Today at Breck Winter 2023

BRECK

WINTER

LEADING THE WAY:

CELEBRATING WOMEN AT BRECK

20 QUESTIONS | WHERE ARE THEY NOW | ALUMNI NEWS

CONTENTS | WINTER 2023

United as Breck: Breck’s new mission statement and core values put into words what makes Breck Breck

Leading the way: Women have been part of every important moment in our school’s history — like the women from the Class of 1972, who returned Breck to its original mission of coeducation.

Making an impact (part 1): In the last 50 years, countless teachers and administrators have left their mark at Breck. In this issue, we highlight five: Peg Bailey, Lois Fruen, Natalia R. Hernández, Marion Jones Kennon, and Margaret Wong.

Where are they now : Leah Lussier Sixkiller ’03, Hannah Lussier ’05, and Gary Lussier Jr. ’08 Alumni Spotlight: Kris Simonson ’82

WINTER 2023

Today at Breck is a publication of Breck School

123 Ottawa Ave. N., Golden Valley, MN 55422

Email: communications@breckschool.org

Head of School: Natalia R. Hernández, Ed.D.

Chief Advancement Officer: Stacy Glaus

Editor and Chief Writer: Rosie McCarty

Designer: Abby Terrell

Contributors: Tina Founiea, Emily Brisse

Photographers: Brian Sobas, Abby Terrell, Karyl Rice, Molly Weibel, Alicia Korpi

Communications Coordinator: Kelli Frederickson

Printer: SeaChange

On the cover: a random selection of female graduates from 1973–2022

LOOKING AHEAD, TOGETHER

A letter from Breck’s Head of School

Dear Breck friends,

Knowing your mission — and reflecting upon it — is an essential exercise for any organization.

Since our founding in 1886, Breck’s mission has lived at the heart of everything we do. As our school grows and changes throughout the years, the way we articulate our mission must also evolve.

I’m thrilled to share that in June 2022, our Board of Trustees affirmed an updated mission statement and core values for our school after spending time understanding how our history at Breck can inform and inspire our future. Breck today is different than it was in 1987, the last time our mission statement was updated. It will be different 20 years from now, too, and it is important that our mission statement reflects that.

In this issue of Today at Breck, we invite you to join us in celebrating moments in our shared history where we see our mission coming alive. In the pages that follow, we offer you a peek behind the curtain of the diligent work that went into modernizing our mission statement. You will learn about the women from the Class of 1972, who helped return Breck to its foundational mission of coeducation. You will also hear from Breck teachers and administrators who, like the women from the Class of 1972, lived into Breck’s mission every single day and forever changed the course of our school’s history.

We are honored to give space to our past as we look ahead together to the Breck we hope to be today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

Warmly,

Natalia R. Hernández, Ed.D. Head of School

OUR MISSION

Breck School is an Episcopal, independent, college-preparatory day school enrolling students of diverse backgrounds in grades preschool through twelve.

To learn more about our updated mission statement, see pages 18–21.

We create confident learners who lead lives of intellectual curiosity, self-knowledge, and social responsibility.

A TRIUMPHANT RETURN

A letter from the Communications Team

Dear Breck friends,

On behalf of the entire Breck community, we are overjoyed to announce the return of Today at Breck, our bi-yearly magazine that highlights all the aspects of our community that truly make Breck, Breck

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Breck was united on a common goal: to keep our community safe and to deliver educational continuity for our students. For the Breck Communications Team, that meant pouring our time and resources into supporting our school as we all navigated the complexities of the pandemic. Like so much during that time, we experienced an incredible amount of change and loss, including in the publication of our beloved Today at Breck magazine. As we look ahead, we are thrilled to return to these pages, where we will celebrate all the exciting ways we can come together as a community — both in person and in print.

Today at Breck has been a fixture in our alumni and parent community for nearly two decades. This collection of storytelling, led for years by our school’s first Communications Director, Jill Field, and later inherited by our team, has been a point of pride for our school and works to capture elements of our shared humanity. We hope in its pages you will see how our mission and values come alive in our classrooms, on our stage, in our chapel, on our fields, and within our alumni community. In short, we hope these pages strengthen your commitment to our school and add to the many reasons you are proud to be a Mustang. An element of this publication’s success is a true pride in our Blue and Gold, in our school’s history, in our alumni, in our faculty, and in our students. We are proud to carry forward the baton from generation to generation and continue telling the incredible stories of our Breck community. This edition captures a moment in time in our school’s history, and we invite you to join us in cherishing that moment together.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. If you have a story idea, suggestion, or praise for Today at Breck, please write to us at communications@breckschool.org. We look forward to serving you.

With gratitude,

Stacy Glaus Chief Advancement Officer

Sarah Feng ’23  | Breck Senior

What music are you listening to lately? My confession is that I started listening to Christmas music before Halloween — I was just so excited for the holiday season.

What’s one of the last books you read? How Much of these Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang for my AP literature class.

What’s your favorite time of year? Fall because I love the activities and fashion that come with that season.

What’s one of the most adventurous things you’ve ever done? Roaming the streets of NYC.

What’s your favorite Breck lunch? Chicken tenders — a classic.

What’s your dream job? An architect.

What’s one of the best decisions you’ve ever made? Doing the musical in eighth grade.

What advice would you give to your younger self? People are always kinder than you expect them to be.

What do you remember from kindergarten? Sitting on colorful rugs, intently listening to our teacher tell stories from her rocking chair.

What is the most important room in your home? The kitchen, the first thing I enter when I come home.

What’s your favorite place on the Breck campus? Ms. Sagar’s art room, Ms. Pearson’s room, or the Cargill Theater.

Favorite comfort food? Shin Ramyun with a poached egg.

Favorite treat: salty or sweet? Sweet. I love a classic Oreo.

If you had a theme song, what would it be? “Chiquitita” by ABBA.

Favorite line from a movie? “Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash.” — Harry and Sally, When Harry Met Sally

Favorite family tradition? Dumpling making for Lunar New Year.

Three people — living or dead — you’d want to have dinner with? Celine Dion, Maya Lin, and Susan Boyle.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I would go back to Shanghai to visit family.

What’s your pet peeve? Constant complainers.

What keeps you up at night? Songs stuck in my head.

James Ewer  | Lower School Dean

What music are you listening to lately? Jazz music is on all the time, or music from Hamilton

What’s one of the last books you read? The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs.

What’s your favorite time of year? I love me some summer … but fall is great for traveling and enjoying family!

What’s one of the most adventurous things you’ve ever done? I lived in Peru for three months working at an orphanage and a school that supported students with high needs.

What is your favorite Breck lunch? Bring on those brussel sprouts. Also, all the creamy soups hit the spot.

What’s your dream job? I would love to open my own restaurant or winery one day.

What’s one of the best decisions you’ve ever made? To get a job at a really young age. It helped me understand the value of money and how to start investing for the future.

What advice would you give to your younger self? Love yourself always. Give yourself grace to make mistakes.

What do you remember from kindergarten? Drawing a picture of myself standing in front of a class of students as a teacher. My parents still have that picture in their home!

What is the most important room in your home? The kitchen. I love to cook and break bread with friends and family.

What’s your favorite place on the Breck campus? Anywhere that has coffee machines so I can get my daily mocha.

Favorite comfort food? Country fried steak and sweet potato pie.

Favorite treat: salty or sweet? Sweet all day … specifically cheesecake if anyone wants to bake one and bring it in for me.

If you had a theme song, what would it be? “Feelin’ Good,” by Nina Simone.

Favorite line from a movie? “I don’t scratch my head unless it itches, and I don’t dance unless I hear some music. I will not be intimidated. That’s just the way it is.” — Coach Boone, Remember the Titans

Favorite family tradition? I do almost all of the cooking on Thanksgiving. Feel free to stop by if you want prime rib!

Three people — living or dead — you’d want to have dinner with? Barack Obama, James Baldwin, and Miles Davis.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

I’ve never been to Africa. It’s on my bucket list.

What’s your pet peeve?

When you don’t leave a place cleaner than you found it.

What keeps you up at night?

Knowing we are trying to support young people and give them the skills and efficacies necessary when we don’t know how the world will be in the coming year.

What music are you listening to lately? Spotify tells me I listened to music from 52 different countries, but my teenage daughter tells me all my music tastes are outdated and lame.

What’s one of the last books you read? Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

What’s your favorite time of year? Thanksgiving. It’s pure gratitude with people you love without the distraction of gifts and parties.

What’s one of the most adventurous things you’ve ever done? Climbing Mount Rainier with some friends and encountering an avalanche on a glacier at 12,000 feet.

What was your favorite Breck lunch? Tater tots. I could eat them by the plateful, and they met all my food group requirements at the time.

What’s your dream job? I’m pretty much doing it now. I gave up on my dream of being a professional tennis player when I couldn’t beat Wade Martin ’89 over four years for our #1 singles spot.

What’s one of the best decisions you’ve ever made? Agreeing to go on a blind date where I met my wife, Krista.

What advice would you give to your younger self? Get uncomfortable — you’ll grow and learn a lot more in the process.

What do you remember from kindergarten? Knocking over toy blocks that a cute girl was using so that she would talk to me. Krista would say my technique hasn’t improved much over the years.

What is the most important room in your home? Our kitchen. It’s where we begin and end each day as a family.

What’s your favorite place on the Breck campus? I have good memories of stopping by the chapel when it was empty and realizing there was a much bigger picture than whatever exam or deadline I was facing.

Favorite comfort food? Spumoni ice cream — straight from the container while watching ESPN after everyone’s gone to bed.

Favorite treat: salty or sweet? Salty. I’m a heavy sweater.

If you had a theme song, what would it be? “I Hold On” by Dierks Bentley.

Favorite line from a movie? “Get busy living, or get busy dying” from Shawshank Redemption .

Favorite family tradition?

Spending a week every summer in northern Wisconsin with our kids where we unplug and spend a lot of time on the water.

Three people — living or dead — you’d want to have dinner with? Nelson Mandela, Andre Agassi, and my Dad. I’d drop the first two in a heartbeat for one last conversation with my Dad.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Croatia.

What’s your pet peeve? Complaining. It doesn’t solve anything.

What keeps you up at night?

Type 1 Diabetes. Our daughter was diagnosed 10 years ago, and we get up nightly to adjust her insulin levels. We’re all in on the fight to find a cure through JDRF.

J.P. Gallagher ’89  | President and CEO, Northshore Edward Elmhurst Health

A number of Breck Upper School artists showcased their pieces at the 17th Annual Shattuck-St.

