Archways 13 – Fall 2010

A semi-annual publication for alumni and friends of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School

Smart.

Down to a Science. the campaign for science and art

October 2010

Volume 7

Number 2

G by george

My big high school science project was a disaster that

resulted in a number of dead mice as an end product.

This calamity horrified my father, who was a medical researcher. My most ambitious high school art project was a bust of a fellow student’s head. Unfortunately, this student was immortalized in clay with hollow, scooped out eyes. As a wannabe sculptor, I could handle the hair, the nose, and even the mouth, but the eyes eluded me.

Fortunately for students like me, the Campaign for Science and Art is about all St. Andrew’s students, not just those who are particularly gifted in science, visual art, or music. Every student who graduates will benefit from the expanded courses, the higher quality teaching

environment, and the exposure to topics, materials, and ideas that these facilities will make possible.

Happily, both of my children graduated from St. Andrew’s, where gifted teachers and a strong academic foundation enabled them to complete the school’s rigorous science program without a single deceased rodent to their credit, and my daughter was helped to build a portfolio that had eyes in its portraits and that admitted her to one of the most prestigious art programs in the country.

I attribute my children’s success to their excellent St. Andrew’s education, and to the fact that extraordinary talent really does appear to skip a generation.

“the Campaign for Science and Art is about all St. Andrew’s students, not just those who are particularly gifted in science, visual art, or music.”

and the are...

Distinguished Alumnus Award

The Saints in Service Award

The highest honor bestowed upon an alumnus, the Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes extraordinary personal achievement, professional accomplishments, and significant contributions that benefit society. Recipients will be individuals whose exemplary lives and activities reflect honor upon St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. Alumni must have graduated from St. Andrew’s eight or more years ago to be eligible to be nominated for the award. One alumnus will be recognized each year.

This award recognizes a St. Andrew’s alumnus who demonstrates exceptional service to others and has made a positive difference in his or her community. Alumni must have graduated from St. Andrew’s eight or more years ago to be eligible to be nominated for the award.

Young Alumnus Award

The Young Alumnus Award recognizes and celebrates the achievements of alumni who have made major contributions to the community, arts, sciences, or business. Alumni must have graduated from St. Andrew’s within the past 15 years to be eligible for nomination.

The St. Andrew’s Loyalty Award

The St. Andrew’s Loyalty Award honors a St. Andrew’s alumnus who, in deed or action, reflects and recognizes the importance of being a St. Andrew’s alumnus; who demonstrates pride in his/her alma mater; and whose interest an loyalty are evident by his/her significant, notable and meritorious contributions towards the advancement of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.

Nominations and Judging

All alumni are invited to submit nominations for the alumni awards. A committee of local and out-of-town alumni representing different decades and the co-chairmen of the Alumni Board will review the nominations and select the honorees.

If you know an alumnus who meets the criteria and wish to nominate him or her for an award, please contact: Tina Heitmann • Advancement Associate St. Andrew’s Episcopal School 370 Old Agency Road • Ridgeland, MS 39157 heitmannt@gosaints.org

The deadline for submitting nominations is November 1, 2010.

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID

Jackson, MS Hederman Direct

Office of Institutional Advancement 370 Old Agency Road Ridgeland, Mississippi 39157–9714 601.853.6000 / www.gosaints.org

Our Mission T o n urture a di v erse commu n ity i n the E p isco p al traditio n, e n couragi n g s p iritual gro w t h, moral res p o n sibilit y, a n d academic e x celle n c e.

Gazing through Archways An archway is a passage beneath a series of arches, a path defined by the unity and support of the arch. This issue of Archways highlights a significant passage in our school’s history as together we embark upon a campaign to build a state-of-the-art science building and dramatically enhance our visual art, band, and choral facilities.

Among the lead donors to the campaign are Vaughan and Nora Frances McRae, whose four children are St. Andrew’s alumni. When asked why their family feels so strongly about supporting this project when their own children will never again take a class at St. Andrew’s, Nora Frances replied, “It’s always been clear to us that the benefits our children enjoyed at St. Andrew’s were made possible by previous donors. Without the generosity and vision of those donors, St. Andrew’s would not exist.”

“St. Andrew’s is a community of people whose vision benefits not only today’s students, but also the students of tomorrow. The Campaign for Science and Art will be successful today and its impact will be shared by future generations thanks to the unity and support of the St. Andrew’s Episcopal School community.

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Smart.

Down to a Science.

The Campaign for Science and Art at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School

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Pursuing their Passions

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Seeking to Serve, Finding Hope St. Andrew’s in Rwanda

On the Cover Jessie Smith looks forward to discovering new wonders in the state-of-the-art science center currently under construction on the North Campus.

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Alumni Updates and Events

contents

the members of the

Class of 2010 are pursuing dreams around the world.

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Grads Going Places

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Graduation 2010

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St. Andrew’s Presents Arts on the Green Meet St. Andrew’s New Trustees

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A Double Opportunity

Supporting the Capital Campaign and the Annual Fund

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And the Award Goes to…

From the West Wing to the Far East

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Avery Burrell • Presidential Scholar and Ambassador to China

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Defining Ubuntu

Service Learning Under the Summer Sun

May Day 2010

Archways Staff

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and Contributors Editor Patrick Taylor ’93

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It’s How They Play the Game St. Andrew’s Sports Round-Up

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Looking Back/ Looking Forward

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Contributing Editors Rebecca Hiatt Collins Mary Collins Harwell ’93 Marlo Kirkpatrick Frances Jean Neely Designer Alecia Porch Photographers Robby Followell Patrick Taylor ’93 If you have a story idea or comment for Archways, please contact Patrick Taylor, editor, at taylorp@gosaints.org.

www.gosaints.org

St. Andrew’s Travel Grant Program

Grads Going Places Class of 2010 Apas Aggarwal

Northwestern University and Feinberg School of Medicine

Brecken Ballard

University of Mississippi

Tyler Brown

Hannah Halford

Alexander McRae

Zack Smith

Rhodes College

Southern Methodist University

Rhodes College

Emily Hamilton

Cameron McRae

Will Sneed

Washington University in St. Louis, School of Architecture

AmeriCorps

Chris Nash

Pratt Institute

University of South Carolina

Amy Handelman

American University

Rhodes College

Connor Buechler

Lucas Harth

Yale University

Clemson University

Andrew Burke

Claire Hines

Millsaps College

Avery Burrell

Columbia University

Jillian Burt

Mississippi College

Laura Busch

Arizona State University, Barrett Honors College

Mississippi State University

Katelyn O’Brien Emerson College

Diana Omo-Bare

Millsaps College

Millsaps College

David Holland

Monica Pani

University of Mississippi

University of Chicago

Christina Holy University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College

Meredith Parker

Timothy Hopper

Trisha Patel

University of Mississippi

Harvard University

University of Miami

University of Mississippi

Eleanor Jackson

Martin Powell

Benjamin Collins

Stephen Coker

University of Virginia

University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi

Becci Jacobs

Peyton Randolph

Timothy Crook

University of Georgia

Texas A&M University

Morgan Davis

Shruti Jaishankar

University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College

University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College, Croft Institute for International Studies

Daniel Duddleston

Angeline Jefferson

University of Mississippi

Angela Evans Sewanee: The University of the South

Gavin Fields University of Mississippi

Lille Floyd University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College, Early Entry School of Pharmacy

Macharia Funches Purdue University

Princeton University

Emi Taniguchi Returning to Japan

Michael Taucher Texas Christian University

Baylor University

Millsaps College

Vanderbilt University

Jonathan Tingle Sonia Tiwari Tulane University

Bud Townsend Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College

St. Louis University

University of Mississippi, Croft Institute for International Studies

Ashton King

Neal Ryan

Haylee Vomberg

Hinds Community College

Millsaps College

Briana Saddler

Robert Waren

Columbia University

AmeriCorps

Cristina Salaun

Zack Weber

University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi, Residential College

University of British Columbia

University of Mississippi

Mary Grace Kullman University of Alabama

Kristin Long

Josh Scarbrough University of Mississippi

Charles Henry Goodwin Texas Christian University

Annie Mabus

Hendrix College

Anna Graham

New York University

Amelia Senter

Tufts University

Taylor Martin

Tulane University

University of Florida

Carrie Sweet

Cameron Ray

University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College, Early Entry School of Pharmacy

Ryan Guyton

Rhodes College

Stephen Russell

Adria Luk

Dartmouth College

Lucy Kay Sumrall

Alexandra Jones

University of California at Berkeley

Aditya Gulanikar

Elon University

Rhea Kay Rowe

Mississippi College

Tulane University

Sarah Catherine Sullivan

Arizona State University Barrett Honors College

Joy Goel

Westley Gray

University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College, Croft Institute for International Studies

Aubrey Threadgill

Briana Robinson

Shannon Jenkins

John Magruder Sullivan

University of Mississippi, Center for Manufacturing Excellence University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College

Howard University

Marisa Stockton

Bronwyn ScottMcCharen

University of Mississippi

Sophia Sharp

Mercer Ann McKee

Tulane University

University of Mississippi, Lott Leadership Institute

Divya Shenoy Emory University

Lauren McMillin

Hannah Sills

University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College

Vanderbilt University

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Rachel Vise

Kristen Wilson University of Mississippi, Barksdale Honors College

Andrew Wise University of Mississippi

Caroline Womack Delta State University

Davis Woodall Loyola University, New Orleans

Andrew Zehr Sewanee: The University of the South

“It will be sweet to have remembered these things.”

Graduation 2010 May 27, 2010 was a day for celebration, tears, and laughter as the 90 members of the St. Andrew’s Class of 2010 completed one journey and looked to the promise and potential of the road ahead.

This Page: Apas Aggarwal, the trustees medal winner, leads his fellow graduates; opposite Page, top: Lauren McMillin; Ben Collins; middle: Cameron and Alexander mcrae; bottom: Elly Jackson, the Adele Franks medal winner 4

“Your individuality becomes your instrument for change…for the power to achieve lies with your activism, your will, and your determination, not with anyone else’s. And that you will change the world, I am certain. Sitting among us are tomorrow’s economic analysts, literary critics, historians, scientists, athletes, worldclass ballerinas, sensational singers, and filmmakers. High school has introduced many of these interests, and college is the time to discover new passions, refine the old ones, and cultivate those interests. It grieves me that our paths will now diverge because over these 12 years, it has been a pleasure to observe our external and internal transformation, but as Aeneas said to the Trojans during their adventures, ‘Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit,’ meaning ‘One day, perhaps it will be sweet to have remembered these things.” — Excerpted from a commencement speech delivered by Apas Aggarwal, 2010 recipient of the Trustees Medal for Academic Achievement

“Although we may be saddened to part ways, let us cherish today, knowing that nothing is permanent and that change, although sometimes scary, gives us the opportunity to grow as individuals. Today marks an important transition for each of us, and it is just as much a time to remember our shared experiences as it is a time to look to our bright futures. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, ‘This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” — Excerpted from a commencement speech delivered by Elly Jackson, 2010 recipient of the Adele Franks Medal 5

st. andrew’s presents

arts On The

green

april 16 — 17 • 2011 The North Campus will become a center for the arts next spring when the St. Andrew’s Parents’ Association (SAPA) presents Arts on the Green. Staged along the shores of Lake Sherwood Wise, the two-day event will feature visual art in many media, hands-on art workshops, live music, and a 5K race.

“With the new science and art space under construction on the North Campus, we think this is a great time to invite not only the St. Andrew’s community, but also the general public to come to our cam-

pus and see the growth taking place at St. Andrew’s,” says Vickie Snypes, the event co-chair. “In addition to hands-on art activities, we’ll be offering work by local and regional artists for purchase. This will be a wonderful event for serious art enthusiasts and a chance for people of all ages to enjoy a day immersed in the arts.”

Details for St. Andrew’s Presents Arts on the Green are still being finalized. For the latest information, visit www.stapresents.com.

Be a Part of the Arts Sponsors: St. Andrew’s Presents is a worthwhile investment for individuals or businesses. For more information on supporting SAPA’s largest fund-raiser, contact Sharon McCreery at somccreery@comcast.net or 601.454.4177. / Volunteers: Volunteers are needed for everything from set-up to snack sales to face painting. To join in the fun, contact Wendy Mullins at wendymullins@ att.net or 601.856.4770. / Artists and Vendors: St. Andrew’s Presents Arts on the Green is the ideal venue for artists and craftsmen to display and sell their work. Limited space is available. For more information or to reserve your space, contact Lauren Benner at laurensbenner@yahoo.com or 601.454.8322.

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meet St. Andrew’s New Trustees

Mark J. McCreery

Dr. Jim Phillips

Mark J. McCreery Mark McCreery holds a bachelor’s degree and an M.B.A. from Millsaps College. He is president of MJM Consulting Group, Inc., a political and business consulting firm. McCreery is also managing member of several real estate related companies and raises capital for technology oriented companies through a private equity/ venture capital company, FriedGreen Capital. McCreery has held leadership positions with SAFECITY, the Business and Industry Political Education Committee, the Hinds County Economic Development District, Leadership Jackson, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Mississippi, and many committees at Millsaps College. He was one of Goodwill Industries’ 2008 Mississippi Volunteer of the Year recipients. McCreery serves as an entrepreneur-in residence for the Mississippi Technology Alliance and has served as an adjunct professor at Millsaps College’s Else School of Management.

McCreery lives in Jackson with his wife, Sharon, and their daughter Madison (class of 2016).

Beth Magee Smith

the Year. Dr. Phillips has served in the National Guard for 24 years, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is a recipient of the Bronze Star and the Mississippi Magnolia Cross Medal, the state’s highest National Guard award. A former Mr. St Andrew’s, Dr. Phillips was the 2004 recipient of the St. Andrew’s Episcopal School Distinguished Alumnus Award. He and his wife, Alison, have three children, including a daughter, Megan, who will be an Alpha Omega graduate of St. Andrew’s in 2011.

Beth Magee Smith Beth Magee Smith is chairman-elect of the St. Andrew’s Parents’ Association (SAPA). Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Mississippi State University. Her professional career includes 20 years’ service as communications director for the Southeastern Operations of Packard Electric Systems and Delphi Corporation, a division of General Motors Corporation.

