The Magazine of Cary Academy SPECIAL ISSUE | SUMMER 2022
We had much to celebrate this year, even if we were not able to throw the type of party we envisioned
As you peruse this issue of ?, The Magazine of Cary Academy, you should see evidence of that continuing commitment to our founding mission in the stories from our alumni, founding faculty members, or students engaged in a wonderfully diverse range of academic pursuits. Along the way, we hope you enjoy a walk down memory lane as we reflect on 25 years of discovery, innovation, collaboration, and excellence!
Dear Friends of Cary Academy,
FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
• “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.”
•
“The seven years at Cary Academy really defined my personality and who I am today. The biggest impact was being in a community of other students who were the right combination of intellectually curious, ambitious, and passionate. Many of these people are still close friends.”
Mike Ehrhardt, Head of School
Duringpre-pandemic.thismomentous year, it is important to give thanks to the school’s founders, who set this glorious school in motion and still help guide us today. Cary Academy was established through the generous philanthropy of Dr. James H. and Ann Goodnight and John and Ginger Sall. They envisioned a college preparatory school that would serve as an engine for student-centered, technology-rich instructional innovation embedded in a liberal arts tradition. Our school’s inspiring and inclusive culture stems from its powerful mission to be a learning community committed to discovery, innovation, collaboration, and excellence.
Welcome to the 25th Anniversary edition of ?, The Magazine of Cary Academy!
• “Cary Academy fostered my inquisitive nature, and the teachers shared their joys in their given subjects. I learned to look for that joy in any new subject.”
Despite our still young age by independent school standards, we’ve been able to establish a remarkable reputation for academic excellence both locally and nationally. We are proud that this past year saw records or near records in applications, retention, and annual giving—and that our graduates matriculated to over 50 different and wondrously outstanding colleges and universities.
At the core of our success is the school’s commitment to preparing students for their future, not our past, and to give them the confidence and skills to engage with the world beyond our walls. As such, our alumni report a high degree of appreciation for what Cary Academy afforded them. Let me illustrate by sharing three quotes from our most recent alumni survey:
How has CA led the way in innovation for 25 years? Many choose to devote their well-deserved vacation to professional development opportunities—translating personal interests into incredible future learning experiences for CA students.
2
24
In this issue
Speaking Truth
Infectiously curious Upper School Spanish teacher Vic Quesada-Herrera has been sharing his lifelong passion for culture, travel, and language with CA students for 25 years, cultivating empathetic global citizens ready to engage fully and appreciate the world beyond their doors.
9
What better way to put an exclamation point on our first 25 years than a week spent learning, collaborating, and envisioning the future with 150 other educational innovators from all over North America! Get a sneak peek at just what CA has in the works as the host of the Independent School Experiential Education Network’s (ISEEN) Winter Institute.
Since our founding, athletics has been integral to the CA experience. Now, a new fund—the Charge Ahead Fund—helps to ensure that all our scholar-athletes have the resources and support to dream big about the future.
Looking back. Charging ahead.
While examples across campus abound, one needs to look no further than the Upper School’s independent study program to see just how CA’s mission comes to life in students’ hands—to incredible, enlightening, and transformative results.
Supercharging Athletics
Window to the World
Leading the Way
28
42NewsAlumni18Snapshots 46ReportAnnual
14
As a community, CA spent its 25th anniversary year honoring our past, celebrating our shared present, and thinking big about the bright future ahead.
Summer School
36
12
The Magazine of Cary Academy SUMMER 2022 COMMUNICATIONS TEAM Mandy Dailey Ellie DIRECTORDIRECTORThePHOTOGRAPHYDeanSammonsSaulsCACommunityHEADOFSCHOOLMichaelEhrhardtOFENROLLMENTMANAGEMENTHeatherClarksonOFCOMMUNICATIONSMandyDaileyHEADOFUPPERSCHOOLRobinFolletDEANOFFACULTYMartinaGreeneDIRECTOROFFACILITIESTonyHintonHEADOFMIDDLESCHOOLJosetteHuntressHollandDIRECTOROFEQUITYANDCOMMUNITYENGAGEMENTDanielleJohnson-WebbDIRECTOROFTECHNOLOGYANDINNOVATIONKarenMcKenzieDIRECTOROFDEVELOPMENTAliPageCHIEFFINANCIALOFFICERDeborahReichelispublishedtwotimesayearbyCaryAcademy. CARY ACADEMY 1500 N. Harrison Avenue Cary, North Carolina 27513 (919) 677-3873 www.caryacademy.org
An artist, businessman, educator, mentor, and cultural ambassador, Josh Rowsey, ’09, is on a quest to empower young people—including CA Middle Schoolers—to find their authentic voices through the power and language of hip-hop.
Independent Thinkers
25 years ago, an intrepid group of education visionaries, technologists, and operations experts were tapped by our founders Jim and Ann Goodnight and John and Ginger Sall to design a ground-breaking, studentcentered, technology-forward, mold-busting school for the future. Cary Academy was born.
ahead.Chargingback.Looking
To our founders and board members, we offer heartfelt thanks for your enduring vision and tireless support. To our faculty and staff, your commitment to our mission— the way you bring it to life in and out of your classrooms—is breathtaking. To our students and alumni, you are the beating heart of Cary Academy, the very embodiment of our mission in the world. And to our community and all who support us, we could never do it withoutTogether,you.we can’t wait to discover what the next 25 years will bring. We know it will be phenomenal.
Much has changed since that hot August day in 1997 when we first welcomed 255 students to campus, gathering in front of the Administration building for our first ever Handshake Ceremony. (For proof, look no further than the timeline in the followingTwenty-twopages.)classes of Chargers have since walked across the commencement stage, heading out into the world as lifelong learners and global change makers. Muddy pathways have long given way to stunning, mature landscaping. Clunky desktop computers—so groundbreaking at the time— have been traded for lightweight tablets that can accompany students on their learning sojourns outside the classroom or VR goggles that can transport students to new worlds altogether. Construction barricades have yielded to new buildings—shrines to the arts and sciences that are thoughtfully designed to inspire creativity, embolden curiosity, and support teaching and learning. Nascent athletic teams have grown into state champion powerhouses.
It’s in the support from our community— perhaps no more evident than in these last COVID-shaped years—and the way we have stood together in times of adversity, modeling the very persistence, resilience, and human kindness we hope to instill in our students. It’s in the many ways our alumni are making positive changes in the world, fearlessly pursuing passions that originated right here on campus. And it is in how our inclusive community increasingly reflects the rich diversity of our area, representing a variety of experiences and perspectives that enrich us all. It is in our ongoing anti-racist and equity work that seeks to ensure all our community members feel seen, heard, and respected for their authentic selves.
This last year, we’ve embraced our 25thanniversary theme—looking back, charging ahead—coming together on a variety of occasions to celebrate this momentous milestone. Like any good student, we know that fully appreciating our present and charting a course for the future, means taking stock of our past—of the experiences and people that have shaped who we are as an institution today. It means acknowledging both how far we have come and the work that still lies ahead. We have so much to celebrate.
astonish us daily as they embrace their interests to forge their own learning journeys to remarkable outcomes.
Throughout the many changes the years have brought, one thing has remained wholly unchanged: an unwavering commitment to our learning community and founding mission—to inviting discovery, leading innovation, fostering collaboration, and pursuing excellence in all its many forms. It is imprinted in our very institutional DNA, a promise to our students, families, faculty, and staff.
For 25 years, we’ve witnessed this commitment in action every day. It’s in the way our faculty have continually pushed our curriculum to keep CA at the forefront of pedagogical innovation year after year. It’s in the way our students, empowered by the voice and choice they have in their learning,
2003 :: Two new buildings open—the Fine Arts Extension, featuring enlarged visual arts studio space, and the Sports Education Annex, with basketball courts, sports medicine facilities, and classrooms—dramatically expanding the capacity for arts programming and rehearsal spaces.
As a new school, it was crucial that the campus reflect established models of educational accomplishment and an atmosphere of quiet, scholarly reflection. With its famous central quadrangle, domed rotunda, brick facades, and Georgian columns, the University of Virginia is selected as a Behindmodel.the traditional, elegant façade, a powerful technology infrastructure emerges, including cuttingedge personal computers, an enhanced campus intranet, and state-of-the-art software. These innovations, coupled with flexible classroom spaces, offer faculty and students the flexibility to accommodate multiple teaching and learning modalities.
THE FIRST 25 YEARS
Four ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
2001 :: The William C. Friday Summer Fellowship Program is created, establishing funding to award annually to three to five selected faculty for professional development projects that directly strengthen their teaching and field expertise.
Late 1995 :: The site for CA’s campus—Harrison Road—is selected. Raleigh’s Cherry Huffman Architects are hired to prepare initial architectural drawings.
Fall 1997 :: Construction of Berger Hall, our state-of-theart performing arts center, commences.
Cary Academy’s visionary founders Ann and Jim Goodnight and Ginger and John Sall articulate a bold vision: a school for the future centered on the whole child— one that fosters academic achievement, champions social and emotional development, leverages technology as an innovative learning tool that would engage and empower students, and inspires engaged citizenship.
August 1997 :: Two buildings—the Middle School and Upper School—are completed, just in time to welcome students on opening day. Three additional buildings—the Student Center Dining Hall, Sports and Fitness Center, and Administration building—follow shortly in the months thereafter.
1999 :: CA embarks on its first long-term strategic planning process, making the bold move to incorporate current students into the process.
CA holds its first Commencement ceremony, celebrating the Class of 2000.
October 1998 :: Berger Hall opens to students.
December 2000 :: CA celebrates its first Homecoming celebration.
Summer 2001 :: CA’s technological infrastructure undergoes a complete renewal and expansion.
19941990s::
1996-1997 :: With campus construction underway, the founders transfer day-to-day responsibility for Cary Academy’s program development to newly hired educational administrators, including Head of School Don Berger, Head of Middle School Marti Jenkins, and CFO Deborah Reichel.
1996 :: CA’s planning committee presents the plan to the local community, including local leaders attending the Cary Chamber of Commerce annual planning conference. Six months later, Cary officials approve campus construction, and Cary Academy officially breaks ground in April 1996.
1997 :: Cary Academy’s draft mission statement, which endures to this day, is crafted and approved.
May2000s2000::
May 2003 :: Our inaugural World Exchange Program travelers set off for learning opportunities in China, Argentina, Germany, and France.
1998-1999 :: CA joins the TISAC conference for athletics.