Mary’s Art Invitational, including 1. Amira Sinclair ’23, who placed first with her piece Free at Last (conté and pastel on colored paper); 2. Sarah Feng ’23, who placed second with her piece, A Maize in History (watercolor on paper); 3. Ava Jaffe ’23, 4. Mia Penn ’24 , and 5. Sam Goh ’24 , who presented their entries into the digital photography category; 6. Gus Culligan ’23, who entered an acrylic paint and India ink on canvas; and 7. Chaske Weston ’24 , 8. Calden Boyd-Smith ’23, and 9. Ezra Pemberton ’23, who entered their pieces in the ceramics category.

1. Upper School marimba band BATO! BATO! performed on the International Bazaar Stage at the 2022 Minnesota State Fair.

2. In October, Elena Bui ’23 was sponsored by the USA Gymnastics Federation to travel alongside National Team members to represent the United States at an international rhythmic gymnastics tournament in Amsterdam. Competing against distinguished rhythmic gymnasts from across the globe, Bui placed in all four events and the all-around. Most significantly, she made the acclaimed achievement of qualifying for and placing in the event finals.

3. James Hicks ’23 played in the Minnesota All-State Symphonic Band in August at Concordia College, Moorhead.

4. Cole Hester ’31 had his art featured at the Minnesota State Fair. Hester received a blue ribbon for black and white photography and a third premium ribbon for general photography.

5. Eva Breiland ’23, Floria Elliot ’23, Sarah Feng ’23, John Gorman ’23, Sarah Peterson ’23, Trisha Samba ’23, and Kendall White ’23 were all recognized as semifinalists in the 2022–23 National Merit Scholarship Program.

6. Zoe Jagiela ’23 won both a gold medal and a silver medal in poetry at the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Only 2,000 of the 260,000 submissions received national recognition. Jagiela traveled to Carnegie Hall in New York City in June 2022 to receive these national awards. Additionally, she won the most poetry awards in the Minnesota Writing Region in both 2021 and 2022.

7. Barbara Jacobs-Smith won the Minnesota Elementary Science Teacher of the Year award for 2022–23 from the Minnesota Science Teachers Association.

8. Sébastien Saunoi-Sandgren received the 2022–23 Minnesota French Teacher of the Year award from the American Association of Teachers of French.

9. Vladimir Tsiper ’25 was interviewed on and recorded several pieces on the violin for the NPR show From The Top, which highlights the astounding performances and captivating personal stories of talented classically-trained young musicians from across the country.

10. Zoe Roberts ’23 competed in the Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse shows in Oklahoma City in October with horses Marti (pictured) and Junior. With Junior, she was the National Champion and the Reserve World Champion in the Saddle Seat Equitation 14–17 division; she was also top 10 in the AMHA Saddle Seat Gold Medal Finals and in the UPHA Morgan Challenge Cup National Finals. With Marti, she was the Reserve National Champion and top 10 in the World Championships.

11. Visual Arts Department Chair Michal Sagar presented a solo art show, What Remains, at Form + Content Gallery in Minneapolis from October 06–November 12, 2022.

12. Václav (Vašek) Verner ’24 won the Jaroslav Heyrovský award, the most prestigious science award given to high school students in the Czech Republic. Verner achieved this award because of his Gold Medal placement at this year’s International Chemistry Olympiad. The award is named after Jaroslav Heyrovský, who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of polarography; he is one of only two Czech Nobel Prize winners ever.

BRIEFLY NOTED

Sarah Flotten ’85, LJ Paul , and Kim Schafer served as Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) translation leaders for the Science of Teaching and School Leadership Academy at the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning in July 2022. Breck faculty are leaders in MBE and helping teachers across the country understand the science of teaching and how to improve the student experience.

Annual Giving Director Susan Cossette received two Pushcart poetry nominations and has poetry forthcoming in the New York Quarterly and ONE ART

Assistant Upper School Director/Upper School Dean Chris Ohm continues to make Breck proud as the announcer for the University of St. Thomas football team.

BACK TO THE BASICS Lower School focuses on literacy

Each issue of Today at Breck will include operational updates of things happening across divisions at Breck. For this issue, we focused on literacy in Lower School. Breck has long had a tradition of excellence in reading and writing. However, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lower School leadership team recognized that Lower School students needed more support with foundational literacy — and, in turn, teachers needed additional professional development and instructional support to help align their approach with the most up-to-date research of literacy pedagogy.

“We really need to take more of a comprehensive look at the whole work of literacy — which really has a lot of components — and think about how we’re going to strategize to make sure we’re up to date on all of it,” says Lower School Director Katie Mahoney.

The Lower School is now in year two of a multiyear study and development plan around literacy education, focusing this year on phonemic awareness, phonics, word study, and vocabulary. Next year, they will focus their efforts on independent reading, guided reading, and literature study. The following year will center on writing. While students begin learning to read and write in early childhood classrooms, all Lower School teachers are involved in and will benefit from this holistic assessment of literacy at Breck. B

This fall, the Lower School hosted its first-ever Parent Education About Kids (PEAK) Learning Lab event on literacy. At the event, teachers invited parents into their classrooms to learn about their work on literacy and why it’s so fundamentally important in their children’s learning and development. “One thing that parents kept saying at the event was ‘There’s so much science behind this work,’” says Mahoney. “They didn’t realize that all of our work on literacy has so much intentionality behind it.”

SPORTS NEWS — FALL 2022

Consistent with our mission, Breck provides a comprehensive and competitive athletic program that emphasizes the importance of commitment and preparation, personal growth, and teamwork. Breck athletes strive for excellence in their sport and, independent of outcome, they compete with grace and school pride.

1. Cross Country

The cross country team saw a lot of success this season with multiple individual top 10 finishes. Harris Gulbransen ’23 led the way this season with several top 10 finishes. Alden Keller ’23, after battling injury, came back to compete in the IMAC Conference race, where he took first place. Keller took second place and Gulbransen finished third at the Section 6AA meet, which qualified both runners for the Class AA State Meet. On the girls side, Annabelle Ellenbogen ’26 and Esme Gulbransen ’25 were both in the top 10 for multiple meets. At the Section 6AA Meet, Ellenbogen finished fourth and Gulbransen finished seventh, so both girls qualified for the State Meet. At the Class AA State Meet, Alden Keller ’23 finished fifth, Annabelle Ellenbogen ’26 finished 16th, Harris Gulbransen ’23 finished 18th, and Esme Gulbransen ’25 finished 46th. Annabelle Ellebogen ’26 , Esme Gulbransen ’25, Harris Gulbransen ’23, and Alden Keller ’23 received All Conference awards. Jackson Garrison ’24 was named All Conference Honorable Mention. Team awards went to Esme Gulbransen ’25 and Dexter Kinglsey ’26 (MIP); Esme Gulbransen ’25 and Jackson Garrison ’24 (Mustanger); and Annabelle Ellenbogen ’26 and Harris Gulbransen ’23 (MVP). Next year, the team will be led by captains Jackson Garrison ’24 , Noah Getnick ’24 , Nick Iwan ’25, Samantha Dvorak ’25, Esme Gulbransen ’25, and Avery Lampe ’25

2. Boys Soccer

The boys soccer team had a successful season after making it to the Section 6A Quarterfinals. The team played an extremely difficult schedule throughout the year and were able to defeat #1 ranked SPA and beat Blake at home. Other notable wins were Rochester Lourdes at Homecoming and Waconia, which is a Class AAA school. Every loss that the team had was against a top 10 ranked opponent in Class A or AA. John Gorman ’23 and Asher Leventhal ’25 received All Conference awards. Patrick Eyres ’25 and Logan Langer ’24 were named All Conference Honorable Mention. Team awards went to Paddy Greene ’24 (MIP), Daniel Sampsell ’23 (Mustanger), and John Gorman ’23 (MVP). John Gorman ’23 was named All State 1st Team, and Asher Leventhal ’25 was named All State 2nd Team. Next year, the team will be led by captains Sam Bae ’24 , Asher Leventhal ’25, and David Shin ’24.

3. Girls Soccer

The girls soccer team continued their success from last year’s Class A State second place finish. This year, the team finished second in the IMAC and had notable wins over Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Rochester Lourdes, Blake, SPA, Providence Academy, and Minnehaha Academy. They won the Section 4A Championship and qualified for the Class A State Tournament. The team lost a heartbreaker to SPA in the State semifinal game in double overtime and penalty kicks. They rebounded the following day to tie Providence Academy for Class A State Third Place. Eva Breiland ’23, Georgia LeWinMills ’23, Bee Kern ’24 , and JoJo Weissman ’25 received All Conference awards. Maggie Mixon ’24 and Kendall White ’23 were named All Conference Honorable Mention. Team awards went to Lauren Strothman ’25 (MIP), Eva Breiland ’23 (Mustanger), and Georgia LeWin-Mills ’23 (MVP). Georgia LeWin-Mills ’23 and Bee Kern ’25 were named to the All Tournament Team for their contributions during the State Tournament. Georgia LeWin-Mills ’23 was named All State 1st Team. Eva Breiland ’23 and JoJo Weissman ’25 were named All State 2nd Team. Next year’s team will be led by captains Ariana Advani ’24 , Maggie Mixon ’24 , Katie Theissen ’24 , and Lilia Yorkhall ’24

4. Girls Swim and Dive

The girls swim and dive team was made up of a younger group of girls who proved themselves this season. The team won the Hutchinson Invite, defeated Blake and Benilde-St. Margaret’s, and won the True Team Section. They also won the Section 2A Meet for the 10th consecutive year and qualified six individual swims, three relays, and three divers, who competed in the Class A Girls Swim and Dive State Meet. The meet was held at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota. Medalists included Meagan Englert ’23, who finished in seventh place in the 200 yard individual medley and fifth place in the 500 yard freestyle; Piper Crosby ’24 , who finished

in second place in the 100 yard freestyle and second place in the 100 yard backstroke; and Greta Wilson ’26 , Sadie Plut ’26 , Yvonne Frerichs ’23, and Piper Crosby ’24 , who finished in seventh place in the 400 yard freestyle relay. Team awards went to Sadie Plut ’26 (MIP), Madry Breazeale ’23 (Mustanger), and Piper Crosby ’24 (MVP). Piper Crosby ’24 , Meagan Englert ’23, Yvonne Frerichs ’23, and Greta Wilson ’26 received All State nominations. Next year, the team will be led by captains Piper Crosby ’24 , Catherine Hicks ’24 , Corinne Moran ’24 , Meghan Moy ’24 , Frances Strahan ’24 , Lucy Thomson ’24 , and Annika Wilson ’24