An active community volunteer, Smith has served on the boards of the YMCA of the Greater Metropolitan Dr. Jim Phillips Area, International Association of Business CommuniDr. Jim Phillips ’77 is a graduate of the University of cators (Mississippi Chapter), United Way, Leadership Virginia and the University of Mississippi School of Jackson, Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi Sports Medicine, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant Hall of Fame, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Methodist in the U.S. Army. Following four years on active duty, Healthcare, the Mississippi Children’s Museum, and Dr. Phillips practiced at the renowned Mayo Clinic in the MIND Center. She is a former president of the Minnesota. He is currently on staff at the University of Junior League of Jackson and longtime volunteer with Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), where he was SAPA. Smith and her husband, Steve, have one child, named UMMC’s 2010 Emergency Medicine Teacher of Harrison (Class of 2014).

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Rhodes Pharr and Madeleine Wiggs look forward to learning in the new science and art facilities.

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{institutional advancement}

Smart.

D ow n to a S c i e n c e .

The Campaign for Science and Art officially launched its public phase on October 5, but work on the new science center on the North Campus is already well underway. During the silent phase of the campaign, donors pledged $3.8 million, some 60 percent of the $6.3 million needed to construct the new, state-of-the-art science building and renovate the existing science classrooms for use by the visual arts, band, and choral programs.

The new science center and enhanced art and music spaces are scheduled to open in the fall of 2011.

“Not a day has passed since the decision was made to have a capital campaign that I haven’t spent at least

a few moments imagining teaching and learning in our new building,” says Sandra Hindsman, chair of the St. Andrew’s Science Department. “But when I saw the gigantic hole being excavated in the ground in August, I still couldn’t believe it. I was overwhelmed by the fact that the building was indeed going to be a reality and that we really will start school in the fall of 2011 in a new facility.

“The new science building will be defined by its walls, classrooms, and equipment,” Hindsman continues, “but it will also be defined by the unlimited possibilities science at St. Andrew’s will provide for the future of our students.”

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“The new science building will be defined by its walls, classrooms, and equipment, but it will also be defined by the unlimited possibilities [it] will provide for the future of our students.” — Sandra Hindsman A Smart Building

Functional, environmentally friendly, and aesthetically pleasing, the new science center will literally be a smart building. The 30,000-square foot facility will include six well-equipped biology, chemistry, and physics labs; three multipurpose classrooms; a conference room; staging areas for long-term research projects; and gathering areas in which students and faculty can hold brainstorming and research-sharing sessions. The eco-friendly building will incorporate sustainable materials, energyefficient features, and a greenhouse, and will serve as a real-world lesson in green design and function.

“This will be a building that will inspire wonder just upon entering,” says Roscoe Stribling, who teaches chemistry and a course in cloning, transgenics, and bioethics.

“Wonder is the beginning of questioning, curiosity, and knowledge. There is no doubt that this facility will enhance our ability to prepare our students for the next level of academic challenge.”

A Smarter Way to Learn

St. Andrew’s five-member Upper School science faculty is currently limited to teaching in four small, combination laboratory/classrooms. One of the biology classrooms 10

A Vision for St. Andrew’s Episcopal School The McRae Science Center

Lead gifts for the Campaign for Science and Art were previous donors. Without the generosity and vision of provided by longtime St. Andrew’s supporters Vaughan those donors, St. Andrew’s would not exist,” says Nora and Nora Frances McRae and the Selby and Richard Frances McRae. “An alumnus is always a part of St. McRae Foundation.

Andrew’s, and as former parents, we feel the same way.

Vaughan and Nora Frances McRae and their children, We look at St. Andrew’s with pride not only because of St. Andrew’s alumni Douglas ’04, Selby ’07, Alexander our own children’s connection to the school, but also ’10, and Cameron ’10, made a personal gift to the cam- because of what St. Andrew’s means to Jackson, to Mispaign. A separate gift was provided by the Selby and sissippi, and beyond.”

Richard McRae Foundation, a charitable organization In recognition of the generosity shown by the McRae founded in the mid-1960s by Vaughan McRae’s parents, family and the McRae Foundation, the new science Richard D. McRae and the late Selby McRae. Richard building will be christened the McRae Science Center.

McRae continues to serve as the founda “The name gave us the biggest pause,” tion’s president and on its board of trustNora Frances McRae says. “This camees; Vaughan McRae, his brother, Richard paign isn’t about personal recognition. It “It’s always been D. McRae, Jr., and their sister, Susan is important, however, that people underclear to us that McRae Shanor, also serve as trustees. The stand how committed you are personally the benefits our foundation has a 45-year history of supbefore you ask them to give as well. Our porting educational, cultural, and commu- children enjoyed family is committed to this campaign and at St. Andrew’s nity service projects in the Jackson area. to St. Andrew’s.”

Vaughan and Nora Frances McRae have were made possible “With regard to the gift from the by previous played numerous roles at St. Andrew’s.

Selby and Richard McRae Foundation, Vaughan is a St. Andrew’s alumnus and the donors. Without my brother, my sister, and I see naming former chairman of the board of trustees this building as a way of honoring our the generosity and Nora Frances is a current trustee. The mother, whose family valued education, and vision of couple co-chaired the “Great Expectations” those donors, St. and celebrating our father’s long legacy of capital campaign at St. Andrew’s, which giving back to the community,” Vaughan Andrew’s would resulted in the construction of the Center McRae says. “When people see names on not exist.” for Performing Arts. buildings, they make the connection that When asked why their family feels so strongly about those facilities are there because someone believed in supporting the Campaign for Science and Art when their that institution and its mission. Our hope in contributown children will never take a class in the new facilities, ing to the Campaign for Science and Art is that it will the McRaes point to a sense of support and community at prompt people to ask themselves, ‘Do I believe in this vision St. Andrew’s that doesn’t end when a student graduates. as well, and if I do, what should my part in this be?’”

“It’s always been clear to us that the benefits our children enjoyed at St. Andrew’s were made possible by Above from left: Vaughan and Nora Frances McRae; Richard D. McRae 11

When it comes to the new science center, more room for robotics tops Price Chadwick’s list of favorite features.

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The new science building will offer laboratory, classroom, and research spaces specifically designed for each scientific discipline. Expanded space will allow students to engage in long-term, original research projects, opening the door to scientific study on a deeper level.

also doubles as a robotics workshop. Laboratory projects in biology, chemistry, physics, and robotics are limited by space constraints and must be dismantled after each class period. There are no opportunities for long-term research projects in any scientific discipline.

The existing space is not only inadequate for classes currently taught, but also prevents St. Andrew’s from offering some key science courses. While the current faculty is more than qualified to teach higher-level science courses, all five faculty members are teaching full schedules, and the lack of available classroom space makes hiring additional science teachers impossible.

The new science building will offer laboratory, classroom, and research spaces specifically designed for each scientific discipline. Expanded space will allow students to engage in long-term, original research projects, opening the door to scientific study on a deeper level.

“When the rooms aren’t being shared, we’ll be able to keep lab equipment permanently set up and do several miniature labs simultaneously,” says robotics and physics teacher Price Chadwick. “The new building also means we’ll finally have a space designated for long-term robotics projects. Right now, we simply don’t have the room.”

Expanded facilities will also create an opportunity to hire additional teachers and expand the science curriculum itself. In addition to added courses in AP chemistry, biochemistry, organic chemistry, and advanced robotics, long-term plans call for new courses in nanoscience, climate science, aquatic science, marine biology, engineering, and biotechnology.

“I am a teacher, but I also consider myself a scientist, as I spent a good deal of time in my adult life in research,” Stribling says. “I have taught in other high

Smart Leadership Honorary Campaign Co-Chairs Joan and Buster Bailey Board of Trustees and Steering Committee Chair Stephanie Scott

Lead Gift Drive Chairs The Members of the Capital Campaign Steering Committee

Faculty\Staff Drive Chairs Sandra Hindsman Judith Crotty Kathy Brannan Kathy Taylor

Corporation Drive Chair Jan Townes

Parent Drive Chairs Alicen and E.J. Blanchard and Vickie and Stephen Snypes

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Alumni Chair Lorna Lyle Chain Grandparent and Parent of Graduate Chair Meredith and Jimmy Creekmore

“When we think of what we can do, we are not limited by our knowledge or experience, but by our facilities. With the addition of this facility, our passion and knowledge will only increase, and our students and our community will benefit.” — Roscoe Stribling

schools, but I have never seen as fine a group of science teachers as I see at St. Andrew’s right now. When we think of what we can do, we are not limited by our knowledge or experience, but by our facilities. With the addition of this facility, our passion and knowledge will only increase, and our students and our community will benefit.”

yet functional space for the visual arts, band, and choral programs.

The current visual arts space does not allow for courses in several key media. There is no space for large or longterm art projects or for student exhibitions.

The renovation will create spacious art studios with plenty of natural light for painting, drawing, and sculpting, as well as a dedicated area for ceramics. SpeArt Made Smart cially-designed exhibition areas will feature wall surfaces The existing science classrooms on the North Cam- and lighting chosen specifically for showcasing students’ pus, which will be vacated with the move to the sci- work, while large windows will allow other students and ence building, will be redesigned as an imaginative visitors on campus to watch as new art is created.

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“One of the things that I’m most excited about is having glass-fronted studios. Anyone walking by will actually be able to see art being created.”

Judith Crotty

Preparing Students to be Citizen Scientists

Dr. Herman Taylor heads the Jackson Heart Study, the largest population-based study of cardiovascular disease in African Americans ever funded by the National Institutes of Health.

His wife, psychiatrist Dr. Jasmine Taylor, is associate vice chancellor of multi-cultural affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The Taylors are the parents of two St. Andrew’s students, Johnathan and Jaylen Elise; Herman Taylor’s older son, Matthew, is an alumnus. As doctors and as parents, the Taylors were proud to be among the first donors to the Campaign for Science and Art. “The new science center will prepare students for the rigors of scientific study at higher levels, but it will also benefit St. Andrew’s students no matter what course they ultimately follow,” says Dr. Herman Taylor. “Most of the pressing issues facing us today have a scientific component – the Gulf oil spill, disparities in health among ethnic groups, environmental matters. It’s very important for informed citizens of a democracy to understand these concepts. Whether a child aspires to be a doctor or a novelist or the next President of the United States, understanding science is an incredible asset. When our children are well-grounded in science, they are literate in the most important issues facing our society.”

The physically larger space will allow expansion of the visual arts program. Plans include the addition of new courses, including more classes in traditional painting, drawing, and sculpture, as well as classes in ceramics, photography, and newer artistic fields like digital media and graphic design. Open studio space will enable serious art students or faculty members to work on longterm projects in various media.

“The renovated space will give us more wall and floor space for creating and showcasing art, and will make our department more visible on campus,” says Judith Crotty, chair of the Upper School Art Department.

“One of the things that I’m most excited about is having glass-fronted studios. Anyone walking by will actually be able to see art being created.”

Smart Set to Music

The campaign also includes renovated space for the band and choral music programs. The St. Andrew’s band has 50-plus members, but the current rehearsal hall is designed to seat 35.

“The band members are literally stepping all over each other. It’s like a musical game of Twister,” says Dennis Cranford, St. Andrew’s band director. “We have need of a marimba, but that purchase has been put on hold because we simply do not have anywhere to put it.”

The current room was not originally designed as a band hall and lacks the acoustics and soundproofing needed to handle high-volume music. The walls are hard and reflective, making the room “live” and loud, and disrupting classes taught in adjacent areas. Access to storage closets is awkward; each student must walk across the set to reach the closets where instruments are stored, and the small space allows only one student to enter or exit at a time. Just as the lack of space limits

Above: Dr. Jasmine Taylor and Dr. Herman Taylor

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Judith Crotty believes the new visual art studios will inspire even more creativity at St. Andrew’s.

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“As a result of these facilities, I see our students being challenged to grow, to develop, to progress in ways that before now have not been possible. I see more students carrying the desire for music-making all the way through their adult lives.”

Dennis Cranford

the number of science courses offered, cramped conditions in the band hall limit the teaching of music.

“The band program currently includes one contract teacher who comes in to teach the drumline/percussion ensemble. This has been a tremendous boost to the program. I have never seen such excitement about practicing,” Cranford says. “Unfortunately, we do not have adequate inside space in which to practice during class.

So, they have to meet outside and the instructional session is cancelled if it rains or if there’s a biology test going on next door. Our percussion teacher is a pretty cool guy and is flexible about the current ‘rehearsal space,’ but I can’t imagine asking the principal flute from the symphony to come lead a master class and then telling them that they have to meet outside.”

The present choir room offers adequate space, but it was not designed for choir and shares a wall with a non-music related classroom.

“Let’s just say that students in the adjacent classroom could possibly sing a concert with us and not even be choir students,” says Libby Walden, who directs two Upper School choirs and the seventh and eighth grade choirs.

The renovation will put band and choir classes in the same area, preventing musical practices from disrupting other classes. The redesigned space will feature an expanded stage area, more efficient storage for musical instruments, and walls and ceilings designed with acoustics in mind. The choir room will be slightly larger, with more floor space for different choral configurations and movement. The new music space will also include an ensemble room and three individual practice rooms.

Honoring an Inspirational Teacher As an Upper School English and speech teacher at St. Andrew’s, Alicen Blanchard was inspired by the professionalism and dedication of her fellow teachers. In fact, Blanchard was so impressed by one particular colleague, physics teacher and cross-country coach John Applegate, that she introduced him to her mother, Joyce.

John and Joyce hit it off, and the man Blanchard admired so much as a colleague soon became her stepfather.

In recognition of his outstanding service to the St. Andrew’s community, Alicen and her husband, E. J., have joined with a group of family and friends to make a joint gift to the Campaign for Science and Art in Applegate’s honor.

The John S. Applegate Physics Laboratory will be a permanent testimony to Applegate’s ability to engage, teach, and nurture his students.

“John has inspired so many students, both as a teacher and as a coach,” Alicen Blanchard says.

“As a former teacher myself, I know how much work that involves. John is an amazing person. I am proud to know him as a teacher, a colleague, and a stepfather.”

“The opportunity to challenge a student, whether it’s a mental challenge in the physics classroom or a physical challenge on the track, and then help that student meet the challenge, is the most rewarding part of teaching. What excites me the most about the new science center is the opportunity it offers to create new challenges for our students,” Applegate says. “I’m humbled and honored that Alicen and E. J. felt my work was worthy of this kind of recognition. Although truthfully, I feel a little embarrassed when I think about teaching in a room with my name on it. Embarrassed, but definitely honored.”

