daughter, Samantha is heading off to the University of Miami, Sylvester Cancer Center, to work in a research lab (same one as the previous two summers), and Jim’s son is leaving for Harvard in August. Here is a photo of me and Jim from a Santa Fe Prep event, and another photo of my dance partner, Dave Duncklee and I practicing for Dancing with the Santa Fe Stars. We won the Midas Award for most money earned to benefit the Breakthrough Santa Fe Program.” Jennifer McGowan still lives in Great Britain, and is very successful publishing her poetry. She won the Geoff Stevens Memorial Prize. “This means Indigo Dreams Publishing will publish my collection The Weight of Coming Home. I am happy to announce that my fourth book (and second full collection of poetry), With Paper for Feet, will be published by Arachne Press in February, 2017.
1986
30 Year Reunion Karen Church writes that she got a chance to see Leslie Powell when Leslie was visiting LA this summer for work. Karen said that it felt like no time had passed, except instead of talking about Russian and Chinese History, they were now talking about parenting. Marci Joy recently had a visit from Betsy O’Brien Luchars ’87 and Bernie Podurgiel at Highland Kitchen, the restaurant she and Mark run. They are busy opening a new restaurant in Cambridge this fall. Marci writes, “Evangeline will be four in October. She goes to
1987
’87 Sports Illustrated Chief Editor Chris Stone had a visit from Olympic Gold medalist Aly Raisman just after the Rio Olympics.
a sweet preschool on a farm and is in love with all the animals. Shane turns 11 in December and is going into the 5th grade at Park School. He is really into sports and thankfully has his Dad’s athletic abilities rather than mine!” Scott McGill reports that he is “still a professor of Classics at Rice University: I’m currently department chair, which I like to say means being chair of 14 professors and roughly 27 personalities. This year, I had two books come out, a verse translation of a fourth-century Latin Christian poem and an edited volume on the Latin poetry of late antiquity (roughly, 300-600 AD); they’re both sure to be bestsellers. So I’m keeping busy. At home, all is also hunky dory. My wife Sarah and I continue to try to keep up with three boys, and to keep them from doing too much damage to our house. Our oldest (Charlie) is now a teenager, which confounds us; the other two are ten (Alexander) and eight (Julian).”
Smith Forte shared, “I have recently taken a new job as Chief Product Officer at Acorns (www. acorns.com). Acorns is a micro-investing app that allows users to invest their spare change into the market. We do this by rounding up your everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and investing that money into fractional share holdings. It’s a great way to save for the long term without really thinking about it! I live in San Anselmo, CA with my wife Christina and three kids: Rowan (10), Sela (10), and Tess (7). I see a few Williams alum out here, including Chris Hess, Lara (Guille) Otte, and Anjuli Basu. And like everyone else, I was saddened to hear the news about Matt Cox. Heart goes out to the Cox family.”
1989 Marc Bienstock has been living in Santa Barbara CA with his wife Jenny and two children, Dylan (15) and Lily (13), for fourteen years. “I have a busy practice as an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon. I miss the East Coast a lot but the California lifestyle has been an incredible experience. I recently met my brother Evan Bienstock ’92 in Vermont with Lily who hadn’t ever seen New England in the fall; she immediately fell in love with the scenery. We visit NYC yearly to visit family and recharge!” Congratulations to Dylan Chalk on the release of his new book.
SHOWING THE WILLIAMS SCHOOL NETWORKING CONNECTION Colleen Cymbala’s ’06 company, comScore Inc., acquired a competitor a while back. While facilitating the merger, Colleen shared this story. “I’ve been working with my new team for a few months now. One of my teammates and I found out we both lived in CT, he lived in Old Saybrook and I was in Essex. For some reason the first time we made this connection neither of us asked about high school - I thought he moved to Massachusetts and went to high school there. The other day we were at a meeting and got back on the topic of high school, and it turns out he went to Williams! His name is Steve Solinsky ’00 - he graduated in 2000 and I started in the fall of 2000 so we just missed each other. We were both blown away. He knew David Martineau’s older sister (Ross Erin Martineau ’00) and Tyler Lipp’s older brother, (Jordan Lipp ’02). We also had some of the same teachers — it was pretty funny. He lives in Boston and I’m in Chicago and we were meeting in DC - what are the chances we’d both be Williams alumni!”
1991
25th Reunion Kristinia Bant Jenkins is working on her #THISisAutism campaign, promoting positivity in autism awareness. In October, she will be speaking at the Love and Autism Conference in San Diego, sharing her photography of kids on the spectrum, and sharing their personalities through photos, focusing on them as individuals, not what they struggle with (www.loveandautism.com).
