Belmont Hill the bulletin for belmont hill school
summer | fall 2017
contents
features
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chapel talk
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retiring faculty
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commencement 2017
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chapel speakers
departments 10
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coaches’ corner
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corporation news
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alumni & family events
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alumni reunion weekend
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class notes
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faculty & staff news
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in memoriam
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our mission
Belmont Hill is a community dedicated to developing boys in mind, body, and spirit. In a school that challenges and supports students in and beyond the classroom, we strive for excellence, honoring clear thinking and creativity, competition and teamwork, tradition and vision. Valuing difference, we seek students, faculty, and staff from a broad range of backgrounds who will embrace honest effort, curiosity, courage, and compassion. Working together, we seek to foster in each boy good character, commitment to service, global responsibility, and a passion for lifelong learning.
On front cover: Dr. Hans F.E. Wachtmeister retires after 30 years of service.
On the inside front cover: Form VI students build Platt Monfort Geodesic AiroLITE canoes as part of Mr. Zamore’s senior inquiry course focusing on the cultural history and geography of Coastal Maine.
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chapel talk
A FULLER, MORE FULFILLING LIFE Remarks delivered by Head of School Rick Melvoin on March 27, 2017
As we went out on break, like many of you I got a chance to read the latest edition of The Panel, and it reminded me how impressive that work is by those of you who create that paper—and The Bell, and our literary magazine The Sextant, and more recently our current affairs magazine The Podium. I am full of admiration for those of you who figure out what topics to cover, who do the writing, who lay out the paper, who make it come to life. One of The Panel articles that struck me was Andrew Kaneb’s review of the senior-directed production of Of Mice and Men. I shared Andrew’s admiration for the work of the cast and crew: more students creating a way to think about the world, in this case through the medium of theater. No one who saw that production could be unmoved by the relationship between George and Lennie, two men bound together in a difficult world. And that got me thinking about the school meeting last month when Austin Kwoun played for the School here in chapel. In fact, I was incredibly proud of you students for the way you not only applauded Austin, but for the way you listened to him. There is probably no one else in this school who can play a Shostakovich Violin Concerto, at least at that level of virtuosity, and the sound of that 20th century Russian composer’s music was foreign to many of us. But we all knew that we were in the presence of something special: listening to music being played at an extraordinarily high level, music that could stir our souls, make us think, make us wonder. Then I started thinking about other places around this school where many of you boys create something, design something, do something that one might call artistic. At another extraordinarily high level, Andrew and Jack Daley have gotten national recognition for their Regeneron Science Competition projects: a reminder that doing science research is a creative act. Third Formers who have made toboggans or boats in Conceptual Physics, Sixth Formers now creating those beautiful canoes with Mr. Zamore, Middle and Upper
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Schoolers who build robots or create apps: all of you are designing, creating, using your imagination. In truth, every one of you engages in work in art over your years here, from the masks or collages you make in the fall of your First Form year to the panels that you design and execute in the spring of your final year. On a different level, every one of you, every year, participates in the PoetryFest. I realize that this comes more easily to and is more enjoyable for some of you than for others, but you each find a poem that hopefully has meaning to you, and by delivering it publicly, you are creating a vision of the poem, an interpretation: you are giving words life. And beyond that, are those of you who put yourselves on the line by creating speeches for the Woodbury or the Middle School public speaking contests. And of course this small listing does not even include those of you engaged every day in art classes or any of the music groups, vocal and instrumental, that are so much a part of the life of the School. But if we are thinking about broad ideas of art and creativity here, I would not want to forget that many of you bring creativity and flair to physical activity: to athletics. In fact, in our society we often talk about superb athletes being artists—and not just baseball pitchers who “paint” the corners of the strike zone. When we think about what combination of moves Phil may use or even create on a wrestling mat, or what Ben Bramley does as a national caliber diver, or perhaps what Sam or Christian might create on the ice, or what Zach did on the run so often in that New England championship football game, or what David or Jovan might conjure up on the court, we get excited to see imaginative physical movement created in front of our eyes. This notion of creativity, or design, can be fundamental to activities you engage in here, and I mean in the classroom as well. You First Formers just finished creating— that word again—experiments and demonstrations for
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A Fuller, More Fulfilling Life
chapel talk
your Science Fair. You Fifth Formers are laboring away on your term papers, which I would argue are creative acts, for you are creating your own vision, a fresh understanding of the past. In that spirit, I want to offer a personal story about how work in the classroom can give us each a chance to stretch ourselves in the best and most exciting ways. I am guessing that every one of your teachers has his or her own stories; maybe you can ask them. But I will start with mine. I have always been terrible at art. How did I know? I could never draw a thing. I know that Mr. or Mrs. Kaplan, or surely Mr. Zamore, would be able to show me that I could make progress, but as I was growing up I thought that art was defined as being able to draw or paint, and I was useless. Happily, I did love music and theater, and I got a chance to participate enough in those to provide some engagement and pleasure in the arts. But creative? Not I. But creativity snuck up on me in the subject that I most loved: the study of history. When you go to graduate school, and especially if you wish to get a Ph.D., you are required to engage in what is considered original research. When I got to work on my doctorate in history, I started looking into the early life of a small town in western Massachusetts. Deerfield became famous because it fell victim to a devastating raid by the French and Indians in 1704. People had certainly studied the Deerfield Massacre before me, for the story was compelling—in a little town of fewer than 300 people, in a predawn raid on the 29th of February the French and their allied Indians had killed roughly 50 men, women, and children, captured another 110, burned down half the town, and put those captives on a forced march through the deep snows of late winter up to Canada. But the question I started to think about beyond this dramatic story was: why would the Indians attack this town at this time? What was their strategy?
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This notion of creativity, or design, can be fundamental to activities you engage in here, and I mean in the classroom as well.
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And this is where I had to get creative because I faced a major challenge: the Indians left no written records. So if I wanted to pursue this question of strategy, I had to figure out how to give the Indians their voice. I started looking at the only records that existed—those of the English, the settlers from the region, to see what they might reveal. Because there were plenty of local records of attacks over a half-century not only on Deerfield but on other towns in the region, I was able to construct a list of attacks that had taken place over many years. Then I started to focus on the types of attacks: mostly ambushes and quick strikes, not major pitched battles. Then I mapped them by place and date and nature of attack. Suddenly, what seemed like a scattering of isolated raids on innocent towns began to look like a well-crafted pattern of surprise attacks, usually with small, mobile forces, which rarely would completely destroy a town but could be devastating and demoralizing to the local settlers. And this strategy worked: over a period of time, the native Indians actually forced back the early New England frontier, as several towns were abandoned after the series of attacks. By finding a fresh way to study the Indians’ patterns of warfare, I had given voice to otherwise voiceless people: the Indians who battled to keep the colonists from taking over their lands. And if that pattern of surprise attacks seems like something you have never heard of before, it was fascinating that a century after the first raids on Deerfield in 1675, the British complained that the Americans were not “fighting fair” in the American Revolution—were fighting “like Indians”—because they used many sneak attacks, including on the famous British retreat from Concord in April of 1775. It also may have some chilling resonance today as we watch ISIS make its scattered attacks in so many places in Europe: Brussels and Paris and Nice, now London, never trying to win a big battle militarily but instead attempting to demoralize the enemy. Why tell you this story? After all, I started off this talk admiring the creativity and artistry of several of you boys, and somehow sidetracked into early American history. But that’s my point: there are many ways to create, to design, to look at the world in ways that help you make sense of it.
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I want you to think about this because you have a chance—here at school, in the classroom or outside, formally in classes in 2D and 3D hands-on art and in music and theater but also beyond, to make art and design and creativity a part of your life. It will make your life richer. But not only that, I think that having creative elements in whatever career path you pursue is essential to having the fullest and most fulfilling life. Life is too short not to engage fully in what you do, and getting to use your imagination—to think in fresh and creative ways—makes the world come more alive. It is not just that engaging in the arts is a “nice” thing; I would offer that it represents a vital part of what it means to be fully human. You can get there in at least two fundamental ways. One is to participate. No one can tell you that there is only one “right” way to do art and design: you can find your own way. It can be amidst the arts classes we have or the programs we offer that are co-curricular or extracurricular; it can come through creative opportunities in any academic field. Imagine the artistry of someone who can translate a great piece of fiction from one language to another and not lose its magic. Imagine the energy and excitement that can come from finding a fresh way to solve a complex problem in mathematics. I hope you all come to this from looking at the world with an eye to what is around you—and if you are willing to look, you will see more. If you see a beautiful sunset, you bring an immediate appreciation. Yet what of the artist or photographer who captures that in his or her own way? Part of why many folks seemed to get excited about our new outdoor sculpture in the academic quad is that it can capture our imagination: it can be mesmerizing. What do you see when you look at that sculpture? Why does its movement grab us? On a different level, I urge you at least to attend if not participate in musical or theatrical performances. Not only is it good to support friends and classmates, as you often do in sports, but such events can transport you to another time and place. But finally, I urge you to engage fully because it is through the arts that we can explore the full dimensions of what it means to be human. I want for each of you to have a full and fulfilling life, and that means contemplating the world around you. When you are creative, when you stretch yourself, when you are willing to explore different dimensions of who you are, then you are enriching your life.
I have been engaged for many years in correspondence with a Belmont Hill alumnus from the Class of 1962. A medical doctor by training, he thinks deeply about what it means to be an educated person, and he occasionally writes to me to argue about what kind of schooling— what academic program—an educated individual needs. A true world traveler who is constantly exploring, even on the other side of his 50th Belmont Hill reunion, he recently sent me a photo of a building he saw in Madrid. He wanted me to see the inscription on its wall: “Nulla ethica sine aesthetica.” He expected that my knowledge of Latin would suffice; he would expect no less of all of you. With the help of Mr. Richards, I hope I can offer a credible translation: “There are no ethics without aesthetics,” or even more simply, “There are no ethics without art.” I close with a story about my favorite current obsession and my favorite creative artist—who writes rap and hip hop. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who grew up in the Bronx, was heading out on vacation a few years ago when he grabbed a copy of a biography of another New Yorker: Alexander Hamilton. Somehow, reading about that poor, immigrant, orphan kid from the Caribbean who somehow became a Founding Father of our country inspired Miranda to start writing what would become a revolutionary Broadway musical. Not only is the writing for Hamilton brilliant, but imagine the creativity in casting black and Hispanic men for all the Founding Fathers and writing their parts largely in rap or hip hop, making history come alive in new ways to a new generation. What inspires such creativity, such leaps of imagination? At a time when there are forces in Washington threatening to cut or even eliminate support for the arts, we need to remember their vital place in our lives. I urge each of you to consider your own creative spark within. Don’t let yourself get limited by saying “I can’t draw, so I can’t do art” or “creativity is limited to the fine arts” or “I can’t act or make music because I have never done it before” or “I am an athlete, not an artist”—don’t let yourself get trapped like that. Explore the full dimensions of who you are and the world around you, and keep your eyes open—and yes, your mind open—and remember that creating is among the great joys of living. So live fully. And with that, best wishes for a good, full, healthy, and, yes, creative spring.
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announcement
GREGORY J. SCHNEIDER NAMED BELMONT HILL’S NINTH HEAD OF SCHOOL
On Thursday, July 26, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to make Gregory J. Schneider Belmont Hill’s ninth Head of School. His appointment begins on July 1, 2018. The Bulletin spoke with Greg recently to get his thoughts on this exciting news.
Bulletin: What attracted you to the Belmont Hill Head of School position? Greg Schneider: Belmont Hill’s mission of developing boys of character speaks to me with a deep level of personal connection and professional inspiration. More than ever, our world needs men of character and Belmont Hill has a distinct ability to fill that need. As the search progressed, I became equally excited about working with trustees, alumni, and teachers who are unapologetically passionate about this school. Finally, I have always admired Rick Melvoin’s leadership. His work at Belmont Hill has clearly brought the institution to a new level of excellence, and I feel so grateful to follow someone with such passion and professionalism.
Through this process, what have you come to know about the School? I appreciate more fully that the School’s mission of developing character occurs in the context of an extraordinary work ethic and institutional pride. Whether speaking with students, veteran faculty, trustees, or alumni, there was uniform appreciation that boys work incredibly hard at Belmont Hill. It is no surprise that the adults also model this work ethic. I came to understand that alumni energy is a significant asset here, and it is clear that there are many supporters poised to create a bright future for Belmont Hill. I was perhaps most pleased to learn that while this school has an appropriate amount of pride in its traditions and current success, there is still an appetite to see the School and its programs evolve to meet the dynamic needs of students. I emerged with an understanding of the importance of the teacher-coach model, and how athletics, arts, and adult relationships in multiple forums can be as powerful for boys as traditional classrooms.
• Current Head of School, Berwick Academy • Previously, Assistant Head of School for External Affairs at Rye Country Day School in Rye, New York. He also served as Rye’s Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Upper School English Teacher, and Head Varsity Football Coach • Sits on the Board of Directors of the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE) • Served on the Board of the Independent Schools Association of Northern New England (ISANNE) • Member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) annual conference Think Tank, an advisory group of independent school opinion leaders who help to guide programming and planning • Worked in the Amherst College athletic department • Began his career as an English teacher, coach, and dorm parent at Hawaii Preparatory Academy • Graduate of Noble and Greenough School, Amherst College, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education For more information on Greg’s background, visit www.belmonthill.org
What would you like to say to the Belmont Hill community? I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the search committee and the Board of Trustees. My wife, Amy, and I certainly feel humbled to be chosen for this exciting challenge, but we are also confident that an even stronger future lies ahead for all of us at Belmont Hill. Amy and I want the community to know that we are excited to begin building meaningful relationships with all of the constituencies at Belmont Hill. We know that we have a great deal of listening and learning to do in the months ahead, and we eagerly look forward to moving to campus in the summer of 2018.
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Gregory J. Schneider with his wife, Amy, and their three children—Kenna, Avery, and Colby.
retiring faculty
Distinguished and Respected Teacher; A True Inspiration to His Colleagues By Bill Mahoney
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retiring faculty
Hans Wachtmeister claims that some of the best advice he ever received came from his late father, who simply advised him to aim to teach at a private school in New England. Today, the Belmont Hill community should be extremely grateful to Mr. Wachtmeister, Sr. Without his sage advice to his son, we might never have been graced by the presence of “Doc Wacht” as he is fondly known, who has touched the lives of hundreds of boys by providing them with the very best education and caring deeply about what kind of men they would become. Getting to that private school in New England was a long journey. After attending high school at Salisbury School, Dr. Wachtmeister attended Virginia Military Institute for two years where his studies focused on biology, and then graduated from Bridgewater College with a degree in chemistry. He moved on to graduate school at the College of William & Mary and earned his Masters in biology, but could not decide whether he wanted to teach or go into research. After a two-year teaching stint at Augusta Military Academy, his path became clear and he knew he wanted to teach. Still years away from his final destination, for the next 15 years he worked at Tidewater Community College, teaching biology and chemistry. During that time, he would also earn his doctorate degree in Higher Education Administration at Vanderbilt University. After a one-year post as interim head of school at an independent school in Virginia Beach, he finally followed his father’s advice and accepted a position at a private school in New England: Belmont Hill. “Right away, I was astonished by the dedication of the faculty to these boys,” Dr. Wachtmeister recalls. “No matter what department, they are singularly devoted to the kids. And it’s not just the A kids—it’s everybody. It’s just that they care so much and want every boy to succeed. I’m sure it happens to some degree at other schools, but at Belmont Hill it’s special.”
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The science chair at the time was the late Cliff Goodband, and their relationship would evolve into a close friendship. Soon after, Dr. Wachtmeister would assume the chair position, which he held until last year. Through his 30 years on the Hill, he has taught AP Biology, biology, 7th grade science, chemistry, and 8th grade Introductory Physical Science. He has coached soccer for one year and for many years worked with his friend, David Greer, on JV baseball. “Hans is a man of great passion, of strong beliefs, of clear direction for what he wanted for his beloved science department and certainly for his beloved biology classes,” notes Head of School Rick Melvoin. “He could be tough on his students, but in a way that helped them realize they could do more than they thought they could.” Dr. Andrew Hack ’91 is a living example of the words of Dr. Melvoin. “I can say without a moment of hesitation, or an ounce of reservation, that no teacher, professor, or clinician has had as big an impact on my trajectory in either school or in life, as Dr. Wachtmeister,” Dr. Hack states. “His love of the material and commitment to teaching it to each and every student, regardless of their strength in science or in his class, was truly infectious.” Current science chair, Tyson Trautz, feels that the lessons he has learned from Dr. Wachtmeister extend far beyond teaching. “Doc has taught me compassion, empathy, respect, effort, teamwork, leadership, integrity, responsibility, and courage,” Mr. Trautz explains. “It is the passion and care that he puts into his craft that has made him such a distinguished and respected teacher and a true inspiration to his colleagues.” A special dimension of his Belmont Hill tenure came through witnessing the experiences of his sons Kurt ’06 and Mark ’07. “They pursued different interests, but they both loved it here and it remains an important part of their lives today,” he reflects. “The faculty was extremely supportive and treated my guys like any other
Hans Wachtmeister with his sons, Mark ’07 and Kurt ’06.
kids.” He strongly believes that the values they now have as men were instilled at Belmont Hill. “Absolutely, and that starts right at the top with Rick Melvoin, who always stresses honor and character above all, right through the entire faculty. I loved having my boys here. It was a special time for my wife, Anne, and me.” Dr. Wachtmeister leaves Belmont Hill with an extraordinary legacy and an understandably heavy heart as he heads to his farm in Virginia. “I will greatly miss the privilege of working with such gifted colleagues, especially those in the science department,” he explains. “This faculty truly does work together to have a far-reaching impact on the boys. I saw it with my sons, and I see it every day with countless boys whose lives are transformed in the most profound ways.” Perhaps no one can more eloquently speak to the true gift of Dr. Wachtmeister’s teaching than his old friend, Cliff Goodband. In a letter written in 1988, after Dr. Wachtmeister’s first year on the Hill, Mr. Goodband wrote, “You interact with your students. You are comfortable with them. You care about them, not only as students, but as people. Hans, you are able to communicate with them freely, openly. You have their best interests in mind. They respect you and you respect them.” Indeed, the Belmont Hill community will always respect and cherish the memories of Doc Wacht.
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Commencement 2017
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Senior Dinner
commencement 2017
senior dinner May 23, 2017 1. Andrew Kaneb, Michael Armstrong, Warren Cross, Kyle Maxwell, Jack Ablon, Robert Williamson, Jack Neely, Danny Griffin, James Bell, and William Hintlian. 2. Mohammed Osman, Phillip Bailey, James Cardichon, Henry Moukheiber, Gus Lamb, and Brian Tanabe. 3. Armin Thomas, Ben Rush, Form VI Advisor Stephen Feldman, Sebastian Themelis, Owen Greenwood, Matt O’Leary, and Seamus Clair. 4. The Oates Family. 5. The Young Family.
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6. Rick Melvoin and Emmett Lyne with Jamie Feinberg, student speaker at the senior dinner. 7. Yearbook heads Varun Shah, Matt O’Leary, and Seamus Clair with Yearbook Advisor David Hegarty. 8. Scott Jackson, Peter Knowlton, and Varun Shah with Form VI Advisor Steve Kaplan ’83.
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Prize Day
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prize day June 1, 2017 1. Middle School prizewinners. 2. Jalen Walker ’21 receives the Middle School Award of Merit on Prize Day from Head of School Rick Melvoin. 3. Ben London ’17 receives the B-Flats Music Award along with classmates (l-r) Peter Knowlton and Varun Shah. 4. Rick Melvoin congratulates Daniel Griffin, Jr. for receiving the Panel Carving Prize and the Red and Blue Key Society Award.
