Behind Stowe | August 9, 2021

Behind Stowe Behind Stowe LN T IHLI L L L SSCCH HO OO R R T HTE HAE R TA SRT S W A LWNAU TU H OLL F O FO

School Year 2020–2021 | Volume 11 Number 1

A Different Angle

Behind Stowe Behind Stowe LN T IHLI L L L SSCCH HO OO R R T HTE HAE R TA SRT S W A LWNAU TU H OLL F O FO

A Different Angle 2020 / 2021 | Volume 7 Number 1 This year, the Covid pandemic wore on, and communities around the globe, including ours on the Hill, had to pivot, and pivot again. Thanks to the deep resourcefulness and boundless energy of our faculty and staff, and the hypervigilance of the Health & Safety team, our move to offer both classes on campus and hyflex classes for those students who were not able to join us in Natick continued to keep majors in all five art disciplines engaged in furthering their field of study through innovative use of new digital tools and teaching methods. Additionally, Walnuts became a voice for change as we delved deep into some transformational diversity, equity, and inclusion work in order to make progress toward becoming an anti-racist institution. Reunion became a month-long collection of celebratory virtual events. And then the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel: late spring saw the vaccine rollout and a lessening of COVID restrictions, which made “in real life” performances and celebrations a joyful occurrence. We are deeply thankful for everyone in the community—alumni, faculty, staff, students, and parents—who supported us in embracing change with an open heart this year.

EDITORIAL TEAM Garrett Murphy ’08 Senior Development Officer Jeanne O’Rourke Chief Creative Officer Rebecca Mayersohn Stewardship & Research Coordinator Judy Kiviat Editorial Assistant blazar design studio Design DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Tobey Fossey Chief Development Officer Claire Mumford Annual Giving Officer Leah George Database Manager CREATIVE TEAM Jenna Nastri Digital Content Manager

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10-YEAR REUNION Antonio Viva and Bailey

GEFEN MOR '22

WALNUT HILL

Q&A

RECOMMENDS Ten Notable Reads from the Walnut Hill Community

Moon '11

4 LOVE LETTER Betsy McClendon '65 Bids Board Presidentship Adieu

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19 SAM D'AMICO '22 Q&A

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24 NEW TRUSTEES

ALUMNI SPRING FLING & AWARDS

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CLASS NOTES

IN MEMORIAM

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30

ASHLEY BLANCHET '05

GRADUATION

Q&A

Emily Kristofek Marketing & Communications Associate Matt Seifert WFMA Faculty/Creative Team

Cover Artwork by Matthew McKee Photography; Black on White: Readings, Screenings & Photography from The WFMA Department

PHOTOGRAPHY Jenna Nastri Matthew McKee Photography Matt Siefert Tom Kates Photography Walnut Hill Archives

Special thanks to our contributors this year: Sam D’Amico ‘22, Tobey Fossey, Jay Crawford-Kelly, Rebecca Mayersohn, Bailey Moon ‘11, Gefen Mor ‘22, Michelle Provorny, and Jason Stumpf

© 2021 Walnut Hill School for the Arts. All rights reserved. Published by Walnut Hill School for the Arts, 12 Highland Street, Natick, MA 01760-2199 (tel) 508.653.4312 (fax) 508.653.9593 | Please send change of address to Leah George: lgeorge@walnuthillarts.org

Twitter and Instagram: @walnuthillarts | facebook.com/walnuthill | walnuthillarts.org | 508.653.4312

10 YEAR REUNION

A 10-Year Reunion: Antonio Viva and Bailey Moon '11 Just before the close of this past school year, Bailey Moon ’11 Zoomed with Antonio Viva, Walnut Hill School for the Arts Head of School. Bailey, now a stylist and a consultant, was Antonio’s first Senior Class President, and they recently both celebrated their 10th reunion and anniversary, respectively. This spring, Viva announced that the 2021–2022 school year will be his last, and the search for a new head has begun.

Here’s an excerpt from their conversation.

BM: How would you summarize the past year and a half?

AV: I remember the first email

I sent to the Board of Trustees that had the word “coronavirus” in it was in January of 2020.

What many of us here in the United States realized was that we had this very provincial view that this wasn’t going to affect us. So when it did, it affected us in such a significant way that it challenged everything we know about Walnut Hill. We’ve had to rely on technology in ways we never would have before, and I’ve been so amazed by how quickly faculty went from zero to 100.

They implemented new teaching strategies. They asked: What does training a musician mean in a virtual environment? How do you teach a math class virtually? We’ve done an incredible job of building on these skills and tools, and I hope

ABOVE Antonio Viva and Bailey Moon '11 2020 / 2021

some of it stays. Maybe we could live in a world where we don’t rely on paper as much, or where regardless of where our families live, we can use technology to keep them connected.

because there are certain things about the normal that I don’t think we should rush back to. I hope over the next few months we spend some time looking at what we want to keep.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say that the conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion has been at the forefront of our work this year. I think it’s presenting a unique opportunity to ask ourselves: What does it mean to train young artists today? How do our School and the systems that we have in place need to evolve?

BM: What are some of the highlights of the work that’s been done in the DEI space, and what lies ahead for the future?

The way I would wrap up this past year is that it feels like five years of work in 14 months. Teachers, administrators, the Board, students, families—everyone learned to be flexible. My hope is that we don’t rush so quickly back to everything being normal again,

AV: Some of the most important work that’s had to happen this year has been at the Board level. Our School is governed by a Board of Trustees: 28 to 30 people who volunteer their time, resources, and energy to make sure that the School maintains a trajectory. As I like to say, boards have a responsibility to ensure intergenerational equity. The decisions they make today are the decisions that impact the School 10 or 15 years from now. This year,

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the Board established a standing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, took a look at current bylaws, and implemented term limits as a way to make sure that we don’t exacerbate or continue systemic practices that don’t allow for diverse voices at the table of leadership. We’re also working with the Glasgow Group and Rodney Glasgow, giving the Board time to reflect on its own diversity work so that when it comes time to make decisions, they’re doing that from an informed lens.

On a school level, there’s been a lot of work done to maintain our on-campus support and resources, such as affinity group work and the training we do with SEED—Seeking Equity Education and Diversity. The other area that we focused on was creating a restorative process for the community to process what we heard and learned last summer.

We ran several forums that

that are grounded in a restorative impulse school-wide.

In addition, the DEI Committee at the school level provided two really important pieces that are leading us into next year. The first was to identify a tool for a school-wide diversity climate assessment. We’re going to work with the National Association of Independent Schools' inclusivity tool, Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism, which will help us identify and assess the progress we’ve been making around DEI goals, the success of existing DEI programs, and the current level of inclusivity as perceived by multiple constituencies. The second initiative from the Diversity Committee is to implement a bias incident reporting system, so that when somebody in the community experiences bias or microaggressions, there’s a vehicle for how people can share that, as well as a process for follow-up.

To read their complete conversation visit walnuthillarts.org/behindstowe allowed us to do a lot of listening and to hear people speak their truths. We’re also moving away from a more traditional way of looking at discipline, and toward a restorative model where we recognize that when working with young people, there’s an opportunity for learning to occur on both sides. The most important change that we’ve made is to begin the process of moving toward a culture of restoration campus-wide. This included a three-day training for all department heads, directors, and school administrators at the end of the school year, with the goal being that we will further implement practices and policies 2 | Behind Stowe

The other two things that we’re really excited about are implementing an artist-inresidence fellowship geared toward BIPOC artists, and expanding our Guest Artist Series to include more diverse voices.

BM: What ultimately led you to step down as Head of School?

And if you can, give us some insight into what is coming next for you.

AV: There’s never a good time to

leave, but as I reflected on the past year and I thought about where we were, I realized that next year is going to be a transition year.

So from a timing perspective, I’m

really confident that by the end of next year, Walnut Hill, like a lot of schools, will find ourselves coming out of this period in history and getting ready to embrace a new energetic push toward something better. I think that timing could be really ideal for a new Head of School to come in.

On a personal level, with one kid in college and another kid starting high school, I just realized that I want time with my family. When you’re Head of School at Walnut Hill, sometimes the Walnut Hill family takes priority—I travel a lot, I’m away a lot, I have a lot of events I’m expected to be at. I don’t want to choose between my son’s Homecoming and Walnut Hill’s Homecoming. I don’t want to wait until they’re off living their own best lives. This is a nonstop job, and I’ve done it with all the love in my heart, but I know that it’s healthy for a new leader to come in.

Because it’s such a long goodbye and I’m not leaving until the end of next year, what I’m hoping to do this summer is spend some time reflecting, meditating, and giving myself permission to think about what I want to do next. I know that I’m interested in continuing my own creative work. I think that by next year I’ll have a better answer, but right now I’m leaving myself open to whatever the universe has in store for me.

BM: What’s one piece of advice that you would pass on to the next generation of young Walnuts?

AV: Don’t let anyone convince

you you’re not good enough, talented enough, or creative enough—with hard work and determination, anything is possible. And if you’re really committed, you can find success in a variety of ways. So don’t allow someone else to tell you what you can or cannot accomplish. ◆ www.walnuthillarts.org

YOU

TUBE

Scan QR code to check out our channel!

Miss going to live arts events?

SO DO WE, but we’re pleased to introduce you to the next best thing: our Walnut Hill YouTube Channel, which features archived performances, and events.

Sit back and enjoy everything from a selection of this year’s senior recitals to our Crush series, which complements the virtual presentation of performances and showcases from each of the five art majors, and much more!

2020 / 2021

Check back periodically, as we are frequently adding new content from our wonderfully talented students.

