BB&N Bulletin Spring 2014

Spring 2014

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Inside this issue:

16 Gillian Reny ’13 and Family

Launch Campaign for Trauma Research 20

Rebecca Matchett ’94: The Effortless Designer

22 Bill Bradlee, Jr. ’66 Sheds

Light on Ted Williams

Events Calendar 2014

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May Saturday, May 3 BB&N Circus Lower School Campus Friday, May 9 – Sunday, May 11 Strawberry Night/Reunion Weekend BB&N Upper School Gerry’s Landing Road, Cambridge See www.bbns.org/strawberry for more details.

For a complete listing of School events including athletic games, performances, and exhibitions on campus, please visit the events calendar at: www.bbns.org/calendar.

NOTE TO PARENTS OF ALUMNI/AE: If this Bulletin was sent to your daughter or son and they have updated contact information, please send us their new address and email.

Thank you!

Please send updates to: alumni_programs@bbns.org or Alumni/ae Programs Buckingham Browne & Nichols School 80 Gerry’s Landing Road Cambridge, MA 02138

Spring 2014

Saturday, April 12 Alumni/ae Day of Service Greater Boston Food Bank 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.

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Thursday, April 10 BB&N in New York City The Terrace Club Rockefeller Center 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Letter From the Head 2 Rebecca T. Upham previews the transformative

renovation on tap for BB&N’s Middle School

Community News 4 Celebrating 30 years of Martin Luther King Jr.

Lunches; Varsity Hockey at Fenway Park; Students “slay” in winter musical Assassins; One School One World celebration; Winter sports wrap-up; Spotlight on the Arts; and more

Features 12 Not Your Average Dog Run

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For Caroline Blair-Smith ’89, dogsledding is a way of life

Gillian Reny ’13 Builds on Her Recovery After Marathon Bombing

Alumna and family look to help others with the founding of the Stepping Strong Fund

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The Effortless Designer

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Rebecca Matchett ’94 and her journey to design success

The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams

An interview with Ted Williams’ biographer, Ben Bradlee, Jr. ’66

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From the Archives

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Former Faculty Profile: Ward Ghory

Advancing Our Mission 28 The BB&N Family of Funds; Reunion Profiles;

Child Development Fund; Buckingham Alumnae Legacy; Gift Planning at BB&N

Alumni/ae News & Notes 39 BB&N in Palo Alto 41 BB&N in San Francisco 45 BB&N in Washington, D.C. 49 54

Alumni/Ae Winter Games and Spirit Day

Director of Communications Joe Clifford, Editor Associate Director of Communications Andrew Fletcher, Senior Editor Communications Assistant Bridget Malachowski, Editor Contributing Writers Alex Ablon Joe Clifford Peter DeMarco Andrew Fletcher Liz Kowalczyk Rachel Loughran Andrea Martinez Natalie Ralston Janet Rosen Roger F. Stacey Annie Traub Christina Winters Contributing Editors Sherwood C. Haskins Jr. Natalie Ralston Janet Rosen Alumni/ae News & Notes Andrea Martinez Natalie Ralston Tracy Rosette Katie Small Design & Production Nanci Booth www.nancibooth.com 781-301-1733 Photography/Artwork/Design Susana Bates Cindy Chew Andrew Fletcher Brian Galford Peter Gergely ‘72 Bridget Malachowski Eric Nordberg ’88 Pat Piasecki Andrew Snow Caity Sprague Damian Strohmeyer Vaughn Winchell

Board of Trustees, 2013-2014 Officers Bracebridge Young Jr., Chair Shelly Nemirovsky, Vice Chair Charles A. Brizius, Vice Chair David Randolph Peeler, Treasurer Members J. Stuart Ablon ’88 Deborah Ancona Beth Myers Azano ’95 Jeffrey Barber Agnes Bundy Scanlan Joseph Chung Thomas Dingman Diala Ezzeddine Katie Gayman Mary Beth Gordon Jason P. Hafler ’00 Bob Higgins James P. Honan Andre John ’83 Philip H. Loughlin Jeffrey Moore Erica Gervais Pappendick Jacqueline Stephen ’86 Janet M. Storella ’74 David J. Thompson ’85 Frederica C. Turner ’91 Rebecca T. Upham David Williams ’78 Head of School Rebecca T. Upham Front Cover:

Caroline Blair-Smith ’89 on the trail near Bethel, Maine, with a team of Alaskan huskies from her company, Mornington Crescent Sled Dogs. (photograph by Pat Piasecki) Correction:

In the Fall/Winter 2013 Bulletin, the Homecoming photo on page 45 of Ed Bursk ’50 and Greg Pano ’74 was incorrectly captioned. Bursk’s class year was misidentified as ’61.

Correspondence may be sent to: Office of Alumni/ae Programs (alumni_programs@bbns.org or 617-800-2721) or the Office of Communications (communications@bbns.org or 617-800-2403), 80 Gerry’s Landing Road Cambridge, MA 02138-5512

Milestones

: FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT

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www.bbns.org

A Letter from Head of School Rebecca T. Upham educational legacy, dating back to the late ’40s when it first welcomed the girls of the Buckingham School’s upper grades.

This “next era” vision for the Middle School will include an array of outstanding features, including:

How exciting it is when you can sense a school of such great heritage poised to build the next chapter of its legacy.

Our BB&​​N Middle School stands on the cusp of doing just that.

In its January meeting the Board of Trustees voted to move forward with a transformative renovation project for the Middle School that will launch a new era of learning, teaching, and community building at 80 Sparks Street. The plans will also honor the campus’ 65-year history—dating back to the Buckingham School—of creating an environment that nurtures bustling energy, boundless curiosity, and burgeoning talents behind the unexpected façade of a 19th-century Victorian mansion.

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The board’s approval was delivered emphatically and enthusiastically thanks to two key factors. The first was the trustees’ recognition of the remarkable way in which the project will impact generations of seventh and eighth graders to come. The second factor was the resounding support the School received to reach our $6.9 million initial fundraising goal.

That aggressive goal had been set by the board last year as a requirement for green-lighting the project, and our BB&​​N community stepped up to meet the challenge unequivocally. I’d like to hail three trustees in particular who were front and center in spearheading the efforts of our core fundraising team: Board Chair Brace Young, Vice Chair Shelly Nemirovsky, and Erica Pappendick. They were rock stars. As was every donor, of course.

The most important thing of all is how the new facility will impact the girls and boys who study here. To talk more about that, I turn to our resident expert, Middle School Director Mary Dolbear.

With board approval in hand, it’s been exhilarating for our team to have begun the mission of bringing to fruition this incredible new direction for the Middle School campus. We are absolutely thrilled with what’s taking shape as we work with Austin Architects of Cambridge. They have done a superb job of working with our teachers and listening to the voices of our students, and have come up with a design that rejuvenates and expands the unique, time-tested charms of the Musgrave mansion and Vaillant Wing. Their plan also creates a striking nucleus for the campus in the way it unites the L-shaped buildings at their “knuckle” with a dynamic, light-filled three-story link.

With this work, we will create a new era of growth and innovation at this elegant, quirky campus that boasts such a rich 2

A dramatic upgrade of the Musgrave Building’s lowest level (currently used only for storage), introducing new class- rooms, faculty offices, meeting spaces, and student foyers.

A much stronger connection of outside space to inside space at what will become the terrace-level courtyard and main entrance beneath the shade of 80 Sparks’ majestic twin beech trees (see illustration at right).

Vastly improved pedestrian flow and a host of student centered spaces both small and large, reflecting our belief that “quality of life” for our Middle Schoolers is influenced as much by the “in between” areas as it is by classrooms, studios, and labs.

• Full handicap accessibility throughout the building.

• Significantly upgraded technology infrastructure throughout the building and the integration of spaces that will facilitate technology-enhanced active learning (TEAL)—all part of an environment that will encourage student breakout sessions, small group work, and collaboration.

• A new 2,000-square-foot Learning Commons, which will combine library services with study spaces and TEAL workstations. The Learning Commons is destined to become a hallmark space at the Middle School—the hub of collabora tive teaching and learning at its finest.

“This new facility will be amazing for our kids,” says Mary.

“These kids deserve the kind of space around them that will honor who they are and how they learn. Middle Schoolers respond to what’s around them in really powerful ways. They need community space—places to come together, hang out, and collaborate. But every one of them also needs to feel like there’s a place on this campus that’s ‘just for them.’

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“I think the plans for this renovation will accomplish that spectacularly. The building will put a premium on high-quality community space for sure. But I think our students are going

to love just as much the nooks and crannies that will be integrated beautifully throughout the whole building.

“We can’t wait to see the flow, light, and energy that the renovation will bring to the experience of every single person who studies and teaches here!”

We have started work with the construction management firm Consigli on pre-construction services, a critical phase for the project’s success. This advance work, which we expect to last through the summer, will ultimately pay big dividends on a project such as this one, with its combination of new construction alongside extensive revamping of a 155-year-old building and its 59-and-46year-old additions.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll see several key components of the project come into sharp focus: •

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The project’s final size, scope, and budget will be determined. We engage in this work from a position of strength because the first phase of fundraising was such a booming success. Once the anticipated final costs of the project are decided, we will get to work on the second phase of fundraising to ensure the success of this transformative project.

The precise timeline for the major construction work will be determined. We are evaluating a few options for that start date, ranging between January 2015 and June 2015.

We will decide the optimal “swing space” for our Middle School students and teachers to be located while major construction is taking place.

Certainly, excitement about the wonderful potential of this new space is foremost on our minds these days.

