The Magazine of Cary Academy | Summer 2019

The Magazine of Cary Academy SUMMER 2019

Inspiring innovation

page 10

Do you DICE? (They do.) page 14

ALUM LOOKS TO THE PAST TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE page 4

OUT OF THE CLASSROOM AND INTO THE WORKPLACE page 12

Finding the right college fit

page 16

Oh, the places they’ve gone

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On-field success takes leadership

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FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Cary Academy: Where fun goes to die Not much of a slogan, eh?

So, imagine my surprise when some parents and students recently told me that this was the “word on the street” regarding Cary Academy’s reputation.

The context of those conversations—and context matters—was that these folks were telling me how happy they were with their Cary Academy experience and how it ran counter to what they feel is a false narrative about the school.

Phew!

It did get me thinking, though, about the origin of this conventional wisdom. At its core, I think, is the belief that you work hard at Cary Academy.

That is fair—and I’d also list it as a point of pride stretching back to the school’s founding.

Where I think the narrative misses the mark is that it assumes— falsely—that working hard and liking school must be the opposite of fun.

That might be the case elsewhere, but it does not reflect our reality.

In this issue of ?, The Magazine of Cary Academy, we share many stories that highlight the power of our unique learning community: from the Mission Awards in the Upper School to the support from our community that has brought transformative change to our campus. Of special note are the alumni stories, which showcase the many ways the people and programs of this school have had an impact on the lives of young people.

Said one alum in our recent biannual alumni engagement survey: “Cary Academy prepared me to think critically and empathetically. The school created an atmosphere that constantly challenged

students to grow as learners and individuals, buoyed by unending resources and support.”

Said another: “[CA] gave me the best seven years of my life and set me up to have many, many more beyond.”

Recent research conducted by Denise Pope at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education uncovered the most essential elements of an impactful college experience. They include taking class with teachers who made learning exciting; working with teachers who cared about their students; finding a mentor; working on a long-term project; participating in internships that applied classroom learning; and being active in extracurricular activities.

As we are embroiled in a national conversation about the future of work and the importance of higher education, the Cary Academy formula strikes just the right balance in all these areas.

We are preparing our students to take full advantage of their college experience. It is the beginning—not the end—of their learning path.

And the best part: it can be really fun—if you find the right people to share the journey.

Mike Ehrhardt, Head of School

The Magazine of Cary Academy SUMMER 2019

In this issue

COMMUNICATIONS TEAM Mandy Dailey Dean Sauls Dan Smith PHOTOGRAPHY Dean Sauls Dan Smith The CA community HEAD OF SCHOOL Michael Ehrhardt DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS Heather Clarkson DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Mandy Dailey HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL Robin Follet DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES Jess Garcia DEAN OF FACULTY Martina Greene HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL Marti Jenkins DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Danielle Johnson-Webb DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION Karen McKenzie DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Ali Page CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Deborah Reichel

4 Looking back to look

16 Dream team

forward

The college search is a critical, yet complex process. Thankfully, CA’s college counselors are here to help.

Brandon Byrd’s experience at CA helped shape his passion for history. Now, he inspires students at Vanderbilt University to think critically about the past, present, and future.

10 Partners in innovation

18 College chronicles

14 Walking the walk

32 Top of his game

Sometimes, innovation needs a kickstart from an angel investor. PTAA Grants help faculty and students dream big, reach for the stars, and push the pedagogical envelope.

What exactly do CA’s core commitments to discovery, innovation, collaboration, excellence, and community look like in practice? These students will show you.

Getting into college isn’t the finish line; it’s the next step of a lifelong learning journey.

Twelve CA alumni share stories of finding their right-fit schools.

It took Ray Pope some time to warm up to the idea of coaching high school baseball. At CA, he’s found his dream job—in a role he’d never dreamed of.

is published three times a year by Cary Academy.

CARY ACADEMY 1500 N. Harrison Avenue Cary, North Carolina 27513 (919) 677-3873

Campus News 2

Snapshots 12

Alumni News 35

www.caryacademy.org

Dinosaurs, Shakespeare, family, and… homework? Students and faculty set their time travel itineraries. page 37

The Big Question 36

Campus News

Summer spruce-up The classrooms may be empty, but campus is certainly abuzz with activity this summer as major renovations are underway.

A significant remodel of the library will begin this summer and continue throughout T1. Changes will include a new layout for the circulation desk, improved study and meeting spaces, and a new technology

CAMPAIGN FOR CA

Thanks to an outpouring of support, the Campaign for Cary Academy charged ahead this year. In addition to completing the original campus master plan with the opening of the Center for Math and Science, we expanded financial aid support for CA families, began enhancement projects on facilities and classrooms across campus, and started construction on new spaces. To date, the CA community has contributed $11.8M towards our $12M goal. With one year left to go, there’s still time to be a part of this community-wide effort to take CA to the next level. To all of you who have already contributed: we thank you!

THANK YOU, AND FAREWELL

This spring, the CA community came together to express our gratitude and share our memories of our retiring faculty and staff members: Ellen Doyle—school nurse, Ellen Gooding—US counselor, Darshana Wani— College Counseling Administrative Assistant, Jimmy Welch—Landscape Manager, and Kay Parks—US fine arts teacher.

collaboratory. The reconfiguration will also create the Charger Café, which will serve as a social space and provide the opportunity for entrepreneurially-minded students to dip their toes in business ventures.

The weight room is undergoing a muchneeded expansion—nearly doubling in size— with new offices for CA's Athletic Trainers

We also wish to express our appreciation and well wishes for those who are moving on: Nicky Allen—MS math teacher, Paul Brunell—Facilities Technician, Napoleon Lherisson—US social sciences teacher, Kathleen Mason ('08)—Alumni Programs and Giving Coordinator, Yenisel Solis—US Spanish teacher, and Troy K. Weaver—US science teacher.

HATS OFF TO OUR ESTEEMED FACULTY

Associate Director of College Counseling Brandon Carter received the 2019 Curran Family Foundation Leadership in Teaching Award. US history teacher Dr. Robert Coven has been selected to be a team leader and presenter at Kent State University's prestigious international symposium: ReDesigning Education to Shape a Better World, this summer, in Florence, Italy. US English teacher Allyson Buie earned an M.A. in English from Southern New Hampshire University. Library Director Brian Pugsley earned an M.S. in Library Science from UNC-

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and a full-time Strength and Conditioning Coach. CA's Track and Field Stadium is being upgraded to an Olympic-quality Mondo Super X Performance track, making CA the first school in North Carolina with a Mondo surface. A new pressbox, with improved restroom facilities, is under construction at the baseball field.

Chapel Hill. MS world cultures teacher Katie Levinthal and MS German teacher Gabriele Verhoeven were accepted into this summer’s 2019 Atlantik-Brücke Transatlantic Teachers’ Study Trip.

MS TRACK AND FIELD REIGN AS CONFERENCE CHAMPS

Congratulations to both the boys’ and girls’ Middle School track and field teams for 3-peating as Capital Area Middle School Conference champions! The Chargers set eight new conference championship records and achieved 22 personal bests while racing to the championship.

MS BAND RANKS SUPERIOR

The Middle School band was awarded the top honor of Superior from the judges at the NC Central District Bandmasters Association Music Performance Adjudication in March, where they competed against dozens of schools from across the state. The award marks the first Superior honor for CA's band since 2007.

Congratulations Class of 2019 At commencement, CA's 20th graduating class was welcomed to the alumni community

by Holly May ('05), who offered her insight as a Silicon Valley innovator and scholar.

The Class of 2019 is headed to 36 different colleges and universities in 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, Canada, and England. Ten Charger athletes will play at the collegiate level. Colleges with more than two CA students attending are: Appalachian State University, Davidson College, Duke University, North Carolina State University, Tufts University, University of North Carolina— Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Alumni Spotlight

LOOKING BACK LOOK FORWARD TO

Brandon Byrd’s (’05) love of history has deeply personal roots.

“I came to an initial interest in history the way a lot of folks do—by just generally taking an interest in my own personal history,” muses Byrd. “I was enamored by the stories that my family would share and pass down, stories of my grandparents’ and great grandparents’ experiences, all of whom passed before I was born or shortly thereafter.”

For Byrd—Assistant Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, accomplished researcher, and published author—these stories were always relevant beyond mere familial anecdotes. They represented much larger stories, and more complex histories, including some of the most defining moments in African American history. ?

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Photo Credit: Chioke A. Ianson

Byrd delivering a presentation at the 2016 Global Garveyism Symposium

“My mom talked a lot about the Great Migration—the movement of tens of thousands of African Americans out of the Jim Crow South to the North, Midwest, and later to the West—that her family was a part of,” Byrd offers as an example. “It was those larger historical narratives—those that I had a personal connection to—that attracted me, intrigued me.”

He credits Cary Academy—and the engaged, collegiate-quality faculty that took an interest in him, both in and out of the classroom—for nurturing that initial interest, fanning it into a passion that would ultimately become the bedrock of a meaningful humanities career.

“Being a historian now, I can clearly trace the influence that CA faculty—

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Conrad Hall, Joe Staggers, Bill Velto, and others—had on my thinking. They taught me to approach history in a more systematic manner, taught me how to go from merely consuming stories to thinking historically, to thinking about change over time, to thinking about causality.”

He fondly recalls one of his literature teachers in the Upper School, Chuck Burdick, to whom he had expressed a growing interest in slave narratives and abolitionist literature.

“He took me on a book talk and signing by a historian that had just published the first biography of Harriet Jacobs, the author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” reflects Byrd. “For someone to take that interest, to take time out of their personal life to help an (at that time)

moment when the general American public was being asked to think pretty uncritically about terrorism. They were having terrorism defined for them and they were being told ‘this is what it is to combat terror.’ In Velto’s class, we were being asked to think more critically, to consider the global roots and terms of terrorism. In hindsight, it was remarkable.”

pretty brash, cocky high school student pursue his interest—it was impactful.”

It is perhaps little surprise that Byrd—embarking on his college career at Davidson College on an academic scholarship—confidently declared his major in history within his first weeks on campus. Later, he gained admittance into the honors history program, which allowed him to spend a year developing an independent research project to explore the life of Charles Clinton Spaulding, a prominent black businessman and intellectual leader in Durham, North Carolina.

That project would prove to be a springboard, offering a deeper introduction to the black intellectualism that would ultimately become the focus of his career. This early work would go on to inform his later research as he earned a Master’s degree from the University of William and Mary, and PhD from the University of North Carolina.

