STRENGTH The Magazine of Annie Wright Schools | Fall 2016
Food Inspires Community
Contents 4
Food Inspires Community
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Tacoma = Food (+drink)
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Alumni Do Food
34 A Historic Election 38 Class Notes
Wright Celebrates 47 Annie Giving Tuesday
Dear Annie Wright Community, I believe that our school revolves around its collective stomach. All three meals, but especially lunch and dinner, are important, enjoyed shared experiences. Of course, food and eating have always been important at Annie Wright, not least because some students and staff have always lived at school. For our boarding students, the majority of their sustenance during term time is provided by the school, and this makes it incumbent on us to ensure that what we provide is not only nutritious, but delicious too. What schools serve is always an issue. The rule of thumb among heads is that if you are not hearing anything about the quality, taste or healthfulness of the grub, it must be good. Well, it’s different at Annie Wright; I hear a lot about the food – about how incredibly good it is! Our kitchen staff cooks the vast majority of the food from scratch, using organic and locally sourced produce when possible. Last year, we changed our food services company to FLIK Independent School Dining
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AThe Letter from Head of Schools because this is what they promised to do, and so far, they have delivered. A few years ago, we decided to offer the salad bar to our students free of charge because we wanted to encourage healthy eating. Students flock to the salad bar, and I am thrilled. I wish more of our students took advantage of the school lunch. It remains more expensive for families than we would like because we have still been unable to persuade enough families to try our lunch on a regular basis – the more students that eat lunch rather than bring their own, the cheaper it is for everyone. Many independent schools include lunch in tuition, but so far, this has not proven practical at AWS; I understand that our families still want the option of choosing. Along with the change in food is a change in atmosphere. It is a relaxed time, when everyone other than our youngest students convenes
Christian G. Sullivan
in the dining room to gather over good food. Years ago, boarders ate in the grand old dining room and the day students ate in what is now the music department. While the atmosphere is probably less formal, and more communal, a link to the past remains with the dining room tables, which we believe were moved to our current building in 1924 from the original Annie Wright Seminary. Just like so many things at Annie, our meal experience is a gracious blend of the new and the old. Friends, alumni and parents: I invite you to join me for lunch! You won’t be disappointed and I’d be happy to host you. Warmly,
Christian G. Sullivan Head of Schools
STRENGTH Fall 2016
EDITOR
Lisa Isenman
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER
John Long, Chair Julia Cho, Vice Chair Tom Hanly, Treasurer Kelly Givens, Secretary Percy Abram Michele Cannon Bessler Stephanie Cook ’88 Bob Crist Jim Defebaugh Laura Edman Tony Escobar Judy (Yengling) Forkner ’63 Suzanne Hattery Lisa Hoffman John Lantz Marcia Moe Jamie Murray Chris Sakas Cathy Schneider Pamela (Hyde) Smith ’63 Aliya (Merali) Virani ’96
SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
CONTRIBUTORS
Keliko Adams Karen Credgington Pam (Stevens) Dunn ‘64 Jack Fallat Lisa Isenman Taralynn Lorrance Scot Melillo Stephen Parrott Jennifer Shafer Tiffany Shaw Christian Sullivan Lexy Sullivan, Class of ’17 Sarah Wenzlick
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Cristiana Ventura Oona Copperhill
Christian G. Sullivan, Head of Schools Susan Bauska, Assistant Head of Schools Jake Guadnola, Director of Upper School Bill Hulseman, Director of Middle School Victoria Ball, Director of Lower School Mike Finch, Director of Athletics Mary Sigmen, Director of Finance and Operations Jennifer Haley, Director of Institutional Advancement Rex Bates, Director of Business Development
Meet Cristiana Ventura, the creative brain behind Strength’s fresh new design. Cristiana came to Annie Wright Schools as a communications intern during her senior year at the University of Washington Tacoma and was so impressive that the school hired her after graduation. She is now pursuing a Masters of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Taylor Cassell ’09 - President Claire Fallat ’08 - Vice President Holly Bamford Hunt ’89 Judy (Tytler) Buennagel ’82 Genevieve Grant, Class of ’17 Margot Grant ’00MS Shannon Grant ’96MS Carol Hagen ’92 Alyssa Harvey ’06 John Tinsley ’01MS Ellen Weiland ’95
Annie Wright Schools 827 North Tacoma Avenue Tacoma, Washington 98403 P: 253.272.2216 F: 253.572.3616 www.aw.org
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Food Ins Commu 4
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spires
unity
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” - Virginia Woolf THE MAGAZINE OF ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS
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Fine Dining:
R
at Annie Wright
by Lisa Isenman
oasted beets. Ceviche. Prosciutto & arugula flatbread. Jamaican jerk chicken. Grilled fennel. Steamed cod with ginger. Heirloom tomatoes. Asian lettuce wraps. All of these are on the lunch menu at Annie Wright Schools. Served in our beautiful dining hall, with round oak tables and understated seasonal decor, lunch has always been about community, but now more than ever it is about a range of nutritional options, discovery of new flavors, and, counter-culturally, even for an independent school, fine dining.
Healthy eating can be a hard sell to young students, but that challenge is part of an Annie Wright education. “By sourcing seasonal and local products, we offer the students all of their favorite foods – only we make them from scratch, using natural ingredients, with no additives,” said Scot Melillo, Food Services Director at Annie Wright.“ The ever changing rotating menu offers a variety of choices, always taking our monthly superfoods into consideration and bringing fruits and veggies front and center.”
Last year Annie Wright contracted with FLIK Independent School Dining, a New York-based catering company whose mission aligns closely with ours. Like Annie Wright, FLIK is child-centered, community-minded and focused on a whole child approach to education. Every meal is homemade and every menu is different. Beyond food, FLIK incorporates the whole eating experience and ensures the dining hall is immaculate, beautiful and comfortable to provide a place for students, faculty, staff and visitors to relax and socialize.
Each day offers a choice of homemade soup, entrée, side dishes, composed salads and panini of the day, along with sandwiches made to order. Students have the option to bring their own lunch, buy a full lunch, or purchase items à la carte. Annie Wright’s free salad bar, another initiative to encourage healthy eating, offers, along with mixed greens and a range of fresh produce, a variety of grilled and roasted vegetables, meat and vegetarian protein options, legumes, grains and more. Add the choice of “spa water,” flavored with fresh fruit and herbs, and lunch has never tasted so good.
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Q+A Strength: How do you teach kids about nutrition?
SM: Food is fuel. We offer meals and snacks designed to provide the nutrients needed to fuel learning and athletic activity throughout the day. Our director of wellness and corporate executive chef review menus and provide culinary and dietary expertise to our programming, so that students explore diversity through foods and learn the importance of making healthful choices that influence a lifetime of smart eating.
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w/ Dining Services Director, Scot Melillo
Strength: How do you help resident students feel at home?
SM: Several times during the academic year we meet with boarders to discuss what they would like to see on the menu. Students’ dietary needs and tastes change with each academic year, and having first-hand knowledge of this allows us to customize the menus. We incorporate ongoing information and dietary updates from the dorm parents to make sure each resident has access to nutritious meals. We also try to add some of their comfort foods from home.
Strength: How can you encourage responsible and sustainable eating?
SM: Teaching students about being good food citizens is at the core of our values. We realize our company can make a difference far beyond the dining hall. Through a partnership with the Green Restaurant Association and a variety of socially-minded programs and initiatives, we seek to reduce waste and help support and improve our local communities. Our Sustainable Eating and Environmental Dining (SEED) program, which involves local sourcing, is an essential part of our vision and values.
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Lunch Menu Thursday, September 9 Soup of the Day Turkey Wild Rice
Entree
Pesto Chicken Flatbrea
d
Vegetarian Entree
Spinach, SunDried T
omato Flatbread
Panini of the day
Grilled Eggplant, Shav
ed Parmesan, Arugula
Side Offerings
Roasted Fennel, Stea
med Asparagus, Parmesan Chips
Composed Salads Nicoise Salad Bar
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Annie Wright’s FLIK Independent School Dining staff. Front Row: Ashley Luis, Yvonne James, Bianca Broughton, José Balam Chuc (Culinary Lead), Gee Gee Wallace, Scot Melillo (Dining Services Director). Back Row: Alana Allen Spencer, Chef Michael Erskine, Patricia Ramirez, Deloris Small, Erick Sappa, Alysha Wilson. Not Pictured: David Slusher (Culinary Lead, evenings and weekends).