August 18, 1997 :: CA opens its doors for the first time. Two hundred forty-four new Chargers assemble outside the Middle School for our first-ever Handshake Ceremony.
1994-1995 :: CA’s founders convene a collaborative planning committee comprised of local education experts, operations managers, and technologists. Together, they embark on an exploratory, in-depth planning process, traveling widely to conferences and peer institutions across the country, soliciting feedback and perspectives.
2036 :: Cary Academy celebrates its 50th anniversary.
2015 :: CA embarks on an ambitious new master facilities plan as part of its latest strategic plan. To support this plan, the school begins its first-ever Campaign for Cary Academy.
2021 :: CA opens the academic year with a renovated Upper School that includes a revised entry, open and bright hallways, new meeting and collaboration spaces for students and faculty, and a new home base for the Center for Community Engagement.
2018 :: CA conducts its first large-scale alumni survey, garnering incredible feedback on the institutional impact it has had on the careers and lives of former students.
2004 :: CA launches its Cary Academy Recognition for Mission Advancement (CARMA) program, offering a fouryear award to those faculty that uphold and advance the school’s mission in extraordinary ways.
THE NEXT 25 YEARS
2020 :: Renovation is completed in the Library, creating a new Charger store and café, a quiet study area, and several new glassed conference and meeting rooms.
2023 :: Cary Academy embarks on an expansive Middle School renovation to align the building with the aesthetic established across campus and provide for middle-schoolspecific learning and community spaces.
Five ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
2006–2007 :: CA once again upgrades its technology, leapfrogging conventional laptops in favor of new wireless-enabled tablets that feature inking capabilities which allow students to take notes and make sketches directly on-screen.
2019 :: CA doubles the size of the old weight room in the Fitness Center to create the Wilson Training Center, which features updated, state-of-the-art equipment and increased natural light.
2017 :: Students compete in the first-ever Drink Cart Challenge, a team-based entrepreneurial competition. Several years later, the school will launch a full-blown entrepreneurial program and a new Charger Café.
After an extensive and highly competitive search, CA selects Dr. Michael Ehrhardt as the new Head of School.
2007 :: The community celebrates the Charger Stampede, revealing the large painted Charger horses that adorn campus, sponsored by the PTAA.
The structured internship program grows into the Work Experience Program, providing mini-internship opportunities for nearly 75% of juniors.
2014 :: Construction is completed on a new Field House next to the Stadium Field, finishing the last element imagined as part of the school’s original master facilities plan.
2023 :: CA begins work on its newest strategic plan, following an ambitious vision:
2006 :: The Class of 2006 launches the immensely popular X-Factor student athletic booster group.
20132010s::
“Cary Academy will create personalized learning opportunities that are flexible and relevant in an environment that supports student wellbeing. We will cultivate self-directed and bold life-long learners who make meaningful contributions to the world.”
The track is resurfaced with a new Olympic-caliber Mondo running surface, the first of its kind in the Southeast.
2004 :: CA embarks on its second long-range strategic planning process.
20202020s::
2007 :: CA celebrates its 10th anniversary with the publication of 1500 North Harrison Avenue Bistro—A Cary Academy Family Cookbook and a large community event at Koka Booth Amphitheater.
2016 :: CA tests some of the open-space concepts embedded in the master facilities plan with two projects in the Upper School and renovates the lower part of Berger Hall to create a Discovery Studio and small makerspace.
2016 :: In the fall, students and alumni organize and host the first TEDxCaryAcademy with a theme of Ideas and Impact. Friday Night Lights—a spirit night of flag football and community games—makes its debut. In the spring, the Upper School re-introduces a structured internship program for 22 juniors during Discovery Term.
2016 :: Ground breaks on the new Center for Math and Science, a renovation and expansion of the former Sports Education Annex, featuring renovated Upper School math classrooms, eight state-of-the-art science laboratories, a greenhouse, and a large makerspace with 3D printers, a laser cutter, and a water jet. It also houses a bright and welcoming large-group meeting space and our second gymnasium, the CMS gym.
This past spring, on a beautiful day in May, I paused, overwhelmed at the sight beforeAcrossme.the Quad, a group of alums played softball, whooping as they rounded bases; at home, it was as if they never left. A group of faculty and staff lounged on a picnic blanket, laughing with delight as two toddlers—new additions to the Charger family— met for the first time, babbling happily. Parents, sharing a meal at picnic tables, wrapped arms around shoulders, exchanging pictures and stories.
Sincerely, Ali DirectorPage of Development
And everywhere, smiles. Real, actual, non-masked smiles.
Greetings Charger Community!
Was this the culminating 25th-anniversary celebration I had envisioned five years ago, when I first joined CA? Not at all! It was, however, exactly the celebration we needed. And I couldn’t have imagined a better one.
As the landscape shifted under our feet, we found new ways to celebrate. In-person events became Zoom coffees, Zoom presentations, Zoom performances. Drivethrough carline gifts became a thing. As the pandemic ebbed and surged, we adjusted in kind. Finally able to hold outdoor gatherings, we relished welcoming parents, new and returning, to campus, and special guests for Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day (how we had missed them!).
COVID has been challenging in many, many ways; I won’t minimize that at all. It is not without its silver linings, however. This one a timeless reminder—born out of necessity—about what truly matters: People. Connection. Community.
While our celebratory plans were ever shifting, the power and support of our community was a constant. In countless ways, big and small, we came together— metaphorically, virtually, and (finally) physically—to honor CA’s 25 years. We lifted each other up through our actions, our generous financial support, and our unwavering commitment to our mission, ensuring that our faculty, staff, and students continued to have an incredible experience against any number of odds.
? The Magazine of Cary Academy
So, as two new sixth-graders rushed across the Quad, giddy with excitement (and probably sugar), beelining to the inflatables looming large on the Middle School field, it dawned on me.
For years, my team and I had envisioned what our momentous 25th-anniversary celebration would look like. Elaborate plans were sketched out on whiteboards; largescale performances, gala events, and even a light show were kicked around. Then 2020 happened. And, well, you know the rest.
Six
“
I give to CA because I am grateful for all that it did for our son Andrew, for what it continues to provide for students, and for what I believe it will mean to our community during the next 25 years. Andrew’s time at CA was deeply formative for him and for our family. Since his graduation, I have been impressed that the school has continued to innovate and to strive for excellence in thoughtful, meaningful ways.”
Carmen and Simon deSouza, Grandparents of Sebastian deSouza, ’25, Xavier deSouza, ’21, and Leo deSouza, ’18
“
—Laura Sellers, Cary Academy Co-Director of College Counseling
—Jeremy Allen, ’03, and Katherine Gosney, ’05
—Abie and Ruth Ekangaki, Parents of Zuleika Ekangaki, ’26
—Aleta Payne, Current Board Member and Parent of Andrew McClenney, ’16
“Cary Academy has consistently provided high-caliber academic and extracurricular programs to its students. Our grandsons benefited greatly from these programs, which require monetary support. The CA Fund is built by voluntary donations. As grandparents, we feel we can contribute to the fund which will continue to provide similar benefits to the Chargers of the future. Every donation, no matter how big or small, makes a difference.”
I believe in everything we do at Cary Academy. For over 20 years, I have been impacted by watching students do something they love or being a part of something they care deeply about; that is why I give.”
“ We give to CA because our story would not have been possible if not for scholarship support. The school had a transformative impact on both of our lives, and we are grateful to be able to help CA in a small way and ensure other students have opportunities like the ones we benefited from.”
Seven ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
“ We give to CA because they provide an enriching and stimulating education, which is the foundation for developing children into future leaders. We remain impressed by Cary Academy’s dedication not only to offer its students opportunities, but also to inspire them to participate in an extensive array of intellectual, heuristic, and practical experiences that help shape their development in a balanced way and equip them well for the future.”
Eight
On April 27, 2022, Cary Academy hosted its inaugural community-wide day of giving, Unlock the Future. We were humbled by the participation of our employees, parents, alumni, and friends, who came together to raise more than $134,000 for causes across campus. We can’t wait to see how our community’s support during this day impacts our current and future Chargers. Save the date for our second annual giving day on May, 3, 2023!
340 TOTAL GIFTS $134,825 TOTAL DOLLARS RAISED 82 1ST-TIME DONORS 246 CA FUND DONORS 41 CHARGE AHEAD FUND DONORS 45 EQUITY DONORSFUND IN GIFTSCHALLENGEUNLOCKED$35,000 ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
The Friday Fellowship program was created in 2002 in honor of Mr. William C. Friday, President Emeritus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a founding member of the Cary Academy Board of Directors. The Innovative Curriculum Grant was launched in 2017 to support projects that advance CA’s strategic goals.
Innovation has been a driving force at Cary Academy from the very beginning, identified as a core commitment before the ground was even broken on campus. How does CA inspire pedagogical innovation year after year? By empowering our incredible faculty to think outside the box with professional opportunitiesdevelopmentthattranslate their interests into incredible learning opportunities for our students— in the classroom and beyond.
SUMMERSCHOOL
While we typically think of teachers as being off during the summer, each year, several Cary Academy faculty choose to devote at least part of their well-deserved summer vacation time to professional growth activities.
Cary Academy offers two major grant programs to support the professional development of our faculty during the summer months: the Friday Fellowship and the Innovative Curriculum Grant.
Nine ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
Bill Velto, Upper School history teacher, received a fellowship to redesign the current world history/PATH elective course on terrorism. He will update the course content, develop resources to move away from a textbook, revise assignments, and create rubrics to reflect more of a mastery approach to student feedback.
Charlotte Kelly, Upper School science teacher, received a Friday Fellowship to support the development of a new Upper School elective course in marine science, as well as the launch of an Upper School SCUBA club. Key components of her fellowship work include participating in the Island School Teacher Conference to learn more about hands-on approaches to teaching marine biology, building and testing two robots for student use in marine research, and obtaining her SCUBA rescue diver certification.
So, what exactly did our tireless teachers work on this summer through these grant programs? Here’s a brief snapshot of their planned endeavors:
Brian Pugsley, Library Director, received a Friday Fellowship to complete a course in Machine Learning offered by Stanford University through Coursera, which will prepare him to offer a new Upper School computer science elective in Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence for the 202223 school year.