Byrd identifies first and foremost as an intellectual historian. Fascinated by the history of ideas, his specific research centers on the international dimensions of black intellectual history. As a professor, first at Mississippi State University and, currently, at Vanderbilt University, he teaches a full course load—including classes like “Black Lives Matter,” “Black Thinkers from Equiano to Obama,” and “Readings in African American History”— to undergraduate and graduate students.

He also pursues his research agenda and contributes to the administration of his department and the university.

Byrd sees reflections of Cary Academy in his approach to teaching. No more so than when he’s pushing the pedagogical envelope, asking students to think critically or in ways that might question a predominant narrative.

“I remember taking Bill Velto’s class on terrorism in the years immediately following 9/11,” reflects Byrd. “It was a

“BEING A HISTORIAN NOW, I CAN CLEARLY TRACE THE INFLUENCE THAT CA FACULTY—CONRAD HALL, JOE STAGGERS, BILL VELTO, AND OTHERS—HAD ON MY THINKING.” It is an approach that stuck with him.

He notes that his Black Lives Matter class, while dissimilar in content, shares its pedagogical roots in those early liberal arts classes at CA that initially stretched his thinking.

“The Black Lives Matter movement is also something defined largely in sweeping, generalized, and reactionary terms,” explains Byrd. “In my class, I try to take that and say ‘Well, let’s try to think about this. What is this movement?

How does it fit into a broader global history of activism? What are the problems related to it? What can we learn if we stop assuming that we already know the answers?’”

That emphasis on the global, on the broader context, is indicative of Byrd’s larger research interests. For Byrd, examining historic African American intellectuals within their full global context—understanding how they and their ideas moved across and transcended national boundaries and how that, in turn, shaped their politics and intellectual practice—is crucial.

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As for what is next for Byrd, he is excited that a project that began as his dissertation will soon be shared with the world as a book—The Black Republic: African Americans and the Fate of Haiti.

“There has always been a global dimension to African American history,” explains Byrd. “If we want to truly understand historical black intellectuals, truly understand the world as they saw it, we have to think in international terms, in part because that is how they identified within their world.”

He continues, “Take the abolitionists, for example. They didn’t view slavery as an institution that was peculiar to the South, or even peculiar to the United States. Their activism was based in a broader understanding of slavery’s international dimensions—how it was rooted in global networks of trade and commerce that connected Africa to Liverpool, England to merchants in New York to slaveholders in Georgia.

“And, that’s just one example, you can easily pull out others from across the decades,” explains Byrd. “The civil rights activists of the 1950s and ‘60s, the Black Power advocates of the ‘70’s, they all used similar transnational thinking. For them, thinking about desegregation meant also thinking about decolonization in Africa.

It’s why, for a famous example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Ghana on the day of Ghanaian independence in 1957.”

Byrd commenting at Vanderbilt’s Wrestling with the Past Symposium, March 2018 Photo Credit: John Russell/Vanderbilt

For Byrd, his research feels particularly timely, helping to explain and understand not only the past, but the current fraught historical moment, perhaps even offering strategies for future activism.

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“Black intellectuals have historically grappled with complex issues that transcend time and context: slavery; equality; what democracy means, how it can be achieved, and for whom; how to affect political change. Their thinking on these topics is all still incredibly relevant today and probably will be in 100 years,” offers Byrd.

“Consider Frederick Douglass questioning the project of America in his famous address What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?. Then, look at the headlines, the uproar over Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem. Suddenly, in that context, the use of that moment does not come as a surprise nor does the backlash or the continued insistence on activism.”

As for what is next for Byrd, he is excited that a project that began as his dissertation will soon be shared with the world as a book. The Black Republic: African Americans and the Fate of Haiti considers the significance of Haitian independence in the imagination of black intellectuals grappling with the possibilities of black freedom in the decades following the U.S. Civil War. It will be published this fall by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

This summer, he is digging into a new book project that will delve deeper into the social dimensions of black intellectualism through a multigenerational family history of the Holly family. Patriarch James Theodore Holly led a migration of African Americans from the United States to Haiti in the 1860s and would become the first black bishop in the Protestant Episcopal Church. His descendants represent a long family tradition of black intellectualism and transnational activism.

With this new research, Byrd hopes to gain insight into the intimate spaces of

political movements and how genealogies of activism and political thought are built.

“One of the benefits of the family history angle is that, rather than just the church or the political office, I can consider the home as a central space of inquiry.”

The inclusion of the home as a political space allows Byrd to delve deeper into the dimensions of his work that he finds most gratifying, most important, and perhaps most challenging: finding and elevating marginalized voices— particularly the voices of black women— whose inclusion offers a more holistic understanding of history.

“Finding voices of black women— many of whom were intentionally silenced for various reasons or who chose not to speak out in eras where visceral racism and patriarchy was the norm, even within black organizations—is challenging,” comments Byrd. “But, you have to find them. Folks that are on the margins of the archives—due to reasons of power, race, gender, or sexuality—

were often at the center of the thinking and the action.”

It is when Byrd gives voice to those marginalized figures and pieces together a historical narrative that reflects their true experience—an important step in advancing our understanding of both past and present—that he feels he is inching closer to his goal.

“With my work, I am standing on the shoulders of scholars and historians who came before me. Scholars like John Hope Franklin and W.E.B. Du Bois contributed an almost unthinkable amount of knowledge about African American, U.S., and global history in an era where they couldn’t even go into archives,” offers Byrd.

“I don’t have the hubris to say that I am going to offer the same paradigm-shifting work that they delivered, but I think I can nudge us forward. I can help us think differently about aspects of African American history, its transnational dimensions, what it means to the past, and offers for the future. To me, that is a worthy and exciting goal.”

ADVICE FOR CA STUDENTS “We’re in a time where the value of the humanities is under attack, where there is rhetoric that suggests that viable career paths are primarily STEMbased. It isn’t true. If you look at recent research and data, you’ll find that earnings for humanities majors keep pace with those of STEM majors.

“Ignore the idea that this is a zero-sum game, the idea that there is only one path to success. Skills earned in the humanities can go everywhere and are requisite for success on the job market. Employers want that person that is the problem solver, that can think and write clearly, that can craft an argument, and that can spot gaps in other’s argumentation.

“As you’re being told what disciplines to value, what courses to value, do your own homework. Read The Wall Street Journal, or Forbes, or the websites of various professional organizations. They can shed light on potential career path outcomes and tell you what it means, for example, to be a historian.” –Brandon Byrd

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Innovation has no sense of time. Inspiration springs forth without concern for the calendar. So, how do we respond to those innovative opportunities that arise in the middle of the academic year—opportunities to foster new initiatives, explore fresh ideas, and implement cutting-edge technologies?

Enter CA’s Parent Teacher Administration Alliance (PTAA).

The PTAA Grants Program helps to seed innovation by supporting small projects, equipment, and activities that enrich and enhance student interests within and beyond the classroom. This past academic year alone, the PTAA provided more than $23,000 in grants for eight student and faculty initiatives.

Middle School math teacher Leslie Williams received funding to purchase a larger capacity and finer-detailed Ultimaker 3D printer that can print in dual color. The new printer, which is available to all Middle School students and faculty is part of a larger effort to ensure that every Middle School student is well-versed in Computer Aided Design (CAD). This past year, the printer was utilized by seventh-grade math students for their Change the World engineering challenge, in addition to other projects.

To learn and teach critical life-saving skills, a grant sought by Parker Perkins (’20) and Upper School science and math teacher Delia Follet will enable the CA Search and Rescue Team to fully establish their presence on campus through the purchase of key equipment and materials.

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THIS PAST ACADEMIC YEAR ALONE, THE PTAA PROVIDED MORE THAN $23,000 IN GRANTS FOR EIGHT STUDENT AND FACULTY INITIATIVES.

Helping to interweave art into projects across campus, Upper School art teacher Caycee Lee secured funding to construct and outfit a mobile art cart to support and augment humanities projects.

A farsighted PTAA grant will provide a clear vision for CA Athletics for years to come. Working in conjunction with Athletics Administrative Assistant Rebecca Watkins to identify needs, the Communications Department received funding for new lenses and camera equipment that will be on long-term loan to the Athletics Department.

Last March, many parents and students attended Duke University Professor Wilkie Wilson’s talk, “Healthy Brain: Understanding the Effects of Alcohol, Vaping, and Drugs on the Teen Brain.”

The presentation, made possible with funding provided to Upper School Learning Specialist Laura Werner, was so impactful that several students consulted with Dr. Wilson for their capstone senior projects or other research they were pursuing.

How do you take a hands-on approach to diving into microscopic subjects?

PTAA funding will allow Upper School biology teacher Marissa Scoville’s students to explore DNA and protein molecules through cutting-edge physical models that will allow for abstract ideas to be more accessible, thereby enriching and enhancing the learning experience.

Eleventh-grade English students will have their voices heard, thanks to the purchase of audio production equipment to explore podcasting in the classroom.

The process of recording audio, both personally and through interviews, is an ideal blend of the humanities and

technology, invoking expressive storytelling and analytical expression as an alternative to traditional essay writing. According to grantee Jamie Roszel, the format promotes the creative synthesis of ideas and provokes civil discourse and discussion, while also giving students more agency over their educational outcomes.

Starting this summer, members of CA’s U.S. Association of Young Physicists’ Tournament (USAYPT) team, Will Aarons (’20), Cameron Fisher (’19), Paul Ibrahim (’21), Aidan Sher (’20), and Abraham Weinstein (’19), and other Upper School physics students will reach for the stars through a new computer-guided telescope. Under the guidance of science teachers Matt Greenwolfe and Charlotte Kelly, and internal substitute Dick Mentock, they’ll use the telescope to collect data for USAYPT astronomy problems, produce spectacular astronomical photographs for the classrooms, and observe the heavens with a clarity and precision of which CA’s 20-year-old existing telescope was incapable.

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Rising sophomores and seniors embraced on-the-job learning with local artists and designers, construction contractors, industrial engineers, professional and collegiate sports teams, cuttingedge scientists and researchers, multimedia journalists, and other professionals during the WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM.

Snapshots During the WORLD LANGUAGE EXCHANGE PROGRAM, the Class of 2021 hosted students from abroad, before traveling to Argentina, China, France, and Germany to gain an international perspective from their peers.

The Class of 2023 reminisced about their adventures in Middle School before taking the leap into Upper School at 8TH GRADE CELEBRATION.