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FOND FAREWELL

Love Letter to Walnut Hill: An Interview with Elizabeth “Betsy” McClendon '65 Betsy Paine McClendon ’65, outgoing President of the Walnut Hill Board of Trustees, has been a critical part of the School’s transformation since joining the Board over 25 years ago. During her tenure, Walnut Hill School for the Arts has grown into one of the preeminent independent arts high schools in the world, attracting talented and diverse students from the four corners of the globe. She advocated for major campus improvements and construction, including most notably the Conant and Bigelow building transformation into what is now the Academic Technology Center building, and the stunning Delbridge Family Center for the Arts project. She also has championed program advances such as the addition of the Writing, Film & Media Arts major, among others. As she prepares to depart from her Board role, we asked her to reflect on her experience and impact.

Q A

How did you first get involved with Walnut Hill?

I’m from Wayland, Massachusetts (the next town over from Natick), and was happy enough to go to Wayland High School. But my parents had sent my brother to an independent school, and I was lucky that they wanted to afford me the same opportunity, even if I wasn’t convinced! I made a deal with my father that I would try Walnut Hill out until Thanksgiving— and of course I ended up loving it. Within five minutes of going to a first-day picnic, I met someone who remains one of my very best friends to this day. That was the start of my love for Walnut Hill.

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Q A

What was Walnut Hill like when you were a student?

Back then it was a school for girls only, but there was still that spirit of great camaraderie and friendship. We actually created our own uniform of sorts: a blue jean skirt and a turtleneck, and that's what we wore every day. That in itself was such a stress relief—not to worry about what I wore to school every day! I was athletic, and I spent a lot of my time at Walnut Hill playing field hockey, lacrosse, and tennis or playing inside the huge gymnasium, which is now a historic part of our Dance Center.

www.walnuthillarts.org

A moment that stands out during my tenure is when JFK was killed, during my first year at Walnut Hill. I remember being in the Library when I heard the news, and having the sense of everything and everybody just stopping. We had a special service of remembrance at the School, and I could palpably feel how many other of my classmates and faculty were experiencing the same devastation. That awful shared experience helped me feel even a tighter bond with the School community. To this day, I remain very close with five of my classmates (and I graduated 56 years ago!). It’s a joy that so many of us still keep in touch.

Q A

What were some of your favorite classes?

I remember well Ms. Carpenter, an English teacher who really taught me the beauty of building a large and varied vocabulary. Her method was this: she asked us to discover three new words every day, look them up, and write the definition on note cards. It seems so simple, but I found a real joy in it—both in the process of the exercise and in the result.

I also remember reading Macbeth and acting out the scene of the witches circling the cauldron—maybe a harbinger of the Shakesperean art that we’ve brought to the School since!

Q A

How has Walnut Hill’s character changed over the years?

I loved it when I started and I think it's gotten even better since. The teachers today are amazing, and so dedicated to the mission of the School. Not all students have the motivation to come to Walnut Hill and work so hard—and the combination academics and art program is such hard work. But every one of the teachers recognizes the special qualities our students bring to campus, and dedicates their time in the classroom toward nurturing those talents as well as encouraging creativity and curiosity and discipline. Today there's also a much more defined and more comprehensive community program, which helps students feel a part of a campus “family” and know that the adults on campus are here to support them. Something that we've

OPPOSITE PAGE Head of School Antonio Viva, Betsy McClendon ‘65, Walnut Hill Director of Chamber Music Laura Thielke, Walnut Hill’s former Director of Music Patty Thom, Walnut Hill’s former Director of Dance Michael Owen and College Counselor Bobbi Owen.

THIS PAGE TOP TO BOTTOM Earle Batchelder, Betsy McClendon ‘65, Carol Hauptfuhrer ‘65, Laura Smith ‘65; Betsy McClendon ‘65, Mary Barlow Mueller ‘65, Cindy Horan ‘65; Betsy McClendon ‘65 (far right) returning to campus as Board President.

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FOND FAREWELL Continued from page 5

boasted about over the years is that at Walnut Hill, you are truly welcomed as you are. Today that is even more the case than when I was a student.

Q A

What drew you to join the Board when you did?

I knew that the School had transitioned from being a girls’ school to an arts school, but I didn't know about the details of the transition, or how that manifested itself on campus. I was invited to a Board of Visitors Day, and when I saw the kids performing, and saw some of the visual art they were currently making, I was just amazed. I stayed engaged with the School in small ways, and continued to meet with a few Board members here and there, and then they invited me to join the Board. I was honored and very surprised. I was new to board service and there was definitely a learning curve. I’m happy to say that members of the Board share the same welcoming sense of community that the students have with each other. If you have a challenge, there is someone along the way to help problem-solve and find a solution.

Q A

How many years have you been on the Board?

What has changed?

I joined the Board in 1995. And in 1997, the current Board President was a wonderful gentleman named Bob Keiter. Bob had said he would be President if I would be the Vice President. At that time, I was working full-time at a demanding position at Fidelity and didn’t think I had the bandwidth to succeed as a Vice President, but Bob was very convincing! And then he said, “When you decide you've had your fill of working at Fidelity, and are ready to retire, I want you to serve as the next President.” He chaired the Board for three years, and

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we had a really fruitful and productive partnership. I retired from Fidelity on June 30, 2001, and on July 1 of that same year, I became the President and have served the School in that role for 20 years.

Q A

What do you feel most proud of in your role as Board President?

I think the thing that always stands out front and center for me as a Board member has been making sure that the faculty, staff, and all the other people who support the students are of the highest caliber and really want to be at Walnut Hill.

I commend the ongoing dedication of the incredible Head of School and the administrators and teachers who work here. As Board members, we continuously look at whether salaries and benefits are market appropriate, in order to both retain our talent and attract new talent when we need to. We have a small endowment that we are hoping to grow, and we have learned to be creative in spending our budget in the most impactful way for the whole community.

I have also been very committed to enhancing and improving our space on campus. We have amazing students, and we want to make sure we have functional studios, theaters, and community spaces. We realized a few years ago that all of these talented kids needed great places to perform and practice. We had one big theater, a small black box, and some dance studios; but we really needed more performance space. That was why we created the beautiful Delbridge Family Center for the Arts, which is a multi-use building with a gorgeous dance studio, flexible gallery space, offices, and a gem of a black box theater. When I see all of the improvements we have made over the last 20 years, I am very proud of our ability to take a historic campus and continue to make it beautiful and relevant.

www.walnuthillarts.org

Helping to build up the Board is another point of pride for me. We have alumni—some from the pre-arts time and others who were dancers or pianists or visual artists—and we have parents too.

Some Board members are friends of the School with no legacy connection to Walnut Hill, but who strongly believe in the mission of the School and the benefit and value of the arts. A thoughtful and strategic Board is critically important to the continued financial health of the School.

Our Board meetings take place three times a year on a Friday, and then after the business portion of the meeting we walk up to the Head's House for dinner and a student performance. Students will come and play the violin, the piano, or the cello, or sing while we're having cocktails, and then we have dinner together. The student performances on those nights are so special—it’s a real treat to experience such an intimate performance. It’s always very moving! Those evenings are also a great way for the Board to get to know one another and the staff and faculty better.

Then we continue our Board work on Saturday. We’ve gotten great feedback from Board members who have a lot of experience serving at other institutions, and I’m proud to say that our Board gets rave reviews for being both friendly and effective.

Q A

How do you feel the student population has changed over the years?

When I compare it to my own experience, I can say that the students at Walnut Hill today are far more focused and dedicated to their passion and their art. (In high school, I was only certain that I wanted to graduate and go on to college!) When you come and see their art in person, they truly do impress you because we don't expect such a high level of execution from high school kids. Whether it’s watching a dance or a music performance, or viewing a gallery show of paintings and sculpture, or watching a student film or a jazz concert: they are amazing. The kids are the reason everybody loves to stay involved with the School.

Q A

What are some of the experiences you have loved most?

If I picked one as a favorite, I would be diminishing the other hundreds I have been able to see. And that wouldn’t be fair, because whatever our students do, they couldn't bring more joy to me . . . and to the audience. But perhaps because it’s most recent in my memory, I have to say that this year’s

Senior Musical Revue was a thrilling performance, after such a long year of Zoom meetings and COVID concerns. On a cold and rainy Friday night, 17 of our senior Musical Theater students performed their debut live, outside under a huge tent. It was the first time that they had sung without masks in over a year and a half. You couldn't help but jump up and clap every time somebody finished: it was heartwarming and exhilarating and tearful. The joy radiated from the students and the audience. You could just tell everyone could breathe a sigh of relief: Finally!

Q A

What are your wishes and hopes for Walnut Hill’s future?

I forever wish fairy godparents would come and wave a magic wand so the many students who want to come here could have the opportunity to attend. The financial barrier for a lot of potential Walnuts is a very real one, and that’s a barrier I still want to try to break down. We've all learned over the past year and a half that we need art—it’s just what feeds our souls. I would love to be able to bring in students of all backgrounds and of all abilities who aren’t able to pay full tuition. We have a big financial aid budget because we truly try to support all the students who should be here; but it never feels like enough. There’s still a lot of work to be done to help offer access to a lot more motivated and curious kids from around the world.

Q A

Anything else you want to share?