Above: John Applegate, Alicen and E.J. Blanchard 17

Thanks to the new music space, Libby Walden and Dennis Cranford can tell choral and band students to make some noise.

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What’s in a Name?

The campaign for Science and Art includes several areas ideal for naming in honor of family members, friends, an admired teacher, or other loved ones. For a list of naming opportunities and the costs associated with those opportunities, please contact Rebecca Hiatt Collins, director of institutional advancement, at 601.853.6029 or rebeccac@gosaints.org.

“Class time will be maximized when we can send a small group to an ensemble room to rehearse while the rest of the students continue with rehearsal in the choir room.

We try to do this now, but a quartet may end up rehearsing in the hallway,”Walden says. “In the new space, instead of the tenors and basses sitting while we work with the sopranos and altos, our accompanist can work with one group and I can take the other group to the ensemble room. We have just doubled our rehearsal time. What a gift.”

While the new space will immediately impact the band program on a daily basis, Cranford is even more excited about the long-term outlook for St. Andrew’s student musicians.

“The additional space will allow St. Andrew’s to offer more personalized and specialized instruction, whether that be from contract teachers, master classes, and private classes, or from additional staff,” Cranford says. “As a result of these new facilities, I see our students being challenged to grow, to develop, to progress in ways that before now have not been possible. I see more students advancing to the point that they carry the desire for continued music-making all the way through their adult lives.”

singing for joy Marie Holman Swayze loved music. An accom-

plished pianist, Swayze played and sang at benefits, in nursing homes, and at special events, and loved nothing more than performing for her friends.

When she passed away in November of 2009, the silence was deafening.

To honor Marie Swayze and celebrate the music she brought into so many lives, Swayze’s husband, Douglas Swayze, and her daughter and son-in-law, Elise and Tommy Williams, have designated a gift to the Campaign for Science and Art in her memory. When the renovated music space opens in 2011, Middle School students will raise joyful voices in the Marie Elise Holman Swayze Choral Room.

“Music was my mother’s life and her passion,” Elise Williams says. “She was also very close to our daughters, Marie Elise, who is a St. Andrew’s alumna, and Swayze, who’s in the sixth grade.

Our family loved the idea of a gift that combined my mother’s passion for music, her love for her grandchildren, and our support of St. Andrew’s.”

“If my mother-in-law were here to see it,” Tommy Williams adds with a smile, “I know that she would sing for joy.”

Taking Smart Up to a New Level

The excitement doesn’t end with the buildings themselves. The additional classes and hands-on learning experiences that these facilities will make possible will allow St. Andrew’s to once again redefine smart.

St. Andrew’s already has smart down to a science.

Now, through the Campaign for Science and Art, St. Andrew’s is taking smart up to a whole new level.

The campaign welcomes and deeply appreciates gifts of any size. For more information or to discuss your gift to the Campaign for Science and Art, please contact Rebecca Hiatt Collins, director of institutional advancement, at 601.853.6029 or rebeccac@gosaints.org.

Above: Elise, Tommy and Swayze Williams

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{institutional advancement}

a

Double Opportunity Supporting the Capital Campaign and the Annual Fund

the two efforts and know how their gifts to both the capital campaign and the Annual Fund will be used at St. Andrew’s.”

The Campaign for Science and Art is a one-time fund-raising drive. Gifts and pledges made to the capital campaign go directly toward paying for the new science building and for renovations to the old science classrooms to make them suitable as visual art, band, and choral space. None of the costs associated with

As excitement about the Campaign for Science and Art builds, it’s important that members of the St. Andrew’s community also continue to support the Annual Fund.

“We realize we’re asking St. Andrew’s families and friends to support two causes this year, but both are vital to the future of the school,” says Frances Jean Neely, director of annual giving. “We want to make sure families clearly understand the difference between 20

POLLY STRACENER AND FORREST HUTCHISON TRY OUT NEW PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT PURCHASED THROUGH THE ANNUAL FUND AND A DONATION FROM THE ST. ANDREW’S PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION.

the new science building or the renovated space will be covered by the St. Andrew’s regular operating budget or by the Annual Fund.

The Annual Fund bridges the budgetary gap between what tuition covers and what it actually takes to operate the school at its current level. The Annual Fund supports every part of St. Andrew’s operation, including academics, athletics, technology, professional development, and financial aid, and is vital to the

St. Andrew’s experience. In fact, the Annual Fund is St. Andrew’s most important source of revenue other than tuition.

Annual Fund gifts are used during the fiscal year in which they are received, offsetting expenses for that year; how they are used varies according to the needs of that particular year. Recent enhancements made possible by the Annual Fund include art studio furniture and outdoor art studio equipment, robotics equipment, text21

The Smart Money is On St. Andrew’s

books, security lighting, playground equipment, and faculty education programs.

“The St. Andrew’s community has a long tradition of faithful support,” Neely says. “Significant projects like the new science building and ongoing enhancements like those supported by the Annual Fund would be impossible without the generosity, and even more importantly, the vision, of our St. Andrew’s family. It’s so exciting to be a part of both of these efforts at St. Andrew’s and to see first-hand how enthusiastic and supportive our community can be.”

The 2010-2011 Annual Fund kicked off July 1, 2010 with the theme “The Smart Money is on St. Andrew’s.” In a challenging economy with few guarantees, an investment in St. Andrew’s is one thing you can count on to show a strong return.

When you contribute to the St. Andrew’s Annual Fund, you’re investing in your child’s future and in the future of St. Andrew’s. The Annual Fund supports every part of the school’s operation, including academics, athletics, technology, professional development, and financial aid. Anytime you visit the St. Andrew’s campuses, you’ll see examples of the tangible enhancements made possible through the Annual Fund – reminders that in today’s economic climate, the smart money is on St. Andrew’s.

10 Years and Counting

The St. Andrew’ Annual Fund began in 1987 with an ambitious goal of raising $80,000. In the decades since, the Annual Fund has become not only a St. Andrew’s tradition, but also a personal tradition for many members of the St. Andrew’s community. The individuals, families, and organizations listed below have participated in the Annual Fund without fail for the past decade.

The amount of their gifts ranges from small to large, but in every case, their loyalty is extravagant.

Loyal Annual Fund Donors 2000-2010 2000 — 2010 Merrill Lynch St. Andrew’s Parents’ Association Entergy Services, Inc. Eaton Corporation Dr. and Mrs. John D. Adams, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Adams Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Alexander, Jr. Mrs. Robert H. Alexander Mr. and Mrs. Sidney P. Allen Mr. Sidney P. Allen, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Leigh B. Allen III Dr. and Mrs. John M. Allin, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. Anthony Mr. and Mrs. John J. Bach Dr. and Mrs. Leslie H. Bear Dr. Allen W. Becker Mr. and Mrs. Elton G. Beebe Dr. Gray Bennett and Dr. Honey Bennett Mr. and Mrs. D. Carl Black, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Blake, Sr. Dr. and Mrs. E. J. Blanchard, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Vic Borromeo

Mr. and Mrs. Minor F. Buchanan Dr. Kurt A. Buechler and Dr. Lecia Spriggs Mrs. Sally Murphy Caffery Mr. and Mrs. Vernon H. Chadwick Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Chain Mr. and Mrs. William B. Chism Mr. and Mrs. Anson Bob Chunn Mr. and Mrs. William H. Coker Dr. and Mrs. R. Deaver Collins, Jr. Mrs. Marcia Collins Mr. and Mrs. Ronald D. Collins Dr. and Mrs. O. Weir Conner, III Mr. and Mrs. John A. Conway, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Jack W. Cooke, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Dennis R. Cranford Mr. Robert L. Crook, II Mrs. Emily Mosby Curran Ms. Becky Dalton Mr. and Mrs. Richard Allen David Dr. and Mrs. Stephen F. Davidson Mrs. Cathy Davis Mr. and Mrs. Barney Davis Mr. and Mrs. L. Bruce Deer

The Honorable and Mrs. J. Kane Ditto, Jr. Mrs. Jean Jones Downey Mr. and Mrs. W. Wayne Drinkwater, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. David N. Duddleston Mr. and Mrs. James H. Eley Dr. and Mrs. S. R. Evans, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Robert M. Evans Ms. Dorothy Bray Everett Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Farr, II Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Fields, Sr. Mr. Peter C. and the Rev. Paige Ford Fisher Drs. Richard H. and Sethelle Flowers Dr. and Mrs. Jay Fontaine Mr. and Mrs. John E. Fontaine, III Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert B. Ford, Jr. Mr. Greg Riggins Graeber Ms. Jan R. Graeber Mr. Kenneth James Graeber, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Dudley Collier Graham, Jr. The Rt. Rev. and Mrs. Duncan M. Gray, Jr. Mrs. Helen C. Green Mr. and Mrs. Jason S. Greener Mrs. Sherry Stribling Greener

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Mr. Creath Guillot Mr. Thomas E. Guillot, Jr. and Dr. Christina Glick Drs. Avinash C. and Vinita Gulanikar Mr. and Mrs. David R. Hardy Drs. H. Louis and Alison Harkey Mr. and Mrs. B. E. Harrison Mrs. Elizabeth McNease Hays Ms. Sandra Smith Hindsman Mr. and Mrs. James D. Holland Mr. and Mrs. David H. Hoster, II Mr. and Mrs. Tom R. Hudson Mrs. Caldwell Collins Israel Mr. and Mrs. C. Jeffery James Drs. B. J. and Mary E. Jenkins Dr. and Mrs. Sidney A. Johnson, Jr. Mr. Jason B. and Dr. Priscilla G. Jolly Dr. and Mrs. James S. Jones Mr. and Mrs. Derek C. Jumper Ms. Frances B. Keane Mr. and Mrs. James A. Keith Ms. Jennifer Allison King Mr. Vernon E. and Ms. Susan F. King Mr. and Mrs. Burney C. King Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Kitchings Mrs. Dorothy Kitchings Ms. Meredith Kochtitzky Dr. and Mrs. Ronald P. Kotfila

2009–10 Annual Fund Tops $460,000 Under the leadership of co-chairs Karen and Mike Rodgers, the 2009-10 Annual Fund raised $463,148. More than 1,200 donors made pledges, a 10 percent increase over the previous year’s participation.

BRENNA MCNEILL AND KANDI WALKER SAMPLE SUSHI IN THE UPDATED CAFETERIA ON THE NORTH CAMPUS. THE ANNUAL FUND PROVIDED UPDATED EQUIPMENT IN THE CAFETERIA AND KITCHEN.

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald P. Kotfila, Sr. Mrs. John D. Kuykendall, Jr. Ms. Mabel C. Lambdin Mr. and Mrs. Edward E. Lawler, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. R. Eason Leake Dr. and Mrs. A. Arturo Leis Ms. Tara Washington Lewis Mr. and Mrs. J. Michael Lightsey Mr. and Mrs. James A. Lowe, III Mr. Stephen Robbins Lowe Dr. and Mrs. Aubrey K. Lucas Mr. and Mrs. Monte E. Luehlfing Mr. Darin M. Maier Mr. and Mrs. Andrew W. Mallinson Mr. and Mrs. J. David Marsh, III Ms. Ann S. Marshall Mr. and Mrs. Ken McCarley Mrs. Hyman F. McCarty, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. McDonald Mr. Ray McFarland Mr. and Mrs. William A. McLarty Mr. and Mrs. David L. McMillin Dr. and Mrs. William C. McQuinn Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan W. McRae Mr. Richard D. McRae Ms. Laurie Hearin McRee

Dr. and Mrs. W. Marcus Meeks, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. George I. Melichar Mr. and Mrs. Carl D. Menist Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Mills, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper Morrison Mr. and Mrs. David S. Morse Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Mortimer Dr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Mosley, Jr. Ms. Sarah Murphy Mr. Christopher Brock Myers Dr. and Mrs. Walter P. Neely Ms. Taylor Neely Mr. Andrew Neely Dr. and Mrs. William T. Neely, III Ms. Lady K. Noel Mr. Kevin O’Malley Dr. and Mrs. C. Douglas Odom Mr. and Mrs. Steven D. Orlansky Mr. James Allen Overby Dr. Randall Patterson Mr. and Mrs. John Paxton Dr. Raymond Peeples Dr. and Mrs. George D. Penick, Jr. Drs. James and Cynthia Pitcock

Mr. and Mrs. James E. Poole, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Joe J. Powell, Jr. Mrs. Katy Morgan Pulvere Dr. Louis V. Puneky and Dr. Shirley Schlessinger Dr. and Mrs. Paul W. Purdy Ms. Anne Ranck Mr. J. Stevenson Ray & Dr. Melinda Ray Mr. and Mrs. William A. Ray Dr. Vonda Reeves-Darby Ms. Patsy Ricks Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Robinson, Jr. Mrs. Charlton S. Roby Mr. and Mrs. L. Abraham Rowe, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. E. Lane Rushing Mr. and Mrs. David B. Russell Dr. and Mrs. Patrick H. Scanlon, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Scott Mr. and Mrs. James W. Shelson Drs. Shashidhar Shettar and Shambhavi Chandraiah Dr. Audrey Sidney Mr. and Mrs. William L. Smith Mrs. Ann R. Sneed Dr. and Mrs. Leslie V. Spriggs Mr. Kevin David Stone Drs. William and Joanna Storey

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Mr. and Mrs. Jerry M. Sullivan, Jr. Judge and Mrs. James C. Sumner Mr. and Mrs. John L. Taylor Drs. Herman A. Taylor, Jr. and Jasmine P. Taylor Mr. Patrick Taylor Dr. and Mrs. David M. Temple Mr. and Mrs. Burney F. Threadgill Dr. and Mrs. Salil C. Tiwari Ms. Robyn Touchstone Mr. Keith and Dr. Jennifer Turner Mr. and Mrs. Bayard T. Van Hecke Dr. and Mrs. Ralph B. Vance Mr. and Mrs. F. John Wade Mrs. Gloria M. Walker Mr. and Mrs. Michael B. Wallace Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Wells Mr. and Mrs. Steve A. Whatley Mrs. Kathryn Wiener Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Williams Dr. and Mrs. John D. Wofford, Jr. Dr. Taylor Stevens Wofford Mr. John D. Wofford III Mr. and Mrs. David E. Wood Drs. William R. and Bonnie Woodall Mr. John Zehr and Dr. Carolyn Bigelow

pursuing their passions Hundreds of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School graduates have gone on to enjoy challenging, successful

Pass careers in science, art, and music. The scientists and artists featured here share a little about their

lives beyond St. Andrew’s, and how the school helped prepare them for the careers they’ve built today.

