BB&N Bulletin Fall/Winter 2016

Fall/Winter 2016

bulletin

The Uninterrupted Success of ESPN Producer Matt Kelliher ’91

Inside this issue:

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Young Alumni/ae Innovate in the Technology Sphere

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Students Expand their Horizons in Rwanda

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Golden Alumni/ae Luncheon

bulletin Fall/Winter 2016

Events Calendar Fe br u a r y Wednesday, February 1 BB&N in Boston Reception Monday, February 13 BB&N in Los Angeles Reception Tuesday, February 14 BB&N in Los Angeles Luncheon Thursday, February 16 BB&N in San Francisco Reception

Mar c h

Wednesday, March 8 Buckingham Tea Tuesday, March 28 BB&N in Washington, DC Reception

A pr i l Thursday, April 6 BB&N in New York Reception

May Saturday, May 6 BB&N Circus Lower School Campus Friday, May 12-Sunday, May 14 BB&N Strawberry Night & Reunion Weekend BB&N Upper School Campus www.bbns.org/strawberry For a complete listing of School events including athletic games, exhibitions, and performances 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

Letter From the Head

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Head of School Rebecca T. Upham discusses her hopes for BB&N students after a divisive election

Community News 4 Fall Sports Snapshots, Homecoming,

Walker Recognized with Honestas Future Leader Instructorship, New Trustees Named, 64th Annual Bivouac, and more

Features 12 Matt Kelliher ’91

Fifteen years of uninterrupted success as an ESPN producer

Alumni/ae Innovate in 16 Young the Technology Sphere Abhinay Ashutosh ’12, Astrid Chow ’03, and Ross Kukulinski ’05 make their marks in the tech world

24 The Rwandan Connection

Lower School teacher Berhane Zerom broadens perspectives for students through a global initiative to assist the Crimson Academy in Rwanda

Faculty Profile: 30 Former Sharon Hamilton

Advancing Our Mission 32 BB&N Fund Set to Make an Impact,

Senior Parents Kick Off the Year, BB&N 1974 Leadership Society Celebration

Alumni/ae News & Notes 37 Alumni/ae News and Notes 40 Golden Alumni/ae Luncheon

64 BB&N at the Head of the Charles

Director of Communications Joe Clifford, Editor Associate Director of Communications Andrew Fletcher, Senior Editor Communications and Website Coordinator Hadley Kyle, Editor Contributing Writers Morgan Baker ’76 Joe Clifford Cecily Craighill Andrew Fletcher Kelly Fantegrossi Lori Ferguson Janet Rosen Al Rossiter Rebecca T. Upham Audrey Wallace Contributing Editors Cecily Craighill Sherwood C. Haskins Jr. Janet Rosen Tracy Rosette Katie Small Alumni/ae News & Notes Cecily Craighill Tracy Rosette Design & Production Nanci Booth www.nancibooth.com 781-301-1733 Photography/Artwork/Design Sam Abrams Graeme Blackman Andrew Fletcher Dani Grant Sharon Krauss Leah LaRiccia Eric Nordberg ’88 Pravin Pant Shawn Read Joshua Touster Vaughn Winchell Berhane Zerom

Board of Trustees, 2016-2017 Officers Bracebridge Young, Jr., Chair Charles A. Brizius, Vice Chair Shelly Nemirovsky, Vice Chair/Secretary Erica Gervais Pappendick, Vice Chair D. Randolph Peeler, Vice Chair/Treasurer Members Leslie Ahlstrand ’08 Jeff Barber James T. Berylson ’00 Gregory Clark Tim Cohen Diala Ezzeddine Mary Beth Gordon Jason P. Hafler ’00 Bob Higgins Jim Honan Karen J. Kalina ’81 Kay Kane Kenneth W. Lang Peter K. Levitt ’84 Bridget Terry Long Stevie Olson Leslie Riedel Agnes Bundy Scanlan Clay V. Stites Janet M. Storella ’74 David J. Thompson ’85 Frederica C. Turner ’91 Charlotte Wagner Fan Wu ’98 Head of School Rebecca T. Upham Front Cover:

ESPN Producer extraordinaire Matt Kelliher ’91 on the set of the hit show, Pardon the Interruption (Photography by Leah LaRiccia)

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

: FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT

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www.bbns.org

A Letter from Head of School Rebecca T. Upham depth discussion of ideas. And above all, we value kindness and compassion.

It is very important to me that all students feel safe at BB&N. With that goal in mind, I reminded students of what we do not condone.

We do not and will not condone bigotry. Bigotry is a form of intolerance and has no place at our school. We do not and will not condone comments that demean or diminish people. We are a school that values building people up, not putting them down.

We do not and will not condone comments or actions that bait or taunt another for their background, perspective, thoughts, or beliefs. We are a place of thoughtful, vigorous, and rigorous debate, a place to explore different perspectives. We are not, however, and will not become, a place for ideological hand grenades.

In this particularly charged time, there are two things I expect of every member of our BB&N community: (1) Treat everyone with respect; and (2) Ensure that BB&N is a safe place for every single person. This expectation carries with it a shared responsibility to intervene if you see or hear a student being targeted for his or her background or beliefs.

A few days after the election in November, I shared a note with our faculty on all three campuses to thank them for their excellent work and care as they attended to the high emotions and anxiety among our students in the aftermath of the election.

Labeled by people across the political spectrum as the most divisive election our democracy has seen, our job now at BB&N (and elsewhere) is to help our young people move forward with purpose and without fear. More than ever, we need to encourage the building of bridges based on respect, on hearing other perspectives, and on understanding.

The election-night words of President Obama and Presidentelect Trump spoke to this point. President Obama noted that the work in front our nation is “to see each other not simply as Democrats or Republicans but as fellow Americans, and to treat each other with the respect and empathy and kinship that title, ‘American,’ demands.” And President-elect Trump declared, “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division.”

Two days after the election I had joined Upper School Director Geoff Theobald in addressing the students about the postelection landscape. In my comments, I reminded our students that while there is much out there that we can’t control, we do control what’s here at BB&N. All importantly, we are steadfast in our values. These values have served—and will continue to serve—as a compass for our school. Specifically, we value a diverse and inclusive community. We value and respect the identities and perspectives of all. We value the vigorous, in2

We also hear students asking, how does a divided country start to come together? My hope and advice for them is to find something they care about—something that is bigger than oneself, something that helps people or communities, the environment or animals; something that gives voice to the unheard among us or to underappreciated perspectives—and then dive right in.

There is a good deal we can’t control, but there is a great deal we can influence.

My hope is that our school will be a beacon for good, for what building bridges of understanding and intentional respect can look like. At the November 10 assembly, I encouraged our students to show each other what good looks like, to show each other what it means not just to be good but to practice goodness. This is how, I believe, these young people will build a more cohesive nation and a better world. Already we see it happening...in their comments at student gatherings, in postings on the “What’s Happening” online bulletin board, in conversations at lunch tables and recess playgrounds.

As a lifelong educator, I have never been prouder of our profession nor more sure of how critical our work is for the rising generation.

We look forward to helping our students learn how to lend their voices, compassion, and intelligence to make a meaningful difference in their democracy and their world.

“My hope is that our school will be a beacon for good, for what building bridges of understanding and intentional respect can look like.�

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BB&N Shines at Homecoming The weather was perfect and the energy was high at this year’s Homecoming events during the weekend of September 24th. Friday night saw the girls’ varsity soccer and field hockey teams both defeat two strong Newton Country Day sides, 3-0 and 4-0 respectively. The evening was capped by a fast-paced and spirited battle between the BB&N and Belmont Hill boys varsity soccer teams. The game kicked off under the lights on Franke Field in front of a record crowd, and came to a climatic finish when Belmont Hill tied the game 2-2 with seconds left.

The energy carried right over into Saturday as the School prepared for the first varsity football game of the season. The grounds were packed with fans and families enjoying refreshments from the various food trucks and lining up to have their faces painted in the traditional BB&N blue and gold. The day would end with the football team handily beating Tabor Academy 49-14, cross-country runners posting a number of personal records at Fresh Pond, and JV soccer earning a 3-3 draw against a strong Belmont Hill squad.

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Community News

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PICTURED x 1 x Owen Gideon-Murphy ’17 cuts upfield against Tabor Academy. x 2 x Students turned out in force to support their teams. x 3 x Claire Wagner ’17, Josie Fitzgerald ’17, Lauryn Jacobs ’17, and Jenny Herrera ’17 x 4 x Jori Balsam ’19, Kitahna Charles ’19, and Rei Halloran ’19 x 5 x Alumni/ae and students weren’t the only Knights at the festivities. x 6 x Kids of all ages enjoyed the on-site entertainment. x 7 x Boys soccer enjoys a post-game cheer.

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Bob Maginn P’19, ’22, ’23, Zack McLeod ’10, Tammy and Pat McLeod P’08, ’10, ’13, ’16, and Middle School Director Mary Dolbear at Zack’s plaque dedication.

Zack McLeod ‘10 honored at Middle School Motto Assembly The annual Motto Assembly at the Middle School is always a moving and inspiring event at which eighth grade Banner Students address new Middle School students about their own triumphs and failures over the past year. This year’s Banner Recipients (Mehdi Epee-Bounya ’21, Ava Long ’21, Walker Oberg ’21, and Abigail Rabieh ’21) offered personal anecdotes containing great examples of what to do, and sometimes more importantly, what not to do, in order to find success and happiness at 80 Sparks Street.

The Motto Assembly this year had an added level of inspiration as Zack McLeod ’10 was honored for his constant and continued resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity, and the ways in which he exemplifies the School’s motto. Zack suffered a traumatic head injury in 2008 at the beginning of his junior year at BB&N. A plaque in Zack’s honor has been installed in the entryway to the Big Room that reads: “In the face of overwhelming adversity, his persevering faith, joyful spirit, and selfless character continue to inspire the BB&N community and embody the school motto: Honor Scholarship Kindness.”