From the students:
What we love about lunchtime at Annie Wright
so many options
OUR FOOD WASTE BINS - WE COMPOST
baked potato bar
SOUP
variety
fresh fruit and vegetables everyday
caprese
quality it's so flavorful.
seafood chowders
I can sit anywhere and no one says “You’re not cool enough.”
SALMON
frozen yogurt- pretty awesome
FREE SALAD BAR
coconut curry a little break to be with my friends
the huge blackberries
the turkeycranberry sandwich
time to socialize and relax
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For José Balam Chuc,
Annie Wright’s Kitchen is Home
for his parents, five brothers and two sisters in the small town of Nohayun, near Merida. When given the opportunity to follow his brother to America, he didn’t hesitate, embracing the opportunity for a better life for himself and the opportunity to send money back to his family.
J
osé Balam Chuc, who comes from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, has worked at Annie Wright for nearly a decade. At the age of 18, he immigrated to the Pacific Northwest and began his career at Burger King in Bellevue. His job was to place meat patties into the automated broiler. Now he exercises his creative culinary skills at both Annie Wright and the Tacoma Golf and Country Club. English is José’s third language. His first is Mayan; his second, Spanish, which he learned at school. Home was one room
Right away José learned the necessity of speaking English. “The better you speak, the more opportunities you have,” he said. He was soon promoted to drive-through (where his English comprehension was truly put to the test), cook and register. From there he moved to the Coho Café in Bellevue, then the Lobster Shop in Tacoma, where he broadened his repertoire from knife skills to menu planning to banquet style presentations. To get his foot in the door at Annie Wright, which provided steady work and benefits, José started as a dishwasher. He soon became a stalwart in the kitchen, throwing himself into every task, working in the summers for the maintenance, security and housekeeping departments, and occasionally helping out with the Middle School boys’ soccer team.
These days José, who has three children of 14, 11 and 1, is known at Annie Wright for his dry humor, delicious soups
“You don’t want to overpower the food.”
and traditional Mexican fare including chicken tinga, enchiladas, carnitas, guacamole and pico de gallo, everything made from scratch. He also enjoys learning new cuisines and has developed a fondness for Asian cooking. For José, a recipe is just a guideline. “Cooking is all about instinct and taste,” he said. “I start with a little seasoning, then taste and adjust it,” he said. “You don’t want to overpower the food.” Despite many challenges, including having to leave his family for a year in 2011 to return to Mexico to sort out his immigration status, José has an optimistic outlook and is beloved by his colleagues both in the kitchen and in the classroom. On his way to and from work, he listens to history study guides to prepare for his US citizenship exam. “Nothing is easy, but nothing’s too hard if you really want to do it,” he said. “And being at Annie Wright feels like home.”
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A TRADITION
of community
THROUGH
FOOD by Karen Credington During my 22 years (1980-2002) in charge of the food service at Annie Wright Schools, I was lucky to serve under heads of school who all believed, in the words of Headmaster Robert Klarsch, “Good food equals good morale.” That attitude toward our food service encourages an outstanding kitchen staff to let their creative impulses flourish and their hard work to be appreciated by many generations of Annies. Looking back, I can visualize the hectic but steady pace of providing three meals a day for students and faculty while dealing with the almost daily additional events, from small group lunches in the head’s office to assorted coffee meetings requested by various departments, student field trips and orientation camps, back-to-school picnics and receptions. It was the special times that gave us the opportunity to truly indulge our belief that one feasts with the eyes first, the nose second, and then triumphs with the taste buds. For the kitchen team the school year was a daily challenge to provide good food, attractively presented, to appeal to the many tastes and preferences of a diverse community, through both daily meals and the multitude of events. That our efforts were appreciated gave us immense satisfaction, and the camaraderie that students, teachers, staff and alumni extended to us made us feel a real part of the Annie Wright family.
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Karen Credington (center), who was in charge of food services at Annie Wright for more than two decades, celebrates with her husband, Nick, and former Grade 1 teacher Evelyn Tomter, at the Bishop Paddock Award ceremony honoring Joy Phelps in September.
Karen Credington’s Lemon For the crust:
For the filling:
2 cups flour
4 eggs
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
½ cup powdered sugar Pat into 9 x 13 cake pan and bake at 350°F for 20 minu
tes.
Pour on top of baked crust and
Bars
zest & juice of 2 lemons 4 tbsp flour 1 tsp baking powder
bake at 350°F for another 2
0 minutes.
Note: Jiggle the pan to see if the filling is set. If not, bake a little longer.
"What was it like at the Seminary those first years?� Of our frugal fare most vivid to me is lunch time. Down to the dining room (in the basement) we marched two by two. A teacher, stern or otherwise, presided at each end of the long tables, the pupils ranged along the sides. On Mondays we had cocoa and crackers; on Tuesdays honey and hot rolls; on Wednesdays cocoa and crackers; on Thursdays honey and hot rolls; on Fridays fish. We loved the 'honey days' and wished for more always. -excerpt from a memoir published in the first Shield yearbook in 1931 by Fannie Paddock Hinsdale (1866-1944), daughter of Bishop John A. Paddock, about her Annie Wright experience in the late 1800s
Annie Wright students study cooking, c.1911.
Students enjoy burgers at the 1946 AWS Carnival.
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Annie Wright displays a range of archives, antiques and memorabilia throughout the school. A historic cabinet in the dining hall displays these antique demitasse spoons. THE MAGAZINE OF ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS
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FOOD IN LEARNING LOWER SCHOOL
Grade 4 students run Annie Wright’s food composting program.
Food is a finite resource
by Keliko Adams and Stephen Parrott
Humans waste approximately one-third of the food produced for consumption, while roughly one in nine people in the world do not have enough food to live a healthy lifestyle. Food is a finite resource, one that is not evenly distributed globally, and these uncomfortable truths set the stage for Grade 4 students to investigate and take action on food waste.
As part of their research into the global distribution of food and the disturbing effects of life with a lack of food, students visited Annie Wright’s local community food bank and partner, St. Leo Food Connection, to appreciate that hunger is not just an issue in the developing world. A visit to the Puyallup Compost Factory, part of Tacoma Waste Facilities and another partner in fighting food waste, gave a deeper understanding of the challenges of processing food that has been wasted. Once they understood the scale of the problem, students focused on the food waste issues in our immediate school community. They conducted a thorough audit of the food wasted in the Lower School, by grade, and then analyzed the data gathered, comparing it with past years’ data before drawing conclusions about food waste trends in our school. Based on information gathered throughout the unit, students developed strong opinions about the issues of food waste and starvation. The teachers encouraged them to take action to address the problems.
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Three years ago a group of Grade 4 students took this challenge very seriously. At that time the school disposed food waste in the general garbage. These budding activists considered this practice to be unnecessary and so contacted Tacoma Waste to arrange the weekly collection of the school’s food waste via two huge brown compost bins. The rest of the grade joined the effort, collecting the entire school’s lunchtime waste every day and depositing it in the big brown bins. Grade 4 has been collecting the lunchtime compost every day ever since. Now the school food waste is composted and reused, diverting it from overflowing landfill sites and preventing it from producing excess methane in the atmosphere. Students have also been able to design solutions for reducing food waste by analyzing the data collected from these audits. One group recognized that Grade 2 students were consistently wasting higher amounts of food each year than other Lower School grades. After interviewing past and present Grade 2 students, the group concluded that 2nd graders should be allowed to walk through the lunch line and choose their own lunches. The group presented a proposal to the school administration. With this change in effect, Grade 2 students average comparable amounts of food waste to other Lower School grades.