We never know what will happen to our students when they move on in their lives. A little story, though, about the value of what a Walnut Hill education can provide: We had one young woman as a student who was a fabulous cellist, and she went on to Princeton, played her cello, then went on to medical school. Most people would be proud to say they’re a doctor, right? But she didn't want to come back to Walnut Hill to tell us that she was now going to be a doctor; she felt that would disappoint us because she was trained to be an artist! But we know that being a doctor IS an art, just a different kind of art in another lane. Here’s the beautiful thing I want students to take away: being trained as an artist will give you so much more than the practical tools to make art—it gives you a sense of curiosity, a willingness to make mistakes, and a creative approach to problem solving. I’m very proud to have been a part of making that happen for graduates over the past 20 years. ◆

OPPOSITE PAGE Board member Anne Morgan and Betsy on the occasion of Betsy’s 50th Reunion, where she received the Robert E. Keiter Award; Antonio Viva and Betsy at Walnut Hill’s 125th Anniversary celebration.

2020 / 2021

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CLASS NOTES

Class Notes at Walnut Hill Submit Class Notes online at walnuthillarts.org/ alumni or email alumni@ walnuthillarts.org.

We love including your photos in Class Notes.

Photos should be at least 300 dpi and no less than 5 inches wide. Please feel free to contact us with questions . . . we want to make sure your photos look terrific.

Class Notes received as of May 4

1948

Photographer LUCINDA WEIL BUNNEN recently published a new book, Constant Impermanence, focusing on her weathered chrome images.

1949

ANNE HAVENS FULLER lives in Albuquerque, NM, and is retired from 40 years of “happy college teaching and administering.” She has two grown children, each of whom has two children of their own.

ABOVE Constant Impermanence, a new photography book by Lucinda Weil Bunnen '48

1959

GAIL CARSON shared with us that after a six-month course of chemotherapy, she is officially cancer-free! She writes: “I’ll enjoy my little granddaughter Miriam Elizabeth, 2, for many years to come. My goal is to be at her high school graduation when I’m 95. I had a great run in Europe as an opera singer in the 1970s and ’80s in West German opera houses. I sang leading roles such as Luisa Miller, Mimi in La Bohème, Elvira in Ernani, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, and many others. Sang on the Met stage and at Covent Garden, in my day, plus with many symphony orchestras on tour in Europe. Ironically, I was at Walnut Hill before it was a performing arts school!

So proud of what it has become.”

1960

CHRISTIE COON wrote to us last spring: “I hope everyone is well and happy and able to get

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out for long walks in the bird-filled calls of nature during this sad, confusing and unsettled time.”

spent months tracking down and communicating with our classmates.

The responses we have received have been touching. We have been saddened to learn of the passing of a number of our classmates and heartened by the interest of many to reconnect at our reunion on May 1. We are very grateful for all the help we have received from classmates and from Garrett Murphy ’08 at Walnut Hill. NON NOBIS SOLUM!”

1964

BARBARA FADEN SMITHSON’s watercolor pieces, Winter Scene and All Colors Are Beautiful, were displayed in the online Arts Benicia holiday market this past winter.

1970

Tough Poets Press recently published a special 30th anniversary edition of PATRICIA EAKINS’s first book, The Hungry Girls and Other Stories.

1961

ROSE “SHELLEY” HORSLEY CRUZ writes: “It has been such a pleasure to work with SUZANNE TISNE, CAROL TRUST, and NANCY WRIGHT HOWARD in our selfappointed class reunion committee! We have

MARGUERITE “TERRY” ATKINSON continues to work past retirement as a home health aide; plays bluegrass and Celtic music in her band, Ragged Blue; and serves on the Deerfield River Watershed Association Board of Directors and Greenfield Farmers’ Market Steering Committee. She maintains a steady interest in the health of our planet and justice for the diversity of its peoples. This April, she participated in Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps training.

www.walnuthillarts.org

1983

LEFT Shelley Horsley Cruz '61, Nancy Wright Howard '61, Suzanne Tisne '61, and Carol Trust '61 planning 60th Reunion activities over Zoom

1973

SUSAN ROSENBAUM FRAGA writes: “I’ve been teaching ballet to adults virtually throughout the pandemic. My students have been incredibly enthusiastic and supportive. We look forward to returning to our studios, but until then, we will continue dancing online!”

1976

PHYLLIS DETWILER reports that she is living in Newport, RI, teaching powerboating and sailing.

She is very involved in the sailing and sail racing community. Her son lives in New York and is an executive with the hospitality industry.

1978

GERTRUDE “TRUDI” BLACKWOOD WHITE CAMPBELL is the Director of Volunteer Ministry at a Franciscan church in Hartford, CT, and proudly reported that her volunteers logged more than 50,000 hours in 2019. Recently, she has been teaching her husband to play the flute.

1981

1981

Congratulations to NICHOLE GANTSHAR for serving as Louisville Ballet’s Executive Director! She wrote: “My first day was March 12, 2020, and my first decision was joining the Artistic Director in canceling the remainder of the season and our fundraiser! It’s been a crazy ride since then, but I’m proud the company still offered a 30-week contract to our dancers.”

2020 / 2021

ANA CORONEL has been named to the Festival Ballet Providence Board of Directors.

She brings years of managerial and executive experience, both as a consultant and as a part of senior leadership of major companies, including Lockheed Martin, Accenture, and Rhode Island–based IGT.

1984

JENNIFER NATALYA FINK’S new play, Bitter Flower, had its virtual premiere in August 2020. The play explores anti-Black racism in the suffrage movement and its consequences for all of us.

1985

CAROLINE SMITH WARD writes: “Started working at SunTrust, now Truist Bank, in August of 2019 as a teller. In May, I celebrated my sixth wedding anniversary.

In my spare time, I love spoiling my three Great Danes!”

Last spring, MAYA CIARROCCHI participated in Equity Gallery’s spring flash, a weeklong sale of affordable works to benefit the greater community of artists and patrons, with her piece, entitled This Place Has a Body.

1982

1988

ANOUSCHKA PEARLMAN writes: “I have been active in music as a recording artist, producer, songwriter, and as music correspondent for NPR. Been living in Sweden, Kenya, Berlin, Los Angeles, and New York through the years.

Love to hear from you!

My website with social media contact is www. anouschka.net.”

Since 2014, JANE HAHN has been running her own college counseling company, My College Advocate. She spoke about college prep and life after high school as the featured guest on the September 1, 2020, episode of The Dadass Podcast.

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CLASS NOTES

ABOVE Susanna Schell Cerrato '98 with daughter Isabel

Sinfonietta’s Music Director since 2011, and has been widely applauded for her innovative programming.

1997

Believe it or not, Alumni Association Executive Committee member JOHN BROOKS has his own podcast! On Hard to Believe, John, a religious studies teacher and amateur theologian, invites special guests to explore the intersection of popular culture, religion, myth, and “all that is esoteric, unexplained, and misunderstood.” Hard to Believe is available on all the major podcast apps, including iTunes, Spotify, Google, and Stitcher.

In August 2020, ROBERT KULEK performed a concert with renowned violinist Nikolaj Znaider as part of the Tivoli Summer Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1989

MELINDA DAVALA SARKIS was recently interviewed for Boston Agent Magazine. She is currently a Residential Sale Agent for Coldwell Banker South End.

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1990

SAHOKO SATO TIMPONE and several colleagues recently presented a webinar titled “Teaching Voice Students from East Asia” for the New York Singing Teachers’ Association.

1991

MEI-ANN CHEN’S contract with the Chicago Sinfonietta has been extended through the 2023–2024 season.

Mei-Ann has been the

1998

JOVANNA HUGUET BURKE shares that she has a recurring role in an upcoming Disney series.

She has also been doing a lot of writing during the pandemic, and is currently shopping a feature film and hourlong drama.

SUSANNA SCHELL CERRATO was chosen as the 2021 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Western Regional Teacher of the Year, and is one of nine Teachers of the Year for the state of North Carolina. This follows her selection as 2020 District Teacher of the Year for Asheville City Schools. She has taught in the district for five years. Daughter Isabel is finishing up kindergarten at the same school this year.

COURTNEY ORTIZTRAMMELL COLLADO will finish her M.F.A. in dance performance through the Hollins University low-residence program this summer after taking a leave of absence due to the COVID pandemic. She just bought a house in Kansas City, MO, where she is forming Mortal Coil, a dance performance company. She has also been teaching at Kansas City Ballet School and has a corrective movement practice. Courtney has been training clients virtually and developing technique classes in preparation for having dancers in the studio with her, once that is possible.

LIA ICES released her new album, Family Album, on January 29 via her newly founded label, Natural Music.

www.walnuthillarts.org

LEFT Naomi Aborn Fleisher '02 performing in (In)Dependent: The Heroin Project

ABOVE Courtney Ortiz-Trammell Collado '98

2000

We were thrilled to have VAN HANSIS as a virtual guest speaker for the Walnut Hill Theater Department last May.

2001

JOSHUA HOLDEN recently started a new position as Lead Puppet Wrangler on Season 2 of The Not Too Late Show with Elmo, which will premiere on HBO Max. HONG-CHUN “WILLIAM” YOUN recently released a new album of Franz Schubert piano sonatas.

2002

This summer, five of CHRISSY ANGLIKER’s paintings were featured in the group show H2O at Galerie 94 in Baden, Switzerland.

NAOMI ABORN FLEISHER reports that she was proud to play the role of Ryan in (In)Dependent: The Heroin Project at the Academy of Music in Northampton, MA, in early 2019. The project aimed to harness the arts to raise awareness about

the opioid epidemic, increase understanding, and reduce the stigma associated with the disease of addiction.

JONATHAN PARKSRAMAGE’s upcoming debut novel, Yes, Daddy (below), which is set to be published in June 2021, will also be adapted into a television series by Amazon Studios.