That said, we also acknowledge that these next 12-to-16 months at 80 Sparks Street will be replete with revelations, unexpected surprises, thrills, occasional hiccups and pimples, hair-raising adventures, and phenomenal growth. In other words, pretty much what you would expect in your average day at the Middle School!

I’m looking forward to sharing progress reports about the project with all of you in the coming months.

A proposed exterior view of the renovated Middle School, which will feature a more communal courtyard

A proposed view of the terrace, which highlights the light-filled “knuckle” that will link the buildings together Illustrations courtesy of Austin Architects

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MLK Jr. Luncheon Inspires in its 30th Year This January 20th marked BB&N’s 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Luncheon held at the Upper School. In what has become a proud tradition, students, families, and faculty members from all three campuses gather together every year to celebrate the life and legacy of the civil rights leader.

BB&N’s Director of Multicultural Services Lewis Bryant, a principal founder of the MLK Lunch tradition, spoke to the program’s success and importance.

“The MLK Breakfast (now Luncheon) began 31 years ago as the brainchild of former Upper School Dean of Students Lissa Hodder and myself. Initially we wanted to have an event that would allow the entire community to come together, and remember and pay honor to Dr. King. The breaking bread together was symbolic of a family coming together around the table and having a good meal and meaningful fellowship.

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“Many years, Gospel music has been a part of the program, since this music was the inspiration and backbone of the movement. Dr. King was a follower of Jesus Christ and gained much of his inspiration from Jesus’ teachings of ‘brotherly love’ and ‘love thy neighbor as thyself,’ along with gaining inspiration and ideas from Gandhi’s movement in India to end British rule and tyranny.

“For the first 15 years the speaker was always a black parent; we then opened it up to parents of color, and alums. I think this tradition is something that has made the event so special because we were able to hear from one of our own. Student speeches and performances have always been an integral part of the program as well, which is significant because it has allowed our students to have a voice and to share their experiences. Participation has been from students of all backgrounds in keeping with Dr. King’s vision of an integrated society.

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“The event occurs in the middle of the year, which allows us as a community to stop and think about Dr. King’s vision and how close BB&N is, and has come, to making that vision a reality. Dr. King inspires me to do the work that I do, and my hope is that the MLK Lunch, along with other events that take place on each campus to honor Dr. King and his legacy, will inspire others as well.”

PICTURED x 1 x Alexander Berhane ’21 addresses the audience at this year’s MLK Luncheon x 2 x Director of Multicultural Services Lewis Bryant at the third MLK Brunch in 1987 x 3 x A gospel performance from 2008 x 4 x Rachael Splaine Rollins ’89, Lewis Bryant, and Head of School Rebecca T. Upham at the 2002 brunch x 5 x Isis Kayiga ’08 speaks at the 2008 gathering

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Community News Upper School Actors Tackle Dark Themes in Assassins This winter’s Upper School musical was Assassins, based on the book by John Weidman with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story, which opens at a carnival in front of a target-shooting game, follows nine infamous successful and unsuccessful assassins throughout history. The Proprietor of the shooting game entices each of them to play, promising that their problems will be solved by killing a president.

Although the subject matter is dark, the music is lighthearted and its style reflects the popular music of the eras depicted. Each assassin had his/her own reasons for committing their act, but ultimately strived for the American dream, and was frustrated when they realized how unobtainable that was. They believe someone should be to blame for this and that killing the president will somehow make things better, yet did not consider the consequences. The bottom line: in just a minute you can change the world forever.

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PICTURED x 1 x Sophie Attie ’16, Rebecca Jarrell ’15, Tajwar Ahad ’16, and Adria Alexander ’16 x 2 x Alex Medzorian ’15, Tynan Friend ’15, and Deven Catalano ’15 x 3 x Maxine Phoenix ’14, Rosie Meyer ’14, and Andrew Schneider ’14 x 4 x A dramatic scene from Assassins

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PICTURED x 1 x Wrestling: Tyler Sutherland ’14 puts a move on an opponent x 2 x Squash: Matt Epstein ’14 unleashes a backhand on the squash court x 3 x Boys Basketball: Koby Antwi ’15 splits two defenders en route the hoop x 4 x Girls Basketball: Maeve McNamara ’15 squeezes by a defender x 5 x Girls Hockey: Cara Najjar ’15 threads a pass up ice x 6 x Boys Hockey: Cameron O’Neill ’14 fires on goal x 7 x Fencing: Sophie Sadovnikoff ’15 (right) during a match

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Community News BB&N Winter Sports

BB&N athletes hit the courts and ice again this winter for another fantastic season. See below for some of the highlights.

Co-Ed Varsity Fencing (Boys Record: 12-5; Girls Record: 13-4) •

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This talented team capped off an impressive season by capturing their second consecutive state championship.

In foil, Christine Yao ’14 finished a third consecutive undefeated season on the girls’ side and became state champion for an incredible fourth time.

In saber, Kaleigh Mentzer ’14 also went undefeated on the girls’ side to take first place, and on the boys’ side, Darrith Phan ’15 won first place.

Cup Winners: Danielle Gaudet ’14, Bunnard Phan ’14, Christine Yao ’14

Boys Varsity Basketball (Record: 18-6) •

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With 18 victories and a third-place finish in the ISL, this outstanding team achieved a high-water mark for the boys basketball program not seen in the past 20 years.

The squad qualified for the New England Class A Tournament for the first time in nine years and promptly justified their berth by upsetting Choate 65-62 for their first post-season win in 30 years and one of BB&N’s greatest basketball victories ever.

Congratulations to Nick Tarantino ’14, who earned the Navoni Sportsmanship Award as voted by the coaches in the league for the individual displaying sportsmanship, leadership, and character.

All League: Benjamin Crawford ’15, Nick Tarantino ’14 Honorable Mention: Koby Antwi ’15, Nick Jacobs ’15 Cup Winners: Matt Bonazzoli ’14, Nick Tarantino ’14

Boys Varsity Hockey (Record: 15-10-3) •

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This dynamic team began the season with an impressive 10-3-1 start, including a 7-0-1 stretch in which the team captured the St George’s Holiday Tournament and earned a tie in the finals of the BB&N Holiday Showcase.

The team recorded a special 1-0 win at Fenway Park over Brooks as part of the ISL day at Frozen Fenway.

All League: Brien Diffley ’14, Connor Hegarty ’14 Honorable Mention: Chris Butler ’16, RJ Caruso ’14, Bobby Mullins ’14, Cam O’Neill ’14, Cup Winners: Steven Grinsztein ’14, Steven Patalano ’14

Girls Varsity Hockey (Record: 15-10-1) •

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The BB&N girls’ hockey program completed one of its most successful seasons of all time, featuring great camaraderie, effort, and talent as they matched their win total from last year’s fantastic season.

Goalie Katie Burt ’15 capped off a great season with the first-team All-New England goalie award.

All League: Katie Burt ’15, Cara Najjar ’15 Honorable Mention: Jackie Diffley ’15, Bradley Fusco ’15 Cup Winner: Rebecca Moore ’14

Girls Varsity Basketball (Record: 14-11) •

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Success started early for this group by winning the Williston Northampton Holiday Tournament, earning victories over Hopkinton, Brooks, and a thriller over Williston in the finals.

The team finished the year off strong by recording big wins over league rivals St. George’s and Lawrence Academy.

For just the second time in ten years, this team was selected to the Class A New England Prep School tournament, earning the seventh seed and eventually losing to a tough Tabor team.

All League: Courtney Erickson ’14, Lydia Zaleski ’14 Honorable Mention: Annie Barrett ’16, Maeve McNamara ’15 Cup Winner: Allie Cook ’14

Wrestling •

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Although a lack of numbers meant winning dual meets was difficult, quality and effort won out in a dramatic victory over Governor’s Academy for the season highlight.

At the league tournament, Tyler Sutherland ’14 finished fifth at the 132-pound class, Christian Lehner ’14 finished sixth at 138-pound class, and Raiann Rahman ’14 finished sixth at 126-pound class.

Another highlight saw Elliot Eton ’14—longtime manager and videographer for the team—finally make it to the mat this winter to record his first varsity victory after years of injuries.

Cup Winner: Jeremy Grill ’14

Co-Ed Varsity Squash •

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The 2013-14 school year was groundbreaking as it was the first season that the BB&N squash teams were recognized as varsity teams in the ISL. Although neither the boys’ nor girls’ teams won a match during the season, the program finished strong at the New England Championships where the boys finished fourth overall, the girls finished sixth overall, and six players finished in the top three of their draws.

Cup Winners: Jimmy Cochran ’14, Matt Epstein ’14, Cami Fitzgerald ’15, Natalie Madden ’17

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BB&N Celebrates Diversity with One School One World Close to 700 members of the BB&N community gathered at the Nicholas Athletic Center on November 16th for One School One World (OSOW), the School’s celebration of multiculturalism and diversity.

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Held bi-annually, the fourth OSOW highlighted BB&N’s various initiatives, programs, clubs, and curricula. The event also provided a venue for School families to promote understanding of cultures and countries.

The festival featured countless tables of exhibits, 17 “main stage” student performances, and artwork from all three campuses. In addition, BB&N teachers from all three campuses were out in force to show off the student work and the multifaceted activities taking place in their respective classrooms.

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One School One World’s success was due in large part to parent organizer Charmaine Tyler, P’15, to the many parent and student volunteers who put in countless hours to make it happen, and to Lewis Bryant, BB&N’s director of multicultural services.