MIDDLE SCHOOL Fuel your body
by Taralynn Lorrance
The newest addition to the Middle School program is Physical and Health Education (PHE), part of the Middle Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate. PHE is a twist on the traditional PE class and gives students tools to make healthy and informed life choices. The class centers on teaching knowledge, skills, and attitudes during movement. This engagement of knowledge acquisition during physical activity helps students put what they learn into practice. “Nutrition: Fuel your Body” is a unit in which students learn about different foods and what their own bodies need. Our goal during this unit is to provide students with a better knowledge to make food choices that are right for themselves. Some children are more active than others, and students learn that different activity levels require different food choices for fueling the body. By understanding their own bodies’ needs, students’ attitude to food becomes healthier, one of fueling the body rather than addressing emotional needs. Another aspect of food choices we explore is students’ own cultural identities. Annie Wright Middle School has a diverse group of students who come from an array of cultural backgrounds. The knowledge that they acquire through this nutrition unit provides them with a better understanding of how different cultures value and use food as a part of their identity. This unit is only one part of the bigger picture. Throughout the year in PHE students compile their knowledge of fitness, nutrition, teamwork and personal goals to create individualized plans to take ownership over their own health and wellness.
Annie Wright Partners with Food Connection Annie Wright partners with St. Leo Food Connection, a Tacoma non-profit that runs emergency food programs and advocates for families in need. Students in all three divisions have the opportunity to participate in service including packing, organizing and serving food, working at local fundraisers or advocacy. In preparation, students reflect on their own eating habits, explore how to create healthy plates and talk about what it means to be food insecure and why nutrition is essential for health and learning. Annie Wright is also an official site for the Food Connection’s Backpack Program, which provides healthy meals to more than 750 children every weekend. To learn more about service opportunities at Annie Wright, please contact Tiffany Shaw at 253.284.4159 or tiffany_shaw@aw.org. Current Grade 6 student Anne-Marie Trueblood and her sister Josie ‘15MS volunteer for St. Leo Food Connection.
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UPPER SCHOOL
Nourish our community by Tiffany Shaw
Days after I moved to the area, my daughter Kayleigh, then a Kindergartener, swallowed a quarter, which lodged in her throat and obstructed her airway. She was airlifted to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, where she was treated, and monitored overnight. The staff directed me to Tree House, which provides housing across the street from the hospital for family members of patients, so we wouldn’t have to leave Kayleigh and make our way back to Federal Way. I was really impressed by their kindness. They had food, phones and everything we needed so we could focus on what was important: Kayleigh. Inspired by the care team and the other residents I met there, many of whom were staying at Tree House long-term while their children battled devastating illnesses, I worked with the Upper School service club, Annie’s Angels, to develop a partnership with Mary Bridge for our students to serve hot, home-cooked meals to Tree House residents and provide childcare to siblings so that parents could have a couple of hours to themselves. The students form groups with a team leader, choose a theme (usually based on a popular children’s movie, which they watch with the kids) and plan the evening, from budgeting the meal to helping residents with their laundry. Meals are both kid-friendly and healthy, with deliberate accommodations for allergies and dietary restrictions. Examples include Hawaiian fare based on the movie Lilo and Stitch, featuring Hawaiian chicken and pineapple, fruit kabobs, vegetable fried rice, and ice cream, and Greek fare in honor of the movie Hercules, featuring gyros, grilled vegetables, a Greek salad and Greek yogurt with fruit and toppings. The highlight of the evening is sitting down to eat with residents, bonding over breaking bread. Ample leftovers provide meals for families unable to attend at the scheduled time.
GO
GATORS! The Upper School volleyball team won the Emerald City League Championship with an undefeated season of 11 wins and 0 losses.
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BAKING WITH SCIENCE
& LOVE by Sarah Wenzlick
I haven’t always been interested in the science of cooking. When I became a dorm parent at Annie Wright, however, I embraced a new challenge: how to bake for the vegan, gluten-free, and nut allergic members of my dorm group without causing an allergic reaction (or anguish from being left out on brownie night). I gathered the girls’ list of will not eat/cannot eat. It was long. Then I set about doing some research on how to replace traditional ingredients with others that complete the same chemical reaction and still provide the vital elements of taste and texture.
My first step was to ask my mom, who became interested in eating “paleo” a few years ago. Interestingly enough, many of those parameters were suitable for reworking recipes for my particular dorm group’s dietary needs and preferences. Second was internet research. I am grateful for the wealth of information that I can access in seconds — recipes, explanations, photos and reviews.
“Speaking of glue, why is gluten so (traditionally) important to the structure of many baked goods?” Finally, my third and favorite step was delicious (and sometimes not delicious) experimentation. I’d heard the word emulsifier before but really didn’t have a clear idea of how one functioned. I used to think of eggs, because they are sticky, as just the glue in cakes and cookies. I wasn’t, however, getting the full picture. There’s more to a recipe than just gluing it all together. Speaking of
glue, why is gluten so (traditionally) important to the structure of many baked goods? I learned that an emulsifier, a molecule with a lipophilic end and a hydrophilic end, can join liquids that normally repel each other and evenly distribute ingredients throughout the entire batter or dough. Eggs were no longer an option, but chia and flax seeds provide similar properties in a recipe. Gluten is the protein that gives wheat flour-based recipes their incredible stretch. Pizza dough needs a lot of gluten, but fluffy waffles need very little. To my surprise, tapioca starch, pea flour, millet flour and other substitutes can replicate the same fluff or stretch and not alter the flavor. My advice is to not use too much pea flour in sweet foods. Go with millet, potato, and arrowroot — varied combinations work well. Try experimenting! I altered recipes off the internet with plenty of success. And now my dorm group, Hydra, has at least one fresh treat a week and no one is left out. That is if I can stop myself from eating it all first.
Vegan, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Cookies A CAKEY TEXTURE WITH A HINT OF SPICE AND NOT TOO SWEET
Recipe can be doubled, but does not halve well. Yields about twelve 4-inch cookies. • • • • • • • • •
1/4 c vegetable oil or coconut oil (higher temp) 1/2 c pumpkin (cooked, drained, and blended--not too wet, canned is fine) 1/2 c white sugar 1/2 tbs chia seeds mixed into 1.5 tbs of warm water, (flaxseed is a good substitute) 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove) or more to flavor 1 pinch of salt 2 c “flour” - 2 parts millet, 1/4 part pea, 1/4 white rice, 1/2 arrowroot, 1/2 tapioca starch (starches can be subbed w/potato starch, but arrowroot gives good texture). Experiment with your preferred flavors. Bob’s Mill makes a great variety of gluten free options. Use more flour for thicker, puffier cookies.
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Set rack in center. 2. Mix oil, sugar, salt, chia, spices, and baking soda together well. In a separate container, combine “flour” elements; mix well. Be sure to make a little more than you need in case of overly thin batter (pumpkin can sometimes be too wet). 3. Add “flour” to your wet ingredients until the consistency is thickened enough to just stand up on its own. Runnier batter will make cookies that spread when cooked; thicker batter cookies will keep their shape. 4. Dollop onto oiled cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Place on rack in oven’s center. 5. Bake for 12-16 minutes, depending on how “done” you like your baked goods.
Enjoy within 3 days for best flavor and texture.
Alternatively, eat them all at once.
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Chef Mike Erskine shows Grade 4 students a zucchini blossom. The Annie Wright garden, tended by faculty members Amy Lynn, Emily Lynn and Robin Menke, with the help of students, provides vegetables and herbs for the kitchen. THE MAGAZINE OF ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS
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TACOMA = FOOD 24
(&drink)
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Wild Fin provides a festive outdoor bar area.
FESTIVE EATING AT POINT RUSTON Point Ruston, a waterfront complex on Ruston Way near Point Defiance, continues to expand its food offerings. Along with lively restaurants including the Northwest-inspired Wild Fin, which boasts festive waterfront bar seating in the summer, and newly opened Stack Burger & Whiskey Bar, visitors will find sushi, coffee, crepes, bakery treats and more. The development was built on the site of the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO), formerly owned by William Rust, the eponymous entrepreneur of Ruston. The smelter closed in 1985, and the land remained largely unused until construction of a one-mile paved pedestrian trail ending close to Point Defiance Park. Chris Murphy, marketing director of Point Ruston and board member of the Tacoma Waterfront Association, described the desire to transition from the industrialized and under-appreciated site to a “unique and unpretentious destination where people can take advantage of our fantastic natural beauty.” The 67-acre complex, along nearly a mile of waterfront, also includes condominiums, shops, bike rentals, a movie theater and public amenities such as a playground, “sprayground” and outdoor amphitheater. Construction is currently underway for a new 180-room Silver Cloud hotel. Fish tacos, fish and chips and other fish favorites are available for takeout.