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5. Upper School prizewinners. 6. Alex Czarnecki ’17 receives an award. 7. Tony Ryan, Will Ryan, Ann Ryan, and Thomas Ryan. 8. David Mitchell ’18 receives the Yale Book Award on Prize Day.
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Faculty & Staff Recognition
faculty & staff recognition For 45 Years of Service Kenneth M. Martin III ’65 Michael T. Sherman For 35 Years of Service Christopher H. Zamore
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For 30 Years of Service Donald F. Bradley III Robert F. Brownell III Hans F.E. Wachtmeister For 25 Years of Service Christopher D. Sweeney ’83 For 20 Years of Service Daniel Butler Nancy W. Montanaro For 15 Years of Service Caleb F. Collins ’93 Jay W. Fritz ’91 Linda C. Rudzinski
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For 10 Years of Service Vincent J. D’Amico David M. Hegarty Maura H. Kinnealey For 5 Years of Service Michael E. Curran Paul D. DiResta Suzanne L. Kaplan Guillermo Moronta Nancy B. O’Connor Timothy C. Rudzinski Eric R. Smith Alexandra N. Van Siclen Juliette B. Zener
1. Nancy W. Montanaro and Daniel Butler. 2. Kenneth M. Martin III ’65 and Michael T. Sherman. 3. Donald F. Bradley III. 4. Christopher H. Zamore. 5. Hans F.E. Wachtmeister and Robert F. Brownell III.
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6. Guillermo Moronta, Nancy B. O’Connor, Eric R. Smith, Juliette B. Zener, Michael Curran, Suzanne L. Kaplan, Timothy C. Rudzinski, and Paul DiResta. 7. Caleb F. Collins ’93 and Linda C. Rudzinski. 8. Christopher D. Sweeney ’83.
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commencement 2017
Baccalaureate Address
BACCALAUREATE ADDRESS Address delivered by Hans Wachtmeister on June 4, 2017
This evening I offer a warm welcome to the Class of 2017, their parents, families, and friends. I also wish to acknowledge the faculty and staff, my colleagues all, who have joined us here today. I stand before you, the Class of 2017, honored and privileged to be sharing this special occasion. Ray Hunt approached me a few weeks ago about giving the Baccalaureate address this year and I have to admit I hesitated, because I was honored to do this 10 years ago when my younger son, Mark, graduated.
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I remember asking Ray, “Why me?," but as I thought about the invitation over the next few days I began to realize that I was an appropriate choice. You see, though I have 55 years on you and have been at Belmont Hill five times longer, we have something in common—our time is up! We all are moving on, call it graduating or retiring, the reality is the same—we are leaving the Hill. As many of you know, I came to Belmont Hill from Virginia in 1987. I was very excited, but also nervous. Sound
would be appropriate here. Basically, to quote Bob Dylan, “the times, they are a changin’” and change can be difficult. For some this transition may appear relatively smooth, but for most of us there will be bumps along the way. Aw, the bumps! By this I mean the mistakes, the missteps, the setbacks, the restarts, and especially the upsets, failures, and heartbreaks. We must learn to see these episodes as opportunities for personal growth and character building. Keep them in perspective! As the old adage says, “This too shall pass.” We must remember there are so many factors, within and beyond our control, that will have an influence on us and our circumstances at any given time, that it would be unwise for any one of us to compare our transition to anyone else’s.
familiar? The School seemed to be a good fit, but time would tell. The campus was beautiful and the halls lined with student panels were so impressive, providing a true sense of history. Perhaps you felt the same way. One thing that really struck me from the outset was the tenure of the faculty and staff here—not years, but decades of service at one institution. Believe me when I say this is not always the case! And just as impressive is the fact that during my 30 years here, I have had only two Heads of School—Chris Wadsworth and Rick Melvoin. This steady presence from the top down has made Belmont Hill the special place that it is and made my time here incredibly rewarding. You all have benefited greatly from this dynamic as well, in ways you will recognize more as your lives unfold. This evening we acknowledge and celebrate that at this point in time each of us is about to experience a major, and I mean MAJOR, life transition—the first of many for you all. So let us talk transitions. Not that I am an expert, but at my age I have had my fair share. Let’s explore the nature of transitions—the good and the bad. I will share some examples from my life and then propose a plan of action for us as we approach this most important week in June of 2017 together. Transitions by their very nature can be tough, challenging, exciting, anxiety-ridden...any number of words
Particularly when we are young, there are some transitions over which we have no control. For example, when I was 9 years old, something happened between my parents and with little explanation that I can recall, my mother moved out and decided to take only my little sister with her, leaving my younger brother and me with our father. Wow! Times were different. It was the end of the traditional family, as I knew it. A redefined normal, but I survived. Within a couple of years I was sent away to boarding schools in New England for my middle school and high school years. Then, like you all, after high school graduation, it was off to college. I now had some input. I made some choices, applied to three colleges, but didn’t get in to either of my top two choices. So my father made a call to a friend who was a four-star general and a former Commandant of the United States Marine Corps—that secured me a spot at my third choice—VMI in Lexington, VA. For those of you who don’t know, VMI stands for Virginia Military Institute—most closely resembling one of America’s better-known military academies. I had never seen the place before the day my father dropped me off to begin my Rat Year. You heard me correctly; I did say Rat Year. That was probably a smart move on his part. Instead of dorms, lush quads, and a dining hall, we had barracks, the drill field, and a mess hall. We had our heads shaved, were fitted with uniforms, issued a rifle, and thus began our education in the Rat Line. Talk about a transition— more like a rude awakening! Recently, as I was cleaning out our house, I came across my Rat Bible. Please humor me as I quote some lines from its opening section entitled To the RAT: “Within the first five minutes at VMI you will realize
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Baccalaureate Address
that you have entered a new world…You will find yourself in a harsh world from which, at the end of two weeks, you may discover that a good number of your potential “brother Rats” have departed…You are a Rat. Many times during the year you will become discouraged…believe that the Rat Line has become unjust…you are being singled out…that the Rat Line has no other purpose than existing as an outlet for sadistic impulses in upperclassmen; however, this is all part of a system which does have definite long- and short-range purposes in mind. If you remain at VMI, you may learn: #1) that the selfish individual is no better than others; #2) that until you are capable of standing up in a difficult situation you must show respect to those that have proven themselves; and #3) that wealth and station as factors in life have no
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I suspect, however, that what you’ll miss most is your fellow classmates and teammates. You have bonded with these people through shared experiences in the classroom and on the field, from field trips, travels, and school-sponsored activities to participation in the arts.
” meaning. Success as a Rat means that one has not only completed the Rat Year but that one has also successfully completed the academic requirements…you must put as much effort into the academic program as possible; if you fall short in this respect you have failed to take the fullest advantage of your opportunity.”
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Amazingly, not only did I survive, I thrived. I left VMI after two years and got married, completing my bachelor's degree at Bridgewater College. However, I am still considered a member of the Class of ’67. Surviving the Rat Line freshman year secures your place in the class and bonds you for life, much like your shared experiences here at Belmont Hill with the Class of 2017. I recently returned for my 50th Class Reunion and celebrated many old friendships. It was as if time had stood still; the memories came flooding back. Most of the transitions in my adult life have come with more control—advanced degrees, marriage, children, career changes, and relocations, but that is not always the case. Brace yourselves. There may be illnesses, divorces, tragedies, unexpected deaths, and job losses, just to name a few possibilities. Unlike me, I am sure you have had a great deal of input into the college you will be attending in the fall. Please take time to thank your parents, relatives, and friends and especially your college counselor for all of the help, support, and advice they have provided—something I would have benefited from. Take to heart the words I shared from my Rat Bible; many of them can be applied to you as you set foot on your new campus. As for me, I will be ramping up from weekend, vacation, and summer farmer to full-time farmer. I think I am ready, but my son Kurt, who is the farm manager, says I have to start at the bottom like everyone else. I have to prove I am proficient at the mowing and weed-eating before I can move on to the bush-hogging and baling hay. After your years here at Belmont Hill, I know you are prepared for the next step in your education. Perhaps, you’ve begun to think about what you’ll miss about Belmont Hill. Think particularly about those things that make this school unique such as milk and cookies, chapel talks that have impressed or impacted you, perhaps most recently Dr. Daley’s talk about exploring new opportunities in a time of change, or maybe the annual Facultones, or a mentoring relationship developed with a faculty or staff member. I suspect, however, that what you’ll miss most is your fellow classmates and teammates. You have bonded with these people through shared experiences in the classroom and on the field, from field trips, travels, and school-sponsored activities to participation in the arts. During our years here, we have seen the facilities improve, the campus get even more beautiful, and the hallways lined with student panels continue to expand.
But, in regard to leadership, education, and the moral development of boys, we have remained steadfast. I am so proud to have been a part of it all. As I reflect upon my time here, I will miss the camaraderie of my fellow faculty members—especially the amazing science department, the supportive administration, the dedicated and hardworking staff all of whom make teaching here a most excellent endeavor. Above all, I will miss you the students—both teaching and coaching. Simply put—you guys make my day—every day! You inspire me. You energize me and keep me young at heart.
Second, be open to new friends, new experiences, and new opportunities. The world is a big, big place and there are lots of interesting people to meet and places to see. Third, stay positive and flexible so you will feel the wind as it trims your sail and keep your eye on the horizon.
So, how do you and I make this upcoming transition the most successful it can be?
In closing, when it comes to leaving Belmont Hill, I invite you to remain connected. Stay in touch not only with your friends but also with the School itself. Visit campus when you can. Return for your reunion weekends and celebrate old friendships; you’ll be glad you did. Support our mission here to provide a unique education for boys whenever and however you can. I plan to return as often as possible and hope to see many of you again.
Our action plan is as follows:
Congratulations and best of good luck!
First, embrace all aspects of it. Be engaged and embrace the self-discovery, embrace the soul searching, and embrace the decision-making.
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Commencement Address
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS Address delivered by Brian Mullaney ’77 on June 5, 2017
Editor’s note: Mr. Mullaney’s speech was a powerful and highly visual presentation accompanied by a slideshow that brought to life the many stories he depicted. Due to space limitations only some of the photos Mr. Mullaney referenced are included. Thank you very much, Dr. Melvoin. And welcome, everyone, distinguished guests, trustees, faculty, proud parents, families, and the INCREDIBLE Class of 2017! To the students graduating today with high honors and academic distinction, I say congratulations! To the C students I say, don’t worry…one day you too may deliver this commencement address. I am very honored to be asked to speak today at a school that really changed my life. Belmont Hill has done so much for me, for my brothers, and now for my son, Charlie, who is a rising Fourth Former. I would never be where I am today or who I am today...if I had gone to St. Sebastian’s! One of the best things Belmont Hill gave me was an amazing band of brothers. The friendships I made on these playing fields and in these classrooms have helped carry me through the past 40 years of ups and downs. After Belmont Hill, I spent six years getting a four-year degree at Harvard.
My real-world education began a couple of years after that, when I received an unexpected invitation to go to China as a volunteer on a medical mission. At the time, I was working in advertising, making a lot of money, living the high life. I had little interest in helping anyone but myself. But I said yes, and a month later I found myself in a rural village in China. It was my first time traveling to the developing world. At an old, run-down hospital I met a 9-year-old girl whose name in Chinese meant Colorful Cloud. She was born with a severe cleft. Her parents couldn’t read or write. They could never afford the surgery she needed. I watched in awe as her surgeon took her lip apart and then put it back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Afterwards, she looked beautiful. The surgery she had waited nine years for, took just 45 minutes. When she woke up, a nurse ran to get her a mirror. Colorful Cloud’s hands were shaking as she slowly raised the mirror. I kind of hoped she might scream with joy, but she didn’t make a sound. I was beginning to think something was wrong when a single teardrop slid down her cheek. And then another. And another. Nine years worth of tears came pouring out of that little girl. That surgery changed her life. And it changed my life too. Soon I was going on missions to the poorest coun-
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tries in the world. I got to see firsthand how billions of people are fighting to survive.
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The poor work at jobs carrying cow dung, dirt, bricks, wheat…working 12 hours a day for 50 cents or 75 cents a day. This woman makes a dollar a day selling charcoal in Haiti (Photo 3). They farm, they fish, the same ways they did thousands of years ago.
In Somalia, I met a baby girl, seven months old, who weighed just seven pounds. I met a boy in Bangladesh, working in a market, and could see his ribs. In Haiti, hunger pains are called Clorox because it feels like bleach eating away at your stomach. To ease the pain, lots of people eat cookies made out of mud, like these ones (Photo 4). It’s ironic that the leading cause of death in the U.S. today is obesity-related heart disease. We’re literally eating ourselves to death while billions of children and adults are starving. I keep a mud cookie on my desk, as a reminder of how lucky I am to be born in this country. And for the opportunity to travel to so many other countries.
In Katmandu, I watched peasants swarm piles of fresh garbage looking for food. In many places, children don’t go to school—they work, begging, scavenging, threeand four-year-olds working in the fields. But no matter how hard they work, billions of people go to bed hungry every night.
They say the world is a book, and those who do not travel read one page. It’s true, if you don’t travel you will miss so much. Travel has taught me many things I never learned at Harvard. I learned a lot about the power of a parent’s love for their child, from mothers who carried their babies on their backs for days to
They live in houses like this…in India…slums of Calcutta…Bangladesh…the world’s largest refugee camp in Somalia (Photo 1). This is Haiti…where 400-pound pigs forage in rivers overflowing with sewage and human excrement (Photo 2).
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reach our hospitals, through jungles, deserts, and war zones (Photo 5). From fathers who sold their only possessions—their rickshaws, their cows, their land—so that their child could get the surgery they needed. I learned about courage from thousands of children I met who were born with holes in their faces, crippled with clubfoot so they couldn’t walk or run, severely burned and disfigured from horrible accidents. Kids who were born blind, or worse, kids who slowly went blind. Surgery can fix all these problems, but two billion people are so poor they can’t afford it. A woman in Somalia is begging a surgeon to save her son, who is standing next to me in this picture (Photo 6). Most of these kids spend their entire lives waiting for help that never comes. And yet they never complain. They never give up. They never quit. I learned about compassion and character from good Samaritans I met along the way. I met Dr. Subodh Hashimi in Kabul. All his family and friends fled Afghanistan. But he stayed to provide surgeries for the poor. His hospital’s been attacked by the Taliban multiple times. After graduating from medical school, Dr. Adenwalla took his bride to a small missionary hospital in the jungle where they’ve been providing free surgery for the poor for 50 years. Dr. Sonya in Tanzania, a worldclass eye surgeon, restores the eyesight of thousands of blind children every year in Africa (Photo 7).
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When he was 18, Subodh watched his 55-year-old father die from poor medical care. This motivated him to become a surgeon and build a hospital with his Dad’s name on it. Ninety percent of his patients he treats for free (Photo 8). Some of the people who taught me the most had no education at all. In Inner Mongolia, I met a woman who came across an abandoned newborn baby left on the ground, crying, in a dirty blanket. She kept walking. She passed by two more times. The last time, it’s getting dark, starting to snow, she brings that baby home even though she and her husband can barely feed themselves. They’re so poor they live in a cave. They kept that girl and raised her as their own. Bernard had been waiting 52 years for cleft surgery when I met him in Haiti. When he saw hundreds of children with clefts standing in line he said, operate on me last, I don’t want any children turned away. I learned about the power of hope in Uganda. This saint runs a hospital and a leper colony with no electricity or running water (Photo 9). I’ve never met anyone who was so positive and full of optimism. He tells me how proud he is of the love and respect his nurses and doctors provide for lepers who have all been abandoned by their families. For five years, I went on medical missions where 400 children would show up but we could only operate
on 100 kids. So 300 children were turned away. It was heartbreaking to watch. The moms would cry, beg, throw themselves on the ground. I complained about this a lot. But the top surgeon would shrug and say that’s just the way it is. Then I went on a mission to Vietnam where I befriended a little boy who loved soccer. We nicknamed him Soccer Boy. I just assumed he made the surgery list. When he didn’t, I got so mad I quit and started a new charity that could help every kid. Eighteen years later, Smile Train has provided 1.5 million surgeries and has never turned away a single kid. Instead of sending American volunteer doctors on missions, Smile Train empowers local doctors and nurses to do the surgeries. It’s a much better way to help very poor—but very proud—communities become self-sufficient. The pride in their faces is the secret to Smile Train’s success. These doctors and nurses are my heroes. With very few resources and little support, they make miracles happen every day in places where miracles are in short supply! They can straighten the feet of a child born with clubfoot in just a few weeks. They can rebuild
the face and body of a severely burned child. They can take this girl who has been blind since birth—and give her eyesight back with a 15-minute surgery that costs just $300. Imagine what you would pay to get your eyesight back! (Photo 10). I met a young American surgeon who had just moved his young family from Minneapolis to Ethiopia. I was shocked. I asked why he left his comfortable life in the U.S. to come to Africa. He told me he wanted to lead an “intentional life.” He said he didn’t want to make money, he wanted to make a difference. My last story is about a trip to Texas. After two flights, I drove 100 miles to a tiny town near the Mexican border to thank one of our major donors. Big Jim Ed was 84 years old, in a wheelchair, on oxygen, sitting in front of a bowl of pills at his kitchen table when I sat down. He told me this pill is for his blood pressure, this was for his heart, his diabetes, his liver…When I showed him pictures of kids his donations had helped, he started crying. I thought he was crying for the kids, but he was really crying for himself. He told me he had $7 million in the bank, but he was all alone. He said he wished he had married, had had kids, had traveled, had been
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nicer to people. I thought to myself, they don’t make the pill he needs—his biggest problem is regret. I bet he would’ve given back every penny of that $7 million to live his life over again. As I drove 100 miles back to the airport, I thought how lucky I was to go on that first trip to China so many years ago, as that experience changed the entire direction of my life. All those trips I took, the amazing people I met, all of it changed me—for the better. It taught me that helping others is the most selfish thing you can do, because you always get back much more than you give. My only regret is that I wish I figured it out sooner. So, my last bit of advice for you gentlemen is to start thinking NOW about what kind of life you want to lead. What kind of person do you want to be? How are YOU going to make your life mean something? A wise woman gave me this same advice when I was just a little older than you but I didn’t listen. Her name was Mother Teresa, and she spoke at Harvard in 1982. She said, “You have never really lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” She urged us to go out and make our mark on the world. “Go find your own Calcutta!” she told us.
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10 Afterwards I got to shake her hand as she was leaving. I can still remember how frail she looked. But her hand was strong when she shook mine, looked me in the eye and asked, “Can you help?” I had no idea what she was talking about. I was just a kid—like you guys. But she planted a seed that day. And her question haunted me for years. Today, 35 years later, I know what she was talking about. Because I found my Calcutta. And I hope that one day, each one of you will find yours. Thank you and good luck.
Commencement Photos
commencement 2017
commencement photos 1. Board of Trustees president Jon Biotti presents Lebanos Mengistu with his diploma. 2. Rick Melvoin congratulates John Sommers. 3. Graduates listening to Rick Melvoin’s opening remarks. 4. Rick Melvoin with Louis Hunt ’11 and 2017 class president Ray Hunt. 5. Commencement speaker Brian Mullaney ’77 with Rick Melvoin and Board of Trustees president Jon Biotti.
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6. Class of 2017 students enjoying breakfast before commencement (l-r) Peter O’Connell, Nicholas Delhome, Christian O’Neill, Zach Geddes, Bradley Hart, and Chris Kingston. 7. Alex Czarnecki receives his diploma from Rick Melvoin. 8. Director of Music Donnell Patterson leads the B-Flats in song. 9. Will Ryan receives the Margaret V. Lawless Memorial Prize. 10. Rick Melvoin with the Milton L. Dodge prizewinners (l-r) Daniel Griffin IV, Jonathan Folsom, and Brendan Rocha.