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x 1 x Jaya Aiyer ’15 performs at One School One World x 2 x Daniel Strodel ’16 and Sihak Lee ’16 man the horns x 3 x Lower School French teacher Soizick Munir, Director of Multicultural Services Lewis Bryant, and Joan Cromwell, P’11, ’14, ’17 x 4 x Athena Chu ’18 (3rd from left) and three members of the Angel Dance Company on the main stage x 5 x Khai Tyler ’15 works some face paint magic on Katja Rankel ‘28 x 6 x Fred Park, father of Aidan ’18 and Rowan ’20, brought down the house with his “Gangnam style” 8

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Community News BB&N Hockey Wins at Fenway Park This January, varsity boys hockey braved frigid temperatures as one of 14 high school teams invited to play a game beneath the Green Monster as part of Citi Frozen Fenway. Hundreds of BB&N supporters braved the bone-chilling conditions as they sat in the 600 Club seats and left field grandstands while watching the Knights defeat their ISL foes, the Brooks Bishops, in a 1-0 shutout.

The Knights’ victory was hard-fought. A goal by Cam O'Neill ’14 midway through the first period gave BB&N a lead it never relinquished as the defense and goalie Steven Grinsztein ’14 stoned Brooks despite 24 shots on goal.

Although not the first time that the Knights have played at Fenway—the girls varsity squad played Thayer to a 6-6 tie in 2010—this latest chapter in BB&N hockey history was still a thrill for everyone involved.

Steven Grinsztein ’14 turns aside a shot under the Fenway lights

Scanlan ’18 Wins Middle School National Geographic Bee Listening to the cheers from students this winter at the 7th annual Middle School National Geographic Bee, one would think they were a spectator at a big-time sporting event. And after watching the event in person, one might agree with that thought.

While eleven 7th and 8th graders, as well as five 6th graders, sat on the stage ready to compete in the bee, their classmates kept the energy level high.

“Go Chloe!” or “C’mon, sixth grade!” could be heard from all corners of the room. Whenever a question was answered correctly, the audience erupted in applause.

The 16 students were tested on their knowledge of global place names and locations to determine a winner who will go on to compete in the statewide competition.

Each of the finalists competed well during the bee, and all five sixth graders impressively made it to the second round. While the final two students, Sophia Scanlan ’18 and Aurash Vatan ‘19 (photographed below), both showed notable chops, it was Scanlan who won in the end when she was able to correctly answer two out of the three championship-round questions.

With her win, Scanlan earned a berth to compete at the state level this April.

PICTURED x 1 x Runner-up Aurash Vatan ’19 and winner Sophia Scanlan ’18 smile after the fun-filled competition x 2 x Vatan ’19 answers a question while other finalists look on

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Alumni/ae Spotlight on the Arts Film • Video • Theater • Photography • Books • Ceramics • Music • Design • Sculpture • Drawing • Painting • Architecture

Sarah Nash Gates ’67, costume designer After 20 years as executive director of the University of Washington’s School of Drama, Sarah will be retiring in June to dedicate herself (again) to costume design. During her dual career she has designed for A Contemporary Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, Intiman Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pennsylvania Opera Theatre, the Aspen Music Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Opera, Pacific Performance Project, and Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. She also has taught at RBB&B Clown College, was a founding board member of Theatre Puget Sound, and is a current board member for the 5th Avenue Theatre in addition to being one of City Arts Magazine’s Culture Makers for 2011. Her most recent work was in the 5th Avenue Theatre’s winter production of Oliver!.

You may view an interview with Sarah from 1996 where she talks about her interest in costume design having its beginnings in high school at the Buckingham School. www.youtube.com/ watch?v=iEuquyeGqJA You may also read all about her work on the Oliver! production. cityartsonline.com/articles/insideoliver-costuming-big-budget-musical

Emma Raynes ’00, photographer, Magnum Foundation Program Director Former faculty Marky Kauffmann has informed us of Emma Raynes’ meteoric rise in the photo industry. She was named one of the most influential people in the field of photography

by Photo District News Magazine, one of the most prominent photo magazines in America. In a recent conversation with Marky, Emma described all the amazing things she is working on—funding documentary photographers from around the globe who are doing projects about everything from urban gardens in Chicago to the Cambodian diaspora—such compelling stories. Emma’s role is to support a network of independent photographers who are covering critical underreported issues all over the world. Her current work is invested in running programs that advance the field of documentary photography from grant-making, to mentoring regional photographers from outside western Europe and the U.S., to designing innovation labs for photographers to learn new approaches and strategies in the emerging digital terrain. This fall, she curated and produced an exhibition that draws from the work of many of the photographers supported through the Magnum Foundation’s Emergency Fund. The installation traveled to China, where she was invited to be a guest curator and speaker at a festival in Lishui, Zhejiang province, near Wenzhou.

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You may read the Photo District News story naming Emma one of the most influential people in photography here: digitalmag.pdnonline.com/ pdnonline/201212?pg=40#pg40 Learn more about the projects and see photo essays supported by the Magnum Foundation under Emma’s direction: magnumfoundation.org/emergencyfund Michelle Icard ’90, author Middle School Makeover is a guide for parents and educators to help the tweens in their lives navigate the socially fraught hallways, gyms, and cafeterias of middle school. The book helps parents, teachers, and other adults in middle school settings to understand the social dilemmas and other issues that kids today face. Author Michelle Icard covers a large range of topics, beginning with helping us understand what is happening in the brains of tweens and how neurological development affects decision-making and questions around identity. She also addresses social media, dating, and peer exclusion. Using both recent research and her personal, extensive experience working with middle-school-aged kids and their parents, Icard offers readers concrete and practical advice for guiding children through this chaotic developmental stage while also building their confidence. www.michelleinthemiddle.com

PICTURED x 1 & 2 x Scene from 5th Avenue Theater’s production of Oliver! with Sarah Nash Gates ’67 as costume designer x 3 x Gates’ costume design sketch for Artful Dodger x 4 x Exhibit for the Magnum Foundation’s Emergency Fund program in China, curated and produced by Emma Raynes ’00 x 5 x Sim Chi Yin (VII Mentor Program/Magnum Foundation Human Rights Fellow) installation, called Rat Tribe, about migrant workers who live in small basement apartments under Beijing, produced by Emma Raynes ’00 x 6 x Middle School Makeover: Improving the Way You and Your Child Experience the Middle School Years, by Michelle Icard ’90

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Caroline Blair-Smith ’89 with one of her 22 Alaskan huskies, 13-year-old Panda 12

For Caroline Blair-Smith ’89, dogsledding is a way of life •••

by Peter DeMarco

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The late-afternoon sun peeks through a forest of northern Maine pine trees as Caroline Blair-Smith glides her sled past a still, snow-covered lake. Her team—seven Alaskan huskies, led by a white female named Tilli—pant in the cold air, tugging methodically as their paws pitter-patter against the white earth. As the sled’s rails break through the iced-over snow, it crackles like burning wood.

Every once in a while, Blair-Smith ’89 will yell “Gee!”for her dogs to turn right, or “Haw!” for them to turn left. Otherwise, the miles pass without another sound. It’s hard to imagine a greater sense of peacefulness, and easy to see why Blair-Smith fell in love with this sport—dogsledding—more than 20 years ago.

But it’s not always so quiet in the deep woods of Maine. Turn your car off the dirt road just outside Bethel that leads to Blair-Smith’s kennel, Mornington Crescent Sled Dogs, and you’ll be greeted by more barking than you’ve heard in your life. Alaskan huskies are a very friendly breed, and when 22 of them race to the edges of wired pens to say hello, it’s an attention-getting frenzy. That’s nothing compared to what comes next, however.

The dogs know only a handful will be picked for today’s run, so when Blair-Smith enters the main pen to start choosing her team, whimpering ensues. There’s wailing, even louder barking, and lots of pushing to get to the front of the line. A few dogs bolt out the opened fence gate, quickly hauled back in by their collars.

Only after the final dog is picked, and Blair-Smith closes the gate for good, does the barking die off and the pleading end. The entire pen turns remarkably silent, with glum, longing stares on every dog’s face. The disappointment is palpable.

“It hurts a little bit, doesn’t it,” Blair-Smith says, conditioned, but not hardened, to the dogs’ reaction. “They’re born to pull. Panda, in this pen, is about to turn 14. He’s been retired for three years, but he still comes to the gate and offers to run. He can’t do it, but he’s offering. Right, Panda bear?”

The large, fluffy dog raises a paw to the pen’s fence, on which a clearly facetious “No Begging” sign hangs.

Long before Blair-Smith became a “musher”—the proper lingo for a dogsledder—she was a kid growing up in Cambridge with a couple of Golden Retrievers running around the backyard. She never tied a plastic sled to her Goldens’ backs, but she did put them to work.

“A friend of mine at BB&N had this Labrador and his dad used to hunt ducks with him,” she says. “He showed me how to train a dog to chase a dummy, so I started doing that with the Goldens. My lovable, sweet pets suddenly had a challenge. They had something to think about. They became more alive. I suppose that started my fascination with working dogs.”

She rode a dogsled for the first time while taking an outdoor adventure course in college, witnessing how the sled team reveled in accomplishing a task, just as her Golden Retrievers had. But unlike with hunting, she was as involved as they were, controlling the pace and direction of the run.

Both Blair-Smith and her husband, Andy Bartleet, work for Outward Bound, an international nonprofit that uses wilderness classrooms to build character and leadership skills. Their lives, both professionally and personally, revolve around hiking, camping, and sailing. Dogsledding in the wilds of Maine fits right in.

They adopted their first husky, Schoodic, in 1999, three years after marrying and settling in Albany Township, about 20 minutes from 13

the Sunday River ski resort. Within nine months they had four dogs running around them, enough to form a team. But first, they had to train them.

Dogs have been bred to pull sleds for likely thousands of years. An Alaskan husky can typically pull 100 pounds—often, twice its own weight—for hours without rest.