Seniors Receive Junior Profile Recognition Four BB&N seniors have received top honors in the annual Junior Profile Contest, the final event in the cornerstone English project for all eleventh graders. Deliberating over the summer, a panel of judges— writers and editors outside of BB&N—awarded first prize to Lucas Fried ’17 and honorable mentions to Erica Jarrell ’17, Bayard Eton ’17, and Lexie Massa ’17.

For more than 30 years, the Junior Profile project has challenged students to harness their practiced skills in analytical thinking and writing about literature and apply them to a subject beyond the classroom walls. Over the course of six weeks, through several drafts, and with the ongoing feedback of their teachers, they produce an 8-to10-paged New Yorker-style profile of an interesting person at work.

Speaking for the panel, one judge wrote, “These profiles must juggle a number of elements: setting, process, background, characterization, narrative, and more. The best profiles are able to unify all of these elements and bring a person to life on the page.” When “empathy and craft come together,” the judge continued, the result is “wonderful writing.”

Junior profile winners clockwise from bottom left: Erica Jarrell ’17, Bayard Eton ’17, Lexie Massa ’17, and Lucas Fried ’17.

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In addition to the professions depicted in the prize-winning profiles, others in this year’s pool of outstanding essays include a stringed instrument repairman, a children’s librarian, a theater set carpenter, a symphony orchestra conductor, a doll restorer, and a nail salon owner.

Community News Upper School Theater Tackles the Immortal Bard in Fall Performance

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In a play that was really something, students brought Much Ado About Nothing to life this fall in the Upper School theater. Considered by many to be one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, the show effortlessly explored classic Shakespearian tropes like mistaken identities, love, honor, and humor, much to the delight of the three full-house audiences.

PICTURED x 1 x Thomas Mandile ’17 and Jeremy Tang ’18 x 2 x Josiah Siegel ’17 and Lucy Lyman ’18 x 3 x Josiah Siegel ’17, Emma Condie ’17, Andrew Kellogg-Peeler ’17, and Nick Piccirillo ’17 x 4 x Thomas Mandile ’17, Erica Jarrell ’17, Danny Kutsovsky ’18, Isaac Martin ’18, and Lana Tilke ’19

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64th Annual Bivouac Brings Freshmen and Nature Together

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When nearly everyone has a GPS enabled smartphone, and humanity is only a Facebook update away, true nature can be an elusive notion for students to grasp. Enter BB&N’s annual Bivouac trip; no cell phones allowed!

Living and working among their peers in the wilderness of New Hampshire for 12 days, Bivouac is an initiation of sorts to the ninth grade and an unforgettable piece of the Upper School curriculum.

It’s a chance for teenagers to step away from their comfort zone and discover things they didn’t know about themselves.

The long-running program continues to allow students unique outdoor experiences and the chance to develop skills they wouldn’t necessarily learn in the classroom or at home.

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At Bivouac, students take science classes, learn climbing techniques and tackle ropes courses, explore orienteering, learn about sustainability, and hike in the woods, including the nearby Mt. Monadnock. Some students even opt for a solo trip— spending a night in the woods by themselves.

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x 1 x Mia Bawendi ’20 and Gabriella Lunceford ’20 x 2 x Claire Zhang ’20 and Eve Fantozzi ’20 x 3 x Ranch Kimball ’20 and Julian Li ’20 x 4 x Jayanth Uppaluri ’20, Myles Nadeau-Davis ’20, and Nicolas Kolbas ’20 x 5 x Sammy Malignaggi ’20 and Alfie Rudnick ’20 x 6 x Caleb Mansbach ’20, Vivien Keravuori ’20, Whitney Janes ’20, Matt Kryzak ’20, and Jordan Burton ’20

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Community News

New Trustees Named for 2016-2017 Tim Cohen P’18, ’23 • Tim resides in Lexington with wife Christina, daughter Kaitlyn ’18, and son Matt ’23.

• He is the Chief Investment Officer for the Equities Division of Fidelity Investments.

• At Fidelity, Tim has also served as Director of Research of Fidelity’s High Yield Division as well as a portfolio manager and research analyst.

Kay Kane P’14, ’17 • Kay lives in Newton with her husband David, and daughters Michaela ’14 and Cassandra ’17.

• She is the President of the BB&N Parents’ Association, having served as the 2015-2016 Executive Board Vice President.

• Kay has also served as the All-School Arts Co-Chair, US Theater Liaison, and as a grade representative.

• Kay is a practicing dermatologist.

Bridget Terry Long P’26, ’28 • Bridget resides in Boston with her husband Carl, and sons Finley ’27 and Calvin ’29.

• She is the Saris Professor of Education and Economics and the Academic Dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

• Bridget has served as an advisor to the College Board, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, American Council on Education, Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, and the I Have a Dream Foundation.

• She was the Co-Chair of BB&N’s Financial Aid Summit and has been a grade representative.

Stephen Olson • Stevie is a BB&N Grade Six Social Studies and Homeroom Teacher.

• He serves as the Co-Chair of the Lower School Diversity Steering Committee, the Co-Chair of the Lower School Social Studies Curriculum Review, and is a member of the BB&N Global Competency Committee.

• Prior to joining BB&N, Stevie taught English to grades 9-12 at the Sandia Preparatory School in Albuquerque, NM. There he also taught sixth grade math and seventh grade English, and was the boys basketball and soccer coach.

Leslie Riedel P’15, ’18, ’26, ’28 • Leslie resides in West Newton with husband Scott Friend. She is the mother to Benjamin ’27, Gemma ’29, and is step-parent to Olivia ’19 and Tynan ’15.

• She sits on the Board of Directors for Summer Search, a national college success organization working to close the opportunity gap for low-income students.

• Leslie is a member of the 2016-2017 PA Executive Board as a LS Assistant VP, and is the Co-Chair of the LS Parents for Racial Equity (PRE). She has been a grade representative, a BB&N Fund volunteer, and an admission tour guide.

From left: Leslie Riedel P’15, ’18, ’26, ’28, Tim Cohen P’18, ’23, Kay Kane P’14, ’17, Stevie Olson, and Bridget Terry Long P’26, ’28

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BB&N Fall Athletic Snapshots It was a succesful fall season for the Knights, with three teams (football, field hockey, and girls soccer) advancing to postseason action.

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PICTURED

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x 1 x Brett McAllister ’18 puts the pressure on an opposing quarterback. x 2 x Shannon Griffin ’17 cuts past a defender. x 3 x Giovanna Cima ’19 follows through on a clear. x 4 x Lauren Yun ’19 prepares to receive a serve while Carly Newel ’18 anticipates the play. x 5 x Joshua Kim ’18 elevates for a header. x 6 x Girls Cross Country captains present Director of Athletics Carolyn Polley with the team’s 2nd place ISL Championships plaque and 3rd place Division 2 plaque. (L-R: Carolyn Polley, Natalie Madden ’17, Isabella Kennedy ’18, and Sophia Scanlan ’18) x 7 x The Boys Cross Country squad

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Community News Walker Recognized with Honestas Future Leader Instructorship Head of School Rebecca T. Upham announced in October that Josh Walker, Upper School Russian teacher, has been named the latest recipient of the Honestas Future Leader Instructorship.

Walker succeeds the first Honestas appointee, Rachel Riemer, US Science Department Chair, whose three-year term ended last June. An endowed position funded by parents of the Class of 2013, the Honestas Future Leader Instructorship recognizes the special contributions that promising early and mid-career faculty have made to the School community, their academic accomplishments, exceptional leadership both in and out of the classroom, and evidence of personal growth.

Walker joined BB&N in September 2011, becoming only the fourth teacher of Russian during 59 years of offering the program. Those three predecessors—George Deptula, Armen Dedekian, and Willa Chamberlain—all were highly esteemed faculty members who helped secure BB&N’s worldwide reputation as a pioneer of critical languages instruction, and who also helped forge meaningful partnerships with schools in Russia.

Walker inherited that mantle with confidence and poise. Over the past five years he has not only continued the longstanding legacy of excellence in BB&N’s Russian program, but his built upon it as well. Walker is recognized by his peers for holding his students to high academic standards, while still building a remarkable rapport with them—an essential skill in a subject such as Russian, in which the same students return to his classroom each fall. Under his tutelage, students have earned multiple awards from the American Council of Teachers of Russian as well as other competitions, and Walker himself was also recognized by the ACTR in 2014 for his excellent work.

In her announcement to the Board of Trustees, Upham stressed the intangibles that Walker has contributed to the BB&N community: “I will never forget the way that Josh exemplified both the ‘honestas’ and the ‘comitas’ parts of our school motto during the tumultuous days in April 2013 following the Boston Marathon bombing. There were nine students from Russia who were being hosted by Upper School families that week. While the Friday lockdown was in effect, there was an escalating sense of alarm locally as news coverage evolved that day concerning the suspects’ connections to Chechnya. Through it all, however, our families, our student hosts, and especially Josh paid exquisite attention to both our visitors’ safety and to their psyches and souls. It was a reminder that compassion observes no borders.”

Outside of the classroom, Josh is admired for the sense of delight he brings to his connection with the extracurricular lives of Upper School students. Whether he’s performing a Russian dance at assembly, coaching instructional tennis, or helping run a Quidditch mini-course during Senior Spring Project—wherever Josh is, kids are smiling and having fun.

Congratulations, Josh, on receiving the Honestas Future Leadership Instructorship.

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THE

Uninterr

It’s 4:30 PM on the floor of ESPN’s hit show Pardon the Interruption, and Coordinating Producer Matt Kelliher ’91 has a problem. Tony Kornheiser, one of the two beloved hosts, is impatiently wondering where his co-host Michael Wilbon is.

“Tony wants to begin five minutes ago, and Mike is much more laid back,” explains Kelliher. “‘Matt, where’s Wilbon?’…he’s always saying. And then I have to say, ‘He’s in makeup, he’ll be here, he’ll be here.’

I often ask Tony, ‘How many times have we not gone on the air because he’s late?’”

It’s a rhetorical question, but the answer is zero. For 15 years and 3,340 episodes (and counting), the popular ESPN show has been as regular as the mail, providing sports debate, analysis, and laughs for more than one-million viewers every weekday. And for 15 years, Kelliher has overseen it all from his customary seat in the control room of studio B in the ABC News Building in Washington, DC. The half-hour program features Washington Post columnists and longtime friends Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon dishing short takes on a variety of the day’s sports news. The give-and-take format is nothing new, but the infrastructure of the program—a floating sidebar of the topics to be addressed and a running clock alerting viewers to when the next topic will be discussed are perpetually onscreen—was groundbreaking when the show launched.