CJ Bell and Andrew Chiaraviglio, Middle School science teachers, received an Innovative Curriculum Grant to transform the Water Stewardship unit in eighth-grade
Craig Lazarski and Kristi Ramey, Upper School math teachers, received a Friday Fellowship to attend the Bridges Conference at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland. This experience will allow them to continue the creative research on the connections between art and math they first began in 2019 in partnership with Upper School art and design teacher Cayce Lee. They hope to bring back inspiring new and innovative ideas for cross-departmental projects to be implemented in the 2022-23 school year.
Karen Rose, Upper School art and design teacher, received a Friday Fellowship to participate in the CIDRE (Cultural Investigation and Digital Representation for Educators) study trip to Munich, Germany. She will be part of a cohort of educators learning to create better cultural understanding among students through the aid of media and technology.
Ten ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
science into a more comprehensive experiential learning opportunity that carries through the year. They aim to incorporate additional field experiences, student-made interactive GIS maps, and a culminating community action project implemented by students. Chiaraviglio will also be working on another grant project to create an X-Day opportunity for students to build their own robots from scratch.
Sam Best and Meredith Stewart, Middle School language arts teachers, received an Innovative Curriculum grant to redesign the writing component of eighth-grade language arts to focus on a recursive process of drafting, feedback, reflection, and revision throughout the year, anchored in a competency-based approach to assessment.
In addition to these grant opportunities, a team of 17 Cary Academy teachers also participated in a two-day Experiential Education Design Institute facilitated by Dr. Christen Clougherty, Founder and Executive Director of the Nobis Project, a non-profit educational organization working with educators to develop community engagement experiences that prepare student leaders to create a more just, sustainable, and equitable world.
Abby Seeskin, Upper School English teacher, received an Innovative Curriculum Grant to integrate podcasting into a new Upper School English elective in contemporary poetics so that students can produce literary commentary for a public audience.
Geoff Stanbury, Upper School English Teacher, received an Innovative Curriculum Grant to develop the curriculum for the new Upper School English elective, The Literature of Love. He will develop modules for the course that encourage student-led analysis and reflection in ways accessible to diverse personalities and learning styles. Students will also have opportunities to explore and share ideas collaboratively utilizing tech-forward methods such as creating radio plays, faux documentary videos, song mashups, or Google Street View tours illustrating different dimensions of “love.”
Trish Yu, Upper School Chinese Teacher, received an Innovative Curriculum Grant to design the curriculum for the new Intermediate-Low Chinese course to be offered in the Upper School beginning with the 202223 school year. She will be creating 10 original thematic course modules to be used in place of a commercial textbook, as well as developing a series of hands-on activities woven into the modules to enrich student learning.
Tamara Friend, Middle School science teacher, received an Innovative Curriculum Grant to develop a new unit for seventh-grade science focused on environmental justice in indigenous North Carolina communities. This unit—part of a more extensive collaboration among seventh-grade teachers to bring indigenous perspectives into the curriculum— is also an outgrowth of her participation in an experiential education trip for teachers to the Bribri Territories of Costa Rica.
Allyson Buie, Upper School English teacher, received an Innovative Curriculum Grant to redesign the ninth-grade English course to reflect a new “Coming of Age” theme. Texts for the new course will be carefully chosen to reflect adolescent experiences from a variety of cultural viewpoints. She will also seek community connections to help bring some of the experiences off the page and into the classroom.
Team members will use what they learned at this June event to design robust new experiential learning X-Day opportunities for the 2022-23 school year. Serving on the team are Nicky Allen, Lauren Bullock, Tamara Friend, Tyler Gaviria, Richard Jones, Charlotte Kelly, Matt Koerner, Cayce Lee, Katie Levinthal, Heidi Maloy, Alicia Morris, Caydee Revelle, Karen Rose, Abby Seeskin, Danae Shipp, Katie Taylor, and Trish Yu.
Eleven ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
SUPERCHARGING ATHLETICS
Twelve ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
The last 25 years have seen the Chargers rise from a nascent athletics program to conference-conquering champions, a story told by the trophy case, photos, and plaques that line the lobby of the Fitness Center. Now, a new fund—the Charge Ahead Fund—is helping ensure that all scholar-athletes and teams have the resources and support to dream big about the future.
VisitQuestions?bit.ly/chargeahead
“This fund underscores just how vital CA’s athletics program is to our community. And, in just its first year, the fund is already making an impact,” offers Athletics Director Kevin Jones. “We have installed a muchneeded practice lacrosse wall and a batting cage turtle (a portable batting cage backstop), and we are looking at ways to improve the viewing area at the tennis courts. The prospects—and what they mean for our athletes and programs—are exciting; we are so grateful for the community support.”
Athletics have always been a cornerstone of the CA experience. It is why the Fitness Center was designed to sit across from the library, a choice signifying CA’s commitment to balancing body and mind wellness and pursuits both physical and intellectual. Aside from the physical benefits of athletics, the Chargers that coach, teach, and support our students impart crucial wellness lessons and life skills that go far beyond the gym, field, or court: school-life balance, teamwork, stress management, resiliency, and leadership.
Requests can be specific to one sport (new equipment for practice) or something to benefit multiple sports (misting tents to be used on the fields). Thanks to the initiative of our baseball parents and the support of the entire CA community, more than $50,000 has already been raised to help meet our athletes’ needs, as determined by our Charger community.
Grateful, the parents wanted to express their thanks by preserving Coach Pope’s legacy in a way that honored his vast impact on the broader student body and on CA athletics, not only as a coach, but as a teacher and mentor as well. Working closely with the Athletics and Development departments, they helped to create a new fund, the Charge Ahead Fund.
Designed to support all CA athletes and sports, the Charge Ahead Fund recognizes formally the monumental role that CA athletics play in overall student wellness. Any student, parent, coach, or employee may submit a Charge Ahead Fund grant request to enhance any aspect of CA’s athletic program.
Thirteen
“Ultimately, this fund will continue to build upon the strong foundation that has been laid by so many, including Coach Pope,” shares Ali Page, Director of Development. “It allows our community to come together and make a cumulative impact on CA athletics by giving a voice to our student-athletes, parents, and coaches about their needs and desires.”
“So many at CA worked diligently to establish this fund and provide our families a way to support our remarkable scholar-athletes, coaches, and Charger teams,” offers Charger parent Ashley Techet, who submitted the funded lacrosse grant proposal. “Funding matters; it helps our scholar-athletes blaze trails!”
Charger baseball athletes at the October 2021 dedication ceremony of the baseball field to be named in honor of Coach Pope.
? The Magazine of Cary Academy
In the spring of 2020, after the varsity baseball team completed an undefeated regular season that culminated with a heartbreaking loss in the playoffs, a group of Charger parents approached the Development department. They shared how baseball had been an important and necessary outlet for their students after such a challenging pandemic-influenced year, how Coach Pope had led his players through the wins, but also through the devastating loss, imparting life lessons along the way that would be well remembered long after his players hung up their cleats.
LEADING THE WAY
BY DR. MICHAEL McELREATH, Experiential Learning Director
Fourteen ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
Almost nothing at CA functions without student involvement and co-creation. Think about our clubs, affinity groups, X-Day, Discovery Term, athletics, and a host of interscholastic competitive programs (speech and debate, HOSA-Future Health Professionals, robotics, Science Olympiad, United States Invitational Young Physicists
In January, CA will welcome over 150 of North America’s most forward-thinking educators for a hands-on, multi-day experiential learning conference. Carefully chosen, the Institute theme, Empowered ExEd: Sustained Partnerships and Student Leadership, highlights two important aspects of our work we undertake in our Center for Community Engagement.
CA prides itself on empowering students with chances to grow as leaders and community members. We’re known for producing thoughtful, creative, and risk-taking graduates and engaged citizens as a result.
For 25 years, Cary Academy has been recognized as a school that pushes the envelope of what is possible, modeling institutionally t he very qualities we hope to instill in our students: leadership, curiosity, open-mindedness, and a willingness to think outside of the box, take risks, enthusiastically challenge norms, and relentlessly ask, “Why?” “How?” and “What if?”
Fifteen ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
Last year, we were honored to have our reputation as a national and global leader in secondary education and experiential learning affirmed with CA’s selection as host for the 2023 Independent School Experiential Education Network’s (ISEEN) Winter Institute. What better way to put an exclamation point on our first 25 years than a week spent learning, collaborating, and envisioning the future with other educational innovators?
The ISEEN Winter Institute will kick off with a keynote by Columbia University Professor Dr. Bettina Love, whose work in the realm of creating truly inclusive, antiracist schools, is deeply resonant with the values of both CA and ISEEN. She will help connect the dots between a focus on building an equitable school community with one that also nurtures and promotes student agency and experiential learning.
Tournament, Conrad Startup Challenge, etc.)—all of them feature students leading, guiding, and mentoring their peers.
In addition, collaborators like District C, an experiential learning nonprofit, and Essential Partners, with whom we partner for our Dialogue Across Difference program, build our capacity as both students and educators to work effectively in teams— lessons that carry over to the classroom and across campus. In the last six years, over 150 different local businesses, nonprofits, artists, and government agencies at every level
Sixteen ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
have hosted Chargers as part of our Work Experience Program. The list of partnerships is long—and growing.
A few examples that are already under development include a visit to a Chapel Hill tiny house community to learn more about
Our theme also points to the myriad sustained partnerships that our students and employees leverage to enhance learning. Our service-learning program alone connects our campus to dozens of excellent organizations that serve those in need in our community, across the state and country, and around the world. Examples include Backpack Buddies and Transplanting Traditions in the Middle School, as well as Dorcas Ministries, Read & Feed, and community food banks.
As is Institute tradition, the first full day will involve participants learning in the preferred experiential style of the host. We’ll be taking a page out of CA’s X-Day playbook, partnering faculty with student leaders to develop and co-lead ExEd in Action Workshops that use the entire Triangle as their “classroom.”
CA has a lot to share with our ISEEN colleagues next year, just as we always have more to learn. We are honored by the vote of confidence represented by our selection by ISEEN, a welcome acknowledgment that we are on a promising path and serving as a genuine leader in this work. We have no doubts that the students and employees in this dynamic and innovative learning community will shine.
the growing movement and its capacity to address housing and sustainability issues; a tour of Historic Stagville and Black Wall Street to learn about the history of Black leadership and success in Durham and the current issues facing the community; and an investigation into the interracial history of Southern barbeque and the social justice questions raised by Southern Foodways, which will culminate in a delicious groupprepared meal.
Stay tuned for more about the ISEEN Winter Institute, Jan 17-20, 2023, hosted by Cary Academy.