At their best clip, Blair-Smith’s sled teams cut across the snow at 15 miles per hour, faster than any marathoner could run.

Their instinct to pull couldn’t be stronger. The first thing Blair-Smith does when getting a sled ready for a run is to tie it to a sturdy tree. If she doesn’t, the very first dog she harnesses to her tow line will simply bolt off with the sled when she fetches the next dog. So training, in large part, is about holding that instinct in check.

Dogs are taught to obey verbal commands, of course. But Blair-Smith relies just as much on her sled’s brake pedal, a piece of hard rubber that digs into the ground when stepped on, to set pace.

“There’s no way to explain to these guys, ‘OK, we’re going out all afternoon, or this is a 60-mile race, so cool it.’ So I have to hold them to a speed I know they can keep doing,” she says.

Within a team, sled dogs have varying roles. The lead dogs, which are up front, steer the train, so they must be very obedient to the driver. Wheel dogs run closest to the sled, so they are typically the strongest, as they pull more weight. Put the wrong dog in the wrong position, and you’re going to have a bumpy ride.

Mushing is not all about control, however.

“There are times on the trail when the dogs know better than you do,” Blair-Smith says. “When you’re crossing a river, who’s going to feel that ice first? If you tell them to do something stupid, do you really want them to obey? So a dog with its own opinions is valued.”

For today’s run, Blair-Smith picks an array of older and younger dogs, letting the real workhorses of the kennel rest up for the region’s biggest dogsled race, the 60-mile Can-Am Crown, whose course hugs Maine’s Canadian border. (Their team, helmed

by Andy, will finish in 6 hours and 57 minutes, good for 9th place.) Ask Bartleet about whether he’d like to tackle the Alaskan Iditarod, and his eyes widen with excitement.

But for now, he and Blair-Smith are content with smaller races and their side business offering either day-long, or half-day-long, tours to schools, families, and sight-seers who want to experience mushing for themselves. They’ve had people from as far as Australia make the trek to their kennel for a run. Driving her old Ford pickup to a nearby trail head, Blair-Smith unloads their homemade wooden sled, then helps each dog down from its crate atop the truck, hoisting a few of the more nervous ones onto her shoulders with reassuring praise. Two of the dogs have sensitive feet, so she straps green booties over their paws. When all seven are harnessed, she releases the anchor rope that’s tied to a tree. With a jump, the sled is off.

Wind rushes against your face, and as the dogs’ paws kick flakes into the air, there’s a gentle flurry of snow. You feel a few good tugs, and occasionally a jarring one where the snow pack is uneven. On sharp twists of the trail, you really hang on. But like the animals, you, the passenger, soon acclimate to the rhythm of the run. Like riding a bicycle downhill, you breeze past the world, taking in the beauty of the woods and lakes and mountains around you as all other thoughts fade away. When a dog or two starts snipping at the snow, Blair-Smith knows it’s time for a water break, and stops the sled. Rattle, a goofy, black and white 10-year-old, rolls around in the snow; others sit patiently awaiting the next command, their breath slowly returning to normal. After taking a drink herself, Blair-Smith walks over to her leader, Tilli, to gently ruffle the fur behind her ears and tell her she’s doing fine. Everyone, it seems, is quite content.

“Once you have everything in life you want,” Blair-Smith says, “there’s nothing to bark about.” f

DogSledding 101: A Primer “We talk about going mushing, and we call ourselves mushers. But nobody actually tells their dogs to ‘Mush!’ The saying comes from the days of trapping. The Englishspeaking Canadian trappers heard the French-Canadian speaking trappers tell their dogs ‘marcher’, which means march, or go. They called them mushers, because that’s what their English-speaking ears heard.”

A sled dog team has five positions from front to back: lead dogs, point dogs, swing dogs, team dogs, and wheel dogs. You don’t have to have an even number of dogs, but it helps. Sled teams in the Alaskan Iditarod, a 1,000-mile-plus race, have 16 dogs; recreational rides need about half that number.

Dogs begin training on sleds when they are about 5 months old, reaching their prime years between ages 2 and 8. A sled dog can typically pull 100 pounds for 20-plus miles. A racing team, pulling less weight per dog, can run between 60 and 100 miles in a single day.

Females can contribute to a team as much as males; older dogs actually help train younger ones.

“I taught Schoodic, my first dog, to lead. She taught Panda. He, in turn taught Ceo and Tilli, and they taught others.”

“When sled dogs sense a moose, they do what every dog you’ve ever seen would: they get really excited.

But they are trained to take that primordial burst of adrenaline and go down the trail with it. It’s called a critter surge. Because their sensors are so much better than ours, a rider will probably never know what caused it. It will just feel like someone stomped on the gas.”

Mornington Crescent Sled Dogs www.sledpets.com Photos by Pat Piasecki

15

Gillian Reny ‘13 Builds on her recovery after marathon bombing Family launches fundraising campaign for trauma research

by Liz Kowalczyk

(from The Boston Globe, February 20, 2014)*

When Gillian Reny ’13 arrived at the University of Pennsylvania last August, she longed to be an ordinary freshman. She moved into a dormitory, took psychology and writing courses, and checked out fraternity parties. But it was hard to keep the past at bay.

It was just days before classes began when Reny started walking again—on crutches. Her scars were still healing. And she struggled with how to answer when new acquaintances asked what had happened to her leg. Before long she made close friends on her hall and shared her story: She had nearly lost her right leg in the terrorist attack on Marathon Monday 2013.

In the minutes after Reny, now 19, was whisked into the Brigham and Women’s Hospital trauma unit, doctors were confident they could save her life. They were not so certain they could salvage her mangled leg. For the next few days, that question hung in the balance.

But through a series of fortunate turns and critical medical decisions, the teenager was able to avoid amputation.

Though her rehabilitation is ongoing, and she could require more surgery, Reny rarely needs crutches anymore.

Now, 10 months after two bombs exploded near the finish line, her family has launched a campaign to raise $3 million for trauma research at the hospital, which they hope could help others at risk of losing limbs.

The Renys are jump-starting the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Fund with an undisclosed sum and have formed a team running in this year’s Marathon to help reach the goal. The money will pay for research on limb 16

Steven Reny, Danielle Reny ’11, Gillian Reny ’13, and Audrey Epstein Reny at at the 2013 BB&N Graduation

regeneration and transplantation and on the use of stem cells to regrow damaged bones and skin. Some of the work will be done in collaboration with Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. The fund will also support training for plastic surgeons in repairing traumatic injuries.

“These are things that would help someone like me,’’ Reny said during an interview at her Beacon Hill home this February. “I really feel good about what we are doing.’’

A key in Reny’s recovery, for example, is whether the broken bone in her lower right leg grows back completely to fill in the one- to two-inch section that was blown away. Dr. Mitchel Harris, an orthopedic surgeon at the Brigham, said her bone continues to regenerate, but he wishes it would grow faster. He said developing a medical recipe to speed up bone formation would be “the holy grail, and that is part of what the Renys are supporting in the research lab.’’

Gillian’s parents are executives in their family businesses, she with a real estate development company and he in the printing industry. They have been private about the trauma they experienced last April 15 and exceedingly protective of their injured daughter, but they decided to speak about it to bring attention to their fund.

Gillian was on Boylston Street with her mother, Audrey Epstein Reny, and her father, Steven Reny, waiting for Gillian’s older sister, Danielle ’11, to cross the finish line, when the blasts occurred.

The pressure-cooker bombs shot shrapnel into the crowd near ground level. Sixteen bystanders lost legs; two of them lost both legs. Their limbs were either completely torn away or were clearly too damaged for 17

surgeons to restore without risking their lives. But a small group of additional patients, including Gillian, were in a gray zone.

Awake and in pain, she was among the first wave of patients who arrived at the Brigham in ambulances within 20 minutes of the explosions. A hand-sized chunk of skin, muscle, and bone was missing from her right calf, and shrapnel peppered her left leg.

“I knew from seeing the destruction of my legs that something very serious had happened,’’ she recalled.

Her parents, too, could see that her injury was extensive.

Audrey Reny pleaded with doctors to save the leg, in part because her daughter had been a dancer since she was 3 years old. She had trained with the Boston Ballet and later—during her high school years at Buckingham Browne & Nichols in Cambridge—with the Alvin Ailey dance company and Boston Youth Moves.

Within minutes of her arrival at the hospital, surgeons wheeled Reny into an operating room to stop the bleeding and clean the wound. When plastic surgeon Dr. Eric Halvorson first saw the teenager’s injury, he thought “this person could lose her leg,’’ he recalled in an interview. But when he reached his gloved hands inside the gaping wound, he was amazed to discover that a vital nerve was undamaged, despite the devastation around it.

An imaging test called an arteriogram showed the major blood vessels were also largely intact—a second piece of reassuring news. Still, doctors were concerned about how much calf muscle Reny had lost.

Surgeons brought her back to the operating room the next day and installed a metal rod and screws to hold her fractured tibia together. By the Thursday after the bombing, doctors decided she could withstand the much longer operation to transplant muscle, blood vessels, and skin from her abdomen and thigh to repair the injury.

The timing of the surgery was crucial: It had to be done as soon as doctors were sure the wound was absolutely clean, to prevent infection from an outside source.

Over the next few days, it became clear that blood was flowing through the transplanted vessels and the operation was a success. Audrey Epstein Reny said that she cannot pinpoint the moment she felt her daughter was out of danger of amputation, but that the family grew increasingly hopeful with every day that passed.

Gillian spent several weeks at Spaulding before going home. Awaiting her was another big decision: Penn, which was her first choice for college, had sent Reny an acceptance letter before the Marathon. She was determined to go as planned, but doctors, especially Harris, were very cautious.