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College Choices
COLLEGES ACCEPTING MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 2017 Amherst College
Georgia Institute of Technology
Rice University
Babson College
Gettysburg College
University of Richmond
Bard College
Hamilton College
Roger Williams University
Bates College
Harvard College
Rollins College
Bentley University
Haverford College
University of San Francisco
Boston College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Santa Clara University
Boston University
College of the Holy Cross
Skidmore College
Bowdoin College
Kenyon College
University of Southern California
Brown University
Kings College London
Southern Methodist University
Bucknell University
Lafayette College
St. Lawrence University
University of California, San Diego
Loyola Marymount University
Stanford University
Case Western Reserve University
Loyola University Chicago
Temple University
Colby College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Texas Christian University
Colgate College
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Trinity College
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Tufts University
Colorado College
McGill University
Tulane University
Columbia University
Miami University, Oxford
Union College
Connecticut College
University of Miami
University of Vermont
University of Connecticut
University of Michigan
Villanova University
Cornell University
Middlebury College
Virginia Tech
Dartmouth College
New York University
University of Virginia
Davidson College
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Wake Forest University
Denison University
Northeastern University
Washington & Lee University
Dickinson College
Northwestern University
Washington University in St. Louis
Duke University
University of Notre Dame
University of Washington
Eckerd College
Penn State University
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Elon University
University of Pennsylvania
Wesleyan University
Endicott College
Pomona College
College of William & Mary
Fairfield University
Princeton University
Williams College
Franklin & Marshall College
Providence College
University of Wisconsin, Madison
George Washington University
Quinnipiac University
Worcester Polytechnic University
Georgetown University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Yale University
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chapel speakers
CHAPEL SPEAKERS Belmont Hill has the great fortune to welcome many distinguished speakers to chapel each year. For additional information about each of the speakers, please visit our website.
Halla Hrund Logadóttir: January 30, 2017 Belmont Hill welcomed Halla Hrund Logadóttir, a Louis Bacon Environmental Fellow at the Kennedy School of Harvard University, to address the community about the work she and others are doing in sustainability, climate change, and energy policies around the world and specifically in Iceland and the Arctic. Her work for the Energy fund, for example, advises “on which geothermal and/or energy-efficiency projects seeking governmental funding will receive it.”
Dr. Michael Fowlin: March 6, 2017 As part of the School’s workshops on Community and Diversity held throughout the year for Middle School students, Belmont Hill welcomed Dr. Michael Fowlin to campus to present his unique performance-based presentation that focuses on teaching inclusion, tolerance, and equity. Dr. Fowlin encapsulated different personas to articulate messages about biases and bullying. His overarching messages were to encourage people to acknowledge their own pain, to help others around them by standing up for injustices, and to promote kindness.
Roger Webb: April 4, 2017 Roger Webb, a preservationist and architect responsible for handling the move of the Hamilton Chapel from Connecticut to Belmont Hill School in 1963, provided a fascinating account on this iconic building’s history and its journey to campus.
Dr. George Q. Daley P ’17, ’19: May 2, 2017 Dr. George Q. Daley, MD, Ph.D., Dean of Harvard Medical School, the Caroline Shields Walker Professor of Medicine, and Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School, was the guest speaker at the annual Michael Sherman Lecture. Using critical guideposts in his own life as examples, Dr. Daley explained to the boys that the world is going through tremendous change, with science playing an increasingly larger role.
Katrina Browne: May 15, 2017 Katrina Browne, writer, producer, and director of the film Traces of the Trade, visited the Hill as part of Diversity Day—an annual opportunity for the community to come together for discussion, reflection, and education on essential issues of our times. Ms. Browne’s film focuses on the descendants of the DeWolf family, a prominent slave trading family from Rhode Island from 1769 to 1820, and the legacy of the slave trade in the North of the United States.
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chapel speakers
HUNTINGTON F. WILLARD ’71, PH.D. PRESENTS AT THE CONVERSATIONS IN SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM
On the evening of May 2, 2017, the Belmont Hill School science department welcomed educators from area public and private schools to a presentation by Hunt Willard ’71 for the annual “Conversations in Science Symposium” organized by faculty member, John McAlpin. In an engaging and thought-provoking presentation entitled “Stormy Seas: Science in an Age of Change,” Dr. Willard discussed how science has been in a constant state of change, offering opportunities to expand knowledge and understanding, but also challenges for how society, institutions, and individuals can best make use of new ideas, data, and technology. He described how the past 50 years, in particular, have brought a revolution in our thinking about genetics and its impact on biodiversity, emergence of innovation, engineering, the environment, and healthcare, as well as public and media awareness, public policy, philosophy, religious belief, and politics. From the emergence of molecular biology to the Human Genome Project and Precision Medicine, and from marine biodiversity and ocean ecology to unremitting climate change, Dr. Willard explained that we now find ourselves in the midst of a new scientific revolution, promising new and rich frontiers of knowledge and impact. Dr. Willard's thesis included the proposition that science in an age of change offers new challenges, but ones that ultimately must be met, by engaging a new generation of students, scientists, and citizens and imbuing them with the conviction that science, research, and the pursuit of new knowledge is an inalienable public good. “The Belmont Hill community had the unique privilege of learning about the rapid pace of scientific change and discovery taking place in this century by a distinguished scientist—who happens to also be an alumnus of the School,” said John McAlpin. “Dr. Willard’s presentation was enlightening and enabled the audience to contemplate the importance of science in society today and in the future.” Dr. Willard has a 25-year career as an innovative leader in diverse research and academic settings, currently
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Rick Melvoin with Hunt Willard ’71.
Faculty members John McAlpin, Hans Wachtmeister, and Tyson Trautz with Hunt Willard ’71.
completing his service as the 15th President and Director of The Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. A 1971 graduate of Belmont Hill, he earned his Baccalaureate degree at Harvard University and his Ph.D. at Yale University. In addition, he has held teaching, administrative, and research positions at University of Chicago, Duke University, Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Stanford University, and University of Toronto. He has earned numerous educational and teaching awards and honors during his career, including election to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Beyond authoring several books on genetics and genomics, he has published over 300 original contributions in refereed journals. His areas of research interests include: genetics, genomics, and their implications for fundamental science, medicine, and society.
Coaches’ Corner
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coaches’ corner
Alpine Skiing
Alpine Skiing STEPHEN FELDMAN, Head Coach This year the Belmont Hill ski team had a blast while racing fast. Despite having a very young team, comprising only one senior and two juniors, the varsity alpine ski team had a successful season with a final League record of 38-9. Captain Sam Rohrer ’18 led the team to this record and a third-place finish in the ISL. For individual merit, due to their consistent skiing throughout the season, Sam Rohrer earned a 2017 Independent School League (ISL) All League Honorable Mention and Dan Schwartz ’19 was named first team All ISL, ISL MVP, and Globe All Scholastic. In addition to these two star performers, the team had depth; racers ranging from the first to the seventh spot on the ladder were each capable of top 20 finishes and counting on the scoreboard. In the postseason, five varsity athletes competed at the Class A New England Prep School Skiing Championship at Mount Sunapee where they finished 3rd out of the 16
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most competitive teams in the region. As icing on the cake, Belmont Hill was the fastest ISL team at Mount Sunapee, beating out rivals Middlesex and St. Sebastian’s who were ranked ahead of Belmont Hill in the ISL. In the giant slalom, Jack Theberge ’21 was 7th place and Dan Schwartz was 4th, making both All New England in giant slalom. In the slalom, Sasha Gannon ’20 was 11th and Dan Schwartz was 4th. Dan Schwartz was also All New England in slalom. Despite being an underdog at the race, the boys performed extremely well, surpassing expectations and cementing their image as a respected force in New England skiing. All mentioned skiers will return next year as the team vies to be number one in the ISL and in New England. The team worked hard this season and is eager to get back out on the snow next year!
coaches’ corner
Basketball
Basketball AL MURPHY ’98, Head Coach
The 2016–2017 basketball team enjoyed another successful season. The team finished 16-8 overall, 12-3 in ISL. We were second in the ISL for the third season in a row, and earned the ISL Team Sportsmanship Award, voted by our peers. It was a fun, hard-working group. The group started out fast in December with big wins over rivals Rivers and Nobles, quickly establishing the group as contenders in the League. In the Rivers game, a fantastic home crowd inspired the team. It would be one of many games where there was standing room only in the Fritz Gymnasium. Captain Jovan Jones ’18 who scored 27 points led the way and Kevin Michael O’Boy ’19 chipped in 21. The team had a quick turnaround and had to battle a tough Nobles team on the road. Captain David Mitchell ’18 (28 points and 16 rebounds), dominated the game. Over the holiday break, the team would go 3-2, but suffered some injuries to starting players forcing the bench to really step up. Big performances by Quentin Harris ’18 powered the team to a victory over a talented Master’s team. Eric Taitano ’18 (17 points) led the way over Tabor Academy. The month of January allowed us to get healthy, with the team going 4-2. Highlights included a big win over a talented Lawrence team, led offensively by O’Boy’s hot shooting. Most impressive was the team’s ability to dig in defensively. The score was tied at 31 at the half. The team held LA to only 12 second-period points. In the penultimate week of the season, Belmont hosted Brooks in a game that would have major implications for the League title. In front of a packed house, the team played impressively. In a game where baskets were difficult, the score was tied with three minutes to go, but ultimately we fell to eventual League champs 49-40. The team bounced back on senior night, where we honored our four seniors. TJ Agnihotri, John Sommers, Jack Daley, and Pat Shea led the way in a 63-37 victory over Middlesex. The night also saw Jones score his 1,000th point on an ally-oop from point guard Jake Haase ’18. Though the team fell short of its goal of a Class A Tournament berth, there is much to build on. Mitchell and Jones earned both All League and All New England honors. O’Boy earned All League Honorable Mention. I would like to thank my assistant coaches, Corey Cofield and Ted Martellini, for their tireless effort. I would also like to acknowledge all of the coaches in the program, Coach Kimball, Coach Anderson, Coach Collins, Coach Wade, Coach Davis, Coach Greer, Coach Musler, and Coach Sullivan for all their hard work and sacrifice. I also would like to thank Mr. Doherty and Mr. Chin for their help this season and Mr. Negron and his staff. Good luck to all of the seniors next year. You will be missed.
Hockey JEREMIAH McCARTHY ’94, Head Coach The varsity hockey team had a successful 2016–17 season, finishing 20-7-4, ending the year ranked #5 in New England, and advancing to the Elite 8 Tournament. Senior leadership was key to the successful season. The nine seniors were the backbone of this team: tri-captains Jonathan Folsom ’17 (Middleton), Samuel Hesler ’17 (Boxboro), and Christian O’Neill ’17 (Westwood), and joined by classmates Michael Armstrong ’17 (Belmont), Evan Daddario ’17 (Medford), Kyle Maxwell ’17 (Concord), Peter O’Connell ’17 (Andover), Brendan Rocha ’17 (Belmont), and Zach Shpilner ’17 (Lexington). These seniors were joined by next year’s captains John Copeland ’18 (Wellesley) and Robert Radochia ’19 (Woburn), as well as rising seniors Anthony DeVellis ’18 (Bedford), Maxwell Fields ’18 (Canton), Noah Traylor ’18 (Berlin), Eric “Jack” Eselius ’18 (Medfield), and underclassmen Joe Goguen ’19 (Weston), Michael Hayes ’19 (Burlington), Andrew Holland ’19 (Winchester), Connor Hopkins ’19 (Malden), James Perullo ’19 (Revere), Evan Sleight ’19 (Framingham), Brett Bliss ’20 (Chelmsford), and Michael Brown ’20 (Belmont).
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Season highlights include: three victories to open the season over Berwick, Nobles, and Governor’s; the Lawrenceville Tournament; the road trip to Buffalo and the Nichols Tournament; Frozen Fenway and a 4-1 victory over Tabor; filming the New England Hockey Journal TV segment; going 6-2-1 in January and undefeated in February; the regular season finishing with a seven-game winning streak and a nine-game unbeaten streak; a 6-1 victory over St. Paul's on Senior Night; earning the #5 seed in the Elite 8; Belmont Hill student fans tailgating at Rivers for the playoff game; and an away tournament game that felt like a home game because the Belmont Hill fans were so energized and loud. Thanks for a great season to Coaches Kevin Fleming, Robert Wright, Ryan Flanigan, and Paul Mara. Special thanks goes to managers Jack Ablon ’17 (Wellesley) and Cam Gordon ’17 (Newton). Extra special thanks goes to everyone who supported the team, including faculty and staff, family and friends, Athletic Director George Tahan, Assistant Al Murphy ’98, The Loop, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Negron, Mr. Wade, Mr. Doherty, Mr. Chin, Mr. Carey, and the Jordan Rink and Zamboni staff.
coaches’ corner
Nordic Skiing
Nordic Skiing JARED COURTNEY ’97, Head Coach With one of the largest teams in recent memory—and only one returning senior from last year’s varsity team—the Nordic ski team approached the 2016-2017 winter season with an intent to fulfill its great (but youthful) potential. The team sought to build towards that potential with some early-season rollerskiing on the quiet streets of Concord, supplemented with a strength regimen in the School’s new weight room. Building those pieces into several training trips up north, including our annual trip to Jackson Ski Center in New Hampshire over Winter Break, the skiers felt well prepared and fit as they entered the competitive season of the Lakes Region Nordic League. With an eye towards the championship season, the team training emphasized classic technique over skate technique. Early classic races at Proctor School and Dublin School highlighted Charlie Donahue ’19 as the team leader, followed closely by Quin McGaugh ’18, co-captain Ben Pradko ’18, Devon Anderson ’19, Aidan McGaugh ’20, co-captain Cam Hall ’17, and James Eysenbach ’19. Skate races underscored this team ladder.
Impressively, three skiers raced in February’s Massachusetts State Team qualifier, which identifies the top 24 skiers in the state. Charlie Donahue qualified for the high school state team, while James Eysenbach and Aidan McGaugh qualified for the under-16 state team; though none could race in the New England regionals due to scheduling conflicts, this was quite an accomplishment for these three skiers. At the Lakes Region Championship race held at Dublin School, the team finished 5th out of 14 teams—its highest finish of the season against the boarding schools of Vermont and New Hampshire. At the Weston Sprints, our only race against local public school opponents, two Belmont Hill skiers placed in the top 15. With plans to rollerski this summer, and many young returners, Belmont Hill Nordic looks to build on its success next winter. Though the team will greatly miss the leadership of senior co-captain Cam Hall, we welcome the incoming leadership of co-captains Ben Pradko and Quin McGaugh.
coaches’ corner
Squash
Squash BOB BROWNELL, Head Coach We lost a single match all season to the eventual National Champions. Considering we graduated three of our top seven from last year’s team, this represents a stunning collective achievement. The top teams in the ISL were quite strong this year, and our wins against St. George’s, Nobles, and Brooks demonstrated the resolve, depth, and talent of our team. We won the ISL for the tenth consecutive year and finished tied for 3rd in the country. Something for which the boys should be forever proud. Our pulsating win against Gilman propelled us to the National semi-finals and was as exhilarating a contest as I have ever been a part of.
Our Achievements:
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undefeated ISL Champions for the tenth consecutive year;
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Regular season record of 15-0;
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third-place team High School Nationals; and
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fourth-place team New England Interscholastics.
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Co-captain James Bell ’17 finishes his brilliant six-year varsity career as a multiple New England Champion at various flights over the years, and his teams have never finished below third in the country. Remarkable. He joins an illustrious list of great players who have distinguished themselves and we will miss him terribly next year, but at least he will be close by at Dartmouth where we can still watch him. Co-captain Alex Kurtin ’17 finished his outstanding career as a semi-finalist in New England at the #4 slot and performed brilliantly all season. His epic win versus Gilman was something both he and his teammates should remember forever. Colby is getting a gem. Veteran Jack Bell ’18 was stalwart at #2 for the bulk of the season, and he remains as one of the very strongest players in the country. Jack is our rock, and he was absolutely fundamental to our success. We are thrilled at having him for another season. John Paul (JP) Champa ’17 remains one of the most gifted shot makers I have ever seen. His win against St. George’s was absolutely pivotal and we would not be where we are without JP. Robert Williamson ’17 competed brilliantly for us all season and his wins at New England’s enabled us to keep our place in a very competitive field. The
victories of Doug Conigliaro ’21 (!!) versus Nobles, Brooks, St. Paul’s, and St. George’s paved our way to the ISL title. He is a tremendous competitor and we missed him dearly at New England’s due to injury. Newcomer Andrew Lee ’20 played the bulk of the season at #7 and finished the season undefeated in the ISL. He clinched the Nobles match for us and he, along with Doug and Jack Winston ’20, represent our future. Our youngsters performed magnificently all year. Jack was simply superb at New England’s and our future remains bright. We lose James, Alex, Robert, and JP to graduation, so our younger players will need to bear a great deal of responsibility next year. I am truly grateful to Guillermo Moronta, our co-coach, and to our parent group for their tremendous support all season. We’d be rudderless without Guillermo, and I’m grateful for his daily company. I also cannot adequately thank George Tahan and his entire athletic staff enough for their unheralded and unconditional help. Most importantly, I thank the boys for their herculean efforts. I shall remember this group fondly, and I sincerely hope the boys will look back upon this year’s season in the same light.
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coaches’ corner
Squash
Wrestling DON BRADLEY, Head Coach
The 2017 varsity wrestling team enjoyed another successful season capped off with the final individual bout of the season being wrestled by an All American Belmont Hill wrestler competing in the finals of the National Prep Championships. Co-captained by Will Ryan ’17 and Phil Conigliaro ’18, this team compiled an overall 19-1 record and won both the ISL dual meet championship and the Graves Kelsey Tournament. Twelve wrestlers qualified for the New England tournament and seven to the National Preps where we placed 2nd and 16th, respectively, as a team. In a lineup that was beset by injury early on, a number of boys were called upon to step up at different points in the season and contribute significantly. As Coach Leonardis observed, “We have no JVs” and that was certainly true as the season played out.
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We were, however, a fairly young team with fully half of the weight classes manned by Form IV wrestlers at season’s end. Rookie Hamza Shemsu ’20 exceeded all expectations at 106 and went on to place 2nd at the Graves and earn a share of the William “Bingo” Emerson award for “Most Improved” with classmate Shane Rockett ’19 who competed at 220 and similarly placed 2nd at the Graves. Matt Smith ’19 and Luca Pontone ’19 both returned from injury to bolster the lineup in the decisive final weeks. Matt would place 2nd at the Graves at 120 and 6th in New England. Luca was a Graves champ and New England runner-up at 170. Colin Vallis ’19 competed at 160 and Mike Glauninger ’19 at 195. Both were Graves Kelsey champions and respectively earned a 3rd and an eighth-place at the New England’s. Lastly, Andrew Herrera ’19 anchored the lineup at heavyweight.
coaches’ corner
Wrestling
The juniors were led by Seth Israel ’18 at 138 and Phil Conigliaro at both 145 and 152. Both guys will captain this team next year along with Luca Pontone. Seth was a Graves Kelsey champ and went on to take 4th in the New England’s while Phil performed at a level unprecedented in Belmont Hill’s wrestling history. A champion at the Graves as well as the “Outstanding Wrestler,” Phil was also the winner of the New England’s, Prep Nationals, and the first Massachusetts wrestler to win the “Beast of the East.” Will Misciagna ’18, Owen Grady ’18, and Billy Weldon ’18 all saw significant time on the mat as the lineup shifted and adapted over the course of the season. While not garnering as much notice as some of their teammates, they were steadfast in their effort and performance. The old men of the team, Class of 2017, were led by four-year starter Ryan Williams at 113 and Co-captain
Will Ryan who won the Graves and placed second in New England at 182. Henry Griffin ’17 and Warren Cross ’17 covered three different weight classes between them from 120 to 132. Their versatility and toughness at different weights combined with their support of their teammates earned them the Henry B. Sawyer Award for Sportsmanship. Veteran Varun Shah ’17 was sidelined by a knee injury for much of the season, but Hunter Present ’17 led a strong contingent to the JV New England’s where he, Macdony Charles ’18, Mike Wade ’19, Myron Duarte ’18, and Billy Weldon all took first-place. At the season-ending banquet, Will Ryan and Phil Conigliaro were recognized for their “outstanding contribution” with the Gilbert S. Jordan Trophy. In closing, great thanks to Coaches Dave Leonardis, Todd Davis, and Steve Kaplan and congratulations to the entire team.