Seventeen ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
On the second day, CA will lead conversations centered on the ways in which we work to deliver on our mission every day. We will discuss the many components that go into (and challenges that come with) being a learning community dedicated to discovery, innovation, collaboration, and excellence and guided by a commitment to respect, integrity, andThecompassion.Institutewill
wrap on Friday morning with a deep dive into the theme of sustaining partnerships and another keynote address by a good friend who has built these partnerships in other schools. Watch for more on that as we finalize commitments.
To COMMEMORATE 25 YEARS, CA celebrated with old favorites, like Fun Fest and the 5K, while also starting some new traditions, including a community picnic, inaugural alumni reunion weekend, and a Board appreciation event for employees.
Eighteen
wasMiddleTheSchoolinhighspirits for last fall’s chilly CHARGER CUP. After the dust from the dancing, egg balancing, frisbee throwing, contraption building, and pizza box stacking had cleared, the Blue team stood victorious, earning bragging rights for the year.
Snapshots
Nineteen
The Development team celebrated VALENTINE’S DAY and the Charger community in February with five days of appreciation events honoring our students, parents, and employees (including complementary beverages in The Hub).
Upper School students spent the final two weeks of the year pursuing interests on and off-campus with student-led DISCOVERY TERM courses that explored fashion design, automotive repair, ecology, wilderness, sustainable farming, and more. Juniors took part in the WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM, interning in a variety of workplaces around the Triangle.
Constituency Coordinator CHRIS GILMORE, Fine and Performing Arts Director MICHAEL HAYES, and Middle School math teacher PAT MARTIN retired in 2022. Founding and current board members, employees, and past PTAA Presidents all joined us for an evening of celebration.
As CA closed its 25th year, we bid farewell to three founding employees.
Twenty
The HOLIDAY SHOPPE sprang into spring this past March with our Spring Shoppe. Thirty vendors, representing small local businesses, employee-owned businesses, and alumni-owned businesses, joined us during Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day. Customers from across our community stopped by for fantastic shopping.
As they prepared for the big move across the Quad, the Class of 2026 reflected on their time in the Middle School during a meaningful EIGHTH-GRADE CELEBRATION
Charger pride, spirit, and dance moves were on full display at our first cross-divisional outdoor HOMECOMING pep rally that offered a spirited start to winter break.
Friends, new and old, joined us on the links for our 25th annual SCHOLARS’ GOLF CLASSIC Businesses, alumni, and friends have come together year after year in support of financial aid at Cary Academy. This year, 59 teams raised more than $80,000 for Cary Academy.
QUADCHELLA was back in full swing this year, bringing music, dance, and community to the Quad. After so many masked semesters apart, it was a lively spring afternoon to enjoy one another’s talents and company.Lastfallsaw
Twenty-one
the epic return of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS with undeniable Charger spirit on full display. Undeterred by chilly and daunting downpours early in the evening, alums, students, faculty and staff, and parents alike turned out for a community tailgate and night of impressive flag football action.
Fall’s UBUNTU celebration was a busy day filled with workshops such as “Chinese Calligraphy,” “African Rhythm and Dance,” and a studentled session on“East Asian Culture in Media” over a fresh cup of iced Boba tea. The day concluded with a bountiful International Café and a renewed appreciation for the diversity found within the CA and Triangle communities.
Seven members of the Class of 2022 are going on to play at the collegiate level next year. Gabriella Cicuto will play field hockey for Indiana University. Charlotte Hook will swim for Stanford University. David Howard will play soccer for the University of Pennsylvania. Holden Techet will play lacrosse at Centre College, Kavin Wood at Sacred Heart College. Sean Sheridan will hit the basketball courts at Mary Baldwin College. Lawson Wheeler will play baseball at Elon University.
Twenty-two
Seven Chargers were recognized as TISAC Players of the year: Kyler Chen, ‘22 (wrestling), Gabriela Cicuto, ‘22 (field hockey), Bryan Fang, ’23 (golf), Jerry Fox, ‘23 (boys’ swimming), Charlotte Hook, ‘22 (girls’ swimming), Sam Lee, ’24 (boys’ tennis), and Nousha Tehrani, ‘23 (girls’ tennis). Nineteen Chargers earned all-state honors in their respective sports.
After an impressive year, the boys’ varsity tennis team ended the season with an NCISSA State championship. Girls’ swimming continued to dominate the pool, earning their sixth consecutive NCISSA State championship. The boys’ swim team secured NCISSA State runners-up.
Seven teams brought home TISAC Championships, including girls’ cross country, field hockey, wrestling, boys’ tennis, boys’ track and field, and boys’ and girls’ swimming (their thirteenth and eighth consecutive titles, respectively). Four Middle School teams finished their seasons as CAMSC champions, including boys’ lacrosse, boys’ tennis, and boys’ and girls’ track and field (representing the girls’ fifth consecutive championship, the boys’ fourth).
Last year was another impressive year for our student-athletes, resulting in several additions to the Charger trophy case and record books.
Go Chargers!
OF 2022 with a offersspeaker.televisionfeaturingCommencementmemorableceremonyEmmy-award-winningproducerKipKroegerasTheClassof2022receivedofadmissionfrom111differentcollegesanduniversities.Wewishthemthebestastheyattend53collegesin22statesandtheDistrictofColumbia.
the CLASS
Twenty-three
We welcomed our GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS to campus in March to experience a CA X-Day with their students. Guests participated in everything from Latin dance lessons to a 3D printing workshop to fencing on the
WeQuad.celebrated
? The Magazine of Cary Academy
You see, Quesada-Herrera doesn’t merely teach world languages; his aims are far loftier and more personal. He’s on a quest to cultivate empathetic and curious lifelong learners, those who are not only fluent in their target language, able to convey their thoughts and ideas, but also culturally literate and appreciative of cultures different than their own. How better to do that than as engaged global citizens exploring the world—its history, arts, cuisines, social issues, and more— in conversational Spanish, both in the classroom and abroad?
Wander the halls of the Upper School on any given afternoon, and you’ll hear Spanish—or perhaps Italian—floating out of the doors of founding faculty member Vic Quesada-Herrera’s world languages classroom. You’ll find no random vocabulary drills here, no repetitive verb conjugations. Instead, assuming you can understand the language, you might be treated to a discussion of how themes from Greek mythology resonate in Costa Rican folklore, a collaborative critique of a Spanish contemporary art piece, or a debate on climate change and habitat loss in the Amazon.
“When you learn a second language, the world has a different flavor, a different smell, a different taste, a different color. You enter through a window, a world that is not your own,” he muses, eyes lighting up.
WINDOW TO THE WORLD
Twenty-four
As a young child in Costa Rica, a tiny spark—an early love of Australian television programming—inspired a yearning to learn English, kicking off a lifelong obsession with languages. After pursuing language study throughout high school, he entered the University of Costa Rica at the young age of 16, ultimately transferring to the University of Northern Iowa to earn a degree in linguistics and TESL.
Another seemingly small inspiration—a chance discovery of Proboscis monkeys made while poring over his mother’s nature magazines as a boy—would lead to a lifelong fascination with the Malaysian region they call home. Decades after first turning those well-worn pages, he would embark on a life-changing trip to Borneo to study nature. Living with a remote indigenous tribe, he was struck again with the unique vulnerability of connecting with a culture other than one’s own and reaped the rewards of giving himself over to a new cultural experience (just ask him about eating a ceremonial fish with a tribe elder).
Today, he delights in seeing students share similar awakenings in the World Language Exchange Program that he has helped shape. His enduring love for Malaysia and its inhabitants—human and otherwise— permeates his advanced Spanish classroom discussions about climate change and habitat preservation and fuels his outside interests in zoology. The ability to weave his interests into his curriculum contributes to his classroom’s vibrant energy, a palpable presence amongst the ever-expanding collection of books and art that line its walls.
“You gain a whole new perspective. You become more empathetic, accepting, and respectful of others. It makes you more global, your brain and sensibilities more malleable and flexible, open to new possibilities, to seeing things a new way.”
“I wanted to go somewhere I had no choice but to speak English, where I couldn’t slip back into the comfort of Spanish,” he explains, foreshadowing the immersive approach he uses in his classroom today. He would return to Costa Rice after graduation, teaching English at a private university before settling in the United States.
Ever the adventurer, Quesada-Herrera enjoys regular trips to Italy (he visits as often as possible to keep his language skills fresh). In his element, he finds himself at the opposite end of the language spectrum, reveling in the joy of fluency—a gift he hopes to impart to his students.
With language as his key, Quesada-Herrera has been throwing open those windows to other worlds his entire life. The lessons he has learned along the way—empathy, forging connections across differences, leaning into discomfort, resilience, and intelligent risk-taking—figure as prominently in his classrooms as his language expertise.
Quesada-Herrera’s passion for language and culture is deeply rooted, shaping his very approach to life. A self-proclaimed “hardcore learner” and consummate global citizen, he has pursued the smallest of curiosities as they have morphed into life-altering adventures spanning the globe.
DISCOVERY DRIVEN
Twenty-five ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
“When I go to Italy, I’m in awe—immersed in it, enjoying every moment,” he offers. “Language is a tool to enjoy life. It allows us to connect and fully participate in the world. It inspires both compassion and curiosity, a sense of ‘Wow, there’s so much out there that I can see, that I can open my eyes to, that I can experience.’ That joy, that authentic connection to the world—that is what I hope for my students.”
As with all Quesada-Herrera’s journeys, it was the pull of a new experience that first brought him to Cary Academy 25 years ago. Intrigued by the new technology-forward teaching environment, he was enthralled to put the countless lessons learned from his global explorations to good use in helping to develop CA’s world languages program.
Over the years, he has been instrumental in transforming that program from the more tourist-based experiences that characterized his early trips with students to the dual exchange program we have today, in which students from CA change places with students from our partner institutions
IMMERSIVE AUTHENTICITY
“We knew from the beginning that we did not want to just teach out of a textbook or teach to a test,” explains Quesada-Herrera. We wanted to open that window to another world, another culture. We wanted students to be able to truly speak, to convey ideas in their second Immersion,language.”bothinlanguage and culture, was deemed paramount. “I only communicate with my students in their target language. Not 85% of the time, but all the time, and not just in the advanced classes, but even at the most basic levels. Otherwise, it is too comfortable to switch to English; you must get uncomfortable to learn.”
But language immersion was only one piece of the puzzle. From the outset, expeditionary travel has been a hallmark of the CA program, one made possible, in large part, by QuesadaHerrera. Collaborating with leadership, he cultivated partnerships with host institutions around the globe to help develop the World Language Exchange Program.