18

Lillian Pierce ’13 and Gillian Reny ’13 during procession at BB&N graduation

“The money (for The Stepping Strong Fund) will pay for research on limb regeneration and transplantation and on the use of stem cells to regrow damaged bones and skin.”

“Her parents would ask me, ‘Medically, can she go?’ I would say, ‘Yes,’ ”he recalled. “They would ask, ‘Would you send your own daughter?’ I would say, ‘Doubtful.’ My thoughts were about the incredible amount of pressure and the transition while on crutches and not knowing the status of her limb.’’

But Penn was very accommodating, giving Reny plenty of time to decide and offering a first-floor dorm room close to classes. An appointment in mid-August, during which X-rays showed that her bone continued to grow and strengthen, was the deciding factor.

Reny opted, with her parents’ support, to start college but with a reduced workload—three classes instead of four to leave enough time for physical therapy. Her mom was not surprised she wanted to start school; her daughter has always been determined and hard-working, she said.

“A terrible thing happened to myself and my family, but more and more I wanted to move on from it,’’ Gillian said. Living in another city would also provide relief from the frequent newscasts about

the bombing. Her mother stayed in Philadelphia for most of the first month in case Gillian needed her. There were no emergencies.

Now, Reny has good days and bad ones, when she is in pain. “I can have a great week and then wake up and feel terrible,’’ she said. She walks normally, though she is not dancing. She was planning to continue studying jazz dance in college, but it is unclear whether she will be able to do that.

Imaging tests this week showed her bone continues to grow. In her usual sunny style, Reny wrote in an e-mail, “I wish it had healed entirely by now, but it could have been worse!”

She has settled into school, and those hard conversations with other students about her leg are no longer necessary. “I feel like a normal college freshman,” she said, “which is all I ever wanted.’’ * From The Boston Globe, February 20, 2014. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited.

As they have since the news first broke last April, members of the BB&N community have rallied once again around Gillian Reny ’13 and the Stepping Strong Fund launched by her family at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dozens of BB&N students, parents, and friends will be running in the Boston Athletic Association 5K on April 19 dedicated to the cause. In addition, any member of the BB&N community who wants to contribute to the fund may visit: www.BWHSteppingStrong.org

19

The Effortless

Designer An Interview with TrioFit

Founder Rebecca Matchett ’94

by Christina Winters 1

It’s a brisk cold winter afternoon. Rebecca (Winn) Matchett ’94 has invited me to join her for tea at New York’s renowned Soho House, where she is a member. From her stylish yet relaxed black shift dress to the calm cadence of her speech, Rebecca conveys a striking effortlessness. We are surrounded by the hum of other creatives tapping away on laptops, fielding calls, brainstorming over coffee or lunch at communal tables. Later it won’t surprise me that Rebecca is among this crowd. As she shares the trajectory of her career, I venture on a tour of entrepreneurship and can’t help but enjoy hearing about her unorthodox yet successful ride.

field. With an ironic laugh, Rebecca notes, “Certainly, if I wasn’t so naive about business I would not have done it.”

Naiveté & Unorthodoxy

Chris’ business school alarm bells may have been rung, but it is precisely this anti-formula that Rebecca attributes most for her success. “I am a true believer that the idea is worth more than going about it in the right sort of prescribed way,” she shares. “There’s a reason why many entrepreneurs and really successful business people haven’t been to college or haven’t gone the normal course of business through the corporate world. They gained hands on experience in order to get where they are now.”

For such an entrepreneurial spirit, Rebecca’s early start in New York might seem ironic. Fresh out of UPenn, she describes how she excitedly accepted a job at Grey Advertising because, “I thought working meant being part of that big machine in the city.” But after a couple of years she realized she wanted more freedom. “I worked for P&G on the account management side. It was very prescribed. They knew what worked for them in terms of advertising and we were there to execute.”

At 24, her mom passed away from leukemia. Her early death highlighted the need to make a change; corporate America wasn’t for Rebecca. “My mother came from a family where her father died at a very young age and she decided she was going to be a happy person and created her own reality becoming a lawyer and creating a schedule where she could be part of her family but also have a career that she could call her own.”

In a naive yet mature decision, Rebecca quit Grey without another job lined up but determined to take time to figure out the next phase of her life. Serendipitously, a few weeks later, on a plane to Chicago, she ran into an old college friend, Stacey Bendet. “We decided on that flight that we both wanted to get into ‘fashion.’ We didn’t know what that meant, but that’s what we wanted to do.”

What it meant was the birth of a company, Alice & Olivia. Fittingly, the young women named their business venture after the mothers who had inspired them. Rebecca and Stacey’s early concept was simple: black pants and jeans were the staples that everyone dressed up with a fancy top; but what if they flipped that equation and made, instead, a stylish, textured, colorful, patterned pant?

Rebecca’s move from the business side of advertising to the creative side of fashion was effectively a transition into a completely different

In fact, right around the launch of Alice & Olivia, Rebecca met her husband, Chris Matchett. A Harvard Business School graduate, Chris grew concerned on their second date as she casually told him she was launching a pant company. When she explained that she was using her credit cards to fund it and that she didn’t have a business plan, he balked: “You’ve just answered incorrectly every single question I have!”

Timing & Passion

In 2004, a friend and trained designer, Drew Paluba, approached Rebecca with an idea. This time Rebecca’s transition would be about passion and knowing when to move on.

“I just love being an entrepreneur,” Rebecca gushes. “I love starting new things, growing things from the ground up. So this new challenge was exciting to me.”

Drew’s idea posed formulating a collective conscience around an innovative alternative sizing system. In the past, designers had come up with a custom or semi-custom fit, but Drew and Rebecca agreed people wanted something off the rack and something that would offer more specificity in sizing without requiring an education.

“Alice and Olivia was very trend and fashion focused, and I was much more on the business side of the equation,” Rebecca explains. “This idea of changing an industry standard was really intriguing to me, and an opportunity that doesn’t come around that often.”

After conducting a number of focus groups, the new duo determined that the bust was the trouble area for women. If you are able to fit the chest, for example, you might have to sacrifice something else like the fit of the shoulder. Women were often left with a choice that went like

3

2

this: size up to your bust or size down to your waist— because you can’t have it both ways.

To accommodate a woman’s various sizes and proportions, TrioFit is based on three measurements: chest circumference, cup size, and placement of that cup size on your body. What makes their idea patentable is that the system allows for asymmetric grading.

For example, TrioFit will let a bust measurement grow while a waist measurement stays static or vice versa.

Rebecca and Drew decided that the best way to acquaint consumers with TrioFit was to use a garment as simple and universal as possible: the white blouse.

Until September 2014, they have an exclusive with InStyle Magazine selling three versions of this classic piece.

Ironically, although Rebecca no longer sees herself as a corporate woman, she is designing a staple for that woman. “I relate to the working woman because of my time at Grey,” she acknowledges.

Indeed, Rebecca’s ability to empathize with this demographic makes her passionate about TrioFit’s potential. “Even in the beginning, seeing the reaction of people we were meeting with, saying this is something that would improve my life, this is something that does not exist out there, was really exciting.”

Partnerships & Sports

In getting to know her, Rebecca leaves the impression of an undeniable yin-yang quality. On the one hand, her companies have been fueled by her intensity and passion yet on the other hand she appears genuinely relaxed this Tuesday afternoon, sipping tea, as if she had all the time in the world.

“People are surprised ‘at BB&N’ that I’m in the fashion world because I was such a jock,” Rebecca shares.

“All I wanted to do growing up is play basketball and tennis. Sports gives you the ability to be under

pressure in a competitive situation and to be able to have control over yourself and to execute and have confidence.”

But Rebecca’s effortless demeanor also begs the questions: how does she juggle running a company that aims to revolutionize an industry standard, raise three children under the age of seven, and nurture her marriage without falling apart at the seams? The answer, it turns out, lies in great partnerships.

“One thing I have learned from experience, it’s important for you to have clearly defined roles and responsibilities.” At work, Rebecca explains she and Drew are very supportive of one another’s personal lives. “There isn’t the stress of when exactly I need to be at the office or when I need to get something done.

Drew knows I’ll get it done. So, it’s about trust too.”

And at home there is a sincere synergy in Chris and Rebecca’s relationship. “My husband is the key to it all working. He’s very supportive of my work.”

What’s Next?

With so much accomplished, Rebeccca could slow down, but clearly has other plans. “TrioFit has been used in a plethora of other styles so I don’t see ‘the blouse’ as the end game but it’s the one that makes the most sense as an introduction.” On the horizon, Rebecca hopes to secure the next partnership or licensing deal with a large national or international brand, a company that could use a boost in sales or a knock-out punch for their competition.

She’s come a long way from the airplane ride that started it all, and when asked what her high school self might think of her current self, she pauses. “I think that she would be surprised that I struck out on my own and took the chances that an entrepreneur has to take,” says Rebecca. “And that I had the confidence to do it…to take that leap.” j

CAPTIONS: 1. Designer Rebecca Matchett ’94 2. Three of Matchett’s current TrioFit styles for her line for InStyle Magazine 3. Matchett’s showroom displaying different products and the branding of her Rebecca & Drew line

Tips of the trade “If you just try to go with the trends you will undoubtedly hit upon something that is not right for you. If you find your style and you’re able to fit your body you’ll always look amazing.”

21

Best-Selling Author Ben Bradlee, Jr. ’66 The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams Bulletin: I understand it took you nine or ten years to research this book. Why so long?