In March, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan presented a double bill of Kurt Weill’s pieces Mahagonny Songspiel and Die sieben Todsünden, which featured LAUREN MICHELLE as Jessie and Anna II.

2020 / 2021

Behind Stowe | 11

CLASS NOTES

ABOVE Wynton McCurdy '04

2004

WYNTON MCCURDY recently entered the USC Iovine and Young Academy, where he is pursuing an M.S. degree in integrated design, business, and technology.

2005

GREGORY ALMEIDA reports that he and his wife, Kirsten, proudly

ABOVE Dance of Dreams, a new film featuring Joseph Walsh '06

took care of patients suffering from COVID-19 during our surge here in Massachusetts—Gregory in the ICU as an R.N., and Kirsten as a physician on the inpatient medical service. Gregory writes: “A lot has happened this past year! We welcomed our first baby boy, Benjamin, I took another job teaching at Northeastern University (Go Huskies!), and Kirsten has taken up teaching resident physicians and interns, as well as medical

students from Harvard Medical School. My wife and I send all the positive vibes we can to everyone dealing with this situation of constant uncertainty.

Stay safe, everyone!”

LEVI MARSMAN made his Richmond Ballet choreographic debut this May with a world premiere as part of Richmond’s Studio Series.

He was originally slated to appear in their April 2020 New Works Festival.

During the early days of the pandemic, DAVID PROTTAS offered outdoor community dance classes in his parents’ neighborhood in Natick, just a few blocks from Walnut Hill.

2005/2008 ABOVE Benjamin, the newly arrived son of Gregory Almeida '05 and his wife, Kirsten 1 2 | Behind Stowe

ASHLEY BLANCHET ’05 and NICHOLAS CHRISTOPHER ’08 both appeared in a virtual production of You I Like: A Musical Celebration of Jerry Herman. www.walnuthillarts.org

2007

BARNEY JOHNSON is currently an artist-inresidence at Fondation des États-Unis in Paris, France.

BARRETT WILBERT WEED is set for a recurring role in Bridge and Tunnel, Epix’s upcoming half-hour dramedy written, directed, and produced

by Edward Burns. Last spring, we welcomed her as a virtual guest speaker for our Theater students.

ABOVE Walsh

ABOVE Robert Anemone '08

2006

ANDREA CHEN MCKINNON and husband Mark welcomed daughter Aiofe Mary McKinnon on July 29, 2020.

JOSEPH WALSH stars in a new dance film called Dance of Dreams, which can be viewed on the San Francisco Ballet website.

KELLY MCWILLIAMS’s debut novel, Agnes at the End of the World, was named one of the best books of summer 2020 by People magazine.

Congratulations to Visual Art alum MENGTING YU on the publication of her book, London’s Women Artists, 1900– 1914: A Talented and Decorative Group.

2008

ROBERT ANEMONE recently joined the violin section of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

GEORGI DIMITROV is the new Associate Principal Viola at the Jacksonville Symphony.

JACQUI GRILLI plays Elyse in All About Sex, an original dark comedy feature film from writer and director Dakota Gorman.

A track from DAVID HERTZBERG’s opera, The Wake World, was voted one of the 25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2020 by the New York Times.

MANN-WEN LO won last year’s Bach Competition at the University of Southern California.

BELOW Barrett Wilbert Weed '07

2008/2011

The debut recording of The Rose Elf, an opera by DAVID HERTZBERG ’08 and starring SAMANTHA HANKEY ’11, was released on Halloween of 2020. Samantha premiered the title role in 2018 in the catacombs of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. 2020 / 2021

Behind Stowe | 13

CLASS NOTES

2009

WILLIAM NERI is one of 11 arts administrators selected to participate in the newest cohort of the Sphinx LEAD program, a two-year leadership program designed to evolve the industry landscape by empowering the next generation of executive leaders. Arts leaders of color are selected annually to participate in a curriculum including mentorship, networking, and leadership retreats at top institutions nationwide.

CHRISTINA PAIK was featured in Cultured magazine last summer, discussing her work as a photographer, stylist, producer, and consultant.

ANN SCHAEFER recently accepted a teaching position at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. For the past three years, she has been the Artistic Director at Boston Art Song Society.

ABOVE Jace Pauly '15

EDWARD SPOTS appears in a dance scene in the movie The Lovebirds starring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae. KAILA MERRILL TERRANEO writes: “I’m moving from Sydney, Australia to Umbria, Italy with my husband to start our own brand and business, which is focused in the hospitality and tourism sector," with an emphasis on wine and olive oil experiences.

2010

Vogue described HARPER WATTERS as “the Houston Ballet’s fiercest soloist” in an article entitled “This Dancer Is Redefining Ballet Style Through TikTok.”

2011

Check out Backstage.com for a July 2020 piece

by SCOTT COFFEY about the many lessons he has learned from his grandfather, Alan Alda.

After a shortened 2019–2020 season, SAMANTHA HANKEY’s 2020–2021 schedule included continued collaborations with the Bayerische Staatsoper, where she reprised two roles and debuted the role of Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier.

BAILEY MOON movement-directed a recent photo shoot for Gabriela Hearst’s pre-fall collection. Bailey also came up with the concept for the shoot, which featured ballerinas from American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet modeling the new garments.

Congratulations to REBECCA REALE (first violin section) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil), who won the Grammy for Best Orchestral Performance for their recording of Charles Ives’s Complete Symphonies.

2012

KONRAD HERATH recently married longtime boyfriend Alfred Brewer.

The couple, along with their Maltese named Riga, moved to North Carolina last summer, where Konrad started a position as a French teacher and dorm parent at Asheville School.

2013

GILLIAN O’BRIEN recently started a new role as Chief of Staff for Dover, a recruitment agency.

LEFT Gillian O'Brien '13 14 | Behind Stowe

www.walnuthillarts.org

Ensemble Connect, a twoyear fellowship program that combines “musical excellence with teaching, community engagement and advocacy.”

SIMONE SENIBALDI, known professionally as Salyse, released a new single, “Babygirl.”

2015

SEUNGHYUN “ARIEL” LEE was recently interviewed in the admissions newsletter at Juilliard, where she is currently studying for a master of music degree.

ABOVE Jenna Howard-Delman '18

As of last May, WILLIAM GUANBO SU is an Emerging Artist with the Opera for Peace organization. This spring, he joined the roster of Sempre Artists, in addition to appearing in Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, marking his role debut and company debut at the Austin Opera.

MEGAN TRESCA is currently pursuing an M.F.A. at the University of Connecticut. She spent the last two years teaching art at the Winchendon School.

2014

DRAKE DRISCOLL’s passion project, the Vision Collective, was the 2020 recipient of the Entrepreneurship Grant from the Juilliard School.

NICHOLAS HOOKS is a member of the newest class of fellows for

JACE PAULY recently joined the company of the Cincinnati Ballet.

TESS VOELKER was featured in Pointe magazine this past fall for her recent work with the Paris Opera Ballet.

MADISON VOMASTEK is in the process of bringing the Up North Dance Initiative to her hometown of Traverse City, MI.

2016

Congratulations to ROSS FREEMAN, who joined Boulder Ballet as a company member.

2017

HARLEY CHAMANDY was commissioned by Universal Music Group and Motown Records to direct a music video for viral rapper Matt Ox. In its first week, the video received close to 400,000 views.

EVREN OZEL was named a finalist in the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Competition and a semifinalist in the 2021 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition.

2018

JENNA HOWARDDELMAN took part in BroadwayWorld’s Next on Stage Competition this past fall.

AHMARI LY-JOHNSON recently wrote a blog post for his college, the School of Visual Arts In NYC, in which he discussed his short animated film, The Robot Who Loved Art, as well as finding inspiration in classical music.

2019

JA HO “JACOB” SONG was interviewed in Noblesse, a Korean magazine.

2020

SAMUEL CHILDS performed in a recent virtual concert with his jazz ensemble at New England Conservatory. ◆

LEFT Ross Freeman '16 2020 / 2021

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S U C C E S S O N S TA G E

Q&A with Ashley Blanchet ’05 Broadway show, Memphis, was an unforgettable experience because the show was just a blast to perform. Being the Star-To-Be in the Annie revival holds a special place in my heart, and I think Beautiful: The Carole King Musical was also very special for a similar reason: getting to create something.

Q

Tell us what it has been like to be a working artist over the past year. How did you approach the obstacles caused by the pandemic and the subsequent shutdown of arts venues?

A

Q

Catch us up on the years since you graduated: What did you do after Walnut Hill, and how did that lead you to the career you have now?

A

After graduating from Walnut Hill, I earned a B.F.A. in musical theater at the University of Michigan. Both the training and the connections I received there helped me to get representation in New York, which was instrumental in starting up a career.

Q

You have worked both on Broadway and in regional venues across the country, in addition to performing in concerts, readings, and workshops. What are some of your favorite roles that you have played, or favorite productions that you have been a part of?

A

It’s hard to pick favorites. I remember reading that Bernadette Peters always feels it’s the project she’s currently doing. I like that. My first

I live in Times Square because I thrive off the energy and the possibility, and suddenly every day was like life after the apocalypse—tumbleweeds instead of tourists. The only way I could overcome it was to reframe it. I deliberately tried to take the time to ask myself, "What else sparks joy?" I got to spend a little more time with the people I love.

I moved to California for a while because I love sunshine. I got sworn in as a volunteer for CASA, a foster care program. I expanded my theatrical world as well; I voiced a short animated film, and I’m shooting a feature film for Disney+.

Q

Do you have any lessons or advice for our recently graduated Walnuts, the Class of 2021, who are entering the world?