To say that Pardon the Interruption (PTI) has become a national staple of sports viewers would be an understatement. Arguably ESPN’s most popular show besides their flagship SportsCenter program, PTI has garnered 11 Emmy nominations (winning Outstanding Studio Show in 2009) and even merited a segment by President Barack Obama in 2011 to commemorate its 10 th anniversary on the air.

Looking back to the fount, Kelliher marvels at the journey that afforded a then 21-year-old Georgetown history major the chance to produce a major network sports show. His entrée into ESPN and the sports world was anything but carefully orchestrated.

“My brother had a college friend who had worked at ESPN as a production assistant…which sounded like fun. So I talked to him and got myself an interview,” Kelliher says. “It was sort of a lark, honestly. They told me in the interview that I had no experience and it probably wouldn’t work out.”

Four months later, Kelliher was on his second day of a job as a research analyst at a consulting firm when ESPN called to offer him a temporary production assistant role at their headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. Although uncertain about quitting his first legitimate job out of college for what amounted to a six-month unpaid internship, Kelliher’s friends encouraged him to take the leap.

“I looked at it not as the start of a career, but more as instead of going to Europe for a year or something, I was going to watch games...that was 21 years ago.”

A production assistant’s life is no picnic; Kelliher worked nights and weekends, mostly on the 6 PM to 3 AM shifts when sports were happening. He logged games and performed drudge work, accentuated by the frequent task of literally sprinting to the SportsCenter hosts (Stuart Scott, Dan Patrick, etc.) during commercials to provide them with one-minute clips of game highlights he had typed up moments before. The hard work paid off.

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rupted S U C C E S S OF ESPN PRODUCER MATT KELLIHER ’91

by Andrew Fletcher

KELLIHER ON THE SET OF PARDON THE INTERRUPTION

Leah LaRiccia Photography 13

KELLIHER IN THE CONTROL ROOM OF STUDIO B WHERE HE HAS PRODUCED THOUSANDS OF SHOWS FOR ESPN.

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KELLIHER AND HIS SON DEAN ON SET WITH TONY KORNHEISER (LEFT) AND MICHAEL WILBON (RIGHT)

“How somebody makes any sense out of that alphabet soup is only through a clear mind and vision.”

“After six months I was made full-time, then associate producer, highlight supervisor, and finally an outright SportsCenter producer in 2001.” Shortly thereafter, a pioneering opportunity came knocking.

The VP of Programming at ESPN, Mark Shapiro, had come up with an idea for a daily show featuring two cranky but loveable sportswriters debating the most relevant topics of the day—“it was pitched as a sort of Siskel and Ebert for sports.” Once an executive producer (Erik Rydholm) was named, Kelliher and his wife Shannon, whom he had met at ESPN and married two months prior, were the first two hires for PTI, producer and associate producer respectively.

Despite the longevity and accolades PTI has enjoyed, success was anything but a given when Kelliher moved to DC. to help launch the show in September of 2001.

“When I was approached to produce the show, there was only one person at ESPN who thought it was a good idea, my mentor, Senior ESPN Coordinating Producer Mike McQuade,” Kelliher recalls. “The prevailing thought at the time was ‘this is two sportswriters who haven’t done TV before…who’s going to watch that?’”

As it turns out, millions of people.

“I never had any hesitation,” Kelliher says. “Even if PTI got canceled, I was going to learn more in six months than I would have in another couple of years within the safety of the big ESPN environment.”

The challenges were manifold. Kelliher was tasked on the fly with learning how to launch a show, what that show would look like, and not least of all, how to manage the “talent” that would be paramount to the show’s success.

“At the start, everything was sort of empty, and between Erik, me, and Shannon, we started to build the structure from the ground up,” Kelliher says. Working long hours, the outlines of a vision came together, perhaps the most innovative part being the rundown of topics and clock that would share the screen with the hosts.

“The notion was that as a producer, you always know what’s coming up next…so Erik thought this was a way to turn that inside out and show the skeleton of the production to the viewer.”

To make the format more palatable and enticing, Kelliher landed on the idea of having a clock as well. “Let’s just give the viewers everything…the idea being if we’re talking about the Mets and they’re interested in the Patriots and it says 33 seconds, they’ll think, I can wait 33 seconds.”

The groundbreaking device worked beautifully, to the extent that it has even been co-opted by SportsCenter and other news shows. But the true success of the show, according to Kelliher, lies in the on-air talent, and this is perhaps his greatest challenge.

“So often, random people are thrown together as hosts, but Tony and Mike have known each other forever. They love to talk, and, at times, argue. But they’re just engaged and have an unbelievable chemistry.” Kelliher explains. “When I first saw their rehearsals, I knew right away they would be great television.”

Picture having to mediate a heated discussion by your two ornery uncles at the Thanksgiving table in front of a million viewers, couple that with the hundreds of other tasks associated with producing a show, and then do it every day; that’s Kelliher’s cross.

“If they’re not happy and engaged, you’re not going to have a great show, and ultimately, that’s what we’re charged with every day,” Kelliher relates. “The things that make Tony happy annoy Mike sometimes, and that means things that make Mike happy annoy Tony.” Kelliher pauses here and chuckles, “So, that’s a good challenge.”

A day on the set of PTI is a maelstrom of information and ideas.

In addition to the ubiquitous pre- production phone calls to Kornheiser and Wilbon to suss out their agendas for the day, there is behind-scenes-planning that is integral to every show. Former PTI researcher, on-air presence, and current host of ESPN’s show Around the Horn, Tony Reali sums up the madness that Kelliher calmly navigates on a daily basis.

“Pre-production is like one big word cloud. There are, say, 15 games the night before that matter, 30 articles you’ve read that morning, a Twitter feed with 1,000 posts an hour that you scroll, just to arrive at a point where you’re ready to pick the best 12 stories of the day. You gauge your newsroom staff and hosts for story order and angle, and you come up with ways to make them into compelling television. How somebody makes any sense out of that alphabet soup is only through a clear mind and vision. Matt is always the smartest guy in the room… but clarity might be his greatest strength.”

Once content for the show is ironed out, the rubber really hits the road when production begins. Reali paints the picture of Kelliher running “a control room with two directors, no fewer than four technical coordinators, a stage full of camera operators, and the hosts—all hooked up through microphones and earpieces waiting on someone to command something.

Who’s that person? Matt.”

Since his time at PTI, Kelliher has relished the chance to launch other ventures for the network including current shows Highly Questionable and the Dan Le Batard Show, for which he is coordinating producer. But his baby, per se, is still PTI. “It’s the one we started with, and I still play as much a role in it today as I did when we started,” says Kelliher. “The hope is that in 30 minutes, someone who likes sports can say, ‘I got everything I need, news, analysis, and maybe a few laughs along the way.’”

Back in studio B, an already full day of work is about to get busier when shooting finally begins at 4:30. By 5:15 the show is wrapped and sent via satellite to ESPN headquarters for its 5:30 PM airtime.

“Taping is the best part, it’s sort of a catharsis when you finish,” Kelliher says, smiling at the thought. “Ninety-nine percent of the time you walk out feeling good, and every day you end on a happy note.”

One thing’s for sure: those happy notes, strung across 15 “uninterrupted” years, have made beautiful music for millions of sports fans. b

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Young AlumNI/AE Innovate in the Technology Sphere

BY LORI FERGUSON

Electrical and computer engineer Ross Kukulinski ’05 applies his entrepreneurial mindset to the latest developments in cloud computing to assist companies in responding to their clients’ needs more efficiently and effectively.

Senior UX designer and researcher Astrid Chow ’03 brings her formidable skills in user experience design, information architecture, and content strategy and user-advocacy to bear in the healthcare sector, setting in motion positive changes for many.

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For many, the presence of technology implies an interaction one

step removed, a program or application that introduces distance between individuals, making exchanges more complicated and less personal. For the three BB&N alumni/ae profiled in the following pages, however, technology is a unifying force, a tool that enhances communication, facilitates connections, and makes the world a better place with every keystroke.

Software engineer Abhinay Ashutosh ’12 uses his knack for programming to develop products that benefit others in a big way, creating apps that solve problems and enhance the quality of life for users.

Each of these three alums offers an intriguing example of the ideal of “principled engagement in their communities and the world� that BB&N holds dear.

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Abhinay (Abhi) Ashutosh ’12 As a software engineer at Apple, Abhinay Ashutosh ’12 works in system applications, and given Apple’s strict privacy regulations, that’s about all he can say. It matters little.

Ashutosh’s passion for technology is so all-encompassing that he has plenty to talk about without spending another minute on the specifics of his job with the software giant. “If working in technology were a hobby rather than a job, I’d still be doing it full time,” he enthuses. “I have a natural curiosity and a strong desire to realize my full potential.” Based on his track record to date, that potential is extremely high.

Ashutosh is currently focused on getting into the swing of his new position at Apple, but he’s already thinking about ways to create new products that solve problems and improve the quality of life for others— drivers that inform everything he does. “I consider myself a long-term optimist and a short-term realist—I love exploring what exists today and figuring out how to benefit others in a big way,” he explains. “I believe that a better world is coming and we all need to use the skills and abilities we have to help us get there.”

Ashutosh characterizes himself a builder, though in his earlier years he thought that desire would manifest more traditionally through a career as an architect. But the last two weeks of his freshman honors geometry course at BB&N changed everything. “We had a bit of time left at the end of the year, so Mr. Fidler seized the opportunity to teach us some basic computer programming language. It really captured my interest, so that summer I taught myself JAVA and built a few simple applications.”

Ashutosh hasn’t stopped learning since.

“I’m incredibly grateful that I was introduced to the basics of programming super early; it’s proved to be a tremendous advantage for me,” he says. Indeed, while completing his senior year at BB&N, Ashutosh worked as lead mobile designer and developer at Actifio, a software company that assists global enterprise customers and their service provider partners in virtualizing their data. His task: to design, develop, and launch the first and second versions of the Actifio Mobile iPhone and iPad applications in order to provide users with full, on-thego management of their enterprise data.