’89 Mark Bienstock’s family
MAGAZINE » Class Notes
39
Kristina reports that she has gotten really wonderful response to her work since receiving the Single Mom’s Planet award in May (www. singlemomsplanet.com/2016-single-momsawards-show/). “Next month I am officially launching a new non-profit foundation called Au2bFit,bringing together parents and families of children touched by autism with a community of athletes and physically active, fitness-conscious. I am excited to have a few major athletes that will be involved, we will be part of the races and events in California, and will host other sporting events! With 1 in 62 kids now diagnosed, this is such a huge part of our population! I am all about avoiding controversy and debate and getting to enjoy and live life! So I am really excited for this new project!” Check out these websites to see more on what Kristina has been working on: kristinabantjenkins.com, kristinabantjenkins. com/thisisautism, and aut2bfit.org.
1996
20 Year Reunion
1997 Stephen Wilson and his wife are now the proud owners of the Concord Animal Hospital in Concord, MA. He also serves as the personal physician for a number of Williams pets, including Hadley and Cedge Marston (Jon Marston’s family pets) and Haley and Harbour Pascal (Charlie Pascal’s family pets).
1998 Serge Gagarin and new wife Lauren Beth Eisenberg currently reside in Boston, MA and still spend summers in Watch Hill, RI.
2000 Alexis Ramirez-Arnold and Brad Kirkpatrick welcomed a son Evan Kirkpatrick in March. “He is just a love. We are all adjusting to our family of four in our new home in Glastonbury,
CT!” When Katie Lee and Tony Glick were married this summer Toby Pinn Wooodcock was a bridemaid and Jenn Barbour Larrow was in attendance as well.
2002 Sloan Devlin has moved from San Francisco to Boston to take a position as an assistant professor in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. Her lab seeks to bring a chemical understanding to the human microbiome. In particular, her lab uses small molecules to study and manipulate human gut bacteria in order to better understand how these microorganisms affect human health and contribute causally to diseases including obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, and colon cancer. She is excited to be living in Jamaica Plain and swimming at MIT.
2005 Ian Schultz shared: “I’m gonna play Algernon in the ‘Importance of Being Earnest’ in September! AlphaNYC Theater Company just emailed me, and I am just going mad. This is one of my all-time dream roles, and my love of dear Oscar doesn’t hurt either. I am just flush with wicked plans to live only the most decadent lifestyle as I get these lines down, because I am going to relish the hell out of this one. The show went up on September 16th for a very limited run.”
’96 Chandra Ahamed Grisanty, Amelia Lord, Kate Rampellini Applegate, Ali Kiley, Jyl Tesler Susco, Anne McCandless, Sarah Gadbaw Packard Grace Abdelnour Brueckner, Tiffany Chiat Haim, Alex Polidori Bourgeois, Allie Thorp, Haylin Alpert, Zak Kowal, Dmitri Rabin, J.P Lesnik, Sarah Tesler Warn, Justin Florence, Kelly Warner Lynch, Sam Einhorn — all met up this past summer for a mini-reunion!
’06 Julio Garcia graduating with his Master’s from Boston College
40
2006
2011
Tom Fagin wrote, “My big thing this year was I ran the Voyageur 50 mile Trail Ultra marathon in Minnesota and got 10th overall. I’m guiding backcountry ski trips in the mountains this winter.”
Congratulations to Emily Benson who has been accepted to the Elon University School of Law! Her plan is to finish her degree at Columbia this year. She will use her social work degree and law degree together to pursue her passion helping differently abled persons. Lee Cattanach had a fantastic end to his college running career: threetime All-American, four NCAA Championship appearances, six school records, four conference titles, one conference record, one New England title, one “unofficial” NCAA DIII top ten all time mark, some facility and meet records, twoconference Runner of the Year awards, and a few other random things. He is now in Alabama training for road races and a career.
10 Year Reunion
5 Year Reunion
2007 Madeline Sayet is a fellow at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center. Julie Neusner has now moved to California to study at UC Davis Law.
2008 Paige Phillips is no longer at the Florida Master Site File. “It’s been a good time, but I’m moving down the street to be an Academic Program Specialist (admin/advisor) in the Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science department at FSU! I’m excited to try my hand at science/academic administration.”
’10 Danielle Auerbach and former faculty member Sandi Davis
2012 History teacher Peter Emanuel and his sixth grade class visited Harkness Park as part of a history field trip. Once there, the group ran into Galina Smith, who works at Harkness, who presented a great history lesson to the class about the gardens of the estate.