Dozens of freshmen and juniors took a hands-on approach to learning in 13 experimental and experiential DISCOVERY TERM courses, exploring everything from history, cuisine, and culture, to communications, camping, and conquering fears.

In May, 381 runners and walkers participated in the PTAA’s 2019 CA 5K AND EXPO, which raised over $13,000 for CA.

From stream to sky, the 6TH AND 7TH GRADE FIELD TRIPS gave students a chance to explore Umstead State Park and Black Mountain, NC and offered fun opportunities to learn, bond, and celebrate the end of the year.

Students stopped to smell the roses before leaving it all on the dance floor at the garden party-themed 2019 JUNIOR AND SENIOR PROM.

WALKING THE WALK

Each academic year, the Upper School Mission Awards recognize those students who have gone above and beyond to exemplify CA’s core commitment to discovery, innovation, collaboration, excellence, and community.

To highlight the diverse ways in which CA students, past and present, have inhabited our core values, here are a handful of highlights from awards presented over the past few years. For the full awards list, visit bit.ly/missionawards.

OUTSTANDING DISCOVERY AWARDS

Recognizing students who pursue learning as a process motivated by genuine curiosity In 2018–2019, Cameron Fisher (’19) and Colin Zhu (’20), both members of CA’s USA Young Physicists Team (USAYPT), reproduced Michael Faraday’s homopolar generator, then spent hours experimenting with it to understand how it worked in practice and theory, stepping from basic electromagnetic theory to advanced relativistic equations. Their work was so original that the USAYPT judges awarded them the unofficial “judges’ buzz” award.

Julian Sodano (’18) followed his passion for languages in 2017–2018 when he worked with a faculty mentor to build a series of independent study courses to learn Italian, a language not offered at Cary Academy.

In 2016–2017, Emma Briggs (’17) and Deming Haines (’17) set out to discover the rich ecosystems we engage with on CA’s campus.

Over a trimester, they catalogued 115 unique specimens—from insects to fish to birds to annelids—and built a community-resource website documenting their research.

OUTSTANDING INNOVATION AWARDS

Recognizing students who have met the requirements of an assignment or activity in a notably imaginative and innovative fashion In Bill Velto’s 2018–2019 class on terrorism, Sadie Grace Shelburne (’21) found a research paper grounded in statistics and analysis alone inadequate to investigate the psychology of terrorism.

Grappling with terrorism through an artistic lens, she choreographed a performance to explore— in a human and relatable fashion—the complex emotions and mental states of terrorists.

In Donna Eason’s 2017–2018 Creative World Building elective class, Cate Pitterle (’20), Hannah Owens (’20), Samantha Dietrich (’20), Madeline Kopf (’20), and Hunter Moore (’20) went above and beyond for their assignment to design a civilization. They crafted a richly detailed world with an incredibly designed planet, inhabitants, government, economy, and history—all of which was documented in a detailed historical website.

In 2016–2017, the ADV Biotechnology class coordinated a large-scale experiment with the Intro to Biology classes, researching and writing procedures for isolating the TAS2R38 gene that allows people to taste bitterness. Michael Crow (’17), William Fowler (’19), Brooke Harris (’17), Jessica McCoppin (’17), and Lindsay Wrege (’17) documented DNA extraction, restriction enzyme digest, amplification, and visualization using polyacrylamide gel. They also coordinated the randomization and collection of samples, processing, and data analysis.

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OUTSTANDING COLLABORATION AWARDS

Recognizing a group of students who have modeled an exemplary collaborative process For a month-long, student-directed project in the 2018–2019 Advanced Environmental Policy class, Sarah Handelsman (’19), Ian Washabaugh (’19), Christianna Swift (’20), Alex Bandong (’19), Jessica Judge (’19), and Kevin Chen (’19) worked together to research the impact of natural disasters on hog farms along the Cape Fear River. To educate stakeholders and students alike about the complex policies, politics, and power dynamics surrounding the issue, they created a Clue-style board game, naming the game based on their research: Poo Dunnit?

For a 2017–2018 in-class research project and presentation on the 1858 Lincoln-Douglass debates, Arman Kassam (’18), Jonathan Segal (’18), and Jack Werner (’18) created an original rap battle between Lincoln and Douglass in the style of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton. Taking the project further, they began meeting with music producers and writers to identify other pointcounterpoint moments in American and world history to create more pieces, develop the rap further, put it to music, and film it.

Poet Hanna Saklad (’17) and illustrator Emily Lane (’17) collaborated in 2016–2017 on the creation of the children’s book Dearest Susie. A capstone project in which Saklad’s use of multiple poetic forms with clever rhymes and vivid images were complemented brilliantly by Lane’s illustrations.

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY AWARDS

Recognizing students who act with the interests of the community in mind, demonstrating respect, integrity, compassion, courage, and selflessness Throughout 2018–2019, Krishan Guzzo (’19) worked quietly and diligently to make Cary Academy a more balanced place. A driving force behind the student wellness website, he worked with Upper School leadership to advocate for a student Zen Den, a place where community members can de-stress whenever they feel overwhelmed.

Naomi Johnson (’18), Mason Reece (’18), and Leo Tamburro (’18) received individual awards recognizing their hard work fostering diversity and inclusivity over the 2017–18 school year. They sparked dialogues and guided their classmates through critically important conversations that—while sometimes difficult or uncomfortable—helped to increase understanding of each other.

OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

Recognizing outstanding service to the school or community Throughout 2018–2019, CA members of the Triangle Debate League—Aditya Surana (’19), Grace Seidel (’19), Adithi Sundaram (’20), and Shannon Jenkins (’21)—worked in collaboration with local universities to teach public speaking and advocacy skills to their peers in several Durham County schools.

The 2017–2018 work of Emma Zayas (’18) and Casey Abernathy (’20) subtly impacted the lives of half of the CA campus population. Inspired by initiatives on college campuses, they worked with the PTAA, Facilities, the Middle School and Upper School to create an operationally and financially sustainable model to provide free feminine hygiene products in CA’s women's restrooms.

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DREAM TEAM

CA’s college counselors are in the business of dreams—helping students pursue theirs by guiding them on a process of self-discovery that, hopefully, ends with the best college fit.

Ask any of our three college counselors—Brandon Carter, Leya Jones, and Laura Sellers—and they will tell you the same thing: that they have the best jobs at Cary Academy.

“The fact that I get to be a part of a student’s journey in developing into their best selves is a pure blessing,” offers Carter.

“I look forward to work every day—that’s not an exaggeration— because I get to work with some of the brightest, funniest, most caring, respectful, and appreciative students in the world.”

Strike up a conversation with nearly any of our alums and it will reveal equal admiration from the other side of the equation.

Interviews offer warm recollections replete with gratitude for the pivotal role that the college counselors played in their college selection journey.

Said one alum in our recent biannual alumni engagement survey: “I would send my kids to CA for the incredible college counselors and the amount of guidance they provided me

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Between them, Brandon Carter, Leya Jones, and Laura Sellers represent a whopping 29 years (!) worth of combined CA college counseling expertise, having successfully guided three classes (Carter), eight classes (Jones), and 18 classes (Sellers) to bright futures at their right-fit colleges and universities.

during the college process. It truly is unparalleled in comparison to what other students at other high schools receive.”

Other alums point to the counselors’ deeper impact—not just on their college processes, but on their broader lives— crediting the counselors for believing in them when they didn’t quite believe in themselves; for nudging them towards a better version of themselves; and for helping them to discover who they wanted to be in the world.

The depth of the relationships these anecdotes reflect isn’t all that surprising.

At Cary Academy, the college counseling process is a true partnership between

student and counselor. Working closely as a team, they explore interests and talents, consider current strengths, and identify future ambitions and goals—all in hopes of discovering that post-high school holy grail: the strongest collegiate fit.

“Research shows that the number one reason why a student chooses to remain at their respective college is a sense of belonging,” explains Carter. “If they feel they fit well within the academic and social fabric of that institution, the student is more likely to stay, thrive, and graduate. My goal is to find that institution that fits them best, so that they can thrive on the next level and beyond, whatever that means to them.”

“As counselors, we’re lucky—luckier than most—in that our philosophy as an office is fully supported by CA’s leadership,” adds Jones. “We have colleagues at many other places who are driven by pressure to have a certain number of students admitted to/attending certain colleges. We don’t have that.”

On the contrary, as with all things CA, our college counseling process is missiondriven, grounded in a commitment to learning that is personal, flexible, and relevant, and driven by our community values of compassion, respect, and integrity. As in the classroom, students are in the driver's seat—encouraged to “own their learning and process”—with the counselors offering sage counsel to steer them in the right direction.

It’s a process that lends itself to introspection, often becoming a transformative learning experience for the student. “Seeing those ‘a-ha’ moments when a student sees something about themselves through the process, when they connect the threads and understand themselves better, that’s one of the things I love most about my work,” comments Sellers.

Indicative of all those “a-ha moments” and a point of pride for the team, a review of CA’s college matriculations reveals a lengthy and diverse list of educational institutions. Over the last three years, CA students have gone to nearly 100 different colleges and universities in the United States and abroad, where they thrive, grow, pursue their dreams, and, hopefully, get one step closer to becoming the people they want to be.

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COLLEGE CHRONICLES CA focuses on preparing students to be lifelong learners. The college counseling experience is no exception.

“Getting into college is not the finish line; it’s only the beginning” offers college counselor Brandon Carter. “A successful college experience is shaped not only by where you attend, but what you do with the resources and opportunities that are available to you once you get there. Those experiences are what will, in the end, make you a dynamic employee and sound contributor to society.”

From tiny private liberal arts colleges, to massive public universities, and all manner of schools in between, CA alums’ experiences offer a powerful testament to the many ways that students can make the most of a college experience when they find the right fit and engage.

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ESRA BALKAS (’17) LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

AIMING ABROAD

An eighth-grade CA summer trip to Oxford University proved pivotal for Esra Balkas, triggering a longstanding desire to attend college abroad. She was immediately taken by Oxford’s beautiful campus and academic gravitas.

A huge Tolkien fan, she loved the idea of attending her idol’s alma mater, of studying in the same hallowed halls in which he used to teach.

Practically, Balkas knew she wanted to study anthropology or international relations. These were passions she had discovered and explored thanks to CA’s flexible curriculum and the guidance of Upper School social sciences teacher Maret Jones.

Beyond academics, Balkas sought a school in an urban center and one with a large international student population, a desire borne out of her participation in the Student Global Leadership Initiative.