“I learned a lot and the end product is something I’m really proud of,” he says.

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Ashutosh continued building programs and products to help others during his four years at New York University, becoming heavily involved with TEDxNYU, Tech@NYU, WearHacks, and the NYU Entrepreneurs Festival, all while working toward a degree in computer science, math, and business.

He continued to create new apps as well— personally and in collaboration with others— including the productivity app ‘Caleido;’ the ‘NYU Events’ app, which helps students learn more about their community and identify campus events of interest to them; and WatsonKit and Sherlock, an app that allows users to find information naturally, “as if chatting with a friend.”

These endeavors earned Ashutosh a cavalcade of honors and awards. He was twice chosen to receive NYU’s Max Goldstein Award for Creativity in Computer Science, an honor bestowed upon students who have “applied computing in a creative and practical way to improve the academic, cultural, or social life of the NYU community.” He also received the NYU AllUniversity President’s Service Award in 2014 and 2015 for helping to promote “learning, leadership, and quality of student life at New York University.”

Nor is Ashutosh’s pace slowing. A course on machine learning his final semester at NYU piqued his curiosity about this area of computer science and has prompted a deep dive into this subfield. “There are infinite uses for machine learning, and I’d like to see what I can contribute.”

Queried as to what he does in his free time—assuming such a thing exists— Ashutosh doesn’t hesitate. “I read a lot—I keep a running list of books in my queue categorized according to fun, marketing, leadership management—my interests are broad and I love the feeling of connecting with the mind of another person across space and time through the pages of a book.” The latest work to grace the young computer scientist’s bedside table: the revolutionary 1997 book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, in which innovation expert Clayton Christensen argued the importance of knowing when to abandon traditional business practices in favor of disruptive innovation. One feels as though he could have been whispering in Ashutosh’s ear.

DANI GRANT PHOTOGRAPHY

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ASTRID CHOW ’00 Design, it’s fair to say, is in Astrid Chow’s DNA. In fact, one of her earliest creative memories dates back to an experience on the BB&N campus at age four. “I’m a lifer,” says Chow ’00 with a laugh, “and I remember walking to the Lower School with my mom one day and finding a bundle of wires on the ground. I picked it up and started making little sculptures.

Encountering things in my environment and doing something creative with them—that’s what it’s always been about for me.”

Over the years, Chow has supplemented her innate creativity with a formidable education in design and tech to become an expert in UX or ‘user experience’ design.

After departing BB&N, she earned a multidisciplinary Bachelor of Humanities and Arts degree in fine art, English, and communication design from Carnegie Mellon University, followed by an M.S. in Human Factors in Information Design and an M.B.A. in Strategy from Bentley University’s McCallum Graduate School.

“As an undergrad, my fine arts concentration was in installation art, a field where success depends on developing a relationship with viewers and earning their trust.” That interaction was exciting, she admits, but design work offers an additional level of satisfaction that creating art did not. “I like the constraints that design imposes because it forces me to be creative within limits.” Chow also craves the applicability of design work. “I continue to draw upon my arts background— it’s an integral part of who I am—but if someone isn’t using what I’ve created, it’s not as interesting or exciting for me.”

Chow’s fascination with the user experience has led her through design jobs for clients as diverse as LEGO, Adidas, TIAA-CREF, and Cadillac, but it is healthcare-based technology that has truly captured her imagination. “I think of myself not only as a designer, but also as a user advocate, something analogous to a patient advocate,” she explains. “It’s really important to me that patients’ voices are heard. A lot of technology has been forced on them and they don’t have much ability to effect change.”

Chow’s interest in healthcare and wellness applications stretches back to 2010 and includes work for Adidas miCoach as well as several employer-provided health insurance programs. A stint as the lead mobile app designer for CVS Health’s Boston-based

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Digital Innovation Lab proved particularly rewarding. “I was brought in to work on a specialty pharmacy app to support patients with chronic medical conditions or the need for multiple medications. It was very satisfying to create a product that enabled patients to feel like they could take control of their lives by using technology that worked for them rather than on them.”

While working at CVS, Chow was recruited to be a Product Design Lead for IBM Watson’s Health Design group. She currently serves as Design Lead for the Watson for Genomics initiative, a project that brings together scientists and artificial intelligence technology in the fight against cancer. The undertaking harnesses Watson’s prodigious computing powers to sort through hundreds of thousands of journal articles and clinical trials in search of alternative treatment recommendations for patients who have not responded to traditional therapies.

“I’m working side by side with scientists in the field to use A.I. and machine learning to improve the user experience in future iterations of the tool,” Chow explains. She is grateful for the opportunity to contribute, but also quick to point out that Watson’s technology will never replace physicians.

“We’re just there to support clinicians in their relationship with patients. I want to make positive changes for a lot of people, and working on a project like Watson for Genomics enables me to have an impact.”

Nor do Chow’s efforts to make a difference stop when she leaves work each day.

She is actively involved in the MIT IDEAS Global Challenge, reviewing proposals and mentoring student contestants who compete in the annual innovation, service, and social entrepreneurship event to address quality of life issues for people around the world. “It’s an amazing and rewarding way to give back to the technology community.” Chow also coorganizes the “Action Design Boston” meet-up to support designers who create products or services that give people a sense of agency, and she has returned to BB&N to speak to students in the AP computer science course as well. “I feel fortunate to have benefited from the sense of tradition and community that I experienced at BB&N and I want to give back. I probably spend too much time doing extra-curricular activities in design tech,” she concedes, “but it’s hard not to—I really love what I do.”

PRAVIN PANT PHOTOGRAPHY

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Ross Kukulinski ’05 In his LinkedIn profile, Ross Kukulinski ’05 characterizes himself as a “relentlessly enthusiastic engineer.” It only takes a few minutes of conversing with him to understand that this is not false advertising. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in electrical and computer engineering, Kukulinski is currently a product manager with the corporate software developer NodeSource. He cheerfully explains that he’s temporarily stepped away from engineering following the failure of his start-up Yodlr, a collaborative presentation app he created in 2014. “Co-founding Yodlr was a great experience in the start-up space, but I realized that I had big gaps in my knowledge regarding how to build a business, so I decided to devote some time to building that expertise.”

An expert in the JavaScript programming language Node.js, Kukulinski initially began working as an independent consultant, assisting companies in choosing the best scalable web applications and cloud technologies for their needs. Then he learned that NodeSource—a company that provides enterprise-grade tools and software for running Node.js to clients like PayPal, Uber, and Netflix—was in need of a product manager with deep knowledge of the tool. Kukulinski jumped at the opportunity, which he saw as a win-win for both parties.

“I love working with Node.js; it has really put the groove back in enterprise software. It’s a programming language that allows companies to build fast, scalable network applications easily, which allows them to remain nimble in the marketplace.” Kukulinski is helping NodeSource management by filling staffing gaps across the company, “and in return, they’ve agreed to teach me the ins and outs of business development: how to grow a sales organization, how to build product market share, that sort of thing.”

Kukulinski also volunteers his time with the Node.js Foundation, a community that facilitates cooperation and exchange among Node.js users, vendors and contributors under the umbrella of The Linus Foundation. As a member of the foundation’s Evangelism Working Group, he promotes the product in a host of public speaking and education venues, most recently at a Node Interactive Conference in Amsterdam.

“I enjoy building communities, and cultivating trustful relationships is something I value deeply, so this work is very satisfying.”

Kukulinski admits, however, that he doesn’t plan to remain solely in learning mode for too long; he’s starting to get the itch to create a new

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product. He’s spending a lot of time these days advising companies on container technology, an application portability technology that’s one of the more recent trends in cloud computing, and it’s got him thinking. “The technology isn’t new; it’s been around for ten years or so. Google, Microsoft, and IBM are all on the bandwagon, so there’s opportunity there that I’d like to explore.”

Kukulinski attributes this entrepreneurial spirit in part to his years at BB&N, in particular time spent in math instructor Mark Fidler’s AP computer science class. “That course was a great launching pad for me. Mr. Fidler gave us a lot of free-form exercises that were very helpful in developing my problem-solving skills. He encouraged self-directed exploration, a skill you need to embrace in the real world: you’re given a task, you think you know where you need to go, but you’re not sure how to do it, so you experiment until you come up with a solution.”

Kukulinski also lauds Fidler’s use of a technique called pair programming, in which two people with similar expertise are paired and charged with writing a computer program. “One person writes code while the other watches, asks questions, throws out ideas for different ways to attack the problem, and so forth,” he says. “It’s a great learning exercise that offers teachable moments for both parties. It ended up being applicable not only to coursework, but also to life work.”

Kukulinski says that his two years working as the production manager for The Vanguard under faculty advisor Sharon Krauss were also formative. “I worked closely with Editor-in-Chief Madeline Haas ’05 on every issue and learned the importance of getting the job done, no matter what. Madeline and I would work on the paper late into the night, tweaking the layout, checking the copy, making sure everything was perfect. It didn’t matter what time it was, when the paper went to press, it had to be right because we were representing our school.”

Kukulinski continues to represent, constantly seeking ways to contribute positively to his field, both as an engineer and as an entrepreneur.

He knows Yodlr is likely not his last failure, but he isn’t fazed. “Failure is not a ‘bad word’ in entrepreneurship—it’s a reality. Generally, about 90 percent of start-ups fail, but it’s a learning experience—you pick yourself up, figure out what went wrong and what you will do differently in the future, and then move on.”

SAM ABRAMS PHOTOGRAPHY

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THE RWANDAN

CONNECTION

by Morgan Baker ’76

Mr Z in Rwanda doing what he does best, help others.

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In 2011, several students overheard Berhane Zerom, BB&N Sixth Grade teacher, talking with a colleague on the Lower School playground about students who were unable to return to school because their sponsors had backed out on them.

The Sixth Graders were horrified and wanted to help.

Mr. Z, as he is known, reassured them, these were not BB&Ners. They were students in Rwanda, one of the poorest and most densely populated countries in Central Africa, with more than 11 million people in 10,000 square miles.