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coaches’ corner
Baseball
Baseball MICHAEL GRANT, Head Coach
With a 12-3 ISL regular season record, an overall record of 15-5, and a second-place ISL finish, the varsity baseball team concluded yet another successful season out on the diamond. This was a season where a championship was truly just a run away, as the three League losses came by a total of just four runs, and two of the losses came in long extra-inning games: a 3-2 loss in 10 innings to Governor’s and a 4-3 loss to Lawrence Academy in 12 innings. The successful season was punctuated by wins over League champion St. Sebastian’s (6-1), third-place finisher Thayer Academy (3-2), and archrival BB&N (8-2). Still, and perhaps most importantly, this was one of the most competitive and supportive groups of players in recent memory, and the entire squad should take great pride in the tremendous team atmosphere they created.
Overall the season was defined by outstanding pitching, stellar defense, and aggressive baserunning. The pitching staff posted a team ERA of just 1.17, striking out 106 hitters in just 107 2/3 League innings. Sam Rohrer ’18 and Jake McOsker ’19 were outstanding as League starters. Rohrer posted an 1.12 ERA in 37 innings of work, going 6-0 on the season with 27 strikeouts. Not to be outdone, McOsker sported an ERA of 0.68, striking out 47 hitters in just 30 2/3 innings of work. Relievers Devin O’Donovan ’17 and Ben Reyes ’20 were excellent out of the bullpen—O’Donovan pitched to an ERA of 1.45 in 23 innings of work while Reyes didn’t allow a single run in his 10 2/3 innings of relief. Those pitchers were supported by the stellar catching of tri-captain Brendan Rocha ’17 and a truly outstanding team defense. The
team finished the season with a fielding percentage of .970, the highest average in the last seven seasons. Surely that number was buoyed by senior second baseman and tri-captain Robbie Cronin ’17, who finished the season without a single error, and went two seasons without an error in League play! At the plate, Evan Sleight ’19 led the team in hitting with a .404 batting average, while Bryan Gotti ’18 led both Belmont Hill and all of the ISL in RBIs with 18. With such a successful squad filled with talented players, Belmont Hill garnered much-deserved recognition from the ISL coaches. Three players were named to the ISL All-Conference team: Robbie Cronin, Evan Sleight, and Sam Rohrer. Four players earned All-Conference honorable mention: Brendan Rocha, Spenser Smith ’18, Bryan Gotti, and Jake McOsker. The team also honored four players at our year-end Athletics Award Chapel. Spenser Smith won the Langdon Prouty Jr. Baserunning Trophy, Brendan Rocha was honored with the Henry B. Sawyer Sportsmanship Award, tri-captain Peter O’Connell ’17 was recognized for his tireless work ethic in returning from Tommy John surgery a year ago by winning the Most Improved Baseball Plaque, and Robbie Cronin was named the Team MVP. This talented and deep senior class will surely be missed by the baseball program next year. This was a team defined by its work ethic, competitive nature, and steadfast support for one another, and it was truly the baseball Class of 2017 that created that culture. We sincerely thank Robbie Cronin, David Conforti ’17, Peter Flaherty ’17, Danny Griffin ’17, Bradley Hart ’17, Devin O’Donovan ’17, Peter O’Connell, and Brendan Rocha for all of their contributions to baseball at Belmont Hill.
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coaches’ corner
Crew
Crew CHRIS RICHARDS, Head Coach The theme of the 2017 Belmont Hill Crew season was one of challenges met head-on. With just five seniors, our young and determined team produced some very impressive results. One of the main stories of the spring was the weather—few of us can remember a season more dominated by cold, wet, and windy days! But whether battling the conditions on the Charles or toiling away on the ergs indoors, the team showed its grit and made excellent gains in both technique and fitness in March and early April. Our racing season kicked off with our annual early-April scrimmage against Deerfield, who was projected (along with the Nobles 1V4) to be our strongest competition this spring, and the pieces we did confirmed that they were indeed going to be strong and fast. After splitting pieces with the Deerfield 8s, we had a run of dominant victories over the next four weeks against Choate, Pomfret, Middlesex, and BB&N. In the Bassett Cup, we won the 2V4-5V4, but an illness on the day of the race forced a lineup change in the 1V4 that left us vulnerable, and Nobles prevailed in the first-boat race (a loss we would avenge five days later). The Wayland-Weston Regatta in early May is always a great event, and again this year did not disappoint. The competition was intense, and was dominated by Belmont Hill and Deerfield: every final saw our crews winning gold and silver, with the other six teams left to vie for bronze. Deerfield took the first and third boat victories, while we won the second, fourth, and fifth. Our final races prior to NEIRAs were against Brooks,
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Groton, and St. Mark's, and we swept these in convincing fashion. Our goal coming into the season had been to win our 13th New England team title at NEIRAs, but we experienced a disruption leading into the regatta that resulted in significant changes to three of our four crews (only the 2V4 remained intact). In a sport that depends so much upon a chemistry that can take many weeks to develop, this was an extraordinary challenge to say the least (and for none more than the 1V4, which rowed its lineup for the first time the afternoon before the regatta). No excuses were made, however, and the guys ALL rose to the challenge in incredible fashion: the 4V4 and 3V4 both battled to silver medals; the 2V4 rowed to an epic victory (our twelfth consecutive in the event); and the 1V4—with four junior oarsmen, three of them lightweights—raced ferociously and secured a most-impressive bronze. To say it was a triumphant day for the team would be a real understatement; I truly feel we could not have done any better than we did! This year’s captains, Will Ryan ’17 and Pat Shea ’17, did a terrific job leading the team this spring, and taking the captaincy reins for 2017-2018 will be Andrew Berg ’18, Sean Mannion ’18, and Henry Thomas ’18. With a young and talented group of oarsmen and coxswains and our exceptional coaching staff of Steve George, Gregg Stone, Tobias McDougal, Jake Sobstyl (and maybe Ray Parejo) all returning, hopes for next year are running very high indeed!
coaches’ corner
Golf
Golf CHARLIE DOAR, Head Coach After a humbling 2016 golf campaign, two talented new players joined seven returning players this spring in hopes of competing for the top spot in the ISL. Finishing in second-place in the League and defeating non-League opponents Choate, Dexter, and Andover along the way, Belmont Hill reestablished itself as one of the strongest prep school teams in the area. Without top-end talent, our squad was built around depth, knowing that the four points necessary to win each match could come from any part of our lineup. Particularly impressive were our number three, four, and five players—namely Jack Bell ’18, Conner Willett ’21, and Charlie Donahue ’20—who combined for a record of 43-5-3. With close wins over Milton, Rivers, and Nobles, and a tie against an undefeated St. Sebastian’s team, our group proved that last year was perhaps a productive learning experience. On May 15, our top five players traveled to Newport National Golf Club to compete against 13 other ISL schools in the Kingman Tournament, an 18-hole stroke-
play contest. Battling cold, wet, blustery conditions on the front nine—the same weather we faced most of the season—the boys placed fourth. Shooting a 77 and finishing in the top eight that day, Conner Willett earned All League recognition. Captain Oisin Treanor ’18 played number one for us this year and faced the best players in the League. His unwavering approach proved invaluable for our entire squad. We particularly appreciated seniors Marshall Knight and Jack Neely not only for their play on the course, but also for the example they set as fine gentlemen. We wish them the best as they move on from Belmont Hill. We will have an experienced group next year, one that has its sights set on a first-place finish in the League. As always, we appreciate former coach Patty Whitney and fellow golf enthusiast Ken Martin for their continued support of the program.
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coaches’ corner
Lacrosse
Lacrosse TIM SULLIVAN, Head Coach
Finishing the season 14-2, the 2017 varsity lacrosse team had a successful season, winning its third straight ISL Championship, fourth in the last five years (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) and 13th overall, the most of any school in the ISL. The team was led by a talented group of seniors who have had a positive and meaningful impact across multiple areas of the School community: Mike Armstrong, Drew Bowser, Brendan Hennessey, Sam Hesler, Christian O’Neill, Mack Perry, Zach Shpilner, John Sommers, Peter Tamasi, Bret Willis, and captains Cole Naghama, Zach Geddes, and William Stonestreet.
The team started its season playing top-five nationally ranked Avon Old Farms. Trailing 5-1, the team closed the score to 8-7 by the strong play of Zach Geddes ’17 (4g, 1a) before losing 9-7. We opened our ISL season versus Thayer Academy cruising to a 15-9 victory led by Brian Antonelli ’18 (1g, 3a), Peter Tamasi ’17 (4g, 1a), and Jake Haase ’18 (1g, 3a). Next, the team faced Roxbury Latin. Trailing 5-4, impressive faceoff play by Mike Armstrong ’17, William Stonestreet ’17, Zach Shpilner ’17, and Anthony Marinello ’18 and offense from Christian O’Neill ’17 (3g, 3a) and Tamasi (1g, 4a) yielded an 11-6 victory.
coaches’ corner
Lacrosse
On a beautiful afternoon, the team earned an 8-3 victory over Governor’s Academy led by the lockdown defense of Cole Nagahama ’17, Bret Willis ’17, Max Fields ’18, and Blake Brookes ’20 and outstanding goalie play by Danny Hincks ’18 (13 saves). Consecutive victories over St. Paul’s and Milton Academy by a combined score of 30-6 set up a showdown with eventual co-champion St. Sebastian’s. Belmont Hill found itself down 9-4 at the half before eventually losing 14-11 despite a furious fourth-quarter comeback. Galvanized by their valiant effort and a St. Sebastian’s loss setting up a temporary five-team tie for first-place, the team cruised to victories over St. Mark’s, Lawrence Academy, and St. George’s by a combined score of 43-10 setting up a showdown with fellow first-place Nobles. In a defensive battle, the team prevailed 8-5 led by Hincks in net, O’Neill (3g, 3a), Tamasi (1g, 3a), and shutdown defense by Brodie Rayment ’19, John Sommers ’17, and Stonestreet. In front of a large Friday-night-lights crowd, the team faced off against another first-place tie team, Rivers. In the program’s most complete game in recent memory, the team emerged victorious 15-8 led by Joseph Goguen ’19 (3g, 1a) and Haase (1g, 4a) offensively and a complete team effort on defense. Victories over Groton, Middlesex, Brooks, and BB&N by a combined score of 59-18 secured the team’s third straight ISL Championship. Geddes and O’Neill were awarded the Lacrosse Alumni MVP Award, Willis earned Team MIP, and Shpilner earned the Henry B. Sawyer Sportsmanship Award. Hincks, Haase, Antonelli, Tamasi, Fields, and O’Neill were named All League. Stonestreet, Nagahama, Sommers, Willis, Shpilner, and Marinello received All League Honorable Mention. Finally, William Stonestreet was honored as an Academic All American. Next year’s captains, Jake Haase, Max Fields, and Danny Hincks as well as a strong nucleus of 13 letter winners will lead the team in 2018.
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Sailing CHRISTOPHER ZAMORE, Head Coach With less experience in team racing than in fleet racing, the 2017 sailing team focused on the series of fleet regattas spread throughout the spring. While our overall team racing record of 7-4 in combined varsity and junior varsity results was respectable, it was in our regatta season that the team distinguished itself. Starting with a rainy and breezy regional fleet qualifier at Pleon Yacht Club in Marblehead, our A fleet crew of Jack Murphy ’18 and Ryan Goldstein ’18 and B fleet crew of Stephen Pellegrino ’19 and Jake Whitney ’17 finished fourth, earning them a berth in the New England Championships at MIT. Of the 65 schools from all over New England that competed in the series, Belmont Hill finished the finals ranked 11th after another rainy day of racing. Next, the team headed to Castine, Maine, for the Downeast Fleet Championships. In the two-day regatta, Murphy and Pellegrino chased down Tabor, shaving an early 20-point lead from the first day down to four points before the Sunday afternoon races were cancelled due to an ap-
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proaching storm. Belmont Hill finished second, beating local training partners Winchester and Marblehead and 16 other teams. In the final regatta of the season, the team headed back to MIT where it finished third in the Mass State Championships out of 25 schools. Helping the team secure such strong results were skippers Murphy, Pellegrino, Francis Selldorff ’19, and Mike Wade ’19 with crews Bennett Rush ’17, Ned Whelan ’19, and Peter Wade ’19. We were also joined by three talented and versatile members of the Class of 2022. Dietrich Jacobs, Jack Mackey, and Michael Salvatore, all of whom showed great potential as skippers and crews. Again, we were lucky to have the coaching of Zach Orlov in this busy season. While we will miss seniors Jake Whitney and Bennett Rush, and Ned Whelan, who will spend next year in China, we look forward to another exciting season led by next year’s captains, Jack Murphy and Stephen Pellegrino.
coaches’ corner
Tennis
Tennis KATIE McNAMARA, Head Coach This spring, the varsity tennis team completed a strong 13-2 finish in the ISL and a return trip to the New England Championships. Seniors led the way with their incredible leadership. Captains Jack Ablon ’17 and Owen Greenwood ’17 provided a strong one-two punch for the team with All League ISL performances. Belmont Hill also had the best #3 singles player in the league in Danny Tsyvin ’18 who did not lose a single set all season long earning him All League honors as well. Youth served the team well with Andrew Lee ’20, Tommy Smith ’19, Jarrett Chen ’22, Matthew Drucker ’20, and Aaron Belluck ’21 all seeing action at the
fourth through sixth singles positions. Senior Scott Jackson specialized in doubles this season with great performances at the top spot with Jack Ablon. Senior Jack Daley was injured but an important contributor to the team’s success! Good luck to the seniors next year— Jack Ablon at Colgate, Owen Greenwood at Bates, Scott Jackson at Colby, and Jack Daley at Harvard!
coaches’ corner
Track
Track ADAM HARDER, Head Coach
During individual meetings with each captain during the winter, a common goal was unanimously proclaimed: win both the ISTA Championship Meet and League title for the first time since 2011. We opened up the season with convincing wins at home against Governor’s Academy, Middlesex, and Groton. The following weekend, on a raw and rainy day, with a depleted squad, we eked out wins over St. George’s, Lawrence, and Rivers. Many boys competed in three or four events, and we got the job done in the end. Our second and final home meet, a five-team affair, came down to the wire with our boys nipping Thayer by three
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points. There was a plethora of personal bests, highlighted by Evan Ricci’s ’17 school-record performance of 14.9 seconds in the 110m hurdles. For the day, we also defeated a talented Worcester Academy squad, as well as Rivers and Middlesex again. Our last regular season League meet, a tough mid-week matchup against undefeated Milton Academy and Roxbury Latin, was also a closely fought battle, with several impressive performances contributing to our squad’s two victories. Newcomer Jake Bobo ’18, in his first competition, cleared 6' for the win in the high jump, and Evan Ricci won both hurdles races. Our discus squad
coaches’ corner
Track
swept their event, which clinched the team win for us late in the meet. The performance of the day, however, belonged to Isaiah Collins ’18, who ran a blazing 10.6 seconds in the 100m race, tying the School’s handheld record. Looking at the seedings on paper for both the ISTA and New England Championship Meets, it seemed that we were going to have to be at our best in order to bring home the wins. As it turned out, our boys showed up in a big way, and tallied lopsided wins in both the ISTA and the New England Division II Meets. We scored 117.5 points to capture the ISTA title, with Thayer and Tabor Academy tying for second with 73 points. At New England’s, we captured our fourth title in a row, racking up 123 points, with Tabor a distant second with 70 points. Highlights for the ISTA Meet hosted by Tabor included wins by our 4 x 100m relay squad (Alexander Czarnecki ’17, Isaiah Collins ’18, Joshua Wax ’19, and captain Ray Hunt ’17), Ricci in both hurdles races (school record of 39.79 seconds in the 300m race), and captain Jamie Feinberg ’17 in the discus. For the New England’s, Ricci again took home the gold in both hurdles events, ending the season undefeated. Other first-place finishers included Isaiah Collins in the 100m (and a third place in the 200m) and Nathaniel Miller ’17 with a huge personal-best in the discus, to go along with his third-place finish in the shot put. I am most grateful for all the time and the expertise that my fellow coaches contribute to track and field at Belmont Hill. Arianna Vailas, who also works with the varsity cross country squad, handles our distance group. Warren Fowler is in charge of our throwers, with Larry Anam coordinating our sprinters and relay squads. Special thanks to Fran Kirby, who continues to be an integral cog in the machine that is Belmont Hill track and field. I also want to thank our four senior captains, Jamie Feinberg, Alex Czarnecki, Ray Hunt, and middle-distance specialist Cameron Hall. Each boy in his own manner brought enthusiasm, charisma, and positive leadership that contributed to this year’s championships and overall success.
corporation news
CORPORATION DINNER 2016–2017 COMMITTEE ON TRUSTEES Ruthanne Fuller, Chair
Jason H. Hurd ’90
Jon M. Biotti ’87
Emmett E. Lyne ’77
John M. Connors III ’85
Carl J. Martignetti ’77
Marsha Feinberg
Richard I. Melvoin
Jennifer Mugar Flaherty
Taggart M. Romney ’88
John T. Grady, Jr. ’66
Margaret M. Wade
Danielle A. Heard
David B. Wilkins
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2 1. John Grady ’66 and Sandi Fenwick.
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2. Before the formal introduction of new members of the Board and Corporation, guests were treated to student performances. Macdony Charles ’18 and Sasha Vasu ’22 with Rick Melvoin. Macdony recited a poem, “Dinosaurs in the Hood,” by Danez Smith. Sasha performed “Tango en Skai” by Roland Dyens on guitar. 3. Nancy Wanger, Ruthanne Fuller, and Ron Druker ’62. 4. Rick Fritz and Peter Gilpatric ’64. 5. Kevin Walsh ’93, Bob Walsh ’63, and Jon Smith ’62.
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6. A.T. Desta ’05 and Chris Wadsworth. 7. Jim Kalustian ’78, David Wanger ’80, Joe Curtin ’80, and Ken Martin ’65. 8. Marsha Feinberg, Jeff Drucker ’90, and Ann Ryan. 9. Emmett Lyne ’77 and Tagg Romney ’88. 10. Steve Armstrong, Tyson Trautz, and Anne Ogilby.
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11. Mary Lou Monaco, Steve Kaplan ’83, Warren Cross ’83, and Martie Fritz. 12. Gretchen Cook-Anderson, Sarah Pelmas, and Carolyn McClintock Peter.
