GAM: Making Lemonade - Spring 2021

the GAM a conversation among mariners

FALMOUTH ACADEMY SPRING 2021

Making Lemonade

CONTENTS

Falmouth Academy

engaging the challenges of our times

2 Up Front 6 Classroom & Beyond 14 Centerpiece A Glass Half Full

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade Falmouth Academy and Covid-19

18 A FAmily of Scholar-Athletes 20 Mariner Stars 22 Alumni News 29 People of FA 30 Celebrating Our Seniors Silas Clark ’21 studied early 20th century German Expressionism in his German V class with a focus on Austrian artist Egon Schiele. Inspired

by Schiele's dramatic contour lines and minimal yet bright colors, Silas painted his senior self-portrait in watercolor and micron pen.

GAM: “A social meeting of whale ships ... with all the sympathies of sailors [and] all the peculiar congenialities arising from a cozmmon pursuit.”

Falmouth Academy 7 Highfield Drive, Falmouth, MA 02540 508-457-9696 falmouthacademy.org Administration Matthew Green, Head of School Michael Earley, Assistant Head of School Petra Ehrenbrink, Academic Dean Pamela Clapp Hinkle, Director of Development Julie Bradley, Director of Admission and Enrollment Management Carmen DiSanto, Director of Finance and Operations Editorial Staff Amy Galvam, Director of Communications Barbara Campbell, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations David Gallagher, Development Associate, Annual Giving and Operations Photos: Barbara Campbell, Leah Fasten P’22, P’25, Amy Galvam, Steve Heaslip, Sarah Knowles, Susan Moffat Design: Julianne Waite Mission Harnessing the power of inspired learning in a world-renowned scientific and vibrant artistic community, Falmouth Academy emboldens each student to take creative and intellectual risks to confidently engage the challenges of our times.

Guiding Values We value the beauty of knowledge and the joy of conversation.

We value collaboration and generosity of spirit.

We value the power of a culture of kindness.

We value relationships built on trust, respect, and direct communication.

We value the wonder of imagination.

We value each student’s pursuit of diverse challenges and opportunities.

We value teachers as models of confident, rich adulthood.

We value the richness of an educational experience that includes people with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and identities.

Cover by Beatrice Mattison ’21. Students in advanced painting looked at artwork that utilized pattern as a formal and conceptual design element. They studied the work of Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse, Amy Sherald, and Kehinde Wiley. Bea was inspired by the work of African American artist Kehinde Wiley and how he reimagines the story of art history by inserting contemporary Black figures into traditional paintings and flattening the image with bold patterns.

Can you tell which Renaissance painting inspired Bea?

From the Head of School

Dear Friends, At a previous school, I was for quite some time the campus’s reigning champion freestyle rapper. This honor came with its own “golden microphone,” as well as an unsettling awareness that at any time, a member of the community could issue a challenge that would require me to defend my crown or else relinquish my trophy. My success could not be attributed to my knowledge of hip hop or rap music mores. After all, I came of age in the late ’80s and I don’t know that Young MC, the Fresh Prince, and MC Hammer would make it to the top of anyone’s Spotify playlist (but mine.) No, I just seemed to have an ear for rhyme.

In that spirit, I think a fitting alternate title for this issue of The GAM could be “FA 20–21: Arriving, Surviving, and Thriving.” Because herein you will hear stories not only of a community, nearly all of whom attended classes in school every day, not only of a community that was blessed with an extraordinary run of good health, but of a community that, even in the midst of this most unusual year, found ways to propel, excel, and revel (Wait, have I lost my touch?) in all sorts of creative and interesting ways.

You’ll read about new student organizations and new school traditions, about a re-imagined Community Series and a re-imagined Science and Engineering Fair, about student accomplishments in arts, sciences, and modern languages, and about new ways of connecting our remarkably accomplished alumni to our equally remarkable students. And you’ll meet our seniors, the Class of 2021, who, to paraphrase my interview centerpiece, “chose not to wallow in what school wasn’t for anyone but instead directed their efforts and energies toward making school the very best it could be, for everyone.”

So onward, forward, enough about rhymes.

And back to “emboldening each student… to engage the challenges of our times.”

Thank you all for your support,

Matthew Green Head of School

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SE District and All-State Music Festivals

Luna, The Witch

Seven students from Falmouth Academy auditioned for and were accepted to the Southeastern Massachusetts District Music Festivals, and Mateo Darack ’23 advanced to the All-State Festival and Concert. More than 100 schools participated virtually this year in the annual all-district competition sponsored by the MA Music Educators Association, a division of the National Association for Music Educators. Students were nominated by their music teachers and auditioned by submitting unedited video recordings of required pieces of music that were then scored by a panel of professional musicians and educators on accuracy, intonation, musicality, and scales. In a normal year, students would travel with a music teacher for a three-day festival, but this year musicians participated in a master class with the conductor and recorded music that was mixed as part of the final virtual concert. Approximately 1,000 students auditioned for All-State.

Congratulations to the Falmouth Academy students who participated in Festival Concerts. All-State: Mateo Darack ’23 (tuba), Senior District: Lucca MacDonald ’21 (violin); Mateo Darack ’23, (first tuba); Alyssa MacDonald ’21 (soprano); and Maria MacDonald ’23 (soprano), Junior District: Holden Brew ’25 (violin); Luke Okoshi-Michel ’26 (violin), and Sebastian Verslycke ’25 (first seat in the jazz band, alto saxophone). Links to the performances may be found at massmea.org/community/district-sites.

Alexa Hartman ’24 channeled her creative energy this past summer into an acting project created by Seth Chitwood of Angelwood Pictures. Luna, The Witch was picked up by Amazon Prime and tells the story of a young witch, played by Hartman, who finds herself in hot water after a love potion she concocted goes awry. The show is equal parts fantasy and comedy and features guest appearances by Hartman’s mom, Wendy. Classmate Aubryn Dubois ’24 worked as a camera assistant. Search Luna, The Witch on Amazon Prime to watch.

Above (l-r): Sebastian Verslycke ’25, Maria MacDonald ’23, Alyssa MacDonald ’21, Luke Okoshi-Michel ’26, Mateo Darak ’23, Holden Brew ’25, Lucca MacDonald ’21.

Right: Alexa Hartman ’24 2

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UP FRONT

Regional Art Awards With the assistance of Studio Art Teacher Lucy Nelson and Photography Teacher Susan Moffat, Falmouth Academy studentartists submitted their work to the annual Boston Globe Scholastic Regional Art Awards and the Small Independent School Art League (SISAL) competition again this year. Eight pieces of artwork from Falmouth Academy students won awards in the Scholastic competition and two in SISAL. “FA students were recognized out of the 5,877 total art submissions entered from students across the state in the Scholastic competition,” said Nelson. “They should be proud, especially this year.” Twenty-five regional independent schools participate in SISAL in nine categories.

Alice Tan ’21 won two silver keys and an honorable mention for drawing and illustration; Spencer Goldsmith ’22 won an honorable mention for drawing and illustration; Sophia Venetis ’22 won a silver key for drawing and illustration; Sadie Leveque ’23 won a silver key and an honorable mention for drawing and illustration; Yaz Aubrey ’25 won a silver key for photography.

Alice Tan ’21 also won 2nd place in the SISAL competition for drawing and Maisie Saganic ’21 won 3rd place for painting.

Top: Yaz Aubrey ’25 Far left: Maisie Saganic ’21 Left: Portia by Alice Tan ’21.

Right: Spencer Goldsmith ’22 is pictured here with former Falmouth Academy German exchange student, Finja Horenz ’21, in Heidelberg.

FA Students Score High on National German Language Exam Spencer Goldsmith ’22 achieved the highest standing (99% percentile) in Massachusetts, earning Gold in Level IV on the National German Language Exam. Thalia O’Neil ’24 also ranked highest in the state earning Gold in Level III. Sam Kellogg ’23 earned Gold for Level III and is eligible for the travel award.

The Exam is sponsored by the Association of German Teachers of America (AATG) and is administered to over 20,000 high school students of German. It provides individual diagnostic feedback and shares programmatic data with teachers to inform curricular decisions. Falmouth Academy is an AATG German Center of Excellence. To view the full list of Falmouth Academy award recipients and to read more news, please visit falmouthacademy.org/news.

I was excited to see that FA had a German program when I started in seventh grade. The more I learned in class about the German language and culture, the more interested I became. When I started to consider doing a year abroad for my sophomore year, I immediately considered Germany as my first choice. I knew that with the foundation that I had been building as a student in FA’s German program, I would feel confident studying abroad and that what I learned would be supported in the classroom when I returned. —Spencer Goldsmith ’22

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UP FRONT Know Thy Self: 8th-Grade Self-Portrait Project During their eighth grade year, students not only analyze fictional characters in their English classes but also look closely at themselves. Having discovered something about themselves through literary exploration, their attention is then directed inward during the Self-Portrait Project where they write personal essays and draw self-portraits. They are asked to reflect on who they are, examine their values, goals, traits, and attitudes, and identify the people, places, and events that have influenced the ways they feel and act. This year the class worked in the Simon Center for the Arts for the portrait project at large tables set six to ten feet apart, which allowed Art Teacher Lucy Nelson to use the new IPEVO cameras to teach portraiture techniques such as symmetry, proportionality, grid-lines, shading, and blending. “I was able to simultaneously project my hands drawing each part of the portrait in real-time with the students in the theater over the giant dropdown screen while also sharing my computer screen over Zoom with kids working at home,” said Nelson. “The use of technology helped this project run flawlessly.”

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Above: Camden Jeppson ’25 Below: Lyric Buckley ’25 and Mrs. Lucy Nelson

2020–21 FA Community Series Since the start of the pandemic, Falmouth Academy has become adept at pivoting traditionally live programming to virtual without sacrificing quality. This year’s Community Series—sponsored in part by the Woods Hole Foundation— consisted of five virtual events starting in October with a presentation by former faculty member Clare Beams, who read from her debut novel The Illness Lesson and spoke with Falmouth Academy English teacher, Monica Hough, about her career and writing process.