It didn’t matter. The students still wanted to support their peers at Crimson Academy.

Impressed with their enthusiasm, Mr. Z took it as an opportunity to do a global math problem. His class was working on conversions, so he asked the students to figure out how much a BB&N education costs per day.

They did the math and discovered that one day at BB&N would cover 14 kids at Crimson Academy for a year, at $21 per student. After solving the problem, the students were even more eager to help.

Crimson Academy is in Gihara, a tiny village in the province of Kagina—a very bumpy 45 minutes from the capital of Rwanda, Kigali. The school was founded in 2011 by Phillip Haynes, a classmate of Mr. Z’s at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Approached by Haynes in 2011 to be on its board, Mr. Z accepted with reservations. “I didn’t have the time,” he says. Originally from Eritrea in Africa, Mr Z now lived in the United States, and had a full-time job and a family.

Then came the math problem. Mr. Z didn’t know it would evolve into a six-year relationship between BB&N and Crimson Academy and that some of those sixth graders would visit Crimson as Upper School students.

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Mr. Z met with Rebecca Geary (then Assistant to the Lower School Director), who made it clear parents could not be approached for this project. The students could be pen pals and that was that. “A letter was not going to get those kids into the classroom,” Mr. Z recalls thinking.

“We needed to be creative,” he says. He then spoke with Charlie Ruopp, former Assistant Head of School, who asked Mr. Z how he was going to fundraise. “I told him I’m going to leave it up to the students,” says Mr. Z, “but I would not accept money that came directly from mom and dad.”

The BB&Ners had to figure out a way to sponsor the students on their own. Two students who had just received their babysitting licenses donated their earned money to the project; another shoveled snow, and one did pet-sitting and other odd jobs.

“That first year we sponsored 60 kids and each BB&Ner got a picture of their student, a bio, and periodically received their school record,” says Mr. Z. Crimson started as a four-room school with 180 students. Today it has seven rooms and is almost 400 students strong, most of whom come from the Batwa tribe of potters, the lowest of the low in Rwanda. Mr. Z says when the Tutsi tribe slaughtered the Hutus in the mid-1990s, they didn’t even bother with the Batwa; they weren’t worth the effort. Their artwork, however, is magnificent according to Mr. Z. Three years ago, Mr. Z, and his son Alex Berhane ‘21 (children take their father’s first name as their last in Eritrea), then a BB&N rising 6th grader, visited Rwanda and the school.

“We spent two weeks and my role was primarily to be in the classroom and to help teachers with curriculum planning and designing.

One math teacher had just finished ninth grade and one had finished high school. They were not teachers by training,” he says.

“Alex was also in the classroom. He was in the third and fourth grade assisting teaching and pulling kids out and helping them with their math homework. He loved it,” says Mr. Z. “It was amazing,” remembers Alex. Amazing is a word that crops up again and again in reference to Crimson Academy.

When not in the classroom, father and son recall fetching water down a wooded hill and carrying it back in yellow 5-10 gallon Jerry Cans. The young children there were so used to this, they ran back and forth while it took Alex and Mr. Z 20 minutes to complete the task and Alex couldn’t feel his legs at the end.

“It was a great experience for him because most of the time he doesn’t pick up his plate after dinner,” says Mr. Z. “The trip had two purposes—to go and help, and as a parent, selfishly, to provide an opportunity for Alex to see home is not the only world. There’s a broader world and we shouldn’t take for granted what we have here. I think that it hit home.”

It did.

“I didn’t know how much I took for granted,” Alex says. “I used to shower for about a half hour. Now I take a five-to-ten-minute shower. Now I eat the broccoli I used to hate. I stopped taking things for granted.”

Alex says, “They have less than I do, but they are cheerful, happy, and don’t care that much.” Often the kids there only had one set of clothes, he says. They lived ten people to a three or four room mud-brick home, their fields were so bumpy that soccer balls would pop easily, and at school their books were worn out or beat up and often there weren’t desks for students to sit at.

The first trip was so transformative, Mr. Z and Alex returned this past summer, this time accompanied by two Upper School students, Brooke Shachoy ’18 and Mia Maginn ’19. Mr. Z, however, was a bit apprehensive about how the teenagers would react to being in that part of the world and whether they would be homesick. His fears weren’t realized. “It was amazing,” he says. “It was just amazing. They were part of the community from day one.”

Alex says of his return there, “They remembered me. They were happy to see me again.”

This year, the group worked in classrooms for the first week. Because the children there hadn’t been to school before Crimson’s existence, many classes don’t line up chronologically with the same classes in the United States. A fourth-grade class could have an 8-year-old in it, just as likely as a 14-year-old. As more children start from the beginning, the ages will begin to correspond properly with their grade levels.

In addition to working with Crimson students, Brooke met Benise, the student she’s been sponsoring since sixth grade. “I didn’t want to leave her in the dust,” says Brooke. “It was amazing,” she says. “She’s really shy. She wants to be a doctor. I’m a junior and I don’t know what I want to do. She’s fourteen and she’s always known what she wants to do.”

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Mia Maginn ’19 in a Crimson Academy classroom

Brooke Shachoy ’18 enjoys a tender moment with a baby 27

In seventh grade, Brooke had sent Benise a care package but it wasn’t until Mr. Z went to mail letters from the Rwandan students back to BB&N that he discovered the package still in the post office, waiting to be picked up. He delivered it in person.

During their second week, the group helped build a house for a five-person family whose current one-room mud-brick home was falling down.

“The community came out to help,” says Mr. Z. Children, pregnant women, women with babies, everyone came out and helped dig the foundation, create the mud bricks by laying mud inside molds, and then build the walls of a four-room house.

Brooke says, “Their sense of community was so cool…women with babies on their backs with four bricks on their heads helped.”

“It’s unlike Boston,” says Mia. “They ask you to hold their babies. They’re nice and friendly.

They’re soft-spoken and hold your hand.”

Mia learned about the Rwandan genocide and how the country has moved on from it. There is no revenge. It’s all about forgiveness, and those who did the killing have been known to apologize to the families they harmed.

“It gave me a broader perspective. I don’t sweat the small things. We live in a sheltered community,” says Brooke. “They use every inch of their notebook papers to take notes. We brought four bags of supplies and we left all our clothes for them.”

“I think students should go. They won’t know what’s outside their comfort zone,” says Alex.

“I want to go back,” says Brooke. “I think it’s really important to see the world and see the different communities out there.”

“The level of privilege we have here is absurd,” says Mia. “I want to go back every year.”

Back at BB&N this fall, Brooke and Mia started their own club, The Rwandan Connection, in the Upper School. Mia explains that after sixth grade, the interest dies down. People get busy and distracted. “We wanted a presence in the school, an awareness…. It’s about building connections,” she says.

The mission of the club is to build a relationship with Crimson Academy by sponsoring more students. They want to establish a connection writing letters, Skyping, or FaceTiming. They are planning on doing clothing and supply drives.

Brooke says, “It will give us a sense of Rwanda in our daily lives.”

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Alex Berhane ’21 among his many Crimson Academy friends

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F O R M E R FAC U LT Y P R O F I L E b y A l Ro s s i t e r, Fa c u l t y E m e r i t u s

What does former Upper School English teacher Sharon Hamilton do in retirement? Answer: What she has always done and done with passion, with joy, and with skill. For 44 years Sharon taught college and high school (“teaching that I was paid for”). She continues to teach on a volunteer basis with the same passion, but with a significantly broader range of students.

Imagine a classroom at the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement in Cambridge, where she teaches a Shakespeare class. No high school students here. Instead she is teaching a mix of adults, all retired—judges who have spent their lives making moral decisions, psychologists who know how people’s psyches work, grandmas and grandpas who have raised children. Unlike high school students, these folks are replete with significant life experience. Imagine, in this age of political and moral turmoil, teaching Julius Caesar or Antony and Cleopatra to such a group of adults, leading a discussion about struggles for power in Ancient Rome and Elizabethan England, about controversy over women in power, about the uses and abuses of rhetoric, about moral issues related to leadership. Or about teaching King Lear and The Tempest and the complex relationship between parents and children.

While at HILR, Sharon is not only teaching, but also taking courses. With no trepidation about delving into a new field, she has taken courses in cognitive science, the life and works of Vincent van Gogh, ISIS and the Arab world, and Chinese culture. Talk about lifelong learning.

Now imagine a scene in daughter Emily Hamilton’s living room. Sharon is “directing” a play with her 6-year-old granddaughter, Sophie, based on Elephant and Piggie, a children’s story by Mo Willems. Piggy, sunny and enthusiastic, and Gerald, earnest and anxious, but can’t help getting into spats.

Sophie plays Piggy, and Sharon plays Gerald, the elephant, with daughter Emily feeding lines to 4-year-old Eric, who is taking all the other parts, but is just learning to read.

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Sharon also enjoys telling her grandchildren a fairy tale— the Fisherman and his Wife, for example, to daughter Kate’s Zoe and Henry and then joining them to act it out. It’s great fun for her and her offspring. So whether “directing” Elephant and Piggie, or leading a discussion of Julius Caesar, Sharon is both “teaching” and having great fun. For her, learning must be joyful and engaging. Otherwise, it often becomes dry and empty.

Much of her time in the last several years has also been given to her own writing: Shakespeare’s Daughters is a study of the relationships between daughters on the verge of womanhood and their fathers. Another, Essential Literary Terms, which has just come out in a second edition, defines and amplifies elements that are key to understanding literature for AP high school and college students. By presenting at various English teacher conferences, Sharon has also shared her expertise on AP English with teachers new to the profession.

Sharon describes herself as a lifelong reader, which led her to the study of literature, which in turn led to teaching. She wryly recalls her very first class: “I was extremely nervous. I had an index card that read ‘Hello.

My name is Ms. Hamilton.’” Sharon is a teacher who respects the insights of her students. “Every time I teach a play or a novel, I learn something new. That’s what makes teaching exciting.” The accolades from her former students are legion; so many wonderful memories of being one of Mrs. Hamilton’s students.