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new members of the board of trustees
GRETCHEN R. COOK-ANDERSON Gretchen is the director of diversity recruiting and advising for IES Abroad. A 1990 graduate of Spelman College with a B.A. in political science, she then earned her M.A. in international economics/Japanese studies from Johns Hopkins University SAIS in 1994. Gretchen lives in Needham with her husband, Thomas, her sons, Hunter and Bryce, who are members of the Class of 2019, and her daughter, Layla, newly accepted into the Dana Hall School Class of 2023, and currently attending High Rock School in Needham. Gretchen is a board member of the Needham Diversity Initiative and a member of the New England Advisory Board of Facing History and Ourselves. She is also a co-chair of Parents Fostering Diversity here at Belmont Hill and was the featured speaker for the School’s 2017 celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. SARAH H. PELMAS Sarah is in her first year as head of school and holder of the O’Donnell Family Chair at The Winsor School in Boston. A 1986 graduate of Princeton University, where she majored in English, she went on to earn her M.A. in creative writing at Syracuse University in 1988. In 1998, she earned her Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to Winsor, Sarah served as associate head and head of the Upper School at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. after a decade at the San Francisco University High School. Additionally, she has taught in the English departments of Stanford, Syracuse University, the City College of San Francisco, and the University of California, Berkeley. Sarah lives in Brookline with her husband, Matthew Eddy, and their two sons, Owen and William. BRIAN J. SHORTSLEEVE ’91 Brian was the MBTA’s first-ever chief administrator and joined the MBTA at the time of the creation of the Fiscal and Management Control Board in July 2015 with a focus on developing and implementing a strategy to put the T on a path to fiscal sustainability. He is a member of the Class of 1991 and a 1995 graduate of Harvard, where he majored in American history. In 2001, he earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Brian was also an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Persian Gulf. Prior to the MBTA, he was a managing director at General Catalyst Partners. Brian is a resident of Wellesley, where he lives with his wife, Liz, and sons, Teddy, Patrick, and Michael. Today, he remains involved with Belmont Hill through his work as a class agent since 2002 and as a member of the reunion committee for his class’s previous four reunions. HERBERT S. WAGNER III Herb is the managing partner and portfolio manager of Finepoint Capital. Previously, he served as a managing director and co-portfolio manager at The Baupost Group. He is a 1990 graduate of Miami University, and earned his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1995. Herb is a board member for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston and the Campaign for Catholic Schools. He is also actively involved with Partners HealthCare and the Mount Auburn Hospital. He lives in Cambridge with his wife, Charlotte, his daughters, Claire and Alexandra, and his son, Luke, who is a member of the Class of 2022.
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corporation news
new members of the corporation
DAVID L. BELLUCK David is a general partner with Riverside Partners, a private equity firm. A 1984 graduate of Harvard, he earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1988. A resident of Boston, his daughters, Alexandra and Zoe, attend The Winsor School, and his son, Aaron, is a member of the Class of 2021. He is a board member for numerous companies, including Bioagilytix Labs, Loftware, Enovate Medical, Allied Dental, and Dominion Diagnostics, among others. He serves on the boards of several nonprofits as well, including The Winsor School and the National Advisory Board for Public Service at Harvard College. He also serves as the finance chair for Congressman Joe Kennedy III, the School’s 2016 Commencement speaker. He is a member of Belmont Hill’s Parents Fund Committee.
MATTHEW M. FRITZ ’93 Matthew is an equity trader for Shellback Capital of Boston. He is a member of the Class of 1993 and graduated in 1997 from Middlebury College, where he majored in English with a minor in economics. Matthew resides in Lincoln with his wife, Chandler, his daughter, Phoebe, and his sons, Miles and Eliot. The children attend Meadowbrook School in Weston. Actively involved in Belmont Hill, Matt has been a class agent since 2003 and a member of his reunion committee for his class’s past three reunions.
ZACHARY W. HEATH ’07 Zach completed three years at Northeastern University School of Law and received his J.D. in May. This fall, he will start his legal career as an associate at Choate Hall & Stewart LLP. Zach is a member of the Class of 2007 and graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2011, where he majored in classical languages and minored in human and organizational development and corporate strategy. During his time as a Teach For America New Haven corps member, Zach earned a M.Ed. from Southern Connecticut State University. Zach lives in Arlington with his fiancée, Lauren, an associate at Goulston & Storrs. Zach has been a class agent since 2008 and has served on the reunion committee for his class’s past two reunions.
ASHLEY G. JACOBS Ashley is an M.B.A. admissions interview board member for Harvard Business School. A graduate of Brown University in 1991, she earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1996. She lives in Boston with her husband, Bruce, sons, Gordon and Dietrich from the Belmont Hill Classes of 2020 and 2022, respectively, her son, Colton, who attends Kingsley Montessori School, and her daughter, Alexa, who is a senior at The Winsor School. Ashley has been a member of the Parents Fund Committee at Belmont Hill since 2014. She is board chair emeritus at Kingsley Montessori School and a member of the corporation at Winsor. Ashley also volunteers for the Boston Medical Center Grow Clinic for Children and was a member of its 2016 Food for Thought Committee.
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JIM E. REYNOLDS ’74 Jim is the head of the Upper School at The Browning School in New York City. He is a member of the Class of 1974 and a 1984 graduate of Columbia University, where he majored in English. In 2006, Jim earned his M.A. in English Literature from Brooklyn College. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Mary. They have two sons, Matthew, a 2006 graduate of Kenyon College, and Jack, a 2010 graduate of Purchase College. At the recent Multicultural Partnership dinner this fall, Jim was the keynote speaker.
ANN T. RYAN Ann is a 1984 graduate of the University of Rochester and earned her M.Ed. in instructional design from the University of Massachusetts in 1990. She lives in Boston with her husband, Tony, treasurer of the School’s board of trustees, and her children. Ann is the mother of three Belmont Hill boys, Matthew of the Class of 2014, William, Class of 2017, and Thomas, Class of 2019, and her late daughter, Maggie Ryan, a graduate of The Winsor School and Washington University in St. Louis. Ann is a trustee and a volunteer at Beacon Academy in Boston. She has been co-chair of the Belmont Hill Parents Fund Committee since 2012, and is a member of the Diversity Committee for the School’s Strategic Vision.
FRANK R. SELLDORFF Frank is the founder of Momentum Equity Partners, an early stage venture capital firm that funds, advises, and mentors entrepreneurs. He was previously founder and CEO of Breakaway Solutions, Reach Internet Incubator, Meteorix, and EdgeRock Technology Partners. He lives in Boston with his wife, Nancy, and their son, Francis, a member of the Class of 2019. Frank attended Dartmouth College, majoring in computer science. He serves on the board of the New England Chapter of JDRF, a foundation dedicated to finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.
KEVIN J. WALSH ’93 Kevin is an Academy Award-nominated film producer and president of Scott Free Productions. Over the course of his two decades in the entertainment business, he has trained under three movie and music moguls—Steven Spielberg, Scott Rudin, and Tommy Mottola. Kevin’s film credits include Manchester by the Sea, which was nominated for Best Picture; Thoroughbred; The Way, Way Back; The Master; Munich; War of the Worlds; Zoolander; The Royal Tenenbaums; and The Hours, among others. Manchester by the Sea included cameos by members of the Belmont Hill hockey team, featuring coach Jeremiah McCarthy ’94. Actively involved in Belmont Hill, Kevin arranged for a screening of The Way, Way Back for Belmont Hill students in the Hamilton Chapel in 2013 and was the Commencement speaker in 2014. Kevin is a member of the Class of 1993 and graduated in 1997 from Lafayette College, where he majored in economics and business and Spanish. He lives in Santa Monica, California, and is a volunteer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.
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corporation news
trustee recognition
Remarks by Jon Biotti ’87
RACHEL F. STETTLER I would like to thank Rachel for her dedicated work for our school. Rachel was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2012 and has been a thoughtful participant for these past five years. She has served the School on the Financial Aid Policy committee of the Board and most recently co-chaired the Arts Committee for the School’s Strategic Vision. Rachel’s passion for education was a benefit to our board, and she brought great perspective to our discussions from her role as the head of school at Winsor, where she served for 12 years. Belmont Hill continues to have a special relationship with The Winsor School, and we thank Rachel for her part in that enduring connection. We are grateful to Rachel for being a valuable trustee throughout her years here.
JOHN M. CONNORS III ’85 John was elected to the board in 2007, and we thank him for a decade of service to Belmont Hill. John has served on the Committee on Trustees and the Financial Aid Policy committee of the Board. John also served the School’s Campaign for Belmont Hill committee and will continue to serve as a class agent and reunion chair. I enjoyed having a schoolmate of mine on the Board with me and, before that, a neighbor growing up who was also my largest Wiffle Ball rival. John brought a keen eye to his trustee work and his advertising and marketing background helped the School to stay “on brand.” We thank Eileen and Jack Connors for choosing Belmont Hill to educate their son, and we thank John for his service to the Board and for being such a great ambassador of our school.
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Alumni & Family Events
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alumni & family events
a reception honoring hans f.e. wachtmeister Retiring Faculty Member 1987 to 2017 May 4, 2017 1.
A highlight of the evening included remarks from Rick Melvoin, Tyson Trautz, Hans Wachtmeister, and Andy Hack ’91.
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Steve Feldman, Steve Carr ’93, Mark Connolly ’93, and Cliff Goodband ’97.
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Jake DeCaprio ’16, Ethan McIlhenny ’16, and Jeff Fast.
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Christina Paré, Anna GunnarsonAfeyan, and Mark Paré.
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Tim Blank, Hans Wachtmeister, and Tricia Blank.
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Dee Greer, Ken Martin ’65, Teddy Mitropolous ’11, Dave Greer, and Linda Martin.
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David Shaff ’90, Harvey Shaff, Leslie Shaff, Tod Rodger, and Lyn Rodger.
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Hans Wachtmeister, Bob Cressey, and Dan Bridges.
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Hans Wachtmeister, Anne Wachtmeister, Jason Hurd ’90, and Phyllis Gleason.
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10. Taylor Shortsleeve ’01, Don Stewart, and Kendra Lastowka. 11. Tyson Trautz, Yanik Bababekov ’04, Hans Wachtmeister, and Chris Butler.
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alumni & family events
KATHARINE WRISLEY ATKINS COMMITTEE
kwa women’s speaker series
(In Formation) Margy Dunn P ’10
Featuring Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan
Lynne Gaynor P ’04, ’06 Co-chairs
April 4, 2017
Susan Cohen P ’05 1.
Linda Tilden, Marian Ryan, and Sue Kelleher.
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RoseMary Fuss, Kathy Goodfellow, and Eileen Lauria.
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Heidi Driscoll, Leslie Ouellette, Allyson Huntington, and Janice Grady.
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Julie Durbin P ’15 Lora Farkas P ’04, ’13 Jennifer Mugar Flaherty P ’17 Anne Foley P ’99, ’01 Thuy Ha-Ngoc P ’00, ’06 Meredith Hall P ’16
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Margy Dunn, Marian Ryan, and Leslie McCafferty.
Jill Hatton P ’05, ’14
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Penny Billings and Bean Nardi.
Elena Loukas P ’07, ’12
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Elizabeth Hinds-Ferrick, Elisabeth Wilder Richards, and Lynn Wheeler.
Betsy LeBlanc P ’03, ’08 Leslie McCafferty P ’98, ’00, ’05
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Bunny Melvoin Mary Lou Monaco P ’82, ’83, ’86 Jayne Mundt P ’07, ’09, ’12 Ann Neczypor P ’04 Karen Pagliarulo P ’05 Kathleen Rush P ’15, ’17 Mary Schmidek G ’22 Kathy Whelan P ’99, ’05 Simone Winston P ’10, ’16, ’20
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Save the Date, April 12, 2018, for a special event Featuring Bunny Melvoin. All women in the Belmont Hill community are invited. Invitations are sent via email. Please contact us at alumni@belmonthill.org if we do not have your email address.
washington, D.C. reception General and Mrs. Mark Milley ’76 hosted Belmont Hill at their residence offering a tour of the home’s historical objects. February 22, 2017
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Belmont Hill attendees who also provided service to our country included: Richard Ballard, Chase Johnson ’00, Andy Wright ’96, Kevin Keefe ’05, Peter Firenze ’97, Mark Milley ’76, Bruce Greer ’78, John Ehrman ’77, Diane Ehrman, Steve Guarnaccia ’76, and Steve Bane ’76.
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Steve Spengler ’77, Bruce Greer ’78, Mark Chandler ’74, Emmett Lyne ’77, John Ehrman ’77 , Mark Milley ’76, Jim Peck ’77, Chip Tarbell ’76, Steve Bane ’76, Steve Guarnaccia ’76, Sean Sherman ’78, and Dennis Collins ’76 .
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Kevin Travaline ’10, Trent Jones ’13, Zach Jacobson ’11, Jeff Schimmel ’10, Dylan Johnson ’11, John Driscoll ’15, Sam Peabody ’08, Chip Daley ’16, Kevin Tarbell ’09, Mark Milley ’76, Dan Kreytak ’13, Tommy Ruggles ’16, David Yellen ’16, William Treanor ’15, Aman Shah ’10, Kevin Keefe ’05, Mark Wachtmeister ’07, and Ali Jafri ’05.
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alumni & family events
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florida events March 11 and 13, 2017 1.
Jillian and Jamie King ’80.
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Kathy Sullivan, John Brooks ’60, and Christie Brooks.
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LT Hill and Wendy Hill pictured with Rick Melvoin. The Hills hosted a reception for Belmont Hill constituents at their Vero residence on March 13, 2017.
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Rick Melvoin and Sam Kennedy.
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Rick Melvoin was invited to throw out the first pitch at jetBlue Park on March 11.
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Belmont Hill friends gathered for a Red Sox spring training game on March 11.
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belmont hill memorabilia
Cufflinks Sterling silver, hand-engraved. $350
L.L.Bean Everyday Lightweight Medium Tote Belmont Hill School Captain’s Chair Solid hardrock maple captain’s chair with cherry arms and back with laser-engraved Belmont Hill logo makes a meaningful gift anytime. Shipped directly to your home or office. $475 plus $29 for basic shipping. $19 for one line of personalization. Please allow 4–6 weeks for delivery.
Golf Balls
Belmont Hill sextant embroidery. Durable, lightweight nylon fabric, medium-length reinforced handles, ziptop closure, exterior open slot pocket, and interior zip pocket with key clip. Dimensions: 12"H x 13"W x 6"D. Available in fiery red/navy and navy/arctic blue. $40
Titleist ProVI Golf Balls with Belmont Hill Sextant. Package of three. $20
Cross Pen All-chrome ballpoint pen with Belmont Hill Sextant. $45
Cape Cod Belt Company Vineyard Vines Silk Belmont Hill Neckties
Luggage tag. $10 Key fob. $10
Yellow and blue striped tie. $85 Lavender, pink, and blue solid tie with small Belmont Hill sextants. $85
Mariposa Wine Coaster
Mariposa Wine Stopper
Mariposa wine coaster with Belmont Hill sextant engraving. Classic beaded border. 5.25" diameter. $45
Mariposa wine stopper with Belmont Hill sextant engraving. $32
Smathers & Branson Visor Needlepoint golf visor. $35
For your convenience, credit card orders are accepted by phone. Contact Eileen Foley at 617.993.5202 or stop by the Alumni House at 19 Marsh Street.
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alumni reunion weekend
alumni reunion weekend
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Ken Richardson ’67, Ellie Willmann, Jeff Willmann ’67, and Roger Swain ’67.
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2012 classmates David Alexander, Richard Mummolo, Camilo Toro, Jack Hayes, and Alex Potter.
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Steve Parson ’42, Gail Rice, and Alan Rice ’63.
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Gene Nelson ’07, Doc Fast, Andrew Grandin ’07, George Sullivan ’07, and Brian Alexander ’07.
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Jessica and Dave Ostuni ’97 with their children, Tate and Riley.
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A few members of the undefeated 1977 varsity baseball team were on hand for the May 20 Belmont Hill varsity baseball game vs. Middlesex. Steve Mannix ’77 threw out the first pitch. From left to right: David Wanger ’80, Coach Ken Martin ’65, Pat Carley ’77, Paul Alfano ’77, Jim Peck ’77, and Steve Mannix ’77.
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Former staff and faculty members Ann Coté, Bob Cressey, and Tod Rodger at the reunion luncheon.
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Alumni president Emmett Lyne ’77 welcomed the reunion classes under the tent and toasted to retiring faculty member Hans Wachtmeister.
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Grand reunion classes enjoyed a reception, dinner, and a performance by the B Flats at the head of school’s residence, Howe House.
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Deborah Hallinan, Dave Tweedy ’77, Jillian Darling, Hal Melcher ’77, Linda Reichheld, TeriBeth Garrison, George McLaughlin ’77, Charlene McLaughlin, and Esther Carley.
12. Joe Regis ’02 (center) with Rachel and Charles Psoinos ’02 and Kristen and Andrew Woodward ’02. 13. More than 400 guests arrived on campus on Saturday evening to celebrate reunions.
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14. Zach Friedland ’97, Ferras Habbal ’97, David Silverman ’97, Kayvon Bina ’97, Justine Mooney, Andy Freedman, and Emily Freedman. 15. 1987 classmates Rob Madden, Jack Markis, Dan O’Connell, Chris Crocker Grady, and Jeff O’Neill. 16. This year marked a remarkable set of reunions for the Darling family. Celebrating an 80th, 40th, and 50th reunion, Tom ’77, Nelson ’37, and Bill ’67 enjoyed the Saturday afternoon festivities on campus together. 17.
Reunion Weekend was kicked off by a golf outing at Belmont Country Club. Alumni were invited back to Belmont Hill for lunch.
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class notes We would love to hear from you and share your latest news with the Belmont Hill School community. Please email your notes and photos to alumni@belmonthill.org. Length and content are subject to editorial approval; some submissions may appear as excerpts. The deadline for the next Bulletin is January 5, 2018.
1942 STEVE PARSON won the USTA 95 and older Men's Invitational Tennis Tournament on Thursday, August 31st on the Essex County Club grass courts. This is the first time in 10 years that a sanctioned 95 men's tournament has been held in the U.S.
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65 TH REUNION MAY 11 & 12
1954 PETE BRUNO writes, “I am semi-retired and teaching a few introductory classes, and I do a few psych evaluations for the courts. I enjoy my grandchildren and may yet become an online marriage counselor.”
1957 TED WELCH writes, “I officially retired in January, after 25+ years teaching at the University of Buffalo. The last two of my Ph.D. advisees received their doctoral degrees. Both reflected the international nature of this large institution: one came from Rwanda and the other from Nepal. My wife retired simultaneously from the University of Buffalo, after 40 years on the faculty.
75 TH REUNION MAY 11 & 12
70 TH REUNION MAY 11 & 12
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We celebrated our new status as emeriti by a cruise in the Indian Ocean. It included Singapore, Malaysia (two cities), Thailand, Sri Lanka, India (four cities), and four of the various Gulf Emirates. Road Scholar organized the trip. Did I mention earlier that in May 2016, I received the University of Buffalo’s President’s Medal, ‘given in recognition of single and extraordinary service to the University of Buffalo. Such service may comprise scholarly or artistic achievements, humanitarian acts, contributions of time or treasure, outstanding leadership, or any other act that makes a major contribution to the development of, or quality of life within, the University.’”
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60 TH REUNION
MAY 12, 2018
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55 TH REUNION
MAY 12, 2018
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Darling family, Tom ’77, Nelson ’37, and Bill ’67 at Belmont Hill on May 20, 2017, celebrating their 40th, 80th, and 50th reunions, respectively.
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Steve Parson ’42, B-Flat William Ryan ’17, and Dee Shane at the Grand Reunion Dinner on May 20.