In November, FA Science Department Chair Liz Klein interviewed alumnus and Amherst College professor, Dr. Ted Melillo ’92, whose new book The Butterfly Effect: Insects and the Making of the Modern World, explores the interesting and surprising ways insects shape and sustain our modern way of life. FA Music Director George Scharr teamed up with Steinway Artist and Smithsonian Scholar Robert Wyatt in December for a delightful evening of musical musings of the winter season.

Skylark, the renowned vocal ensemble that calls Falmouth Academy home when performing locally, received its third Grammy nomination this year, in the Best Choral Performance category for Once Upon a Time.

“We were honored and delighted to be nominated among a group of talented classical artists this year,” said Executive Director Carolyn Guard. Skylark premiered the Grammy-nominated Once Upon a Time at Falmouth Academy’s Simon Center for the Arts in 2019. “Falmouth has been our core community since we started doing concerts in the Boston area in 2014,” said Guard. “It is a special place!”

Skylark plans to return to Falmouth Academy this fall for four concerts through Spring 2022, dates to be determined.

Wyatt, one of the foremost experts on George Gershwin, shared his discovery of several unpublished piano preludes of Gershwin that eventually led to his co-editing The George Gershwin Reader, published in 2004 by Oxford University Press. In February, Head of School Matt Green spoke with humorist and science writer Steve Mirsky, best known for penning Scientific American magazine’s long-running monthly “Anti Gravity” column and hosting the magazine’s weekly Science Talk podcast. Their discussion covered science, scientists, and the importance of science literacy in today’s society. The 2020-21 season wrapped up with a lively discussion between Scharr and American Pianist and Van Cliburn winner Jon Nakamatsu on April 22 and featured engaging concert footage.

Links to all these presentations can be found at falmouthacademy.org/community, and on the Falmouth Academy Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Above: Pianist Jon Nakamatsu

“Skylark is getting the recognition it deserves not only for their exceptional musicianship but also for their programming genius,” said Falmouth Academy Director of Community Relations George Scharr.

Details of upcoming Skylark performances at Falmouth Academy may be found on the FA website at falmouthacademy.org/community.

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CLASSROOM & BEYOND

All the Greats Make Mistakes We all make mistakes every single day. Some are small like misspelling a word while others are much bigger such as jumping to an errant conclusion or making a poor decision. Most of us make these blunders and just keep going, never making amends or correcting our mistakes, essentially acting like they never happened.

This behavior goes against the wisdom of living an examined life, which is why ‘all greats make mistakes’ is the slogan of the newest club at Falmouth Academy, the Mistake Club. “What if we took the time to reflect on our mistakes, to see what we might learn from the experience?” asked the club’s founder, junior Henry Quan.

“Our lives are full of missed opportunities for growth,” says Quan.

“Even if we can’t correct our mistakes, sharing the circumstances around them and their consequences can be helpful especially for us teenagers.” The Mistake Club sets aside time during lunch on Thursday each week for students to come together to discuss the topic of mistakes and share from their own experience in the hopes of learning from them in the future. Sometimes the topics covered are serious while others are quite humorous. “Making mistakes is akin to trial and error,” says Quan. “It is how we learn and eventually succeed.”

There is a core group of interested students from middle school and high school that is helping take Quan’s idea and give it shape and definition. Classmate Tasha Sudofsky ’22 stepped up to co-lead the club. She stressed from the get-go that the topic needed to be taken seriously and that the Mistake Club would provide a safe and respectful space for people to share and discuss. “Some stories of past mistakes lead to a later discussion and debate, but the aim is 6

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Above: Henry Quan '22 leads a Mistake Club discussion. Photo by Cape Cod Times Photographer Steve Heaslip

never to shame or judge,” said Sudofsky. “It is more about using hindsight to figure out why it happened and what might have been a wiser course of action.” Quan added, “This is the age where we can establish better habits and learn not only from our experiences but from others. And, it helps to know we are not alone.”

The Club’s first guest speaker was Music Director George Scharr who discussed four different types of mistakes and, using his own experiences as an example, how they might apply to real life. Of course, he couldn’t resist a few musical metaphors and adages such as, “Practice makes perfect.” Scharr stressed the importance of owning our own mistakes and viewing them as an opportunity for growth rather than something debilitating or soul-crushing. Scharr paved the way for Head of School Matt Green and Assistant Head of School and Club Advisor Mike Earley who spoke in late winter.

The Club plans to invite more faculty and eventually community members from various walks of life and disciplines to speak. Quan would also like to invite other area schools to start their own clubs modeled on Falmouth Academy’s. Seventh-grader Erik Gulmann reflected, “The Mistake Club is special because it challenges me to get out of my comfort zone and risk making mistakes in order to experience or learn something new.” Ninth-grader Wylie Wakefield followed up on Gulmann’s comment, stating, “It is okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and do better next time.”

Read more about the Mistake Club in Matt Green’s Head of School Blog, “Confessions of a Day Dreamer, an Over-Promiser, and a People Pleaser” at www.falmouthacademy.org/news.

Student Council Creates New Traditions for a New Era What a strange year to be involved in Student Council and be charged with carrying out the traditions that help define and support school spirit. Gone were the days when seasoned upper school officers helped educate and train junior officers in planning annual events like Gala, Prom, Hugs and Kisses, and Spirit Week.

As with so many things, COVID curtailed all of these beloved events and more, so Student Council members faced the daunting task of figuring out what to do instead. Would new traditions develop as a result?

To get started, the Student Council Officers—President Saniya Rajagopal ’21, Vice President James Goldbach ’21, Treasurer Maisie Saganic ’21, and Secretary Tasha Sudofsky ’22 made a video welcoming the student body. Because cross-grade communication was likely to be trickier this year without in-person All-School meetings, the officers then developed a communication tool called “Ask the Officers,” designed to encourage students to share comments, questions, and suggestions via a Google Form.

In October, Student Council representatives realized that many new students did not know what their classmates’ full faces looked like because of required mask-wearing so they made a game out of it called, “Guess that Chin.” Junior Class President Sarah Thieler recalled that “the idea was to help familiarize new students with the student body and to get them involved early in a fun way.” In lieu of the traditional Halloween dance and throwing the dress code to the wind one day in late October, Student Council sponsored a Halloween costume contest with prizes for the best costume in the scariest, funniest, best group, and best overall categories.

November saw the establishment of across-the-grades teams— cleverly named FA FAmilies—similar to those established for Marconi Beach Day. Each FAmily was led by two or three seniors and composed of a mix of students from every grade. Throughout the year, FA FAmilies gathered for social time to do an activity or play a game. A paper airplane contest kicked off FA FAmily events and a Student Council-original game that was a blend of Heads Up Seven-Up and Pictionary was held right before March break.

Student Council was able to sponsor three important Falmouth Academy traditions during the season of giving: the Canned Food Drive, the Hat and Mitten Tree, and the Civil Coin Dispute.

Donations of non-perishable food items and warm clothing were brought to the Falmouth Service Center in December. The class that raised the most money in the Civil Coin Dispute earned the privilege of selecting the benefiting charity. After winter break, the winners— the Class of 2022—opted to split the donation of $739.09 equally between EfforTZ, a locally-run foundation that supports education for some of Tanzania’s neediest children, and the Falmouth Education Foundation, which raises funds for teacher education and innovation in Falmouth public schools. After winter break, Student Council hung a large colorful monthly calendar to brighten the hallway and to give students a place to share news, events, and celebrate birthdays.

Looking back on the year, Student Council President Saniya Rajagopal said, “We were aware that this year was not going to be ‘business as usual,’ and so we approached it as a blank canvas.” Rajagopal said that they did not want to merely adapt existing events that would end up being watered-down versions of themselves. They wanted to identify key aspects of school traditions that would be missed most and were integral to school culture and use them to create new traditions. “In many ways, this year was a gift,” said Rajagopal “because we were able to generate novel ways to keep the FA spirit alive.”

Above: New Student Council event calendar.

Far left: Paper airplane sketches

by Elise Casso ’26.

Left: 10th Grade Class President Ben Giumetti ’23 and Student Council President Saniya Rajagopal ’21 speak about the FA honor code, “Know Where You Are.”

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CLASSROOM & BEYOND Electives Reimagined

CULTURAL COMPETENCY QUESTIONS to ask yourself when viewing art What is the artwork on view?

Who made the artwork?

Who is depicted?

For whom is it intended?

Who is the viewer or consumer?

Historically how have people of color been depicted?

How have women been depicted?

How have relationships between men and women been depicted?

Who is dominant?

How have notions of femininity and beauty been depicted?

And for whom?

How has masculinity been depicted?

How has victory or power been depicted?

In keeping with the proverb, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” the faculty of Falmouth Academy envisioned new ways to incorporate electives into the curriculum during this unusual year. Since musicians were not able to play, singers were not able to sing, and actors were not able to act, at least in typical fashion, Falmouth Academy adapted its signature Fourth Period elective program into a robust After-School Activities program.

Each trimester, students could select from a menu of more than 25 activities held after school including sports, art, music, drama, photo, social justice, student government, stagecraft, Advanced Latin, and more.

Falmouth Academy also rolled out a new Immersion Program that was inspired by Arts Across the Curriculum, a signature program expanded and executed by art teacher Lucy Nelson for the past ten years. FA Immersion supplemented the core curriculum with immersive experiences in studio art, photography, music, drama, and a new offering known as RIISE (Respecting Individual Identities through Social Engagement). The program brought teachers from five elective disciplines into academic classes to creatively deep-dive into a topic that complements the discipline.

Examples include Math Tessellations Inspired by M.C. Escher; Poetry and Surrealism in the 1920s; Watershed Watercolors; Camera Obscura: Light and Optics; Political Art and Protest Posters; The Commedia dell’arte; Oops and Ouches: Understanding Biases and Dismantling isms; and Rhetoric and Elgar’s Enigma Variations, just to name a few.

Key components of the program are that each lesson is rooted in history (a famous person, movement, invention, or discovery) that informs the hands-on creative exploration. Students may find themselves embroidering phytoplankton, singing African spirituals, creating theatrical vision boards, mapping their identities, or recreating famous paintings through photography.

Lucy Nelson inaugurated the program with an art history lesson to seniors in Monica Hough's Rhetoric class. Together they watched a music video performance by Beyoncé and Jay-Z directed by Ricky Saiz and choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui that was filmed in the Louvre in Paris. Nelson contextualized the viewing with a discussion of race, privilege, and power. The students were asked to observe what was being communicated and how. What was the message of the lyrics, and how was each scene choreographed and situated? For homework, students were asked to pick one of the pieces of art featured in the video and write about why it was included and how it related to systems of power. “I don’t want an art historian’s analysis,” said Nelson. “I want the students’ thoughts and feelings.”

When asked why she chose this lesson to kick-off the school year and the new program, Nelson replied, “because of the racial tensions that are happening in our country, I think a conversation on race and privilege, and positions or narratives of power is imperative.” Nelson closed the lesson by giving the students a handy series of questions (left) to ask themselves whenever they find themselves in a cultural setting, such as the Louvre in Paris.

Top left (l-r): Lucia Gomez-Ibanez ’25, Tessa Sperry ’25, and Josie Leveque ’25 in After-School Photography Bottom left: Eliza Chun ’21 in Advanced Painting

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Clockwise from above: Fletcher Parsons ’26 looking at the Mandalas exhibit; Sean Yin '23 working with Lucy Nelson on Plankton Embroidery; Beatrix Potter-themed Illuminated Letter by Thalia O’Neil ’24; George Scharr teaching “Math and Mozart” to students in Algebra II.

CLASSROOM AND BEYOND

Going to States, FA Students Advance in Science Fourteen FA students competed in the Southeastern MA Regional Science and Engineering Fair held virtually in early March.

Eleven of those students received awards and advanced, along with two other FA students, to the virtual Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair held in late April.

“I am so proud of these students,” exclaimed Jill Reves, Falmouth Academy’s Science and Engineering Fair Coordinator.

“They worked really hard on their projects and at adapting their presentations to fit a totally new format, both for the Falmouth Academy Fair and again for MA Regionals.” According to Reves, science fair season was a steep learning curve for most schools as traditional fairs had to quickly adapt to a virtual platform. “I wasn’t sure we could pull [our own virtual science fair] off but we did!”

More than 200 students in grades 7 through 12 presented to over 100 expert judges live over Zfairs, an online science fair platform.

Head of School Matt Green deemed the event a great success and referred to it as “a testament to the ingenuity of our students and especially our faculty.”

Above: Benjamin Angell ’24 studying the effects of marsh restrictions on carbon density in coastal wetlands.

Right: Arden O’Neil ’26 studies the effect of colored lights on bean plants.

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Regional award winners include: 2nd Place: Sam Kellogg ’23; 3rd Place: Natalie Todd-Weinstein ’21, Sarah Thieler ’22, Zachary Crampton ’22, Piper Augat ’22, and Gus McGuire ’24; Honorable Mention: Ben Gulmann ’23, Natalie Pil ’24, Abigail Lott ’22, Adele Francis ’24, and Spencer Goldsmith ’22.

Also advancing to the MA Science and Engineering Fair: Hannah Brazil ’22 and Roberto Marzot ’23.

For a full list of projects from the 2020-21 Falmouth Academy Fair, please visit the school’s website at falmouthacademy.org/ academics/science-and-engineering-fair.

2021 AWARDS Upper School

Middle School

FIRST PLACE

FIRST PLACE

Zachary Crampton ’22 Jackson Gierhart ’25 Natalie Todd-Weinstein ’21 Aubryn Dubois ’25 Sam Kellogg ’23 SECOND PLACE

SECOND PLACE

William Butler ’24 Gus McGuire ’24 Sarah Thieler ’22 THIRD PLACE

Roberto Marzot ’23 Howard Keeler ’22 Ursula Junker ’23 FOURTH PLACE

Maria MacDonald ’23 Benjamin Giumetti ’23 Emily A. Lazarus ’24 FIFTH PLACE

Hannah Brazil ’22 Tasha Sudofsky ’22 Sofia Metri ’22 HONORABLE MENTION

Ben Gulmann ’23 Adele Francis ’24 Landon Cormie ’23 Spencer Goldsmith ’22 Robert Frigon ’23 Sophia Venetis ’22 Marcus Greco ’24 Piper Augat ’22 Wren Ramsay ’22 Petra Brienza ’23 Charlotte Lucas ’24 Benjamin Mihalovich ’22 Mia F. Galvam ’22 Margaret Lowell ’23 Oona Carroll ’24 Matthew H. Coggins ’23 Mateo Darack ’23

Sebastian Verslycke ’25 Cian Davis ’26 THIRD PLACE

Ezra Ackerman ’26 Lucia Gomez-Ibanez ’25 Willow Wakefield ’26 FOURTH PLACE

Faye McGuire ’26 Willow Lajoie ’26 Max Donovan ’26 Taleena Gonneea ’26 HONORABLE MENTION

Fanoula Venetis ’26 Julietta Marzot ’25 Eva Muldoon ’25 Dillon Fondren ’25 David Aubrey ’26 Madison Heywood ’25 Abigail Brown ’26 Luke Okoshi-Michel ’26 Emma Bena ’26 Jack McGinnis ’25 Yaz Aubrey ’25 Elise Casso ’26 Matthew Kellogg ’26 Lila Journalist ’25 Nina McKim Kight ’26 Edward Kelly ’26 Camden Jeppson ’25 Annabelle Metell ’25 Sadie Crampton ’25 Robert Ronan ’26 Holden Brew ’25

Special Awards Robert B. Gordon

for depth of knowledge and creativity Upper School Natalie Todd-Weinstein ’21 Middle School Jackson Gierhart ’25 H. Walcott Brown

for extensive research and technical ingenuity Sam Kellogg ’23 Falmouth Water Stewards

for excellence in environmental research Sarah Thieler ’22 Salt Pond Areas Bird Sanctuary

for the study of aquatic environments 1st Upper School Zach Crampton ’22 2nd Upper School Howard Keeler ’22

Top: Waylon Sauer ’25 working with Mr. Mike Sheridan on an ROV. Above: Sara Cook ’26 and her solar oven.

1st Middle School Aubryn Dubois ’25

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CLASSROOM AND BEYOND

2021 Science & Engineering Fair Judges

Above: Zach Crampton ’22 studying microplastics in Cape Cod oysters.

SPONSORS Legacy Sponsors Marine Biological Laboratory Salt Pond Areas Bird Sanctuaries, Inc. Sea Education Association Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Newton Signature Sponsor Scott Wayne Edison Sponsors Robert and Alison Ament Endowed Fund for Science Cape Cod Healthcare Capeside Oral & Facial Surgery, Inc. Cazeault Roofing & Solar McLane Research Laboratories, Inc. Notus Clean Energy, LLC Teledyne Marine Curie Sponsors Accel Composite Materials Dalpe Excavation Landschop Landscape Architecture Martha’s Vineyard Bank

Mid-Cape Home Centers MIT Club of Cape Cod Pelagic Electronics

Marconi Sponsors The 300 Committee Land Trust Falmouth Products Lowell Instruments Marine & Paleobiological Research Institute Dr. Sophie Markovich, DMD, PC Family Orthodontics Woodwell Climate Research Center Archimedes Sponsors Hutker Architects Sports Center Physical Therapy Special Prize Sponsors Dr. Scott D. Brown ’89 Falmouth Water Stewards Dr. and Mrs. Bruce R. Gordon In-Kind Vendors Coffee Obsession Print Synergy

MENTORS Mr. Philip Alatalo Mr. Michael Andrade Mr. Scott Bennett Mr. Cory Berger Dr. Albert Bradley Mr. Gary Caputi Dr. Donald Crampton Dr. Meagan Eagle 12

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Ms. Emma Green-Beach Ms. Jennifer Grossman Dr. Mark Hahn Mr. David Kulis Mr. Paul Lefebvre Dr. Judith McDowell Dr. Sarah McCarron ’96 Dr. Anna Michel

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Mr. Paul Moscaritolo Dr. Loretta Roberson Dr. Tim Shank Dr. Ann Tarrant Dr. John Waterbury Dr. Steven Zottoli

MIDDLE SCHOOL

UPPER SCHOOL

Ms. Ellie Armstrong Mr. Thomas Austin Mr. David Bailey Mr. Kyle Benton ’12 Ms. Beth Brazil Mr. Brian Buczkowsk Ms. Abagail Bumpus ’14 Ms. Caitlin Corkeron ’21 Ms. Caroline Cotto ’10 Ms. Rebecca Cox ’18 Ms. Amy Fish Ms. Rene Francolini Ms. Sofia Gabriel ’11 Dr. Stefan Gabriel Dr. Elizabeth Gladfelter Mr. Robert Goldsborough Dr. Max Holmes Ms. Rachel Kahn Mr. Louie Kerr Mr. Gary Kreamer Ms. Arianna Krinos Mr. Dave Kulis Dr. Daniel MacDonald Mr. Michael MacDonald Mr. Gil Newton Ms. Maureen Nolan Dr. Leo Otake Mr. Charles Perry Dr. Steve Phillips Mr. Nicolas Pingal ’16 Ms. Sintra Reves-Sohn ’16 Mr. Rob Reynolds Ms. Jennie Rheuban Mr. Eric Schmitt ’07 Mr. Jared Schwartz ’03 Ms. Karen Soenen Dr. Melissa Soule Ms. Megan Starr ’06 Ms. Hannah Stillman ’19 Ms. Jennifer Turek Ms. Nancy Twichell Dr. Sofie Van Parijs Dr. Bill Waite Dr. Yi Wang Dr. Nina Whitney Ms. Isabelle Williams Dr. Geoffrey Woolford Dr. Jackie Yanch Ms. Sara Young

Dr. Neel Aluru Dr. Seth Ament ’99 Dr. David Aubrey Dr. Steven Boyd Dr. Albert Bradley Dr. Scott Brown ’89 Ms. Kendra Buresch Dr. Marco Catipovic ’10 Ms. Antonie Chute Dr. Anne Cohen Dr. Timothy Cronin ’02 Dr. Juan Felipe Diaz Quiroz Ms. Jessica Donohue Dr. John Dowling Dr. Ann Dunlea Dr Karen Echeverri Dr. Betty Eipper Ms. Diana Franks Dr. Anne Giblin Dr. Thomas Hallahan Mr. Tyler Hickman ’02 Dr. Greg Hinkle Dr. Richard Houghton Dr. Jeff Hughes Dr. Mike Jech Dr. Jeff Kaeli Dr. Alan M. Kuzirian Dr Matthew Long Dr. Alison Macdonald Dr. Richard Mains Dr. Judith McDowell Dr. Anna Michel Ms. Scottie Mobley Dr. Rachel Neurath Dr. Jan Pechenik Ms. Taylor Sehei Dr. Timothy Shank Dr. Alan Steinbach Ms. Mel Stephen Ms. Hillary Sullivan Dr. Uri ten Brink Dr. David Twichell Mr. Tim Verslycke Dr. Nancy Walbek Dr. Kerry Walton Dr. Rusty Warren Dr. Albert Williams Ms. Deborah Winograd

Circle Dance, An FA Original Film Project This year, Drama Teacher and Director Liz Ledwell had to conceive of a new way to produce a play without the use of a theater that had been turned into a classroom, with substantially less teaching time, less time to read, and with an in-person cast that needed to be masked and six feet apart. The creative energies that fueled the traditional three-play cycle which typically included a fall play, an original middle-school production in the winter, and a spring musical were channeled into the AfterSchool Drama Elective that met once a week. In anticipation of the shift in space, access to students, and social distancing requirements, Ledwell began to think of plays in letter form such as Dangerous Liaisons by Christopher Hampton, Love Letters by A.R. Gurney, and 84 Charing Cross Road by James Roose-Evans which told stories in short vignettes that were essentially monologues that could be filmed individually and edited together.

The students were inspired by the use of correspondence to anchor a play and opted to write something original.

Circle Dance was conceived and written

by Ledwell and Falmouth Academy play production students; Dillon Fondren ’25,

Above (l-r): Marcus Greco ’24, Alexa Hartman ’24, and Sophie Gaughan ’26 filming scenes for Circle Dance.

David Gallagher ’25, Sophie Gaughan ’26, through letters which were undertaken by Ben Giumetti ’23, Lucia Gomez-Ibanez ’25, Chloe, the main protagonist, and Susie’s Marcus Greco ’24, Fi Gully ’24, Theo great-granddaughter. Several weeks were Harding ’25, Alexa Hartman ’24, Ursula spent fleshing out the characters and the Junker ’23, Arden O’Neil ’26, and Sarah overall structure of the play. Students had Plotkin ’22. “We brainstormed ways one a lot of latitude and freedom in creating corresponds from their scene and anyone afar—letters, phone who wanted a part “Can’t go back to make calls, emails, Zoom, could have one. Filming things right, though I wish I’d telegrams, etc.,” was done on campus said Ledwell. “We and the monologues understood. Time has made knew we didn't were intentionally things clearer now, we did want to set our play lengthy so that each the best we could.” —Raitt in the COVID era, scene/character was but we also knew easier to film.

“We’re captive on the that the themes The After-School carousel of time. We can’t of communication Stagecraft elective and connection assisted with set design return. We can only look over some distance and Marcus Greco ’24 behind from where we were paramount to and Stagecraft Director came.” —Mitchell whatever we wrote.”

Charlie Jodoin edited Each student the final footage. A wrote letters from the point of view of red carpet outdoor premiere will take imaginary characters and, according to place on the school’s front lawn in May. Ledwell, a few first drafts provided the The play will be available for viewing via essential character of Jake, an MIA WWII the FA website and YouTube. The title was soldier who wrote letters to his sweetheart inspired by the lyrics of “Circle Dance” by Susie back home. The storyline expanded Bonnie Raitt and “Circle Game” by Joni to include four-generations of Susie’s Mitchell, both of which address letting go family and a search for the family’s history of life’s regrets. the GAM

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A Glass Half Full

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, MAKE LEMONADE Falmouth Academy and COVID-19

When the coronavirus pandemic first hit the country—and Falmouth Academy—in the winter of 2020, no one had any idea what the long-term impact of the crisis would be (and we still don’t!). Head of School Matt Green reflects on the past year, lessons learned, unanticipated outcomes, our remarkable students, how Falmouth Academy’s faculty has come together to teach, inspire, and innovate during challenging times, and where we go from here.

Above left: Ms. Allyson Manchester taking advantage of the good weather to teach her English 11 class outside. Above right: Adele Francis ’24 preparing for Book Club.

By the time this goes to press, the coronavirus crisis will

have been part of our lives for 15 months or so. How has Falmouth Academy—its students and its faculty—been faring?

As luck would have it, I am actually responding to this question on March 13, exactly one year after I called my team back from spring break for the first of several emergency meetings during which we essentially designed a brand new school. Like people across the world, our school community has experienced feelings of fatigue, anxiety, isolation and loss. This said, we have been fortunate on so many fronts. Having been fully open to most and eventually all students all year, we have been deeply engaged in the business of learning and laughing together even as we have acclimated to changes that have enabled us to enjoy a remarkable run of good health.

FA is known for its dedicated faculty. How have they responded to the crisis?

A sense of shared ownership is in this school’s DNA. The faculty care about this school with a depth of feeling I have not experienced elsewhere. So, I was certainly grateful but not at all surprised by the agility and resourcefulness of their response.

Our teachers adapted quickly and well to both the tools and

practice of instructional technology, even as we’ve continued to care for the well-being of our students, no matter how many masks we’ve been wearing or how far apart we might be.

Our students have been remarkably resilient—and compliant—throughout this. Any success stories you’d like to share?

When I spoke to the students back in early September, I invited them to imagine the contents of the book that would likely be published in 2077 in honor of the 100th anniversary of our founding. Will you be the stars of this particular story, I asked, the most resilient class in 100 years, the ones who chose not to wallow in what school wasn’t but instead directed your efforts and energies toward making school the very best it could be, for everyone?

If I am lucky enough to be the one (at the ripe old age of 109) to be writing that chapter, I’ll be answering yes. Students have adapted easily to mask-wearing, a little less easily to physical distancing. But they’re trying! More importantly, they’ve found ways to maintain a sense of joy. I won’t soon forget when the Student Council ran a “Guess That Chin” kahoot during our virtual all-school meeting, or kids finding a branch and a tennis ball and playing stickball during our outside breaks (four times a day no matter the weather!) We

Above (l-r): Hackysack in the front yard during a break. Center: In a science lab with Mrs. Sharon Kreamer, Margaret Lowell ’23 and Connor Mercer ’23 learn about vaccines from horseshoe crabs. Right: Wylie Wakefield ’24 works with Mr. Jon Olson on a math question. the GAM

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staged an outdoor all-school meeting on the girls’ soccer field and held a paper airplane contest with our “FA-milies.” One student even played “Happy Birthday” on her violin through the telephone intercom!

What has been the most challenging aspect of this pandemic for you as Head of School? What has been the most gratifying?

I have told the faculty that I have suffered a bit from a case of “decision fatigue.” Do you open? If so, to how many? Can we walk among the students in class? Give them handouts or lend them pencils? Can I bring cupcakes to school? Can we sing? And you have to make all of these decisions even as science, not to mention public opinion, changes by the day. And I told the students I have suffered a bit from “no fatigue,” the cumulative effect of telling well-intentioned students what they can’t do and why they can’t do it all day every day. But I could not be more grateful to be a part of this community. Teachers have gone above and beyond, parents have been incredibly supportive, and of course our many friends have continued to provide generous financial support even as they grapple with challenges of their own.

Technology like Zoom has been a lifesaver for many of us during the pandemic. How has the use of technology changed at FA, and what impact will this have on learning going forward?

The extent to which the pandemic has expedited our knowhow in this area has been one of many happy accidents. The other day, I wandered into a senior Calculus class and two students were puzzling through math problems on a touchscreen monitor.

Pictured in the corner was a classmate, who happened to be zooming in from China (at midnight his time!) who could see their

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Above left: Mr. Parsons’ English 10: The Narrative Voice in a temporary classroom space set up in the library. Above center: First All-School Meeting of the year in person. Above right: Mr. Nightingale’s Chemistry class holding lab outside. Below: Maria Medeiros ’21 working in the learning center. Bottom: 7th grade movie night on the front lawn.

math on his screen and mark up the problem as well. Perhaps most valuable, however, has been the evolution of what I refer to as “Phone a Friend” pedagogy. It still amazes me that students in this little school on Cape Cod will have spent time with a songwriter from Nashville, a practicing Buddhist monk, a cybersecurity and encryption professional from Google and a former US Ambassador to North Macedonia, to name but a few. I expect that our comfort level teaching and learning online will continue to open doors like these in the years to come.

I generally hold a glass-half-full attitude when it comes to instructional technology, but there’s also cause for caution. The pandemic has amplified an already growing screen time crisis. Even as we embrace new opportunities, we must continue to consider the spiritual implications of what it means to be human in a world of increasingly ubiquitous technology. We must be careful not to fall for fast-and-broad at the expense of deep-and-meaningful.

And then there are snow days…

Last spring you put the finishing touches on FA’s Strategic Vision. Has the pandemic affected your efforts to move “FA Forward”?

Yes, we are proud that even in the midst of crisis management, we were able to publish what I consider to be an inspiring and certainly relevant document. Meeting time has been scarce and bandwidth for big picture thinking perhaps a little scarcer, but we’re still moving the ball forward.

FA Forward quite deliberately focuses on the importance of educating students on the pressing challenges of a changing climate, but the events of the past 15 months show that no single “challenge of our time” exists in isolation. Our students are being educated in a time of extraordinary and increasingly destabilizing global change.

The well-educated person is the one who can recognize, adapt to, find the opportunity in, and ideally mitigate the effects of such instability whether it be sociopolitical, technological, environmental or, as is most often the case, a combination of all three.

If you had a crystal ball, what does the ’21–’22 school year look like at Falmouth Academy?

I could use that crystal ball right about now! I am optimistic that most if not all of our staff will have been vaccinated by the time this issue goes to print, but I expect it will be some time before the same can be said of our students, and I am not even going to speculate about herd immunity, variants, and the like. We continue to be in contingency planning mode here but right now, we anticipate that all students will attend school in person 100% of the time and that while students and teachers will continue to wear masks, physical distancing measures will be somewhat relaxed. We should be able to offer our complete program, celebrate beloved on- and off-campus events and traditions, and provide a little more unsupervised “freedom of movement” for students.

Any closing thoughts?

Like just about every other industry and institution, education and Falmouth Academy will have been fundamentally changed by our pandemic experience. In such times, great institutions are buoyed by constants: mission, vision, values, and culture. We will always be about teachers who know students one-by-one, and who measure success not only by the places their students go and the things they achieve, but also by the distance each travels. And, perhaps more importantly, we will always be about graduating kids who care—about each other, about learning, and about the future (whatever it has in store for us!)

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A FAmily of Scholar-Athletes Swanbecks Retire After 30+ Years Julie Swanbeck

By Eleanor Clark

Some of us have been lucky enough to have official business in Room 206. Some of us simply make up reasons to drift in there.

While, by necessity, the walls have recently been stripped and painted and polished, Mrs. Swanbeck’s room continues to radiate warmth and calm. We can picture the fabriccovered bulletin boards, the Time magazine covers and posters, and maps decorating the walls, the closets full of promise.

Dig around in those closets and one would no doubt find evidence of the intellectual rigor Mrs. Swanbeck brings to her classes. Maybe there would be extra books to loan students for historical research. Maybe there would be a collection of pens and protractors. One might also find other surprises—boxes for Honor Society elections, colorful sewing projects, perhaps even a lacrosse stick. Mrs. Swanbeck has played many roles.

Joining Falmouth Academy in 1994, Mrs. Swanbeck originally worked as Assistant to the Headmaster for Development, but recognizing her immense talents, the school soon enlisted her to take on a variety of positions over the years: History teacher, Math teacher, lacrosse coach, Honor Society adviser, class adviser. Not only can Mrs. Swanbeck do it all, but she has steadily and patiently helped students see that they can too. Many students who return from college with stories of teaching their roommates how to write have Mrs. Swanbeck to thank. Many students who realize they know the history underlying a particular topic in the news or who see the beauty behind geometry have Mrs. Swanbeck to thank. Whether helping students sort through primary source documents, or cheerfully modeling how to “Keep that back hand down!” so as better to scoop the ball, Mrs. Swanbeck has taught by doing, holding herself and her students to the high standards she knows full-well they can reach together.

But amid all that serious work has always been that hint of whimsy. Mrs. Swanbeck, her students quickly realize, has one of the best senses of humor in the building. Just ask the Class of 2018, who wrote and produced an American historyinspired musical—props, dance, chorus numbers, the whole deal—under her watchful and delighted eye. Or ask those of us who spend Gala in the kitchenette, thawing shrimp and mixing punch and laughing.

Quietly seeing what needs to be done, and then rolling up her sleeves and getting to it, Mrs. Swanbeck has helped us all find joy and purpose. We will miss her tremendously.

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Don Swanbeck

By Rob Wells

Our small school tucked in a corner of Cape Cod has built an outstanding reputation in its little more than four decades of existence.

The secret to this success is not a secret at all; it is the result of the daily wisdom, efforts, and love of outstanding teachers. For over 30 years, no one has exemplified that commitment to serving and guiding FA students better than Mr. Swanbeck. For generations of learners, he has been central to the FA experience and a FA education.

Both inside and outside the classroom, Mr. Swanbeck has meaningfully impacted lives. He has inspired and mentored students and colleagues alike, and the respect that both have for him is deep and profound. There is no one answer to the question of what makes a great educator. Some will emphasize subject mastery, others will highlight the ability to teach intellectual and academic skills, and others may speak of modeling a life of the mind and inspiring curiosity. While not dismissing any of those qualities, I would tend to celebrate a deep and personal commitment to caring about the lives, futures, and struggles of the students. In reality, a truly transformative and impactful teacher will have all of these qualities, abilities, and priorities, and that is the perfect description of Mr. Swanbeck.

Henry Adams famously observed that “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” When I read those words, I always think first of Mr. Swanbeck. How can anyone know the influence and future impact of his teaching hundreds of students to interpret documents and assertions through the lens of his PROP+ model? Can there be a skill more needed in our time than

My entire life, I had watched my parents and other FA teachers model so much patience, generosity, and empathy in helping students grow and mature along their personal and academic paths. I had seen the kookiness and quirkiness and individual brilliance of so many students be embraced and fostered.

—Sonja Swanbeck ’08 Being a faculty kid was at times fraught, with my parents chaperoning dances and, yes, even my prom. They were not simply teachers. They were class advisors, coaches, mentors, honor society advisors, patient listeners, thoughtful questioners, voracious readers, and autodidacts in the best sense of the word – not to mention amazing parents. They somehow managed to immerse themselves in every facet of Falmouth Academy. The message was clear: get involved, move off the sidelines, be a full-fledged, active participant in your life and leave an environment better than how you found it.

—Laura Swanbeck ’04

an ability to discern valid sources from disinformation? What will be the impact on our world of lessons Mr. Swanbeck has taught to hundreds of young athletes on the soccer field or the basketball court? If there is a coach more suited to instilling the values of sportsmanship, teamwork, and fair play, I have yet to meet him or her. Our society could sure use a greater sense of fairness and the importance of playing by the rules.

In recent years, I have had the pleasure and the honor of sharing teaching FA seniors in a history course designed by Mr. Swanbeck that imagines the students as officers in a mock U.S. State Department offering analyses of issues and cultures around the globe. It is not unreasonable to hope that from the students who have experienced this class, and the countless more students who embraced the opportunities offered by Mr. Swanbeck to participate in Model UN gatherings at Dartmouth College or the University of Hartford, will come leaders in international affairs who will help to solve the global problems of the future.

Most importantly though, Don Swanbeck has influenced eternity by modeling for us all how to live a life of learning, caring, principle and decency. His subtle means of sculpting character have benefited students and colleagues alike, often in ways that can only be appreciated with time. On behalf of all who feel most fortunate to have known Mr. Swanbeck as a teacher, coach, faculty advisor, class advisor, colleague, mentor, and friend, it is my privilege to say, “Thank you, Don.” We are better people, and Falmouth Academy is a better school and community, as a result of your long steadfast devotion and care.

We wish you happiness and fulfillment in retirement, but we sure will miss you!

Certainly, when one’s parents teach at your school—and one’s father is dean of students, no less—it’s much more difficult to get away with anything. But as I look back, I can’t say I recall the experience as overbearing. Though when I was their student, I think it was understood that, if anything, there would be a higher expectation to engage with the class and perform well. The rest of the time I found it surprisingly unintrusive. I think both my parents knew to give their children space, allowing us as normal a high school experience as possible.

—Donald Swanbeck ’01 It wasn't until I started at FA myself that I really came to understand what my parents meant to the FA community. I witnessed how much they cared about their students and how much time they invested, both in and out of the classroom.

—Sarah Swanbeck ’03 the GAM

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Falmouth Academy Mariners persisted in keeping the tradition of the scholar-athlete alive and well, even expanding its program to include four competitive varsity sports. Cross Country, which started last year as a club team, competed inter-scholastically at the varsity level this fall. League soccer did not happen at Falmouth Academy this year due to the pandemic, but middle school and varsity teams practiced and played intramural games.

Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball had a great season. Both teams were recognized by the Cape and Island League, earning the Team Sportsmanship Award. Saniya Rajagopal ’21 finished her Mariner career as a League All-Star player.

Cody Feldott ’22 was also named League All-Star and Piper Augat ’22 and Nate Holmes ’24 received honorable mentions. Kailei Hoehlein ’22 was honored for her sense of fair play and team spirit with an individual sportsmanship award. Lacrosse and the new tennis club began their seasons on March 24.

CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS Elise Casso ’26

Tarun Gonneea ’22 Bianca Greco ’23 Henry Quan ’22

Bianca Greco ’23

Tarun Gonneea ’22

League All-Star League All-Star League All-Star League All-Star Individual Sportsmanship Individual Sportsmanship

BASKETBALL AWARDS Saniya Rajagopal ’21 Cody Feldott ’22

Nate Holmes ’24

League All-Star League All-Star Honorable Mention

Clockwise from left: Team Captain and League All-Star Saniya Rajagopal ’21, Intramural Soccer, League All-Star Cody Feldott ’22, and the Varsity Cross Country Team.

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THANK YOU FA COACHES Fall Soccer Middle School Girls Middle School Boys Varsity Girls Varsity Boys

Emily Turner Ed Lott and Luke Green Ben Parsons PK Kennedy and Mike Earley

Cross Country Kaleigh Sullivan and Jon Olson Basketball Middle School Girls Middle School Boys Varsity Girls Varsity Boys

PK Kennedy Bill Andrade and Luke Green Kyla Krueger and Rob Wells Henry Stevens and Jon Olson

Lacrosse Middle School Girls Middle School Boys Varsity Girls

Varsity Boys

Emily Turner Mike Deasy ’10 Sarah Knowles, Emily Turner and Jane Earley ’18 Mike Earley

Tennis Club Ben Parsons

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ALUMNI NEWS 1980s

1990s

Can a baby’s cry predict the future onset of autism? Stephen Sheinkopf, PhD ’84 thinks so! The Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Human Behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University has been studying the early signs of autism his entire career. In a radio podcast during a CBC Radio Special on how the invisible powers of sound shape our world, Sheinkopf talked about a recent study he had been involved in. He said, “We discovered that children with later diagnoses of autism or children with a family history of autism produced cries that were higher in pitch.” He noted that the pattern of vocalizations is a useful indicator of what’s going on in a cry. The urgency of cries and the patterns of crying are things to notice if parents are concerned.

Congratulations to Megan Schwarzman ’90, who was named the 2021 Rosati Lecturer in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. A physician and environmental health scientist, Schwarzman is honored for her contributions to the study of the impact of synthetic chemicals on human health and the environment, her research on US and European chemical policies, and her dedication to advancing the professional careers of her students. Said Justin Remais, professor and chair of the UC Berkeley Division of Environmental Health Sciences in the article announcing this honor, “Meg Schwarzman is training our students to tackle pressing sustainability challenges of our day, and positioning them to change the world.”

Congratulations to Christine Pina ’86 who was appointed a trustee at Wesleyan University. Chief Advancement Officer at Miss Porter’s School, Pina is a former Director of Major Gifts at Wesleyan and received her bachelor’s degree in African American Studies there. Pina is also a trustee of CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) and chairs the Commission on Philanthropy, and is a trustee of the Barbara Bush Foundation.

Travel writer Ray Bartlett ’88 has published his second novel, Celedon. Called stunning, poignant, and compelling, the story follows Chase as he travels to Asia to study pottery and learns that even in small idyllic areas, there can be hidden secrets.

And amidst the pandemic, Ray has created an online business, YourSpecialCocktail. com, where he will craft a custom cocktail recipe based on the recipient’s tastes and preferences. Check it out!

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Best wishes to David Aronson ’96 and his wife Erin and big brother Liam, who welcomed twin boys, Charlie and Benjamin to their family.

Peyton Swick ’98 is a lead architect with Automattic doing major work on the WordPress.com payments system.

“I’m extremely privileged to have already been working remotely when the pandemic hit, so unlike nearly everyone else, my work life hasn’t changed that much.”

Congratulations to Melissa Febos ’99 on the publication of her third book, Girlhood, a collection of eight essays about the trauma of adolescence. Melissa is an Associate Professor at the University of Iowa, where she teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program.

2000s

2010s

After completing a program with the Academy for Dog Trainers, Peyton Swick’s wife Megan O’Hara ’02 began offering training services at the local humane society and other locations. A few years ago she opened a physical training space in downtown Burlington, VT, and was joined by a fellow graduate of the Academy. With the pandemic, Meg has transitioned a large part of her business to online training. Her business is called Fetch the Leash, and you can see Meg and her services at fetchtheleash.biz.

Kira Doutt ’11 and Jenna Bernstein ’11 helped Kira’s mother, Jane Parhiala publish Reckless at the Border, a memoir about two star-crossed lovers whose cultures eventually keep them apart. Artist Kira illustrated the book and Jenna, a freelance/ghostwriter, helped Parhiala with her story.

Congratulations to Jane Earley ’18 who was named Division III Women’s Preseason Player of the Year by US Lacrosse Magazine. The Middlebury College sophomore had 14 goals and 3 assists in the NCAA tournament for the 2019 champion.

Congratulations to Oliver Moore ’04 and Sam Moore ’05 and their business Moore Brothers Company, which was featured in an article in Sea Horse Magazine. The company primarily fabricates composite parts for boats but also works with a slew of other industries including healthcare.

Eric Schmitt ’07 and his dad, former WHOI scientist Ray Schmitt have founded a company called Salient Predictions that models and forecasts water predictions.

Salient recently joined forces with Climatics LLC to produce the world’s most accurate hydropower and water supply forecasts for 2021 in the western U.S. Their announcement said, “Water availability is a massively critical issue for the region and improved accuracy in forecasting these flows will lead to lives saved and huge value creation for public and private water players alike.” Last year, Eric, Ray, and Stephen Schmitt ’07 won first place in the Sub-Seasonal Climate Forecast Rodeo for their forecasting of precipitation.

Max McGurl ’09, an industrial designer for enVision Solutions Group, has had to change gears at work pretty quickly and has been making dispensers for hand sanitizer, barriers for cash registers, and checkout counters, and COVID testing kiosks for pharmacies. He said, “It certainly kept us busy through some rocky and uncertain times. It seems like now we will be going back to more of our normal work designing and building retail displays.”

Congratulations to Emma Keeler ’19 who received a prestigious 2021 Goldwater Scholarship, awarded to sophomores or juniors planning research careers in mathematics or the natural sciences.

The University of Pennsylvania student is pursuing a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in biology concurrently. Her current research is on the newly discovered viral family Redondoviridae. Emma is a Writing Fellow and research peer advisor. She is editor of the Penn Bioethics Journal and founder and president of the Penn Infectious Disease Club.

Hannah Stillman ’19 is one of several alumni working as an EMT while she waited for her school, Williams College, to reopen for in-person classes. Hannah is majoring in pre-med and works for Brewster Ambulance out of Middleboro.

There is such a need for EMTs that she has easily translated this into a 40-hour a week job that has her answering calls up and down the South Shore and into Boston. Once she was placed with an older EMT and they had to answer a 911 call. “This was my first real emergency! It was a psychiatric call and really stressful. With the help of five police officers, we finally got the patient with me in the ambulance. My partner slammed the door after me and said, ‘Good luck back there.’”

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ALUMNI NEWS Harvesting Fruit from the Tree of Alumni Expertise This year, classes, clubs, events, and even the Science Engineering Fair (S&EF) have been enriched by more than 35 alumni who have shared their expertise remotely as guest speakers, mentors, panelists, and judges. It has been an unexpected positive outcome of virtual learning and communication that will serve FA well going forward.

In addition to having 20 alumni S&EF judges and 12 Alumni Day panelists, here are some highlights from class and club Zoom meetings.

Dr. Sarah Twichell ’99 spoke to a group of students in the FA WiSE Club (Women in Science and Engineering). She is a pediatric nephrologist and researcher and also teaches second-year students at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. Both a teacher and a doctor, Twichell said, “The word ‘doctor’ means teacher. In Pediatrics, teaching is what I do, explaining complicated things in an understandable way.”

The words “To Infinity and Beyond” took on a whole new meaning when mathematician Shelley Kandola, Ph.D. ’09 visited Doug Jones’s Middle School Math Team over Zoom in January. A Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Mathematics at Michigan State University, Kandola talked about her career in mathematics and her academic interests, which often lay at the intersection of computer science and mathematics and especially infinity. “It is often in getting things wrong that leads to new ideas,” she said. “Students have to be okay with making

mistakes. One of my favorite things is to see ‘Aha!’ moments when students don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, and then, one day, it clicks. And once you reach your ‘Aha!’ moment, you realize it wasn’t so hard.”

Google coder Molly Lippsett ’09 surprised the students on the Middle School Math Team by suggesting that her lack of coding experience in high school may have actually helped her become a better coder since she was starting fresh with her introduction to a new coding language. When asked what best prepared her for a career in coding, she gave credit to her math studies in high school and college, but she also said that the extensive writing and editing she did for FA English classes made the biggest difference because it trained her to be able to read code critically and carefully edit the lines of code just as one might an English paper.

Tasha Garland ’16 RN, a pediatric float pool nurse in the Duke University Health Care System, spoke to FA WiSE about nursing and science. An FA Science and Engineering Fair veteran, she and a partner did projects about how different medications taken by her brother who has muscular dystrophy, affected learning and memory. She said, “In science, the power of failure is so important because it teaches you just as much as success does. I actually think the power of failure is important to learn because it’s so easy to get discouraged and say, oh well, it didn’t work and I’m going to move on.”

Passings We are sad to announce the passing of Susan Pennington, who taught Art History during the early years of Falmouth Academy and also taught at Cape Cod Community College and the Cape Cod Conservatory. In addition to other family members, she leaves her son Marc, who is a member of the Class of 1994. Our thoughts are with her family.

In Memory of Krissy Peters ’87 The Class of 1987 came together via Zoom to mourn the passing of classmate Krissy Peters, who left us in December. In her memory, classmate Kurt Achin contributed these thoughts.

It’s hard to encapsulate any person’s life in a few words; you can usually capture only a slice or two. And Krissy Peters had a lot of slices.

It was only a matter of weeks this fall between the moment I learned she was undergoing cancer treatment and the moment I learned she was gone.

Our classmates got together via online video, where I learned that even back then, all those decades ago when we were at FA, the teachers told her candidly that she was special.

I spent days in numb shock. Then one morning, while sorting vegetables, the tears just came. So did some words, which I put into a social media post:

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In high school, I knew a girl named Krissy. She was wild, hilarious, ridiculous, colorful, creative, and truth-telling. She held a frequent mirror up to my entitled bullcrap. She taught me to like Joan Armatrading and the Rocky Horror Picture Show. She was nuts. And indispensable.

Every yet-to-happen reunion I imagined put her at center stage in the spotlight, with the rest of us more or less supporting cast. They will have to remain imagined. Way too soon, she lost a cancer battle not many of us knew she was waging until too late.

Got a Krissy in your life? Find ’em. Celebrate ’em.

Petra Scamborova ’10:

Big Dog in the Biotech Copycat War? Petra Scamborova’s curriculum vitae reads like a science rock star’s playlist. The ’93 FA alumna was the school’s first exchange student from Slovakia. She received her B.A. in biochemistry from Mt. Holyoke College, her Master’s from Cambridge University, her Ph.D. from Yale in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She is now Senior Director and Assistant General Counsel of Dispute Resolution at Regeneron. And she calls herself a former scientist.

Speaking by invitation to the FA Women in Science & Engineering (FA WiSE) meeting in January, Scamborova said, “I love science. I love formulating theories and the hypothesis. I love analyzing data. I love solving difficult problems. I loved talking about my science projects and going to conferences to talk about science with other people.”

Halfway through her Ph.D. program, Scamborova realized, “I didn’t like the middle part, and I couldn’t see myself doing that work for the next 30 years. I had already invested so much in my Ph.D. so I needed to finish it.”

Scamborova searched for ways she could leverage her science background without working as a scientist.

She considered several careers such as management consulting and business while rejecting academia and medicine. And then, as she says, she stumbled into law.

In the early 2000s, there was a revolution going on in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. The industry was moving from small molecule drugs synthesized in labs to large biological molecules made in live cells. This new technology focused on gene therapy, antibody therapies for various cancers, and RNA silencers such as the science behind the new Covid-19 vaccinations.

“This shift was just beginning to happen as I was going to law school. What that meant was that there was a lack of people who had an understanding of science who could also protect and advocate for the new and very novel technology.”

Scamborova explained that pharma and biotechnology companies invest incredible amounts of money to come

up with new and exciting therapies and need to protect their investment by patenting the technology and even the molecules. “You can only imagine that you need a science background to understand complicated fusion protein molecules.”

After a patent is obtained and the product becomes successful, Scamborova said there are always copycats who try to bring it to market. This is where science and law come together. You need to be able to Study what you love. ascertain what was known and Don’t worry about how knowable to prove proprietary applicable or not it is ownership. “You have to defend your investment by working going to be. It will always directly with the inventors, be applicable in one way asking ‘What did they know? or another. Be creative.

What was known at that point?

Find your own way.

How did they come up with it?’”

She said she would review lab notebooks and needed to be able to understand the science so that she could make her case.

“Having a Ph.D. in science also helps because people in the field trust you a little bit more. They know you know how to talk the science talk.”

Scamborova is the resident science expert on her team and her unique background assisted her on her very first case working with humanized antibodies. “When I was at Cambridge University, my lab was down the hall from the godfather of the whole humanized antibody field. So I actually knew a lot about this. My Ph.D. came in very, very handy.”

Whatever case she is working on, Scamborova has to become an expert on it. “Right now, I have a drug that I’m protecting that has to do with ophthalmological diseases.

So I’m learning everything I can about the eye, like how you inject the drug into the eye, and how much or how little can you inject.”

In advising the FA WiSE members, Scamborova said, “It’s okay to study science in college, but don’t worry about where your life will go. Maybe you’ll become a scientist— and we need more scientists, especially now. But if you decide to semi-leave science as I did, there are so many other things you can do.” She said, “Study what you love.

Don’t worry about how applicable or not it is going to be. It will always be applicable in one way or another. Be creative. Find your own way. I’m so much happier now as a former scientist, but I still indulge my science interests through my work.”

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ALUMNI NEWS

Caroline Cotto ’10:

“Follow Your Curiosity” Caroline Cotto ’10 spoke to members of the Falmouth Academy Women in Science & Engineering Club about her love of science and the career path that led her throughout Asia and back to the U.S. Cotto is co-founder of Renewal Mill, whose mission is to fight food waste through upcycling, taking the byproducts left over from food manufacturing and turning them into ingredients and finished products. She said, “My motto has always been to follow your curiosity and that’s been my approach to my entire career.”

A self-proclaimed science nut, Cotto loved participating in the Science Fair at Falmouth Academy, where many of her projects focused on climate change and animal behavior. She studied human science with a focus on nutrition at Georgetown and interned with Michelle Obama at the White House working on her Let’s Move initiative to educate families on how to eat healthily and exercise.

After a Fulbright fellowship in Taiwan, she spent six months in Cambodia working for the United Nations World Food Health Program. A series of jobs in Boston that included running a program at Hubspot on getting more women into technical roles, led her to work for a food tech accelerator, a company that helped food businesses get off the ground.

It was there that she met her Renewal Mill co-founder, and every thread of interest Caroline had woven since Falmouth Academy finally came together.

How does your Science Fair experience help you today?

I like to joke that Science Fair was my varsity sport in high school. I spent a lot of time on my projects. It really taught me to think analytically and learn how to tackle large problems in small ways. I can’t solve food waste at every level, but I can think about smaller solutions. I’m able to hone in on the part that I’m focused on and try to make as much impact as possible. Science Fair definitely taught me how to present my ideas in a really concrete manner.

Part of running a company like mine requires a lot of pitching to venture capitalist firms and being able to present your idea in a succinct manner that captures people’s attention. I directly use skills I built via Science Fair to do that on a daily basis.

What does Renewal Mill do?

We make an ingredient called okara. We take the soybean pulp left over when you make soy milk. You basically boil and blend soybeans and then you take the liquid away and what’s left is the pulp, called okara. We dehydrate that pulp and mill it into a high-fiber gluten-free flour. We sell the flour to other companies that are looking to use this type of ingredient in their own products. We also use some of it in our own vegan products. Right now we make vegan soft-baked chocolate chip cookies, vegan brownie mix, pure flour, and baking flour that we sell in Whole Foods and some other retailers. We’re able to do this 26

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with different byproducts from soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, and a lot of the things that are plant-based.

This process is called upcycling. We’re part of a larger effort to create a certified upcycle seal. So in the same way you have products certified as organic, you can have something certified as upcycled. It helps consumers in the grocery store understand the power behind what they’re purchasing, and what that means for food waste reduction, which ultimately is a large driver of climate change.

How do you market your products?

There has been a lot of research done on the fact that upcycled is the term that resonates most with consumers. How you market food waste is really important; you have to make it appealing to people because it can be arbitrarily labeled as waste. I was presenting at a conference once and I was introduced as the trash-cookie lady. There’s a lot of work that goes into messaging upcycled food. It’s only started to gain wide-scale adoption over the last 18 months.

How are you getting upcycling recognized universally?

We think a certification stamp, like the Organic Foods or Non-GMO Product certifications, will help a lot. Organic certifications weren’t actually finalized until 2002, and now it’s a universal term. Everyone knows what organic food is and why you should purchase it. We’re hoping that a seal and a certification program will do the same for the upcycling industry.

We worked with Harvard University and Drexel University and a bunch of large think tanks and nonprofits to develop a formal definition of upcycled food that came out in April. It is now being used as the cornerstone for creating the certification standard. We have created a checklist for people to determine if their food is upcycled, and that’s being reviewed by a panel of experts who For a larger impact, oversaw the non-GMO certification.

Do you have any advice on how we can work on food waste at home?

eat a plantbased diet, according to Project Draw Down, one of the leading organizations researching how to reduce global warming by two degrees. They rank reducing food waste and eating a plant-based diet as the top two things we can do.

About 40% of food waste happens post-consumer. If you’re helping to make purchasing decisions in your household, make sure you buy what you can actually finish. If you’re not going to finish it, there are a lot of creative ways to extend the life of produce. Make sure you’re storing it correctly. For example, people often put potatoes and onions together, but that actually speeds up how fast they go bad. You can put things in some water, wrap them in paper towels to extend their life, or if you’re not going to finish them, freeze them. Things like that actually go a long way to reducing food waste in your own home.

For a larger impact, eat a plant-based diet, according to Project Draw Down, one of the leading organizations researching how to reduce global warming by two degrees. They rank reducing food waste and eating a plantbased diet as the top two things we can do. So choose a day each week to eat entirely vegan or plant-based and choose foods that have a lower carbon footprint.

What’s the most interesting aspect of your job?

Every day is really different. I basically wear all of the hats and I get to learn every day in every sector of the business which definitely keeps it interesting.

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ALUMNI NEWS

“Bottom of the Barrel, Top of the World” Johnny Gwynn ’07 writes his way into Nashville

“You can look down Broadway in Nashville and see five blocks of honkytonks.

And inside each ’tonk there will be at least two stages and singers and songwriters playing their hearts out to get noticed,” said Johnny Gwynn ’07, a professional musician making his living as a songwriter in Nashville, TN. Appearing by Zoom in the Falmouth Academy Music Majors after-school activity taught by Mr. George Scharr, in a segment called “Meet the Pros,” Gwynn talked about his life as a country songwriter. “All country songs don’t have to be about pickup trucks, cutoff jeans, and girls,” he said. “I also bartend where I get some great fodder. As soon as people start drinking, titles fall out of their mouths.” For example, once when tending bar, a guy wanted a beer after the keg had been shut off for the night. Gwynn gave him half of a glass explaining that it was the bottom of the barrel. The customer looked at him and replied, “Bottom of the barrel, top of the world.”

Preferring writing over performing, Gwynn collaborates a lot. “One thing that attracted me to Nashville is that I was really interested in the process of songwriting. I wanted to be the guy behind the scenes. I always felt way more energized writing songs and finishing them than performing them. I’m good at performing, but hearing a song I wrote always jazzes me up.”

Typically, Gwynn is writing in a room with one or two other people. There might be a piano, some guitars, and someone laying down drum beats on a computer. “There’s a saying in Nashville that you write the song that’s in the room. So if I’m super happy when I walk in that room but someone has just broken up with a girlfriend, I might have to write a sad song that day. Sometimes I want to funk out but end up writing bubblegum pop that day. You just have to be prepared to work with whatever is presented to you.”

With a nod to Falmouth Academy, he told the students, “You know how to read and write. You would probably do a fine job as a Nashville songwriter because you have actually put pen to paper. In fact, some You just have to be of you are going to see within a year that you will be correcting some of your college dorm-mates’ papers!” prepared to work Gwynn said it does take a couple of years to become known, but he suggests that if you’re interested with whatever is in songwriting you must write every day. “Find a prompt. Free write. The more you can write, the better.

Quantity breeds quality.” presented to you.

One thing that he said helps him a lot and gives him a fairly unique skill is the fact that, due to his jazz and improv playing at FA and college (Arizona State University, English major, music minor), he can come up with melodies quickly, and is not “married” to them. It is a process of trial and error that keeps the ideas flowing. “I’ll say, ‘how’s this?’ and they’ll say, ‘no, we need something completely different,’ and I’ll be able to throw something else out.”

Gwynn has had songs on the radio and most recently worked with Michael Keys on his album Still Go Home. In fact, Keys’ song “My City is Country” was written by Gwynn. “You really write for people on the same level as you.

You never know who will hit it big and you want to be there with them. You also write for the people in the bar.”

Asked about tips for our aspiring student songwriters, Gwynn said to hit the chorus early, like within 15-20 seconds. In fact, he quoted music legend Tom Petty who said, “Don’t bore us; hit the chorus.”

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PEOPLE OF FA

Many hands make light work and this year there were a number of people who jumped in to help execute a successful school year during the pandemic. Alumna Ellie Harmon ’88 (P’21, P’22) and Luke Green provided classroom coverage. Green also coached soccer and was a science fair judge.

Dominique Gummow covered science classes for Jill Reves’s medical leave. Alumni Mike Deasy ’10 and Jane Earley ’18 stepped up to coach lacrosse.

Falmouth Academy also welcomed new instructors to the music department (pictured below). Chorus Teacher Margaret Bossi started working with a small group of choristers in the spring and Stephen Gregory took over as the Rock Band teacher from Jay Goldbach P’21 after winter break.

Mike Rakutis

By Richard Sperduto Mike was the very first facilities staff member I hired, back in 2000. After retiring from 30 years as a Teamster, he continued working part-time four days a week at Falmouth Academy. He quickly became an incredible asset, not just maintaining the building and repairing hand-me-down furniture and equipment, but with his experienced hand and artistic eye, he built cabinets, shelving, workstations, and display fixtures to provide for the needs of an ever-growing institution. He also generously shared his expertise with students, teaching the Woodworking elective for nearly 20 years.

His students’ craftsmanship and ornate jewelry boxes were highlights of the annual spring art show. Under his direction, his students built the faculty mailboxes still in use!

Mike's talents extended beyond carpentry: he also helped with wiring and plumbing to keep the school’s infrastructure up and running. When he was first hired I remember thinking, “Great, here's a smart guy who is younger than I am, who will stick around longer than I will.” Then I found out that he was eight years my senior. Mike has always had a generous heart and made difficult tasks simple.

Julie Taylor

By Allyson Manchester

We also say farewell this year to two long-serving faculty members. Julie Taylor, who has been at Falmouth Academy since the 1978-79 school year, taught 7th-grade Humanities and, most recently, advised students in the college counseling office and was a mentor to Allyson Manchester. She was also affectionately known as the “arbiter of Gala fashion.”

Mike Rakutis began his second career working parttime in the facilities department. His “second career” lasted almost as long as his first. Thank you to all for their service and support of the Falmouth Academy school community.

When I first visited Falmouth Academy for my job interview in 2014, Ruth Slocum (the English Department Chair and College Counselor at the time) proudly shared with me the history of FA’s “Founding Mothers.” I was excited and grateful to begin my career in a community where radical, intelligent female leaders had set the tone from day one. I felt even luckier when I was invited to work in the FA College Counseling Office and receive mentorship from Julie Taylor, the longtime college counselor at FA and one of the Founding Mothers. Julie is devoted to helping others to find their “perfect fit”: she suggests colleges to students based on their personal values and goals; she draws from her deep knowledge of fashion to inspire her colleagues to dress for success; and, from what I have heard, she took particular delight in arranging “marriages” for her seventh-grade Humanities students. Just like Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and mentor to Odysseus, Julie has given us the courage to see ourselves clearly and recognize the truest path.

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Celebrating Our Seniors

Ellamae Cazeault

Eliza Chun

Silas Clark

Justine Clement

Ellamae’s sense of humor is what struck me most. She would always have something funny to add or an interesting perspective on our nonsense.

Driven by palpable enthusiasm, Eliza pushes to the limit, and through her words and example, she encourages people to do things they did not think they could do.

Silas is kind and whip-smart. You could give Silas any random topic and he would find the beauty in it. Introduce him to a friend, and he’ll find the beauty in them.

Justine is someone who fully commits to whatever she partakes in, and values quality over quantity in doing so.

It can be said that of all the recent classes, the Class of 2021 bore the brunt of Covid-19. Spring of their junior year, instruction went virtual, SATs, sports, and beloved community celebrations were canceled, and they spent the summer at home. They returned senior year to a new rhythm to the school day without fourth-period electives or in-person all-school-meetings, and with new social-distancing measures in place. This class stood to lose the most with regard to beloved traditions and communal milestones such as Senior Class Trip and Prom, but this group of 34 students pulled together to support each other and to bring joy and closure to their high school experience. We celebrate their resilience.

Classmates wrote about each other as part of 12th-Grade English’s Peer Reference Project. Below each student’s senior picture is an excerpt written for them.

Caitlin Corkeron

Shelby Eldredge

One of the best things about Caitlin is that she supports people and will do whatever she can to make their lives better.

Shelby is the ray of sunshine that you need in a hurricane. She believes that everything should be fair and right in the world and does everything she can to promote that.

Francesca Farina

Paige Francis

Ruby Gaetani

Noah Glasgow

Francesca will stick out all the tough moments just so she can experience the happy ones.

Paige pays particular attention to the details of what is important to others. She is wicked smart and the first to laugh.

I am struck by how very good Ruby is. She is resilient and has worked hard in school and at home to attain the good footing she has.

Noah never shies away from an opportunity or challenge. He truly embodies the meaning of carpe diem.

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James Goldbach

Drew Harmon

Ella Heywood

Anna Hoehlein

Above all, James is always there for his closest friends. He is laughably loyal and will stick with you through thick and thin.

Drew exudes confidence and a laid-back attitude like no others. And he has an absolutely admirable thirst for knowledge and experience that is insatiable.

Along with her intelligence and wit, Ella is a kind person with a wonderful sense of humor and a sort of relaxing calm that hovers in the air around her.

Anna cares deeply about the environment and when she’s passionate about something, she finds a way to do what she can.

Shirley Long

Alyssa MacDonald

Lucca MacDonald

Beatrice Mattison

Shirley approaches challenges with concentrated perseverance. She is remarkable, mature, intelligent, and fiercely determined.

Alyssa is the type of friend with whom you could be doing something wild and crazy or absolutely nothing and still have the time of your life.

Lucca’s voice can be heard across the halls, charismatically drawing people together to hear what she has to say.

Lucca truly is a natural leader.

Some people either know Beatrice as one of two things: an absolute academic force or a goofy wild child. I am lucky enough to know her as both.

Treven McKeone

Maria Medeiros

Erik Palmer

Saniya Rajagopal

Treven is someone who will wait to speak his mind, when he knows his opinion is truly valuable, that he possesses a new perspective that is creative, and unique.

Maria is one of the most talented FA lacrosse players ever. She is a true leader who took the opportunity to teach me about lacrosse, rather than leaving me feeling discouraged.

An honest guy who will tell you exactly what he thinks—what he likes and what he doesn’t—Erik wins people over with his deadpan humor and delivery.

Saniya is someone others look to in time of need. It’s because her help and advice, which can be exceedingly valuable, come without a hint of judgment.

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Celebrating Our Seniors

Maisie Saganic

Victoria Searle

Alice Tan

Ellie Thomas

Maisie makes me more grateful for everything we have. Every day she invents new opportunities for happiness and love.

Victoria knows exactly how to express her thoughts. She speaks with such confidence, passion, and sincerity that everybody wants to listen to what she is saying.

Her intelligence appears in everything she does, whether it is quoting philosophy at impromptu times or getting excited about writing the political section of the school newspaper.

Ellie has this incredible ability to bring a sense of lightness and joy to whatever activity she is doing. She is always authentic, honest, and clear.

Henry Thompson

Natalie Todd-Weinstein

Madison Valley

Ryan Waite

If there is anyone at school that I can consider a friend, it’s Henry. He has always been someone I could just talk to.

Natalie maneuvers through social interactions with ease while the rest of us fumble through. Afraid of sounding like Goldilocks here, Natalie knows how to be just right.

When Maddie speaks in class, everyone listens because they know that when she chooses to push her voice into a conversation, it’ll be with something good.

Hufflepuffs value kindness, patience, and loyalty. Of course, Ryan is a Hufflepuff.

He always opts to support those around him rather than flaunt his own skills.

Jordan Watson

Sama Zaman

Leo Zhang

Dimple Zhu

The essence of Jordan shines through everything she does, painting it all with an authenticity that makes it wholly her own.

Sama was always the smiling face out of the four of us. Her quirky personality draws you in and then you’re hooked.

Leo is a person who is deep in thought and strong in making decisions. Wherever and whenever Leo is present, I feel I am being valued and respected.

Dimple’s willingness and desire to share her culture with all of us is amazing and inspiring. She is a kind, patient, and skilled teacher.

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Make the Most of Your Experience QVT:

Things to Consider in Choosing A College QVT:

If you go to an out-of-state private institution, 90% of the population is from somewhere else so you never really feel out of place even though you’re far from home.

CL: There are a lot of really good virtual tours. I spent a lot of time going through course catalogs and thinking about size.

Dealing with Homesickness CL:

Keep in touch with FA friends. College is about trying out a lot of new things so you’ll have a new normal where you’ll be too busy to be terribly homesick. But, your parents will appreciate it if you check in every once in a while.

Choosing a Field of Study

If you have the opportunity to study abroad, 100% do it!

CL: In the spirit of getting out of your comfort zone, sign up for as many clubs as you want in your freshman year. I picked up rugby.

It didn’t stick, but I tried it. It’s how you meet new people and how you find a new interest.

TG: In the spirit of curiosity, I tried the student car club my first semester, but it wasn't for me. Instead I did a robotics project.

Try a bunch of different things while you still have the relative freedom to explore.

Time Management CL: Figuring out how to balance classes and workload can be a little overwhelming at first. Define your routine and figure out what works for you.

QVT:

Find a hobby. Join some things to keep yourself busy. It’s kind of weird having free time if you’ve never had it before.

TG:

I knew I wanted engineering but not what type. I took a lot of different classes and I decided I liked computer engineering.

TG: In college you spend much less time in the classroom and more time on doing your course work. It’s important to manage your time and find a place to study.

QVT:

Use What You've Learned at FA

I stumbled upon human resources. I took a class and really liked it. On-campus work at the professional development center really helped me define my niche.

QVT:

Activities Outside Your Major

I’m comfortable talking to my professors. Because of FA, I was able to build a relationship with my academic advisor that I don’t think my peers had the ability to do.

CL: It’s really about what you want to pursue. If you take a bunch of classes, balance it out with experience.

TG: It may feel intimidating at first, but approach your teachers.

Remember that they are there for you.

TG: It is a rewarding experience if you can take an on-campus job.

Anytime you can find interesting or networking opportunities, don’t turn them down.

CL: Take the open-mindedness and critical-thinking from FA and apply it to the core classes that you might not have a particular interest in. Put that spirit of curiosity to work.

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