A

One of my mentors, Leslie Woodies, once wrote me a letter in which she said, "Dive, full force, into the water. You will always find a way to swim to the top." I think mostly in life, you should just go for it. There are a lot of ways to define “success.” Sometimes it comes in ways you wouldn’t have foreseen.

So don’t judge yourself based on what you think you can tell about others; be unnecessarily kind, ESPECIALLY to yourself; and listen to your gut.

If you do this, then I think you will always be “successful.” ◆

To read the entire conversation with Ashley, visit walnuthillarts.org/behindstowe 1 6 | Behind Stowe

www.walnuthillarts.org

2020 / 2021

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RISING SENIORS

Q&A with Gefen Mor ’22

A

There have been challenges, but what’s kept me going through all of it is knowing the support that’s all around. People around me are going through the same thing, and there are always people who can help you. I think everything’s a collective team effort.

Q

What are your hopes or plans for your senior year? Do you have any ideas about what you want to do after graduating next spring?

Q

What brought you to Walnut Hill originally, and what has your experience been like as a Visual Art student so far?

A

I never thought I would go to a boarding school or a private school, but I had an opportunity with this program called A Better Chance. I applied to about 14 schools, and out of those, I chose Walnut Hill. I think what was really special about it was the opportunity to intensely study both arts and academics. So far it’s been a journey. I’ve grown a lot as a person and as a Visual Art student.

A

I’m going to be back on campus, so I’m excited for that! I’m really excited as well for Senior Studio and senior art shows—to see that culmination of my time at Walnut Hill. After I graduate, I’m definitely interested in pursuing art in some fashion, but I don’t know what it’s going to look like. I also hope to do something where I can give back to people. ◆

Q

How has your artistic style, or your artistic interests, changed over the course of your time at Walnut Hill?

A

My view of approaching art has definitely developed. I started to take classes that I’ve never taken before, like ceramics, weaving, and apparel, and I fell in love with so many of them. I’ve learned so much about practices, and developing concepts, and then seeing how that transfers into a piece. I’m grateful to learn about what it means to be an artist, what it means to be a person, and how that translates into looking at the world.

Q

You’ve been a remote student this year, which must have been challenging not only in terms of your art and academic studies, but also because you have an important student leadership position as Community Council Vice President. Can you tell us about your experience this year, and how you were able to overcome these obstacles?

RIGHT Gefen modeling a dress she designed and made for a Visual Art class this past spring

1 8 | Behind Stowe

www.walnuthillarts.org

Q&A with Sam D’Amico ’22 Spanish and transitioning between languages very quickly. I love the way that the subject is taught here—teaching through song, and having Spanish be the only language we speak in class.

Q

What are your hopes or plans for your senior year? Do you know what you want to do after graduating?

A

Q

How has your artistic style, or your artistic interests, changed over the course of your time at Walnut Hill?

A

I came for bassoon. My second semester, Mr. Cooper asked me if I wanted to do opera. That was my introduction to the classical voice world. I think that’s the nice thing about Walnut Hill—you don’t have to hyperfocus yourself into one subject.

You can explore the arts as a holistic experience.

The pandemic made Walnut Hill feel more separated, so I hope next year we can return to a close-knit family. For the future, I want to pursue a dual-degree program in bassoon and some kind of child development field. I want to go into pediatric oncology to help kids with cancer or other childhood illnesses, and help people around the world who don’t have access to those resources.

While doing that, I hope to play in an orchestra, or to play bassoon in some other way. ◆ ABOVE AND BELOW Sam singing at the 2020 Music Department’s January Project performance of Considering Matthew Shepard, and showing some Walnut Hill school spirit on campus

Q

You were a remote student for the first quarter of the year and an on-campus student for the remaining three quarters. What was it like to study music virtually, and what was the transition back to campus life like for you?

A

My brain just could not process sitting in front of a Zoom screen, and I couldn’t find the joy of it, so as soon as we heard that we could come back for Quarter 2, I knew I had to do so. The transition was weird—it was like being a returning student yet being new at the same time. After a couple weeks, though, it just kind of became normal.

Q

Tell us about some of your favorite classes— arts or academic—that you’ve taken over your three years at Walnut Hill. What are the important lessons you learned in those classes?

A

I take Spanish, and I’ve seen how much I’ve improved over time. Knowing another language is important to me, just for building connections with other people. I’ve grown to the point where I feel comfortable talking to people in

2020 / 2021

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2 0 2 1 S TA N D O U T S

Alumni Spring Fling & Awards Typically, our kickoff to Reunion Weekend centers around an evening of celebrating alumni through their art and achievements. This year, we began our six-week virtual Alumni Spring Fling by honoring two members of our community for their notable service and accomplishments.

MAKEEBA MCCREARY ’90, WENDY WHEELER AWARD RECIPIENT

F

rom 1980 to 1984, as a faculty member at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Wendy Wheeler developed and ran the School’s counseling program. Following that, she served as a member of the Board of Trustees for 28 years, including eight years as Board President. A psychotherapist by training, she developed a passion for the arts and tirelessly promoted the importance of arts in education.

Though she passed away in 2013, her legacy lives on at Walnut Hill. Her daughter, Amy Wheeler, is now a member of the Board of Trustees, where she serves as the Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee. Another

ˮ

It’s so important that we continue to bring the arts to young people, and I feel especially privileged to have had the chance to be at Walnut Hill as a student and to continue to have the relationships I forged there.

way in which Wendy lives on is through the Wendy Wheeler Award, which was created to be given to a person or an organization for extraordinary work in the area of arts and education. A tireless proponent of arts, education, and increased access to all, this year’s recipient of the Wendy Wheeler Award is Makeeba McCreary ’90.

Since January 2019, Makeeba has served as the Patti and Jonathan Kraft Chief of Learning and Community Engagement at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Prior to that, she served as Managing Director and Senior Advisor of External Affairs for the Boston Public Schools.

In the spring of 2020, she was inducted into the Academy of Women Achievers, awarded each year

by YW Boston, whose mission is to eliminate racism and empower women. She was one of five honored as Boston’s “brightest, boldest, bravest, and most influential women.”

ˮ

RIGHT Makeeba McCreary ‘90 at Walnut Hill and today 2 0 | Behind Stowe

www.walnuthillarts.org

ANNE MURPHY, ROBERT E. KEITER AWARD RECIPIENT There are only a handful of people who can be credited for having created the conditions for Walnut Hill to survive and thrive back in the early days of our arts program. Most of you know the Keiter name, be it from Bob’s legendary leadership on the Board of Trustees, or from Walnut Hill’s Performing Arts Center, which is named after his wife, Jane Oxford Keiter from the Class of 1960.

Bob Keiter is an alumnus of Amherst College and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, and served as an Army lieutenant for three years. He is a great man who has been generous beyond measure to Walnut Hill.

alumnus, friend, parent, trustee, or teacher.

The epitome of what it means to be a Walnut Hill faculty member, this year’s recipient of the Robert E. Keiter Award is Anne Murphy. Recently retired after over 40 years of teaching our young artists math, she brought a tireless, selfless, and personalized approach to education that has impacted not just the academic success but also the lives of generations of alumni. This is evidenced by the relationships she has maintained with her colleagues and former students to this day.

"I encourage everyone to give back to Walnut Hill.

I want any talented, determined student to have this opportunity,” said Anne in her acceptance speech this spring. To make a gift to financial aid in Anne’s honor, please visit giving.walnuthillarts.org ◆

To honor his peerless contributions to the School over 25 years as a friend and Board member, the Board of Trustees instituted the Robert E. Keiter Award for Extraordinary Service in 2013. This award is to be conferred from time to time to any individual who has made a profound difference over many years to the life of Walnut Hill—be they

CLOCKWISE Anne Murphy in action in the classroom, at the Telethon with fellow Math and Science faculty, and at the 2019 Reunion Weekend.

2020 / 2021

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WORTH THE READ

Walnut Hill Recommends It can be tough to put a good book down. Even when we’ve read the last chapter, good books have a way of staying with us, changing the ways we see the world and the conversations we have with friends. The following are glimpses into books that challenge, compel, and delight. I hope that, like these recommenders, you’ll find a book here that stays with you.

–Jason Stumpf, Humanities Department Head beehive on a bridge, and hilariously awkward everyday moments. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, and it led me to aspire to follow Ross Gay's example, seeking delight in the world around me.

Jane Segale Chief Financial Officer The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Jennifer Elowitch Director of Music Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid This debut novel by a young woman of color was my favorite book of recent months, and I found it hard to put down. The story revolves around a white family and their Black babysitter who is falsely accused of a crime. The racial tensions it explores are gripping and felt very real and relatable.

Jason Stumpf Humanities Department Head The Book of Delights by Ross Gay Every day for a year, the poet Ross Gay challenged himself to write about something that delighted him. This collection of short essays lovingly documents a weed pushing through concrete, two people carrying a bag together, a 2 2 | Behind Stowe

Susana Reyes, Executive Assistant to the Head of School Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie I love the way the characters share their adventures, successes, and struggles as they find themselves as immigrants from Nigeria. Among those challenges is one character’s firsthand experience of racism in the United States. Furthermore, this book does an amazing job of putting into words what it means to adapt to a completely new culture, while also adding these extra dynamics to the characters’ identities and the ways they experience the world around them. I appreciate the balance between those issues, romance, and humor. Moreover, from my personal experience as an immigrant in the US who was not brought up in this country’s culture, I identified with some of the anecdotes about things that happen to the characters.

The Vanishing Half is about African American twin sisters and their families and the very different decisions they make in their lives, one choosing to leave her family and pass as white, and the other choosing to raise her child in the community she grew up in, one that does not embrace that child because she is too “black.”