2009 Ainsley Pinkowitz shared: “I got a poem accepted for publication in Pine Hills Review! My first real literary journal and just in time to run away from candidacy forever and become a vagabond poet. Fun fact, the piece was my lyrical essay from undergraduate creative nonfiction.” Marie Alyse Pereira is now “working at Apple’s Sunnyvale, CA office as a Geographic Information Systems Analyst.
2010 Danielle Briggs and Justin Klee ’09 were married on July 16, 2016. Members of the wedding party included Best Man David Sayet ’09, groomsman Jared Klee ’09, bridesmaid Tess Williams ’09, and groomsman Trevor Klee ’11. Also joining in celebration were Carly Mattson ’10 and former teachers Mr. Becker, Mr. Knudsen, Dr. Tyler, Dr. Spillane, and Mrs. Dickson. Former Faculty member Sandi Davis “caught up with Danielle Auerbach in St. Pete’s, Florida, when Gary and I were on vacation. When Danielle saw on Facebook that we were in Tampa, she messaged me to see if we could get together. We had a fabulous lunch in St. Pete’s, where she is working in Admissions for University of South Florida. She lives in Tampa. What a great time we had catching up!”
’12
History teacher Peter Emanuel and Galina Smith
MAGAZINE » Class Notes
41
2013 Sarena Shafner shared: “After I graduate Smith College in May, I will be joining Aetna full time in the Financial Leadership Development Program as an analyst.”
2014 Alex St. Louis is studying abroad in New Zealand this Fall semester.
2015 Cassie Seidel has achieved her goal of winning a world championship! She and her partner, Benson Kuan, won the Junior Couples Free Dance at the World Championship Roller Artistic Skating Competition in Novara, Italy in October. She also placed 9th in the Junior Ladies Solo Dance.
’11 Lee Cattanach, Aaron Davis ’10 , and Chris Wiles ’08 at the Sailfest Road Race in 2016
’16 Abby Xenelis
2016 Abby Xenelis had a nice moment with her family before heading off to the Coast Guard Academy prep school down in Alabama Georgia. Noah Bavolack is enjoying his first year at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Emma Furgueson ’17 and Bill Furgueson, Development Associate were visiting Skidmore College and met up with Hillary Goldstein and Olivia Mendlinger – who are loving college life.
’16 Emma Furgueson ’17 and Development Associate Bill Furgueson visited Skidmore College and ran into Hillary Goldstein and Olivia Mendlinger who are currently freshman there.
’16 ’15 Noah Bavolack Cassie Seidel and partner Benson Kuan on the gold medal platform at the World Championship
42
In Memoriam Mary Butler 1935 Ruth Schneider Ross 1936 Mary Dandona Coman 1937 Anna May Crandall 1937 Margretta Pfannenstiel Norcross 1937 Emily Devine Riden 1937 Mary Elizabeth Conti Dunham 1938 Sonia Levko Mcgugan 1938 Mary May Tudisco 1938 Pearl Mallove Turk 1938 Raffela Bruno Valentini 1938 Frances Foss Jutila 1939 Sallie Horowitz Soltz 1939 Helen Daghlian Daghlian 1940 Vera Cesarini Fielding 1940 Eunice Thompson Flaherty 1940 Jeane Whitcomb Williams 1940 Isabel Sylvester Zotta 1940 Benita Dipollina Mccormick 1941 Doris Johnson Simpson 1941 Veronica Lyons Elliott 1942 Anna Hunter Hathaway 1942 Marion Pond Benjamin 1943 Margaret Ferro Cataldi 1943 Louise Dempsey 1943 Julia Sawicky Mostowy 1943 Norma Decker Whiton 1943 Victoria Duplice 1944 Josephine Demarco Esposito 1944 Marilyn Grimes Bufkin 1945 Mary St. Germain Denning 1945 Alice Harrington Mcguire 1945 Marguerite Flynn Neill 1945 Edith Wasmuth Bergeson 1946 Barbara Johnson Davies 1948 Sophia Zieziulewicz Martinson 1948 Florabel Nash Schmidt 1948 Ethelyn Howard Dwire 1949 Phyllis Kelly Murphy 1949 Alma Carradori Ruggiero 1949 Marie Ruggieri Sireci 1949 Barbara Phillips Gager 1950 Marjorie Werner Giles 1950 Marilyn Jillson Haguewood 1950 Eleanor Dayton Alfiero 1951 Mercedes Miles Esposito 1951 Wanda Walenczyk Bruce 1952 Matthew Cox 1987
MAGAZINE Âť Class Notes
43
Milestones Marriages 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Rob Pascal ’99 and Kara Horton Ellie Fallon ’03 and Brandon Morrocco Marilyn Mullen ’05 and Brad Pierce Conor McNeil ’07 and Morgan Fitzgerald Dan Patterson ’07 and Torrey Banks Diana Ramirez ’08 and Ted Albright Kalen Larsen ’08 and Trevyn Tubbs Danielle Briggs ’10 and Justin Klee ’09 Lindsey Tremaine ’04 and Dan Grunert
Blues in attendance: Brooke Field ’03, Zoe Hoffman ’03, Erica Annon ’03
2
Serge Gagarin ’98 and Lauren Gagarin Katie Lee ’00 and Tony Glick David Bates ’02 and Ellen Jeffrerys-White Yvette Nyiramana ’03 and Cameron Panciera Dan Clark ’05 and Yvette Escalante Will Quinn ’05 and Stephanie McBride Ian Benton ’07 and Abby Nourse Van Meter
1
4
5
3
7
6
8
9
44
2
1
4
3
Births Evan Kirkpatrick to Alexis Ramirez-Arnold ’00 and Brad Kirkpatrick on March 26, 2016 2. Flynn Rooney to Rose and Bryson Rooney ’03 on April 7, 2016 3. John William Field to Brooke Dow Field ’03 and Jack Field ’04 on August 13, 2016 4. Julian Clark Lipp to Katie and Tyler Lipp ’06 on September 3, 2016 1.