5. Girls Tennis

The girls tennis team continued their success from last year’s State Championship with notable wins against Providence, Minnehaha, Rochester Lourdes, SPA, and Holy Family. The team won the Section 4A Championship. Isabelle Einess ’24 won the Section Singles Tournament, and the team of Petra Lyon ’23/ Witt Mehbod ’24 won the Section Doubles Tournament. At the Class A State Tournament, the team was runner up to Rochester Lourdes. Isabelle Einess ’24 became the Class A Singles Champion, and the doubles team of Petra Lyon ’23/ Witt Mehbod ’24 took third place after a third set tiebreak for both their semifinal and final matches. Amelia Bras ’23, Isabelle Einess ’24 , Petra Lyon ’23, and Witt Mehbod ’24 received All Conference honors. Ava Jaffe ’23 and Emily Lin ’24 were named All Conference Honorable Mention. Team awards went to Lily Ahluwalia ’23 (MIP), Petra Lyon ’23 (Mustanger), and Isabelle Einess ’24 (MVP). Next year, the team will be led by captains Isabelle Einess ’24 , Emily Lin ’24 , and Witt Mehbod ’24

6. Volleyball

The volleyball team had an up and down season but took multiple games into five sets. They had notable wins against Spectrum, St. Anthony Village, Blake, and Maranatha. The team defeated Cristo Rey in the first round of the Section 5AA tournament and lost a very

close match to Blake in the quarterfinal. Andi Hernández ’23 received All Conference honors. Georgia Hoffman ’25, Sydney McDaniel ’23, and Vivian O’Brien ’23 were named All Conference Honorable Mention. Team awards went to Isabelle Arden ’25 (MIP), Laura Logan ’23 (Mustanger), and Vivian O’Brien ’23 (MVP). Next year, the team will be led by captains Mia Penn ’24 , Isabelle Arden ’25, Maya Trujillo ’25, and Regan O’Brien ’25

7. Football

This season, the football team had a young group of athletes who got better every game. The team defeated Academy Force, Richfield, and Minneapolis Patrick Henry, who, at the time, was the top team in Class AAA. With their final wins against Minneapolis Patrick Henry and Richfield, the team received the #1 seed in the Section 4AAA Tournament and completed the season with a second place finish in the Section 4AAA Tournament. Dylan Luebke ’24 and Nate Miller ’24 received All District awards. Wyatt Birdsong ’23, Alex Grant ’25, Waziri Lawal ’23, and Will Knudson ’24 were named All District Honorable Mention. Team awards went to Ethan Paster ’24 (MIP), Dylan Luebke ’24 (Mustanger), and Nate Miller ’24 (MVP). Next year, the team will be led by captains Brady Bjerke ’24 , Hank Langer ’24 , Dylan Luebke ’24 , and Nate Miller ’24 B

GRAND FRIENDS’ DAY 2022

For the first time since 2018, Breck welcomed Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School grandparents and special friends into our school to see what learning looks like every day.

During the 2021–22 school year, Middle School art students from Visual Arts Teacher Morgan Mercer's class assembled a two-part mural using 100 hand-drawn portraits. While art is often an individual pursuit, this mural focuses on the power of the collective to create a sum that is greater than its parts. For this piece, each student drew two blind continuous contour portraits — one of themselves and one of a classmate. This mural not only represents and recognizes the unique contribution every student brings to Breck, but it celebrates the greatness and beauty we can achieve when we keenly observe those around us, when we examine our own reflections for better understanding, and when we come together to work toward a common goal.

UNITED AS BRECK

Breck’s new mission statement and core values affirm the Breck we were, the Breck we are, and the Breck we want to be

From the moment you step foot on campus at Breck, you can feel there’s something different about this place. But what is it, exactly? What makes Breck, Breck? What unites us as learners, as educators, as alumni, and as community?

Breck’s new mission statement and core values define that intangible feeling, giving words to what makes Breck so extraordinary. Updated from a 1987 version, Breck’s new mission and core values acknowledge our history, affirms our present, and inspires our future. It is unique, intentional, and aspirational all at the same time. It’s Breck, on paper.

“Our new mission statement is the verbal articulation and recommitment to the school’s history, its present, and its future,” says Natalia R. Hernández, Ed.D. “It should be a representation of our school’s evolution, acknowledging who we were as well as who we intend to be.”

Putting pen to paper

The process of updating Breck’s mission statement began in 2016 following a routine Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) reaccreditation and self-study visit. Breck was then operating under a nearly 30-year-old mission statement, and ISACS took note. Modernizing that mission statement was the number one suggestion, and the Breck Board of Trustees got to work.

“It was a great recommendation,” says Board of Trustees member Lenesa Leana, who was a leader throughout the entire mission update process. “We took that really seriously.”

Leana, in partnership with then Board of Trustees member Drew Gaillard ’88, began laying the groundwork by interviewing community members — parents, faculty, staff, and alumni — about what defined Breck for them. As the community adjusted to a new Head of School in Dr. Hernández and then, later, the many complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic, the process paused. But the intention to put into writing who Breck is today — and who the school hopes to be in the future — remained.

In the 2021–22 school year, the process resumed in earnest with the creation of the Mission Statement Task Force. Comprised of trustees, faculty, staff, administrators, parents, and alumni, this group began

unpacking the data collected by Leana and Gaillard in 2016 while also scrutinizing the school’s existing mission statement. What did each individual word really mean? Was it still relevant to today’s Breck community? Was it worth updating to better fit within our ever-changing context?

“We were blessed with an amazing group of people serving on this task force,” remembers Leana. “These people love this school from the tips of their heads to the bottoms of their feet. They cared so much that every word was right.”

As the mission statement went through iteration after iteration, the group’s dedication never wavered. When it came to determining Breck’s core values, the group was thoughtful and considerate.

“It’s hard to come to a consensus with a highly caring, highly motivated, highly successful group of people. But it wasn’t hard to come to a consensus when it came to our core values,” says Dr. Hernández. The addition of explanatory statements after each core value helped solidify exactly what each meant within the context of the Breck community.

“We added the descriptions,” Leana recalls, “so there wouldn’t be a question of, ‘What does compassion mean?’”

“Our core values are not uncommon or unique,” Dr. Hernández says. “What is uncommon and unique about them are the descriptors that follow each word. Those are potentially more important than the word that precedes them because they tell us how we will live in community together and what our aspirations are for the

kinds of communities our students will lead in the future.”

The Mission Task Force presented their diligently crafted language to the Board of Trustees in June of 2022. With confidence, the Board approved it unanimously, and the Breck community began the 2022–23 school year with a new mission statement and core values.

Resonating with students, past and present

Allison O’Toole ’89, a member of Breck’s Board of Trustees, served on the Mission Statement Task Force. Her perspective as a Breck alum was critical. How could the group honor the Breck experience alums like O’Toole had while also recognizing the school — and the world — has changed since they walked its halls?

“The world has changed, student needs have changed, and academics have changed since I was a student,” O’Toole says. “The school has evolved. It’s just the mission hadn’t and the communication of the mission hadn’t, so it was time to catch up.”

As an alum, O’Toole feels connected to Breck’s new mission statement because it still feels reflective of her own experience, just in a more modern context. “When I look at the mission statement now, I still see the Breck I knew,” she says. “But it is more sophisticated, more evolved with the times. And I think it should be.”

Student Body President Will

Walker ’23 believes the new

mission statement and core values will resonate with current and future students, too. “I think you should have a purpose behind everything you do,” says Walker. “I think [the new mission statement] does a great job of just laying out the school’s purpose. It sets a good example.”

The school is constantly changing, and Walker believes updating language acknowledges that.

“Times are always changing, from year to year or even just week to week,” he says. “I feel like updating these shows there’s a cohesiveness between the administration and the students, which allows for forward progression. It shows there’s a bond within the school.”

Looking to the future

Since being introduced to the Breck community this fall, the new mission statement and core values have been embraced pretty broadly, Dr. Hernández believes. But acknowledging their limitations is also important.

“A mission statement should not be all things to all people,” she says. “It should be clarifying, and it should be unique. It should also be attributable only to the culture that it represents.”

As Breck continues to grow and change, so will its mission statement. It won’t take another 35 years for the community to reevaluate our core language and common purpose, though. An update every five to 10 years should become the norm, as priorities within the school and our world continue to shift.

“Times change,” says O’Toole. “Thankfully they do change, and we get the opportunity to embrace that change.” B

It’s hard to come to a consensus with a highly caring, highly motivated, highly successful group of people. But it wasn’t hard to come to a consensus when it came to our core values.

— Natalia R. Hernández, Head of School

I think [the new mission statement] does a great job of just laying out the school’s purpose. It sets a good example.

— Will Walker ’23, Student Body President

OUR MISSION

We create confident learners who lead lives of intellectual curiosity, self-knowledge, and social responsibility.

OUR CORE VALUES

Compassion: Honor the dignity of all human beings.

Excellence: Strive with integrity for the highest standards.

Inclusivity: Foster a just and welcoming community.

Respect: Value each other's unique talents, spirit, and potential.

Committed to our community

Thank you to the following dedicated individuals who worked tirelessly to give our school a new mission statement and core values that we can all be proud of.

Mission Statement Task Force

Susan Bass Roberts, Former Board of Trustees, current parent

Sarah Flotten ’85, Director, Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education

Drew Gaillard ’88 , Former Board of Trustees, current parent

Mary Gentry, Upper School math

Stacy Glaus, Chief Advancement Officer, current parent

Natalia R. Hernández, Head of School, current parent

Lenesa Leana, Board of Trustees

Richard Mattera, President, Board of Trustees

Allison O’Toole ’89, Board of Trustees

Jeff Parkhill, Board of Trustees, current parent

Sara Pearce, former Parent’s Association President

Leah Lussier Sixkiller ’03, Board of Trustees, current parent

Christopher Thibodeaux, Board of Trustees, current parent

Scott Wade, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, current parent

COMPASSION

“Compassion means caring for each other, having empathy for each other, and helping people when they’re feeling down or having a different type of emotion. If you are mean to someone, then they might treat you the same way. So you got to be nice and they are going to treat you nice back.”

— Amran

EXCELLENCE

“I think excellence at Breck is taking advantage of all the resources we have because you can really do whatever you want here. You can either join the robotics team, like I’m on, or you can create your own club. I think just making use of what we have is what creates excellence.”

— Trisha ’23

INCLUSIVITY

“Inclusivity means having equitable opportunities for every student at Breck. That means providing spaces where students feel comfortable and allowing students to create those spaces with full support.”

— Daniel ’23

RESPECT

“Respect means listening to other people and valuing other people’s opinions. It means not speaking over someone when they’re talking, and listening and engaging in the conversation so they know that their opinions are valued and that you really have interest in what they have to say.”

— Jude ’27

’31

Upper School Fall Musical

Breck Theater presented Spamalot: School Edition! on November 17–19, 2022.