Each choice has far-reaching consequences and is told through the eyes of various individuals.

Steve McConnell, Part-time Faculty, Theater Department Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari This book offers the insight that humans are uniquely capable www.walnuthillarts.org

of collectively believing in something we cannot actually see, hear, touch, taste, or smell and that this explains why we became the dominant species.

It is the root of our faith in religions, our creativity in art, and our inventiveness in science.

One finishes the book and immediately wants to begin it again.

Niki Conraths Director of Artistic Studies How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell This book is about the philosophy of busy-ness and aloneness, of family, of labor relations, of social media, and the concept of how to stand apart and recuperate.

Many of its subjects are artists.

Nick Zanussi, Faculty/Staff This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving by David J. Silverman

This Land Is Their Land is the history of the Wampanoag Tribe of what is now New England. It not only describes the history through the perspective of the Wampanoag but also discusses how historians (mostly white people) have misrepresented important historical events. It’s both interesting and sad to read about how manipulative and malicious people were toward the Native Americans and how the events around Thanksgiving were adjusted to favor the story from the white perspective.

2020 / 2021

Amanda Leshowitz Health Center/Attendance The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead Every single person on campus (and in life) should read this book. Based on a true story, The Nickel Boys tells the story of a bright and inspired young Black boy who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and lands in the horrific grasp of a state reformatory for boys.

An unlikely friendship sustains him as he struggles to survive and tries to fight back against a system that is supposed to be reforming young men but ends up destroying them instead.

Whitehead’s writing is gorgeous and devastating. I can’t recommend this book enough.

Beckett Azevedo, Class of 2017 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist reminds us of the beauty in the unknown and the unpredictable. A year of isolation and difficult lows, 2020 made me feel lost and, at times, without purpose. This story reassured me that there is power in letting go of the fear of failure and in walking forward with faith. Follow the omens that life presents to you, and you may very well arrive at your destiny!

Jay Crawford-Kelly Humanities Faculty World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil Part memoir–part exploration of the natural world by a FilipinaIndian-American poet—whose own story of being of mixed race is central to the narrative—this book discusses such fascinating creatures as the axolotl, the narwhal, the vampire squid, and more. If you want to learn about a fascinating life, the natural world of America, and animals you never knew existed, read this book. ◆

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TRU ST E E S

Meet Our New Trustees Evangeline Delgado ’11 Evangeline is originally from Bozeman, Montana, but has made the East Coast her home since attending Walnut Hill as part of the Writing & Publishing program. She has continued to be a part of Walnut Hill, as a Resident Assistant, writing intern, Director of Summer Student Life, and member of the Alumni Association. Since graduating, she has found her passion in health education for adolescents. She is currently the Associate Director of Student Wellbeing at Emma Willard School, where she is also founder of the READY Center Program, a curriculum designed at the intersection of health education and DEI. She is completing her Ed.M. at Harvard University Graduate School of Education with a focus on sexual health education.

Matthew Glass P’23 Matthew is a Senior Managing Director at Bronfman LLC. He was previously a partner at Colbeck Capital Management, a firm specializing in special situation investments. Prior to this, he spent seven years as a Director of Multi-Strategy Credit business at Soros Management LLC (SFM) and as a founding partner of Camulos Capital LP, a credit hedge fund started by the credit team at SFM. Matthew received an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and a B.A. in economics from Tufts University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He has served as a board member of several nonprofit organizations, including Hawken School, Northfield Mount Hermon School, and Outward Bound USA. His daughter, Audrey, is in the Class of 2023 at Walnut Hill, majoring in dance.

Eric Herbst ’09 Eric is a business leader, an award-winning television news producer and correspondent, and a certified executive and life coach. Sought out for his business acumen, team leadership, and emotional intelligence, Eric is currently the Managing Director of a nationally renowned executive search firm. He graduated with honors from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study after completing Walnut Hill’s Theater program, and he is an Associate Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation. He is passionate about the arts and remains active in the Broadway, Off-Broadway, and local theater communities. Eric maintains residences in Stockholm, Sweden, and Manhattan.

Deborah R. Mankiw P’18 Deborah began her career as a financial economist in the Fiscal Analysis Branch of the US Office of Management and Budget and a financial analyst in Harvard University’s Office of Financial Strategy and Planning. She subsequently spent 15 years in leadership positions at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Since then, Deborah has raised her children while serving on various nonprofit boards, including the Charles River School, St. Stephen’s Youth Programs, Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School, and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Deborah received an undergraduate degree in economics and political science from Duke University and a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She is mother to three children, including one Walnut who is now a student at RISD.

24 | Behind Stowe

www.walnuthillarts.org

HaeSun Paik ’83, P’21 After being appointed as the youngest music professor at Seoul National University, HaeSun joined the piano faculty at the New England Conservatory (NEC) and also teaches Walnut Hill students. She is a recipient of the Korean National Academy of the Arts’ 2019 Music Award, the nation’s highest honor for Korean musicians. She has won top prizes at international piano competitions and has recorded for EMI and Bridge Records. At age 14, HaeSun came to Walnut Hill from Korea, then earned her B.M. and M.M. degrees and Artist Diploma from NEC under the guidance of Russell Sherman and Wha Kyung Byun. The Walnut Hill tradition continues with HaeSun’s daughter Anna Choi ’21, an oboist, who will be attending Harvard in the fall.

Anthony Williams Tony started his training at age 16 with the Lithuanian ballerina Tatiana Baboushkina and with E. Virginia Williams, founder of the Boston Ballet.

After nine months of training, he became a charter member of the Boston Ballet in 1964, and was quickly promoted to Principal Dancer. Positive reviews led to an invitation to join the Joffrey Ballet in New York City. Tony has also been a Principal Dancer with the National Ballet of Norway, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Samuel Kurkjian’s Boston Repertory Ballet, and the Gulbenkian Ballet of Portugal. In 2001, Tony created an Urban Nutcracker production that debuted at Dorchester’s Strand Theatre. Tony has founded three nonprofit dance organizations: the Ballet Theatre of Boston (co-founded with José Mateo) in 1984, BalletRox in 1995, and the City Ballet of Boston (CBB) in 2018.

John Williams P’05 Between 2015 and 2019, John served as President of Muhlenberg College.

He began his career as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company, where he was the first person of color ever hired. He went on to a successful career as a senior executive at American Express; CEO of a number of travel and transportation ventures, including Sentient Jet; an executive leader at Eduventures; and a partner at The Bridgespan Group. John graduated from Kent School in 1971 and received a B.A. in economics, magna cum laude, from Amherst College in 1975. He then earned both a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1979. He is the father of Ashley Blanchet, a 2005 graduate of Walnut Hill and a successful Broadway actress.

Congratulations: Charlotte Hall '50 and Anne Morgan, Trustees Emeritae The work of the Board of Trustees is often done with steadfast leadership behind the scenes, quietly guiding the School toward progress and success.

In grateful recognition of their lengthy, distinctive and meritorious service, Walnut Hill would like to confer upon Charlotte Hall '50 (1993–2021) and Anne Morgan (2005–2021) the status of Trustees Emeritae.

We thank you deeply for your time and talent over these many years!

2020 / 2021

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IN MEMORIAM

In Memoriam We fondly remember the following members of the Walnut Hill alumni community.

(As of April 15, 2021)

MADALYN CAIN WEJMAN ’43 passed away peacefully on October 9, 2020, at the age of 94. Born in Melrose, MA, she attended Emmanuel College in Boston, where she met the love of her life, Eugene Wejman, an engineering student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

They shared a beautiful life filled with family and travels across the world until Eugene’s death in 2002. Madalyn was very active as a mother to four and with a series of relocations around the country resulting from Eugene’s job promotions at General Electric. In 1966, they returned to Boston and moved in next to Madalyn’s mother.

It was during this time that Madalyn obtained a master’s degree in child development from Boston University and spent time counseling disadvantaged children. In 1973, Madalyn and Eugene built a house in Acton where they would live for their remaining years. Always adventurous and curious, Madalyn became very interested in antiques and started trading American quilts with her partner, childhood friend Harriet Bridges. They specialized in those from Amish Country areas and through the years cultivated an exclusive celebrity clientele who sought out their unique pieces. An avid reader, 2 6 | Behind Stowe

Madalyn was a regular fixture at the Acton Memorial Library. When her eyesight failed her later in life, she continued to follow her passion by listening to audiobooks.

Her greatest qualities were her kindness and generosity; she gave of herself, as well as materially, without a second thought. She also had an unflappable sense of humor, even in her gravest moments of illness. Madalyn is survived by three children and two grandchildren.

holes-in-one. She also loved traveling, playing bridge, UConn Women’s Basketball, the Red Sox, and her beloved mocha chillers. Above all, Betty’s favorite place to be was with family. She kept everyone laughing, her beautiful smile lit up the room, and her genuine warmth and compassion was evident to all who knew her. She is survived by two children, six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and several loving nieces and nephews.