Glake Hill ‘93 Tenured Associate Professor of Chemistry, Jackson State University

Glake Hill is technically a member of the Class of 1993, but he actually began his studies at Tougaloo College in 1992, a full year early. Hill’s status as a MARC Scholar (Minority Access to Research Careers) at Tougaloo allowed him to participate in in-depth organic chemistry research projects as an undergraduate student.

He went on to earn his Ph.D. in chemistry from Jackson State University (JSU), where his research focused

on the study of human DNA and its relationship to cancer. As a graduate student, Hill published six papers nationally and internationally and traveled to Poland, Germany, Austria, and Italy to present his research findings. He then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California Berkley, home to the #1 ranked chemistry department in the United States, before accepting a position as one of the youngest professors at Jackson State University.

Today, Professor Glake Hill is a tenured associate professor of chemistry at JSU, where he teaches and supervises a 19-member research team studying the origins and mechanisms of cancer. Professor Hill’s leadership of his own students is inspired in part by his experience at St. Andrew’s.

“I had a great biology teacher, Dan Rose, who really pushed us in terms of research,” Professor Hill recalls.

“The thing I liked the most about St. Andrew’s was that science there was not just class-driven. Teachers didn’t just read the book to us. Instead, we had opportunities to go hands-on in science. If I had an interesting idea, I was encouraged to explore it further and to satisfy that curiosity beyond the class.

“If I had to give advice to a St. Andrew’s student interested in science today, I’d say listen in class – always a good thing – but don’t lose your desire to ask questions.

To be a good scientist, you must always ask ‘why.’”

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ions Elizabeth Buyan ‘97 Executive Director, Mississippi Opera

Elizabeth Buyan has always had a passion for music. As a St. Andrew’s student, Buyan acted in school musicals, participated in the band, and sang in the choir.

“In my senior year, Dr. Cranford started the AP music theory class. The study of music theory opened my eyes to the technical side of music,” Buyan says. “It so closely related to mathematics that it clicked for me immediately.

I knew then I wanted to pursue music on a deeper level.”

Buyan went on to graduate cum laude from Belmont

University in Nashville, Tennessee, and also graduated with honors and a master’s degree in vocal performance from Florida State University. Today she is the executive director of the Mississippi Opera, where her many responsibilities include grant writing, contribution solicitation, event planning, contracting, accounting, production logistics, educational outreach, and volunteer and personnel management.

“Turns out, I am a left-brained musician who loves to create budgets, manage productions, and promote the arts,” Buyan says. “Knowing what it takes to be on stage gives me an advantage when it comes to advocating and planning everything for that stage. And when your work is your passion, it doesn’t seem like work at all.”

Buyan is also passionate about the importance of the arts to a well-rounded education.

“When we integrate the arts and academic learning, children have a higher engagement in school,” Buyan says.

“The most rewarding part of my job is the reaction of the children at our free student matinee performances. Most of them are seeing an opera for the very first time, and they do so without prejudice. It has a visceral impact on them. Their responses of laughter or sadness are completely honest, and their appreciation is endless.

“Art is a vehicle through which hearts are touched and lives are enriched,” Buyan continues. “Opera is a 400year old art form that still has the capability to make a relevant and lifelong impression upon the soul.”

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“If I had an interesting idea, I was encouraged to explore it further and to satisfy that curiosity beyond the class.”— Glake Hill “when your work is your passion, it doesn’t seem like work at all.” — Elizabeth Buyan “The students’ faces just light up, and you know you’ve touched that person for a very long time.” — Greg Graeber

“A second grade girl once told me I’d better watch out for jellyfish because if their testicles touch you it hurts really bad,” Graeber says. “And once, while trying to get fourth grade students to say ‘the cell,’ I was giving them hints like ‘what’s the basic unit of life?’ (no reaction), ‘it begins with a C’ (no reaction). Then out of the blue a student yells, ‘Squirrel!’ So now I know that squirrels are the basic unit of life. This explains a lot.”

Graeber’s credits his passion for science in part to his teachers at St. Andrew’s.

“The science courses at St. Andrew’s were simply fantastic! How many other schools have or have had science faculty personalities as interesting or educational as Mr. Davis, Ken Hackman, Coach Scott, Sandra Hindsman, Mrs. Chambliss, John Applegate, and Dan Rose?” Graeber says. “They were wonderful science teachers who wanted their students to feel their same enthusiasm for the subject.”

When asked to describe the most challenging part of his job, Graeber smiles and cites the July heat.

“But then I think about getting paid to work outside at the beach in flip-flops, a swimsuit, and a t-shirt, and that makes it all better,” Graeber says. “And as for the rewards of the job, there is no better feeling than to see a student who has never been to the beach before holding a live crab or fish or seeing a dolphin in the wild.

Their faces just light up, and you know you’ve touched that person for a very long time.”

Greg Graeber ‘96 Marine Science Educator, Dauphin Island Sea Lab

Building on his childhood fascination with sharks, Greg Graeber earned a B.S. in marine biology from Auburn University, followed by a master’s of education in secondary science from the University of South Alabama. As a marine science educator in the Discovery Hall Programs at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Graeber teaches field-based marine science for students K-12, as well as professional development courses for teachers. His classes include salt marsh ecology, barrier island ecology, oceanography, and environmental science. But while Graeber’s job is teaching, he’s also learned his share of lessons from his students.

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Dr. Honey East Bennett ‘89

University of Mississippi Medical Center Dr. Honey East Bennett is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University and earned her M.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. Dr. East Bennett is currently completing a fellowship in endocrinology at University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), where she was formerly director of the cardiometabolic clinic, which specializes in diabetes management and cholesterol disorders, and served as associate professor of medicine from 20002010. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology.

Dr. East Bennett cites the instruction she received from St. Andrew’s science teachers, including Dan Rose and John Applegate, as helping shape her decision to pursue medicine as a career. Her first-hand understanding of the importance of a strong foundation in science prompted Dr. East Bennett to serve on the steering committee for the Campaign for Science and Art. “Upper School students are still learning in the same facilities I was in 20 years ago,” Dr. East Bennett says.

“Class sizes are larger now and the teaching and learning methods in science have changed.”

If recent history is any indication, some of the students who will benefit from Dr. East Bennett leadership on the capital campaign may someday be her medical colleagues.

“When I came to UMMC as a medical student, I was struck by how many professors had gone to St. Andrew’s or had children at St. Andrew’s,” Dr. East Bennett says.

“And over the past 10 or 15 years, I’ve seen so many medical students who are also St. Andrew’s alumni. As a part of the medical community in Jackson, I am constantly in contact with St. Andrew’s alums and parents.

There is a bond there that is inexplicable.”

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“Over the past 10 or 15 years, I’ve seen so many medical students who are also St. Andrew’s alumni.”— Dr. Honey East Bennett “St. Andrew’s is a great preparation for anything a student might do.”— Baxter Knowlton “I’m working just as hard as I did with my St.Andrew’s classmates in my AP classes.” — Bret Ford sissippi before surrendering to the oil paint that’s clearly in his blood.

“All my life I’d drawn and painted, and I took a lot of art classes at Yale,” Knowlton says. “About eight years ago, I figured it was time to give the painting idea a real shot – that I’d never know if I didn’t try.”

Knowlton attended painting workshops under noted artists Jere Allen and Sammy Britt and also learned a good bit from his mother, renowned Jackson painter Miriam Weems. Once he devoted himself to his art fulltime, Knowlton’s career blossomed. His paintings have been shown at multiple galleries in Arkansas and Mississippi and he has been commissioned to paint portraits for clients nationwide.

“The most challenging and the most rewarding things about working as an oil painter are the same – becoming a better painter and learning more about the world and people in it by concentrating on them as a painter,” Knowlton says. “Working hard at it is very satisfying.”

While his mural of the dancing nudes never graced the senior locker area, Knowlton credits St. Andrew’s with giving students the encouragement they need to pursue their dreams.

“St. Andrew’s is a great preparation for anything a student might do,” Knowlton says. “The teachers at St. Andrew’s are just so good – rigorous, encouraging, wanting you to set your sights high and be creative. It gives you a lot of confidence later on.”

Baxter Knowlton ‘92 Painter

“My senior year at St. Andrew’s, the students in my AP art class were each asked to create a mural somewhere at the school. I thought it would be a great idea to do a drawing of some Matisse-like dancing nude figures for the senior locker area,” Baxter Knowlton recalls. “Hiram Goza, the principal at the time, very gently suggested I might want to hang it somewhere less conspicuous. It’s funny to me now to imagine what he must have been thinking when he saw the drawing, and how oblivious I was. He handled it all very well. I think the drawing is still hanging in the art room.”

Knowlton graduated from Yale University with a degree in English and worked at an architectural firm in New York and two independent bookstores in Mis-

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Bret Ford ‘96 Author and Illustrator

“I remember authors coming to visit St. Andrew’s when I was a student, but I never imagined that one day I would be invited to be the guest author/illustrator,” Bret Ford says.

Ford returned to the Lower School campus last spring for a reading from his acclaimed children’s book, Flying Lessons. Published by Disney/Hyperion, Flying Lessons is the first children’s book Ford both wrote and illustrated.

“The warm welcome I received from St. Andrew’s faculty, parents, and students was remarkable,” Ford says. “I enjoyed listening to the students’ comments and answering their questions after the reading. Some students wanted to know what would happen to the airplane in the story next. Others offered me suggestions on how

29

to write a better book. Kids can be very inquisitive and, sometimes, brutally honest.”

As a student at St. Andrew’s, Ford’s favorite subjects were art and creative writing classes. He was a contributing author and illustrator and the editor of St. Andrew’s literary journal, The North Pasture, and received several awards for visual art, photography, and creative writing.

Ford graduated from Pratt Institute in 2000 with highest honors and a bachelor of fine arts in communication design and illustration. He landed a job at Galison/Mudpuppy, where he designed and illustrated children’s products, including stickers, stationery, games, activity books, and puzzles. Ford also drew freelance editorial illustrations for nationally recognized publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The Atlantic Monthly.

Since 2007, Ford has worked as an illustrator in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to Flying Lessons, Ford has illustrated several children’s publications including the New York Times bestselling The Name of This Book Is Secret series.

“The most challenging aspect of working as an illustrator in today’s world is paying my rent,” Ford says with a smile. “It’s difficult for anyone to distinguish himself or herself in this highly competitive profession.”

Ford credits his own success in part to the work ethic he developed at St. Andrew’s.

“St. Andrew’s has always attracted many talented and smart students. Having those people as peers helped me to develop a work ethic that has been vital to thriving in New York. Today I’m surrounded by some of the most talented illustrators in the commercial art industry, and I’m working just as hard as I did with my St. Andrew’s classmates in my AP classes.”

and the

Award goes to...

The outstanding achievements of St. Andrew’s Upper School students were recognized on Awards Day 2010.

Outstanding Senior Athletes Honors one male and one female who display outstanding athleticism

New Members (Senior class)

David Bradberry Sportsmanship Award A new award presented to one male and one female high school student who demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship

(Junior Class)

Avery Burrell • Joy Goel • Aditya Gulanikar Claire Hines • Christina Holy • Alexandra Jones Amelia Senter • Hannah Sills • Jonathan Tingle

Amy Handelman • Michael Tauchar

Karissa Bowley • Purav Brahmbhatt • Kelsey Casano Aubrey Flowers • Laura Landrum • Paul McAdory Meg Mendenhall • Hannah Paulding • Will Simmons

Carrie Sweet • Davis Woodall

Cum Laude Society The secondary school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa, the Cum Laude Society recognizes superior scholarship and academic achievement

Global Studies Certificates This certification indicates study and preparation above and beyond the international exposure afforded to all St. Andrew’s students.

Current Members

Rhea Kay Rowe • Elly Jackson • Monica Pani • Adria Luk Shannon Jenkins • Timothy Hopper • Emily Peters Apas Aggarwal • Carrie Sweet • Connor Buechler

Aditya Gulanikar • Amelia Senter • Jonathan Tingle

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{academics}

Awards by Subject or Discipline Awards are presented to the most outstanding student overall as judged by his or her teacher Art

Astronomy Chris Nash

Spanish III Ana Javier

Calculus John Magruder Sullivan

Cloning, Transgenics and Bioethics Jonathan Tingle

Spanish IV Sarah Abusaa

Statistics Adria Luk

Environmental Science Ethan Johnson

History

Advanced Placement Statistics Joy Goel

Psychology Becci Jacobs

Art Appreciation Emily Hamilton

World History II Pooja Goel

Drawing and Painting Charles Henry Goodwin

Honors World History II Michael Modak-Truran

Advanced Placement Calculus AB, The Melissa Cavett Prize Apas Aggarwal

Art I Marisa Harner Art II Will Brewer

Drawing and Design Kelsey Casano Advanced Placement Art History Elly Jackson Advanced Placement Studio Art, The Edith Lee Evans Prize Johnna Henry William Watkins Award for Visual Arts Karissa Bowley Visual Arts Award Marisa Stockton Rhode Island School of Design Martin Powell

Eastern Philosophy Lillie Floyd Creative Writing Lucy Kay Sumrall The Dr. Frank Stoddard Johns Prize in Creative Writing Amelia Senter World History I Mary Millis Spooner

United States History Buchanan Westover Honors United States History Matthew Bear Advanced Placement United States History, The James Parham Evans III Prize Royce Reeves-Darby Economics Christina Holy Government Mercer Ann McKee International Relations Aditya Gulanikar

Journalism Alexis Wallace

Southern Studies Sarah Sullivan

Yearbook George Mychaskiw

Advanced Placement European History Connor Buechler

English

English 9 Will Leonard English 10 Michael Steere Honors English 10 Matthew Mosley English 11 Kate Lee McDonnell Honors English 11 Johnna Henry Advanced Placement English 11 Currie McKinley English 12 Kristen Wilson Honors English 12 Christina Holy Advanced Placement English 12 Shannon Jenkins

Advanced Placement Human Geography William Chism Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics Timothy Hopper Advanced Placement Comparative Politics Avery Burrell