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Pictured (l-r) Steve Parson ’42, John Shane ’50 (tournament chair), and runner up W.T. Mathes.
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Grand Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. George Vrotsos ’52, Jo Cleary, Bill Cleary ’52, Jim Tillotson ’47, Anne Collins, Steve Parson ’42, Dee Shane, John Shane ’50, Reg Howe ’58, Skip Robinson ’60, Alan Rice ’63, Gail Rice, Peter Keville ’57, John Simon ’57, Iryna Simon, Ken Johnson ’52, and Susan Vrotsos.
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Jo and Bill Cleary ’52 and Ken Johnson ’52 at their 65th Reunion dinner.
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John Simon ’57 and Iryna Simon at Reunion Weekend.
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Peter Keville ’57 and Reg Howe ’58 at the Grand Reunion Dinner.
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1960 classmates Chris Wadsworth, Art Norton, and Bob Russo gathered for a mini-reunion.
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Brothers Don ’62 and Skip Robinson ’60 at Reunion Weekend.
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Class of 1962 55th Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. Front row: Aldie Harrington, Don Robinson, Dan Barnard, Deb Bradlee, and Eric Bradlee. Back row: Julie Druker, Ron Druker, Bill Lynch, Jon Smith, Connie Smith, Mary Cole, and Jim Cole.
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Deb and Eric Bradlee ’62.
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Ron Druker ’62 and Julie Druker.
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Jim Cole ’62 and Mary Cole.
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Aldie Harrington ’62 and Dan Barnard ’62 at the Reunion Luncheon.
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Chris Alt ’67, Barbara DiVitto, and Martin Mugar ’67.
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John Spring ’67 and Bob Cushman ’67.
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50 TH REUNION
AUTOBIOGRAPHIES
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LINCOLN HOLMES ’67 After Belmont Hill, I went down the road to Harvard. My life at Harvard came to a halt in 1968 due to an unexpected event, a near-fatal automobile accident. I was hospitalized for over three months, followed by a year of outpatient therapy. When I returned to Harvard I periodically experienced anxiety, but I earned my bachelor’s degree in 1974. I graduated from Harvard Divinity School with an M.Div. degree and was ordained in 1978. I worked for several years as a parish minister. I earned an M.S.W. from Boston University in 1988, am a licensed clinician, and worked for many years in outpatient and inpatient settings, providing mental health and substance abuse treatment.
I was married in 1974 to the woman who has steadfastly been with me ever since, now almost 43 years. We have two children: Brad (Belmont Hill ’00, Harvard ’04) who teaches classics at Harvard Westlake School in Los Angeles and was married in April of 2016; and Marion (Harvard ’06) who is assistant director of orientation experiences in the Adventure Program at West Virginia University. She has an adorable 3-year-old daughter named Ila. I believe I encountered my finitude in 1968 and survived. This has left me with a keen awareness of my own finitude and limitedness, and that of others. It has also left me with awareness of the great gift of possibilities we have, which can be affirmed in spite of limitation and adversity. God grant us the wisdom to see our limits, The courage to affirm our possibilities, And the strength to carry on when they conflict. JACK OLIVE ’67 Rather than tackle a recap of the entire 50 years since graduation—a pretty tall order—let me focus on just the last 10 years or so. They’ve brought plenty of change, along with a certain amount of comforting continuity. Not a bad combination.
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The continuity part includes a long and happy marriage, as Patsy and I approach our 40th anniversary in a few years. We still live, for most of the year, in the apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan where we raised our daughter. Personally, I can’t imagine a more exciting place to have been since I arrived in 1974, right at the city’s nadir. Another constant in our lives has been leisure time spent on Cape Cod, in a village on Nantucket Sound. From the beginning of our marriage, we were welcomed at my parents-in-laws’ house there and, in the fullness of time, we’ve been able to make it our own. Now, since my retirement, we spend more than four months there each summer. And speaking of retirement, the biggest change in the last 10 years, I ended my fulltime business career as a marketing and
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Holly and Lincoln Holmes ’67.
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Patsy and Jack Olive ’67 with their daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Cody Bradford.
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Elise and Alan Woodward ’67 hosted guests at their home on May 19, 2017. Alumni guests included, front row: Lincoln Holmes ’67, Chris Alt ’67, Jack Olive ’67, Bill Stockwell ’67, and Jim Wilcox. Middle row: Alan Woodward ’67, Bob Cushman ’67, Joe Stiles ’67, Paul Snider ’67, Stef Mattlage ’68, and Kennedy Richardson ’67. Back row: John Fitzgerald ’67, Stan Konefal, Charlie Browne ’67, Andrew Woodward ’02, and Jeff Willmann.
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Joan and Stan Konefal ’67.
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Paul Kaufmann ’67 and John Fitzgerald ’67.
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The Woodwards: Andrew ’02, Elise, Kristen (holding Hughes), and Alan ’67 at the Reunion luncheon.
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Jim Wilcox ’67 at the Washington, D.C. reception in February.
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Paul Snider ’67 and Jack Olive ’67 at the 50th Reunion Dinner.
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Tina and Charlie Browne ’67.
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Class of 1967 50th Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. Seated: Bob Cushman, Barbara DiVitto, Chris Alt, Tom Porter, Libby Porter, Charles Browne, Tina Browne, Clarisa Riuglien, Jim Wilcox, and Roger Swain. First Row: Peggy St. Clair, Helen Kaufmann, Paul Kaufmann, Holly Holmes, Lincoln Holmes, Ken Richardson, Linda Mattlage, Elise Woodward, Jack Olive, and Patsy Olive. Back Row: Ellie Willmann, Jeff Willmann, John Fitzgerald, Paul Snider, Bill Darling, Martin Mugar, Joe Stiles, former faculty member Nat Bates, Bill Stockwell, Stefan Mattlage ’68, and Alan Woodward.
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communications executive in 2007 after 35 years, fairly evenly spread across five different organizations, including three ad agencies, Nabisco Brands, and Big Four accounting firm KPMG. Fortunately, knowing from the outset of my career that marketing people seldom grow old in their profession, I completed the New York Botanical Garden’s landscape design program while still working full time, and that has provided a lot of satisfaction in recent years, as well as a little revenue. Also, thanks to a former colleague, I began teaching about five years ago, acting as an associate professor in a Columbia University Master’s program for strategic communications at the School of Professional Studies. Many of our students
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work full time during the program, most frequently in marketing, advertising, and other communications roles, so it’s territory I know pretty well. I enjoy the occasional questions about whether Madison Avenue, “back in the day,” was really like it appears on Mad Men.
has developed around the city. Plenty of changes there since our youth, huh?
Our daughter Elizabeth is married to Cody Bradford, a delightful Montanan (with old New England roots), and they have recently settled in Lexington, bringing me back full circle to my Belmont days whenever we visit. Elizabeth is an assistant principal at Prospect Hill Academy, a charter school in Cambridge, and Cody is thriving in the vibrant wine and spirits business that
KENNEDY RICHARDSON ’67
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So, that’s a snapshot of the last 10 years. Some continuity for peace of mind, some change to keep things interesting. Thankfully, it’s been a pretty decent combination of the two.
It is hard to believe we graduated a half-century ago! Williams College and Harvard Business School followed Belmont Hill, and then a career in investment management in Boston. The last 23 years were spent at Fidelity managing an equity fund of small public companies, from which I retired in 2008.
Susan and I have been happily married for 38 years this spring and have one grown son, also named Kennedy. He followed in my footsteps to Belmont Hill but it was not the school for him. He transferred to Proctor Academy, where he flourished. After a couple of years driving a delivery truck on Nantucket, he returned to college and is in his final term studying for a B.S. in computer science at New England Institute of Technology in Providence. Susan and I have been fortunate to travel a great deal, seeing much of the world we read about as students. Although we still have a home in Boston, we are mostly in Nantucket during the summer and Vero Beach during the winter. We spent many wonderful years skiing as a family, but now my skiing is far less adventuresome than in years past. I do, however, bring my skis to Florida and take the occasional trip out West. Beyond career and family I am involved in a number of nonprofit organizations, mostly dealing with education, art, and preservation, and I spent several years as a trustee at Belmont Hill. I look forward to seeing many of you in May.
WILLIAM F. STOCKWELL ’67 I attended Rutgers College after Belmont Hill and was active in fraternity life. Rutgers prepared me for teaching in private schools, which complemented my work at Camp Pinehurst in Maine for 18 summers, work-
ing my way up to assistant director. I started work at Fay School teaching earth science to 6th graders, coaching football, wrestling, and lacrosse, and running a dormitory for the oldest boys. The dedication of Belmont Hill masters had a great influence on my choices. My coaching style was influenced by coaches like Roger Duncan, Kim Bassett, Gil Jordan, and Rusty Chandler. I learned how to tutor and give extra help like Jerry Cocchiola, how to make earth science come alive like Nat Bates did, and even taught some English grammar using the Willey rules for spelling and punctuation and skills I learned from Messrs. Thomas and Duncan. I drove a school bus like John on the Winchester bus. I hope I showed the compassion of John Henry Funk and used the hairy eyeball effectively. I remember, with gratitude, the academic generosity of Herb Mattlage, who somehow gave me a passing grade two days before graduation. I never took math in college. Sara Gray of Old Town, Maine, and I were married in June of 1973. I earned my Masters in Education at Boston University in 1975 and started in administration at Fay as their first dean of students. After nine years we moved to Eaglebrook School, and I was director of development and alumni affairs. I had great mentors who taught me the exciting art of traditional development, leading to my own consulting practice in 1984 in Maine, where I still work with a few clients. But travel calls more than duty. My community service includes serving on several boards, notably 15 years as a trustee of our local hospital and over 20 years involved with our town in comprehensive planning, Planning Board, and 30 years in Kiwanis. I have been given the gift of 27 years of recovery from the disease of alcoholism and delight in actively working with others every day. We are selling the old farm in the woods and now live by a lake and love the peace and quiet. We bought a condo and ski at Sunday River often. Large family gatherings along
the lake keep us connected all summer. We have two grown sons, Quentin, 39, married with two sons, and Carl, 37. They live nearby. We are proud parents and grandparents indeed. At my age, medical expenses consume more of the earned income, but life is good. We have what we need and are grateful every day to be of service to mankind. What I want most is to be a good husband, father, sibling, businessman, community member, and grandparent. I guess life has prepared us well for this most wonderful challenge in the years ahead. Thank you, Belmont Hill, for the role you played.
DAVID R. WILLIAMS ’67 After almost getting expelled for exposing his prep school’s outrages in the Boston press, David Williams spent 1968 crossing the Pacific in the Merchant Marine and fighting the Vietnam War in the peace movement. Wanted in Oregon for jaywalking, he hitchhiked home to enjoy the mayhem of the ’60s at Harvard where he occasionally attended classes. After a lost post-graduate year, still unexplained, he entered Harvard Divinity School to determine the meaning of the word “God.” Chosen Baccalaureate speaker, he preached a jeremiad that caused one professor to goose-step off the stage in protest. He later got married, fathered two sons, Nathan (a Google engineer) and Sam (a latter-day
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hippie living in a yurt in Humboldt County, CA), then entered the American Civics Program at Brown University where his weekly column offended every faction on campus. He ended up in Virginia working in a vineyard and teaching full time as a “parttime” college professor at George Mason University where he was honored with the year 2000 “Teaching Excellence Award.” Escaping from the Marxists in the English Department, he spent a Fulbright year in Slovakia confirming his hosts’ suspicions about Americans. Back home, his wife replaced him with an unemployed redneck and his university passed him over for more politically correct hirelings. Retired from teaching, he now lives in Swampoodle, an abandoned black community in a Virginia swamp, writing, and brewing his own bitter beer. He has published three books of note, all on Amazon: Sin Boldly, a humorous guide to writing, Searching for God in the Sixties, heavy, but entertaining, and Revolutionary War Sermons, an argument for the role of
religion in the Revolution with five fiery radical sermons to back up the claims. His essays on Charles Manson, Thelma & Louise, Monica and Bill, Dylan & Dickinson, John Winthrop, Lord Loudoun, and Hard Cider in America, can be found online at dr-david-williams.com.
that someday I will run into a friend from school who lives out here. If you know of anyone who lives in Washington please let me know. Someday I hope to be back that way, maybe even retire somewhere in the Northeast. Thanks for the invitation to our 45th reunion.”
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Stefan ’68 and Linda Mattlage attended the 50th Reunion Dinner.
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Tim Wood ’71 and Leigh Hogan ’71 at the science symposium.
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1971 classmates: Michael Shelzi, Hunt Willard, Tim Wood, and Sinclair Weeks attended the School’s spring science symposium where Hunt was the featured speaker.
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Karen and Carl Dawson ’72 at the Reunion reception.
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General Mark Milley ’76 met with the Form II during their March visit to Washington, D.C.
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Class of 1972 45th Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. Carl Dawson, Karen Dawson, Raine Figueroa, Sandy Starr, Rene Blanco, Bob Croke, Judy Steele, Lucinda Harrison, and Bob Harrison.
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1972 TOM BURCHARD writes, “Living in Seattle has been wonderful. I met my wife here and have a daughter who attends the University of New Hampshire, where she is a junior. I have been working with the Washington State Department of Early Learning for the past 15 years. Before that I taught at various colleges preparing students to become teachers. I do miss Belmont Hill and especially my old friends. I still hope
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45 TH REUNION MAY 12, 2018
ALAN GLICKMAN writes: “My son Matt just finished his freshman year at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He’s a pianist/ singer/songwriter and loves it. Who can blame him? The place is to contemporary musicians what Hogwarts is to wizards. I’ll be going up to Boston from New York City more, and hopefully have a chance to drop in at the Hill.”
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40 TH REUNION MAY 12, 2018
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Class of 1977 40th Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. Front: Andy Gosnell, Michelle Gosnell, Deborah Hallinan, Dave Tweedy, Kristen Swenson, J.P. Botindari, Curtis Whitney, Kathy Longo, Felice Gardner, Bill Gardner, George McLaughlin, Charlene McLaughlin, Brian Mullaney, Cricket Mullaney, Pat Carley, Esther Carley, Jay Reichheld, Linda Reichheld, Sue O’Connell, Chris O’Connell, Jim Peck, and Valerie Peck. Back left: Tom Darling, Jillian Darling. Back center, front row: Dee DiCarlo, Tripp Adams, and Dave Hall. Back center, second row: Francine Doherty, Mike Sullivan, Fritz Garrison, Teri-Beth Garrison, Sarah Spengler, and Steve Spengler. Back right: Hal Melcher, Margaret Lyne, Emmett Lyne, and Sandy Pike.
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Alli and Bill Achtmeyer ’73 with their son, Will, and four grandsons, Kevin, Henry, Stuart, and Jackson, at the Public Garden in Boston.
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Class of 1977 gathered on May 19 at the home of Cricket and Brian Mullaney ’77. Foreground: George McLaughlin. Kneeling: Ted Saraceno, Jim Peck, J.P. Botindari, Pat Carley, Tom Green, and Steve Leahy. Standing: Carl Martignetti, Jay Reichheld, Fritz Garrison, Curtis Whitney, Mike Sullivan, Dick Kermond, Brian Mullaney, Emmett Lyne, Tom Darling, and John Mannix.
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Sarah and Steve Spengler ’77 at the Washington, D.C. Reception in March.
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Michelle and Andy Gosnell ’77.
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Ted Saraceno ’77, Curt Whitney ’77, and Carl Martignetti ’77.
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Tom Darling ’77 and Chris O’Connell ’77.
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class notes
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Class of 1982 35th Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. First row: Nick Berrents, Kim Berents, Peter Monaco, Nancy Pallotta, Joanne Simon, Adam Banker, David Riester, MaryLee Riester, David Walker, Simone Scott-Walker, Jasmine Kannikal, Deb Guthrie, Ted Guthrie, and Greg Dempsey. Second row: Scott Webster, Catherine Webster, Rick Ganong, Kris Ganong, Jill Roberts, Mitch Roberts, Philmore Anderson, Tim Casey, Erica Casey, Meg Umlas, and Jim Umlas.
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Jamie Hintlian ’78 with his son William ’17 at graduation.
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Ben London ’17 celebrates with his father Jack London ’80 at graduation.
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Meg and Jim Umlas ’82 with their children, Gabriel and Golde, at the Reunion Luncheon.
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At the Reunion Weekend Golf Outing: Scott Webster, Greg Dempsey, Fred Daley, and Tim Casey.
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Kris and Rick Ganong ’82.
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Jill and Mitch Roberts ’82.
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Rex and Max, twin sons of Mia and Scott Gieselman ’81 were born on April 12, 2017.
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Warren ’17 and Warren Cross ’83 at graduation.
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10. Scott Jackson ’84 at Belmont Hill's graduation with son Scott ’17.
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MARK FUSCO has been appointed president of the board of trustees at Dexter Southfield School. Mark joined the board in 2016 and has served on a number of committees during his tenure. His work and leadership on the buildings and facilities
TED HAMMANN writes, “I’m sorry I’ll miss the reunion. (I’m at the American Anthropology Association board meeting that weekend.) I wish everyone well. Life is still good for me—a daughter in college (Occidental College in L.A.), a son who is
committee, alongside a talented group of fellow trustees and professional partners, has been instrumental in advancing the School’s current capital project, the Athletics and Wellness Initiative. He and his wife, Kristin, have two boys, John ’22 and Matthew ’22, who currently attend Dexter Southfield.
finishing his junior year in high school, a marriage that is at the 22-year mark and counting, and a job I really like (as a professor at the University of Nebraska).”
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Sonia and Dan O’Connell ’87.
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Class of 1987 30th Reunion, May 20, 2017. Front row: Jamie Genser, Reese Genser, Dan O’Connell, Sonia O’Connell, and Rob Madden. Middle row: Will Averill, Ali Averill, Jack Markis, Chris Crocker Grady, and Darren Sullivan. Back row: Ted Marple, David Browne, Jeff O’Neill, Leslie Jeng, Jon Biotti, and Richard Kassissieh.
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Rob Meier ’87 commemorates a Hill triumph 30 years later at Henley.
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Alli and Will Averill ’87.
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The O'Neill's: Jeff ’87, Christian ’17, and Ethan ’22 at Belmont Hill commencement.
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C.J. Young ’86 and Phil Privitera ’86 at lunch on Jupiter Island, FL, in March, 2017.
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ROB MAIER writes, “In addition to my 30th Reunion this year (which I missed because I teach and coach rowing in Philadelphia, which always conflicts with May reunions), it is also our 30th Anniversary of winning the Henley Royal Regatta Princess Elizabeth Cup. I am over at Henley now helping to coach my school’s boys eight in the same event, and I can’t help but reflect
on how much of an impact the training for that moment had on my life. I would not be in Henley now if it were not for TIM WOOD’S (Class of 1971) direction 30 years ago. And certainly so many other coaches as well—CHRIS RILEY ’74, the assistant coach; STEWART MACDONALD ’67; BRAD SMITH ’76; and, of course, Kim Bassett). I took a photo today to memorialize the anniversary—it is of the blazer badge we had made for the trip, the 1987 Competitors Badge for the regatta, and a Belmont Hill hat (which gets recognized over here often), perched on the grass in front of the boat tents, looking out at the docks, the Thames, and the town of Henley in the background.”
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Class of 1992 25th Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. Jacqueline Agular, Steve Agular, Mike Stokes, Kim Stokes, Amanda Crowley, Todd Crowley, Matt Bonica, and Mark Dalaklis.
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Kim and Mike Stokes with their sons Tyler, 8, and Colin, 6.