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Quaffing
in Tacoma
Tacoma is a coffee and beer town, and no one knows this better than our seasoned faculty and staff experts, who love to support local businesses. Here are their specially curated suggestions for your quaffing pleasure:
An Insider's Guide to Tacoma Coffee Three leaders in the local coffee scene, plus three strongly supported honorable mentions, emerged from a survey of faculty and staff.
#1
VALHALLA COFFEE CO. | 3918 6TH AVENUE
#2
BLUEBEARD COFFEE ROASTERS | 2201 6TH AVENUE
#3
CAFÉ BROSSEAU | 2716 NORTH 21ST STREET
Valhalla Coffee Co. opened in 2004, selling fresh brewed coffee at its 6th Avenue location and beans to restaurants around town. Annie Wright faculty and staff describe Valhalla coffee as “the best beans on the west coast of North America” and “the best quality, deliciously fresh-roasted coffee.” One fan put a finer point on it: “Extracting the best espresso shot is a complex combination of machine, skills, experience, timing and coffee roast. Valhalla has them all!” Other commendations: “The aroma is intoxicating,” and “the staff is super friendly.”
Bluebeard got the highest marks for ambiance, described as “an understated, minimalist space with plenty of tables for reading, studying and meeting up with a friend,” “the best ambiance to get work done or meet up,” and “an easy walk from my house, with comfortable couches where I can sit with my laptop and work for a long time.” Fans also lauded Bluebeard’s quality and service.
Café Brosseau, a newer addition to the Tacoma coffee scene, got high marks for creative drinks, including: “the best macchiato in town” and “a mean soy lavender latte.” A neighborhood restaurant that carries a range of great Tacoma products (Madrona Coffee, Mad Hat Tea, Corina baked treats), Café Brosseau offers breakfast and lunch, as well as an assortment of drinks including beer and wine. Supporters like the vegan options, toys for kids, décor, and friendly, relaxed service. Said one: “The café’s often a stop on my morning bike ride to school. It’s a great community space as well.” Brosseau also gets a special commendation for exhibiting Annie Wright student art.
Honorable Mentions
COSMONAUT | 817 DIVISION AVENUE METRONOME | 3518 6TH AVENUE CORINA BAKERY | 602 FAWCETT AVENUE
Valhalla boasts great coffee with an indie vibe.
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Fallat's Favorite Craft Beer Venues by Jack Fallat, lay chaplain I have lived in Tacoma for 35 years, and like anyone else, I have become loyal to certain drinking establishments. Old or new, they are great places to visit, have excellent supping options, and have my highest recommendations.
#1
PARKWAY TAVERN | 313 NORTH I STREET
I am from Pittsburgh, where there are so many neighborhood bars. They are special places where all you need to do is nod at the bartenders and they know what you want. The Parkway is one of those type of places. Their signature burgers and chili have also not changed in 35 years. Most importantly, they always serve their beer cold (the way it’s supposed to be served). Show up early, because it is usually packed every night of the week.
#2
PINT DEFIANCE | 2049 MILDRED STREET WEST
#3
7 SEAS BREWING | 2101 SOUTH JEFFERSON STREET
If you are a lover of craft beer (and who isn’t), you must pay a visit to Pint Defiance. Their selection of beers (both domestic and imported) does not have an equal in Tacoma. Did you fall in love with a beer during your recent travels and would like to order it? This is the place to go. And right next door is the Royal Thai Bistro for great Thai food at a reasonable price. Their soups are sensational, and they will deliver anything from their menu to your table at Pint Defiance.
This has to be the very best recent addition to the Tacoma dining scene. Their original location in Gig Harbor is still operating, but the new location on Jefferson is just fantastic. Because they have a special brewery/tasting room license, children are welcome and the family atmosphere is truly unique. Of course, they serve great beer and have Kombucha on tap. In addition to all of this, the restaurant in the brewery is operated by Top of Tacoma, which just might have the very best tavern food in the city.
FOR REVIEWS OF A RANGE OF TACOMA RESTAURANTS & BARS, VISIT WWW.AW.ORG/TACOMA
7 Seas opened a new brewery last August in downtown Tacoma. THE MAGAZINE OF ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS
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Alumni do food by Lisa Isenman
CHEF BETTE ANNE TURNS HER PASSION INTO BUSINESS Bette Anne (Spaulding) Curry ’86MS sat in her studio, a combination kitchen, co-op and incubator, talking animatedly about fruit plates. “Imagine someone gives you this white tray and asks you for a fruit plate. You have a clean slate and can create whatever you want, with beautiful, fresh ingredients and color and pop. I get goose bumps just thinking about it,” she said. Bette Anne’s enthusiasm for creative fare and the desire to generate a meaningful sensory experience for others have fueled her catering ambitions. Her first job was washing dishes at Fircrest Golf Club. She now owns three businesses. Moving about her immaculate kitchen space in her smart black chef’s coat and pinstriped apron in the early afternoon, you would not have guessed that she and her team had just finished catering a breakfast meeting for Permission to Start Dreaming, a foundation that supports soldiers and veterans with PTSD, for 450 people, or that, at 5:00 am the day before, she had done a grueling workout involving sprints and stairs that left her almost incapable of bending over. Bette Anne credits Annie Wright with providing structure without stifling her abundant energy, and promoting individuality with integrity. “Annie Wright felt like home to me,” she said. “The teachers took great care, and nobody denied me the opportunity to just be me, a freedom I didn’t fully appreciate or understand until much later.” She began working at Fircrest when she was 15 to save money for a car. She started by washing dishes every Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 am to
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4:00 pm, then worked in various capacities in the kitchen and as a hostess, snack bar attendant and lifeguard. She went on to work for the Victoria Clipper ferry company and in 1995 entered the Western Culinary Institute (now Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts) in Portland, Oregon. It was there she learned the value of the brigade system, the traditional hierarchical structure in large commercial kitchens, and had the opportunity to travel to Scotland to intern with a Michelinstarred chef. She also developed the desire to travel and an appreciation that her chosen profession would allow that. “I recognized I could go anywhere with my skills and be of value to the community,” she said. “There is magic in that.” In Spain Bette Anne developed a taste for paella, in China she marveled at the sights, sounds and smells of the market, sampling such delicacies as sparrow stomach and toad, and in Japan she ate fish soup (“Amazing!”) for breakfast. “Even though I couldn’t
“I recognized I could go anywhere with my skills and be of value to the community." speak the languages, I learned about these cultures by observing how people communicate through a meal,” she said. Back in Seattle Bette Anne sought to maximize her repertoire and landed a job with the largest restaurant she could find, Palisade, working under the formidable figure of Chef John Howie.
There she developed an appreciation for banquet style service and artful displays, as well as just what it meant to roast hundreds of pounds of prime rib. Embracing the experience but tired of the grueling commute from Gig Harbor, Bette Anne worked at two catering companies closer to home before launching her own business, Chef Bette Anne Curry, in 2000. Since then she has catered for a range of clientele, from intimate dinners to large-scale corporate events. In June 2010 she acquired her current premises on 6th Avenue in Tacoma and grew it into The Gourmet Niche, where she houses her own catering service as well as CE Foods, her wholesale delivery business specializing in fresh pastries. She also rents out kitchen space to other chefs, many of whom she mentors. The Gourmet Niche currently houses 18 local food businesses including Paleo Pushers, a husband and wife team who make a line of low-carb, natural cookies they sell
to local businesses like Cross Fit and Marlene’s Market, Boss Mama’s Kitchen, a food truck known for its peanut butter and bacon burger, and Filipino Styled Peanuts, a popular snack carried by Uwajimaya Asian grocery stores in Washington and Oregon. These days, along with being a single mom with an 8- and 11-year-old, Bette Anne is an entrepreneur, manager and landlord, as well as a chef. She acknowledges the challenges to getting there - long hours of hard work, life struggles including the relatively recent death of her mother and divorce from her husband - but what she expressed
most strongly was her passion for what she does and for her gratitude for all she has. “I want people to think of me as somebody full of integrity who likes to give and be of service,” she said. “I want to serve something flavorful and beautiful with pride and know that people will enjoy it as part of a whole experience that creates a lasting memory.”