Sloane Borner to Brooke and Maggie Immordino Borner ’95 on December 1, 2015 Cooper William Bollinger to Eric and Leah Sisson Bolinger ’03 on April 29, 2016 Phoebe Durie to Brett and Kate Domnarski Durie ’03 on June 15, 2016 Lily Brooks Dowling to William and Lindsey Frost Dowling ’97 on August 3, 2016 August Wesley Greenleaf to Patricia and Drew Greenleaf ’05 on September 16, 2016 Hudson Monty Alpert to Joanna and Haylin Alpert ’96 on September 19, 2016
MAGAZINE » Class Notes
45
My Williams. My Gift. “I often ask members of the Williams community what their “WOW” moment is. For me it stands for my “What’s Outstanding about Williams” moment. When my daughter came to Williams as a 7th grader, I soon realized that this experience would become a game changer. Instead of expending her energy struggling to be herself, be inspired, and belong, she immediately began to use her energy to expand her world in all regards - academically, socially, athletically, and artistically. And so she did. In every way and in spades. Now a senior making her plans for college, I couldn’t be happier or more proud of her. Bottom line is I didn’t do that alone. It is the community. It’s the friends she’s made at Williams, their families, the teachers, coaches, and mentors; the programs and opportunities; and the support. This is the inspiration for my gift of commitment, time, and personal resources to the Distinguishing Williams Campaign. I want to be a part of ensuring that Williams is around for the next 125 years in order to be a game changer for as many kids as possible far into the future. I invite you all to consider what your WOW moment may be and what the future of our school means to you.” — Beth Sandri P ’17 “Little did I imagine, during my years as a student at Williams, that I would be celebrating the School’s 125th Anniversary and co-chairing this campaign. I have seen many changes, from the first boys attending in the 1970’s to the new 6th grade in 2014. As an alumna, sister of an alumna, and parent of two alumni, I have seen the difference Williams makes and I am proud to serve as the co-chair of the Distinguishing Williams campaign. Please join me in supporting the school as we work to ensure that The Williams’ School tradition continues into the next 125 years.” — Holly (Hayes) Cheeseman ’72 P ’05, ’07
For more information on making a gift to Distinguishing Williams, The Campaign for Enriching Educational Experiences, contact Matt Strekel, Director of Development, at 860.439.5474 or mstrekel@williamsschool.org
46
MAGAZINE
47
The Fund for Williams at Work
$25
$100
Provides supplies to our outstanding faculty for use in their classrooms.
Supplies a member of the lacrosse team with a uniform for the season.
$250
Provides supplies and materials for the maker space in our new Learning Commons.
$200
Helps transport our seventh grade students to Plimouth Plantation for experiential learning.
$400
Funds professional development for our faculty. 48
$500
Supports the cost of a middle school theatre production. This year, it is Seussical: The Musical!
$750
Helps cover the cost of a multi-college tour by our College Counseling Office.
$2,500
Covers the cost of the entire SAT test preparation program.
$1,000
Provides the honorarium for a guest speaker in our classrooms or as a part of our speaker series.
www.williamsschool.org/give Your gift to The Fund for Williams helps enhance the Williams experience and program for over 230 students daily. Please give today and help make our unique educational experience possible.
THE WILLIAMS SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
182 Mohegan Avenue • New London, CT 06320 • 860.439.5474 www.williamsschool.org/giving
MAGAZINE
49
182 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320-4110
Change Service Requested