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The following alumni participated in the Form VI program TYSK (Things You Should Know) discussing their career paths. Terry Goguen ’12, CEO and founder of JoyRyde, Nick Rellas ’08 , CEO at Drizly, Mason Smith ’98, collaborative designer workshop and facilitator at Collective Next, Paresh Patel ’89, managing director and founder of Sandstone Capital, Sam Millham ’09, senior consultant at Oliver Wyman, and A.T. Desta ’05, associate at Rich May, P.C.
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Allie and Jon Bordeau with their children, Schuyler, Emily, and Ryan, at the Reunion luncheon.
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Mark Dalaklis ’92 , Hans Wachtmeister, and Sam Gorstein ’97 at the reception in honor of Dr. Wachtmeister on May 4.
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1992 HARRY KARGMAN writes, “Wait a second, how am I out of school for 25 years? I am living in New York with my wife, Jill, and have a 13-year-old, Sadie, who is ready to move out but just needs her rent paid and a credit card; Ivy, 11, who I know will take care of me when I am old and decrepit (thank God one of them will); and Fletch, 9, to whom I have passed on my OCD genes and who I am sure will invent/create something spectacular later on but has specialized in his early life driving me loco (boys!)" Jill and I are still going strong, given our crazy schedules. We just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on April 27th. I am still having a ton of fun running Kargo which keeps my brain engaged as we try to expand in the U.S. and roll into the U.K., and Continental Europe with Australia and Singapore on the horizon. This is my 14th year; the first eight weren’t as much fun,
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as they were filled with too much stress. The one thing I miss is having my hands in everything, which unfortunately I don’t get to do anymore. It’s nice to join the Belmont Hill Alumni dinners in New York and hear updates on the School. I was able to catch up with ROB CARLOCK ’91, SCOTTY PARROT ’91, and TOM LEE ’61 during the last one. I recently saw BRIAN OLIVER at a PGA tournament, which was a blast from the past.”
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25 TH REUNION MAY 12, 2018
1997 PETER FIRENZE reports, “So, I guess it’s time again for the next 10-year update. As it so happens, the last update served as a nice segue into the life I currently enjoy. Little did I know that shortly after our 10-year reunion I would meet the woman I would
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later marry. Paula and I met while we were both serving in the Navy in Norfolk, VA. In many ways we had been living parallel lives. She was also a helicopter pilot, Naval Academy graduate, and from Boston. She grew up in South Boston and graduated from Archbishop Williams in Braintree. She was a couple of years ahead of me at the boat school and we always joke she wouldn’t have given me the time of day had we met earlier in our lives. Fortunately for me, we didn’t. We dated for a little less than a year and after I pulled the wool over her eyes, she agreed to marry me. Shortly after our marriage in 2009, I made a career change within the Navy and became a member of the aerospace engineering duty officer community. We are responsible for managing the development, acquisition, and life cycle sustainment of aerospace systems. With this change in path came the opportunity to study at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. Lucky for us, the Navy moved
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Nick Keyes ’93, Hans Wachtmeister, and Steve Keyes ’95 at the reception in honor of Dr. Wachtmeister’s retirement.
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Lt. Kevin Keefe ’05, Dan Gabriel ’96, and LCDR Peter Firenze ’97 met with Form II students on their class trip to Washington, D.C., in March 2017.
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Whitney and Jon Oppenheimer ’97 with their son Matthew at the Reunion luncheon.
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Gina and Rob Bradley ’97.
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Mike Vernaza ’97, Nora Vernaza, Rachel Hall, Tim O’Halloran ’97, Alex Fish ’97, and Amara Fish at the Reunion reception on May 20.
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Kate and Jay Civetti ’97.
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Jay Civetti ’97, Tim Murphy P ’12, and Barry Gallup P ’03, ’06 at the National Football Foundation Coaches Clinic in May, hosted by Boston College. Tim, Head Coach at Harvard, was named Division 1 Coach of the Year. Jay, Head Coach at Tufts, was named Division Head Coach of the Year.
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Firenze family: Pete ’97 (holding Giovanni James), Paula (holding Ailish Evelyn), and Padraig Joseph.
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Christina and Dan Ronan ’94 with their children, Jack and Patricia, at the Alumni Day luncheon, May 20.
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class notes
Paula to Monterey as well. She pursued an M.B.A., while I worked on a master's in astronautical engineering. However, the craziness of being newlyweds, making a career change, and moving coast to coast wasn't enough. So in October of 2010, we welcomed Padraig Joseph to our lives. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Monterey and spent a considerable amount of time hiking and enjoying the aquarium. We both graduated in 2012 and moved back to the East Coast. In January of 2013, I reported to the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, VA. I worked as a program manager for a national security satellite communications system. Paula reported as a budget analyst for the Undersecretary of the Navy. In 2014, our second son, Giovanni James, came along. While I found the work at the NRO to be challenging and satisfying, typical Navy rotations caught up to me. However, for the first time in my career, I was able to stay in the same spot and reported to the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office in Arlington where I currently serve. In this assignment, I work as a systems
engineer and program manager. This tour hasn’t been without personal excitement, though. In 2016 our family welcomed Ailish Evelyn to the world. She immediately wrapped me around her finger and I haven’t let go. Early next year Paula will retire from the Navy, and it looks as though we’re going to pull up stakes and head back for the West Coast. This time it’ll be San Diego, though. I’m heading back into the space business, this time as the deputy program manager for a Navy satellite communications system. I am looking forward to the next adventure and of course another coast-to-coast move. Paula and I feel extremely fortunate to be parents to three amazing kids and enjoy the challenges that come along with raising them. I’m excited to catch up with everyone back in Belmont for the reunion and to see what happens between now and the next 10-year update!”
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2001 JON KATZ married Danna Manheim on March 4, 2017, in Port Washington, Long Island. Danna is a speech pathologist in the public school system in Queens, NY. Jon and Danna reside in midtown Manhattan.
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15 TH REUNION MAY 12, 2018
2006 BEN BERKOWITZ writes, “My brother and I recently launched the second episode of our digital sports talk show on new England Sports Network called Pillow Talk Show. The Boston Globe, TMZ, National Sports Media Association, and others have promoted the episode. The Improper Bostonian is interested in doing a profile on my brother and me, and our show and the social impact films we produce separately.”
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Class of 1997 20th Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. Front row: Jon Oppenheimer, Whitney Oppenheimer, Maureen Courtney, Gina Bradley, Andy Freedman, Emily Freedman, Justine Mooney, Kayvon Bina, Ferras Habbal, Dan Stedman, Norb Unger, Bill Galligan, Katie Kelley, Pete Kelley, Craig McKeown, Allison DiNardo, Gregg DiNardo, Rachel Hall, Tim O’Halloran, Betsy Goodband, Cliff Goodband, Nora Vernaza, Mark Vernaza, Kate Civetti, Jay Civetti, Abby Prinn, and Dave Prinn. Back, left: Jared Courtney, Sam Gorstein, Rob Bradley, Alex Fish, Amara Fish, Jamie Connors, Kevin Connors, Rebecca Meager, and Evan Meager. Back, center: Peter Kohanloo, David Silverman, Zach Friedland, Elizabeth Mearns, Ernie Sabine, Jessica Ostuni, Dave Ostuni, Rob Henzi, Allison Callahan, Mike Callahan, Scott Freishtat, Dan Ward, Nicole Cook, and Chip Cook. Back, right: Kaitlyn Carberry, Jay Carberry, Vicky Curry, Michael Curry, Marcia Tatum, Alex Tatum, Liam McCarthy, Alicia Kelly, Anna Bottar, and Matt Shields.
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Class of 2002 15th Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. Front row: Charles Psoinos, Rachel Psoinos, Andrew Woodward, Kristen Woodward, Tim Manning, Max Bahamon, Kent Harrington, Alison Harrington, Robert DiMatteo, Jarrett Rothmeier, Bailey James, Jason Riley, and Joseph Regis. Second row: Michael Shannon, Ben Long, Peter Doyle, and Tiffany Valentiny. Third row: Todd Basnight and Toini Basnight.
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The Woodwards: Elise and Alan ’67, Andrew ’02 (holding Hughes), and Kristen.
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Congratulations to Riley and Paul Kelly ’01 on the March 17, 2017 birth of their daughter. Abigail Madelyn joins big brother Brice Michael.
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Robert DiMatteo ’02, Don Bradley, Todd Basnight ’02, Michael Shannon ’02, and Tim Manning ’02.
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Rachel and Charles Psoinos ’02.
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Congratulations to Beth and Jason Kass ’01 who were married on May 20, 2017 in Brookline.
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George Tahan and John Halverson ’02 at the retirement reception in honor of Dr. Wachtmeister in May.
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Robert Francis Wolfson was born April 17, 2017, to parents Kari and Michael Wolfson ’01.
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Danna and Jon Katz ’01.
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class notes
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Hans Wachtmeister, Teddy Pierce ’05, and Michelle Pierce at Dr. Wachtmeister’s retirement reception at Belmont Hill on May 4.
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Children of Kelly and Kyle Bergeron ’02. Luke was born on April 24, 2017, and Vivenne was born in March 2015.
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Nora and Scott Dunn ’04 welcomed their son, James Wolf Dunn, born April 2, 2017. They are currently living in England.
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Congratulations to Laura and Billy Doyle ’03 on the birth of their son Noah William Doyle on July 7.
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Wynne and Marshall Nevins ’05 were married on January 14, 2017, at the Central Park Boathouse in New York City. Belmont Hill alumni in attendance included: Jeff Hadzima ’04, Dan McDonald ’05, Colin Burke ’04, Mike Pagliarulo ’05, Chris Mannix ’04, Steve Kaplan ’83, Rob Palladino ’05, Garrett Hatton ’05, Paul Bogonis ’05, Nick Leader ’05, and Matt Kane ’04.
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Congratulations to Alexandra and Michael Pagliarulo ’05 on their June 10, 2017, wedding in Las Vegas.
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Congratulations to Kara Ktona and Alex Fuller ’06 who were married on May 27 in France. Front row: Michael DiSanto ’08, Kara, Alex, Paul Neustadt ’71, and Mark Fuller ’71. Second row: David Fuller ’09, JJ Swartz ’09, Alan Leland ’06, Zach Zizza ’06, Dave DesPrez ’06, and Andrew Donnelly ex-’06. Third row: Kyle Gordon ’07, Elizabeth Kenney (Sister of Charlie Kenney ’06), Teddy Doyle ’06, Christopher Fuller ’06, and Robbie Stone ’08. Fourth row: Kevin McNamara ’07, Matt Gordon ’06, Dave Antonelli ’06, Wes Stephanian ’06, Tim Aldrich ’05. Back row: Christian Harrington ’06, Joseph Fuller ’75, and Mark Fuller ’06.
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Congratulations to Zuzana and Bobby Campbell ’04 on their June 17, 2017, wedding in Sweden. Brendan Syron ’04 was a groomsman.
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Colin Hutzler ’06 with Colin Trueman ’20. Hutzler spoke with Form III students about his experience after and during his time at Belmont Hill.
10. Kyle Gordon ’07, Joe McNamara ’12, and Kevin McNamara ’07 at Reunion.
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2007 On January 20, 2017, BRAD MUIR married Nicole Alcamo. Brother ANDREW MUIR ’02 was best man and classmate VINCENT ELIA was a groomsman.
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RYAN HEGARTY is a vice president and private client associate at U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. In this role, he is responsible for connecting high net worth individuals and institutions to solutions that accomplish their financial goals. Ryan graduated from the University of Maine with a B.S. degree in business management while playing ice hockey for
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the varsity team. Prior to joining U.S. Trust in 2016, Ryan played professional hockey in the Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers organizations, finishing his professional career with a year in Norway’s top league.
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Sam Peabody ’08 attended the Washington, D.C., reception hosted at the home of General Mark Milley ’76 in February, 2017.
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Andy Davis ’07, Seamus Joyce ’07, Ian Fenwick ’07, Rachel Lothspeich, and Nick Whitehead ’07.
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Mark Wachtmeister ’07 married Emmy Mathews in Baltimore, MD, on June 17, 2017, with Belmont Hill alumni and faculty in attendance: Ian Fenwick ’07, Tyler Brace ’07, George Sullivan ’07, Chris Simard ’07, Rich Newton ’07, Hans Wachtmeister, Dave Greer, Emmy Mathews Wachtmeister, Mark Wachtmeister ’07, Brian Alexander ’07, and Kurt Wachtmeister ’06.
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David Pierce ’08 and Tyson Trautz at the reception in honor of Hans Wachtmeister.
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In April, Oxford beat Cambridge to win the 163rd edition of the men’s Boat Race, their fourth in the past five years. Mike DiSanto ’08 is president of the Oxford University Boat Club.
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Nicole and Brad Muir ’07 at their January wedding.
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Class of 2007 10th Reunion Dinner, May 20, 2017. Front row: Eugene Nelson, Peter Lauria, Krysta Banfield, Mihran Deirmendjian, Anthony Biondolillo, Anush Elbakyan, George Sullivan, Samuel Robinson, Bradley Starr, Brendan Laehn, William Moran, Brian Alexander, Ryan Morrissey, Joshua Gates, Mark Wachtmeister, Emily Mathews, Nicholas Whitehead, Kathryn McGee, Trevor Mundt, and Sam Klemmer. Back row: Sam Baker, Katie Leighton, Andrew Grandin, Kyle Gordon, Seamus Joyce, Michael Wang, Richard Newton, Zachary Heath, Kathryn Chen, Tyler Brace, Michael Belkin, Ian Fenwick, Andrew Davis, Rachel Lothspeich, and Kevin McNamara.
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class notes
2012 CAMILO TORO, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, along with two of his classmates were awarded the President’s Engagement Prize for their Lanzando Lideres Project. The prize will allow them to create a bilingual community-based, after-school program for Latino high school students, partnering with Puentes de Salud (Bridges to Health) in South Philadelphia. “A key component of the project is evaluating it constantly,” said Camilo, a neuroscience
major in the School of Arts and Sciences who plans to become a physician, “to make sure it is working and involving the community to guide the decisions that we make as we shape the program. We want to create and carve a sustainable path for the future so that it doesn’t stop after this year.”
PETER CANNISTRARO, a junior at Stanford, was named to the All-America crew, the first such honor in his collegiate career. Cannistraro helped Stanford finish sixth in the A-division at coed nationals, also crewing all 22 races in the team racing championship.
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AUSTIN MASEL, a freshman at Holy Cross, was twice named Corvias Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
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Class of 2012 5th Reunion—May 20th, 2017. Front row: Jeff Ott, Pranay Bose, Cam Scari, Will Collins, Jeremy Connor, EJ Cayemite, Conor Murphy, Greg Loukas, Brian Bowser, Dave Alexander, Liam Quinn, Camilo Toro, Nick Von Turkovich, and Chris McAvinn. Second row: Chris Bean, Richard Mummolo, Jack Hayes, Robert Perdoni, Jake Levine, George McLaughlin, Andrew Lin, Parker Mundt, and Eric Green. Third row: Drew Burgard, Ryan Baxter-King, Spencer Jeffrey, Terry Goguen, Eric Oberg, Alex Swan, Albert Kiladjian, Nick Cary, and Tucker Gordon. Fourth row: Andrew Raftery, Alex Potter, Danny Anderson, Joe McNamara, Stephan Brennan, Dan Csaplar, Noah Roberts, and Jack Strakosch.
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Ben Bolte, Peter Bolte ’10, and Tim Sullivan at the Alumni Day luncheon in May.
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Alex Richards ’14, Hans Wachtmeister, and Jack Richards ’16 at the retirement reception for Dr. Wachtmeister.
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Don Bradley, Drew Burgard ’12, Jeff Ott ’12, and Cam Scari ’12 at the Reunion reception.
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In March, Chris Richards visited with Matt Pawlowski ’11 and Dara Alizadeh ’11. They are both teaching and coaching at Winchester College, in the UK.
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Three Belmont Hill alumni and graduating Harvard University seniors were recognized at the Harvard Athletics and Varsity Club Letterwinners' Dinner held in Cambridge on May 24, 2017. Ian Meyer ’13 was a finalist for multiple awards, including the Francis J. Toland Award for the most outstanding contribution to Harvard and its neighboring communities as a dual sport student athlete in Lightweight Crew and Nordic Skiing. The John P. Fadden Award was presented to wrestling’s Jeff Ott ’12 as the senior who most overcame physical adversity to make a significant contribution to his team. Wrestling’s Henry Cousins ’13 received the John P. Reardon Award, honoring the senior who best exemplifies the qualities of excellent scholarship, character, leadership, and athletic ability. It is noteworthy that half of Harvard men’s student athlete awards recognized Belmont Hill alumni. Pictured (l-r) Henry Cousins ’13, Jeff Ott ’12, and Ian Meyer ’13.
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faculty & staff news
FACULTY & STAFF NEWS Dorothy Griffin Retirement Open House | May 3, 2017 Current and former faculty and staff were invited for an open house in honor of Dorothy Griffin’s retirement from the Belmont Hill Admission office. Dorothy joined Belmont Hill in 1990 and worked with six admission directors: John Farber, Todd Bland, Steve Armstrong, Robert Greene, Michael Grant, and Steve Carr ’93.
DOROTHY GRIFFIN and DAN BRIDGES.
Dorothy’s Admission office colleagues: DOROTHY GRIFFIN (front center), MAURA KINNEALEY, GUILLERMO MORONTA, GRAYSON HOLLAND ’08, MELISSA LAROCQUE, CJ HACKER, STEVE CARR ’93, and BLAKE SUNDEL.
TRAVIS WOOLCOTT, DOROTHY GRIFFIN, and DAVE GREER.
RICK MELVOIN, BUNNY MELVOIN, DOROTHY GRIFFIN, and JOE GRIFFIN.
DOROTHY GRIFFIN and MICHAEL GRANT.
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faculty & staff news
School Nurse and Community Service Director DONNA DAVID (left) was honored at The Women’s Table's fourth annual event, “A Place at the Table,” held on May 17, 2017. Mrs. David was presented with the “Connecting Neighbor to Neighbor Award” for her work on Belmont Hill’s annual Turkey Drive. Staff member PAULA WRIGHT welcomed her first grandchild, Ella, on April 7, 2017.
Former staff member LEAH (CONTI) QUESTAD and her husband, Adam, welcomed their daughter, Hadassah, on June 25, 2017. Haddie joins big brother Kai.
Graham William Schneider was born on July 12, 2017, to faculty member CRAIG SCHNEIDER and his wife, Emily. Graham joins big sister, Isla, who enjoys holding him every chance she gets. SEND US YOUR NEWS!
An annual affair dubbed the “Arnold Luncheon” took place in June in Burlington. From left to right, seated: GEORGE SEELEY, HAROLD PRENATT, and BOB ARNOLD. Standing, DON STEWART, JEFF FAST, BOB CRESSEY, DAN BRIDGES, MICHAEL SHERMAN, and ROSS ROBERTS.
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The Belmont Hill community would love to know what former faculty and staff are doing. Please email: communications@belmonthill.org with your news. If you have a recent photo you would like to share of yourself, your family, travel, etc., please include it with your message.
In Memoriam www.belmonthill.org
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in memoriam
RICHARD M. HOLCOMBE
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Richard M. Holcombe, of Annapolis, MD, and formerly of Montross, VA, died on February 16, 2017. He was 97. Born in Cambridge, MA, in 1920, Mr. Holcombe went on to Harvard College, where his career was interrupted for service in World War II. He was sent by the U.S. Air Force to California Institute of Technology to become a meteorologist. His wartime activity included serving as the weather officer for mapping efforts in South America and the southwest Pacific with the 4th Photo Charting Squadron. Following the war and his return to Harvard, Mr. Holcombe worked for Pan American Airlines as a meteorologist and then began a 24-year career as a marine climatologist and later oceanographer and special staff assistant with the Naval Oceanographic Office. A recipient of many commendations and awards, he retired in 1974.