Mathematics

Advanced Topics in Precalculus Davis Woodall

Advanced Placement Calculus BC Emi Taniguchi

Musical and Performing Arts Acting Matthew Mosley

Theatre Production: Acting Laura Landrum Theatre Production: Technical Cameron McRae St. Andrew’s Singers Nikki Patel Chamber Choir Elly Jackson Band Revanth Sanne Advanced Placement Music Theory Andrew Burke

Science

Biology Vineet Aggarwal Advanced Placement Biology, The Frances Elizabeth Dyess Memorial Prize Malika Shettar Chemistry Matt Warren Honors Chemistry Danielle Conway Lewis

Algebra I Daniel Gallarno

Physics Lee Sargent

Geometry Caroline Brewer

Advanced Placement Physics B Jonathan Tingle

Honors Geometry Ria Goel Algebra II Mariam Ebeid Honors Algebra II Jessica Lee

Film Studies Davis Woodall

Precalculus Buchanan Westover

Philosophy Cameron Ray

Honors Precalculus Purav Brahmbhatt

Advanced Placement Physics C: Mechanics Aditya Gulanikar Advanced Placement Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism Timothy Hopper Anatomy and Physiology Zachary Boozer 31

Robotics Bud Townsend

Speech

Speech Communication Hannah Paulding Speech and Debate Competition Apas Aggarwal

World Languages French I Aritra Biswas

French II Natalie Payne French V Maryam Qureshi French Film and the French Literature Awards Rachel Vise

Spanish V Revanth Sanne Spanish World through Film Shannon Jenkins Spanish for Communication Cameron Ray Advanced Placement Spanish Hannah Sills

The Head of School Award Presented by vote of the faculty to the student whose life and learning best exemplify high standards of scholarship, citizenship, and service Grade 9 Grace Gibson Grade 10 Matthew Mosley

AP French Language Claire Hines

Grade 11 Aubrey Flowers and Purav Brahmbhatt

The Warren D. Reimers Prize in French Amelia Senter

Grade 12 Shannon Jenkins

Italian Language and Culture Angeline Jefferson Latin 1 Ivy Pei Latin II Grace Gibson Latin III Jessica Lee Latin IV Sharmila McBatra Latin IV: Advanced Readings Laura Landrum Advanced Placement Latin V Anna Graham World Mythology Becci Jacobs Mandarin I Susannah Burrell Mandarin II Aumbriel Schwirian Mandarin III Zoe Sullivan Spanish I Hyden Guynes Spanish II Meredith Blanchard

Saints’ Medal for Unselfish Service Presented to the student who views his or her work in terms of where that service will do the most good for the most people within St. Andrew’s and not in terms of personal gain or recognition Adria Luk

The Trustees’ Medal for Academic Achievement Presented to the senior who has maintained the highest GPA over four years, as well as a mature, responsible attitude toward learning Apas Aggarwal

The Adele Franks Medal Presented to the senior who, in the view of the faculty, has demonstrated the same qualities of leadership, initiative, and creative thinking exemplified in the lifelong achievements of St. Andrew’s founding Headmistress, Mrs. Adele Franks Elly Jackson

From the

West Wing to the

Far East Avery Burrell i Presidential Scholar

Avery Burrell ’10 was named a 2010 Presidential Scholar by the U.S. Department of Education. The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars appointed by President Barack Obama chose Burrell based on her academic success and a personal essay, as well as her community service, leadership skills, and commitment to high ideals.

“Miss Burrell has shown that setting high expectations and striving for excellence pay off,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “Her academic achievements reflect a sense of purpose that we should

and

Ambassador

to

China

seek to instill in all students to prepare them for college, careers, and civic responsibilities.”

Burrell traveled to Washington, D.C., in June, where she and other Presidential Scholars attended receptions and lectures held in their honor and had a personal meeting with President Barack Obama.

“In his remarks to us, President Obama said that he hoped his own daughters would grow up to do what we as Presidential Scholars are doing,” Burrell said.

“When the President of the United States told us that our knowledge and skills would change the world, it

Previous Presidential Scholars from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School include:

Kellin King – 1995 i Grace Serio – 2009 i Eli Lazarus – 2002 i Wes Johnson – 2005 Jennifer Triplett and Kyle Craft – 2008 32

{academics}

The Presidential Scholars Program The Presidential Scholars program was established in 1964 to recognize outstanding academic achievement and later expanded to also recognize students gifted in the arts. The 2010 program honored 141 outstanding high school seniors, including one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at large and 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts. gave me a sense that what I’m doing is important.”

Burrell met with representatives of the Chinese Each Presidential Scholar invited his or her most Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign inspiring teacher to travel to Washington for the rec- Affairs, toured universities and high schools, and ognition events. Burrell chose Darin Maier, associate attended lectures on Chinese culture and history and head of the Middle School. on contemporary issues, including education, climate “When I found out that Avery had been selected as change, and healthcare. The program also included a Presidential Scholar, I was very happy but not terri- time for traditional music and dance performances bly surprised,” Maier said. “When I met Avery as an and lessons in Chinese painting, cooking, and martial incoming eighth grade student, she had a poise and arts – even an acupuncture session (“during which I presence that not many middle school or even high fainted,” Burrell adds). school students possess. She struck Burrell lived with host families in each me as someone who was not only very Avery Burrell is now a area, experiencing first-hand the life of bright, but also intellectually curious. freshman at Columbia a young adult in communist China and I consider it one of the high points of University in New York, capitalizing on the rare opportunity to where she is studying freely exchange ideas with her Chinese my career thus far to be selected as her biology and Latin distinguished teacher for the Presidenstudent counterparts.

American language tial Scholars program.”

“The experience of living with the But for Burrell, the honors and the and culture. She plans Chinese and becoming part of the famijourney didn’t end in D.C. Following a to become a physician lies was invaluable,” Burrell says. “I had specializing in the second application process, Burrell was a fabulous host family in Beijing whose one of 12 Presidential Scholars cho- diagnosis and treatment members were very open, willing, and of infectious diseases excited to talk with me about imporsen to participate in a two-week trip on a global scale. to China sponsored by the National tant issues – relations with the United Committee on United States-China States, Taiwan, selling arms to Sudan, Relations and the China Education Association for the Communist Party, and Mao. My host father, who International Exchange. was a member of the Communist Party, really wanted “This was an opportunity to see a side of China tour- my perspective on these topics and gave me a great picists don’t see,” Burrell says. “The trip is sponsored by the ture of how the Chinese perceive these issues.

Chinese government. They see the Presidential Schol- “Because he wanted his own children to know all of ars as the future leaders of the United States, and their China’s history, this man had told his daughter, my host goal is that we gain a deeper perspective on China. Of sister Clare, about Tiananmen Square and the riots of course, we were also serving as ambassadors representing 1989, so I felt much less limited in my conversation the United States. The Chinese people’s impression of than I had imagined,” Burrell continues. “Clare was America is based largely on what they see on MTV and very surprised that I knew about the riots and that we in the movies. One of our goals was to show them that study about that in history classes in America. I felt so Americans do more than just party all the time.” fortunate to be able to discuss these things in a friend Burrell traveled from Washington to Beijing, the ly and open manner, as I was really curious about how capital of the People’s Republic of China; Changsha, they saw these issues and events. capital of the Hunan province; and Zhengzhou, capi- “This experience showed me that you can never know tal of the Henan Province. Over the course of her visit, a people or a place without going there,” Burrell conBurrell visited world famous landmarks including the tinues. “You can hear lectures and read books, but until Temple of Heaven, Longmen Grottoes, Tiananmen you’re there, it’s not real to you. I knew a lot of facts Square, Mao Zedong’s Mausoleum, the Forbidden about China, but meeting the people and hearing their City, and the Great Wall of China. perspectives is what made those facts come alive.”

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ubu defining

Recipients of St. Andrew’s travel grants show their colors.

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ntu Travel grants help students and faculty discover the world and their place in it Eight St. Andrew’s students and three faculty members received travel grants that allowed them to discover new parts of the world and another side of themselves over the summer. The St. Andrew’s global studies program offers the grants to help cover the cost of educational travel. Grants are awarded through a competitive application process that measures the educational and service value of the proposed trip.

“More and more, our global studies program is emphasizing the concept of ‘ubuntu,’ a South African term that loosely translates to, ‘I am because we are,’” says Chris Harth, director of global studies.

“Ubuntu emphasizes our capacity to learn about ourselves and live more fulfilling lives by helping others. The St. Andrew’s global studies program is increasing its emphasis on service, particularly service in developing countries, where most of the world’s people live.”

As St. Andrew’s most recent travel grant recipients will attest, putting the concept of ubuntu into practice is life changing.

35

ubuntu

Reflections from the Journeys

over the world. I’ve become more adventurous, more confident, more conscious of other people. China made me a better person is so many ways.”

William Chism, class of 2011, participated in construction projects and community service in Cuba.

“I firmly believe that resolving international conflicts begins with personal relationships. Our group forged close, solid relationships with dozens of locals through service work, cultural experiences, and casual conversation on a daily basis. Before we knew it, it seemed like the entire city of Holguin knew that the Americans were in town, and that they were doing good, honest work alongside Cubans. The power of making positive impressions on a relatively small group of locals was evident early in the trip. On numerous occasions, we were amicably approached by strangers who wanted to know all about America and why we were there. Now, more than ever, I feel that international service and cultural immersion is an absolute necessity to making our world move forward in a positive direction.”

Lindsay Muller, class of 2011, journeyed to Bifengxia in the Sichuan Province of China, where she volunteered at a panda bear refuge.

“I was assigned five pandas to work with. I fed them, carried bamboo to their cages, and cleaned out their cages. Although it certainly wasn’t glamorous, it was loads of fun. I would reach for them and they’d lumber slowly over and bat at me with their paws while I petted them. I’ll never forget how happy I was to have a panda resting on my leg.

“Because of this experience, my view of myself changed. Most people would not think of me as a risktaker. Now I know I can be. I went to China, stayed there alone in a hostel in the middle of the mountains without speaking Chinese, and made friends from all

Bob Gilchrist, class of 2011, worked with AIDS patients and impoverished communities in South Africa. Gilchrist is now studying abroad in China.

“People are about the same everywhere. There are not many differences. In South Africa, many different people attempted to show off many different customs, but the most interesting fact was that all treasured customs are centered around love.

“I like to add humor to a serious situation in hopes that people will smile and laugh at the silly system that divides us – the false boundaries between rich and poor.

Maybe this is a good comparison. The laugh and smile of a ten-year-old with no hopes for a universal education is no different than the laugh and smile of a tenyear-old aspiring to graduate from St. Andrew’s.”

Middle School teacher Shelby Butler assisted with construction projects and community service in Cuba.

“Cuba was unlike any country I have ever visited before.

I saw no signs of ostentatious wealth; neither did I see extreme poverty. Unlike a trip to an impoverished country where the great suffering might lead me to pity, in Cuba I saw a lack of luxuries. I saw a life that in many ways I could imagine myself living. The suffering was manageable. I do not wish to live in such an environment, but everyone in Cuba is surviving because everyone in Cuba makes sacrifices. This led me to ask, ‘What sacrifices do I make to ease the life of my fellow citizens here in Mississippi?’”

For more information about St. Andrew’s travel grants, visit www.gosaints.org.

This page, from left: William Chism; Bob Gilchrist; Hannah Paulding; Natalie Payne / Opposite Page: Lindsay Muller; Caroline Johnson 36

“Te quiero” Upper School teacher Caroline Johnson traveled to Merida, Mexico, on St. Andrew’s first service learning trip to the Yucatan. The trip was led

by Johnson and Middle School Spanish teacher Kristine Tilley, and included five St. Andrew’s students and a St. Andrew’s alumna. The group toured Mayan ruins, explored natural areas, and through a partnership with Millsaps College, visited that school’s 4,000-acre tropical forest biocultural reserve and archaeological dig site.

But the most moving part of the experience was volunteering in a shelter for orphaned and abused teenage girls. Though none of the girls spoke English, the St. Andrew’s volunteers found ways to communicate that transcended spoken language.

“When we first arrived, several of the girls wanted nothing to do with us and seemed mad at the world,” Johnson says. “Our second day there, they were engaging with us, and by the third day, they were completely immersed in the activities. We made such strong human connections in spite of the language barriers. The girls were just so thankful that we came and spent time with them. I think we provided those girls with some much needed love.”

“I learned from this trip that communication is not solely about language. The human race communicates with one another through their actions,” says St. Andrew’s senior Emilie Street. “It was almost impossible to have any sort of ‘conversation’ with the girls at the orphanage in Merida, but they understood that we were there because we cared. When we arrived more than once, they realized that we were dedicated. Each day we would play games together, help one another with art projects, and dance together. Although there was a lot of silence, there were also a lot of smiles, a lot of laughter, and a lot of tears. ‘Te quiero,’ they would say, which we soon learned did not mean ‘I want you,’ as it would in the literal translation, but rather, ‘I love you.’”

St. Andrew’s 2010 travel grant recipients included: Students Zoe Sullivan – Argentina Karissa Bowley – China William Chism – Cuba Bob Gilchrist – South Africa (currently studying abroad in China) Lindsay Muller - China Hannah Paulding – China Natalie Payne – France Malika Shettar – Costa Rica Faculty Tim Alford, Middle School History – Israel Shelby Butler, Middle School World Languages – Cuba Caroline Johnson, Upper School Math – Mexico 37

38

hope Seeking to serve, finding

St. Andrew’s in Rwanda

“I had studied the history of Rwanda and thought I had a pretty accurate snapshot of what this experience would be like. Seeing and interacting with the Rwandan people proved that I was wrong. They had the courage to stand in front of a group of strangers from a strange place and reveal their life stories – every tragic, heart wrenching experience they had endured. I could not fully understand the impact of the genocide or the profound poverty on the Rwandan people until I heard their individual testimonies.”– Killian Buechler, St. Andrew’s Class of 2012

Students from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Mississippi and Carnoustie High School in Scotland completed the final segment of a three-tiered, global service learning project this summer in Rwanda.

The project began last October, when Carnoustie students Bonnie Ross and Lewis Thoms and Carnoustie teacher Jim Bell traveled to Jackson to participate in service activities with St. Andrew’s students Killian Buechler and Patrick McKee. In March, Buechler, McKee, and St. Andrew’s Director of Global Studies Chris Harth

39

traveled to Scotland to join Ross and Thoms in service programs in their country. This summer, both groups of students and their teachers made a three-week, lifechanging journey to Rwanda.