Sha ro n H a m i l ton The Lifelong Teacher

1 2

PICTURED: 1. Faculty Emerita Sharon Hamilton 2. Hamilton in the classroom in 2001

One that many students referred to in their recent comments about her class was her way of correcting papers. From Meredith Leich ’04: “Mrs. Hamilton’s feedback on written work was dense and color-coded: red-pen for critique, green for praise, and blue for overall feedback—and, if you were lucky, the paper was festooned with smiley faces.” From Adrian Slywotzky ’98: “It was great to get a smiley face, but what I liked even better was a face with a squiggly mouth—warranted by a bad pun or an observation that was off target.” A sense of humor, high standards, and a critical eye were hallmarks of her correcting techniques.

the first—know your students, know that they may learn differently than you do, help them capitalize on their strengths. She explains it this way: “One student may have a great speaking voice—another may have a gift for using his or her body to express an emotion—one may write excellent creative emulations but need work with essay writing. There are so many ways to reach into a work of literature, and the job of the teacher is to find that way in for each student.” And, of course, she held students to high standards. Teachers, according to Sharon, must have a clear set of requirements and hold students to those standards, but do so with kindness. As she says, “First, do no harm.”

A former student would also remember the emulations and creative assignments that went well beyond the critical essay—writing Ophelia’s diary, writing an emulation of Beowulf. Or of memorizing poetry (“I memorized and fell in love with ‘Jabberwocky’…we banded together as a class to act it out an at all-school assembly”—David Kosslyn ’07). Also writing in a journal, practicing Middle English to master the pronunciation of passages from the Canterbury Tales, or memorizing and acting a short scene from a Shakespeare play. The staples of her junior British Literature course—The Dubliners, Hamlet, Emma, The Canterbury Tales, British poetry—became works the students would remember long after they departed from BB&N. Being in her class was indeed play, but it was serious play.

Fortunate are those, from HILR retirees, to high school students, to small children who have been inspired and guided by this thoughtful woman. Sharon Krauss, current head of the BB&N English Department and close friend, put it this way: “…the classroom was her stage—and with her students she put on a collaborative show every day.”

As we say, for Mrs. Hamilton, “all the world is a stage.”

It is a place where language, literature, knowledge of what it means to be human all come together. It’s fun, it’s demanding, and it counts.

When asked about the qualities of a great teacher, of which she is certainly one, Sharon offers empathy as

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Advancing Our Mission

The BB&N Fund — Make an Impact This Year!

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We all have the opportunity to “make an impact.” Every day we make choices that will define our futures and the future of those around us. At BB&N, all gifts make a difference. When you contribute to The BB&N Fund, you are participating in a powerful philanthropic tradition: annual giving.

Why does your participation count? Each and every gift—at all levels—demonstrates confidence in BB&N, a belief in the School’s mission, a commitment to our community, and a passion for excellence in education. By participating, you encourage others to give and strengthen our community with the knowledge that we all share in the investment in our students and our school.

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The BB&N Fund is a critical component of the School’s success:

and without it we wouldn't be BB&N.

Last year The BB&N Fund raised a record $3.5 million with the support of our many parent and alumni/ae volunteers. We are looking forward to another terrific year working with our parents, alumni/ae, grandparents, and others to help meet this year's goal of $3.6 million. Thank you to all who continue to demonstrate confidence in BB&N. Your gifts have made an impact!

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The Knight’s Circle is a loyalty society that honors the continued support of Parents, Alumni/ae, Faculty, and Staff who have made annual gifts to The BB&N Fund for five or more consecutive years. Consistent giving helps BB&N sustain the excellence of our academic programs, attract talented faculty, and connect students to Cambridge and beyond.

Knight’s Circle members are the foundation of The BB&N Fund and share a commitment to shaping the future of BB&N.

Class of 2017 Senior Parents’ Gift Raises Funds for Financial Aid and Global Education Program The Senior Dinner in September that marked the start of senior year for Class of 2017 students and their parents was also the official launch of BB&N’s traditional Senior Parents’ Gift campaign. A large and enthusiastic committee of parent volunteers, chaired by Diane and John Chapman (parents of Alec ’17), Charlie and Betsey Gifford (parents of Lilly ’17), and Freddie and Nikki Jacobs (parents of Lauryn ’17), has been reaching out this fall to senior parents to seek their financial support for a special class gift that will serve as a permanent legacy at BB&N after their children graduate.

This year’s Senior Parents’ Gift will be used to create two funds that support high priority goals for BB&N: financial aid and global education. The Class of 2017 Financial Aid Fund will provide both endowed and spendable support for the School’s financial aid budget, which currently provides $7.9 million in tuition and supplemental aid to 23 percent of BB&N students.

The Class of 2017 Global Education Program Fund will provide crucial early support for priorities and initiatives underway this year to expand and enhance the globalization of the BB&N curriculum and opportunities for students and faculty. The Class of 2017 Fund will support such programs as faculty professional development; BB&N’s participation in and partnerships with globallyfocused organizations, including Global Online Academy; and expanded access to international travel for financial aid students.

CLASS OF 2017 SENIOR PARENTS’ GIFT COMMITTEE John and Diane Chapman, Co-Chairs – parents of Alec Chapman

William and Virginia Foote – parents of Charlotte Foote

Charlie and Betsey Gifford, Co-Chairs – parents of Lilly Gifford

Dan and Diana Goldman – parents of Lizzy Goldman

Freddie and Nikki Jacobs, Co-Chairs – parents of Lauryn Jacobs

Mehra Golshan and Parisa Lotfi – parents of Kian Golshan Joe and Laura Impemba – parents of Tucker Impemba

Yuriko Anton - mother of Tristan Young

Jeff Nadherny – father of Tatum Nadherny

Ian Arnof and Sunshine Greene – parents of Kaley Arnof

Ofer and Shelly Nemirovsky – parents of Will Nemirovsky

Todd and Melissa Boudreau – parents of Ava Boudreau

JK Nicholas ’85 and Virginia Shannon – parents of Katherine Nicholas

John and Paula Buchanan – parents of Adam Buchanan

Ken and Vicky O’Regan – parents of Olivia O’Regan

Domenic Capossela - father of Katherine Capossela

Randy Peeler and Kate Kellogg – parents of Andrew Kellogg-Peeler

Joan Cromwell – mother of Kingsley Umemba

Amy Rae – mother of Worthy Rae

Jim DeVellis ’84 – father of Mary DeVellis

Robert Rae – father of Worthy Rae

Karen Eton – mother of Bayard Eton

Torsten and Beebe Wiegand – parents of Max Wiegand

John and Susan Flahive – parents of Jack Flahive

Nick and Tricia Winton – parents of Lucia Winton

Senior Parents’ Gift Committee members Amy Rae, John and Diane Chapman (Co-Chairs), and Robert Rae at the Senior Dinner in September.

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Advancing Our Mission

The 1974 Leadership Society Fall Gathering Celebrates Our Annual Fundraising Success More than 160 members of the 1974 Leadership Society gathered on October 5, 2016, in Cambridge to celebrate BB&N’s very successful 2015-2016 fundraising year. Hosted by parents Jennifer Epstein and Bill Keravuori P’18 ‘20, the evening brought together and recognized alumni/ae, current parents, past parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, and friends for their leadership support.

Bill and Jennifer began the program by sharing the importance of mission and values in guiding not only the education of their own children, but in their business philosophy as co-owners of The Beehive in Boston’s South End and Harvard Square’s Beat Brasserie. The lively and warm venue for the BB&N reception, Beat Brasserie is well known for its fresh, seasonal menu, more than three dozen kinds of American artisanal wines, and live music performed by cutting-edge, award-winning musicians in jazz, blues, funk, R&B, and world music.

The 1974 Leadership Society Gift Levels Renaissance Associates $100,000 and above Cantabrigian Associates $50,000 - $99,999 Comitas Associates $25,000 - $49,999 Litterae Associates $10,000 - $24,999 Honestas Associates $5,000 - $9,999

Head of School Rebecca T. Upham and Chair of the Board of Trustees Brace Young P’14, ‘14, ‘17 shared both their gratitude for the generosity of members of the 1974 Leadership Society and their thoughts on the future of the school. Ms. Upham discussed the importance of financial aid resources and of providing a global perspective to expand the personal experiences and knowledge of BB&N students in preparation for lives of principled engagement in our world. Sharing some fundraising highlights of the past year, Mr. Young emphasized the critical and vital impact of 1974 Leadership Society giving, which represented 89 percent of the $3.5 million raised through annual gifts last year, to help offset the actual cost of a BB&N education and sustain excellence in all areas across all three campuses. BB&N is grateful to these donors for their strong philanthropic support.

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Founders $2,500 - $4,999

Young Alumni/ae 1974 Leadership Society Gift Levels Civis Associates $1,000-$2,499 (1997-2016) Affinitas Associates $100-$999 (2007-2016) The 1974 Leadership Society is a loyal and generous circle of alumni/ae, parents, past parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, and friends of the School whose leadership giving and enthusiastic commitment to BB&N set an example, inspire others, and make a significant impact. The name of this Society recognizes the union in 1974 of two Cambridge academic institutions, The Buckingham School and Browne & Nichols who together brought their traditions of excellence to form Buckingham Browne & Nichols. These thoughtful and generous leadership donors make possible the School’s ability to maintain the standard of excellence that constitutes BB&N.

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PICTURED x 1 x In the heart of Cambridge, 1974 Leadership Society members gathered at Beat Brasserie x 2 x Head of School Rebecca T. Upham and Janet Jiang P‘13, ‘16 x 3 x 1974 Leadership Society members and their guests, engaged by speakers’ remarks x 4 x John

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Winkelman P’16, Brace Young P’14, ‘14, ‘17, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dan Nowiszewski P‘12, ‘16, ‘18, and host Bill Keravuori P‘18, ‘20 x 5 x Eric Wolkoff ‘01, Richmond Holden ‘01, and Kathryn Kargman Holden ‘01 x 6 x Heather Amsden, Tod Beaty P’ 02, ‘09, Chester Beattie ‘78, and Brenda Coleman-Beattie x 7 x Hosts Bill Keravuori P’18, ‘20 and Jennifer Epstein P’18, ‘20 x 8 x Stephanie Price P’21, Shep Perkins P’27, ‘27, ‘29, and Mark Price P‘21 x 9 x Agnes Bundy Scanlan P’18, Trustee, and Scott Schlager ‘08 x 10 x Kendrick Chow and Ellie Choi P’28

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If you would like to request a BB&N banner for a wedding photo, please email alumni_programs@bbns.org and provide the wedding date and best mailing address.