ELIZABETH “BETTY” SEE HILL ’47 passed away on November 23, 2020, at the age of 91. She was born in Springfield, VT, and graduated from ColbySawyer College. She spent her early years in Padanaram, MA, where she was an avid racer of small sailboats. At the age of 13, she met the love her of life, John. They married after college and moved to Simsbury, CT, where they lived for over 60 years. As a resident of Simsbury, Betty was a member of Child & Family Services and the Simsbury Auxiliary, as well as a founding member of Hop Meadow Country Club, where she was a Ladies Club Champion in golf. She competed statewide for many years in the Connecticut State Golf Association, during which she achieved the improbable: three

SARA “SALLY” BACKES LEIGHTON ’48 passed away on March 6, 2021, at the age of 90. She grew up in Wallingford, CT, and attended Prospect Hill School before Walnut Hill. Sally graduated from Connecticut College in 1952 and then attended graduate school at Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1956. She married Kingsley Tuttle Leighton in 1955 and began raising a family of four children. In 1964, she began working part-time as a research assistant variously in the Chemistry, Biology and Geology departments at Yale University. In 1976, Sally began working full-time at the Hopkins School in New Haven, CT, initially as Administrative Assistant to the Headmaster, then as a chemistry teacher, and finally as the

Associate Head of School.

She retired from Hopkins in 1999 and devoted her time and energy to her gardening, to watching and passionately supporting UConn Women’s Basketball, to the Hyland House, and most especially to the Friends of the Guilford Free Library, where she built the online book-selling activity into a successful and significant source of income for the library. Sally will forever be remembered for her sharp mind and love of learning, her sense of humor and wonderful laugh, her artistic sensibilities, her willingness to step outside the lines for what she believed in, and her love of a good fireworks display. Sally is survived by four children and nine grandchildren.

MARY “SKIPPY” SMITH ADAMS ’50 passed away on October 4, 2020, at the age of 87. She was a lifelong resident of Newtown, CT, other than her time at Walnut Hill and at Hood College in Frederick, MD. She married Kenneth Adams in 1954, with a reception following at the weekend home of her parents on Lake Candlewood. Guests were all gathered to send off the couple in a car with tin cans tied to the bumper when, to their surprise. they saw Skippy and Ken speeding across the lake in a motorboat. www.walnuthillarts.org

The last laugh was on them, though, as the boat broke down and they had to be towed ashore to find their hidden getaway car. The couple made their home in Newtown, where they lovingly raised their sons. Throughout her lifetime, Skippy was a family girl, always putting the needs of others first.

She had a great love for dogs and always had one by her side, usually one from a rescue program.

Her joy was in giving them extra treats. She was a member of the Newtown Congregational Church where she was a Sunday School teacher, a life member of the Newtown Historical Society, and a member of the Scudder Association and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She was a former board member of the Visiting Nurse Association of Newtown and a driver for Meals on Wheels.

Preceded in death by her husband, Skippy is survived by two brothers, three children, six grandchildren, two greatgrandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

BARBARA BEALS COOPER ’51 passed away on March 25, 2020, at the age of 86. She grew up in Syracuse, NY, and married her childhood sweetheart, Joseph Cooper Jr., in 1956. Her Smith College junior year abroad in Geneva, Switzerland, awakened her love of travel and other cultures, and she and Joe raised their family in the Philippines 2020 / 2021

and Mexico. Later, while serving as the proprietor of a travel agency in Rowayton, CT, she traveled extensively.

She and Joe moved to Galisteo, NM, in 1987 and found their true home, a traditional adobe house, which they restored together. Intensely creative and intellectually curious, she was an accomplished, self-taught artist in many mediums and served as a docent at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe and with the Friends of the Library in El Dorado. Her family was central in her heart. She is survived by one sister, four children, 11 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

NANCY LITTLEFIELD STINE ’51 passed away on March 26, 2020, at the age of 86. She was born in Westerly, RI; studied nutrition at the University of Maine in Orono; and went on to run Orono’s public school lunch program, co-manage her family’s summer inn in Brooksville, teach piano, write a cookbook, and manage countless commercial kitchens. Family, friends, music, food, and photography were her passions, and she shared them with her husband, Fred, as they traveled the world. The couple were very involved in their Episcopal churches, in both Arizona and Maine.

Some of their involvement included helping found Lunch Break, a nutrition program for community members in need in Red Bank, NJ;

offering humanitarian aid to migrants through the Green Valley Samaritans; volunteering in Guatemala through Orland-based H.O.M.E. Inc. and Emmaus International; and most recently, working with the Committee on Indian Relations with the Diocese of Maine to reestablish native rights. Every year, Nancy and Fred would return to their beloved Pilot House at Nancy’s family property in Brooksville, ME, where they would welcome travelers into their home and share their local knowledge, home cooking, and love of coastal Maine. Nancy is survived by her husband, two brothers, five children and stepchildren, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

LEE GREEFF SWIFT ’51 passed away on August 28, 2020, at the age of 87. She lived in WinstonSalem, NC, where she was a member of the Bethania Moravian Church, and volunteered at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art and Riverwood Therapeutic Riding program. She also lived in Hancock, ME, where she was a director of the Frenchman Bay Conservancy and the Hancock Library, and a member of the Hancock Historical Society. Lee is survived by three children, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, and friends in many parts of the world.

NANCY KEYES DOOHER ’53 passed away on April 12, 2021, at the age of 85. Born in Hartford, CT, she was raised in Western Massachusetts and graduated from ColbySawyer College. She lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years before returning to Natick, MA, and then to Connecticut. She was an office administrator for various brokerage companies in California and Massachusetts, and after retirement, she enjoyed socializing, traveling, and spending time at the beach and at her home in Naples, FL. Most of all, she treasured time spent with her family and grandchildren.

Nancy leaves behind two children, four grandchildren, and one nephew.

LOIS BOUTHILLIER PERKINS ’56 passed away on June 21, 2020, at the age of 82. Following graduation from Walnut Hill, she attended the Museum School for the Fine Arts in Boston, Tufts University in Medford, and Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. Lois was a prolific potter, painter, and art teacher who carried and evangelized her passion for the fine arts throughout her life, no doubt shaped and influenced by her experiences at Walnut Hill, which she spoke of frequently.

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MARTHA BIGELOW PHINNEY ’56 passed away on April 20, 2020, at the age of 82. Her husband of 58 years, Alcott Phinney, predeceased her by one day. Martha was an avid knitter who enjoyed making warm scarves and shawls for the homeless through the Christ Church knitting ministry, as well as handknit Christmas stockings for family and friends. Her family members, especially her grandchildren, were the center and joy of her life. She is survived by one sister, two children, six grandchildren, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

SUSAN NIVISON GWIN ’59 passed away on December 18, 2020, at the age of 81. She was born in Appleton, WI, and lived in Ukiah, CA, at the time of her death. She was a teacher for four decades, and was loved and cherished by many people.

CHARLOTTE YOUNG GALLACHER ’62 passed away on November 11, 2020, at the age of 77.

She was born in Boston and attended Walnut Hill before graduating from Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, NJ. She matriculated at Skidmore College, later graduating from the University of Colorado with a degree in art history. She achieved her master’s degree in comparative Asian studies at the University of Hong Kong. Charlotte enjoyed a life filled with travel, but her heart 2 8 | Behind Stowe

was truly anchored on Capitol Island in Maine. There she took pleasure in exploring, attending socials, visiting with friends, and taking boat rides with her sons, all the while imbuing her children and grandchildren with the importance of island history and traditions.

She had a great love of dogs, especially her collies, Alice and Thom; played a solid game of tennis; was known for her fish chowder and annual lobster feasts, complete with made-fromscratch wild blueberry muffins; and was a skilled correspondent with impeccable penmanship. She was an avid reader and enjoyed many creative exploits, including painting and gardening. Gregarious and charismatic, she was a founding member of the Miles Memorial Hospital Thrift Shop in Damariscotta, former President of the F-ME Chapter of PEO, and an active member of the Second Congregational Church in Newcastle. Charlotte is survived by her husband, two children, two grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

MARSHA BURDEN KELLEY ’64 passed away on May 12, 2020, at the age of 74. Born in Taunton, MA, she attended Wheelock College and went on to become a kindergarten teacher at the Mattapoisett Center School until she started her family and became

a full-time mother.

Marsha continued to be involved in education and served as President of the PTO, raising funds for the Mattapoisett school system during her children’s elementary years. She enjoyed traveling, tennis, teaching water aerobics, bridge, cooking, parties, gardening, wild pedicures, and most of all her family.

Marsha enjoyed spending summers visiting her family’s cottage with her sisters and their families at Crescent Beach in Mattapoisett, and her winters in the warmth of Naples, FL. Marsha’s love of travel with husband David brought them to many different parts of the world, including Egypt, New Zealand, and the US Virgin Islands. In addition to her husband, Marsha leaves behind three sisters, three children, and seven grandchildren.

SUSAN GONNERMAN HAYES ’65 passed away on March 20, 2021, at the age of 74. Born in Washington, DC, in her early years she lived in Hillsdale, NJ, and Bethesda, MD. As a child, she loved art and took classes at the Corcoran Art Gallery in DC. After Walnut Hill, she went on to the University of Massachusetts Boston for her B.A. degree and to the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, NY, where she received her M.F.A. She remained a lifelong artist, specializing in both photography and painting, and a frequent subject of her artistic works was

the natural landscape of New Hampshire.

Her pieces have been exhibited at numerous New Hampshire venues, including the Gordon-Nash Library in New Hampton, the Laconia Public Library, and the AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon.

In her 30s, Susan was diagnosed with a severe mental illness, and over the next four decades, she fought a brave and difficult battle with it.

Despite this formidable hurdle, she remained a prolific artist and continued to paint into her final years. She lived in Laconia for the last few decades, and she spent her final six years receiving devoted care at Genesis Laconia Rehabilitation Center.

Susan is survived by two brothers, three nephews, and two nieces.

LORRAINE GRAVES ’66 passed away on May 11, 2020, at the age of 72. After Walnut Hill, she attended Stephens College in Columbia, MO, where she was on the golf team and received a liberal arts degree. She worked as an engineer in commercial building and construction, before opening her own construction company in 1992. In recent years, Lorraine taught knitting at her local library, enjoyed walking her dog, and kept up with current events and politics.