“This was as profound and educational a living experience as I’ve had,” Harth said. “To learn about ourselves and learn to lean on each other while contributing to these communities was transformative. This is the new model for ‘glocal’ service – forming a global connections, then acting in local contexts.”

L

ocated in eastern central Africa, and work as one ‘Rwandan’ community, whether that Rwanda is infamous as the loca- means putting a straw roof on their neighbor’s house or tion of the Rwandan Genocide. getting a college degree so they can teach the children.

In 1994, long-simmering tension between the Tutsi and Experiencing and living this, I believe, is something that Hutu peoples erupted into violence. Over a 100-day one would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else beside period, approximately 800,000 Tutsi men, women, and this beautiful country.” children were systematically murdered.

As part of their service in this scarred Virtually every citizen of Rwanda yet beautiful country, the American and today is partially defined by that tragedy, Scottish students partnered with local either as a victim or a former perpetraservice organizations working with widGoing Glocal tor of the violence. The country is home ows and children. The team provided Forming a global to a disproportional number of widows sewing machines for the widows, and connection, and to thousands of orphans who live distributed educational supplies and then acting in a on the streets. Educational opportuniplayed games with countless street chillocal context. ties are limited and extreme poverty is dren hungry for human contact. As they the norm. Many Rwandans do not know reached out to grasp the St. Andrew’s when or where they will get their next and Carnoustie students’ hands, one meal. Yet surprisingly, the spirit the St. Andrew’s and of the first questions the Rwandan children asked was, Carnoustie team encountered most was one of recon- “Do you have parents?” ciliation and hope.

The St. Andrew’s/Carnoustie students spent several “Being in Rwanda among victims and perpetrators of days at Rukumberi Secondary School teaching classes the genocide and living, working, teaching, and learn- and participating in a range of academic, artistic, and ing along side them with no distinction of which side athletic activities. The school had 1,500 pupils and no they had been on struck me as a beautiful thing,” junior running water or electricity. “Computer class” consisted Patrick McKee says. “Out of that tragedy came a will- of the teacher drawing a sketch of a computer on the ingness and necessity for the people to come together chalkboard. The team visited genocide memorial sites Above: In a moving demonstration of forgiveness, a Rwandan widow holds hand with the man who killed her family.

A gospel church service in Kigali / Killian Buechler and new friends 40

where tens of thousands of people are buried, and heard first-hand stories of the events from the Tutsi and Hutu people who lived them.

The group from St. Andrew’s/Carnoustie also assisted with a variety of building projects, including the construction of a new home for a Tutsi widow whose entire family was killed in the massacre. In her own words, this woman “had been hunted down like a dog” while carrying her last living child in her arms. When a hand grenade hurled at the woman exploded, her last child died in her arms. She was left with nothing and no one.

Among those helping build the woman’s new home was the Hutu man who murdered her family.

“These two people were standing side by side,” Killian Buechler says. “There was no hate or resentment in their eyes, and when their stories were complete, the woman told this man that she now considered him family and gave him a hug. She hugged her hunter and the killer of her entire family.

“This experience impacted me in such profound ways.

I learned that I take the concept of forgiveness so lightly.

It’s so easy for me to mutter an, ‘I’m sorry’ when I’ve hurt someone’s feelings or bumped into someone in the hall. For this man and this woman, a simple apology was not enough. They had to live out their apology.

“This experience served as a profound example to me that, as cliché as it might sound, change starts with small, individual efforts,” Buechler continues. “It starts with someone not being okay with settling for the way things are. I believe that I have a responsibility to both the people of countries like Rwanda and people right here at home. If I have the capacity to change their lives or circumstances in any way, no matter how small, it is my job to do all that I can to see that I fulfill my duty to them as fellow human beings. If I have a chance to impact anyone’s existence for the better, it would be cowardly and irresponsible for me not to seize that opportunity to do so.”

Potential international trips offered to St. Andrew’s students through the school in 2011-12 include travel to China, Cuba, France, Ghana, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Scotland, and Spain.

Above: Patrick McKee bonds with a new friend. / Chris Harth shows Rwandan students a new perspective on where they live.

The student-faculty team from St. Andrew’s and Carnoustie High School 41

service learning

Under the

Summer Sun

By Ellen Gabardi

Years ago, I sat on a committee created to ponder I now see things a bit differently. I see “all in good service learning for high school students, specifically time” as “there’s no time like the present,” when the to determine whether the students should be required teenager is tucked into the womb of school and home and community, and I see the institution to perform community service or simof the school as one of those mysterious ply encouraged to perform community forces of the universe which can beckon service. At that early time in my tenure the seed of servanthood to grow. as a parent of pre-teenagers, I leaned As a requirement to graduate from St. toward the “encourage them” philosoAndrew’s, a student must complete a phy. In my not-so-infinite wisdom, I minimum of 25 service learning hours deemed that servants are not shaped per Upper School year. With academic and molded by the institutional forces and extracurricular commitments overaround them, but rather as the Spirit flowing during the school year, many moves them. I believed that the goodstudents dedicate time during the sumness within each person would manifest mer to serving others.

– all in good time.

Gracie Gibson

“I wanted to be a counselor so I could help change a child’s life. Instead, the kids ended up changing mine.”

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Seventy St. Andrew’s Upper School students served at camps for the children of Operation Shoestring; these camps grew from the seed of one camp with six St. Andrew’s counselors six summers ago.

In the summer of 2010, St. Andrew’s Chaplain Reverend Jennifer Deaton and Service Learning Coordinator Tara Lewis hosted a weeklong service learning camp during which 12 students went to the Madison Ark animal shelter, St. Catherine’s Village, Goodwill, Stewpot, and the Iona House to serve.

“The camp helped our students to better gauge in which areas they felt a strong connection,” Lewis says.

“Some students were drawn to helping the elderly, while others were moved to help at the animal shelter.”

Another group of students traveled with Lewis to New Orleans, where they spent a Saturday working with Habitat for Humanity. Several students also assisted in readying the Lower School for renovations, helping teachers pack up the contents of their classrooms to ensure work could proceed smoothly. Yet another group volunteered at the Kinder Camp and Adventure Camp staged on both the Lower and Upper School campuses.

Seventy St. Andrew’s Upper School students served at camps for the children of Operation Shoestring; these camps grew from the seed of one camp with six

“I wanted to be a counselor so I could help change a child’s life,” adds sophomore Gracie Gibson. “Instead, the kids ended up changing mine.”

Many St. Andrew’s students find themselves moved by a specific cause and devote themselves to the same service learning work summer after summer. Senior Revanth Sanne has spent several summers volunteering at the VA Medical Center and at UMC assisting doctors and patients and participating in research, while senior Jacob Fijman has served children with disabilities at Dream Street, a weeklong overnight camp.

“The campers’ disabilities disappear when they’re involved in traditional summer camp activities like swimming, horseback riding, baseball and boating,” Jacob says. “After being a counselor for three years now, I realize that Dream Street is a wonderful place for the counselors as well as the campers to grow.”

Sophomore Jessica Rubinsky spent part of her summer supporting Invisible Children, an organization that reaches overseas to Uganda, where children are forced to become soldiers in a decades-long war. Jessica helped

St. Andrew’s counselors six summers ago. HoopStrings, the original camp, continues to offer service learning opportunities, along with RacquetStrings, ArtStrings, SoccerShoes, HorseShoes, CheerStrings, and the newest addition this summer, ApronStrings, a cooking camp held in collaboration with Viking. Thanks to the generosity of Viking, Langston & Langston Attorneys, Providence Hill Farm, Metropolitan Bank, and the fundraising efforts of the counselors, these camps created unique opportunities for St. Andrew’s students and Operation Shoestring children to form lasting relationships.

“To see a kid grin ear to ear just because we read to them and supported their reading was an incredible experience,” says sophomore John Taylor Kitchings, who served as a counselor at ArtStrings.

raise money for the organization and is working to bring representatives from Invisible Children to St. Andrew’s this fall.

These are only a few examples of the many service learning projects in which St. Andrew’s students participated in the summer of 2010. While some may still argue that a spirit of service learning should be allowed to manifest on its own, I’m now convinced that a little encouragement from an institution like St. Andrew’s can inspire awareness and responsibility that lasts a lifetime.

– Ellen Gabardi is a parent of a St. Andrew’s graduate.

From left: Operation Shoestring campers practice the congos; Meredith Blanchard and Eve Rodenmeyer at Madison Ark; campers mixing it up at Operation ApronStrings 43

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3

4

5

6

May2Day 1

2

A St. Andrew’s tradition since 1956, the May Day celebration once again found fourth graders dressed in white and draped in colorful ribbons, wrapping the flowertopped Maypole. Families and friends joined in the celebration, which has become not only a symbol of spring, but also a rite of passage for fourth graders leaving the Lower School behind and looking ahead to the excitement of Middle School.

A Salute to Jim Henson 1) 3rd graders get down to Movin’ Right Along. / 2. 4th graders wrap the May Pole. / 3. Madeline Dyess performs the Spanish Numba Rhumba with the pre-K4 class. / 4. Gracie LaRue processes onto the field with her classmates. / 5. Avery Stallings and her kindergarten class tap to the Muppet Show theme. / 6. 2nd graders like Walker Jay Patterson don Kermit costumes for Caribbean Amphibian. / 7. Jackson Bataille and his 1st grade class make a splash with Splish Splash. / 8. Kennedy Owens looks forward to the 5th grade.

7

8

45

{sports} Peryn ReevesDarby hits it down the line.

Phillip Qu powers his backhand at the baseline.

It’s How They

Play the Game

St. Andrew’s student athletes on the victories, defeats, and life lessons learned during the spring 2010 sports season.

United as Champions On the court with Natalie Payne, Class of 2011 I honestly had never felt so stressed in my life. On a hot, almost-summer day in May, I found myself sitting on a bench at the Ridgeland Tennis Center, practically gnawing my fingers off in anxiety. It was the team state finals against Corinth, the defending 3A champ, and the victory had come down to the number two girls’ doubles match. St. Andrew’s was tied with Corinth 3-3, Brianna Saddler and Sethelle Flowers having just won their match in an incredible, nerve-wracking and emotionally exhausting third set tiebreak. Now everyone clustered around court 12, eyes glued to Courtney McMullan and Margie Funches as they played for the championship. The tension was so thick that the air was almost buzzing.

For each point played, the crowd would either roar with approval or hiss with displeasure. (It was pretty much the St. Andrew’s tennis team fighting to be heard over the whole town of Corinth. We succeeded.)

This whole nail-biting, heart-stopping, emotional rollercoaster ride of an experience was entirely new to me. As a singles player, sometimes it’s hard to become truly integrated with the team, because in singles, you’re alone. You don’t really experience the highs and lows of a match with another person, nor do you have someone to rant to, nor to confide in during points (unless you

count Coach Buckley quietly cheering for you through a fence.) But that day, I truly felt like a part of the team: their stress was my stress, their highs were my highs, and that holler of encouragement was coming from me.

Margie slammed the ball for a winner, and suddenly, it was over. We won. There was a second before the entire team exploded with triumphant shouts, swarming as one to the fence to grab Courtney, Margie, each other.

In that moment, instead of being a team made up of 10 different people, we made up a single champion.

Out of the Rough On the course with Chris Woolverton, Class of 2013 St. Andrew’s was five shots back entering the final day of the state championship tournament, but thanks in part to a hole-in-one by Daniel Duddleston, we ended the round tied with Corinth for the championship.

When a couple of drops by players from Corinth were called into question, we were relegated to waiting for a decision from the rules committee. After more than an hour of agonizing on our part, our coach, Joe Ray, emerged from the ruling tent to report that the committee had ruled a tie. There would be a team playoff for the state championship in 10 minutes.

“that day, I truly felt like a part of the team: their stress was my stress, their highs were my highs, and that holler of encouragement was coming from me.” — Natalie Payne 46

{sports} Charles Henry Goodwin tees off.

Haylee Vomberg and Caron Byrd make the exchange.

But our hopes for a shot at winning the state tournament were dashed before we had the chance to take a swing.

In a controversial turn of events, the committee revised its ruling, giving Corinth the victory. The Corinth team’s shouts of celebration were drowned out by the escalating yells of spectators from both sides over the ruling.

But as student athletes at St. Andrew’s, the concept of good sportsmanship has been as deeply engrained in each of us as how to grip an iron. As the official presented Corinth with the first place trophy and we accepted our trophy as runners-up, we shook hands as if the controversy had never happened. It was not the ending we had hoped for and it was harder to accept an outcome determined in the rules tent instead of on the course, but when it came down to how we played the game, my teammates and I still walked away as winners.

hit the chip, and we all watched as the ball slowly, slowly rolled into the hole for a birdie.

Although I didn’t actually plan to copy my sister’s birdie, Coach Ray now has a second chapter to this golf tale and my sister and I have a new family tradition.

Keeping Tradition on Track Running with Hannah Halford ’10 Track is tradition. During my six years on the team, we’ve established a pattern of hard work combined with playtime, triumphs tempered by struggles, friendships tied inextricably with teammates. Simply put, track is familiar, unchanged from year to year—a constant.

That is, it was until last season, when the track team was greeted with the ultimate challenge—change. Not one, but three new coaches replaced the old, and we moved out of the 2A classification and into 3A, an unknown territory of bigger and better competition.

But despite the changes, track still remained, well, track.

The smell of the track itself—a distinctive mixture of rubber, heat, and honeysuckle—wafting in the spring breeze, the thump a baton makes when you bang it against your open palm, the sting of a sunburn across your shoulders after a long day at a meet…those things didn’t change.

Nor did the intangible elements—the rush in your lower abdomen when your teammate charges towards you in a relay, the exhilaration and exhaustion that weigh on your muscles after a long distance race, the stupor that follows a carb-filled track dinner.

The challenge of change turned out to be a positive one.

We ended the season as Regional and South State champions and finished in a very close second place at the state meet.

Birdies of a Feather On the course with Miriam Parker, Class of 2012 During the first round of the state tournament, our group was waiting on Patrick Farm’s number eight tee box for the green to clear of players. Coach Joe Ray took advantage of the pause in the action to tell us a story.

My older sister Elise, one of the founding members of the St. Andrew’s girls’ golf team, played in this tournament two years earlier. As we waited, Coach Ray recounted every detail of how Elise had missed this same par three green to the left, then chipped in for birdie.