If you would like a BB&N baby t-shirt, please send us your birth announcement!

Alumni/ae Programs looks forward to including the images in this section.

Weddings & Commitments

PICTURED

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Weddings & Commitments: x 1 x Kristen Ruckstuhl ’88 with husband Dickens Otieno x 2 x Adam Sachs ’03, Adam Zalisk ’03,

Kristen E. Ruckstuhl & Dickens O. Otieno February 27, 2016

Katherine Mackey ’03, Emily Mackey ’06, Christopher Mackey ’12, and Samantha Seeley ’03 help celebrate the marriage of Katherine and Kiernan x 3 x Augusta Hixon ‘07 celebrates her marriage Births & Adoptions: x 4 x Harrison Webster, son of Anna Bacon ’00 x 5 x Roo Braver, daughter of Rosi Kerr ’93 x 6 x Charlotte Beaty, daughter of Catherine Norton ’01 and Ben Beaty ’02 x 7 x Alice Kerr, daughter of Katie Thorpe Kerr ’00 x 8 x Joseph Francis Lovell, son of Ashley Lovell ’03

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Elizabeth Eaton & Adam Cohen July 23, 2016

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Katherine Mackey & Kiernan Schmitt September 10, 2016

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Augusta Hixon & Matthew Polhemus July 30, 2016

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Births & Adoptions

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Rosi Kerr Rosalie “Roo” Braver March 2016

Anna Bacon & Adam Webster Harrison Sewall Webster April 25, 2016

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Katie Thorpe Kerr & Terry Kerr Alice Caldwell Kerr September 6, 2016

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Catherine Norton ’01 & Ben Beaty ’02 Charlotte May Beaty July 19, 2016

Ashley Bielawski Lovell & Joseph Lovell Joseph Francis Lovell April 02, 2016

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BOB EDBROOKE, FACULTY EMERITUS

In Memoriam Phillips Nason Gordon ’43 (Brigadier General, U.S. Army, retired) passed away on January 14, 2016. On July 8, 2016, the U.S. Army sent off this amazing man with Full Military Funeral Honors. Horses, cannons, musicians, and well-dressed honor guards were an inspiration.

Dr. Gordon, a former educator, soldier, and author, began his teaching career in 1950 as the youngest principal of a public school in the State of New Hampshire.

He was called into active military service in 1951 and was a military psychologist before being sent to Korea. Following a number of top-secret military assignments, Dr. Gordon was stationed at Fort Benjamin Harrison. He began as an instructor and Chief of the Human Resources Division.

Later, he became Director of the Recruiting and Retention School. He had a particular affinity for teaching officers how to motivate their troops. The United States Army recognized Dr. Gordon’s contributions by awarding him the Army’s highest, and twice the Army’s second highest, decoration for Exceptionally Meritorious Service.

Following his resignation from the regular Army, he joined the Indiana Army National Guard. His assignments included Commandment of the Indiana Military Academy, Assistant Division Commander 38th Infantry Division, and Deputy Adjutant General. He was retired as a Brigadier General. He holds 16 military decorations for valor and meritorious service, including the Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, and the Combat Infantry Badge.

Dr. Gordon was preceded in death by his first wife, Ann Delp Gordon; and his second wife, D. Octavia Gordon. Sadly, he was also preceded in death by both of his children, Diane Delp (Gordon) Fritz and Douglas Nason Gordon. Dr. Gordon and Mrs. Ann Gordon became the guardians and parents of their infant grandchild, Ann Gordon (Fritz) Shedd, and raised her as their own. He is survived by daughter, Ann Shedd; and two awesome grandchildren, Andrew Gordon Barab-Shedd and Sara Claire Shedd. He is also survived by one of his nine siblings and many wonderful nieces, nephews, and cousins.

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Robert Owen Edbrooke Jr., faculty emeritus member, died at his home in Cambridge, MA, on August 30, 2016. He was 71 years old. Born in Elmhurst, Illinois, in 1945 to the late Mr. Robert and Mrs. Lela (Vermillion) Edbrooke.

Bob received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1967, where he graduated with University Honors, and went on to earn his master’s degree and Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on Prosopographical Studies in the Roman Empire in the Fourth Century A.D. Dr. Edbrooke dedicated his life to teaching and was widely acknowledged as an exemplary educator. He began his career as an assistant professor of History & Classics at institutions that included the University of Chicago, Brown University, Iowa State University, Smith College, and Tufts University. From there, Bob transitioned to high school teaching.

His first post was at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, where he taught English and Physical Education in the late 1980s. He found his truest calling at his next post: Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, where he taught Latin and history from 1990 to 2015. He also coached JV girls basketball and JV girls tennis.

Bob’s intellectual prowess was admired by colleagues and students alike.

English teacher Althea Cranston, who collaborated with him on the Ancient Mediterranean Studies interdisciplinary program for ninth graders, recalls, “Time and again, I was stunned by the way in which Bob could tap his vast storehouse of knowledge about the antique world and make it accessible to students in a way that didn’t intimidate them. I remember overseas trips with student groups where he would stand in front of a particular building in Athens and reel off story after story about the site that would have the kids entranced.”

Above all, the greatest legacy Dr. Edbrooke left to BB&N was his quiet yet fierce dedication to the school and its students and alumni/ae. He was a constant presence on the BB&N Upper School campus, whether advising students, preparing lesson plans, reading classical studies journals, joining pickup basketball games, attending sporting events, plays, and concerts, and always serving as the number one cheerleader of the efforts of BB&N students. “It is hard to envision this community without Bob’s presence being part of it,” says BB&N Head of School Rebecca T. Upham. “He gave so much of himself to this school and to the students he taught, advised, and coached. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.”

Bob is survived by his sister, Roberta (Terry) O’Brien of Algonquin, Illinois; nieces Christy Denney and Donna ( Jim) Harvey and their children Katie & Scotty Denney and Jimmy & Taylor Harvey; his Uncle and Aunt Raymond and Patricia Edbrooke; and many cousins.

Those wishing to make a gift to BB&N in his memory may contribute online or by mail, noting the “Edbrooke Student Activity Fund” as its designation.

Milestones John Constable ’44 died June 6, 2016, in his Sherborn, MA, home of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 88. Born in London, he was a son of William G. Constable and the former Olivia CarsonRoberts. His father, a noted art historian, brought the family to the United States when he was appointed curator of painting at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

son Richard Watkins of Windermere, FL, daughter Jan Kelly of Marietta, GA, and William “Billy Ray” Watkins of Raleigh, NC. He is also survived by many grandchildren and nieces and nephews. He was completely dedicated to his family. He particularly enjoyed the weeklong family reunions which have occurred every Thanksgiving for the past 18 years.

Dr. Constable, a recipient of BB&N’s Distinguished Alumni/ae Award, graduated from Browne & Nichols and went to Harvard College. He graduated from Harvard with the Class of 1947 and from Harvard Medical School in 1952. During medical training he spent two years in the Navy and was stationed on a ship off Taiwan at the end of the Korean War. Dr. Constable later wrote in a Harvard class report that he used a bicycle, which he stored in the upper bunk of his cabin, to explore Japan and other countries whenever there was time ashore. Back home, he focused on plastic surgery at Mass General and also treated children at Shriners Burns Institute.

Through relatives he was introduced to Sylvia Paine, whom he married in 1957.

Paul Watkins ’45, age 89, of Vero Beach, FL, and Wellesley, MA, died peacefully on September 6, 2016, surrounded by his loving family at the VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach. Paul was born on June 3, 1927, in Beverly, MA, and spent his early years in Cambridge. He graduated from Browne & Nichols, earned his chemical engineering degree from MIT, and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He began his career as an engineer at Conoco Oil in Texas. He returned to Cambridge in 1952 to manage the family real estate firm, Harlow Matthews, for the next 35 years.

Throughout his career (which included sitting on the Rent Control Board), he was most notably recognized for his tenant advocacy and ethics. In 1954, he married the love of his life, Ann Holt, and they raised three children in Weston, MA. While living in Weston, he was moderator of the Congregational Church of Weston and a 50-year member of the Charles River Power Squadron, serving as Commander for a term. He was also a Rotarian (Cambridge Rotary) with decades of perfect attendance. After selling the business and retiring in 1987, he continued to enjoy his favorite pastimes: golfing at Brae Burn Country Club (Newton, MA) and Grand Harbor (Vero Beach, FL), boating off the coast of Cape Cod, and traveling abroad.

He is survived by Ann, his wife of 62 years,

Jean McCreary Birckhead Wheelwright ‘49, of Charlottesville, VA, passed away peacefully at her home, which sits atop a hill with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, on Monday, July 11, 2016, following a recent cancer diagnosis. She was 85. Born in Cambridge, MA, Jean was the beloved wife of Michael Wheelwright, to whom she was married for 30 years, although they originally met in 1952 on Beacon Hill, at which time Michael, who was visiting from California for his dad’s 25th Harvard reunion, told her he would marry her someday. Jean and Michael were together for the past 35 years, living in Santa Barbara, CA, San Rafael CA, Waltham, MA, and Charlottesville, VA. Jean graduated from Wheelock College in Boston in 1954 with a B.S. in early childhood education and attended the University of Massachusetts, where she received a certificate in gerontology. Jean was a tireless volunteer during her life, working for many years at Mount Auburn Hospital and as volunteer director at Sancta Maria Nursing Facility, both in Cambridge, MA, and as assistant volunteer

director at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Jean was very involved in the Episcopal Church, including at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields in Lincoln, MA, and she made many dear friends throughout her life.