LEADING THE WAY

Women have been making an impact at Breck since the very beginning

When Breck opened its doors in the late 1800s in Wilder, Minnesota, female students and male students learned side by side. Originally established as a school for immigrants and farmers who may not have had access to traditional education, Breck educated women the same way they educated men: “The young ladies are permitted to enjoy equal rights and privileges as the young gentlemen,” the school catalog at the time read. If you were motivated to learn, you came to Breck, regardless of your gender.

Breck was not always a farm school. It moved to St. Paul in 1917 and later to Minneapolis in the 50s before landing at the current Golden Valley campus in the 1980s. It also wasn’t always coed. Following the Great Depression, Breck stopped enrolling women for a period of 22 years — a financial decision more than a social or cultural one. This relatively short period in Breck’s history is also one of the most memorable, as the school transformed into a military academy with a prestigious riding program.

It was finances that brought women back to Breck again in the 1950s, first in grades one to three. But it was also more than just money that motivated school leadership at the time to push Breck to readmit women beyond third grade. “A school is never so good that it can’t become better,” Headmaster and Rector Canon Henderson wrote on September 10, 1964 in the Breck Bugle. Readmitting women was a return to the core of what Breck was and the educational equality upon which it was founded. In 1964, Breck’s Board of Trustees voted to allow girls to enroll in fourth grade, then fifth, then sixth, and, finally, in 1972, men and women graduated side-by-side for the first time in 40 years.

The first women at Breck — again

Being the first women to graduate from — what was at the time — an all-boys school is a unique experience, one that is different from that of the pioneer women of Breck’s founding and different from the experience of Breck women today. This distinctive period of Breck’s history inspired Ella Askew ’22 to focus on the women of the Class of 1972 for her Advanced History Research project during her senior year. How did the experience of the ’72 women differ from her own, or from that of her mom Caroline (Cuningham) Askew ’87? Askew wondered.

“There’s 50 years of history [since the Class of 1972 graduated],” Askew says. “I wanted to see if and how the dynamic has changed or the experience has changed during that time.”

For her research project, Askew had the opportunity to speak with a handful of women (and a few men) from the Class of 1972 to learn about what life was like for them during their time at Breck

The women who graduated in 1972 were often called “the first” or “the original” girls at Breck, and they took pride in being trailblazers within the school.

“We were groundbreakers for Breck,” Liz (Flora) Hovet ’72 told Askew, “and we continued to be that for our entire time at Breck.”

When these women entered Upper School, they were outnumbered by their male peers 21 to one. But that didn’t stop them from taking advantage of everything Breck had to offer: They excelled in the classroom, became leaders in student government, and pursued their passions in the arts, academics, and so much more. “To me, the sky was the limit,” Linda Johnson ’72 shared with Askew. “I could really do anything that I really wanted to do at Breck.” Johnson served as the senior class president for the Class of 1972 — and returned to Breck in 2022 during Homcoming to attend the Golden Mustangs breakfast, where she and her classmates celebrated 50 years since graduation.

These women were able to excel at Breck in large part because of the support they received from their teachers and the school administration, namely Headmaster and Rector Canon Henderson, Assistant to the Headmaster Robert Aarthun, and Dean of Girls Lorraine Mesken

—

(pictured in the “From the Archives” section below). This support and encouragement from adults at Breck resonated with Askew’s experience at Breck, too.

“I love the fact that it felt like Breck has always really cared about women learning and having equal opportunities in the community,” says Askew. “Even those first women felt they were supported in the classroom and even outside of the classroom by the administration andtheir teachers.”

Telling their story

This fall during Homecoming week — 50 years after their graduation — Breck awarded the 16 women from the Class of 1972 with the Distinguished Alumni Award as a formal recognition of the impact they had as the “first women” at Breck. These individuals opened the door for young women like Askew to be successful at Breck and continue to serve as a reminder for all Breck students that there are no limits to what you can accomplish — even if you have to be the first person to do it.

“We celebrate them, we honor them, and we thank them because it was a heavy lift,” Head of School

Natalia R. Hernández reminded the Upper School of the Class of 1972 during the Distinguished Alum Chapel in September 2022. “[These women] need to be talked about because it wasn’t just [their graduation] year they are being celebrated for. It is all the history that happened after they were here. It’s what and who they set the stage for.” B

FROM THE ARCHIVES

In 1972, Breck ’s yearbook Mustang was dedicated to Lorraine (Rybak) Mesken, who, at the time, served as the Dean of Girls. In her dedication, the student editors wrote:

“In such a year as this, when the goal of coeducation has been successfully accomplished, and Breck has, at the same time, recorded its eighty-fifth year, it is appropriate to honor someone without whom it might not all have happened.…For five years now Mrs. Ryback has followed Breck’s first class with girls and its successors with enthusiasm, warmth, and energy. She remains a true friend, adviser, and teacher for boys and girls alike, but she holds a special interest and affection for the girls…. Mrs. Rybak’s gracious gifts to the Breck community — her cheerful assistance, helpful guidance, or just her beaming smile — have played a big part in making Breck something very special.”

I love the fact that it felt like Breck has always really cared about women learning and having equal opportunities in the community.

Ella Askew ’22

MAKING AN IMPACT (PART

1)

Five women from the last 50 years who forever changed the course of Breck’s history

The women from the Class of 1972 were not the only trailblazers in Breck’s last 50 years. There have been countless teachers, staff, and administrators who have significantly altered the course of Breck’s history through their determination, innovation, and commitment to this school.

In this issue, we recognize five women from the last five decades — Peg Bailey, Lois Fruen, Natalia R. Hernández, Marion Jones Kennon, and Margaret Wong — that without whom Breck would not be the place it is today. In our next issue, we will highlight alumnae who, with the same spirit as these important Breck women, have impacted their profession in a significant way.

LOWER SCHOOL LEGEND

A conversation with Peg Bailey

» Lower School Director 1998–2022

For 24 years, Peg Bailey was the face of Breck Lower School. She joined the Breck community first as a parent to Megan (Bailey) O’Grady ’01 before joining the school in a professional capacity as Lower School Director.

One of Bailey’s many gifts was her ability to truly know and care for Lower School students and their families. Those relationships with students, coupled with Breck’s strong sense of community and its incredibly dedicated, high-quality faculty, kept Bailey committed to Breck for over two decades.

An unflappable leader, Bailey guided the Lower School through challenging times — such as a steep dip in enrollment after the 2008 financial crisis and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic — with grace and resolve. Simply put, without Bailey, Breck’s Lower School would not be the place it is today.

You accomplished so much during your time as Breck’s Lower School Director. Of what are you most proud?

Together with the Lower School faculty, I am proud of the ways in which we really personalized the students’ experience: knowing every child, their interests, their passions, their strengths, things they were working on. For sure that would be number one. I think included in that is also the way we made parents feel valued, included, and known.

I am also proud of our commitment to developing a curriculum that both maintains tradition and is

innovative. You have to look at what’s working and why it’s working. You look at how, over time, the curriculum has impacted students and consider what students will say is meaningful when they’re 10 years out of Lower School. In terms of innovation, you have to always keep your eye on what is not only just cutting edge, but also what is going to help prepare students for the next century beyond Breck.

Once upon a time, I think the idea of leaving Breck with a strong set of skills and concepts was really important. But now I think, because the future is unpredictable, the questions become: How do you instill and pique someone’s curiosity? How do you instill confidence? How do you help children develop the skills to be collaborative? What about communication skills and critical thinking? I think those are the kinds of things that Breck is thinking about and should continue to think about. No matter what profession or career path you decide to go in, those things will be valuable.

What is it about Breck that kept you anchored here for so many years?

The sense of community is number one. There’s also the students. Lower School students — and Middle School and Upper School students — are just amazing kids. Breck is filled with amazing kids. There’s also the strong commitment by a strong faculty who really do right by kids. That’s what you want teachers to be thinking about.

Another thing that kept me here is all of the continuous learning opportunities. I used to tell teachers I was interviewing, “At Breck, you have to see yourself as a learner — because you should be a leading learner in your classroom.” Everybody is learning at Breck. I think that kind of mindset was invigorating. Because I was uniquely in the position to first see Breck from the outside as a parent and then to see Breck from the inside as an educator, those dual perspectives really strengthened my commitment to the school. There’s just no place like Breck. Breck has just got something. There’s a golden nugget.

Now that you’ve moved on from Breck, for what do you hope to be remembered?

I had a passion for the students at Breck. I worked hard to know every child.

I believe everybody has their own gift. I think one of my gifts is being able to make connections with kids, just knowing them. I had a passion for the students at Breck. I worked hard to know every child. And I think if you asked students and parents about my legacy, they would say I strived to do just that. I personalized their experience through really caring for them. When you have a 4- to 10-year-old as a parent, that’s what you’re hoping for. You want someone who really cares for your child. Someone who wants them to be well educated but also who just loves them as much as you do. B

FIRM, FAIR, CARING, AND FUN

A conversation with Lois Fruen

» Curriculum Director, preschool–grade 12 1995-2015

» Director, Advanced Science Research Program 1997–2015

» Upper School Academic Dean 1987–1995

» Science Department Head 1978–2015

» Chemistry Teacher 1975–2009

Lois Fruen was a fixture at Breck for 40 years. Hardworking and diligent, she dedicated herself to her students, encouraging them to push their boundaries to learn more than they ever thought they could. Within the Science Department, which she was fervently dedicated to, and across the entire school, Fruen worked tirelessly to lift up her students and colleagues.

Fruen’s impact can still be seen today through the curriculum she helped develop, the programs she nurtured — most notably the Advanced Science Research Program — and the culture of academic excellence that she perpetuated. Breck students continue to thrive today because of her innumerable contributions.

It’s hard to distill 40 years of service to Breck into a few words, but what do you see as your legacy at Breck today?

The Advanced Science Research Program is a legacy. I’m very proud of that. Head of School Samuel Salas brought all the department heads together to ask what we were doing, and I was the Science Department Head at the time. After I told him

what we were doing, he looked at me and said, “Is that enough? How are you meeting the needs of those kids who really need a challenge?” We had AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Physics. But I took it back to the department, and we talked about whether that was enough. Our department then came up with the Advanced Science Research Program.

The program went through many teachers in the department before me. I didn’t want to take it at first, but I was glad to do it. When teaching the Advanced Science Research class, I really got to know my students because I spent a lot of time with them, helping them with their papers and their presentations. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.

When I was curriculum director, Mr. Salas charged me with writing a multicultural curriculum for every grade and every subject, which I did. I also played a critical role in the multicultural initiative at Breck and the one-to-one laptop program. Today, every student has a calculator as well as a personal laptop, and I was helpful in making that happen. So I’m also very proud of that.

When you first started at Breck, you were the only woman in the Upper School Science Department. How did you work to pave the way for other women leaders to be successful at Breck?