Bradlee: Well, this is not just your average biography. This is sort of an epic life. I interviewed more than 600 people and it’s a long book, nearly 800 pages…. I found I was really enjoying the interviewing process and taking the time to follow leads wherever they might go. It was like putting together the pieces of a large puzzle, and it was three or four years before I wrote a word.

Bulletin: Did you ever hit a point in that ten years where you thought, “I’ve taken on too much. It’s time to put this down?”

Bradlee: No, never. That would have been criminal to quit after I had so much invested in it.

Bulletin: There have been other Williams biographies in the past. Why revisit his legacy?

Bradlee: I was obviously mindful of the earlier Williams books. Most of them were done by sports writers who concentrated on celebrating his exploits on the baseball field…. In reading many of the earlier books—including Williams’ own autobiography in 1969—I found that his personal life was wide open.

The earlier books had very little on his really rough childhood.

Growing up in Depression-era San Diego…and the fact that he was Mexican-American fascinated me. No one knew that. His service in two wars, his very colorful love life, his struggles with anger; all of this was really untouched. So, there was plenty new to write about.

Bulletin: The stereotype of Ted Williams seems to be that he was this baseball savant and a warm person in some regards, but had these tempestuous relationships with fans and the media—did you find any reasons behind that dichotomy?

Bradlee: He was probably bipolar, I would guess, before they knew what bipolar was. I think the source of his anger was probably rooted in resentment of his mother who was this sol22

dier in the Salvation Army. She was a real zealot, out until all hours of the night saving souls on the streets of San Diego… but never home for her son and his younger brother. And so Ted and Danny Williams were some of the first latchkey kids.

The father was an alcoholic and absent most of the time, so Williams grew up with a lot of anger.

It was helpful to him on the field because he always said he hit better mad and would manufacture feuds with the baseball writers and go off on a tear and hit…. But the anger was leavened with a sense of kindness. He had a good heart as evidenced chiefly by the work he did with the Jimmy Fund helping sick kids…and also just helping others down on their luck.

Bulletin: Looking at statistics, I’m always intrigued by the fact that Williams missed so much time when he was in the military.

Did you get any sense that he had regret around that?

Bradlee: He certainly did at the time…one of the great games that people play with Williams is trying to project what his final numbers would have been had he not missed nearly five years in the prime of his career—and it was his absolute prime. He probably would have been up around 700 home runs, just shy of 714, and well over 3,000 hits. But you’ve got to remember he wasn’t doing just KP duty or playing service baseball. He was an elite Marine Corps fighter pilot…a top gun. That’s particularly impressive when you compare it with the unfathomable prospect that the modern superstar athlete would serve in one war, never mind two. Can you see A-Rod going to Iraq or Afghanistan?

Bulletin: I like the idea of putting the asterisk next to Barry Bonds for steroid use—maybe we should put a positive asterisk next to Williams for five years in the war during his prime.

Bradlee: Well, my conclusion was that in the long run it enhanced his legacy that he served in these two wars because it gave him a heroic sheen that he otherwise would not have had. Although he didn’t see combat in World War II, he was such a great pilot that he was sent to the Pacific as an instructor. John Glenn told me that Williams was one of the best pilots he had ever seen—they flew together in Korea.

In 2002, after an esteemed 25-year career at The

Boston Globe (11 years as a reporter and 14 as an editor) Ben Bradlee, Jr. ’66 took what he thought would be an 18-month leave of absence to work on a passion project of sorts: a biography of the late baseball legend Ted Williams. Ten years later, with research complete, he finally began writing in earnest what would become the 2013 New York Times and Amazon best seller, and the now authoritative book on “The Kid.” This winter, The Bulletin’s senior editor spoke to Bradlee about his massive undertaking and the author’s thoughts about seeing his labor of love completed.

I was able to track down one of the pilots who was out on the mission when Williams was shot down in Korea…. I interviewed this guy about how he guided Williams back for a safe landing after his plane had lost its radio, its hydraulics, was on fire, and the landing gear wouldn’t come down. He really should have died…but he landed the plane on its belly and walked away.

Bulletin: If you magically had the opportunity to speak to Ted Williams right now, what would you ask him?

Bradlee: That’s a good question. He never talked about his childhood, so I guess I would try to poke and prod a little bit on that. I would also ask him more about why he concealed his Mexican-American heritage. His mother was born in Mexico… and they had family going back there as far back as I could trace. He worried that the prejudice of the day would hurt his baseball career.

One of the first things I did in my reporting was to track down the Mexican side of Williams’ family. I found this very friendly first cousin…and she gathered together a lot of the other cousins. I was struck by how dark their complexions were— and Ted was whiter than I am. So, he had his father’s genes, and no one ever suspected that he was Mexican-American.

His cousins told this very revealing story about the end of 1939, which was his rookie year with the Red Sox, when he set the American League on fire. Ted returned home to San Diego, the conquering hero, and about a hundred of the Mexican side of the clan turned out at the train station to greet him. Ted got off the train, took one look at the hundred relatives and high-tailed it in the other direction…didn’t want to be seen with them, and that still sticks in their craw a little bit.

Bulletin: What was the most difficult obstacle to overcome in your writing and research?

Bradlee: The turning point in the book came when Ted’s two daughters agreed to be interviewed after never speaking with any other reporter before. Unequivocally, they said ‘no’ to me for the first three to four years, but I just persevered and

finally maybe they just took pity on me. That was very revealing and important because I was able to get this inside look at what it was like to grow up with the great Ted Williams—turns out it was pretty difficult.

Bulletin: If Ted Williams were playing today in his prime, what sort of a hitter do you think he’d be?

Bradlee: I still think he’d be terrific. It’s a different game now, particularly with the specialization of relief pitching. He didn’t face that as much, but he was really unique and I still argue, the greatest hitter that ever lived.

Bulletin: I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you a little bit about your time at BB&N. Was there anything that pointed towards being an author?

Bradlee: On the contrary. I was a lousy student. I lived more for sports, and I went to the old Browne & Nichols before it went co-ed. But I still stay in touch with the School, and two of my three kids (Joe ’10 and Anna ’11) went to BB&N. Bulletin: Do you have future plans for other books at this point?

Bradlee: I’m going to certainly write another book. I’m still out there on the road promoting this one, but then I certainly have another book in me. I’m trolling around for the right idea. v 23

FROM THE ARCHIVES BB&N Hockey’s latest trip to Fenway Park (see page 9) got us thinking about the program and how far it has come: from a hole in a field all the way to the home of the Red Sox. The following recollections and photos tell the story.

1902

Browne & Nichols hockey taking place on a makeshift field

The Browne & Nichols hockey team

1933

An outdoor hockey practice

1959

1950s Alumnus Kevin Barbera ’57 checks in with this classic memory from the ’50s: “Ice hockey in the ’50s wasn’t like it is today. The B&N rink in that era was an outdoor rink, really just a depression in the ground somewhere between what is now the Smith Science wing and Edward Field at Franke.

Practice was held anywhere there was a sheet of ice. Usually, Coaches Colby and Denny would drive the team (about 12 players) to somewhere around Rt. 2 and Rt. 128 where it was a bit colder, and practice would be at any open ice surface we could find.

The real making of ‘the men of ice’ was game day and the many tasks that came with it. The boards were about three-feet high, just plain old weathered planks that the team had to put up at game time under the never-ending instructions of superintendent of grounds Mr. Rich.

The ice always seemed to be mush on one side. And then, just before face-off, Mr. Rich would paint in the blue lines with a ‘new-fangled,’ water-based paint concoction.

As a team we would take our ‘beating’ and between periods we would painstakingly scrape the ice (no Zamboni).

We were exhausted, but we won a few. It was a great time; heck, what did we know?”

24

BB&N Hockey: How Far We’ve Come

In 1997, the Bright Hockey Rink was razed and the current Nicholas Athletic Center was constructed, providing the School with a stateof-the-art hockey facility able to accommodate even an NHL team’s needs. In fact, the Edmonton Oilers conducted a practice at the Nicholas Athletic Center this winter while in town to play the Bruins.

1969

Players celebrate after a win at the Bright Hockey Rink

1970s

1997 Girls varsity hockey in the Nicholas Athletic Center

2014

In 1965, the Bright Hockey Rink, a partially covered structure, was built. Like the current Nicholas Athletic Center, the hockey rink served dual purpose as tennis courts in the non-winter seasons. To illustrate this innovative versatility, the first game ever played on the hockey ice was not in fact a hockey game, but a tennis match.

David Williams ’78 paints a portrait of hockey in the ’70s: “The BB&N rink used to be quite different…chain-link fences with green army canvas flapping in the wind. Freezing cold parents huddled in a tiny skate room, no glass and errant pucks heading towards fans on icing clears.

I also remember all the Saturday ‘open hockey’ afternoons where you put on your Jofa Peanut Shell or your Cooper SK-20 (you were special if you had the yellow leather) and dropped the puck for Shinny.

Even as an 8th grader I was asked to compete with the nets down. I remember a few guys from the varsity helping a young player develop and just having a blast. Who can forget Mr. Rogers (father of Campbell ’78 and Hartley Rogers ’76) joining his boys on the ice!

All were welcome on those bright and cold Saturdays.”

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F O R M E R FAC U LT Y P R O F I L E

Since leaving BB&N in 2000, former Upper School Director Ward Ghory has run the University School of Milwaukee and became head of the Harley School in Rochester, New York, at the start of this school year. It has been a career marked by the range and durability of Ghory’s friendships and numerous mentors—one that began, perhaps surprisingly, on a Florida beach.