Jean leaves behind her husband, Michael; much loved dog, Carter, cat, Kitty; son, Elliott H. Birckhead and his wife Sara of Charleston, WV; son, Stuart L. Birckhead and his wife, Adele of Port St. Lucie, FL; and son Peter M. Birckhead and his wife Tamar of Carrboro, NC. She also leaves her step-children, Alice Wheelwright and Nathaniel Wheelwright along with their spouses. Jean was Granny to her cherished grandchildren, Hunter, Emily, Natalie, George, Ara, Camille, and Maya. She was preceded in death by her older sister, Phoebe McCreary Hemenway ‘44 and her parents, Frederick Root McCreary, an instructor in the English Department at Harvard and a poet who counted Robert Lowell and Robert Frost among his friends, and Ruth (Huntley) McCreary.

Janet Baker-Carr ’53 died peacefully on July 16, 2016, in Sudbury, MA. She was 81 years old. Janet was born at her family home, Little Abbots, in Betchworth, Surrey England on October 21, 1934, to Katherine “K” and Christopher “Kit” Baker-Carr.

In 1948, she and her mother moved to America to live with her maternal grandparents in Cambridge, MA. Janet enrolled at the Buckingham School and was actively involved in the drama program; to this day people recall with delight her magical performance in the role of Peter Pan. Following graduation in 1953, Janet attended drama school in London. She returned to the United States and acted in a number of productions at the Brattle Theater in Harvard Square. She began her long career in classical music broadcasting at the age of 15 in Boston on WXHR. As Music Director of WBAI in New York City, her pioneering interview program, Profiles in Music, featured world-class musicians and composers. The program was broadcast in New York, Boston, Providence, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Recordings of these programs were given to the University of Southern Mississippi and are now a part of its music library. Janet was as resourceful as she was fearless.

While working on special assignment with the BBC, she traveled briefly behind the Iron Curtain to East Germany. Stunningly beautiful and short of funds while living in London, she modeled for Vogue Magazine.

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Janet worked as the Assistant Director of the Institute of Arts Administration at Harvard University. She was passionate about the arts and while working at Harvard she wrote Conflict in the Arts: The Relocation of Authority, jointly authored with Doug Schwalbe. As a contributing editor of Harvard Magazine, Janet wrote regularly on the arts. In addition, she is the author of three books: Evening at Symphony: A Portrait of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1977); An Extravagance of Donkeys (2006); and A Small Green Halter (2010).

In 1984 Janet and her husband Herbert Agoos, moved to Highland Farm in East Andover, NH. Janet worked as the Director of Development at The Tilton School. She turned Highland Farm into a sanctuary for donkeys. One of her books is a collection of marvelous stories about her time on the farm. In the mid-1990s Janet moved to Jackson, MS, to be closer to her daughter, Harriet Roberts ’81. Janet returned to New England in 2008 to spend time with her daughter, Kate Baker-Carr ’80.

Janet adored great books, was always surrounded by animals (particularly donkeys and cats), she had a marvelous way with babies, and she was always ready for an adventure. She loved and was fiercely admiring of her two daughters and then later, of her grandson.

David G. Reynolds ‘55 formerly of Waltham and Belmont, died on October 8, 2016. He was the son of the late Philip and Barbara Reynolds, brother of Kate Kraska, Betsy Cargill, the late Joan O’Rourke, Marcia Sutton, Susan Brown, and Philip Reynolds, Jr., and a beloved husband of Carole J. (Lally) Reynolds. He is survived by daughters Joan Daly and her husband Brian and Carole Castano and her husband Paul, and sons David Jr. and his wife Kristen Gill Reynolds ‘86 P’13, Daniel and his wife Sherri, Philip and his wife Kate, and Thomas. David was the proud grandfather of Kathrine Reynolds ‘13, Joseph, Elizabeth, Matthew, Daniel R., David G. III, Daniel J., Jennifer, Clayton, and Luke, and a great-grandfather of Ezra Gardner.

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Joan Gladstone ’53 and Janet Baker-Carr ’53 John E. McKeigue III ’68 of Arlington, MA, formerly of Cambridge, died on August 25, 2016. He was born on December 9, 1950. John was the loving father of Gregory and Aliza McKeigue, dear brother of Joseph ’64, Kevin ’67, and the late Margaret “Meg” McKeigue, son of the late Dr. John “Jack” and the late Margaret “Peg” McKeigue. He shared a loving marriage of 34 years with Emily McKeigue. John attended BB&N with his brothers, graduated from Muhlenburg College, and studied at Lehigh University. For 17 years, John worked as the manager of telecommunications at Tufts University where he was known for his tireless work and endless sense of humor. John followed his Boston sports teams avidly, loved to cook, and was a skilled craftsman and builder. He was a devoted supporter of his children’s endeavors, and shared his love of life with those around him.

Bill Mulcahy ’68 was well known and loved by a generation of now older Australian polo community members and former players. Bill died of pneumonia after undergoing an extensive back operation. He was 65. Bill’s inspiration to switch from ice hockey to polo came

after watching Jim MacGinley’s superb horsemanship playing off an 8-goal rating at Bill’s home club ground at the Myopia Polo and Hunt Club, South Hamilton, Boston. He spent several long stints in Australia and New Zealand and was significant in being one of a select group who pioneered the sale of Australian and New Zealand horses to the United States. He played and managed teams in NSW, Victoria and South Australia and played a huge role in the Bungendore Club victory over Goulburn in the 1979 Dudley Cup at Warwick Farm. Billy is remembered as a great character, raconteur, horseman, horse doctor, player in more ways than in a polo game, gentleman, and Good Samaritan. He was an allround good bloke.

Milestones LAURA LEVIS WRITER/EDITOR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE It is with a heavy heart that we commemorate Laura Levis, whose life was tragically cut short by a severe asthma attack leading to her death on September 22. From 2005 to 2011, Laura worked in the BB&N Communications Office as a writer and editor. She is remembered as a talented writer who possessed a vibrant wit, an empathetic soul, and a genuine curiosity to engage in everything the world had to offer.

Laura is survived by her loving husband, Peter DeMarco, and her parents Dr. William and Georgia Levis of Manhattan.

Friends of BB&N Elisabeth (Betsy) Alles August 3, 2016 Wife of Richard “Dick” Alles ’42 (dec.)

Ian Arnof February 27, 2016 Grandfather of Kaley Arnof ’17 George Phippen Edmonds, Jr. June 25, 2016 Father of Natalie Edmonds Fair ’82 and Holly Edmonds, P’19 Grandfather of Fraser Edmonds Pesek ’19 Audrey J. Lenk July 14, 2016 Mother of Erica Lenk Emmet ’72 and Allison Lenk ’78 Laura Beth Levis September 22, 2016 Writer/Editor, Communications Office Harriet Leatherbee Needham August 20, 2016 Mother of Daniel Needham III ’70 and Peter Needham ’72 Former Trustee, 1966-1972 Peggy Schmertzler August 28, 2015 Mother of Caleb Clapp ’79 and Margaretta “Story” Clapp Phillips ’80 Grandmother of Austin Clapp ’15, Lida Clapp ’16, and Elizabeth Clapp ’17 Vivian Foy Stacey September 5, 2016 Mother of faculty emeritus member Roger F. Stacey Joseph S. Wheelwright September 28, 2016 Father of May Wheelwright ’98 Former Faculty Member, 1979-1992

Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer

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(1) The clock tower atop the Nicholas Athletic Center at the Upper School (2) An old student carving in one of the beech trees at the Middle School (3) The old climbing rope in the rafters of the Lower School gymnasium (4) A close-up of the Upper School entrance showing numbers relating to the architectural principles of the Renaissance (5) An original relief on the side of the Musgrave mansion at the Middle School (6) The Bivouac sign that hangs at Camp Marienfeld in New Hampshire

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Campus Sleuth Challenge

Things About BB&N:

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Can you identify the object and location in these photos spanning all of our campuses in Cambridge (and beyond?). See the bottom of the page for an answer key.

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How Well do you Know BB&N?

Karen Kalina ’81:

Gratitude for her BB&N Education Becomes a Family Legacy Karen Kalina’s ties to BB&N go back nearly 50 years when she came to the Buckingham School as a pre-Kindergartener. As she was moving into the Upper School, the School offered her financial aid which was not only a tremendous help to her family but also an indication that BB&N cared about her.

After BB&N, Karen received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from Columbia. Since then she has held positions in business and finance that took her and her family to Europe and New York before moving back to Boston with her husband Erik Yesson and sons Reid and Dana, who is currently an 8th grader at BB&N. Comparing Dana’s experience to her own, Karen notes that while BB&N is definitely a different school now than when she attended, what remains the same is the caring that faculty have for their students, as well as the School’s balanced approach among academics, athletics, and arts, which truly molds “renaissance” young people.

Over the years, Karen has remained involved with BB&N as a regional, reunion, and fundraising volunteer, and currently serves as Alumni/ae Council Chair and BB&N Trustee. Through all these experiences, she notes the pleasure of getting to know a wide variety of other alumni/ae who share the common bond of a BB&N education.

Karen’s involvement with BB&N also includes a long history of participation in the School’s annual giving program, always designating part of her gift to financial aid because of her belief in the importance of a diverse student body and her desire to provide the opportunity of a BB&N education to other students. As she and her husband were redoing their estate plans recently, there was little doubt that they also wanted to provide for the School in their will by designating a percentage of their estate for BB&N along with other educational institutions, making them proud members of The Almy Society.

“As a ‘lifer,’ I care about BB&N as much as any other organization because the School believed in me by providing me with financial aid that helped ease the financial burden for my family. When it came time to write our will, my husband and I decided to include BB&N to provide for the School’s future as well as our family.”

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 www.bbns.org/giftplanning.

Erik Yesson P’21, Dana Yesson ’21, Reid Yesson, and Karen Kalina ’81, P’21

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

2017 FEBRUARY 1:

BB&N in Boston FEBRUARY 13&14:

LET’S GET

TOGETHER! www.bbns.org/alumniae

BB&N in Los Angeles FEBRUARY 16:

BB&N in San Francisco MARCH 28:

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BB&N in New York City MAY 6:

BB&N Circus MAY 12–MAY 14:

Strawberry Night/ Reunion Weekend