MARY (GOBLE) BARBEE ‘94 EXTENDS HEALTH & GOODNESS Mary grew up on a dairy farm in the small town of Skamokawa on the Columbia River in Southwest Washington and received the Harriet Broughton Bishop Scholarship to attend Annie Wright as boarding student. “AWS became my home when I came to live there at age 14,” said Mary, who was class president for two years.“ There are moments I still miss it terribly, and I love every time I get a chance to go 'home' or support the beautiful efforts the school makes in building the lives of young women.”
Mary and fish tacos from her food truck
A certified nutritionist, Mary recently earned a master’s degree in nutrition from Central Washington University and published several articles about school lunch nutrition. After consulting for CWU dining services, opening two campus food trucks and a new coffee lounge, and rolling out a full line of grab-and-go food items made on campus by students for students, she was hired as general academic advisor for Biology, Chemistry, Health Careers & Craft Brewing, and as a lecturer in the area of Nutrition & Food Service Management for CWU’s Health Sciences Department. See page 40 for a class note with more news from Mary.
WHY FOOD & NUTRITION? I grew up on a beautiful 80-acre dairy farm in southwest Washington. My mother and grandmothers had huge gardens, and my godparents were commercial salmon gillnetters, small scale sheep ranchers and orchardists. I was surrounded by beautiful, nutritious food production and preservation. When I came to AWS, Karen Credgington was director of dining services and presented such wonderful food day in and day out, especially for formal dinners and weekend meals, and even let me into the kitchen to get a bit of honey and ground ginger to make a family recipe of homemade cough syrup a couple of times when I got colds. During those years I also became aware of the complex relationships to food that many individuals develop due to various social pressures. Then a bit later in life I experienced an extended period of physically devastating malnutrition due to the circumstances within an abusive marriage, culminating in a very serious nine month battle with MRSA due to depleted immune system function. It became very clear to me when I finally had the chance to go back to university that I wanted to help people gain access to healthful food. I was simply drawn to good food and the way it can do good in people’s lives. - Mary (Goble) Barbee
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AMY PAULOSE ‘95 DOES A SWEET BUSINESS It was a simple idea. The Paulose family was eating lunch at a Chinese restaurant, and George Paulose was considering the fortune cookies. “Why not coat these in chocolate?” he asked. Thus Emily’s Chocolates chocolatecovered fortune cookies, complete with take-out style boxes and seasonal messages, were born. Emily’s Chocolates, along with Teaosophy, a line of teas from India and Sri Lanka, are brands of Ames International, and George’s elder daughter, Amy Paulose ’95, is the president. The company started in 1987 by importing cashews. It now produces nuts, chocolates, cookies and teas in a factory in Fife and sells them all over the world. George grew up with five sisters in the state of Kerala, in Southwest India. He studied pulp and paper technology in Norway before earning a teaching scholarship at Western Michigan University, fulfilling a long-standing dream to live in the United States. There he met his wife, Susie, a microbiology student, daughter of blueberry farmers and the first in her family to go to
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college. Soon George was recruited by the Weyerhaeuser family to work in corporate and strategic planning, and he and Susie moved to the South Sound. In the mid 1980s, to fulfill his father’s dying wishes to bring all of the family together, George set about developing a family business. He was determined to involve India; the government had funded his scholarships in Europe and the United States and he wanted to give back. He looked to Kerala, an area rich in natural resources, developed a business plan based on these strengths and started by importing very small quantities of cashews.
“Amy credits Annie Wright for many of the skills, including public speaking and set-building in theater, and problem solving in math, for helping prepare her for business.” “My father has always been a very entrepreneurial, global and visionary person,” said Amy. “When he started he didn’t know anything about the food or manufacturing industries. His courage and vision helped him to find out along the way.”
AMES is named for the family: AM for Amy, E for her younger sister Emily, and S for Susie. George likes to say that if you look closely, you can see “ME” in the middle. Gradually the company started to grow. AMES connected with a chocolatier in Vancouver, Washington, that was producing chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, partnered with them to produce chocolate-covered cashews, and developed the Emily’s brand. When the owners moved back to Hawaii, George bought all of their manufacturing equipment and moved it to Fife. “My dad didn’t know about chocolate,” said Amy. “but he had a chemical engineering background, and he is inquisitive.” He started adding different ingredients to the chocolate, eventually expanding to raisins, espresso beans, and a variety of nuts and berries. The immigration process for George’s five sisters and their families took ten years, but eventually they all went to work for AMES. Amy and her cousins worked in the factory, roasting nuts and making chocolates, in the summers.
Amy credits Annie Wright for many of the skills, including public speaking and setbuilding in theater, and problem solving in math, for helping prepare her for business. She went on to earn a degree in business from the University of Puget Sound and intern at a public relations firm for a year before joining the family business full time. “I always knew I would join,” she said, “but at first I fought it.” Amy has worked in every aspect of the business, starting with sales (which she at first resisted) and adding marketing, brand development, management and operations. It continues to be a family affair. Amy’s husband, Dan Smith, is director of operation. AMES products are sold from small local gift shops, to duty free stores in international airports, to big box stores like Target and Walmart, but the company only has 45 employees, 12 in administration and the rest in production. Despite her demanding career, Amy has found time to give back to Annie Wright, serving on the Board of Trustees 2010-16.
AMES International continues to grow. Ten years ago, after navigating supply chain problems with cashews, AMES built a production facility in Kerala. Not only does the factory give the company control over the product, but also it allows the Paulose family to continue to give back to India. With the same practices and standards as the factory in Fife, the Kerala facility provides a model of food production, technology, safety, and sanitation, as well as an opportunity for mentorship. Looking ahead, AMES is developing an incubator to test out new lines of chocolates, eventually marketing a handful of these products to large global retailers. Amy continues to give back to Annie Wright and plans to mentor students in the Upper School’s new Girls’ Business and Entrepreneurship program.
MARGARET TAYLOR ’12 TRAINS IN NUTRITION Margaret Taylor ’12 recently graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a bachelor of science in dietetics and is working toward becoming a registered dietitian, which includes a master’s degree, internship and board exam. Previous to her current job at Ida Culver senior living center in Seattle, Margaret volunteered at Children’s Hospital in Seattle and worked as a nutrition assistant at Virginia Mason, helping prepare and deliver meals to all 18 floors. Ida Culver adds geriatric and intake experience. “The most important part of my work is listening to our residents, figuring out what they like and getting them to eat,” said Margaret. “At the beginning you’re eager to spread your research, but when you get into the field you realize you have to meet people where they are.” Margaret will also have the opportunity to experience several aspects of nutrition during her internship. These may include clinical and community settings, sports nutrition, eating disorders, dietary restrictions, geriatric care and services through Women/Infant/Children (WIC), a federally funded nutrition program for low income women and children up to five. Margaret was an active member of the Annie Wright community from Grades 4 to 12. In Upper School she was co-captain of the tennis team and managing editor of the yearbook. “Annie Wright shaped who I’ve become,” said Margaret. “I built great relationships with teachers who helped me build a strong sense of who I was and who I wanted to be.”
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peter pan
ANNIE WRIGHT LOWER SCHOOL STUDENTS PRESENT
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” -Peter Pan
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THEMAGAZINE MAGAZINEOF OFANNIE ANNIEWRIGHT WRIGHTSCHOOLS SCHOOLS THE
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
at Annie Wright's Kemper Theater
December 9-10, 2016 Â
UPPER SCHOOL ONE ACTS
February 17-18, 2017 ALL SCHOOL MUSICAL
CHICAGO
April 20-21, 2017
MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAY
Twelfth Night
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A HISTORIC
ELECTION
Politics Through Inquiry Lower School inspiring their teachers to create an inquiry-based research project.
Grade 4 students had plenty of questions about issues raised during the first Presidential debate,
Exploring the issues
First, students sorted themselves into groups based on political topics they were interested in further researching. Because most of those topics did not lend themselves to kid-friendly research, their teachers limited their research to conducting interviews. Next, they interviewed their parents, and from the information gleaned they developed further questions to deepen their understanding. They went on to interview faculty and staff about such hefty issues as national security, nuclear weapons, ISIS, immigration, the Black Lives Matter movement, “stop & frisk,” gun laws, gender equality and the wage gap. Finally, students reported their findings to their peers, helping them become informed citizens. Jeannie Darneille, the state senator for the 27th district, where Annie Wright resides, visited Grade 4 to share her expertise for their unit on how government works. She talked about her background and responsibilities as an elected official and took questions from eager students including her favorite baseball team (the Rainiers), sponsoring bills, issues such as homelessness and gun laws, and her favorite part of her job (meeting constituents!).