“My parents invited me to join them in Florida during spring break of my sophomore year at Yale,” recalls Ghory. “At the time, I was reading Kozol’s Death at an Early Age, a jeremiad about racism in the Boston Public Schools in the mid-1960s. Looking out the window at the shanties as I passed the Georgia cotton fields, my feelings started to coalesce: teaching could be a way for me to merge my joy in the life of the mind with my deepening awareness of inequalities in American society.

“So when my Dad asked me, on a walk along the beach, ‘What did I plan to do with my life?’ I told him about my criticisms of my own Jesuit education, about my dismay at the state of public education, and about my ideas for how public schools could be better places for kids to grow and learn.

“My father listened carefully and said flatly when I finished, ‘Ward, I don’t think you should prepare to be a teacher.’ This got my back up. I had spilled my heart to my father, and he was cavalierly dismissing my ideas? Just as I started to go into debate mode, my father continued: ‘Based on your concerns and critiques, I think you should prepare to change the way education is organized in this country.’

With one phrase, he had raised my horizons and affirmed my emerging identity.”

Seeking to synthesize the life of the mind and heart with the call to work on inequality and injustice, Ward spent 13 years in the Cincinnati public schools, first as an English and history teacher, then as founder of a magnet school, a curriculum planner, and an assistant principal, earning a doctorate in curriculum studies along the way. (Characteristically, his thesis advisor at UMass, Bob Sinclair, has become a lifelong friend, with whom he still collaborates.) “I liked the scale of the large Walnut Hills district, but the ‘we take on everybody’ approach has its limitations and takes so much energy,” he observes. When his wife Anne became interested in a job in Boston, Ward found the opening at BB&N and took on his first independent school.

“Ward built on the work of his legendary predecessor Craig Stonestreet ’49 and helped shepherd the not always easy evolution to a more diverse faculty, a more prominent role for women and girls, and an emerging curriculum much more sensitive to multiculturalism and diversity, while simultaneously working to strengthen the school’s academic profile and increase the level of student support,” observes theater teacher Mark Lindberg, still a summer friend of the Ghorys on the Cape. “Throughout his tenure in Cambridge he carried with him a pocket of Southern Ohio decency that kept tolerance, good humor, and a concern for kids central to the motives behind any school decision.”

Former Dean of Students Morgan Mead recalls that “Ward had the trust of faculty, students, and parents and managed to keep track of all these constituencies in the hectic daily life at the Upper School. He would relax anxious parents at the start of a meeting by saying, ‘We have an opportunity here today….’ That would be the tone of the rest of the meeting, too: collaborating on finding solutions for that particular student’s challenges, where Ward saw the possibilities, not just the limitations.”

Among his mentors at BB&N, Ghory cites Al Rossiter, “who patiently shepherded me through my early years as Upper School Director at BB&N,” and Linda Kaufman, “who shared her curriculum and lesson plans and introduced me to serious college preparatory teaching.”

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T he Ac ade mi c Mind of Ward Ghor y b y R o g e r F. S t a c e y , F a c u l t y E m e r i t u s

PICTURED: 1. Ward Ghory, present day. 2. Ghory in 2000 at an Upper School assembly.

He concludes, “I came into my own as an educational leader at BB&N, where I could be myself and lead, but eventually I recalled something my father had said of his own career: ‘Every ten years or so, you should ask yourself if you are doing what you need to be doing.’”

Tom Florsheim, former board chair at The University School of Milwaukee, provides an overview of Ghory’s subsequent accomplishments there: “One of Ward’s legacies, from the capital campaign he led, is our transformed campus, including two large additions and the remodeling of approximately 90 percent of the original buildings. His strategic planning process allowed parents, faculty, and administrators to feel included and to contribute in meaningful ways. Teacher evaluations, in particular, are not always well received, but Ward’s collaborative approach made the implementation of these programs very smooth. I was impressed with Ward’s impeccable integrity and incredible work ethic. He always approached problems in a calm, thoughtful way, resulting in balanced and wise decisions.”

Eventually, in a way his father would have understood, Ward eventually saw his work in Milwaukee as accomplished. “Looking for a new professional challenge, I sought a positive bias towards diversity and inclusion in an accepting community,” he explains.

“Harley has fostered local educational coalitions and created an intentional community based on values, principles, and questions that I share.”

Now, too, mentorship has come full circle. Witness Joe Ghory ’98: “My father is a cultural omnivore. When I was in college, I learned that he was beginning every day with a bike ride, was juggling multiple books and publications, was taking part in a production of Shakespeare, and was learning the guitar. Yet he would never volunteer any of this; each activity would reveal itself in the most benign manner imaginable, typically as a part of some larger multi-faceted insight that would be aimed at helping me to resolve some situation on my own.”

Bill Weary, a former independent school administrator and educational consultant, who has worked with Ward for more than 25 years, cites “his openness to new ideas, possibilities, and questions. I can’t remember his ever getting flapped or bristling, but rather listening, questioning, considering. In Milwaukee, we’d prowl around the city, often through deep snow, looking for a restaurant, usually one serving walleye and also stocked with good pinot noir. Once, waiting for Anne to get out of the Institute of Art and Design, where she taught, we spent an hour or so touring an Asian antique store, and, after dinner, went over to the School for an open house. Always lots of laughter, great and flowing conversation. Harley School’s one lucky outfit!” b

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Advancing Our Mission

The BB&N Family of Funds DIRECT YOUR GIFT THROUGH THE BB&N FAMILY OF FUNDS: Through the BB&N Family of Funds, you can support the part of BB&N that means the most to you. Each year, our School relies on annual contributions to enhance existing offerings, explore new horizons, and remain on the cutting edge of independent school education. You may direct your gift to an area of specific interest within the BB&N Family of Funds (see below) or choose the Area of Greatest Need, providing the School with the flexibility to direct funds where they are needed most. Your gift to the Family of Funds will have a direct and immediate impact on the School.

AREA OF GREATEST NEED Unrestricted support allows the School the flexibility to direct funds where they are needed most.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS Gifts provide funding to support and enhance our exceptional curriculum such as, but not limited to, academic field trips to Boston, Project Oceanology, Camp Hulbert, Bivouac, and Senior Spring Project.

ARTS Gifts support all areas of the arts, including, but not limited to, theater productions, visiting artists, vocal and instrumental groups, costume and set design, and our annual community partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Andrew Tucker Avorn ’04, 10th Reunion Co-Chair Why I love BB&N: I love BB&N because of the enduring friendships we formed there. My best friends are still the friends I made at BB&N, but that doesn’t mean I’m stuck in my high school glory days, yearning to relive the camaraderie of the cafe or the excitement of an acquaintance’s party just one more time. I swear to you, I’ve moved on. That said, even my mom is still friends with the other moms she met when I was at the Lower School. You don’t find that kind of community elsewhere, such as college, grad school, the real world, World of Warcraft, etc. Only at BB&N. Why I am excited to be a Reunion volunteer: Ten years is an important milestone—we have done a lot, but are just getting started. Classmates who we met as filthy, out-of-place children at Bivouac have begun interesting lives as adults, started families, and progressed in their careers. I am looking forward to reconnecting with my classmates whom I haven’t seen for a while and keeping the dream alive with those I have. Who is still at their high school football weight? Who has an attractive new partner?

Who still has hair? I’m excited to see where everyone has ended up and where they are going.

My favorite BB&N memory: Of all the projects at BB&N, writing my Junior Profile with Mr. Stacey was by far the most important for my development as a writer and human being. I wrote about the eccentric proprietor of a luxury hotel for dogs, and one of her employees called her “The Queen Alpha B---- of the Pooch Palace.” I knew right away that I had the perfect title, but I agonized about using such foul–yet accurate–language as part of my profile. I could not conceive of winning a prize in the profile competition, because that would require the Head of the English Department to read the title aloud, with the entire Upper School assembled in the auditorium. After discussing the profile (and title) at length with Mr. Stacey, I decided to go with what was in my heart. I fondly remember hearing Ms. Hamilton’s halting announcement that I’d won a prize for my profile, “The Queen Alpha B-b-b-” and then she said it! Giggling ensued. I shook hands with Ms. Hamilton, hugged Mr. Stacey, and received my prize—a book which still has a treasured place on my book shelf.

Why I hope you’ll join me at Strawberry Night/Reunion Weekend this year: Eating strawberries in a high school gymnasium...what better way to celebrate the impressive achievement of surviving 10 years in the prime of one’s life? If Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion is any guide, our Reunion will be chockfull of magic, nostalgia, and perhaps even romance. If you don’t come, you’ll never know what you missed....

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ATHLETICS Gifts provide funding for our physical education programs along with equipment, field maintenance, uniforms, and travel for athletic teams.

FACULTY SUPPORT Gifts provide opportunities for professional growth and development and ensure that faculty have an opportunity to further their education, attend seminars, and pursue areas of interest.

FINANCIAL AID Annual gifts provide financial assistance to students whose families demonstrate need and would otherwise not be able to attend BB&N.

“My BB&N education changed my life. I give to ensure that the name BB&N continues to be synonymous with intellectual vitality and excellence for Knights past, present, and future.”- Joelinda Coichy ’07 Rachel Kroner Hanselman ’89, P’27 25th Reunion Co-Chair Why I love BB&N: Having spent most of my childhood at BB&N, it always felt like a home away from home, and was a place where I felt both supported and challenged. As a current parent of a BB&N student, I have been delighted and amazed by how hard the School works to encourage teamwork, while still supporting the individuality and interests of each student and letting each child shine. The warmth and enthusiasm of the community is palpable.

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Why I’m excited to be a Reunion volunteer: What’s better than old friends? Connecting with BB&N classmates makes me feel as if no time has passed…everyone still looks 16 to me! I’m SO looking forward to catching up with everyone and annoying them relentlessly until they have no choice but to attend our 25th Reunion.