“Unfortunately, many people don’t understand the complexity of Hispanic identities. There is an assumption that if you are a Spanish-speaking person, then you are from one country, that you are Latin American, that all Spanish speakers are the same. Traveling as a local, and on the flip side, hosting a visiting student in your home—forges a connection. You experience the cultural similarities and differences, the nuances. It tears down stereotypes. And that is major.”
He credits the variety of the advanced classes with increasing student engagement, appealing to those who might not identify, first and foremost, as language learners.
The program’s evolution has been thoughtful and, for Quesada-Herrera, necessary—for the edification of both students and the broader community. “The dual exchange is so important—not only for our students, but also for the families that receive students from our Argentinian partner institutions,” he offers.
He laughs, “I remember my first advanced students; I think they thought I didn’t know English. Now and then, our paths would cross outside campus, and they would try to speak to me in English; I would always respond in Spanish. Even now, I have alums that text me, but they always text me in Spanish.”
abroad. These deep cultural exchanges offer students the opportunity to develop confidence in their target language, as well as broaden their perspectives to develop a more nuanced understanding of the world.
“Language classes don’t have to be about language. You can study anything—it doesn’t matter; you are still practicing the language. To do it while learning about something that interests you, something that matters to you, makes it more vivid.”
As CA has grown over the years, so has the need to expand world language offerings. Quesada-Herrera has been a leading voice in developing the advanced topical classes that are now CA signatures. They offer a welcome opportunity to inject his own interests—and those of his students’—into the curriculum, an approach that keeps his “sparkle” and love of teaching fresh.
Twenty-six ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
For Quesada-Herrera, that is what it is all about: helping students to forge those personal connections that bring language and culture to life in ways that are relevant to their lives, that open their eyes to new possibilities, and which are sustainable and pay dividends long after they leave his classroom.
EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED
regularly name him as having a defining impact on their CA experience.
Gong, who studied mathematical and computational science at Stanford University and currently works in artificial intelligence, still makes room in
“I have pursued a very technical direction professionally, but I’ve retained this love for language because of what I learned in Vic’s classroom,” she offers. “I learned in his class to see the interconnectedness of the world—and that feeds into the interdisciplinarity and innovation I bring to my work, in the interplay of humanities and STEM.”
Twenty-seven ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
It is a legacy that is not lost on his former students, many of whom
“My Global Warming and Vanishing Ecosystems class appeals to students interested in biology and ecology; they identify with that part of the class,” he offers as an example. “They can put aside the initial fear and discomfort of it being in a different language because they connect with their subject. They go for it.”
For Quesada-Herrera, nothing could be sweeter. “When I see students using the language in their lives, developing a real sense of confidence in speaking, in interacting with the world, it’s as if they are little butterflies that have been transformed from caterpillars. And now, they are spreading their wings, flying all over the place.”
her life for language, much to QuesadaHerrera’s delight.
“If I had to characterize Vic’s philosophy in a sentence, it’s todo está conectado —everything is connected,” reflects CA alum Julia Gong, ‘17, who remains in contact with QuesadaHerrera, reaching out when she is reminded of a poem or song that she learned in his class. “He has this neat way of finding and unveiling how concepts are interconnected. His philosophy is all about embracing the world and its beauty, seeing it through the lens of language and how it connects the world,” she offers.
Twenty-eight RuddAmandabyPhoto ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
SPEAKING TRUTH SPEAKING TRUTH
At 30, Josh Rowsey, ’09, is finally discovering his authentic voice—and empowering other young people to find theirs through the power and language of hip-hop.
His journey has been one of constant selfdiscovery, taking him from China to Mexico, New York City to Durham, North Carolina, and from the boardroom to the stage to the classroom. Throughout, he’s been driven by a passion for hip-hop, inspired not only by its power for selfexpression, but also as a tool to teach, redress injustice, and heal.
Alumni Spotlight
An artist, businessman, educator, mentor, and cultural ambassador, Rowsey defies singular characterization. “I’ve been blowing up boxes since my days at Cary Academy. I don’t live in a world of boxes; I define myself on my own terms.”
LIVING HIS PURPOSE
“Everything opened up for me once I made that decision,” shares Rowsey. Returning to North Carolina, he threw himself back into the local entertainment industry, renewing contacts from his undergraduate days and immersing himself in the local music scene.
Atexpert.
ON HIS OWN TERMS
Hip-hop has always been a defining force in Rowsey’s life. As an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina, he threw himself into campus culture, joining Ebony Readers/ Onyx Theatre, the spoken word and poetry performance group of UNC’s Black Student Movement, and forming and performing in his first hip-hop collective. Later, he would spearhead and found the UNC Cypher, a hiphop tradition in which spoken word artists, rappers, musicians, and beatboxers freestyle together, each playing off the other.
After graduating from the UNC’s Kenan Flagler business school with a degree in business and a minor in Chinese, he moved to New York City, taking a job as an insurance analyst in the entertainment division of Chubb Insurance. There, immersed in the world of Wall Street wealth and privilege, he faced the difficult reality of how predominantly white power structures and industries profit off Black culture.
In that moment, Rowsey heard what he calls his “whisper,” an internal voice that told
“As this was happening, I’m looking around, looking at board members, and I’m realizing, once again, I’m the only Black person in the room. I’m seeing how out of touch these executives are with Black music, Black culture.”
He interned at a comedy theater, trading labor for free improv classes, and worked the door at local music venues, networking and developing relationships with club owners and artists. Before too long, he was booking his own shows, performing again under his hip-hop stage name, Rowdy.
him to find success as an artist on his terms and in ways that honored and supported his voice, hometown, and heritage. “I realized that it didn’t have to be in New York or LA or Atlanta, that I could build what I wanted as an artist at home; I could create an infrastructure that benefits my community.” With little concrete plan beyond his conviction, he took the leap of faith and submitted his notice a few days later.
Working the stage at night, he landed a marketing day job with IndyWeek, an alternative weekly newspaper serving up progressive news, culture, and music commentary for the Triangle. He made his way up the ranks to become a staff music writer, cementing his status as a go-to hiphop
IndyWeek, he connected with Pierce Freelon, a Grammy-nominated musician, author, educator, and activist whose Afrofuturist digital maker space for youth, Blackspace, happened to be in the same building. Recognizing a kindred spirit, Freelon, who would become an influential mentor, a “big brother,” tapped him as a facilitator for Blackspace’s hip-hop writing workshops. Rowsey worked with local Black and Brown youth in after-school programming, coaxing their voices out in bars before facing off in cyphers to trade verses.
Twenty-nine ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
A review of BMI’s business plan put stark financial figures to Rowsey’s dawning realization. “I saw how much they were making off hip-hop and R&B—off their urban categories, their Black music categories. The largest profit margins in the industry are generated by Black music, but those reaping the benefits aren’t people that look like me; they aren’t part of hip-hop culture.”
“It was 2014, and Beyonce was one of our clients. She had just shocked the world with the surprise drop of her iconic self-titled album, and everyone was going crazy,” he recalls. “It was so disruptive; heads of BMI—one of the largest music distributors in the world—were freaking out, asking, ‘Is she allowed to do this?’”
“Every kid has a story, regardless of race, sexual orientation—whatever—but a lot don’t feel like they have the tools or the space to express their truths. If I can go into a classroom and provide that space, those tools, then I am living in my purpose.”
It was a transformative experience for Rowsey, one he credits as “instrumental” in shaping his artistry. Equally important, it unearthed a new passion and purpose: working with youth.
ON THE RISE
“We are trying to revitalize the Cherokee language by utilizing hip-hop pedagogy and getting students more interested in using their Cherokee through hip-hop verses,” explains Rowsey.
“I’ve always felt like I had to create my own space to truly express myself. It is a gift and a superpower to find your voice, to unlock your true self. I have the privilege of helping students do that,” offers Rowsey.
A regular on hip-hop stages, he found himself increasingly tapped to emcee live events for the local PBS and NPR affiliate station, WUNC. These opportunities would later open doors to other radio and TV appearances, including a performance on BET’s revamped Freestyle
He was also tapped by Dr. Ben Frey of the University of North Carolina’s American Studies and Linguistics Department as an artist in residence at the New Kitawah Academy, a cultural and Cherokee language campus serving the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Over the year, he conducted on-site workshops with students, many of whom had never written complete sentences in Cherokee, to explore their language and identity.
Thirty ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
“My very first workshop was at Durham School of the Arts,” recalls Rowsey. “I found myself connecting with the kids in a way that their teachers could not, especially those kids that had been labeled as ‘hard to reach.’ With hip-hop, I could connect—right off the cuff, right off the riff, on any sort of lesson, whether it was math, social studies, whatever.”
“My master’s program changed my life,” shares Rowsey. “I saw the light. I saw how hip-hop—how the skill set of being an emcee—was applicable to teaching.”
With Rowsey’s visibility as both artist and educator on the rise, his passions aligned, and things took off.
In his Master of Arts in Teaching program, Rowsey explored how to leverage hip-hop pedagogy in the ESL classroom, practices that he uses in his teaching today.
While continuing his work with Blackspace, he also dropped his debut solo album, The Return of Black Wall Street, in 2017. Titled with a nod to the history of Black entrepreneurship in Durham, the album reflected on his experience growing up Black in Southern white suburbia.
A success, the program was presented as a case study at Western Carolina University’s annual Cherokee Symposium, putting Rowsey on the radar of leadership at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro’s School of Education and earning him an invitation to apply.
Friday and a collaboration with PBS Kids. In “Classroom Connections,” Rowsey embodies the hip-hop persona Mr. R, “the teacher he always wanted but never had,” one who looks like him and sounds like him, to deliver STEM lessons for kids in kindergarten to third grade.
In 2018, Rowsey was appointed as HipHop Ambassador to Mexico as part of the Next Level initiative, the U.S. Department of State’s cross-cultural exchange program. As Ambassador, he travels to Mexico, performing and collaborating with local artists and holding hip-hop workshops focused on conflict resolution through artistry and self-expression.
Thirty-one
He’s quick to underscore the many positives of his sixth- through 12th-grade experience, singing the praises of the faculty who saw something in him and pushed him to succeed. He is keenly aware of the
doors that CA swung open for him and how stepping through them shaped his outlook for the better, broadening the horizon of possibilities for his life.
? The Magazine of Cary Academy
In many ways, Rowsey’s career represents a long journey of cathartic self-discovery that stems partly from Cary Academy roots. Rowsey’s CA experience was rich, but not without complications—at turns empowering and disenfranchising. “Cary Academy prepared me for a world that did not look like me or care to look like me,” he shares.
RuddAmandabyPhoto
CODESWITCH
A record-breaking swimmer and captain of the swim team, Rowsey cherishes memories of training with Coach Eric Moore and Mr. Pete, both important adults in his life with whom he remains in close contact. He credits the Middle School arts minor program as setting him on an essential path of creative discovery and his major— orchestra with Mr. Qiao—as developing and encouraging his musical talent. An AP
LundMakaylabyPhoto
? The Magazine of Cary Academy
like, why was I there? Why was I in the room? Did I have the grades? Was I smart enough to be there? But, because of CA, I knew how to see my goals and objectives, and I had enough of an understanding of who I was in the world that I could persevere and push through.”
FULL CIRCLE
“Undoubtedly, CA prepared me for my future, and not just academically,” Rowsey reflects. “I would never have had my diversity of interests if not for CA. It showed me what was possible, that I didn’t just have to be one thing.”
For the last two years, Rowsey has returned to CA as an artist in residence,
“I had this truth that no one believed or acknowledged until recently,” shares Rowsey. It is a fracture that both Rowsey and CA are working hard toward healing.
Thirty-two
Chinese student, he’s thankful for the two summers he traveled to China—the first time through a Cary Academy partnership with the Confucius Institute at NC State, the second as his world language exchange— for expanding his view of the world. He’s grateful for the mentorship of college counselor Laura Sellers who encouraged him to aim for UNC, believing in him when he did not believe in himself.
Over the last couple of years, Cary Academy’s anti-racist work, an effort that has included engaging in honest and, at times, difficult conversations with alums of color about their experiences, has created a space for an honest reckoning in which Rowsey has found validation. It has opened the door to transformative institutional dialogue that has yielded meaningful positive change on campus. For Rowsey, it has presented an opportunity for collaboration that has hastened his healing by ensuring the next generation of CA scholars of color has a more inclusive experience.
“At CA, I learned to go out and crush my goals. And because of my experiences there, I knew how to navigate different rooms, how to operate in different environments that might have been initially uncomfortable for other men of color.”
At the same time, in the early 20-aughts, when the terms “white privilege,” “microaggression,” “cultural appropriation, and “gaslighting” were not part of the regular cultural vernacular, there was an institutional lack of awareness and accountability for how race necessarily shaped Rowsey’s CA experience. The assimilation and codeswitching required to fit in and succeed were challenging to his sense of identity. Without anyone to share his perspective and the unique challenges he faced as the only Black male student, there was little support for his authentic self or what he was going through. At times, it was exceedingly difficult.
He continues, “There is saying that Black people have to do twice as much to get half as far. We are always going to be questioned and have to prove ourselves. Heading into college, I kind of understood that mentality; I knew what I needed to do. I knew my abilities would sometimes be in question—
His work with Blackspace continues to be gratifying and, in the waning pandemic, has expanded (he is now Program Director and sits on the board). In 2021, he worked with fellow Blackspace facilitator Reginald “rem” Morin to spin off a record label. OnlyUs LLC, which released Freelon’s Grammynominated album Black to the Future as its first album. He’s excited to work with several up-and-coming artists, graduates of Blackspace’s after-school talent incubator. And he has been laying the foundations for some exciting community partnerships that are in the early stages and for which the next year will be crucial.
He continues, “Whatever negative experiences I might have gone through, they’ve been turned into a positive light that I can share with today’s students. And it’s been a metamorphosis for me. As much as I’m trying to teach this curriculum to them, they are also teaching me, helping me unlock myself.”
Most recently, he has been accepted into UNC-Greensboro’s Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations PhD program, where he may further explore how the intersections of hip-hop and education, both in performance and pedagogy, can be used in the K-12 classroom.
Today, Rowsey is at a crossroads. Opportunity after opportunity unfolds before him, validating that whisper he heard in New York all those years ago.
Reflecting on his most recent workshop, Rowsey is emotional. “I’m thankful for how CA is developing. I’ve never seen so many Black and brown students on campus. To see them not only in the classroom but outside at lunch with their own friend group, to see faculty of color, to have the privilege to teach a class in hip-hop and poetry, something that has been so important to my sense of self—I wish I had that when I was at CA.
It is a pivotal moment for Rowsey, who carefully weighs his options. “Everything seems to be right in front of me. Right now, I’m living in my truth, finding my authentic voice. That can be scary, but it is a beautiful thing—to just be in the moment, figuring it out.”He’s living the advice he shares with his students: “There is no deadline in figuring out who you are.”
“To be able to make an impact on those students of color, to help give them what I didn’t have, to connect with them around their experiences, our experiences—it feels like I am making an impact. To play even a small role in their future, it means a whole lot.”
working with the 7th-grade language arts team. Conducting his signature hip-hop workshops, he mentors students as they develop original works they perform in the now-annual Poetry and HipHop Showcase. Last year, he also participated in an Ubuntu virtual panel, presenting on the role of identity and voice in social justice efforts.
THE FUTURE AHEAD
Currently employed as an ESL teacher with Guilford County Schools, he’s hesitant to leave the classroom. His most recent teaching data demonstrating a 77% increase in his students’ test scores is a point of pride, a testament not only to his skill as an educator, but also his commitment to his students.
Thirty-three ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
The experiences have been cathartic for Rowsey, who has witnessed firsthand the essential efforts that CA has undertaken since his graduation in 2009. He’s appreciative not only of CA’s improved diversity, but also for the crucial work of equity and inclusion that demands support for and celebration of different identities and cultures, not merely representation.
LundMakaylabyPhoto
? The Magazine of Cary Academy
PoetryShowcaseHip-Hopand
“Matt and I have taught a lot of poetry in our teaching lives, but intentionally bringing hip-hop into it was new for us,” offers language arts teacher Lucy Dawson, who helped lead the project. “We knew it was going to be super engaging and feel more relevant to our kids—more in their own language, their own idioms.”
SPOTLIGHT ON:
Thirty-four
“In the seventh grade, we focus a lot on social justice issues, using the framework of educate, advocate, act,” explains seventhgrade teacher and project co-lead Matt Koerner. “This project represents the advocacy piece. We’re teaching students how to raise their voices to speak out, whether for themselves, those who can’t, or on issues that matter to them.”
The event marked the muchanticipated culmination of a weeks-long interdisciplinary language arts project designed to engage students through selfexpression in the thorny social issues they tackle in the classroom and their own lives. Using rap and poetry, students created odes to the unsung and underappreciated, love letters to themselves, and lyrical PSAs about pressing global issues.
This spring, students in the seventh grade took to the Berger Hall theater stage for the second annual Poetry and Hip-Hop Showcase, emceed by alum and hip-hop artist Josh Rowsey. Amidst thumping beats and the appreciative snaps of their peers, students rocked the mike, spitting original raps and passionate spoken word poetry that tackled everything from climate change to bullying, selfdiscovery to mental health.
the entire CA community. They hope it translates into more opportunities to weave hip hop and poetry into campus activities and culture.
“There is so much overlap between hip-hop and poetry. The terminology that Josh uses aligns with the poetry terms we employ in the classroom,” addsForKoerner.twoweeks, students developed their pieces under the close mentorship of Rowsey, a hip-hop artist and activist, and their teachers, garnering feedback from their peers. Initially, Koerner and Dawson had felt some trepidation in asking students to be so vulnerable and open in front of each other (they are middle schoolers, after all). They were pleasantly surprised, however, by the respectful and thoughtful collaboration that unfolded in the classroom.
“It is so important that our students of color see educators and professional artists that look like them,” offers Koerner. “From day one, when Josh came in, he changed the feeling in the room with his magnetic energy. As an alum of color, he connects with the kids on so many different levels.”
Check out this year’s Poetry and HipHop Showcase on CA’s Youtube channel: bit.ly/CApoetryhiphop.
“He listened to them, and they listened to him—connected to him— in a different way than they do us,” continues Dawson. “So many kids were vulnerable about their experiences and their identities. Josh was able to help bring out their voices and give them the confidence to perform their truths in front of the whole seventh grade. I don’t think they would have done it had Josh not been Dawson,here.”Koerner, and Rowsey are delighted in the Showcase’s success and the support it has received from
Already discussions are taking place about expanding the Showcase to more students and creating a hip-hop and poetry elective in the Upper School. Sixth-grade language arts and world cultures teacher Lauren Bullock, who helped Rowsey to emcee the inaugural Slam and is herself an acclaimed spoken word artist and poet, is interested in bringing a competitive poetry slam team to CA. For Koerner, he’d love to see students start their own CA hip-hop cypher, “a safe space where students of color can express themselves—and anybody’s welcome.”
During the final week, students refined their favorite pieces, working closely with Rowsey to “put the piece on its feet” through performative elements: pacing, tone of voice, hand gestures, and body movements that brought their pieces to life on the stage.
“From the beginning, Josh set the tone— that this was a safe place, a place where they were going to take intellectual risks, where they may feel embarrassed,” reflects Dawson. “He made that okay, stressing that their friends would have their backs. Every single class started with that, building that kind of trust and faith in each other. And it worked.”
Thirty-five ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
Investigating the finer points of a scientific theorem. Filling gaps in research by tackling a question that historians haven’t yet investigated. Helping to address intractable issues in the local community. Honing an artistic technique. Exploring a new (world or programming) language. At the helm of independent projects and studies, countless Upper School students have
Born of student ideation and facilitated by CA’s faculty, interest-driven independent studies and projects grant students the freedom and flexibility to truly own their learning. Limited only by their own curiosity, students design their own semester or year-long learning opportunities outside of the traditional curriculum, collaborating with faculty advisors to fine-tune a rigorous scope of work and set deliverables, timelines, and benchmarks for progress and success. Throughout, faculty advisors serve as seasoned guides, asking questions, sharing resources, and offering valuable feedback.
It’s a close collaboration that is rewarding for faculty and students alike, according to Upper School art teacher Karen Rose,
INDEPENDENT
Discovery. Innovation. Collaboration. Excellence. At CA, these aren’t just mission buzzwords; they reflect our community’s core values, and our faculty and students’ approach to learning. While examples across campus abound, one needs to look no further than the Upper School’s independent study program to see just how our mission comes to life in students’ hands.
Thirty-six ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
done just that and more—to resounding success both personal and public.
Read on to learn how four Chargers opted to use independent studies last year to explore their interests, family histories, and identities, with lasting impacts on themselves and the CA community.
The takeaways, both academic and otherwise, can be immeasurable. Responsible for the creation and execution of their projects, students lean into higher-level executive functions, practicing crucial project, communication, and time management skills. Empowered to chart their
THINKERS
“Independent studies offer all the things a good class does but are
completely curated for an individual student’s interest and capabilities,” offers Upper School history teacher Naomi Barlaz. “I can meet students exactly where they are without having to worry about them comparing themselves to others. There are no stakes beyond learning for learning’s sake; it is purely about their interests, their skills, and their research. The things that can sometimes get in the way of learning don’t get in the way with these projects.”
Thirty-seven ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
who advises several students engaged in painting and ceramics independent studies. “Students get a taste of what it is to be an artist in the real world, selfdirected and motivated. As an advisor, I have a community of artists that inspire me and who are constantly producing wonderful artwork in my room.”
own course, they develop heightened confidence and even a more defined sense of identity, discovering who they are as people in the world, and what they may (or may not) want to pursue in the future.
Whether engaging in a deep dive inspired by classroom interests, experimenting with career possibilities, or exploring personal passions entirely outside of CA’s established curriculum, students have the latitude to take risks, experiment, and collaborate free from the pressure of a traditional grade book. (Independent studies for credit are pass/ fail; not-for-credit projects are ungraded).
For faculty, independent studies and projects offer welcome opportunities to continue to push the curriculum by piloting new concepts, allowing time to gather student buy-in and establish expectations for future outcomes. What may start as a select group of passionate students one semester, could spur programmatic innovation for the Upper School curriculum for years to come.
This spring—just two hours before prom and over Zoom(!)—CA’s first-ever rocketry team brought home top prize and $3,500 in winnings from the American Rocketry Challenge’s 2022 Presentation Competition. For team member Matthew Schricker, ‘23, the win represents an impressive capstone to two back-to-back independent studies that have put him on the path to a career in aeronautic engineering.
SHOOTING FOR THE FUTURE
“We had to devise a way to measure the rocket’s drag coefficient, the rate at which the air slows it. That determines when and how long to deploy the retractable fins that control its speed and altitude,” explains Schricker.
“I intend to go into engineering or computer science,” offers Schricker. “Since so many colleges use MATLAB, I wanted to get an introductory understanding of it—to dip my toes in the water—beforehand.”
Meanwhile, his new rocketry team, with sights set on the national competition, occupied his after-school and club time hours. The competition presented teams with a daunting task: design a rocket that could hit a prescribed altitude at a specific time while carrying a cargo of eggs.
Last fall, as a junior, Schricker devised his first independent study: an introduction to MATLAB, an engineering programming language used by millions of engineers and scientists to analyze data, develop algorithms, and create models. He had been instantly intrigued after learning about the language in his earlier AP computer science course.
Rather than a dip, Schricker jumped in, embarking on two online courses with Mathworks, the maker of MATLAB. With support from Upper School advanced computer science teacher John Noland, he completed various coding projects, modeling everything from thermostats to Peregrine falcon flight trajectories.
“My independent studies allowed me to pursue interests that were more niche than what was offered in the regular curriculum. To have that freedom, to put what I learned into successful practice for my rocketry competition, to be able to build something for CA—that’s just been really fun.”
? The Magazine of Cary Academy
“It is a complicated thing to confirm drag coefficient. It typically requires a wind tunnel, which Cary Academy doesn’t have, and it can cost thousands to use one at a laboratory. While I was able to use my new MATLAB skills to model some rockets and run simulations, nothing beats the real Intriguedthing.”by the problem and with a growing interest in aerodynamics, Schricker set out to learn more, embarking on a second independent study with guidance from Upper School physics teacher Dr. Matt Greenwolfe. This time, he pored over physics textbooks and instructional videos, discovering more about turbulent and laminar air flows and how to measure them and their effects on objects. With his final project, he devised the solution his rocketry team needed, designing and constructing a table-sized wind tunnel that CA student-scientists can use for years to come.
Thirty-eight
Matthew Schricker, ‘23
‘23 ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
Thirty-nine
Perhaps to anyone, these would have been important family heirlooms. But to history buff Esposito, they represented a wealth of primary sources and historical artifacts that shed unique light on World War II. Inspired, she embarked on a year-long independent history project— an entry into the National History Day Contest—that would ultimately take her from Cary Academy to the Smithsonian.
Last year, Emma Esposito ‘23 discovered a treasure trove of family artifacts after the passing of her greatgreat-aunt Mary Belle Tate just shy of her 101st birthday. A member of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II, Mary Belle had documented her experience in hundreds of letters, photos, and postcards.
With Upper School history teacher Naomi Barlaz as her guide, Esposito threw herself into her research, which quickly grew beyond her personal connection to encompass a larger investigation of women’s roles in World War II. Her finished project, a large three-sided construction standing six feet tall, represents the three-sided debate that emerged between the media (espousing prevalent gender norms), the military (which needed women’s labor), and Women Army Corps members themselves (who leveraged their WAC involvement as a stepping stone to equality).
“Coming into this project, I had a surface-level understanding of the Women’s Army Corp and of World War II,” offers Esposito. “But to have the freedom and flexibility to go to this depth, to be able to use primary sources to analyze different perspectives of what people thought at the time—I learned far more than I could have in a regular classroomAssumingsetting.”therole of a working historian, Esposito refined her research skills—discovering how to corroborate, approach, and cite primary sources. She learned how to recognize her own bias and to conduct impartial historical analysis. “I learned not just to form my own opinion, but to ask: ‘Where is this coming from? Who wrote this? What are they thinking?’ and to present it impartially.”
“This project was never for a grade. It has always been purely a passion project,” she continues. “I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process—about what I want to do with my future. I know that I won’t always have these personal ties to a project, but it shows me that my academic interests and personal passions can align—and that’s exciting.”
The National History Day Contest is an annual, national contest that engages more than half a million students in conducting original research on historical topics. Recognizing the rich opportunity Mary Belle’s legacy afforded her, Esposito opted to design a physical exhibit—the kind you might find in a history museum.
HISTORYPERSONALEmmaEsposito,
“Everyone at CA was so supportive in the creation of my piece; everyone got so excited for me. It wasn’t just ‘do this part for me,’ it was working together to reach what was right for my project. It was so exciting to be directing every aspect, even when I didn’t know how to do it—they all patiently mentored me and helped me bring my vision to fruition.”
A visual artist, Esposito relished the design dimension of the project. She partnered with CA arts faculty and the Center for Community Engagement— which helped fund her project—to bring her project to life. Performing Arts Director Michael Hayes and Technical Director Aaron Yontz helped her think through fabrication and materials, instructing her on the ins and outs of construction and working with power tools. Upper School art teacher Karen
Rose provided a crash course in color theory, helping her select paint colors that made her artifacts visually pop. Video Studio Manager Steven O’Neill helped her to create a video that represented her project.
Esposito’s hard work paid off. Her project—Beyond Backing the Attack: WAC Participation in WWII—took first place in the senior individual exhibit category for high school students at both regionals and states, earning her a place in the national competition. Her project was also selected by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Learning Lab as one of 51 exhibits that will be featured in the Smithsonian’s National History Day 2022 Virtual Showcase.
“Having these ties, these primary sources has been so motivating to me,” offers Esposito, whose quick to thank her grandfather for carefully preserving Mary Belle’s artifacts these many years. “I never really had the chance to understand Mary Belle while she was living. But looking back through the lens of my research question and thesis, I can understand her now.”
As a senior, Sachar jumped at the chance to continue an independent study originated by upper-level student and friend, Armita Jamshidi, ’21, aimed at calculating and reducing Cary Academy’s ecological footprint.
Next year, Sachar’s work will be taken up by a new group of scholars who will continue the work of moving CA towards carbon neutrality.
“As we move forward to combat climate change, institutions, especially high school institutions like Cary Academy, need to follow the path that many college institutions are taking towards carbon neutrality, towards a neutral or even negative carbon footprint,” offers Sachar.
Guided by Upper School science teacher Heidi Maloy, Sachar conducted an extensive review of published studies from other institutions working towards carbon neutrality. She researched and assessed various predictive data models and calculators to determine which might be the
Forty ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
This fall, when passionate climate activist Natasha Sachar, ’22, arrives at the University of California, Berkeley, to study environmental policy, she’ll be no stranger to the challenging work of climate scientists. Thanks to a multi-year, cross-class independent study, she has plenty of hands-on experience in emissions research, data modeling, and analysis—and in working towards tangible change on CA’s campus.
“Much of my project was investigative,” explains Sachar, “I had to figure out how I was going to calculate scope two—what data to use, where to get the numbers from, what predictive models to use, and how to leverage them to calculate CA’s energy use.”
“Scope three is interesting and enormous; it encompasses everything from the emissions from faculty and student commutes to the electricity our servers use to the waste we generate, and everything in between. It is important for pinpointing where in the supply chain, and our institutional consumption, we have targetable hotspots for emissions,” offers Sachar.
Natasha Sachar, ‘22
“In class, I was learning about all these macro examples and about carbon emissions in other places; the opportunity to focus on our community was exciting. I am grateful that CA has so many opportunities for students to do that—to make actual change in our community and on our campus.”
For Sachar, her independent study was an experience for which she is grateful.
Jamshidi’s original project defined three distinct scopes, each representing a different stage in a comprehensive carbon audit for CA and culminating in a five-year plan to move CA towards carbon neutrality. With the completion of scope one in 2021—calculating the emissions generated on CA’s campus—Sachar picked up the collaborative study for scope two: determining the carbon footprint associated with CA’s energy consumption.
Sachar also laid the requisite groundwork for the start of scope three, analyzing and identifying the data sources and models that will be used to calculate CA’s “excess emissions,” those associated with the goods and services that CA uses.
best fit for her project’s—and CA’s—needs. Once identified, she pored over months of data from CA’s Duke Energy and Dominion Energy statements, calculating and analyzing campus energy use and extrapolating a curve of CA’s predicted energy use for the future.
PURPOSEPASSIONPURSUINGWITH
Sachar found it no small task and certainly not a straightforward one.
After Guard completes her year in Seoul, she will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she plans to continue her international studies. Happily, she has been accepted into the Carolina Global Launch program and will spend her first semester at Maynooth University in Ireland.
FINDING HERSELF
Guard appreciates the support and flexibility granted to her by CA and credits her independent project work— all of which required in-depth research and critical thinking skills, as well as the development of exceptional time management and communication skills—with preparing her well for whatever comes next and for giving her the confidence to continue to follow her“Thesepassions.experiences gave me the skills I’ll need in college. I’m confident; I can say ‘Oh, I’ve got this. I’ve done this before.’”
“I’ve always been interested in international studies, specifically East Asian studies,” explains Guard. “Throughout my high school career, I looked for ways to incorporate those interests in my learning.” She found the flexibility to do so in CA’s student-led, interest-driven approach to learning, which allowed her the freedom to chart her own course for her studies.
“With everything that was happening in the world and in the country during COVID, I was forced to reflect further on how my Asian identity affected my beliefs and place in the world. I had a lot of questions that I was very invested in trying to answer for myself.”
“All of the students had different backgrounds that shaped our opinions and perspectives,” explains Guard. “We were constantly reflecting on what that meant, about what it means to study a culture, particularly one that is not your own.” Inspired to learn more about her own heritage, as a senior, she once again applied to and was accepted into Stanford’s Chinese Scholars Program. For Guard, it was a deeply satisfying exploration of the forces shaping modern China and its relationship with the United States.
As a junior, Guard worked with the Upper School administration in the fall to develop an independent study to learn Korean, an emerging interest, through an online program with Hills Learning, a New York City center focused on Asian languages. The previous spring, COVID-19 had begun to take hold across the world, spurring a new wave of racist, anti-Asian sentiment. Increasingly, Guard, who is adopted and has Chinese heritage, found herself grappling with new questions about her identity.
Forty-one ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
This fall, recent grad Renn Guard, ’22, will be headed to Seoul, South Korea, to study Korean language and culture after being awarded the prestigious 2022-23 National Security Language Initiative for Youth scholarship by the U.S. Department of State. The rigorous program—designed to foster international cooperation by ensuring that Americans have the linguistic skills and cultural knowledge necessary to communicate effectively—marks another stop on a journey of self-discovery.
With support from her CA teachers, Guard paired her personal quest with her academic interests. As a junior, she applied and was accepted to Stanford University’s highly competitive Sejong Korea Scholars Program. Led by top scholars and experts in the field, the collegiate-level online program offered Guard the chance to delve deep into Korean history and U.S.-Korea relations. It was an illuminating experience that deepened her interest in international studies while simultaneously raising additional and more personal questions.
“We explored Chinese exclusion, Chinese infrastructure, Chinese adoption, Chinese economic development and trade, the Chinese diaspora. I was working with students who were Chinese, some who were first-generation Americans, some who were second, and some who were adoptees. The course was another opportunity to exercise ownership and
curiosity in my identity with academically and personally invested peers. Now, I have even more tools to talk academically about East Asia and reclaim part of my history at a deeper level.”
Renn Guard, ‘22
2005
2006
2014
2018
Whitney Hill has been appointed to the Board of Directors for Campus Pride and begins her three-year term in November. Campus Pride represents the leading national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create safer, more inclusive college environments for LGBTQ students. It exists to develop, support, and give voice to and action in building future LGBTQ and ally student leaders. 3
Kelly Sheppard welcomed Claire Alice Sheppard on May 2, 2022. Big sister Margaret is enjoying helping with Claire and revisiting all her baby toys. 2
Emily Desimone and her husband Trevor Kozacek had a beautiful baby girl in October 2021. 8
2012
2004
Yuriko Tamura stealthily married Gordon, a classmate from Stanford, right after full vaccination in May 2021. They had a tiny ceremony in their backyard with the minimum number of guests required to sign papers!
2008
Madeline Burroughs-Wanliss married O’Neal Wanliss on September 25, 2021, in Durham, North Carolina. They are currently living in Atlanta, Georgia! 7
Katie Baker won the Undergraduate Prize in Economics, 2020 and graduated in May 2021 with a double major in Economics (BS) and Statistics & Analytics (BS) with a minor in Mathematics. She received Highest Honors Distinction for her Economics Honors Thesis of “Food Insufficiency during COVID-19.” Upon graduation, Katie will be working with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a Research Analyst.
This May, Connor Riser, ‘12, and Chiraayu Gosrani, ‘12, both graduated from New York University School of Law. Connor will be staying in New York City to work as an associate in the Labor & Employment department of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Chiraayu will be starting work as a Fellow at the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles, CA, where he will be advancing the rights of low-income immigrants and their families through impact litigation and legislative advocacy. 9
of their son, George Li Petkov. Baby George was born on September 3, 2021, weighing 9lbs, 1oz. The family lives in New Jersey where Michelle works in drug development for Bristol Myers Squibb. 5
Christina (Dodwell) Kyle moved back home to Bermuda and met her husband Peter. They were married in May 2019. She currently is working for Price, Waterhouse, Cooper financial services company. The couple welcomed their first child in May.
Kelly Bright is currently in grad school at Fordham University, playing her fifth year of softball for the Rams this spring. As a studentathlete, Kelly has been very active working for WFUV, Fordham’s longstanding radio station and award-winning public media service. Most recently, she has been the radio station’s beat reporter for the New York Knicks when they play home games at Madison Square Garden. In January, the Pelicans were in NYC to take on the Knicks, and Kelly was covering the game. She met up with her former Charger friend, Trey Murphy, during pre-game warmups! 13
Nicole Kenney graduated in May with her Master of Business Administration from UNCW. Earlier this year, she was promoted to Director of Human Resources and Engagement at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
2013
Ben Hatfield is currently a pilot in the Air Force and an instructor for Air Force fighter pilots. He teaches future combat aviators how to do their job, including what you may have seen in the new Top Gun! He recently flew his fighter jet into RDU. 11
Margaret Velto graduated from Oberlin College in June and just landed a job with a reproductive justice organization in Louisville, KY!
2011
2009 & 2010
2017
2015
Rebekah C. Banks graduated from Emory School of Law on May 14, 2021, after completing her undergraduate degrees at UNCW and playing basketball there for four years.
Michelle (Luo) Petkov and her husband Atanas are excited to announce the arrival
Chase McGrath ran for Cary Town Council to represent District A in the election on May 17, 2022. He is excited to be reconnecting with his Cary roots. 10
Zoe (Dohm) Strother and her husband Tim welcomed their first child, Ruby Frances, on January 4, 2022. 12
Michelle Montpetit , ’10, and Bill Wagner, ’09, married in South Lake Tahoe, California, on July 31, 2021. Pictured left to right are Caroline Wagner (’15), Firoz Jameel (’09), Matt Nemetz (’08), Renee Montpetit (’10), Madison Slate (’10), Michelle Montpetit (’10), Bill Wagner (’09), Miguel Alecio (’09), Tyler Hartsfield (’09), Nick Kisley (’09), Connor Smithson (’09). 6
Meghan Marg Eva Morris recently became a supervisor in the appellate division of the Colorado State Public Defender, where she represents indigent people in the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Court of Appeals. Outside of work, she has been learning how to make crossword puzzles. On September 28, 2021, she had her first crossword puzzle published in The New York Times 1
Michael Sousa and his wife Skoti welcomed their first child in March, baby Harper. The Sousas live in Charlotte where Michael is Vice President and GM of Wealth at Red Ventures, a large digital marketing firm. 4
Baez Sherman began working full-time at Cisco in August 2021.
Alumni News
Forty-two ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
Alumni News 1 2 43 5 6 7 8 109 Forty-three 11 12 13 ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
Julia Sawchak , ‘15, Victoria Banks, ‘17, Matthew Lee, ‘17, and Aileen Daly, ‘15
November 17, 2021 at Mission Dupont
Eliana Buckner, ‘16, Carolyn Calder, ‘14, Elizabeth Carlton, ‘13, Alma Martinez, ‘15, Ruchi Desai, ‘13, Nupur Khadilkar, ‘13, Emma Ehrhardt , ‘16, Alec Fischbein, ‘15, Rachel George, ‘17, Anna Go, ‘17, Jaren Hubal, ‘16, Alisha Jarwala, ‘11, Grace Jin, ‘17, Myra Jo, ‘13, Kelsey Lee, ‘10, Carly Lupton-Smith, ‘16, Rachel Marston, ‘17, Thomas Marty, ‘07, Erika May, ‘12, Anne McDarris, ‘15, Haleigh Morgus, ‘12, Danielle Ochoa, ‘13, Courtney Singer, ‘01, Meagan Singer, ‘02, Alex Spancake, ‘11 (Not pictured Samanth Becker, ‘14, Max Henning, ‘11)
October 25, 2021 at Cabra
ALUMNI CONNECTIONS
CHICAGO ALUMNI HAPPY HOUR
BASEBALL ALUMNI AT THE POPE FIELD NAMING
DC ALUMNI HAPPY HOUR
October 27, 2021
Alumni gathered to launch the Charge Ahead Fund and to be a part of naming the baseball field in honor of Coach Pope. During his time at CA, he has spent countless hours on the field impacting hundreds of lives. Pictured (back row from left to right): Jack Werner, Jim Pendergast , Brandon Pope, Tyler Graybeal, Ray Pope, Adam Kramer, Sam Ingalls, Ryan Erickson, Harrison Reed, Bill Trent , Lance Wheeler, and (front row from left to right): Joe McDarris, Will Parker, Tim Werner, Harrison Reed, Wyatt Courts
Forty-four ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
Alumni News
Forty-five ? The Magazine of Cary Academy
Alumni News
ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND
Finally, after two years of waiting, we were able to gather for a weekend full of alumni celebrating. Friday night started off a little toasty with a cocktail hour in the CMS. For many alumni, it the first time seeing this new space as well as the renovated Upper School. Saturday brought opportunities to tour campus and then gather for an alumni reunion for all classes at Clouds Brewing in downtown Raleigh. It was a great time to connect with old friends and favorite faculty while experiencing so much CA new!
In accordance with our mission and the law, Cary Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, national and ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age.
1500 N. Harrison Ave. | Cary, NC 27513 caryacademy.org
Last spring, 75 Cary Academy middle and upper school thespians worked with faculty and staff to adapt and reimagine several excerpts from Yoshi Yoshitani’s Beneath the Moon: Fairy Tales, Myths, and Divine Stories from Around the World. Swirling together seemingly disparate stories and images, the students delivered a powerful, moving performance that shed light on both the individual and human experience, as well as theater’s ability to entertain, challenge, and connect us to each other.
Beneath the Moon