Middle School Understanding the Political Process
Grade 8 students study the United States government as part of their Individuals & Societies class. This year’s election brought the political process alive and prompted many questions about the role of citizens and how the electoral system functions. It also prompted explorations of how the press and social media affect popular opinion. To better understand the differences between political parties, students categorized stances on political, economic and social issues into Democrat, Republican or Libertarian groupings. They were surprised to discover that many stances did not fall into the categories they expected. After gaining a basic understanding of the issues, students held a mock election, covering the process from (fictitious) candidate selection to counting and evaluating the electoral and popular votes.
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Upper School Evaluating the Politicians
In United States History and Civics, Grade 10 students discussed the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates in tandem with a brief history of the elections and the electoral college. From the first televised debates between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960, they looked at how personal presentation has become increasingly important to the American public and how party positions have changed over the years. As it was in many ways an unusual election cycle, the question repeatedly came up: “How is American democracy changing, and is this change for the better?” In Inkwell, the Upper School student newspaper activity, students published a special election edition in October. Student journalists focused on aspects of the candidates and issues that are most interesting and relevant to the Upper School. Read on for an Inkwell interview with Annie Wright alumna, board member and former ambassador Pamela Hyde Smith ‘63.
Q & A with Ambassador Pamela Hyde Smith '63 by Lexy Sullivan, Class of ’17 I had the privilege of speaking with Pamela Hyde Smith, an AWS graduate, current AWS board member and former ambassador. Ambassador Smith joined the US Foreign Service in 1975 and served in Romania, Yugoslavia, the Warsaw Pact countries, Indonesia, the UK and Moldova.
What was your motivation in joining the Foreign Service? I was quite idealistic. I wanted to serve my country. I liked the public service aspect of government work. I also wanted to travel, so the Foreign Service was a wonderful combination of meaningful work that I believed in with the added benefit of traveling. In my class at Annie Wright, almost all of our teachers were foreign-born, and so there was no way not to have one’s eyes open to the rest of the world. We learned Latin from a Czech woman, math from a Swedish woman, French from a Swiss and then French woman, and our English teacher was English.
Did you experience many challenges due to your gender? There were not so many challenges related to gender in the US government, because the mid 70s, when I joined, was a time when the US government and foreign service in particular were trying to make up for lost time when there had been a lot of prejudice and barriers to women. They were trying extra hard to attract women. My entering class into the Foreign Service was half and half men and women, for the first time in history. Now, three Secretaries of State have been female. I didn’t feel prejudice in the government, but in some overseas posts, the people that I dealt with were not as
forward thinking. In fact, in some cases, I felt it was an advantage to be a woman, and I have two examples to share with you. When I was working in Washington in the mid 90s, I took over a large office from a man. This office worked together with another large office that also had been run by a man. The person who took over the other office was also a woman. So these two women came in after these two men. These two men had been fighting with each other for the two years that they had held the jobs. When this other women and I got in our positions, we thought, well let’s not do that. Let’s cooperate. I don’t know if it’s the feminine spirit or if it’s just the way that she was and the way I was, but she had 100 people working for her and I had 100 people working for me, and we made it work on a cooperative, collegial basis. We got a lot more done than these two men had, fighting over turf and responsibilities. Then, when I was ambassador, I had to deal with a lot of very senior government officials on the other side. I had meetings with the president of Moldova and the prime minister and all the ministers, and I felt when things were delicate and difficult, as a woman, I was able to elicit more trust. They weren’t on their guard so much. I would go into the same officials with a visiting colleague from the State Department in Washington who was a man, and I could see these officials, whom I knew, be more tough, because they felt like they had something to guard. THE MAGAZINE OF ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS
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Are women adequately represented in politics?
Have you ever met Hillary?
No, and I think that’s clear to anyone who watches TV and sees the Senate or the House in action. There are far fewer women in government than many parliaments in Europe. We also, let us not forget, have not yet had a woman President or leader at that level, but Britain has, India has, Israel has, Germany has. I mean we are kind of behind the curve.
I have met Hillary Clinton several times. We were at Wellesley at the same time, overlapped by two years, though we didn’t know each other at school. I met her when she was first lady, and President Clinton came to Jakarta when I was press attaché there. Then I worked at the State Department when she was Secretary, so I wrote memos to her; no emails though! She was famous in the State Department for hard work and being the most wellinformed person in any meeting, anytime, anywhere.
What needs to change? I think there are two things that are important about that question. One is policy. If we had better child care and better family leave policies, then more women would be able to go into more professions. Secondly, we’re getting there, but we need more role models of women in high powerful positions, so that people like you will see that their path is whatever they want to do. So I think it is quite important, really, for us to have a woman President.
Did you ever experience having to choose between your career and your family, a conflict women encounter much more often than men? Absolutely. I met my husband and we wanted a family, and so we had two children. Now, I wanted to keep my career and we were overseas so it was easy; I just hired help. I did nothing around the house except be with my children. Now, I was in a position where I could do that. Unfortunately, not everybody is in such a position that they can do that, and that is why there should be more affordable childcare to all.
What can Annie Wright students do to get involved in national politics? Not voting is letting other people make an important decision for you. I think the best thing that students can do is be informed. Reading about current events and foreign affairs is essential, and I think it’s important to read contrasting viewpoints. My next piece of advice is to talk about it. Have a study group or discussion group. Learn how to think and argue about politics. I hope that students at Annie Wright will inform themselves about politics and government service and consider government service for their eventual careers. It’s an interesting, valuable, honorable thing to do with your life despite what some people say.
Pamela Elizabeth Hyde, pictured here in her senior yearbook, served as class president and student body secretary.
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With a 30-year foreign service career under her belt, Pamela taught at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and consulted for the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General.
WOMEN IN POLITICS HILLARY CLINTON WAS THE FIRST FEMALE MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. HERE ARE SOME OTHER INTERESTING FACTS…
19/195 NUMBER OF CURRENT WORLD LEADERS WHO ARE WOMEN
22% NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT: 6 OUT OF 50 GOVERNORS (12%) 20 OUT OF 100 SENATORS (20%) 84 OUT OF 435 REPRESENTATIVES (19%)
19 NUMBER OF WOMEN MAYORS IN THE 100 LARGEST CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES
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YRS
THE LONGEST A WOMAN HAS SERVED IN CONGRESS BARBARA MIKULSKI
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN IN PARLIAMENTS AROUND THE WORLD
24 (0.25%) NUMBER OF VOTES RECEIVED BY ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, THE FIRST WOMAN TO RUN FOR CONGRESS, IN 1866
A DEMOCRAT FROM MARYLAND
96 NUMBER OF YEARS WOMEN HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO VOTE IN UNITED STATES NATIONAL ELECTIONS
0 NUMBER OF WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO DATE
Sources: United Nations, United States Conference of Mayors, United States Congress, United States Senate, World Bank and World Economic Forum
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b b CLASS NOTES 1940s
Pauline (Williams) Sutton ’46
1960s
Lynn (Beaty) Sealey ’61 Here I am with three Class of ’61 friends in Sun Valley, ID! I drove there from Walla Walla at the invitation of Sally (Rooney) Morbeck. I had been wanting to attend the Arts and Crafts Festival in August, so Sally invited me to stay with her for three nights. We had such a good time and connected with two other classmates, who are permanent residents in Ketchum, ID. Sally goes back and forth between Seattle.
Priscilla Royal ’62 Still having fun writing medieval murder mysteries! The thirteenth, Proud Sinner, is out in February, and I'm researching the next. This is called "retirement?" See Priscilla’s books at www.priscillaroyal.com.
Pam (Stevens) Dunn ’64 Pam remembers her beloved roommate Penny (Wallis) Bennington ’64 on page 44.