Some favorite memories of BB&N: Making whale murals with Carter Donovan in the third grade, the sixth grade Greek Festival, Mme. Joseph and her loving and persistent quest to make me a better French student throughout middle school (she believed in me even when I didn’t), the fabulous reading list in Mr. Farber’s English class, volleyball with Coach Jones (‘89 champs!), hanging out in the Green Room between classes and listening to the boys tell bad jokes, and SO many more memories…but now my brain hurts from trying to access the distant past!

Why I hope you’ll join me at Strawberry Night/Reunion Weekend this year: It should be a really fun and festive night and will be a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, relive memories, and see all the exciting changes happening at our School. I do hope everyone can make it!

PICTURED

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x 1 x Andrew Tucker Avorn ’04, far right, with classmates at the 2013 Young Alumni/ae Pub Night x 2 x Rachel Kroner Hanselman ’89, P ’27 with daughter Charlotte ’27 29

Advancing Our Mission

Child Development Fund Brings Timely Topics to BB&N Faculty Sleep, Overachievers, Boys, Digital Communication: These are just a few of the captivating and engaging topics BB&N faculty have discussed at Faculty Enrichment Seminars over the past several years.

Three times a year, faculty from across all campuses have the opportunity to come together in small, informal group seminars to discuss timely issues in our community.

They gain new perspectives, share thoughts about similar challenges, and help each other develop techniques or solutions. This program, which is organized by the Faculty Enrichment Committee, helps to further educate faculty around social-emotional, health, and learning issues in child and adolescent development. Although the format has changed slightly over the years, these seminars continue to provide an opportunity for faculty to grow personally and to strengthen skills that particularly relate to advising and mentoring students in and out of the classroom.

Recent faculty book distribution and reading list The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids

by Alexandra Robbins Smart but Scattered Peg Dawson and Richard Guare Real Boys

by William S. Pollack Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel

by Jean Kilbourne Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media

by Mizuko Ito 7 Things Your Teenager Won’t Tell You and How to Talk About Them Anyway

by Jennifer Marshall Lippincott and Robin M. Deutsch, Ph.D. Talking with Children about Loss

by Maria Trozzi

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This valuable program was created in 1999 and continues to be funded through the generosity of Jerry Avorn and Karen Tucker P’99, ’04, who established the Al Rossiter Child Development Fund to honor the former Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs and Upper School English teacher for his commitment to students and families. As Karen Tucker shares, “The topics that the Al Rossiter Child Development Fund presents to faculty are chosen because they are often under-emphasized in schools at all levels. We’re happy that BB&N has taken the lead in integrating this content into the life of the School on all three campuses in the name of a teacher who understands the importance of non-academic issues in the lives of students and families.”

The Rossiter Child Development Fund provides the resources to further the understanding of child and adolescent development issues by underwriting the cost of bringing speakers and discussion leaders to campus, purchasing a complimentary book on the speaker’s topic for interested faculty members, and funding related professional development opportunities. Recent guest speakers have included Rick Weissbourd, danah boyd, Alexandra Robbins, Cindy Tellingator, and Jean Kilbourne.

Sample Seminar Topics: • Students, School, and Social Media • Supporting Families Faced with Serious Illness • The Overachievers • All Zings Considered: Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention • Messages, Mentoring, and Modeling: Communicating with students about issues of

relationships, sexuality, love, and heartbreak • It Takes a Village: A community approach for promoting resilience in our children • Executive Functioning • Raising Moral, Happy, and High-Achieving Kids: How well–intentioned adults undermine children’s moral and emotional development

“As a teacher I spend time with students enjoying what they can do in the studio. What I have really appreciated about this invaluable Series is that the speakers remind me in helpful ways that the students as individuals have real needs that go beyond what I teach.” - John Norton, US ArtS Department Chair

Buckingham Alumnae: Help Celebrate Your Legacy Earlier this year, all Buckingham alumnae received an advance copy of BB&N’s new Gift Planning materials with a letter announcing a special opportunity for their school to be recognized in the new space at 80 Sparks Street (their former campus) when the Middle School is renovated next year (see page 2 for more details about this exciting project).

As part of the fundraising efforts for the renovation project, several Buckingham alumnae have pledged $100,000 which they hope will be matched by gifts from other Buckingham alumnae between now and June 30, 2014. These gifts will help provide dynamic new spaces for learning and teaching Middle School students well into the future, while celebrating the Buckingham legacy through a special naming opportunity. Gifts to meet this match can be made as an outright gift by check, credit card, or securities; as a future gift through your estate; as well as through other gift planning opportunities described in the new “Creating Your Legacy” brochure.

For more information about the Buckingham Match or the Sparks Street/Middle School Renovation Project, contact Dudley Blodget at 617-800-2787 or dblodget@bbns.org.

Creating Your Legacy: Gift Planning at BB&N As we mark the 40th anniversary of co-education with the coming together of the Buckingham School and Browne & Nichols in 1974 to form BB&N, we also recall the long history of these two academic institutions and the legacies they brought to the “new” school.

The BB&N of today and tomorrow is clearly built upon the traditions and generosity of those who have gone before, and to celebrate this legacy, the School has produced a set of new materials (pictured above) to support its Gift Planning Program. These materials highlight various opportunities for alumni/ae, current and former parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, and friends to create their own legacy at BB&N by providing for the School in their estate plans.

Such provisions include gifts by bequest, charitable gift annuities, gifts through retirement fund assets, charitable remainder and lead trusts, life insurance, and real estate. Those who choose to support BB&N in this way are recognized as members of The Almy Society, BB&N’s legacy society, and may receive the following benefits: • Reduction of capital gains tax on appreciated assets • A charitable income tax deduction • Lifetime income • Removal of assets from your taxable estate • A larger gift to BB&N than might otherwise be possible To receive a copy of the new materials or to request a confidential conversation about whether such a gift arrangement might be right for your individual financial planning needs, contact Janet Rosen at 617-800-2729 or jrosen@bbns.org, or visit BB&N’s gift planning website at bbns.plannedgiving.org.

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6 T hings About BB&N:

Notable Trees on Campus

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[ TWO] The Morse Building Community Tree, an ever-evolving art installation outside of the library, is decorated by BB&N’s youngest learners. The idea was conceived and created by art teacher Maria Lindberg and librarian Lynda Dugas.

[ ONE ] Towering over the old mansion on Sparks Street, with each measuring over 16 feet around, the two massive beech trees anchoring the Middle School side yard are estimated at 200 to 230 years old. (Artwork by Armando Hazaveh ’18)

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[ THREE ] On special anniversaries, Lower and Middle School students tie yellow ribbons around the cherry and dogwood trees that were planted to commemorate the victims from 9/11.

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[ FIVE ] The late maple tree in front of the Upper School fell prey to a famous Senior Prank in 2003 when a group of students calling themselves the “Dirty Dozen” bolted a Honda Civic hatchback around the tree the night before Closing Ceremonies.

[ FOUR ] Although it came down in spring of 2006, the old willow tree that sat at the corner of the Upper School soccer and football fields lives on in memory.

A favorite shady spot for spectators, the tree also served as a good luck charm to girls’ soccer players who would hug it for good luck before games. (Artwork by Pooja Sen ’09)

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[ SIX ] BB&N’s Lower School is home to a rare metasequoia or dawn redwood tree. Thought to be extinct, living specimens were found in central China in the 1940s. Teacher Training Institute Director Bev Malone and Mary Harrison (former Grade 5 teacher) purchased one of the seedlings from the Arnold Arboretum roughly 25 years ago…the result is one of only three dawn redwoods known to exist in the United States.

Ann Imlah Schneider ’51 A Buckingham Education Leads to a Lifetime Career of International Service “When I recently learned about the exciting plans to renovate and upgrade the BB&N Middle School campus, I was reminded of the wonderful years I spent at 80 Sparks Street. I still recall Buckingham’s liberating, caring, and intellectually stimulating education, offering a sense that with some imagination and persistence, we─girls─could think of making a wave or two in the world and could explore whatever unanticipated opportunities came along.

“In our small and nurturing surroundings during those years we were encouraged to ‘think big,’ and as I read about the many paths that BB&N alumni/ae continue to follow in the world, I am delighted to know that this is still the case.”

Schneider clearly made the most of her Buckingham education as she continued her studies at Swarthmore College and then pursued a master’s degree at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts and a Ph.D. at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her professional career over many decades included government service at the U.S. Departments of State and Education, where she was senior program officer for several of the Education Department’s grant programs for international education under Title VI (of the Higher Education Act). Living in Washington, D.C., Dr. Schneider remains active in the field as an international education consultant involved with program evaluations and research on international content in the American higher education curriculum.

Schneider remains grateful for having had the opportunity to complete her secondary education at Buckingham thanks to generous scholarship assistance. She has been a loyal donor to BB&N and a number of years ago she enhanced her support by including BB&N in her will, making her a member of The Almy Society. “This seems to me the very best way to recognize that incalculable debt and the impact that my Buckingham experience has had on my life, and I hope that other alumni/ae will choose to do the same.”

For more information about The Almy Society and opportunities to include BB&N in your estate plans, contact Janet Rosen at 617-800-2729 or jrosen@bbns.org, or visit bbns.plannedgiving.org.

Ann Imlah Schneider ’51 at Goreme’s fairy chimneys, Cappadocia, Turkey, November 2013

Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Worcester, MA Permit No. 2

Buckingham Browne & Nichols School 80 Gerry’s Landing Road Cambridge, MA 02138-5512 www.bbns.org

STRAWBERRY NIGHT/REUNION WEEKEND MAY 9-11, 2014

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.BBNS.ORG/STRAWBERRY