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IN MEMORIAM SHARON MORRISONHOERMAN ’77 passed away on March 5, 2021, at the age of 62.

She died as a result of lupus, COPD, and other conditions that robbed her of an independent life without pain. Sharon attended Walnut Hill before graduating from Woodstock Academy, then went on to study at Virginia Intermont College. She worked as a finance manager for various car dealerships in eastern and central Connecticut for over 30 years. She will be remembered for her love of cooking and her entertaining of anything to do with horses.

She is survived by her husband, Don, one sister, one stepdaughter, and one granddaughter, in addition to many cousins and friends all across the country.

VALERIE CHAMPAGNE ’84 peacefully passed away on May 21, 2020, at the age of 54, from lupusrelated conditions. She was born in West Chester, PA, and grew up on a horse farm in Chester County. As a young girl, she rode and showed horses, before discovering a love of dance, which brought her to Walnut Hill. After attending Villanova University, she went on to own a real estate company and to teach both real estate courses and computer classes. She later moved to the West Coast to be near family and to enjoy the beautiful views, weather, and lattes of Washington State. She designed websites and 2020 / 2021

taught various software programs for companies around the country, as well as for South Puget Sound Community College. Valerie loved dancing, theater, and opera, and often worked on productions both onstage and backstage. She skydived for the annual Leap for Lupus fundraiser. She loved geocaching and discussing how to prepare gourmet meals, but didn’t love cooking them. She had a fantastic sense of humor, intelligence, and grace. Valerie is survived by her mother, three siblings, and one child.

to which she looked forward eagerly. She underwent the operation on December 13, 2020, and by all accounts it was successful. Six days later, for no apparent reason, the transplanted heart suddenly stopped, and before Rachel could be connected to a heart-lung machine, her brain was starved of oxygen. She always spoke with great fondness of her Walnut Hill years, and remained in contact with many of the friends she made there. Her family has asked that any memorial gifts be made to Walnut Hill.

RACHEL SHNEEBAUM OELSLAGER ’98 passed away on December 23, 2020, at the age of 40.

She obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Vassar College, where she trained and performed with the Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre, and then a master of science in counseling at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

At the time of her death, she was employed as Clinic Director at Orenda Center of Wellness, a recovery center in Frederick, MD, where she lived. In 2005, Rachel married SSGT Stephen J. Oelslager (USMC), who died in 2014 after deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. They had two children, who both survive her and now live with their aunt, uncle, and cousins. Rachel suffered from serious heart disease, discovered in 2018, and required an organ transplant,

GREGORY CARDI ’10 passed away on July 10, 2020, at the age of 28.

Born in Rhode Island, he began playing the violin at the age of 6, and made his solo debut with an orchestra at the age of 10. He served as Concertmaster of the Boston Youth Symphony, as well as the Pacific Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Center orchestras. Greg received his bachelor of music degree from the Colburn School before going on to study for a master’s degree at the Juilliard School. As an aspiring conductor, Cardi conducted the New World Symphony, Pierre Monteux Festival Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, and Nashville Sinfonietta.

He served as Gerard Schwarz’s assistant at the University of Miami, where he was Associate Conductor of the Frost Symphony Orchestra. He designed and presented

music projects in schools, museums, and children’s hospitals, and brought classical music into juvenile detention centers in collaboration with South Florida Cares, an organization focused on supporting young people with mental health and wellness. He was also previously a nationally ranked tennis player, reaching the position of number two in New England. Greg will be dearly missed by his family and friends.

STERLING CHAMBERS ’19 passed away on March 11, 2021, at the age of 20. He was born in Plano, TX, and attended Walnut Hill before graduating from Bending Oaks High School in Dallas. He was a thriving student of finance and economics at the Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University. He played electric guitar in the Hofstra Pep Band and was an active participant in the Ambiguity Improv Club. Sterling was not just gifted, he was a gift, with so many talents that he practiced with hard work and modesty. He was a versatile musician, writer, and actor, quick-witted and funny, and always kind. He loved to have interesting conversations and was a very good listener. The world has been robbed of the many things he had yet to accomplish. Sterling is survived by his parents, grandmother, chosen sister, and a host of other loving family and friends. ◆

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Congratulations to the Class of 2021

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alnut Hill’s 127th graduating class had a week of senior events and a graduation that went back to in-person! This year we celebrated under a huge tent set at the bottom of the hill, which also hosted many live performances to cap off this year. Graduation speaker Marc Bamuthi Joseph—one of America’s vital voices in performance, arts education, and artistic curation —gave a powerful and poetic speech that touched on the pandemic, racism as symptom of a sick society, and an impactful interaction with a senator in the first-class section of an airplane. Here’s a very brief excerpt, printed with permission:

“Young artists, I wish for you equity stakes, a transformational future. Meaning, I wish for you a future that’s worth the value of your creative risk. I wish for you art on the edge, a future that’s worth the risk of bringing the red meat of your speech into the lion’s den . . . Equity doesn’t mean everybody’s in the house. Equity is what you have when you own your house. Think of it like this, graduates. . . .What if dignity were currency. . . .

What if we treated the art of cultivating dignity as an intentional economy? If the product were empathy, and you had to make it and make it mass accessible, what raw materials would you use?

What if dignity were currency and the raw material to make it was culture? What if you worked at a cultural mint and printed white walls and bright lights and the aesthetic sublime 80% of the time, but 20% of every dime was spent minting cultural equity for the historically left behind, equity not like proportional balance, equity like profit on your P & L balance, who in this country is manufacturing empathy, just a little bit, and in the end wouldn’t we ALL benefit? . . . Art is oxygen for the lungs of the body politic. Some of us can’t breathe. I wish you all the freedom of a collective exhale. May we ALL earn the value of our creative voices in flight.” ◆

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1: Head of School Antonio Viva, graduation speaker Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Board President Elizabeth McClendon '65 2: Senior speaker Natasha Rawls '21 3: Graudate Alex Mohs '21 and family 4: Hester R. Davies Citizenship Cup Award winner Rachel Aveni '21, Joanna Rappaport ’96 Award winner Finian Burns '21, Head of School Antonio Viva, Arnold C. Taylor Award for Academic and Artistic Achievement winner Annie Zhu '21, Friendship Award co-winners Mackenzie Wilcox '21 and Myah Bridgewater '21 5: Graduate Skye Busiek '21 and family 6: Syd Williams '21, Izzy Urbano '21, Victoria Rodawig '21, Cassidy Cail '21 7: The ceremonial post-graduation mortarboard fling 3 0 | Behind Stowe

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G R A D U AT I O N

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NEW BEGINNINGS

Class of 2021 Acceptance and Matriculation Alfred University American Musical and Dramatic Academy American University American University of Paris Babson College Bard College Bard College Conservatory of Music Barnard College Baylor University Bentley University Berklee College of Music Boston Ballet PG Program Boston College Boston Conservatory at Berklee Boston University Brandeis University Bucknell University Butler University California College of the Arts Carleton College Carnegie Mellon University Central Connecticut State University Central Saint Martins Champlain College Chapman University Clark University Clemson University College for Creative Studies College of New Jersey College of the Atlantic Columbia College Chicago Columbia University Connecticut College Dean College DePaul University DePauw University Dickinson College Drew University Drexel University Eastman School of Music Elon University Emerson College Fairfield University Fordham University George Washington University 3 2 | Behind Stowe

Gonzaga University Harvard University Howard University Humboldt State University Hussian College, Los Angeles Indiana University Ithaca College Kenyon College Kivunim International Kutztown University Lesley University London College of Fashion Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Maryland Loyola University New Orleans Macalester College Manhattan School of Music Mannes (The New School) Marquette University Maryland Institute College of Art Marymount Manhattan College Massachusetts College of Art and Design Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Mills College Muhlenberg College New England Conservatory New York Film Academy New York University Northeastern University Northwestern University Oberlin College Oberlin Conservatory of Music Otis College of Art and Design Pace University Parsons (The New School) Peabody Conservatory Pennsylvania State University Pitzer College

Plymouth State University Point Park University Pratt Institute Purchase College, SUNY Quinnipiac University Reed College Rhode Island School of Design Rider University Ringling College of Art & Design Rochester Institute of Technology Roosevelt University Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Rutgers University Salem State University Salve Regina University San Francisco Conservatory of Music Sarah Lawrence College Savannah College of Art and Design School of the Art Institute of Chicago School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts School of Visual Arts Skidmore College Southern California Institute of Architecture Southern Methodist University St. Lawrence University Stonehill College Suffolk University Syracuse University Thomas Jefferson University Tufts University Tulane University University of Arizona University of California-Davis University of California-Irvine University of California-San Diego University of California Santa Cruz

University of Colorado Boulder University of Connecticut University of Denver University of Hartford University of Hawai'i at Mānoa University of Houston University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University of Maryland, College Park University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Massachusetts Boston University of Miami University of Michigan University of New Hampshire University of North Texas University of Notre Dame University of Rhode Island University of Richmond University of San Francisco University of South Carolina in Columbia University of Southern Maine University of Tampa University of Texas at Austin University of the Arts University of the Arts, London University of Toronto University of Utah University of Vermont University of Virginia University of Washington in Seattle University of Wisconsin–Madison Ursinus College Vassar College Wesleyan University Western Connecticut State University Wheaton College (MA) Whitman College Whittier College Yale University

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PART OF SOMETHING BIG!

LET'S KEEP OUR STUDENTS COVERED

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