HENRY H. MEYER JR.
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Henry Hixon Meyer Jr., of Matunuck, RI, died on June 26, 2017. He was 96. Born in Boston in 1921, Mr. Meyer was the son of the late Anne (Brewster) Meyer and Henry Hixon Meyer, founding incorporator of Belmont Hill School and for 40 years the president of its executive committee. He went on to Harvard College and after graduation with the Class of 1944 served in the U.S. Army during World War II in Europe as a second lieutenant. Mr. Meyer earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and had an active career in business spanning almost 50 years. He had a keen eye and passion for finance and worked for a number of institutions, including Second National Bank, State Street Bank, and Eaton Howard Vance Sanders. Even upon retirement from the financial world, he maintained an active role in investing and in identifying new and emerging companies and markets. Mr. Meyer traveled the world extensively with his wife, Nod, and had a wide range of interests, including gardening, bird watching, photography, and sailing. His greatest passion was writing, and he was known for his prodigious correspondence—always conducted on his college typewriter, an Olivetti, which he fastidiously
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He enjoyed square and round dancing, sailing, tennis, jogging, and whitewater canoeing/kayaking. Mr. Holcombe was also active as a birdwatcher, a supporter of civic associations, and in patrolling, teaching, and boat inspecting for the Coast Guard Auxiliary. In Montross, he served as president of the Historyland Learning Council, and, with his wife, sang in their church choir. Mr. Holcombe’s wife of 68 years, Bethany (Beth) Todd Holcombe, died in 2011. He is survived by three children, Norman (Barbara) Holcombe, James (Donna) Holcombe, and Louise (Jeff ) Morris, along with 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. He was also the brother of the late Waldo H. Holcombe ’29, Robert C. Holcombe ’33, Mary Holcombe Fisher, and Jane Holcombe Dewey; and the uncle of Bradley Dewey III ’61 and John Dewey ex ’64.
maintained throughout the years—and the five books he authored on topics of interest. He served as a trustee of Belmont Hill for 14 years. Championing various programs dear to his heart, Mr. Meyer’s philanthropy supported the Massachusetts General Hospital’s vascular and kidney research departments, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Audubon Society, and, with his wife, the Arnold Arboretum’s Initiative with the Boston Public Schools. A lifelong churchman, he most recently was a driving force in the building of three labyrinths at Rhode Island churches, St. Peter’s By the Sea, Narragansett; St. Augustine’s, Kingston; and St. Paul’s, Pawtucket. Mr. Meyer’s wife of 70 years, Edith Noyes (Nod) Knight Meyer, died in 2013. He is survived by their children, Henry Meyer III ’62, Anne Teague, Heather Meyer, Diana (Tig) Parker, Daphne Wales, Jenny Murphy, Timothy Meyer ’77, Matthew Meyer, Jessie Eisendrath, and James Meyer; his sister, Martha Meyer Douglas; 37 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. Mr. Meyer was also the father of the late Edith (Pen) Meyer, the brother of the late August R. Meyer ’36 and Peter B. Meyer ’44, and the uncle of August R. Meyer Jr. ’60.
HENRY A. WOOD III
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Henry A. Wood III, of Boston, MA, died on January 27, 2017. He was 87. Born in Waltham, MA, in 1929, Mr. Wood was the son of the late Henry Austin Wood Jr. and Dagmar (Lundholm) Wood. He grew up in Belmont, MA, and went on to Harvard College, earning his A.B. in 1951. After employment for three years with Eastman Kodak, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in the Marshall Islands, where he worked for two years in radioactive fallout from atomic testing. When discharged, he returned to Harvard for graduate study, turning from his background in physics to architecture. After completing his studies at the Graduate School of Design, Mr. Wood worked for the Samuel Glaser and Campbell & Aldrich architectural firms, then, at the age of 32, joined with designers Gerhard Kallmann and Michael McKinnell of New York as the local project manager for construction of their international competition-winning plan for the new Boston City Hall. He would become a full partner in the firm of Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood, to be based in Boston, and would take part in all its signature projects in the years to come. These included Boston Five Cents Savings Bank, the Hynes Memorial Convention Center expansion, Dudley Square Library, major academic buildings at Harvard,
GEORGE B. DODGE JR.
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Princeton, Yale, and other universities, federal courthouses in Boston and Cleveland, and the U.S. embassies in Bangladesh and Thailand. Paralleling his distinguished and award-winning career in public architecture was Mr. Wood’s decades-long restoration of Clingstone, a derelict 10,000-square foot shingle-style house overlooking Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island that he purchased for $3,200. He lived for many years in Boston’s South End and later built a condominium 25 stories above Boston Common overlooking the city. Mr. Wood served on the Boston Landmarks Commission and was a founding member of the South End Landmarks Commission. At different times, he served as chairman of the Ward 4 Democratic Committee and hosted numerous meetings and fundraisers for local and national political action. In 1962, Mr. Wood married Joan Klawans, an architect, and in 1988, Diane Sargent. Both marriages ended in divorce. He is survived by three sons from his first marriage, Paul, of Jamaica Plain, MA, Joshua Rose-Wood, of Roxbury, MA, and Daniel, of Providence, RI; his sister, Anna Wood Murray, of Oxford, England; and five grandchildren.
George B. (Mike) Dodge Jr., of Bedford, MA, and Pemaquid Beach, ME, formerly of Belmont, MA, died on January 29, 2017. He was 86. After graduating, Mr. Dodge went on to the University of Maine, where he earned his B.A. degree. For many years, he served as treasurer of the Dodge Company. He is survived by his wife, Nancy (Lawson) Dodge, of Bedford; and his daughters, Debbie, of Belmont, and Kristie, of Bedford. He was the brother of the late Arnold Dodge and his wife, Joyce, and the late Marian Dodge Flewelling and her husband, Dick.
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ROBERT T. PAINE III
’50
Robert Treat Paine III, of Seattle, WA, died on June 13, 2016. He was 83. Born in Cambridge, MA, in 1933, Mr. Paine was the son of the late Robert T. Paine Jr. and Barbara (Birkhoff ) Paine. He went on to Harvard College, where he earned his B.S. degree, then served briefly in the U.S. Army, and in 1961 was awarded his Ph.D. in zoology by the University of Michigan. In 1962, Mr. Paine moved to Seattle, where he had accepted an assistant professorship in the zoology department at the University of Washington. He would spend his entire 36-year career there, guiding many graduate students, and retiring as professor emeritus. Mr. Paine first gained distinction in the field of ecology when originating the “keystone species” hypothesis, unveiled in 1969 after his research in the tidal pool communities on Tatoosh Island in the Pacific Northwest. It affirmed that an ecosystem may experience a dramatic shift if a keystone species is removed, even though that species was a small part of the ecosystem
At the time of publication, the Bulletin learned of the death, on August 12, 2017, of Douglas H. Thayer ’56 of Lake Worth, FL. He was 78. His obituary will appear in the next edition.
ROLLYN HOFFMAN
Rollyn Hoffman, of Rockport, MA, died on April 1, 2017. He was 77.
’57
Mr. Hoffman grew up in Newton Centre, MA, and went on to Harvard College, where he earned his A.B. degree. He spent most of his career in asset management and was senior vice president of Shields Associates in Cambridge, MA. He also enjoyed working in his retirement at Granite Pier in Rockport, where he was active in the community and a member of the Rotary Club. He is survived by his wife, Judith Hoffman; his daughters, Leigh Keenan and Kristin Kassner; three grandchildren, Sarah, Jacquelyn, and Chase; his brother, Carroll Hoffman; and nephews, nieces, and dear friends. He was also the brother of the late Harriett Miller.
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by measures of biomass or productivity. This concept became an important factor in conservation when many ecologists used his groundbreaking work to guide their decisions on which habitats and ecosystems to protect to maximize biodiversity. In 1986, Mr. Paine was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He was a past-president of the Ecological Society of America and recipient of its McArthur Award, and in 2013 was presented with the International Cosmos Prize. Mr. Paine’s marriage to Alice E. Coleman, a fellow student at the University of Michigan, ended in divorce. He is survived by their three daughters, Susan, Nancy, and Anne Paine; his brother, Garrett Paine, and sister-in-law, June Thurber Paine; his longtime companion, Margie Bone; five grandchildren, Rorie Paine-Donovan, Marin Fahey, Madeline Selin, Robbie Paine, and Camilla Paine; and a great-granddaughter, Maple Fahey. He was also the brother of the late Elizabeth Paine.
DAVID C. MECHEM
David C. Mechem, of Kensington, NH, died on May 22, 2017. He was 75.
’60
Born in 1941, Mr. Mechem went on to Bowdoin College, where he earned his A.B. degree. He later joined the U.S. Coast Guard and served in Vietnam as a LTJG. Beginning his career in the insurance business, he went on to open his marine canvas company, Seacoast Canvas, in Newburyport, MA. He also was a member of the Annisquam Yacht Club, serving as its commodore from 2007–2009. He is survived by his life partner, Linda Bennett; his son, Timothy Mechem; his sister, Lyn Fenollosa; and other beloved family members and friends.
THOMAS F. KIMBALL
’61
Thomas F. (Toby) Kimball, of La Jolla, CA, died on May 2, 2017. He was 74. Born in Framingham, MA, in 1942, Mr. Kimball grew up in Sudbury, MA, and went on to earn his B.S. degree at the University of Connecticut, after which he began a 10-year career in NBA professional basketball as a center and power forward. While still at Belmont Hill, Mr. Kimball drew recognition for his prowess on the court and was described by the late Bill Croke, athletic director and basketball coach at the time, as the greatest all-around high school athlete he ever saw. At a rugged 6'8", he led the School’s team to 55 consecutive victories in 1958–1961. At the University of Connecticut, he averaged 18.4 points and 17.9 rebounds, leading the School to three Yankee Conference championships and three NCAA tournament berths, including a regional final in 1964.
In his last year, he averaged 21 rebounds a game, the best in the nation. He considered it one of the greatest honors of his life to have his name placed on the wall at the university’s Gampel Pavilion in 2006 as part of the Huskies of Honor. Selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1965 NBA draft, Mr. Kimball went on to play for five other teams, including those of San Diego (1967–1971, his longest stint), Milwaukee, Kansas City-Omaha, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. His career ended in 1975 when, weakened by the cumulative effects of a dislocated knee and other injuries, he was released by New Orleans. In later years, Mr. Kimball went into business and was president of Southwest Trophies & Awards Inc. in San Diego, CA. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Helen Kimball; his son, Tim Kimball; and two grandchildren.
At the time of publication, the Bulletin learned of the death, on March 16, 2017, of Peter T. Worthen ’62 of Birmingham, AL. He was 72. His obituary will appear in the next edition.
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MARK F. CAHILL
’67
Mark F. Cahill, of Natick, MA, died on May 3, 2017. He was 68. Born in 1949, Mr. Cahill was the son of the late Frank and Luise (Caggiano) Cahill. He went on to Tufts University, where he earned his B.A. degree. An Army National Guard veteran, Mr. Cahill enjoyed a varied career in public utilities, fitness, and finance. He was a lifelong reader of history and the Roman classics and enjoyed playing tennis and golf. He is survived by his sister, Luisa Cahill Dittrich and her husband, Alan, of Wellesley, MA; his nephew, Justin Cahill Dittrich, of Santa Monica, CA; and many dear friends, especially John Fitzgerald ’67 and Peggy St. Clair, of Wellesley.
At the time of publication, the Bulletin learned of the death, on August 25, 2017, of John M. Willett '68, of Newton, MA. He was 67. His obituary will appear in the next edition.
PETER M. GAGAN
’84
Peter M. Gagan, of Peabody, MA, formerly of Bedford, MA, died on October 10, 2017. He was 51. Born in 1965, he was the son of the late Richard and Eleanor (Downey) Gagan. He went on to the University of Rochester, where he earned his B.A. degree. Mr. Gagan served as unit coordinator of Stepping Forward in Concord, MA. He is survived by his brother, John Gagan, of Arlington, MA, and numerous cousins.
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ALBERT R. GURNEY JR. faculty
NANCY M. KAPLAN
Albert R. (Pete) Gurney, of Roxbury, CT, and New York City, died on June 13, 2017. He was 86. From 1958 to 1960, Mr. Gurney taught in the Belmont Hill English department, then went on to teach in the literature department at M.I.T. In 1982, he left for New York to devote more time to writing for the theatre. Under the name A.R. Gurney, he published, along with four novels, a distinguished body of plays that included The Dining Room and Love Letters, for which he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, The Cocktail Hour, and Far East. In 2006, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Nancy (Mann) Kaplan, formerly of Belmont, MA, and Longboat Key, FL, died on June 9, 2017. She was 78.
staff
President of the Belmont Hill Parents Council in 1982-83, she went on to serve as coordinator of parent activities for 10 years. In this role, Mrs. Kaplan acted as a liaison between parents and the School and assisted in Parents Council communication, planning, and fund raising, most particularly the now-annual Better Buy sale to benefit financial aid. Beyond her work for the School, she served as president of the Boston Children’s Hospital League.
TERRELL J. IANDIORIO
Terrell J. (Terry) Iandiorio, of Acton, MA, died in a swimming accident off Nantucket Island, MA, on August 16, 2017. He was 46.
faculty
Mr. Iandiorio was the son of Joseph S. and the late Virginia McKenna Iandiorio. He was a graduate of the Roxbury Latin School and in 1993 earned his A.B. degree in philosophy from Harvard College. Before coming to Belmont Hill, he taught at the Phuthing School of the New Era Schools Trust in South Africa for a year and a half. As a teacher of modern history, he wrote his own text to substitute for the outdated and inadequate books available at the School, and he coached four basketball teams. Mr. Iandiorio was appointed to the Belmont Hill faculty in 1997 and served as a teacher of mathematics, advisor, and coach of JV soccer and Middle School basketball and lacrosse. He quickly became known for his dedication, conscientiousness, and desire to foster the growth of all the boys he worked with, who, in their turn, responded warmly to the support of their “Mr. I”.
Daughter of the late Lester and Florence (Berman) Mann, she was for 56 years the wife of David M. Kaplan. In addition to her husband, Mrs. Kaplan is survived by her sons, David M. Kaplan Jr. ’81 and his wife Clare, of Boston, MA, and Steven M. Kaplan ’83 and his wife Suzanne, of Hudson, MA, who teach in the School’s arts department; three granddaughters, Katie, Abby and Lily Kaplan; her sister-and brother-in-law, Dotty (Kaplan) and Jimmy Goodman; her brother-in-law, Albert Reinfeld; and many nieces and nephews. She was the mother of the late Thomas Kaplan and sister of the late Babs (Mann) Reinfeld.
In 2002, he moved on to the University of Chicago Law School, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the University Law Review. He earned his J.D. degree in 2005 and joined the Boston firm of Ropes & Gray. As an attorney, Mr. Iandorio advised and represented clients in the medical device, pharmaceutical and defense industries on matters involving alleged kickbacks, violations, off-label marketing practices, and violations of Federal and foreign acts and various consumer protection statutes. He also assisted clients in making internal policy changes to minimize future compliance risk. He had a pro bono practice as well, serving as Ropes & Gray’s leading associate with the Medical-Legal Partnership Boston and the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center. Mr. Iandiorio is survived by his wife, Ann (Wade) Iandiorio, a member of the Belmont Hill mathematics department; his son Mason and daughter Ellery; his father, Joseph S. Iandiorio; his sister, Quenby Iandiorio; his brothers, Caley and Brady Iandiorio; his extended family, and a wide circle of colleagues and friends.
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2017–2018
Board of Trustees Jon M. Biotti ’87, President William F. Achtmeyer ’73, Vice President Richard I. Melvoin, Secretary Anthony W. Ryan, Treasurer Abigail C. Ackerman ex officio Dewey J. Awad Mark D. Chandler ’74 Frederick H. Chicos ’72 Gretchen R. Cook-Anderson Roy F. Coppedge III Carl D. Dawson ’72 Jeffrey D. Drucker ’90 Ronald M. Druker ’62 Warren Q. Fields ’81 Ruthanne Fuller Scott A. Gieselman ’81 Michael S. Gordon John T. Grady, Jr. ’66 Christopher J. Hadley Danielle A. Heard Jason H. Hurd ’90 Gerald R. Jordan ’85 Stephen R. Karp ’57 Jonathan A. Kraft ’82 Emmett E. Lyne ’77 ex officio Martin J. Mannion Carl J. Martignetti ’77 Kirk D. McKeown ’95 Sarah H. Pelmas Mitali Prasad Taggart M. Romney ’88 Brian J. Shortsleeve ’91 Margaret M. Wade Herbert S. Wagner III David B. Wilkins Sarah K. Williamson
SAVE THE DATE Friday, May 11 ∙ 2018 An Evening Honoring Richard I. Melvoin
honorary trustees William L. Byrnes ’40 John M. Connors, Jr. John A. Pike ’49
Belmont Hill School Belmont, MA 02478 617.484.4410 www.belmonthill.org We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please address all correspondence to the Bulletin Editor at the above address, or email us at communications@belmonthill.org. managing editor Bill Mahoney editor Leslie Ouellette assistant editor Elizabeth Girioni alumni content manager Amy Hirsch editorial advisor/class notes & in memoriam Harold Prenatt class notes & in memoriam Eileen Foley photography John Gillooly, John Gillooly IV, Kristy Gillooly Dean, Neal Hamberg, Gus Freedman, Tom Kates, Vaughn Winchell, Adam Richins, Risley Sports Photography, Bill Mahoney, and the Belmont Hill School Archives ©2017 Belmont Hill School. All rights reserved. Design by Corey McPherson Nash
Photo: The Wind Orchid sculpture, situated outside the Melvoin Academic Center, was created by local kinetic sculpture artist George Sherwood. It arrived on campus last fall.
alumni reunion weekend may 11 & 12 ¡ 2018 Whether this is a reunion year for your class or you just want to catch up with friends, we welcome all alumni and their families back to campus every spring for a weekend of special events.
For more information or to join your committee contact alumni@belmonthill.org Visit us online at www.belmonthill.org/reunionweekend
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belmont hill school events calendar 2017/2018 2017
2018
Henry B. Sawyer, Jr. ’32 Golf Tournament Monday, September 18
Regional Events California (January), New York (February), Florida (March), and Washington, D.C. (April)
Multicultural Alumni Partnership Dinner Friday, September 22 Homecoming Saturday, September 23 Class of 1968 – 50th Reunion Lunch Monday, September 25 Grandparents and Special Friends Day for Forms I and II Monday, October 2 KWA Outing to the Belmont Woman’s Club Tuesday, October 10 Admission Open House Saturday, October 14 Better Buy Sale October 20-21 Head of the Charles Regatta Sunday, October 22 Alumni vs. Varsity Basketball Friday, November 24 Recent Alumni Boston Gathering Friday, November 24 Holiday Hill Shop Thursday, November 30 Alumni Award Dinner Thursday, December 7
Peggy Corbett Valentine Luncheon Mothers of Alumni & Form VI Mothers Tuesday, February 13 Spring KWA Event Featuring Bunny Melvoin Thursday, April 12 Corporation Dinner Meeting Thursday, April 26 An Evening Honoring Rick Melvoin Friday, May 11 Alumni Reunion Events Saturday, May 12 Prize Day Thursday, May 31 Alumni vs. Varsity Lacrosse Saturday, June 2 Baccalaureate Sunday, June 3 Commencement Monday, June 4
please visit us online to register. event invitations are sent via email. contact alumni@belmonthill.org to provide your email address.
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