When the green cleared, I teed up for the 141-yard par three. Despite my begging for it to come back, the ball flew to the left. Approaching the shot, I felt confident I could get the ball close to the pen for a short par putt. I

“as student athletes at St. Andrew’s, the concept of good sportsmanship has been as deeply engrained in each of us as how to grip an iron.” — Chris Woolverton 47

{sports} Joseph Painter is ready for the handoff from David Dulske.

Cameron McRae looks for an opening.

More importantly, we kept alive what has made track so successful in the past—our team chemistry. In a sport largely dominated by personal successes and failures, we have always prided ourselves on making it about the whole unit. We are successful because we know that one athlete alone can score only 40 points—and we know that it takes much more than that to win a meet. We are successful because we know that running and jumping and throwing just to break a record is meaningless if there is no team behind you to encourage and support you.

This season, we discovered that change does not and should not meddle with what is fundamental and important to the team. Instead, we realized that in moving forward, we must hold fast to the old and incorporate it into the new.

At the state meet, the St. Andrew’s track team placed a number of athletes, but even more impressive was the number of people who showed up not to compete, but to support the team. In the end, St. Andrew’s made a remarkable first impression in 3A. The 2010 track and field season was full of firsts, but ultimately was a success.

It Only Takes 10 On the lacrosse field with Alexander McRae ’10 To play lacrosse at St. Andrew’s, you really must love the sport.

Lacrosse team practices are very different from the other team sports practices at St. Andrew’s. The almost entirely student-run practices are always stretched thin by the small number of players. Eight players at a practice is a good turnout (the minimum a team can put on the field for official play is 10). If a player decides he doesn’t feel like coming to practice on any given day, he can easily skip it since the student coaches have no authority to punish their fellow players and the small number of players makes it counter-productive to dismiss anyone from the team.

But despite our small numbers, the St. Andrew’s lacrosse team was able to round up at least 10 men six times during the year, and posted a 3-2-1 record. Our small group was big on determination, winning our district for the first time in the history of the St. Andrew’s lacrosse program.

The lacrosse team graduated six highly proficient players in 2010, which will be a huge blow to the program in 2011. I wish next year’s team caption Kyle Cupples the best of luck as he recruits athletes for the 2011 lacrosse team. And remember, Kyle – it only takes 10.

On a New Track Changing tracks with Mike Steere, Class of 2012 Spring 2010 saw the first St. Andrew’s track and field season in years without the leadership of our great head coach, Andy Till. Coach Stephen Evans stepped up from his former position coaching throwing and vaulting to fill Coach Till’s shoes. As this was also the first year that St. Andrew’s has participated in Division 3A, the competition was relatively unknown.

In the face of these changes, the track team practiced well and hard. As the meets got underway, it was not uncommon for over half the team members to break their own records or for a school record to be bested. Our team traveled to a meet in Louisiana where several members set initial school records for javelin throwing, not normally a part of Mississippi track and field.

“We are successful because we know that running and jumping and throwing just to break a record is meaningless if there is no team behind you to encourage and support you.” — Hannah Halford 48

{sports} Zack Weber throws the heat.

Caroline Womack gets a high five from Coach King as she rounds 3rd.

A Gut Check Halfway Home On the diamond with Davis Woodall ’10 The members of the baseball team stood in a huddle on a cold spring day in Mobile, Alabama. The bleak weather mirrored our mood, as we had just lost our third game of a five-day spring break trip to the coast. This particular loss marked the halfway point of the season, and at that point, it also marked a losing record.

The baseball program at St. Andrew’s has a tradition of winning, commemorated on the side of the concession stand where the division championships and South State championships are listed. But this year, St. Andrew’s moved into the larger, more competitive Division 3A classification. Add the fact that we lost all but two starters from the previous year’s South State championship team to graduation, and it’s not surprising that many people gave our team little chance to continue the Saints’ winning tradition.

But as we huddled together in the chilly spring air, Coach Mark Fanning put things into realistic terms for us: up to that point, we had not been playing well enough to expect success, but if we played to the best of our ability, we could still turn things around. That challenge from our coach, coupled with a desire to prove all those who doubted us wrong, fueled the winning fire. We fought hard and earned a second seed spot in the playoffs, eventually being defeated in the second round by the country’s number one team in high school baseball.

Finishing with a record of 18-14 and a fourth consecutive playoff appearance, we had turned our season around.

The 2010 St. Andrew’s baseball team proved that no matter what others believe about you, the only thing that really matters is what you believe you can do.

Tennis State Champions

Boys’ Golf 2nd in the State

Girls’ Golf 2nd in the State

Down But Not Out On the Field with Karissa Bowley, Class of 2011 It’s the middle of the season. Our coach warns us beforehand – not to discourage us, but to show us what we have within our power to gain – that we are the underdogs. We are there to be easy victims for the bigger 5A school. People don’t really expect us to win. We aren’t surprised. We’ve heard this before, and Ridgeland is a well-known team in central Mississippi high school softball. So we prepare to be put to the test.

The first inning is infuriating. A tight but clear play at third is miscalled. My team and our fans are angry, no longer trusting the umps calling the game, and the lucky break sends Ridgeland into a frenzy. One hit after another. Run after run. Inning by inning. We can’t seem to put two hits together. In the fourth inning, the ump fails to call what would have been the third out and the inning stretches on and on. We finally manage to squeeze a runner to home, but she’s called out despite her agile slide under the tag.

By the end of the fourth, we’re down by five. We’re batting once again. We feel disadvantaged, but our frustration only drives us harder to burst out of our lull. One hit sends us cheering and cheering. One hit after another.

Run after run. Inning by inning. Our pride and confidence grow as we watch our teammates rattle the bat and run the bases. The dugout rings with our softball cheers.

By the time the bottom of the seventh rolls around, we have 10 runs to their five.

I don’t remember ever before feeling so much personal pride as I left a softball game. To know that we had persisted despite the fact that nothing was expected of us was incredible. And to be able to say we deserve high expectations in the future was exhilarating.

Girls’ Track 2nd in the State

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Boys’ Track 3rd Place, South State Champions

Lacrosse District Champions 3–2–1

Baseball 18–14

Fast Pitch Softball 19–11

C

lass

notes

please e-mail future class notes to classnotes@gosaints.org.

1985 Adelita Solorzano is a successful hair and make up artist in the film industry. Also a visual artist, Solorzano operates a nonprofit sanctuary for the arts and nature. The website is www.Adelita.tvs.

MiMi Lane Stanley lives in Arlington, Tennessee, and works for NYK Logistics (Americas) Inc. in Cordova. She is married to Patrick Stanley and enjoys kayaking, gardening, sewing, and riding motorcycles, and is a Jeep enthusiast. Stanley and her husband support local farmers and sustainable, organic agricultural practices.

1986 Missy Donaldson’s daughter, Addie, attends St. Andrew’s pre-K3.

1988 David Watkins lives in Los Angeles, where he has worked for the RAND Corporation as a digital media analyst for five years. Additionally, Watkins is a playwright and theater director. He is a founding member and writer at Fierce Backbone, a company dedicated to developing new dramatic works for the stage, and currently serves as the organization’s head of the directors unit. Watkins studied acting in New York at William Esper Studio and directing at Circle Rep Lab, and works as a guest director at California Institute of the Arts. Currently, he is directing the world premiere of Meditations: Eva Hesse opening at Highways Performance Space this fall. Watkin’s direction can also be seen at Theatre of Note in the world premiere of Limitations of Genetic Technology by Luis Reyes. To learn more, visit http://meditationsevahesse.com.

Jenny King married Steve Rischling, a high school science teacher and cross-country/track coach at Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in July.

They live in Elizabeth, Colorado, with their children, Shaley (10) and Zayden (5). King teaches United States history at a middle school in Castle Rock.

1987 Jessica Sweeney-Platt works for the Advisory Board Company, which conducts best practice and operational research for hospitals and health systems. As a member of the executive education faculty, Sweeney-Platt travels the country speaking about the potential impact of healthcare reform on the hospital sector. The job took her to Nashville last spring, where she caught up with Anne Jackson Maradik ’87. Jessica also visited Misty Wakeland Mon- Devin Ryan Tournillon and her family moved to Manderoe ’87 on her last trip to Jackson. ville, Louisiana, last summer. Tournillon and her husband,

Tour de Clark Weary of a job that had become more stressful than rewarding, Matt Clark ’93 submitted his resignation, moved out of his apartment, sold or stored all of his worldly belongings, and embarked on a cross-country odyssey. Clark rode his bicycle from San Diego, California, to New York, New York. • Clark’s adventures on the road included being chased by packs of dogs in Kentucky (including one tenacious mutt who caught a ride by sinking his teeth into Clark’s saddlebag), dodging traffic and a few hurled bottles near Washington, D. C., breaking out in a full body rash following six scorching days without a shower in Kansas, and sleeping off an over-application of anti-itch cream for said rash on a bench in Missouri. Along the way, Clark made new friends (and met a few characters), discovered which areas of rural America are most lacking in cell service, and experienced first-hand the ever-changing beauty of the American landscape. • Clark’s biking/camping journey took three months and one week, including a few breaks from the road to rest and visit with family and friends. Today, Clark is living in Atlanta and applying for positions in the financial information industry, but the lure of the open road is never far away; Clark is quick to say, “I would do it all again.” • For more about Matt Clark’s journey, including the food he ate, the gear he relied on, and the scenery and oddities he encountered on the trip, check out his blog at http://gobike.tumblr.com/.

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Trey, have three children, Jackson (10), Sawyer (6), and GiGi (3). Rivers Hise ’88 and Tournillon are neighbors and their children go to school together. Tournillon is a regional administrator for Nursing Home Psychological Services and works part time as a personal trainer.

1995 Sara Katherine Ott Beckett’s daughter, Eliza Jane, is a kindergartener at St. Andrew’s.

1993 Sharla Bachelder won several awards for her outstanding sales volume at the 2010 RE/MAX Dixie Region Awards Banquet, including the Cooperative Spirit Award from her fellow RE/MAX associates and the Children’s Miracle Network Award for her work with Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital.

Jasmine Singh ’99, Spencer Howell ’99, and Spencer Prater ’99. The couple spent their honeymoon traveling though Southeast Asia. Laura teaches high school English and coaches track at Hume Fogg in Nashville. Chris is a freelance writer.

1996 Jack Allin and his wife, Hailey, welcomed their second child, Sarah Ann, on August 1. Sarah Ann joins big broth1991 Dred Porter is in his seventeenth year working for Mag- er Maury (3). The Allins live in Atlanta, where Jack is an architect with Perkins+Will and Hailey is earning a Th.D. nolia Clipping Service in Ridgeland, Mississippi. in pastoral counseling from Emory University.

Saul Keeton and his family live in Franklin, Tennessee, 1999 outside of Nashville. Keeton is an investment manager for Caroline Evans and Florent de Gantes were married in Health Care REIT, a publicly traded real estate investment New Orleans on December 29, 2009. They met when trust, and his wife, Jan, home schools their children. The Evans was working for McKinsey Consulting in Paris.

Keetons are expecting their fifth child in October.

Evans is a summa cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received 1992 her M.B.A. in May 2001 from Harvard Business School.

Amanda Thames Tucker lives in Atlanta with her husband, Evans plans to return to McKinsey Consulting based in Jody, daughter Kingsley (7), and twin boys Wiley and John Herschel (3). She is a sales representative for French Paper the New Jersey office.

Company and started her own online business in 2002 Chris Louis and Laura Young were married May 29, 2010 selling handmade, heirloom children’s clothing. Her web- at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. St. Andrew’s alumni in the wedsite is www.facebook.com/piecesbytam. ding party included Sarah Rivlin ’99, Anna Lazarus ’99,

Kaylee Dale Harwell

Christian Patrick Gordon

Ava Rose Roland

2000 Sidney Allen was selected to the Mississippi Business Journal’s 2010 Top 40 Under 40. He and his wife, Kristin, live in Ridgeland with their dog, Delta.

Mary Collins Harwell and her husband, James, welcomed a daughter, Kaylee Dale Harwell, born July 2, 2010 and adopted July 15, 2010. Kaylee joins big brother Jack (3).

Emily Rose Evans lives in Nashville, where she is a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt’s Medical ICU. Evans had a successful competition year with her horse in 2009; she was the United States’ eventing adult amateur preliminary rider of the year and was the highest placed amateur in her first international competition.

1994 Emily Allenburger Gordon and her husband, Heath, welcomed a son, Christian Patrick Gordon, on May 29, 2010. Chris joins big brother Andrew (3). Emily is a stay-at-home mom and Heath is a neuropsychologist at the VA Medical Center.

2001 Jay Songcharoen is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Mississippi Medical School, and is engaged to Sharon Hong, a fourth-year medical student at University of South Alabama in Mobile. The couple will marry next spring and begin their residencies shortly afterward.

Jordan Cole is a crude oil representative in Denver, Colorado. He and his fiancé, Emily Wildey, are planning a July 2011 wedding in Aspen.

Leah Hegwood Roland and her husband, Malcolm, welcomed 2002 their third child, Ava Rose Roland, Debow Alexander is an artist living in New Orleans. Her on December 13, 2009. She joins pet portraits are shown in various galleries around the French Quarter. Her website is www.debowalexander.com. siblings Jenna (7) and Eli (4).

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{class notes}

Emily Almas lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Chelsea Taylor married Kevin Freeman on August 7, 2010 works in Boston, where she is assistant director of admis- at the Mississippi Craft Center. St. Andrew’s alumni Jessica Singh ’02 and Jane Tarver ’02 served as bridesmaids. sions for Northeastern University School of Law. Taylor is the director of after school care and a first grade Tina Heitmann graduated from Millsaps College with teaching assistant at St. Andrew’s. a master’s degree in business administration. While at Millsaps, she served as a graduate member of the Honor Meriwether Wofford married Chris Truckner on July Council and completed a finance internship with the 31, 2010 at St. James Episcopal Church. The bridal nuclear division of Entergy. Prior to pursuing her gradu- party included St. Andrew’s alumni Taylor Wofford ’98 ate degree, Heitmann spent two years working in the edi- (maid of honor), Alden Wofford ’06 (maid of honor), Caldwell Collins Israel ’01, and Trey Wofford ’01. Chris torial department of Southern Living magazine. and Meriwether live in Memphis where she is a middle Eli Lazarus is in his final year at Yale Law School. Over school teacher. the summer, he worked in San Francisco with the Gibson 2003 Dunn law firm, including work on the lawsuit to overRachel Allen accepted a position with Politicap, LLC, turn California’s Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage. He a political financial consulting firm based in Madison, has also worked with Condoleezza Rice at her consulting Mississippi. Prior to accepting this role, she spent two firm, The RiceHadley Group. years at Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC in their government relations department. Allen has previous experience in politics as scheduler for Governor Haley Barbour’s successful re-election campaign in 2007 and as an intern for the Stevens and Schrieffer Group in Washington, D.C.