“SGLI was a huge thing for me. I learned so much from the other students in the program that were from all over the world—not just academically, but more broadly,” explains Balkas. “It changed how I looked at a lot of things in life. I wanted

to go somewhere that offered a similar experience at the collegiate level.”

When an early and initiallydisappointing rejection came from Oxford, Balkas shifted gears. She applied to the London School of Economics, another school that checked all her boxes.

“I applied on a whim,” recalls Balkas.

“I was familiar with LSE’s anthropology program and had already written the application for the United Kingdom school system. I submitted my application two hours before the deadline closed.

I didn’t even tell my parents or college counselor that I was applying. LSE is very competitive; I didn’t expect to get in.”

To her surprise, Balkas received a conditional acceptance weeks later. If she aced three of her AP exams, she was in.

Daunted, but determined, she redoubled her commitment to her academics. “It was hard. When all my friends were cruising, I was buckling down to study.”

Her efforts paid off and she was officially admitted into the anthropology program at LSE in 2017. Since arriving on campus, she’s been immersed in her field, enjoying the close-knit community, and taking a full load of anthropology classes.

“At LSE, we’re offered only one elective credit per year—everything else is within the anthropology department” explains Balkas. “Because of the intensive focus, my program is only three years. We go deep from the outset and get out fast.”

She’s making the most of her small classes, which offer ample opportunities for hands-on learning, collaboration, and engagement with senior faculty. It’s an environment that has pushed her out of her comfort zone and helped her grow.

“I had initially thought I wanted a larger school,” explains Balkas. “I’m kind of shy

and thought that it would be nice to blend into a huge class. That’s not possible at LSE, where the classes are capped at 12-14 people. It has pushed me to participate more, to be more confident.”

A field work unit completed during her second year has been a highlight of her time so far. “It was a crash course in becoming an anthropologist,” she explains. “You are given freedom to design a project, research it independently, and write an essay to share your findings.”

Balkas—a self-described “nerd” who loves video games—chose to observe a popular e-sports team in London to explore how players use language, including gamer tags and gaming lingo, to construct their online identities and build community.

For Balkas, her experience abroad at LSE is all that she hoped it would be. “London is an incredible city and LSE is right in its heart, just a twentyminute walk to Buckingham Palace,” she enthuses. “Being able to walk to school every day—stopping on the London Bridge, the London Eye is there, Westminster is there, my school is just on the other side—it is just so cool.”

Apart from her friends and family back home, she’s embraced her newfound independence and self-reliance that has fast-tracked her entry into adult life.

“Having to figure things out for myself—how to set up a bank account, how to register for a doctor, how to cook for myself (LSE doesn’t have dining halls), how to create my own support network— it’s been really empowering to do all of that on my own at eighteen. It’s tough, but in the end, I would always choose it. The life skills it has given me are incredible and I’ve made the most amazing friends and connections along the way.”

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KENDALL BELL (’15) DUKE UNIVERSITY

COMMUNITY BEYOND CLASSROOMS

By his own admission, Kendall Bell wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking for at the outset of his college process.

“The process never looks the way you think it will,” Bell muses in hindsight.

“You may think you know what you want, but you probably don’t. You may think you know what a college is like, but you don’t until you visit campus. Without guidance, without help, you are just taking shots in the dark.”

For Bell, that light in the dark came from CA’s college counseling team. “The college counselors at CA don’t just learn what you want in a college, they learn you as a person,” reflects Bell. “They talk to you about your classes, about what is going on in your life, about everything else, and only then talk to you about college.”

With guidance, Bell homed in on the important attributes that he was looking for in a college experience: the curricular flexibility to pursue his interest in both chemistry and the humanities; immersive, hands-on learning opportunities; and a “quirky” atmosphere that embraced uniqueness and didn’t take itself too seriously.

The University of Chicago was an early front-runner, a position later solidified by a visit to campus. It quickly became the yardstick against which he compared all other prospects.

It was college counselor Leya Jones that encouraged Bell to take a closer look at Duke University, a school he initially included on his list only because it was local. However, on closer inspection, Bell found that he appreciated the interdisciplinarity built into Duke’s curriculum and the flexible way in which it structures its majors.

“Very few majors at Duke are vertical,” explains Bell. “There are often different versions of a degree, specializations within a major that allow you to reach across disciplines and pursue your various interests.”

Ultimately, Bell’s receipt of Duke’s Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship—a merit-scholarship established in honor of Duke’s first African American president of the undergraduate student body—would make his decision an easy one. Bell found the community of “Reggie Scholars”—and their shared commitment to transformative leadership, intellectual courage, and social justice— compelling. The scholarship would ultimately lead to some of Bell’s most gratifying moments on campus.

“As a Reggie Scholar, I helped to organize and lead campus visit for new Reggie Scholar finalists,” offers Bell. “It was a meaningful experience. Not only was I was representing the program, but I helped to shape our community’s future by setting expectations and asking candidates how they would contribute and advance social justice work.”

Duke’s “work hard/play hard” culture also proved appealing. It forced Bell, an introvert, to stretch and reach out of his shell.

“I realized that life isn’t all about work and school. Duke offered me different communities of people that pushed me to engage outside the classroom, to do other things besides study that helped me make the most of the experience.”

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On reflection, it is those opportunities outside of the classroom—those that allowed him to socialize or intellectually engage with his peers and professors— that rise to Bell’s memory as the most meaningful.

“A lot of the fun stuff, the cool stuff that happens in college, doesn’t necessarily happen in class,” says Bell. “It’s having a four-hour lunch conversation with your favorite professor, or being in your room at 11:30 pm on a Tuesday, when suddenly a lot of people roll up, and before you know it you’ve had a fascinating conversation about mass incarceration for hours. Those are the most powerful moments.”

Of course, there were ample academic highlights as well, including a long list of favorite classes—some stumbled on entirely by happenstance—that broadened his perspective or sparked new interests. Being nominated by his professor and winning the Mary McLeod Bethune Writing Award for a paper on moral panics was another particularly memorable moment.

Bell graduated from Duke this past May with degrees in both chemistry and global cultural studies and a minor in African and African American studies.

This fall, his journey will come full circle, as he joins the CA community as a Teaching Fellow (he’s also recently completed a two-year stint as a member of CA’s Board of Directors). At CA, he’ll be working alongside one of his favorite teacher-turned-mentor Gray Rushin.

Bell looks forward to shaping his students’ journeys of self-discovery in much the same way others have shaped his. “There are many different places in my educational career where, if it had not been for that teacher that intervened, I would now be in a very, very different place,” explains Bell.

“The best classes that I’ve taken are not just about learning the material but about learning about yourself as well.”

ZIYANA GREENE (’18) AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE A NEW PERSPECTIVE

Ziyana Greene knew what she wanted for college: a small private school with resources on par with a larger university and a diverse student community. She’d always assumed that she’d find that experience at a historically black college or university (HBCU). It was a shock, then, when touring, she found that “despite being great schools, they just didn’t feel right. They didn’t click for me.”

Sensing her mounting frustration, college counselor Brandon Carter suggested she check out a school she’d never heard of— Agnes Scott College—a small liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, Georgia. While not an HBCU, it did tick a lot of her boxes. She booked a last-minute trip, a final stop on her college tour before heading home.

On arriving, her first contact was a student tour guide from the Republic of The Gambia who’d never been to the United States before attending Agnes Scott. “She’d applied from abroad and her very first experience in the United States was her movein day,” marvels Greene.

“She was so courageous. It made me feel brave and made me recognize my privilege. To that point, I had these ideas of what diversity was, what it would look like, but Agnes Scott gave me a whole new lens. It has a huge international population and I was excited to hear all those different stories and perspective. I knew that this was where I wanted to be.”

community and has developed close mentorship relationships with senior faculty; induction in the Leadership Society; and her successful campaign and election as Public Relations Coordinator for the Pre-Law Society.

Greene credits Agnes Scott and, more broadly, the women’s college experience as giving her a newfound sense of empowerment and confidence. “It is inspiring to see other women supporting each other and really going after what they want, letting no one stop them. At Agnes, we don’t have to compete. Each woman’s accomplishments are seen not just as hers, but as opening doors for everyone.” She adds, “Don’t get me wrong, competition is important in the professional world and we learn how to compete. But, when you know your worth, you can compete in the world a lot differently and more successfully.”

Greene—who is pre-law, majoring in political science, minoring in human rights, and pursuing a specialization in leadership development—has made the most of her first-year college experience. Highlights have included a study abroad in Ghana to research women in leadership; working in the admissions office where she enjoys interacting with the diverse

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DEMING HAINES (’17) COLORADO COLLEGE AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH

By all accounts, the last few years of Deming Haines’s CA experience were challenging ones. In 2014, he had transferred into CA as a junior—a tricky transition in and of itself—made all the more difficult by a serious medical condition. He was grappling with postconcussive syndrome which left him with debilitating daily headaches. The headaches would prove so disruptive as to necessitate repeating his junior year.

“It was one of the hardest times of my life,” recalls Haines. “Here it was my junior year, when I’m supposed to be applying to college, when I want to be able to present the best version of myself. My headaches knocked all that down.”

When it came time to apply to colleges, he found himself in uncharted waters. “I was a first for CA; no one had ever repeated their junior year. We weren’t sure how colleges would respond or what my realistic options were.” He also still had severe headaches to contend with and uncertainty around what would be feasible for him, physically and cognitively.

Despite the looming question marks, guided by college counselor Leya Jones, Haines threw himself into the process. His essays, a cathartic opportunity for self-reflection, focused on his challenges and the personal growth he’d achieved as a result.

“My headaches are a hardship, but, in many ways, I think it strengthened my applications,” he explains. “Colleges could see my perseverance. They could see everything that I had gone through and that, despite it all, I was still doing well academically, and I was still excited to go to college.”

At CA, Haines had loved physics, but an independent study mentored

by media arts teacher Steven O’Neill strengthened his passion for photography. He knew he wanted a school where he could explore both, preferably in small classes with ample opportunities for faculty connection, a dimension of his CA experience he had always appreciated.

It was ultimately Colorado College—a small liberal arts college in Colorado Springs that offers a nontraditional block curriculum—that captured his interest.

Jones had initially hoped the alternative approach might help to ease Haines’s transition to college.

Colorado College’s block curriculum offers an intensive, experiential deep

dive into one subject at a time. Students complete the equivalent number of credit hours as a typical semester-long course in just 3.5 short weeks thanks to daily classes ranging from three to six hours long. When one block ends, students enjoy a brief four-day break before jumping into the next.

“It’s really rigorous, perhaps even more so than traditional classes,” says Haines.

“There is a constant grind, but the structure lends itself to rewarding and immersive learning opportunities, like

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field trips and collaborative projects, that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.”

Challenging? Yes, but Haines enjoys it.

He’s now settled in as a studio arts major and is taking full advantage of the wideranging interdisciplinary offerings that will round out his requirements for graduation.

“The liberal arts requirements are designed to push you out of your comfort zone, to encourage exploration and discovery. I love that aspect of CC,” explains Haines. “You are exposed to subjects you might never have otherwise considered. For my social inequality credit, I took a block on nonviolence; it was the most eye-opening class I’ve ever taken.”

Another highlight has been collaborating with a team to invent and pitch an event-finding app—a concept he originated in an earlier design-thinking block—at CC’s Big Idea Competition, an entrepreneurial pitch competition that awards $50,000 to the top three teams (Haines’s team was among the top five).

Next fall, when he returns to campus, he will launch his first on-campus photography exhibition thanks to being awarded a $1,000 Venture Grant. “I’ve been so blown away by all the resources Colorado College has, all the many ways that it can help me do what I love.”

As for what comes next, Haines is certain that it will involve photography— a series of Haines’s nature photographs completed as part of his senior CA capstone project are on exhibit in the Center and Math and Science—but beyond that he’s not sure. “Right now, I am interested in aligning product photography with fine art photography, but, who knows, as I continue to learn I might go in a whole new direction.” He adds confidently, “I’m open to possibilities.”

BEN HATFIELD (‘14) UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

LIFELONG DREAMER

When Ben Hatfield was a toddler, his parents took him to an air show at Andrews Air Force base. He immediately loved seeing all the planes flying in the air and his love of all things aeronautic was locked in.

When it came time to consider college, the path to his dream of being a pilot and soaring the skies was stronger than ever.

It was no surprise that he set his aim on a United States service academy, with the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) being top choice.

Acceptance into a U.S. service academy is decidedly different from the typical collegiate process. In addition to an application to the academy, candidates must receive a nomination from their U.S. Senator or Congressman. It’s a complex process, involving many moving parts and copious amounts of essaywriting. Hatfield credits his college counselor, Leya Jones, with helping him navigate the process and keeping him sane and organized.

Hatfield began his Air Force journey in the summer of 2014. By his own account, his first year was arduous mentally, physically, and emotionally.

USAFA places a heavy value on well-roundedness, and his first-year

curriculum was a heavy lift of liberal arts coursework in tandem with Air Forcespecific classes like aeronautical and astronautical engineering and leadership.

Despite the challenges, Hatfield found himself academically well-prepared, his experience harkening back to the classrooms of CA. “I found myself emailing my CA teachers—even my seventh-grade teachers—to tell them how my experience in their class was still playing such a big role in my life,” laughs Hatfield.

And, bolstered by confidence from his CA experiences, he was able to find what some might consider a daunting campus culture and ethos, inspiring.

Opportunities within USAFA—what courses you are eligible to take, what clubs you can participate in, what planes you get to fly, and, ultimately, your placement post-Academy—are

all driven by class rank, which is distributed publicly every semester.

“While the environment is extremely competitive, everyone also knows that there is no way to make it through alone,” explains Hatfield. “You have to have people to lean on, to help you. The result is a unique environment where everyone is driven, constantly pushing themselves to be better, but also helping each other and pushing each other to be better.”

It was in his sophomore year—when cadets declare their majors (he chose Operations Research/Statistics), join clubs, and have more control over their coursework—that Hatfield truly began to hit his stride. He joined the United States Air Force Skydiving Team, “The Wings of Blue.” It was an intensive, but gratifying experience (requiring up to three-hours of practice time each day) that would ultimately take him all over the country and the world to perform in air shows to demonstrate the Air Force’s capabilities.

On campus, it meant that, at nineteenyears-old, he was also responsible for teaching first-year cadets how to do their very first solo jumps out of planes. He credits that experience of “helping other cadets get over their fear” as one of the highlights of his time at USAFA. Another highlight? A senior capstone project in which he investigated the resiliency of U.S. satellite networks and how the United States might be able to respond to various threats. He presented his research at a conference to professional Air Force statisticians, who were able to leverage his research and take it to the next level in the field.

Hatfield graduated USAFA in May 2018 and is now living his dream, training alongside officers from all over the world in the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.

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LEX-JORDAN IBEGBU (‘08) UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL & UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI LAW SCHOOL

VISION, AMBITION, AND WILL

Lex-Jordan Ibegbu transferred into CA from public school his freshman year.

“College choice is all about what you are exposed to,” Ibegbu explains. “Prior to CA, I didn’t really know what college I wanted to go to. I had always assumed I’d go to Shaw University. My parents attended Shaw University. I grew up across the street.”

Over the course of his four years at CA, however, his horizons broadened, with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill rising to near-mythical status in his mind.

“I had never been to Chapel Hill.

I didn’t know anyone that attended Carolina” says Ibegbu. “But, CA was sending a lot of students to Carolina.

I researched and discovered the kind of professionals that Carolina was producing. I wanted to be an attorney and I knew that Carolina had a strong political science department. I also knew that the Carolina name would open doors for me later in my career. Going there became one of my prayers.”

The transition to CA had been an academic adjustment, but one that he was able to manage after a year. Still, some thought Carolina might be a reach for Ibegbu. He credits his mother and college counselor Laura Sellers for believing in him enough to encourage him to pursue his dream and apply.

“Ms. Sellers was such a blessing. She told me exactly what I needed to do to make it happen. I took the SAT twice to attain a sufficient score” Ibegbu recalls. “I only needed to see the blueprint. Once I learned the process I could then apply it. I believed in myself. I believed in my spirit that I would go to Carolina.”

With clear goals, guideposts, and a healthy boost of confidence, Ibegbu threw himself into the application process, while also pursuing scholarship options. His clear-eyed tenacity was rewarded, and he was admitted to Carolina on a full scholarship as a Covenant Scholar.

As an African American student in a then-predominantly white CA community, the promise of Carolina’s diverse student body had also been a tremendous lure to Ibegbu. On campus, he took full advantage, immersing himself into academic, social, and extracurricular experiences through which he weaved a broad social network that would pay dividends throughout his college career and beyond.

His eyes set on law school, Ibegbu pursued a degree in political science. He also continued the student government work he’d enjoyed at CA and was elected as a student body congressman. It was an experience that afforded the opportunity to collaborate with an ever-widening circle of students, while also providing practical experience that he could leverage for law school.

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He pursued his other passions—music and drama—via dual minors. A rapper, Ibegbu used his music as a networking tool, performing for various student groups across campus and always making connections along the way.

“I credit Carolina with teaching me how to maneuver in different environments,” offers Ibegbu. “Every week I tried to connect with people from different insular communities throughout the campus. That might have been going to plays with my drama friends, or performing at events hosted by Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity (a Latino fraternity), or working on legislation with members of the Muslim Student Association, or seeking out mentor opportunities within Carolina’s vast alumni network. I was always consciously trying to broaden my horizons, to build that social capital.”

Ibegbu graduated from Carolina in 2012 and was admitted to the University of Miami School of Law, from which he graduated in 2015. He is now a practicing attorney in both Florida and North Carolina with the law office of Kurtz & Blum, PLLC. He currently has a focus in criminal law, with an eye for music/ entertainment issues, and engages in political consultant work for various candidates and politicians.

“As for the future, I am always seeking growth and knowledge. I want to become an immense legal mind, perhaps start my own practice that spans the eastern seaboard. I hope to exercise some influence over this country’s politics and economic policies.”

As always, Ibegbu is making a plan and charting a course for success: “I am setting the foundation for my dreams and working towards creating a lasting legacy.”

CARRIE MILLER (‘04) BOWDOIN COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, PERELMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE THE A-HA MOMENT

Carrie Miller credits the support of the CA community and the leadership skills she developed during her time as a student with giving her the confidence she needed to strike out beyond her comfort zone to find the perfect college.

“I knew I wanted to try something new, to explore a different part of the country, to try out an entirely different environment than what I was used to,” explains Miller.

She initially thought that she’d find that experience in a mid-size university in New England. It was only on the last-minute advice of favorite English teacher Sunny McDaniels (herself a Bowdoin alum) that she added Bowdoin College—a small liberal arts school on the coast of Maine—to her list.

“As soon as I walked onto the Bowdoin campus, I knew that this was the place. I felt so comfortable, so at home; everyone was so friendly. I loved the classes, the sunny days, the coastal campus, the engaged faculty, the intensely loyal alumni network” reflects Miller. “I’d always heard people talk about this intangible feeling you get when you find the school that’s the right fit. I never bought into that idea, never thought it would happen to me, until it did.”

On joining the student body, Miller immersed herself in campus life— moving into one of the social houses, joining the women’s rugby team, even working in the admissions office, first as a tour guide, and, later, as an applicant interviewer (a role she continues to enjoy as an alum).

Unsure of a major, she used her first semester to explore her myriad interests across gender studies, sociology, French, and science. “I wanted to take that first semester to just enjoy being at Bowdoin, to let myself be excited and inspired by all the possibilities,” explains Miller.

The next semesters saw Miller focus in on a career in women’s health, as she pursued pre-med prerequisites alongside classes for an interdisciplinary women studies major.

A culturally immersive semester-long study abroad in Botswana—during which Miller lived with a host family, studied the local language, completed coursework in HIV and public health, all while shadowing two days a week in the local healthcare clinic—proved to be transformative, triggering an interest in obstetrics and gynecology.

After graduating Bowdoin in 2008, Miller moved to Boston, taking a position within a child psychiatry research office from which she was able to explore a variety of roles within healthcare.

Realizing that she valued the patient-doctor relationship above all else, she enrolled in Harvard’s post-baccalaureate program to complete a handful of remaining classes required for medical school admission and took the MCAT— all while working full-time.

Miller was admitted to the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 2011 and started an OBGYN residency at Penn in 2015. She graduated in June 2019 and will soon be moving to Minnesota with her husband (a fellow doctor and Bowdoin alum) and young daughter, where she has accepted a position within a local hospital system.

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ANASTASIA MORGUS (‘14) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

CONFIDENT VISION

You might call Anastasia Morgus the poster child for “owning your college process.”

By her junior year, she had identified exactly what she wanted for college: a strong international business school where she could study Asian global markets and Chinese—interests piqued during years of study at CA and a particularly influential World Language Exchange trip.

As for the type of school and campus culture, Morgus—who had straight A’s and tested well—never felt compelled to apply for “reach schools” or the Ivy League. “I knew from the outset that wasn’t what I wanted; I was totally happy with a state school,” she explains. “I wanted something bigger, somewhere that had team spirit, more sports—an atmosphere more akin to the universities that I’d been exposed to growing up in the Triangle.”

In a process where too often peer pressure and other peoples’ expectations can play a role, Morgus enjoyed a comparatively low-stress experience by listening to her inner voice. She credits

counselor Leya Jones for supporting her choice to attend a state school.

“She really propelled me into being comfortable with what I was actually looking for,” explains Morgus. “She suggested the University of South Carolina. Even though it is the number one international undergraduate business school in the country, it wasn’t on my radar.”

On her campus tour, she immediately fell under USC’s spell. “The gorgeous campus, the athletic ethos, the classes, it was exactly what I envisioned—the quintessential collegiate experience,” says Morgus. “I had been nervous going from a graduating class of 100+ people to a freshman class of 5,000+, but once I stepped on to campus, all that fell away.”

On admission, Morgus was invited to participate in the Capstone Scholars Program, a two-year enrichment program focused on fostering community impact and leadership. It offered an instant built-in community.

“We all lived together in the same dorm,

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would do service projects together, and hold social events; it made USC seem much smaller.”

She enjoyed her academics. USC’s international business curriculum requires a double major—one in international business and another functional major (Morgus chose operations and supply chain)—and a language minor (Chinese). She spent spring semester her junior year abroad, studying in Shanghai.

At the end of her senior year, she had the opportunity to work closely with one of her professors on a semester-long real-world consulting project. It would prove to be a door-opening experience, securing her a recommendation for a post-graduation appointment in the rotational training program of multinational technology leader ABB. “It’s like the European version of GE,” she explains. “I never would have gotten into the program without the connections that I made at USC.” At ABB, Morgus is rotating through their offices, learning the real-world ins and outs of each facet of supply chain management. “It’s one thing to study it in the classroom, and another to actively practice it in the field,” she says.

Morgus will complete ABB’s management training program this September and will transition to a permanent position in the company’s supply chain department. She’ll have the opportunity to put all her language skills to good use during a country-swap with the Chinese office.

“That’s my goal,” Morgus says. “For now, I’m trying to learn, to say yes to as many things as I can to build up my experience.”

RITU PRASAD (’10) UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, MEDILL SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM

FOLLOWING HER HEART

The importance of college was always at the forefront of Ritu Prasad’s CA experience.

“My parents immigrated to the United States from India when I was child,” Prasad explains. “It had always been important to them that I attend an American college—it was one of the big reasons they decided to leave.

They wanted me to have the best opportunities, and the Indian education system was a lot less choice-based, a lot less flexible.”

Themselves unfamiliar with the American college system and application process, Prasad and her family appreciated the strong support system offered by Laura Sellers, Prasad’s college counselor.

“As newcomers, it was easy to freak out about all the details, the wealth of information to sort through—the SATs, the applications, the deadlines, the overwhelming choices. Ms. Sellers was always the voice of calm and reason, helping to set out the facts and requirements and providing important guidance.”

Working with the college counselors, Prasad made a list of what attributes she most desired for prospective colleges.

“Throughout my time at CA, I had the opportunity to build great relationships with my teachers. I’m still friends with some of them today; Vic Quesada, Donna Eason, and Dr. Robert Coven changed my life!” gushes Prasad. “For college, I wanted small classes that offered similar opportunities to form those deep relationships and to grow and develop alongside my teachers.”

A lover of both science and English, she also wanted a college that prided itself on the well-roundedness of its students—one that offered a strong interdisciplinary curriculum and the flexibility to explore multiple disciplines simultaneously. An exceptional study abroad program rounded out her list.

She created her initial college prospect list—adding in the University of Chicago on the advice of alum Brent Rappaport (’10)—and culled it by taking full advantage of CA-hosted visits from a variety of college admissions officers.

“Those visits with the admissions counselors from all those different schools that CA offered was really useful and played a role in shaping my decisions” notes Prasad.

One such meeting with a Columbia University admissions counselor made it clear that Columbia was not a good fit, while others affirmed her interest in Northwestern and the University of Chicago. A later campus tour of the University of Chicago would prove that it was the school for her. Excited, she applied early decision and was accepted.

Both of Prasad’s parents are physicians and following in their footsteps had been an early goal that she set for herself.

During her first couple of years, she pursued her tandem interests, taking pre-med classes while also majoring in English. A study abroad to Paris to explore astrophysics would be a highlight of her undergraduate years.

In her senior year—just one credit away from securing a double major in biology, while signing up to take the MCAT—it hit her: she didn’t want to be a doctor. “I had been warring with my two passions, science and writing, for my entire undergraduate career. I suddenly realized that my true love was writing.”

Just like that, she changed gears, graduating with a degree in English and a minor in biology. “It was jarring,” Prasad admits. “I’d had a ten-year plan for years, but, suddenly, I didn’t know what would come next.”

Soon after graduation, after a lessthan-gratifying internship and foray into communications work, Prasad began to investigate graduate schools. She was accepted to Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism after a last-minute application and awarded an academic scholarship.

She completed her master’s degree in journalism in 2016. A journalism residency with the BBC in London would prove life-changing, leading to her current full-time position with the BBC’s North American bureau in Washington, DC. There, she’s living her dream as a multimedia journalist covering features and general news: “It’s work that I believe in, work that means something.”

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Twenty-seven

ILAN SZULIK (’14) WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS A REWARDING LAST-MINUTE REACH

Like many students, Ilan Szulik’s first pass at a college list read like it came straight out of a U.S. News and World Report ranking.

“Initially, I focused on those schools you hear about growing up, the ones that have big name recognition,” explains Szulik. Made without a clear vision of what he was looking for beyond a “good school,” his list proved overwhelming.

College counselor Laura Sellers suggested a different approach. She encouraged Szulik to identify the specific attributes he was looking for in a college. As she helped him focus in on the experience he hoped to have, a more concrete list emerged.

Szulik wanted a mid-size school, one that was large enough that everybody didn’t know everybody else but small enough he could establish an identity and make an impact on campus. Strong academics—particularly a strong undergraduate business program— was paramount (also important was a culture that was not rife with cutthroat competition). Lastly, he sought somewhere that emphasized student life.

Sellers compiled a lengthy list of schools that matched the new profile.

However, it was her suggestion of Washington University in St. Louis, a school that Szulik had never heard of, that would prove to be “the one.”

Initially, Szulik was skeptical. WashU was very competitive. With nearly Ivy Leaguelevel test score requirements, admission felt like a reach. But thanks to the encouragement of Sellers, her discovery of a last-minute due-the-next-day scholarship opportunity at WashU’s Olin Business School, and a healthy dose of “what do I have to lose,” he decided to apply.

“I went straight from Ms. Sellers’s office to the library, filled out the scholarship

application, completed my essays in a matter of hours, and hit submit,” he recalls. “I didn’t let anyone edit my essays. I didn’t even show them to my parents. I wanted them to be my voice. I wanted to get in as me.”

Months later, the Dean of Olin Business School called with exciting news. Not only did Szulik get in, he was a finalist for the Dean’s Scholarship for Business and was invited to campus for an interview. It was a shock; convinced that his application was a longshot, Szulik had never even planned a visit.

On arrival to WashU, Szulik discovered a beautiful campus with appealing access to St. Louis, but what truly impressed him was the sense of community. “The academics were strong, but there was no sense of competition. Kids were staying up late at night in the dorms to help each other succeed,” he recalls. “Lots of schools try to cultivate that kind of atmosphere, but WashU really pulls it off.”

Offered the scholarship, his decision was “a no-brainer.”

Szulik hit the ground running.

Accepted into the business major, he took business courses from his first day on campus. “Most business school programs make you wait two years before you can take classes,” explains Szulik. “I got to spread my business coursework over four years. That let me experiment and explore, develop relationships, and figure out what parts of business I enjoyed.”

The summer of his freshman year he participated in a study-abroad in Israel that offered a crash-course in entrepreneurialism. It sparked a passion

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that he pursued throughout his WashU career, even prompting him to co-found WashU’s Entrepreneurship Club in partnership with a St. Louis-based tech accelerator his sophomore year.

His senior year, he formed a team with a biomedical engineering student and a world-class cancer surgeon to develop a new surgical device (Szulik, who had no medical experience, created the business plan). The team ultimately presented their concept at a large pitch competition at Rice University, where they competed for real funding.

Szulik also threw himself into WashU student life. “All of the collective energy that goes into watching Division 1 sports at other schools, goes toward student activities at WashU,” explains Szulik. “There is a healthy pressure to participate in clubs and a wide selection to choose from. Once you find your place, it can be really great.”

For Szulik, participation in various student activities—the club golf team, a business fraternity, and a couple of other clubs—was enriching. However, it was with one of WashU’s a cappella groups that he truly found his place.

“At WashU, a cappella is a big deal,” explains Szulik. “Our group—The Stereotypes—became my family. We lived together for most of college, traveled to sing in cool places—Carnegie Hall, a Carolina Hurricanes game, and other NHL games– and participated in international competitions. It was a lot of work, but so rewarding.”

After graduating in 2018, Szulik began working in Morgan Stanley’s investment management division in the strategic initiatives group. There, he helps to manage just under $500 billion in individual and institutional investments and spends his days working on innovative data-driven projects geared towards changing the technological landscape of the financial services industry.

While his career tasks him to look to the horizon, reflecting on his experience of discovering and applying to WashU “at the last minute,” Szulik takes life dayby-day: “I don’t want to miss the next great opportunity.”

ANDY WALSH (’09) NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY & UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA LAW SCHOOL

SOMETHING TO PROVE

By his junior year at CA, Andy Walsh was grappling with his future.

An accomplished hockey player, he toyed with the idea of taking a gap year to play competitively. He credits college counselor Laura Sellers, his fellow students, and a newfound passion for political science and law—courtesy of RJ Pellicciotta’s advanced United States government class—with helping to set him on the college track.

“CA helped push me to focus on my educational outcomes and to think broader,” explains Walsh. “My friends were all getting into college and I got to a place where I wanted that for myself, I wanted to be part of a great college experience.”

And what did his ideal experience look like? He knew that he wanted to look at local cost-effective options—those that offered a big school experience, flexible curricula, a strong athletics culture, and competitive sports teams. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University were obvious choices.

Walsh got into State early action, but Carolina rejected him. “Not even the waitlist,” he laughs. “Initially, it was a little hard to take, but, truthfully, that rejection was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It made me even more

appreciative of the opportunity at State, and it also gave me a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I wanted to prove that Carolina missed out by not admitting me.”

Right then and there, Walsh made three goals that would define his undergraduate college experience: to participate in clubs, get academic honors, and get into law school.

On campus, Walsh declared a political science major and immediately joined the club hockey team, a familiar experience that had the added benefit of providing an instant friend group.

Wanting to get involved in something that would help with law school admission, he opted for student government, winning his first senate seat his freshman year. It would be the beginning of a student government career that would span all four years and include three senate seats, an appointment to the executive branch, and, ultimately, election as student body president his senior year.

Still, the transition from CA’s small community to the enormous 35,000+ student population was daunting in those early semesters; it didn’t always feel like the right choice. After considering a transfer, he decided instead to “doubledown” on what it was that he liked most about State: the traditions of the university.

“My parents never went to a four-year college, so growing up I didn’t have that immediate allegiance to a school that a lot of other kids did,” he explains. “I always thought that connection, that sense of

pride was cool. I wanted to help cultivate those feelings for students that, like me, didn’t have them walking in the door.”

Over the next few years, Walsh oversaw a variety of traditions-driven projects, including getting a living mascot for the athletics department; overseeing the “Coaches’ Corner” project that unveiled statues of retired basketball coaches, including Jim Valvano and Kay Yow; and creating “the brick,” a living scrapbook/ guide to State’s traditions that is given to every incoming freshman as an invitation to engage.

On graduating Phi Beta Kappa with honors in 2013, Walsh focused on acquiring work experience in preparation for law school. He interned first at SAS, in the Government Relations Department, before transferring into a full-time position at Smith Anderson, one of the largest firms in North Carolina. His mentors at Smith Anderson encouraged his application to law school and in 2016 he was admitted to the University of North Carolina’s School of Law. Walsh graduated UNC’s School of Law in 2019 and is currently studying for the bar. He looks forward to stepping into his new role in the Charlotte, NC office of the international law firm Cadwalader where he’ll be working on fund finance and corporate law.

His reflection on ultimately being both a member of the Wolfpack and a Tar Heel?

“I think State and Carolina do a really good job of identifying the right people for their campuses. I’m so grateful for that,” Walsh reflects. “Having been there for grad school, I can say with certainty it would not have been a good fit for me as an undergrad. At State, I had just what I needed and every opportunity to prove myself. If you work hard, there are amazing opportunities that will open to you.”

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Twenty-nine

CHASE WILSON (‘14) NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY REACHING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Chase Wilson started his college search on autopilot.

Born and raised in North Carolina, he’d had a lifetime of exposure to local universities. When it came time to apply, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Elon College were obvious choices. Familiar with Boston, he added Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern as his “plan b” schools.

“Honestly, my thinking was about as un-critical as it could have been,” reflects Wilson. “I knew what schools most people expected me to apply to and didn’t question it. A lot of my friends were going to local schools; I always expected to go where they went. I just wanted somewhere I’d feel comfortable.

I assumed I’d go to Carolina. I just knew I’d get into State.”

A deferred decision from State and a waitlist placement at Carolina offered a sobering wake-up call, forcing introspection. “Suddenly, I had to rethink my entire process. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to do what I had always expected to,” says Wilson. “I had to look into other options and evaluate what I wanted.”

College counselor Laura Sellers proved instrumental to that process. “She encouraged me to think outside the box, to think bigger than what I had originally envisioned for myself,” says Wilson.

“Her enthusiasm towards all the other options helped me to consider those that I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

In the end, it was Northeastern University that would rise to the top of his list. Not because it was a comfortable Boston choice, but because of its innovative co-op program that focuses on hands-on learning and workforce preparedness.

“You go to college to get a job when you graduate, but some schools simply have you in a classroom trying to

teach applicable skills without the opportunity to apply them,” reflects Wilson. “Northeastern’s philosophy is that extended experiential learning in the workplace will help you be more prepared and employable when you graduate.”

Further upping Northeastern’s appeal, it didn’t hurt that Wilson’s admission came with an intriguing twist. He was accepted into the “N.U. in” program that required he spend his very first semester of college abroad. It was an experience that would prove transformational, setting the tone for the rest of his college journey.

“For my first six months of college, I studied at a partner university in Melbourne, Australia. It was a completely different experience from what I was used to in North Carolina,” reflects Wilson. “It opened my eyes to what college was really about. It wasn’t about staying in the Triangle, or in my comfort zone, but about exploring beyond it (and, in Melbourne, I was way beyond it).”

Northeastern students can choose to complete two or three six-month immersive, for-credit co-op internships as part of their undergraduate curriculum. Co-ops are extensive and competitive, with students applying and interviewing to secure placements, just as they would a real job. Professional development classes on topics like interview skills and resume creation offer pragmatic advice to support students.

Interested in business, Wilson pursued co-ops that let him investigate different aspects of the financial world. They would offer some of his most valuable academic experiences, ultimately guiding him to his current career in accounting.

“My co-op with GE Aviation was cool,” recalls Wilson. “Walking across the manufacturing floor to get to my office—it was a very different environment than what I was used to. I was working around aircraft engines, but learning real financial

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management, analyzing the costs of parts, of waste, of unionized labor.”

Another placement with mutual fund company Eaton Vance offered an invaluable introduction into the world of investment and trading. “I was putting in long, intense hours on the global trading floor. I had relatively important work for an intern and got to see all the different things that the job requires as a result.

Honestly, it turned me off!”

To Wilson, the opportunity to explore, to identify what will and won’t work in the real world before graduation, is part of the beauty of the co-op approach. “I loved my experience at Eaton Vance because my whole college career I thought I had wanted to focus on trading, but this taught me that I didn’t, that it wasn’t a good fit. It helped me realize what I did want to do, which was accounting.”

With a clear vision, Wilson graduated in 2018 and earned his CPA. Thanks to a Northeastern program that allows undergraduates to complete master’s degree coursework, he completed his Master’s in Accounting just three short months after that.

Wilson currently works as an auditor for global financial firm KPMG, where he assesses the financial health of organizations. For now, he’s content and focused on amassing experience that he hopes to one day apply to his larger dream: starting his own business.

WORDS OF WISDOM

CA alums share their best advice on the college selection process.

“Put things in perspective. There are a lot of ways to be happy and a lot of ways to find where you will be happiest. One or two decisions or results are not going to make or break your life. It is all part of what will make you be you; it’s the journey.” — ESRA BALKAS (‘17)

“While I had that a-ha moment, to be honest, I probably would have been happy a lot of different places. College is about the community you find and the alumni network you build. At the end of the day, overstressing about the perfect place—if it doesn’t hit you on the college tour trail—isn’t necessary. You’ll find your people wherever you go.” — CARRIE MILLER (‘04)

“Your worth is not measured by your productivity. Your worth is not measured by your metrics. Your worth is not measured by your acceptances. You are already worthy.” — KENDALL BELL (‘15)

“Take the process step-by-step, one thing at a time, and don’t let it overwhelm you and stress you out.

College selection is a huge decision, but it should also be a fun decision.” — ANASTASIA MORGUS (‘14)

“Quiet the noise. This is the first big decision that you are making as an adult. This is about your life and no one else can live it for you. It’s important to stay true to yourself, to your own goals and aspirations.” — ZIYANA GREENE (‘18)

“Keep an open mind. Pay attention to your inner voice. Go to a school that will let you experiment. Be okay with failure. It is okay to apply to places and not get in. It will all be okay if you approach it with the right attitude.” — RITU PRASAD (‘10)

“This can be a stressful time and you never know what your fellow students are going through. Be respectful of your peers. Gossiping creates a toxic culture that doesn’t benefit anyone. Instead, try to relax and embrace your own journey.” — DEMING HAINES (‘17)

“Don’t go by rankings; that is short-sighted. Break down what you are looking for in a school to the most granular level possible and work backwards from there.” — ILAN SZULIK (‘14)

“Find the school that is right for you and right for your dreams. If you are trying to change yourself for the school, it won’t work. The school has to fit you.”

“Keep an open mind and look for yourself—not for what your friends are looking for, not for what your parents are looking for. The most important thing is to find the right fit. Reach out to alums and do college visits to help identify what feels right.” — ANDY WALSH (‘09)

— BEN HATFIELD (‘14)

“Don’t be afraid to reach. No one knows what you can do but you.” — LEX-JORDAN IBEGBU (‘08)

“Remember that your college choice is about what you want your life to be in four years, not just what you want it to be for four years.” — CHASE WILSON (‘14)

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Thirty-one

Sixteen years ago, Assistant Athletic Director Ray Pope never saw a place for himself in the classroom. In the summer of 2003, his phone was ringing off the hook; Cary Academy called daily, in search of a new baseball coach. His answer every single time: “I’m not interested.”

TOP OF HIS GAME

Coach Pope—who teaches physical education and surpassed 200 wins as CA’s varsity baseball coach this past May— recalls, “I had no plans to be a high school coach; never in my wildest dreams did I think this was in my future.”

To this point in life, Pope had been many things: a baseball player for the Army, senior management at McDonald’s, scout for the Atlanta Braves, private baseball coach, husband, and father, but there was one thing he was certain he had never been. “I’d never been a teacher; it didn’t seem like something I could do.”

Cary Academy wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Pope had earned a stellar reputation with CA administrators and several parents through his work as a coach with Grand Slam sports, where he worked with aspiring baseball players to elevate their skills and their outlook through private lessons.

Convinced to come in for a meeting, a conversation with then-Athletic Co-Director Kim Cherre gave him a new frame of reference. “I came away realizing that, as a coach, I was always teaching. If I could be a teacher out on the field, I could do it in a classroom.”

Cary Academy finally got their “yes.”

years. “He helped us grow as players and people, preaching that it’s the ‘little things’—things like character, dedication, and attention to detail— that win games, that matter beyond baseball.”

While Pope, who describes himself as an “old school coach,” knows how to light a fire under his students, he also knows how to support and enable them to reach the next level. “My kids know I love them. They know I care about their success, both on the field and in the classroom.”

“On senior day, Coach asks each graduating player for a hat from their college,” explains Reich. “Those hats line the walls of his office, alongside trophies, bats, and team pictures. It shows just how invested he is in his players’ lives and how proud he is of CA baseball.”

Pope acknowledges that the nature of athletics means that he might be leading his players and students into situations where they must learn to cope with challenges, adversity, and even disappointments that can cause friction in the moment. “Sometimes they make mistakes and that can lead to serious talks,” he offers.

As a result, he notes that he might not always be the favorite teacher when it comes time for students to graduate. He’s come to learn, however, that lessons not always appreciated in the moment have a way of becoming understood and respected over time: “One way I measure success is how many weddings I get invited to,” he quips.

Let’s just say he’s been to more than a few.

CHANGING MINDSETS

During During his first year at Cary Academy, Pope’s varsity baseball team won just four games, but it wasn’t the number of losses that concerned him; it was his players’ mindset.

“I heard kids in the dugout, before the first game, wondering how badly they were going to lose that day. No matter what, I knew the first thing that needed to change was the culture. We hadn’t even played a game yet and they were talking about losing. Don’t get me wrong: I like winning, but only if we win the right way.”

One of Pope’s first changes to CA’s program was to implement year-round baseball workouts. They allowed him to build deeper connections with his players that extended beyond the short season. He focused on rewarding students’ work ethic, determination, dedication, and outlook, in addition to improving their athletic skills.

It did not take long for Pope’s efforts to have an impact. The Chargers won a conference championship during just his second season as head coach.

“My coaching philosophy is about planting seeds and empowering people—not just on the athletic field—but in the classroom, and their broader lives. I try to take the students we have and help make them better.”

Pope is a big believer in the power of athletics to transform, to convey big life lessons. “Since I was nine or ten, sports have been a stabilizing force in my life. When I’m stressed out, I fall back on the lessons I’ve learned from them.” He credits athletics with providing him a moral compass throughout his own life. His baseball career has taught him to listen to those he leads; to appreciate those who support him—most notably for Pope, his wife of more than 40 years, Judy Pope; and to recognize the importance of “taking care of business” in life beyond the playing field.

It is exactly these kind of personal lessons and experiences that Pope hopes to impart to his students and players. He makes sure they know his guidance comes from a place of affection, a desire to make sure that their time in Upper School will be “four years they can be proud of.”

“Coach Pope was a great role model,” offers Justin Reich (’16), who played for Pope for four

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Four years ago, Pope was asked by Athletic Director Kevin Jones to attend a workshop by Jeff Janssen, a world-wide leader in athletic leadership. It would prove to be a pivotal experience.

Inspired by the workshop, Pope proposed an after-school Athletic Leadership Academy for Cary Academy students, athletes, faculty, and staff. Over the academic year, participants

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would meet to learn how to better listen, respect, energize, and empower their peers.

And, any student interested in captaining a team would be required to participate.

Now entering its fourth year, the program—led by Pope and his son Brandon, a fellow coach and CA physical education teacher—mentors 75 students annually.

Half of the students are “emerging” leaders attending for the first time; the other half are veterans who, having learned the skills during a previous Leadership Academy, are tasked with applying those lessons to the real world.

Emerging and veteran leaders alike meet six times over the year to role-play scenarios and discuss the finer points of identifying the needs of their peers and teammates.

Pope runs a tight ship. He locks the doors promptly when class begins and tolerates no unexcused absences. But don’t mistake accountability for inflexibility.

Like other courses at CA, students in the Leadership Academy have a role to play in shaping their learning. Every year, the program has evolved, with changes directed by student input. The length of individual classes, the pedagogical format, the topics of focus, the timing after school, and even the food served, have all been reworked, at some point, to address student needs or feedback.

Listening to the needs of his students is a key tenet of Pope’s leadership philosophy, which he hopes to impart to his students, whether or not they seek a leadership role.

“Not everyone wants to be a leader, but they can learn the skills and use them throughout their lives, in school, work, and home.”

of administration, coaching staff, faculty, parents, and players to make that happen.”

Pope calls his current role at CA a “dream job”—both for allowing him to work alongside his son, Brandon, and for the life-changing chance to teach.

“Teaching is a two-way street. I learn more from the kids than they do from me, sometimes. And, there is always more to know, whether it’s about life, school, or baseball; if you stop learning, then you’re doing something wrong.”

Pope’s passion for teaching extends beyond his formal roles in the baseball dugout and Fitness Center. He regularly mentors other CA coaches and aids in the Middle School student experience by providing lessons on sportsmanship, self-confidence, teamwork, and work ethic, all of which he models in his day-to-day campus life.

On most days, Pope is the first to arrive on campus and one of the last to leave. “At the end of each day, I want to be able to ask myself, ‘Did I do the best job I could today?’ And then I get up and do it, again, tomorrow.”

At the heart of his work ethic? A love of baseball: “I love it mostly for the life lessons it teaches: leadership, respect, how to handle failure, how to work together as a team, how to care about your teammates, how to celebrate a teammate’s success, how to put the needs of the team ahead of your own. It takes a lot of skill to play the game. Trying to hit a round ball with a round bat? Not everybody can do that. Oh, did I mention how fun it is? Not a better game.”

GET UP AND DO IT AGAIN, TOMORROW

As is typical of his humble leadership style, Pope didn’t call attention to surpassing 200 wins. He wasn’t even aware of the milestone until Head of School Mike Ehrhardt stopped by his office to offer congratulations.

True to form, his focus was already on to the next challenge. To Pope, it was just another win by his players and certainly one he wouldn’t take the credit for alone: “200 wins?

One person can’t do that—it takes a coalition

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Alumni News

2018

In April, Thomas Hoffmann’s Team 23 won the 2019 Data Open National Championship at the New York Stock Exchange.

Hoffman’s four-person team competed against graduate students, postdocs, and other college students, winning a cash prize of $100,000.

2016

UNC's 2019 Undergraduate Public Service Award was presented to Emma Ehrhardt for her work as founder and co-chair of Stage Play, an organization that provides acting classes for children with autism.

2015

Kristin Andrejko published an article in the January-February 2019 issue of Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease. She will begin a PhD in Epidemiology at the University of California at Berkeley this fall.

Anna Jenkins, who graduated from Duke University in May 2019, is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Germany.

Josh Milligan graduated Summa Cum Laude from the NCSU/ UNC joint Honors Biomedical Engineering program in May. He will start a PhD in BME at Duke University this fall.

2011

Alex Evans married Lauren Kester in Asheville, NC, on June 1, 2019. Several fellow members of the Class of 2011 attended the wedding festivities, including Kenji Jameel, Maggie Kneifel, Hannah Kisley, Michael Laverick, Patrick Luo, Alex

Spancake, Dylan Sweetwood, and Andrew Tie. 1

1

2008

Julie Cooper and her husband, Eli, welcomed their first child, Nora June Colman, on April 16, 2019.

Mark Easley lives in the Research Triangle and works as a marketing manager for Texas Instruments, Inc., where he supports engineering colleges on the east coast with semiconductor technology, workshops, and curriculum consulting through the TI University Program.

2

Michelle (Luo) Petkov recently relocated from West Palm Beach, FL to New Jersey to work for Bristol-Myers Squibb.

She and her husband, Atanas, recently met up with Rachel (Parks) Radnitzer in Princeton, NJ for their college reunion. 2

2004

Brent Collins and his wife, Megan, moved back to Raleigh, before welcoming their first child, Cameron Elizabeth Collins, on May 6, 2019. Brent is also working towards his MBA at Baylor University, anticipating a 2020 graduation. 3

2007

Rachel (Parks) Radnitzer lives with her husband, Isaac, and son, Caleb, in New York City, where she works for JP Morgan Chase. She recently completed her 25th marathon, a natural by-product of her CA cross-country experiences. 2

Carolyn Usanis graduated from Columbia Medical School in May. She will start residency training in psychiatry at Duke University Hospital in July 2019.

2006

3

2003

In June, Jhanalyn Blount was sworn into the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, enabling her to argue cases before the Supreme Court.

BOSTON ALUMNI DINNER

Paul Laurent and his wife Amanda started a new company, Epic Nature Tours, offering guided eco-tours to Costa Rica.

2005

Whitney Hill became engaged to William Davis during a surprise vacation to Paris and Beaune, France. The couple currently lives in Charlotte. The wedding will take place next spring in Cary.

In May, a group of CA alums came together to swap stories and catch up at the Grafton Street Pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

They were joined by college counselor Laura Sellers.

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Thirty-five

The Big Question

IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE, WHEN AND WHERE WOULD YOU GO?

Thirty-six

GRANT WARD

SALMA SAID

FREDDIE LUND

EMILY WANG

I would go back in time to the age of the dinosaurs to see what they looked like because we don't really know what their skin color was.

I would go back to the first Olympics because I bet it would be entertaining.

I would probably go back in time so I could finish my World Cultures homework because I still need to do that.

I would go to Yorktown, Virginia at the end of the Revolutionary War to see the British surrender to George Washington.

Class of 2025

Class of 2019

CARSON POLLOCK HEATHER CLARKSON

Director of Admissions November 1, 1604—Whitehall Palace, London. I’d get to see the very first performance of Othello, my favorite play by William Shakespeare.

IAN WASHABAUGH

Class of 2019

I would go back to ancient Greece and compare the culture to what I learned in school to see what we got right and wrong. (And, I also love Greek food).

Class of 2025

Class of 2025

SIERRA NESBITH

I would probably go to the mountains during the ice age, when the ice age ended, to see how they survived climate change.

Class of 2022

I would go back to April 1912 and captain the Californian and direct them to rescue everyone on the Titanic.

HAN ZHANG

CHIOMA MODILIM

I would go to the future because it's exciting to see something that you don't know.

If I could go back in time, I think I'd go back to when my mom was a kid. I don't really have any photos from back then and I would love to see what she was like.

Class of 2021

Class of 2022

VIKRAM KAMARETTI

Class of 2023

To the beginning of time, to see how everything was created.

CURT SHERMAN

Class of 2019

I would go back and visit my grandparents because they passed away a while ago.

Class of 2022

LESTER TURNER

Band Director

My date would have to be 1824—the year Beethoven premiered his final and most famous Ninth Symphony.

He was completely deaf by this time in his life and still managed to take part in the premiere, despite not even being able to hear the orchestra. He had to be physically turned around to see the audience giving him a standing ovation. To be a part of that important event in musical history would be beyond amazing. Plus, I think I could rock that 1800 waistcoat and overcoat look!

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