Widowed in 2014 after 65 years of marriage, Pauline now lives in a retirement community in Naples, Florida. Pauline's grandson, Phil Dimon, who works for the State Department, visited Tacoma last summer and sent her a photo from her alma mater.
Pauline Sutton’s ‘46 grandson, Phil Dimon, who works for the State Department, visited Tacoma last summer.
1950s
Phyllis “Ann” (Snyder) Ebersole and ten Annies from the class of ‘59 reunited in Maui. From left to right: Anne (Lapeyre) Zauner, Ann (Snyder) Ebersole, Cynthia (Fanshawe) McKean, Robin Ripley, Janice (Riebe) Bell, Susan (Rooney) Baldwin, Nancy (Collins) Krueger, Emily (Kaiser) Callaghan, Diane (Dapper) Freeman and Virginia (Gow) Dalley.
Phyllis “Ann” (Snyder) Ebersole ’59 Hedda (Schafer) Shepherd ’59, who enrolled as a freshman in 1955 with me and is the youngest of four Schafer girls who went to Annie Wright, went on a cruise with me to Alaska last August and September. In October, ten Annies from the Class of ’59 met on the island of Maui for a reunion 57 years after graduating from Annie Wright. For an entire week we reminisced, laughed, cried, and had lots of fun.
Phyllis and her husband on an Alaskan cruise with Dick and Hedda Schafer Shepard
Four AWS alums went on a pleasant hike along the Wood River, last August. From left to right: Sally (Rooney) Morbeck, Gay (Thomson) Fruehling, Lynn (Beaty) Sealey and Gundl (Primus) Haskell, all Class of ’61.
Marie (Dodge) Eaton ’64 I retired from teaching at Fairhaven College, Western Washington University, in June 2015 and immediately was drafted to be the Director of the Palliative Care Institute at Western. Mostly the Institute is working on changing the cultural and clinical responses to serious illness and end of life. As the Boomer generation ages, there’s increasing need to challenge the over-medicalization of dying in America and engage in conversations with each other about our choices at end of life. I’m proud to be part of that work. As I have been telling folks, “Our generation took back natural birth, and we’re going to take back natural dying.” You can see our work at https://wce.wwu.edu/bsn/palliative-care-institute.
1970s
Linda Piper ’71 I am doing well. Unicycling, hiking, rowing, substitute teaching. I skied the Haute Route across the Alps last spring.
1980s Marjorie Goux ’81 This was a year of firsts without my mother, and it was so wonderful to see my 1981 classmates at our 35th class reunion during this transition. We had a wonderful time together, and one by one we have been and are becoming the matriarchs of our families and tribes. Transitions are uncomfortable, and with mom behind us, I might have gone into the fray without backup. But, with my sisters and other "mothers" from AWS beside me, that isn't my path. Comfort lies in the strength of our bond. For this I will be eternally thankful to both my mother and father and those whom I hold dearly from the AWS community. The Class of ’81 took a 35th reunion cruise over May Day Weekend on June 4. They sailed from Tacoma for a three hour tour with Captain Robert W. Goux.
The Class of ‘81 enjoys a 35th reunion cruise on the SSS Odyssey.
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Mary ‘94 and her partner, Anna Cairns at May Day Reunion Weekend Thanya ‘99 with her children and Susan Bauska at AWS
Monique (McCann) Maio ’83 Monique was awarded a degree of Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling from Western Washington University in August.
Bette Anne (Spaulding) Curry ’86MS Bette Anne owns the Gourmet Niche in Tacoma, where she houses her own catering service as well as CE Foods, her wholesale delivery business specializing in fresh pastries. She also rents out kitchen space to 18 other chefs and caterers, many of whom she mentors. Read more about Bette Anne on page 28.
1990s Mary (Goble) Barbee ’94 Lots of updates this last year! I completed my MS in Nutrition as well as an additional BAS in Food Service Management. After consulting for a few months, I was hired by CWU into two permanent positions: General Academic Advisor for Biology, Chemistry, Health Careers & Craft Brewing, and also as a lecturer in the area of Nutrition & Food Service Management for the CWU Health Sciences Department. On a personal level, my partner, Anna, and I marked five years together by deciding we’ll make it official next summer and celebrate with a small quiet family ceremony after she completes her BS in Social Sciences. Our 17-year-old daughter Hannah is a senior at Ellensburg High School. She received Student Of the Month for October 2016, is running cross country, and will be in their winter musical again this year. Last but not least, our youngest, 13-year-old Chloe is just blossoming in 8th grade with her beautiful art, music and Quest Program adventures! She’s also running, jumping and throwing for track. We feel so very blessed as a family to each be growing and learning together, each in our own pursuits! (Read more about Mary’s journey and professional achievements on page 29.)
Thanyathorn (Ngamsappasilp) Tejacharoenanan ’99 While visiting family and friends in August, Thanya, who lives in Bangkok, Thailand, stopped by Annie Wright Schools with her two young children. She and her family toured AWS and met with Assistant Head of Schools Susan Bauska and Head of Schools Christian Sullivan.
2000s Sally Kuo ’00 A few members from the Daughters of the American Revolution participated at my recent naturalization ceremony in the courthouse to become an US citizen. My mom reminded me that I won the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen award at Annie Wright. It was probably somewhat awkward for a non-citizen to win such an award, but now it has come full circle, from a non-citizen winning a good citizen award to DAR members participating in my naturalization. I moved to Virginia last August to begin another (more long-term) postdoctoral position at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond to get additional training in genetics. My research focuses on how genetic and environmental influences contribute to development, developmental psychopathology and well being, with emphasis on adolescence and young adulthood. It has been an exciting journey, but overwhelming at times with learning many new things. Richmond is rich with history and cultural diversity, and I have enjoyed exploring this area.
John Tinsley ’01MS In September, John Tinsley ’01MS, who featured in the last issue of Strength magazine, presented a talk about his travels, “Around the World in 90 Days: A Glimpse of Travel and Service in 11 Countries,” to a packed audience in the Great Hall at Annie Wright as part of the World Affairs Council Tacoma Travel Talk series.
Kelsey (Bell) Farish ’06
Kelsey married Joe Farish in August of 2016. Unable to choose between the United States and the United Kingdom for their ceremony, the couple eloped to an island in between their respective countries - Iceland! The following month, Kelsey started her new job as a junior associate at a law firm in Cambridge, England.
Sarah (Gann) Squiers ’07 This has been an exciting year for my little family. My husband and I bought a home in Fircrest, my daughter is coming up on her first birthday, and I was fortunate enough to coach the AWS Gators Upper School volleyball team! We look forward to more exciting things in the future. I also cannot wait for my 10 year high school reunion weekend this May Day!
2010s
Kelsey Farish ‘06 and her husband celebrate their wedding in Iceland.
Freshta Hazim ’10 In May, Freshta, her husband, Maiwand, and daughter Sofia visited five siblings and their families who made it from Afghanistan to Germany in early 2015. The Hazim family members are scattered around Germany, and their parents are still at their home in Herat, Afghanistan.
Benjamin M. Spaulding ‘11MS Ben graduated with honors from Peninsula High School last year and did a year and a half of undergraduate work at the Northwest College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Poulsbo, WA. He went on to complete his United States Air Force basic training in September and is currently studying advanced avionics at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.
John Tinsley ‘01MS gives a Travel Talk at AWS.
Benjamin Spaulding ‘11MS completed his US Air Force training in September.
Above: Sarah Squiers ‘07 with her daughter and mother, Erin Gann, AWS Bookstore Manager, at an AWS volleyball game Right: Freshta Hazin ‘10 graduated with honors from York University in Toronto with a degree in biology last summer Bottom right: Freshta’s daughter, Sophia THE MAGAZINE OF ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS
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Cassandra Nagel ’12
Janice Fang ’15
It’s hard to believe four years have passed since my time at Annie Wright. The memories I have are among my most treasured memories, and I’m excited to announce that I get to see some of my best friends from Annie Wright at my wedding this December! My fiancé and I will be getting married in Buffalo, Minnesota, on December 30, 2016. After that, I will be relocating to the land of cheese and the Packers... Wisconsin! I will be attending nursing school there this coming year. I hope all is well at my alma mater and in the beautiful PNW! I hope to see you all soon!