Anna Marsh Selby graduated from Millsaps College in 2006 with a degree in elementary education and a minor in English studies. She taught fifth grade at Northshore Elementary while she earned her master’s in education and graduated magna cum laude from Mississippi College.

Continuing her education and working full time, she will receive the master’s of science in marriage and family counseling next year. Selby received the Charles M. Scott scholarship awarded by Mississippi College and the Mississippi Counseling Association. She was offered a fellowship at Grace Christian Counseling Center in Vicksburg, and upon completion of this internship, plans to pursue a doctoral degree in family counseling and psychology. Selby and her husband, David, live in the Belhaven neighborhood in Jackson. Selby teaches Sunday school at St. James Episcopal Church and is a member of CARA (Community Animal Rescue and Adoption) board of directors as well as the St. Andrew’s Alumni Board.

Jordan Hailey Bryan earned a degree in business management from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2007. Upon graduation, Jordan spent two years in New York working for Goldman Sachs. She and her husband, Chase Bryan ’01, moved back to Jackson in 2009 and she began the M.B.A. program at Millsaps College. While in school, Jordan worked for Watkins & Eager PLLC. Bryan graduated in May and accepted a position as a personal lines producer at Ross & Yerger.

Candace Deer earned a J.D. from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. She sat for the Alabama Bar in July and is currently studying for the Mississippi Bar, which she will take in February.

There’s an App for That Ben Johnson ’07 is a senior at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, but he’s already well on his way to a successful career in mobile software design. As a sophomore at Bowdoin, Johnson was offered a summer fellowship learning how to program for the iPhone. His first project was the Bowdoin Dining iPhone Application, which allows students to check the menus in the campus dining halls from their mobile devices. Next, Johnson developed the Mangia Bene Restaurant App, which put menus, news, and specials for Jackson restaurants Bravo!, Broad Street, and Sal and Mookie’s on iPhones. The buzz was immediate. Johnson’s Mangia Bene app has been downloaded more than 5,000 times, and he has since been contacted by numerous businesses interested in contracting with him to develop their own custom applications. • In response to the demand, Johnson formed his own mobile software company, EBJApps LLC (www.EBJApps.com). Projects currently in the works include apps for tire dealers, restaurants, and a version of the Mangia Bene application for the Google Android operating system. Johnson will graduate from Bowdoin in May and hopes to build a long-term career on his early successes.

• “As far as where I’ll end up, in this field, all I need is a computer and an internet connection and I’m set.”

52

{class notes}

Alan Landrum graduated from Millsaps College with undergraduate and master’s degrees in accounting. While at Millsaps, he was an undergraduate member of Beta Alpha Psi, accounting honorary society; Beta Gamma Sigma, international business honorary society; and received the Most Outstanding Accountant Award. Landrum is studying for the CPA exam and will begin working for BKD in September.

Marty Hitt

Marty Hitt married Matt Kelly on July 24, 2010 at Northminster Baptist Church. The bridal party included St. Andrew’s alumni Maria Poole Madden ’03 (matron of honor), Megan Hitt Mayhan ’98, Rachel Allen ’03, Tina Heitmann ’02, and Kevin Malphurs ’01. Hitt teaches eighth grade English at St. Andrew’s. Pictured front row: Meriwether Wofford Truckner ’02, Elizabeth Leake Keckler ’03, Ashley Wells Hullender ’03, Rachel Allen ’03 and Nancy Winkelmann Clark ’03. Second row: Meghan Hitt Mayhan ’98, Nicholas Clark ’01, Emily Jones ’00, Maria Poole Madden ’03, Lane Walton ’03, Marty Hitt Kelly ’03, Tina Heitmann ’02, Mary Robinson ’03 and Kevin Malphurs ’01.

2006 Caitlin Clarke graduated from the University of Mississippi with bachelor’s degrees in international studies and Spanish. Caitlin is engaged to be married in April 2011.

2007 Ben Johnson started a mobile software company, EBJApps LLC. The website is www.ebjapps.com

David Marsh is a psychology major at the University of Alabama. He was recently inducted into the JASON’S, which was founded in 1914 and remains the university’s most prestigious honor society. Marsh is president of Beta Lane Walton lives in Jackson, where for the past three years Theta Pi fraternity and also serves as vice-president and she taught first grade at McLeod Elementary School. She as a member of the judicial board for the intra-fraternijust began her first year teaching third grade at McCleod. ty council. He has been a member of the Student Government Association and is director of Crimson Watch, 2004 which required one semester of training with the TusPeter Clark is in the Florida Keys working as a photogracaloosa Police Department. Crimson Watch oversees pher and graphic designer at the Dolphin Research Center security of off campus communities. Marsh is on the (where the original movie “Flipper” was filmed) and as a executive board for the St. Jude’s Foundation at the unifreelance photographer. versity and was inducted to the Order of Omega. Marsh Carrie Menist earned a master’s degree in speech-language organized a school supply drive for the children in El pathology from the University of Memphis. Menist is liv- Tigre, Honduras. ing in Nashville and working as a speech-language patholAmber Pierson graduated summa cum laude from Tougaloo ogist in the Metro Nashville Schools.

College in May 2010. She attends Georgia State Univer2005 sity in the master of music vocal performance program.

Catherine Schmidt married Lloyd Spivey Gray, Jr. of Pierson is engaged to be married in June 2011.

Tupelo on July 17, 2010 at the Duncan M. Gray Episco2009 pal Camp and Conference Center. They were both English majors at Millsaps College. Gray teaches sixth grade Vishal Patel attends Temple University in Philadelphia, writing at Byhalia Middle School through the Mississippi where he is majoring in biology and minoring in Italian.

Teacher Corps.

Patel studied abroad in Rome this summer.

In Memory of James Herman Hines, 1914–2010 The St. Andrew’s community was saddened by the loss of James Herman Hines, grandfather to St. Andrew’s alumnae Annie Mabus and Elisabeth Mabus and a loyal friend and supporter of the school. He enjoyed a long career with Deposit Guaranty Bank, retiring in 1979 as chairman of the board and CEO, and was an active community leader and volunteer. • “Mr. Hines made a generous pledge every year to the St. Andrew’s Annual Fund,” says Frances Jean Neely, director of annual giving. “He would call and tell me he was old and not to send him any reminders, but that if he were still living in June he would send his check. He was a sweet man with a wonderful sense of humor.

Our school community will miss him, and I know I’ll miss the smile he gave me every year when he called.”

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{class notes}

The ties that bind The class of 2010 included 45 members with siblings or parents who are alumni or current members of the board of trustees, Patron Saints, corporation, or faculty and staff.

An amazing 65% of the class claims a tie to St. Andrew’s.

Lillie Floyd ’10, Nell Floyd ’74 and Maggie Floyd ’08

Neal Ryan ’10 and Heath Hash ’05

Elly Jackson ’10 and Roxann Jackson ’06

Avinash Gulanikar (trustee) and Aditya Gulanikar ’10

Amelia Senter ’10 and Corbett Senter ’08

Emily Rose Evans ’03, Angela Evans ’10, Ellie Evans ’00 and Donna Evans (corporation)

Becci Jacobs ’10, Seth Jacobs ’03, Debra Jacobs ’76 and Michael Jacobs ’06

Rhea Kay Rowe ’10 and Rance Rowe ’07

Alexandra Jones ’10 and Spencer Jones ’07

John Magruder Sullivan ’10 and Stacy Robinson Sullivan ’82 (faculty)

Ashton Ballard ’07 and Brecken Ballard ’10

Olivia Long ’09 and Kristin Long ’10

Nick Handelman ’07 and Amy Handelman ’10

Mike Waren ’76 and Robert Waren ’10 and Kathy Robinson Waren ’77

Adria Luk ’10 and Benson Luk ’07

Hannah Halford ’10 and Michael Halford ’08

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{class notes}

Leslie Johns Ray ’07 and Cameron Ray ’10

Beth Graham (faculty), Anna Graham ’10 and Carter Graham ’08 (not pictured Forrest Graham ’04)

Ashton King ’10, Burney King (faculty), Hannah Clay King and Hannah King ’78 (faculty)

Betsy McKee (faculty) and Mercer Ann McKee ’10

Jessica Holy ’06, Christina Holy ’10 and Stephanie Scott ’79 (trustee/aunt)

Aubrey Threadgill ’10, Sarah Dabney Threadgill ’08 and Thomas Threadgill ’06

Jerry Goodwin ’70 (faculty) and Charles Henry Goodwin ’10

Jennifer Duddleston Ross ’02 and Daniel Duddleston ’10 (Not pictured: David Duddleston ’06, and Jane Anne Duddleston ’07)

Sarah Sullivan ’10 and Margaret Sullivan ’08

Ouida Holland (faculty) and David Holland ’10

Nick Powell ’08, Martin Powell ’10 and Lauren Powell (faculty)

Cameron McRae ’10, Vaughan McRae ’74 (Patron Saint), Nora Frances McRae (trustee) and Alexander McRae ’10 (Not pictured: Selby McRae ’07 and Douglas McRae ’04)

Stephen Coker ’10 and Anna Katherine Coker ’08

Bennie Jefferson ’09 and Angeline Jefferson ’10

Chris Harth (staff), Luke Harth ’10 and Michelle Harth (faculty)

Jessica Guyton ’95 and Ryan Guyton ’10

Not Pictured: Gavin Fields ’10 and Mark Fields ’08 / Timothy Hopper ’10 and Anna Hopper ’07 / Annie Mabus ’10, Elisabeth Mabus ’08 and Ray Mabus (Patron Saint) / Meredith Parker ’10, Elise Parker ’08 and Kate Parker ’05 / Peyton Randolph ’10, Nash Randolph ’07 and Will Randolph ’05 / Bronwyn Scott McCharen ’10 and Leesa McCharen ’74 / Sonia Tiwari ’10 and Tanya Tiwari ’07 / Robert Waren ’10 and Mike Waren ’76 / Andrew Wise ’10, Laura Young Louis ’99, Charles Young ’02 and Robert Young ’67 Cristina Salaun ’10 and Will Salaun ’09

Greg McMillin ’08, Lauren McMillin ’10 and Lyn McMillin (trustee)

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kcaB gnikooL | Looking Forward Archways catches up with Mr. and Miss St. Andrew’s 1989

Former Mr. St. Andrew’s Peter Fisher

Former Miss St. Andrew’s Pam Franklin

Peter Fisher’s most memorable St. Andrew’s experience unfolded in a ninth grade humanities class and has impacted his life ever since.

“Our teacher took time out from his lecture to tell us that it was prime time to ask dates to homecoming – too early and you look desperate, too late and you look like a cad,” Fisher recalls. “So I raised my hand, turned to my classmate, Paige Ford, and asked her on the spot. She was appropriately embarrassed, as I intended.”

Apparently, Paige got over her embarrassment and Peter’s timing was on the mark. That first date led to many others, and Peter and Paige were married in 2000.

A graduate of Davidson College and the University of Chicago, Peter Fisher is now an equity research analyst with Wellington Management in Boston, Massachusetts, where he manages portfolios of U.S. stocks for pension plans, endowments, and mutual funds. Fisher remembers St. Andrew’s as a place where an atmosphere of support and encouragement was the norm.

“What I most appreciate about St. Andrew’s is that our class was such a mix of interesting, talented, and fundamentally good people,” Fisher says. “Whatever your talents or weaknesses, you could find support, friendship, challenge, and affirmation. Certainly from time to time we were teased or left out, but overall we liked each other and appreciated the range of gifts we found in each other.

Over the years I’ve come to realize that high school for many people resembled Lord of the Flies. I feel so lucky that we had such a different experience.”

Pam Franklin attended Tulane University on a full scholarship and was well on her way to a successful career in banking and finance before realizing she was being called to teach. She went back to school on a second full scholarship from Boston University, where she earned her master’s of education, then graduated from Union University with an education specialist’s degree.

Today, Franklin is touching children’s lives as principal of North Jackson Elementary School.

“Someone once told me, ‘If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans,’” Franklin says. “My plans were to be married at age 24 and have my first child at 26. God laughed long and hard. Although I don’t have children of my own, I have 500+ ‘children’ who greet me every day with big smiles and lots of hugs.”

Franklin credits St. Andrew’s with helping her grow into the well-rounded leader she is today.

“I got to try my hand at so many things in addition to academics – sports, student government, yearbook, and many more,” Franklin says. “I had wonderful teachers who helped me develop critical thinking skills, which I use every day to make decisions with all sorts of implications. I valued – and still value – the interaction with students from different backgrounds. Tolerance and St. Andrew’s go hand-in hand.

“I was also proud to break that ‘first African-American homecoming queen barrier’ so no one else has to think about that,” Franklin continues. “Being a positive role model transcends race and economics. Any one of us can lead or be a positive influence from wherever we are in life.”

Peter Fisher Then • Student Council • Honor Council • Soccer Team • National Merit

Semifinalist • National Honor Society • Hall of Fame

Two children, Annie and Sam

Head Cheerleader Basketball Team Student Council President Cum Laude National Honor Society Adele Franks Medal for Leadership • Hall of Fame

•

• • • • • •

Favorite St. Andrew’s memory: “I wouldn’t have met my wife without St. Andrew’s.

I hate to think what would have become of me had that not happened.”

Equity Research Analyst with Wellington Management • Married to Paige Ford Fisher ’89

Partners with St. Andrew’s to link St. Andrew’s student mentors with children at North Jackson Elementary

Favorite St. Andrew’s memory: “A fellow student, Laura Hodge, wrote a college application essay in which Pam Franklin Now she referred to me as a role • Principal of North Jack- model. I was humbled. son Elementary School You never know how your • Member of the St. Andrew’s Global Studies actions have the power to influence others.”

Advisory Panel

Peter Fisher Now •

•

Pam Franklin Then

First African-American Miss St. Andrew’s • First African-American Homecoming Queen •

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