When I started, I didn’t really notice there were no other women in the Science Department because all I was doing was trying to keep up! It was a lot of work. But there were a number of strong women in the school at that time, like Kathryn Harper, who was then Upper School Division Director.

But I did try to support and encourage women as much as I possibly could. I did it through grant writing and getting them money to do what they wanted to do that made their programs so much better. I wrote over $3 million in grants and award applications for teachers, both women and men.

When I was academic dean, I spent a lot of time helping female students find their voice. I worked with two young women who put on the first “Awareness Day,” which today is called the MLK Symposium. They were able to put that on with my help. Another set of women initiated an environmental club with my help. We also started a Gold Key Club and brought in some really powerful women speakers (and also men) and politicians and began building an awareness for what was going on in terms of environmental justice and societal justice.

Why did you choose to stay at Breck for so many years?

Breck was continuously changing. It was like I was working in a different place every five years! It changed all the time, and it was good change for the most part. I think it kept me busy and interested and challenged. I liked the challenge.

Breck also gave us funds to do amazing things. I took a sabbatical for a year where I studied the science of archaeology and ancient science in Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. I was able to go to China for the first China Association of Science and Technology. I was able to present my curriculum at the University of Moscow. In China, I worked for five weeks with Chinese chemistry teachers. It was amazing. Breck was amazing. I don’t know of any other schools that provide that kind of support for teachers.

I also have to acknowledge my students. They were amazing. My motto was firm, fair, caring, and fun. So that’s what my classes were about. I set high expectations — really high expectations — and asked my students to do more than they thought they could do. And they did. I think they found something in themselves through my classes. I was also there for them before and after school, during lunch, and during their free periods because I cared. I liked the kids, and the kids liked me. So I think that’s another reason why I stayed at Breck so long. B

I set high expectations — really high expectations — and asked my students to do more than they thought they could do.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

A conversation with Natalia R. Hernández, Ed.D.

» Head of School 2017–present

In July 2017, Natalia R. Hernández, Ed.D. began her tenure as Breck’s 16th Head of School. With her appointment, Dr. Hernández joined an accomplished group of Breck leaders, all of whom — with the exception of Kathryn Harper, who served as interim Head of School during the 1986–87 school year — were men. Dr. Hernández doesn’t feel the need to put an asterisk on her title, though, to distinguish that she’s the first woman in her position. Having the privilege of leading a community like Breck is honor enough.

In six years, Dr. Hernández has already left her mark at Breck. She led the school through the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and, this year, in partnership with the Board of Trustees and Breck’s Senior Leadership Team, developed and affirmed a new mission statement and core values. Though the community can already feel Dr. Hernández’s impact, in many ways, her work at Breck is only just beginning.

Other than the interim Head of School Kathryn Harper, Breck has never had a full-time female Head of School. What does holding that title mean to you?

Being Head of School at Breck is a role I love and am very proud of. But from a self knowledge perspective, I’m just the Head of School at Breck, not the female Head of School. I recognize that for our community — our young men, or young women, or nonbinary children — my being the first woman leader may be significant. But I don’t lead with it. I don’t see myself

as anything but Natalia who loves Breck and is trying to do everything right by this community.

I do think it’s important to acknowledge Kathryn Harper who served as interim Head of School for one year in the 1980s. But I’m surprised Breck hasn’t had a full-time female Head of School before me. I don’t think it’s representative of our community and what our community would have aspired to. I think Breck would have been the perfect place to have had a female Head of School of color decades before now. But I do think we’re creating an environment now at Breck where it’ll be easier in the future for non-traditionally dominant identities to have positions of leadership. I hope that it just becomes more normalized for everyone.

What have you been most proud of during your tenure as Head of School?

There aren’t very many Heads of School at Breck who have had the honor of approving a new mission statement and core values. So I am very proud of that work. I’m also super proud that our mission statement and our core values really do exemplify our community and our culture that we are working to create and become. The language of the new mission statement is the actual representation of both who we are and who we aspire to be.

To me, leadership isn’t about a person; leadership is about creating a context where we can all create the community we want together. I think our mission statement and core values give us very clear definitions about who Breck is and who Breck wants to be.

I do think the word community falls short here at Breck, though. When you ask someone

what is special about this place, community is one of the most common words people use to describe it. But they always say that word is not enough. Every school says their community is special, but it’s different here. There’s something else: la salsa — the secret sauce. The word community doesn’t fully convey that piece. I think our mission statement and core values attempt to give language to what has always been happening here, what makes our community so unique.

Your journey at Breck is just beginning, relative to the other women in these pages whose Breck stories span decades. What does it feel like to be recognized alongside such esteemed Breck leaders?

I’m honored. I don’t know all of these women as well as others do, but what I do know is that they pursued the mission of Breck with their whole heart. These women worked incredibly hard on behalf of our

school for what they thought was best for students. They are known and revered and highly regarded at Breck because their commitment to this place was unwavering.

These women built programs that changed the face of who this school was. People came here because of these women. Families chose Breck because of the programs these women built. Under Peg’s leadership in the last few years, we have more students applying to the Lower School than ever in our school’s history. People still talk about Margaret Wong when they talk about our Chinese program. Breck would not be the Breck it is today without the contributions of these women. And although we have never had a female Head of School before me, it’s not like we didn’t have strong female leaders. Because we absolutely did in these women and many others. B

I don’t see myself as anything but Natalia who loves Breck and is trying to do everything right by this community.

BRECK’S FIERCEST ADVOCATE

A conversation with Marion Jones Kennon

» Lower School Teacher (kindergarten, grade one, grade two) 1967–1981

» Assistant Director of Admissions 1981–2013

» Director of Financial Aid 1984–2013

Marion Jones Kennon was only supposed to teach at Breck for a year. With her daughter, Shawn Kennon ’77, in second grade and her son, Rozmond Kennon ’80, in half-day kindergarten, Kennon agreed at the request of Head of School Canon Henderson to teach until her son went to full-day first grade.

Forty-six years later, Kennon retired from Breck. Her tenure — the longest in the school’s history — spanned four decades, four heads of school, and two campuses. She worked both in the classroom and in the administration as Breck’s finest recruiter. Her impact on students and families is truly immeasurable. Kennon was a fierce advocate for students and recruited hundreds of families of color and those from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, many of whom never would have come to Breck if not for her.

Kennon embodied what it truly means to be inclusive at Breck, and she built the foundation for students of all backgrounds to thrive today in the classroom and beyond.

What did you love about your time at Breck?

I loved the kids. I loved having a positive impact. I always taught children the way I would want someone to teach my children, which is why I chose Breck in the first place because I felt that was what was happening at the school. To me, it wasn’t like a job. I loved it. I think when my daughter started at Breck, there were maybe four or five African American families. I loved being a person of color teaching kids who lived in basically a white world. I felt I was really doing a service.

My classroom was our home for the day. I felt my students learned a lot, and of course the testing

reinforced that. But they learned so much more about life and about people — really embracing people. Sometimes some of the students would make a mistake and call me mother. When that happened, I thought, “Okay, something’s working here.” They’re so comfortable. I had to make sure they were settled in and felt comfortable and safe. You have to reach them before you can teach them. And I always tried to do that. I could help mold these children positively in my classroom and send them off to first grade or second grade with these tools that are now embedded in them. The children trusted me, and I was never going to betray them. They always came first.

You hold so many different perspectives about Breck: as a parent, teacher, and admissions professional. How did having those multiple views strengthen your commitment to the school?

There’s nothing more important to me in this world than my children. I needed to be there for them. I followed them to Breck! They eventually left (graduated), and I stayed. But how wonderful it was that we drove to school together; they went to their class, and I went to my classroom or office!

One day, Head of School Canon Henderson asked me if I would consider becoming an Assistant Director of Admissions. I thought about it a lot because it meant I had to give up teaching. But I thought, I’m still at Breck! I’m still in the environment. I can make that work. There’s nothing wrong with advancing in life.

Moving from the classroom to the administration, I was on the other end: I was bringing new students in rather than teaching those who had already been

admitted. I would have parents of color, who were so pleased with what happened for their child, talk to me about how they felt better about their child being at Breck knowing I was there. I still have parents who talk to me today about that. Because of the work I did, I was a positive face of Breck.

What do you see as your most important legacy at Breck?

is to understand, and my being at Breck was an education and a normalizing experience for many people.

I hope, because I loved what I did, I exuded that in the halls, in the classroom, and in meetings. I think I really made a difference at the school.

My parents always talked about how you are an example to people of who you are in your race. And I never forgot that. I think at Breck I represented my race in a very, very positive way. I think to know

I hope, because I loved what I did, I exuded that in the halls, in the classroom, and in meetings. I think I really made a difference at the school. I furthered the complexion of Breck through my work in admissions. I furthered the interest of students because they got to go to school with kids they wouldn’t have otherwise. I think I also provided a broadening experience for the families that I met and that I worked with. B

FOREVER CHANGED

A conversation with Margaret Wong

» Instructor of Chinese Language and Culture, Director of International Education 1979–2015

Today, Breck’s Chinese program is known as one of the most well-established and successful world language programs in the entire country. But, without Margaret Wong, Breck wouldn’t even be teaching Chinese.

Over 36 years, Wong enthusiastically built Breck’s Chinese program — and the school’s International Education Program — from the ground up. Her passion was unmistakable. First, it was only Upper School students who could learn Chinese, but before long, Wong was in the Middle School, and then the Lower School. Teaching Chinese in kindergarten was revolutionary, but Wong did it. And Breck was forever changed for the better.

What brought you to Breck and why do you think your work is seen as so groundbreaking here?

The Breck Headmaster John Littleford read about me in the newspaper. I was teaching Chinese in the public schools. He invited me to Breck and said, “You have got to teach here.” He really did a fantastic job of initiating a new program at a time when people were quite suspicious of China and Chinese.

Breck admissions rose because of our Chinese

program. At the time, nobody was speaking Chinese. People had misconceptions about how difficult Chinese was to learn. Many thought I could teach in Upper School, but in Middle School, nobody’s gonna get it. But after we were so successful in Middle School, Head of School Samuel Salas said, “Why not kindergarten?” Mr. Salas really understood that learning language at a young age is so important. When Breck started teaching Chinese in kindergarten, we were the first in the country to do that.

I eventually started Chinese language programs at other schools around the Twin Cities, too, and I also became a consultant around the country for schools that wanted to start teaching Chinese. They all wanted to know: “How did you do it?”

What are you most proud of that you were able to accomplish during your tenure?

I am proud of establishing the complete 13-year Chinese program starting from kindergarten. We were pioneers in this area throughout the country, and I think Breck really got a lot of credit for doing something so innovative. I’m proud that the program never waned during my 36 years at Breck. It was always getting stronger. At the beginning of the school year, I would have kindergarten couples who would come by my room and say, “In 10 years, we’re going to China with you. How can we sign up today?” And they did.

When I was teaching seniors, I knew that 99 percent of them would continue with Chinese in college. And when they would come back after they graduated, they would always come and tell me they knew more Chinese than their college classmates. I’m very proud of that.

I’m also so proud of my international program, which was, originally, not even a job. It started very informally, but I had the support of so many parents, who were host families and became lifelong families to our international students.

Why do you think you were so successful at Breck?

What’s so wonderful about the school is I had the most supportive parents in the world. I had this fantastic group of parents on what was called the East Asian Studies Board. I was also so supported by the headmaster. I could not fail as a teacher.

I’m proud that the Chinese program never waned during my 36 years at Breck. It was always getting stronger.

It was the right combination: to have the right parents, support from the headmaster, and then, of course, I was enthusiastic. I’m an enthusiastic teacher, just because that’s my nature. I love teaching my own culture.

I was a pioneer in a very, very new thing. People were persuaded by me because I was so enthusiastic. I think they saw the passion that I had. I didn’t care how hard I had to work. And I did work hard. But I didn’t mind it, because I was achieving something. I was changing lives every single day. B

CALLING ALL BOUNDARY BREAKERS

Do you know a Breck alumna who is a trailblazer in her field? Maybe she was the first to hold a certain position at work, first to win a prestigious award, or first to accomplish something impressive? We would love to highlight these women in our next issue as part 2 of “Making an Impact.” To nominate a classmate (or yourself) please visit breck.link/MakinganImpact or scan the QR code to the left to fill out the form.

Questions? Email the Alumni Office at alumni@breckschool.org.

LIVING BRECK’S MISSION

Leah Lussier Sixkiller ’03, Hannah Lussier ’05, and Gary Lussier Jr. ’08 all

pursued careers that give back — and their Breck education helped set them up for success

It was unspoken in the Lussier household, but Leah Lussier Sixkiller ’03, Hannah Lussier ’05, and Gary Lussier Jr. ’08 all instinctively knew they’d go into careers that gave back to their community in some way.

“A major part of a lot of American Indian cultures, and ours in particular, is that it’s just a given that you give back to that from what you take,” explains Leah. “It’s meant to be a cycle or a circle, and it’s not even a question for us that we would do that.”

As citizens of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and raised by Gary Lussier and Carol Engstrom-Lussier in the South Minneapolis urban Indian community, the Lussier siblings charted their own distinct paths after graduating from Breck: Leah works as an attorney and judge, Hannah as a mental health counselor, and Gary Jr. as an educator. But what ties their careers together is a deep dedication to serving local American Indian people, their culture, and the community in which they were raised. They all also have a profound appreciation for their Breck education and the many ways it has set them up for success in their professional lives — and beyond.

“Breck gave me so much. I really, truly believe that it helped me become a lifelong learner,” says Gary Jr. “I feel confident that if I want to learn anything, for the rest of my life, I am able to do that.”

Impact in the courtroom

Current Board of Trustees member and parent to Ella Sixkiller ’32, Sylvie Sixkiller ’34 and two future Mustangs, Leah (pictured above) didn’t know she wanted to be an attorney until, during an Indian studies course in college, she learned just how much law and policy can affect Indian individuals and nations.

She studied at the University of Arizona, one of the preeminent schools for Indian law, before working for nearly a decade at a prestigious law firm in Minneapolis, practicing almost exclusively in business and financial transactions in Indian country. “It’s a really specialized area of law, but I loved it,” she says.

About a year and a half ago, Leah was appointed as a judge for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux

Community, where she presides predominantly over civil matters within their community. She is also of counsel at Hogan Adams PLLC, a boutique Indian law firm in St. Paul.

“I never, ever thought I would be a judge,” she says. “It’s very fulfilling work, and I’m honored and proud to do it. I feel like I am doing something to really help the people there.”

Echoing the sentiment of her brother, Leah sees how Breck

helped her become a lifelong learner, and how that quality aids the work she does everyday as a judge. “Indian law is one of the most fascinating bodies of law in the world. Each tribe has its own laws, so you’re operating on a federal, state, and tribal level,” she says. “It keeps me always learning and always having to improve upon my understanding.”

Healing minds and spirits

Hannah (pictured below) has also spent her entire career working for and with indigenous people. Today, she works as a mental health counselor at the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center in South Minneapolis. Anyone who comes to her clinic seeking services must be enrolled in a tribe or have a parent or grandparent who is enrolled.

I never, ever thought I would be a judge ... it’s very fulfilling work, and I’m honored and proud to do it. I feel like I am doing something to really help the people there.

— Leah Lussier Sixkiller ’03

If you’re going to go into [the mental health] field, you have to know yourself — know who you are, where you came from, what your story is, and what your peoples’ story is.

— Hannah Lussier ’05

Mental health counseling is historically a Western method of healing — but that doesn’t mean it isn’t effective and beneficial for Native populations. As an anishinaabekwe — an Anishinaabe woman — who has struggled with mental health challenges in the past, Hannah sees herself as uniquely qualified to serve her Native clients and show them the power of therapy.

“One thing that I think makes me a good counselor is I’ve had experience doing tons of therapy, but I’ve also had the experience doing it in a very white system,” she explains. “In my work, I’m trying to figure out how to indigenize counseling and how I can do it in a way that is integrating cultural competency and cultural aspects.”

Hannah also feels she’s been able to find success in her field because Breck helped teach her “how to become a really high functioning human” and gave her space to understand and nurture her identity.

“Breck does a good job of shaping an individual within a community. It helped me figure out who I am and what my identity is,” she says. “A lot of the mental health field is about finding your authenticity and your identity. If you’re going to go into that field, you have to know yourself — know who you are, where you came from, what your story is, and what your peoples’ story is.”

Modeling the way

Youngest child Gary Jr. (pictured above) is no different than his sisters in his dedication to a career

that gives back to the community. As a public school educator, he has also followed in the footsteps of his parents, who both worked in inner city schools that served American Indian students.

Today, Gary Jr. is a teacher at Anishinabe Academy, a school within the Minneapolis Public Schools that has a focus on Dakota and Ojibwe language and culture. It is one of the only elementary schools of its kind in the area, and students are bused there from all over the city.

“It’s a small school, but we’re working with some of the most underserved students in the city,” he says. “It’s very important work, and I love working there.” Gary is currently studying to someday be a school principal, too.

Leah is quick to point out that, as both a Native and male teacher, her brother sets an important — and often missing — example for his students. “There are not many Indian teachers and specifically male teachers,” she shares. “Gary is the gold standard of what our schools and our children need to see as an example.”

As an educator himself, Gary is especially in tune with how his

Breck education has influenced his professional success. “I feel like I have a curious mind and a growth mindset. I know that if I put my mind to something, I can do it. And Breck is the reason for that,” he says. “I truly believe that I am a far more literate person, a far more loquacious person, and a far more confident person because of Breck. And I’m extremely grateful for that.”

Opening doors

Leah, Hannah, and Gary Jr. acknowledge that without Breck, they may not be the people they are today. But without their parents, they never would have gone to Breck in the first place.

The story goes that the Lussiers saw a Breck ad in The Circle, a Native American newspaper, when Leah was in preschool, and the rest was history. “My parents say Breck had a big campaign to recruit Native students,” says Hannah. “I don’t know that other schools did at that time, but Breck was making a conscious effort about that.”

As public school educators, the Lussiers made a conscious choice — and a major sacrifice — to send Leah, Hannah, and Gary Jr. to Breck because they understood the kinds

I feel like I have a curious mind and a growth mindset. I know that if I put my mind to something, I can do it. And Breck is the reason for that.

— Gary Lussier Jr. ’08

of doors the school could open for their children.

“I think that sending us to Breck was a very selfless, very powerful way for my Dad to try to give his children more opportunity in life than he had. When they did it, they knew it would improve our lives,” says Gary Jr. “I’m forever grateful for that.”

Leah agrees: “We knew that our parents were

sacrificing a lot to send us here,” she says. “We didn’t take it for granted.”

In their work and in the way they choose to move throughout the world, the Lussier siblings are living Breck’s mission every single day — and serve as shining examples of what it means to be a Mustang. B

DID YOU KNOW?

For the last several decades, Gary Lussier Sr. (former Breck School Trustee, father of Leah Lussier Sixkiller ’03, Hannah Lussier ’05, and Gary Lussier Jr. ’08, and grandparent to Ella Sixkiller ’32 and Sylvie Sixkiller ’34) has ensured that Breck was able to offer the Prayer of the Four Directions as the invocation at our Baccalaureate ceremony. The traditional Lakota prayer includes setting your gaze in the four cardinal directions, as well as looking toward the sky and earth, all as a way of honoring our ancestors and the Great Spirit as our guide. Gary’s wife, Carol EngstromLussier, mother of Leah, Hannah, and Gary Jr. and grandparent of Ella and Sylvie, was also a long-time substitute teacher at Breck. We are grateful for both Gary and Carol’s many years of service and leadership to our Breck community.

ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

2020 and 2021 inductees

(all recognized in 2021):

Karen (Caperton) Swallen ’85

Wade Martin ’89

Bowen Osborn ’98

Todd O'Hara ’01

ALUMNI OF THE YEAR

2021: Simone Hardeman-Jones ’98 and Nath Samaratunga ’14

2022: Megan (Cross) Rogers ’01 (pictured above)

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

2020: Rachel Hardeman ’98

2021: Colin Driscoll ’81

2022: The Class of 1972 Female Graduates

REUNIONS

Reunion Planners for 2021

1980-81 (joint): Sarah (Greenman) Sheehan ’80 and Maya (Klashnya) Tester ’81

2001: Katherine Freund ’01, M.E. (Head) Kirwan ’01, and Megan (Cross) Rogers ’01

2010: Gabby (Keller) Krueger ’10 and Mattie Hogg ’10

2011: Joe Ginsburg ’11

2015: Peter Kiesel ’15 and Madi Lommen ’15

2016: Noah Foster ’16 and Shivani Nookala ’16

2022 inductees

(left to right, above)

David Williams ’83

Lexa (Saboe) Hoffner ’89

Meredith (Benson) Doran ’02

Coach George Stuempfig (Boys Soccer) - Del Carter ’50 Memorial Award

Reunion Planners for 2022

1972: George Dow ’72, Bill Jepson ’72, Henry Jerome ’72, David Myhre ’72, and Jack Weston ’72

1982: Charles Horowitz ’82

2002: Lauren (Gesell) Brooks ’02 and Alex Clark ’02

2006: Dan Geoffrion ’06, Andy Inderieden ’06, Miles Marmo ’06, and Amanda (Teska) Thomson ’06

2007: Maggie Borman ’07, Matt Cosgriff ’07, Elizabeth Dunlap ’07, Addie Gorlin-Hall ’07, and Charlie Rybak ’07

2012: Halle Gustafson ’12 and Josh Luger ’12

2017: Van Lundsgaard ’17

ALUMNI SPORTING EVENT HOSTS

Mens Soccer 2021: Joe Ginsburg ’11

Mens Basketball 2021: Blake Johnson ’09 and Max Laureano ’09

Womens Hockey 2021: Milica McMillen ’12 and Anna Zumwinkle ’16

Mens Hockey 2021: Matt Cosgriff ’07 and Michael Mooney ’10

Mens Baseball 2022: Eli Kramer ’97 and Liam O’Hagan ’04

Mens Soccer 2022: Joe Ginsburg ’11

Mens Basketball 2021: Blake Johnson ’09 and Justin Bergerson ’16

Womens Hockey 2022: Milica McMillen ’12 and Anna Zumwinkle ’16

Mens Hockey 2022: Matt Cosgriff ’07

It’s just before sunrise in the northeast corner of the Minnesota wilderness, and it’s pouring rain. Portaging her canoe and carrying nearly 70 pounds of gear, Lower School Math Specialist and First Lego League Robotics Coach Kris Simonson ’82 sets out on the final leg of her week-long 125-mile Moose Lake Border Route Challenge. Her final Grand Portage is eight and a half miles, and, although it’s only early September, the narrow wooded path feels like ice.

“I had never been on the Grand Portage before, and I was traveling totally by myself,” says Simonson. “Portaging is 90 percent mental. If you think you can’t do it, you can’t. If you think you can, you can.”

After five hours, Simonson made it to Grand Portage National Monument, where her fellow challengers waited to congratulate her with cheers, kind words, and a special necklace (pictured in the photo above) symbolizing the completion of the arduous journey. “I wanted to test what I was capable of,” says Simonson of her adventure. “No matter how tiny my steps were or how tired I was, I knew I could just keep putting one foot in front of the other and get to the end.”

Simonson’s trek had begun a week earlier at Moose Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. She then traveled through the lakes along the border of Canada and the United States east to the Pigeon River, down the Pigeon River to old Fort Charlotte, then, finally, the nearly nine mile portage to Grand Portage National Monument.

The route has a rich and honored history, traveled by the Ojibwe people for hundreds of years and, more recently, by the French voyageur fur traders in the 18th and 19th centuries. On such cherished and sacred ground, Simonson experienced nature in a way she never had before: a loon swam directly under her

ONE WITH NATURE

Traveling along a route with a rich and honored history, Kris Simonson ’82 completed the 125-mile Moose Lake Border Route Challenge — and experienced nature in a way she never had before

canoe, otters popped up alongside her, and trumpet swans didn’t hold back in fully trumpeting. Reflecting on the 21–22 Breck faculty summer reading, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Simonson felt an even deeper connection to the natural world and the many who had come before her on the same path.

“[Braiding Sweetgrass] was one of the most powerful things I’ve ever read in terms of really connecting me to what was around. It completely changed my perspective while I was traveling through this area,” she says. “If I was fighting wind on a windy day, I would think, ‘This is not just wind that’s an obstacle to me. This is wind being wind and I need to be part of what that is.’”

An incredible feat accomplished, Simonson is already thinking about her next challenge: a 235-mile route in the same area — and in the same short amount of time. But for now, to the Breck community she offers these words of wisdom: “Don't be afraid to try something new, even if it seems a little bit crazy. Even if you can’t finish it, you’ll learn something about yourself, and you’ll learn something about the world. You don’t know what you can accomplish until you just try.” B

CLASS NOTES

1948

Richard Sanderson announces that his wife, Gladys, died on January 19, 2022. They were married for 60.5 years. He now lives in a retirement community in Laconia, New Hampshire.

1949

James McCarl turned 90 in February 2022 and retired again from Enterprise Rent-a-Car in March 2022. His wife, Jean, died in June 2020.

1958

Phillip Gainsley recently celebrated 50 years in the practice of law. He has tried hundreds of cases as well as numerous appearances in Minnesota’s appellate courts. He is also proud of his association with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Sarasota Orchestra. Finally, music lovers should check out his podcast devoted to classical music and music theater: Phillip Gainsley Let’s Talk Music. 1

1963

Bruce Shaw happily retired on Boston’s North Shore several years ago and lives near his grandchildren. He volunteers for several organizations, which is immensely satisfying, still staying very physically active, and continuing to try to perfect his watercoloring skills — an impossible task.

1966

Antony (Tony) Harrison retired in July of 2021 after 46 years of teaching English at NC State University.

1975

Members of the Class of 1975 held an impromptu reunion in the summer of 2022. 2

1977

George (Rusty) Hunt has worked as a Department of the Army Civilian employee for close to 29 years. His career has included volunteering for and serving on very active battlefields in Kuwait and Iraq. Over the past two years, he has been a procurement analyst as part of the Federal COVID Response. He cites it as an honor to be working in this critical area with shifting requirements.

1980

Ben Langlotz and his wife, Karmen, are now “empty-nesters” in Plano, Texas, celebrating the entrance of their son, Leo (6), into kindergarten and daughter, Sally (3), into preschool. 3

Paul Williams , CEO of Project for Pride in Living, was named one of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs in 2022.

1985

Eric Christ was reelected in November 2021 to a second term on the Peachtree Corners City Council in Georgia. He currently serves as Chief Product Officer for Inclusivv, which provides content and software to enable organizations to have conversations that matter.

Dianne (Marsh) Haulcy was named President and CEO of The Family Partnership, where she will oversee a $10 million organization with 100 staff dedicated to removing barriers for families impacted by low-income, systemic racism, and adversity to clear the path to greater well-being. 4

Dale “Skip” Simonson spent the past year sailing the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean with his wife, Christine, and their daughter. His sister, Kari Simonson ’86 , Siri Anderson ’86 , and former Breck science teacher Dan Ratliff joined as crew for the Atlantic crossing. In addition, Tim Woodland ’85 and Greg Yoch ’85 joined for a week in Guadeloupe. Skip, Tim, and Greg are pictured during their trip and during their Breck days. 5

1986

Lynne (Moore) Nelson started a new position in January 2022 as the Executive Director of Georgia’s Institute of Continuing Judicial Education and serves as a senior member of the University of Georgia’s Law School in Athens, Georgia.

1993

Rebeka Ndosi founded Maji ya Chai Land Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization centering rest, healing, and thriving for Black, Native, and people of color. Maji ya Chai recently purchased a 40-acre property on the Encampment River near Two Harbors, Minnesota, where they plan to build the nature-based sanctuary to support people resting, connecting, and thriving across generations. Please visit majiyachai.org for more information. 6

Katie Wahlquist has joined the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross Minnesota & Dakotas Region, where she is a fourth generation American Red Cross volunteer. Katie is the chief administrative officer for Star Bank in Eden Prairie and is a member of the bank’s Board of Directors. Katie is passionate about philanthropy and governance. She serves on four local and two national boards, and she recently joined the Breck School Alumni Council.

1997

Jennifer (Newsom) Carruthers and Tom Carruthers are currently living in Italy as recipients of the 2022–2023 Rome Prize in Architecture from the American Academy in Rome.

1998

Kevin Cannon created the 2022 Saint Paul Winter Carnival buttons. 7

Simone Hardeman-Jones was named Founding Executive Director for GreenLight Twin Cities. 8

Rachel Hardeman became the Founding Director of the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity (CAHRE, pronounced “care”) at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She was also the

feature of a New York Times piece entitled, “Pulling Back the Curtain on Race and Health Care” alongside her daughter, Leila ’31 9

1999

Holly (Piotrowski) Skomars (pictured with her family) started her own business, Sunnyside Equine, in 2020. She has also been employed with the Minnesota Judicial Branch in Dakota County for five years. 10

2000

Joe Pohlad took over as the Minnesota Twins’ Executive Chair. Airina Rodrigues moved from New York City to Denver, Colorado in late 2019 to join the law and lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where she leads the

trademark, copyright, advertising, and media practice of Brownstein’s Denver office. She resides in Denver with her husband, Stephan, and daughter, Alexandra, and enjoys hiking, skiing, and figure skating with Denver Synchronicity’s Adult Team, which qualified for the National Championships in 2022.

2002

Kristin Thompson owns Tuttie Fruitties: Organic Farm and Juicery. Since 2019, they have sold organic produce and Minnesota seasonal and organic cold-pressed juice at Northeast Minneapolis Farmers Market on Saturdays. They also have a farm CSA and offer juice subscriptions! For more information, visit tuttiefruitties.square.site 11

2004

Kelly Rae Finley was named Head Women’s Basketball Coach at University of Florida. 12

2005

Shardé (Thomas) Skahan was elected to serve a second term as Vice President of Black Women Lawyers of Los Angeles.

2006

Ross Tanick is a family physician currently in his residency at Swedish Medical Center in Denver, Colorado. He also hosts internationally acclaimed podcast Primary Care Podcast with Ross Tanick, where he releases monthly episodes interviewing physicians about their journeys and advice in various fields related to primary care. 13

2007

Katia Dragotis recently founded Purple Banter Entertainment Network. 14

Addie Gorlin-Hall moved back to Minnesota and is now Associate Producer at the Guthrie Theater.

Charlie Rybak launched Southwest Voices, a local news organization covering Southwest Minneapolis. They send out a free daily email newsletter with things to do, restaurant openings and closings, and news and information about the city government. You can sign up for it on their website, southwestvoices.news.

2008

Marjan Riazi celebrated six months at Sony Music working for the Office of Philanthropy and Social Impact in Los Angeles and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the NYC headquarters. 15

2010

Katie Thornton recently started a new podcast series called The Divided Dial on WNYC’s On the Media. The Divided Dial tells the story of the American political right’s reign on talk radio, how what happens on the radio still shapes the American political landscape, and how one company is quietly launching a right wing media empire from the airwaves.

Kiarra Zackery was named Director of Equity and Inclusion for Intermediate District 287 in Plymouth, Minnesota.

2011

John Culliton is the Senior Vehicle Dynamics Engineer for Lucid Motors, an electric vehicle company based in Silicon Valley. Their first car in production, the Lucid Air, was awarded the 2022 Motor Trend Car of the Year.

This fall, Joe Ginsburg took on a new role as Breck’s Associate Director of Athletics.

2013

Halle Huff joined our very own Breck Advancement Team as the Event Planner this fall.

2017

Julien (Jiaheng) He was chosen as a 2021–2022 Schwarzman Scholar. The Schwarzman Scholars program, established in 2016, is designed to build students’ leadership abilities and deepen their knowledge of China and global affairs. It is intended to prepare high-caliber individuals to serve as the next generation of leaders to build bridges between China and the rest of the world. The group of 180 Schwarzman Scholars were selected from more than 4,000 applicants, making the program one of the most selective. Julien’s Breck education and his experience of homestays with Breck host families were important components in developing Julien’s global perspective and willingness to accept another’s views without judgment. 16

2018

Melinda Samaratunga delivered the class speech for Barnard College commencement in 2022. 17

2019

David Roddy was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft in June 2022 and played his first professional basketball season for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2022–23. 18

2021

Melanie Oden was selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission’s (JUSFC) Summer Institute. JUSFC is a U.S. government agency that is committed to developing a diverse and inclusive community where contributions from

underrepresented scholars and practitioners support and sustain the U.S.-Japan partnership. Melanie will spend two weeks in Japan to enhance her knowledge of Japanese language, culture, and society; develop cross-cultural communication skills; and meet American and Japanese peers, educators, diplomats, and industry and civil society leaders.

MUSTANG READS

Ross Fruen ’69 recently published a memoir, Growing up Minneapolis & Minnetonka: A City, A Lake, A Family. The book is a narrative nonfiction tale that features local, hidden historical insights from Minnesota between 1852 and the 1970s. Fruen’s first book, The Boys of the Brule: Centuries of Comradery on Wisconsin’s River of Presidents, was published in 2019. A Julian Randall ’11 authored his first YA novel Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa, a blockbuster contemporary middle-grade fantasy duology. The sequel in the duet, Pilar Ramirez and the Curse of San Zenon, is slated to be released on February 28, 2023. B

MUSTANG LISTENS

Mayyadda Major ’11 released her album, TRY&REMEMBER in October 2021. Her next project, Holiday Joint, is expected to drop in 2023. C

Luke Leblanc ’14 released his latest full length album, Fugue State D

CELEBRATIONS

J. Patrick Truhn ’72 married Michael Andreas Peters at Villa Kogge in Berlin, Germany on October 7, 2019. The couple resides in Berlin. 1

Alex Frécon ’05 got engaged to Haley Grotbeck in 2022. They even took a fun set of engagement photos at the Breck Anderson Ice Arena! 2

Shardé (Thomas) Skahan ’05 and husband, Patrick, welcomed their son, Cameron in March 2022. Cameron joins sister Keira (3). 3

Tracy Fuad ’07 welcomed new baby Marin Orlando Koessler Fuad on August 27, 2022, in Berlin. 4

Addie Gorlin-Hall ’07 and her husband, Chris, welcomed a new baby, Owen, in May 2021. 5

On August 18, Victoria (Sponsel) Keefe ’09 and David Keefe Jr., along with their son, David III (2), welcomed daughter Cynthia to the family. 6

Eric Chien ’10 and Kristina (Tester) Chien ’10 got married on September 5 and 6, 2020. The couple is pictured with family member and current Breck student Marley Molcjan ’31 7

Callan (deBruyn) Freeland ’10 and Brett Freeland ’10 are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Sloane Elliot, who was born on July 27, 2022, in Sonoma, California. Callan, Brett, Sloane, and pup Luna live in Sonoma, where Uncle Elliot deBruyn ’08 and Aunt Maisie deBruyn ’19 were excited to spend part of their summer vacation getting to know their sweet new niece. 8

9. Nick DeMaris ’14 (pictured center) married Maddie Tallant on September 3, 2022 in Minneapolis. There were a number of Breck alums at attendance, including Chris Anderson ’14, Luke Audette ’14, David Caruso ’14, Demetri Culpepper ’13, Alex DeMaris ’20 (pictured right), Christopher DeMaris ’16 (pictured left), Alex Hasselbring ’14, Matt McMillan ’14, Sophie Mirviss ’14, Parker Montgomery ’14, Cam Peterson ’14, Duncan Phelps ’14, Henry Phelps ’14, Jack Sheehy ’14, Foley Simons ’14, and Lucas Wille ’14.

Do you have any updates to share with the Breck community?

Email alumni@breckschool.org or scan the code here.

IN MEMORIAM

It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of members of our alumni community. Please keep the following Mustangs and their families in your thoughts and prayers:

Allan Cederberg ’41

Kenneth Kuby ’42

Arthur Mueller ’43

Reverand Roy Blake ’44

Paul Kummel ’44

Maurice Rollin Johnson ’46

William Schmalstieg ’46

William Berry ’47

John Davis ’47

Col. Robert Huntzinger ’47

Charles McConnell ’47

Donald Ziessler ’47

Ted de Lancey ’48

Dr. Stanley Leonard ’48

Paul Webster III ’48

George Berry ’49

John “Jack” Gilman ’49

Anthony Kimball ’49

Gary Good ’50

Roger Greenberg ’50

Everett “Chuck” Hartley ’50

Harold Dokmo Jr. ’51

John McKelvey ’52

Willard Moonan ’52

Henri Verbrugghen ’52

Kenneth Hunt Bayliss Jr. ’53

Roy “Don” Hawkinson ’54

William Lindstrom ’54

Hebert McKelvey ’54

William Nicholas ’54

Robert “Butch” Pendergast ’54

Nelson Whyatt ’56

James Johnson ’57

John R. Murphy Jr. ’57

Dan Berke ’58

Lamont Stuhler ’58

Jeffrey Halpern ’60

Bob Gottschald ’61

Thomas Kjellberg ’62

Dr. George Pattison ’62

Nicolas Goddard ’63

Richard Gough ’64

Donald Max Harshbarger ’64

Edward “Chip” Chapin ’65

John Carroll Gantzer ’65

James “Jim” Roy Grewe ’65

William Eichenlaub ’66

Robert Boblett ’66

David Anderly ’67

Kerry Freund ’68

David Hohman ’70

Douglas Jepson ’75

Wendy McLaughlin ’75

Elizabeth Hartinger ’77

Judd Maslansky ’77

Alison Pfaelzer ’79

Madeline Williams ’82

Jerry Beech ’83

Alexandra (MacMillan) Daitch ’83

Mark Elert ’83

Barbara (Howard) Lundsgaard ’83

Robert Morse ’86

Paul Gaziano ’90

Matthew Anderson ’91

Thomas “Ted” Martin ’96

Lucas Bellamy ’99

Bridget McDevitt ’02

Whitney Ulvestad ’05

Grace Reyelts ’07

Ohiyesa Firesteel ’13

Olivia Chutich ’17

As we have not printed this publication since 2019, we recognize there may be others in our community who have passed that are not listed here. We rely on our alumni community to inform us about those in our community who have passed away. Please reach out to the Alumni Office at alumni@breckschool.org if there is someone who should be included in the next issue.

THEIR OWN WORDS

SMALL MOMENTS

Emily Brisse, Upper School English teacher, reflects on life at Breck during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each semester, I tell my creative writing students to pay attention to small moments that stay with them. These moments, despite their subtlety, often contain the kernel of something worthy of their lingering.

On March 13, 2020, the last day of school before spring break and everything that was about to follow, I sat at a desk in my classroom, surrounded by 14 seniors who were leaning toward what had, until a few weeks prior, been a certain, sweet slide to their graduation. All of them were talking about what everyone was talking about: the COVID-19 virus. How it spread in China and Italy. How sports leagues were suspending seasons. How Tom Hanks had tested positive. Some of my students were nervous. Some were a little excited (“You think spring break will be three weeks this year?”). In my memory, I can hear echoes of each of these comments. But, while we sat together in a circle, one of my students said something that I remember word

for word: “Guys,” she said, her eyes huge, “what if this is the last time we’re in this room? The last time we’re together at Breck?”

The average human, particularly the average teenager, isn’t wired to seriously consider change of that scale, not right away, especially when it relates to a milestone as anticipated as the end of one’s high school experience. So almost everyone else in the class laughed her off, saying, “Nah. It might be a while. But never again on campus? No way.”

We all know what happened next for these students: distance learning, Zoom grids, innovation and perseverance, yes, but — let’s be honest — also a lot of fear, exhaustion, and an acute grief for both the past and the future, as they had once imagined it.

In the years since that spring, through hybrid learning

and mask guidance and vaccine rollouts, in conjunction with a cultural landscape rife with turmoil, I’ve thought about that girl’s far-seeing comment again and again. Why did it stick with me? Why do I keep recalling it? I think it’s because her words crystalized how quickly things as simple as sitting together in the same room can be taken away from us, and how important it is to regularly look up from wherever we find ourselves and take note of what, for us, makes that moment matter.

For me, during these recent years in the classroom at Breck, what’s made moments matter is their ability to remind me what makes both teaching, and teaching here, special. It’s the time where my advisee played jazz music for the rest of our group over Zoom

to cheer us up. Or when I saw a student’s handwriting on a thank you note after months of only corresponding through screens. It’s having a full lively classroom again, the energy of many bodies in one physical space without fear of proximity. It’s lunch on the front lawn when the weather is nice, seeing whole faces, somebody playing music, kids flinging frisbees. It’s sound: for a while there, the hallways were so quiet, even people’s breathing muted behind their masks. It’s pencil lead squeaking across paper. It’s singing in the chapel. It’s the opposite of phones. It’s banter with colleagues in the faculty lounge, all of us standing in a circle, eating donuts, talking about China or sports teams or Tom Hanks, or whatever seems notable about the day. It’s also the morning of May 4,

2020, when the seniors graduated in an outdoor ceremony. After they received their diplomas, their parents drove them down Ottawa Avenue, where my colleagues and I were lined up in our own vehicles, many of us leaning out our open windows or sunroofs, cheering for these kids we hadn’t seen in person since March as they made their final drive away from Breck. It’s the looks on their faces: what they knew they’d lost, but the way they were embracing this moment, too, deciding what they would make it mean.

The girl from my creative writing class was right, of course. Something told her that moment sitting next to her unsettled classmates should be noticed. I wonder if she feels she ever got to say a proper goodbye to her peers and this place? I wonder if she feels she noticed enough about her time at Breck, when it was an unhurried average Tuesday on campus, right there for her to see?

As for me, I’m an English teacher, so I suppose one could argue that I’ve been trained to note and draw meaning from the small details. Yet despite my own teachings, despite the lessons of these past years, I rush through a thousand moments a day like anybody else. All I can do, I’ve learned, is keep encouraging my students, “Look around you, use your senses, be here now.” And when they do — when they remind me how — I do my best to pay attention. B

WINTER PERFORMANCES 2022

The season of winter at Breck doesn’t just mean hot chocolate and cold weather; it also means concerts! Breck students of all ages melted our hearts with their performances of dancing, playing, and singing.