Janice Fang ‘15 is studying computer science at Northwestern University and is active in several clubs, including Formula, which designs, manufactures and races a sportscar each year in an international competition. In October she hosted Yellow Tie senior Lexy Sullivan, who was visiting Northwestern as a prospective student, for lunch on campus.
Margaret Taylor ’12 Margaret recently graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a bachelor of science in dietetics and is working toward becoming a registered dietician, which includes a master’s degree, internship and board exam. Read more about Margaret on page 31. We are also thrilled to welcome Margaret back to Annie Wright as an intern in the Development Office.
Tori Smith ’15 Tori is in her junior year at Lafayette College and still killing it on the volleyball court.
Cassandra Nagel ‘12 and her fiance
Hannah Gaffney ’14 Red Ties unite! Upper School admissions director Alyssa Harvey ’06, who was attending an admissions conference in Washington, DC, ran into Hannah Gaffney ’14, who is working for Senator Patty Murray, at the Capitol. Janice Fang ‘15
Hannah Gaffey ‘14 and Alyssa Harvey ‘06 in Washington, DC
Tori Smith ‘15
WRIGHT SCHOO E I LS NN
A
s t n e v E n o i t Auc 6 CR FEB M AY IGHT AB 4 N FEED · FA MILY Special thanks to our Visionary Sponsor, Columbia Bank.
SAVE THE DATE FOR TWO NEW AUCTION EVENTS IN 2017 CRAB FEED: February 4, 2017 FAMILY NIGHT: May 6, 2017
While capturing the spirit and energy of this wonderful community at these inclusive events, the Annie Wright Schools Parents' Association will raise the funds needed to support our students and school. Please contact Debbie Melillo at 253.284.5412 or debbie_melillo@aw.org to learn about sponsorship opportunities and other ways to get involved.
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nual eekend, our free an W ch ar Se r la ho Sc r uary. Join us fo happens every Febr at th t en ev s on si is in overnight adm udents, participate st d an lty cu fa t ee Visit classes, m opportunities and p hi rs la ho sc er ov . fun activities, disc Wright Upper School ie nn A t ou ab l al n ar le
ar-search l o h c s / g r www.aw.o the February 10 & 11, 20 17 43
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In Memoriam Patricia (Earley) King '40 Barbara Jean (Tottler) Severin Devik '46 Penny Wallace Bennington '64 Patricia Lane ’67 Suzanne Patrice Smith '82 James Will Edward Boitano, grandfather of Annie Wright students Addison (Class of '29) and
Patricia (Earley) King ’40 Patricia died on June 22, 2016, at the age of 93. After graduating from Annie Wright Seminary in 1940 she attended the University of Washington and trained as a physical therapist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Pattie is survived by her son, Mike King of Renton, WA; granddaughter, Kristine King; two sisters, Marilyn Lepape '52 and Kathy Murray '58; and several nieces and nephews.
Barbara Jean (Tottler) Severin Devik ’46 Barbara Jean died peacefully on June 20. Her daughter, Wendy (Severin) Goldfein, wrote, “She loved her years at Annie Wright Seminary and was a proud alumna.” She was preceded in death by her first husband Harold W. Severin and her second husband, The Reverend Canon Rudi Devik.
Thomas Donovan (Class of '31)
John Scholbe, father of Annie Wright students Amelia (Class of ‘24) and John Herrmann-Scholbe (Class of ‘30)
Stanley Selden, husband of Annie Wright alumna and former trustee Joanne Selden
Joseph Ward, father of Annie Wright alumni Dominique ’16 and Aeron Ward ’16MS
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James Will James, a former Annie Wright Schools Trustee, died on August 7, 2016, at the young age of 98. After serving in World War II, he returned to Tacoma and partnered with Leon Titus to create Titus-Will, which became the Washington’s largest volume auto dealer. He was a leading local philanthropist, board member of several of local nonprofits and avid outdoorsman. A devoted husband, father, grandfather, and greatgrandfather, he is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 75 years, Muriel, an Annie Wright Schools alumna from the Class of 1938; his three children, Bonnie Jean Anderson '61, James M. Will '63LS, and Carla Will-McKendry '68; his six grandchildren, Greg Anderson, Stephanie Schafer, Trevor Will '93MS, Court Will '94MS, Megan Omgil and Alissa McKendry; and ten great-grandchildren.
Penny (Wallis) Bennington ’64 If you are lucky, you may have a forever friend, someone you don’t see for years but you can start up where you left off and time evaporates. Having roommates at Annie Wright helped you develop such relationships. You were young, impressionable and far from home. You had strenuous routines and rigorous academics. Hat coat and gloves were always at the ready and room checks were the norm. But when it was lights out, you could whisper to your roommate about your latest letter from home, your fear about the next English test, or if you were just generally upset or elated. Day in and day out your roommate was your confidant, your advocate, and your friend. I was blessed to have eight roommates during my 12 years of boarding at Annie Wright. Each was exceptional in her own way. But I only had one “roomie.” She was from Hawaii and I from Alaska. She was tall and tan and I was average height and the Alaskan lily. We could laugh until we hurt; we could eat raspberry vines till the package was gone. We could criticize then wink and hug. My roomie went on to accomplish great things. She had a loving husband and family, and a host of incredible friends. She was generous and supportive of so many causes both locally and nationally. She made a difference in the world. This week I lost my roomie. She fought four different kinds of cancer with courage and dignity. She was surrounded with the love of her family and her very special childhood friend, Tanya. Penny Wallis Bennington was remarkable. She will always be a part of my heart! - Pam (Stevens) Dunn ’64
Suzanne Patrice Smith ’82 Suzanne, age 52, died in Seattle on August 17, 2016, after a valiant fight with recurrent breast cancer. Suzanne attended Annie Wright for Grades 8-12 and remained strongly tied to friends at the school all her life. She was a business owner, world traveler, philanthropist and passionate patron of the arts. Anyone who knew her, whether by Suzanne, Suzy or Suz, knew that she was generous and magnetic. She loved classic movies, Motown and books. She supported several music and film projects as investor and producer. She is survived by her mother, Mary Alice Flynn Smith; her father, Frederick (Ricky) Smith, and sisters Maura Thatcher, Deedra Walkey, Darcy Mix and Megan Smith, as well as numerous beloved aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. She is also survived by a loyal companion - her rescue dog, Gracie.
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Alumni: We would love to hear from you! Please share your recent news of family, jobs, hobbies, awards, honors, exhibits, travel and class gatherings. Photos encouraged! Submit a class note online at www.aw.org/connect or contact the alumni office at alumni@aw.org or 253.284.5412
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MAY DAY
Reunion WEEKEND JU 17 NE 2-3, 2 0
We look forward to seeing you at May Day alumni reunion weekend June 2-3, 2017. While we especially honor the classes ending in 2 and 7, we encourage all alumni to attend. Please contact the alumni office if you are interested in helping to plan your class reunion. For more information and to register visit www.aw.org/mayday.
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ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS LAUNCHES GIVING DECEMBER WITH A
GIVING Tuesday
MATCH OPPORTUNITY ON NOVEMBER 29.
JOIN US IN SUPPORT OF THE ANNUAL FUND IN GIVING DECEMBER. Our celebration of all YOU do by giving starts on Giving Tuesday and runs until December 31. The Annie Wright Board of Trustees will match all gifts up to $50,000 on Giving Tuesday. Participation is easy!
Visit www.aw.org/give or call Jennifer Shafer at 253.284.8611. THE MAGAZINE OF ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS
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Annie Wright’s Early Childhood Program follows the International Baccalaureate curriculum, providing the building blocks for core academic skills as well as lots and lots of time for play. This year Annie Wright’s Preschool enrollment doubled.
Preschoolers get busy in their own classroom kitchen.
ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS 827 North Tacoma Avenue Tacoma, Washington, 98403
I am... confident
creative
curious
BOLD engaged thoughtful
LOWER SCHOOL
MORNING PREVIEW >> Thursday, December 8
OR Thursday, February 2
STRONG
I am
>> Boys & Girls
Annie Wright
Preschool to Grade 5
LEARN MORE & REGISTER AT WWW.AW.ORG/PREVIEW
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Visit 827 N Tacoma Ave, Tacoma, WA 98403 Learn www.aw.org
THE MAGAZINE OF ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS