Cate School 2023 Summer Bulletin

CATE

CATE BULLETIN

EDITOR

Avani Patel Shah

MANAGING EDITOR

Matt McClenathen

VISUAL EDITOR

Aimee Stanchina

COPY EDITOR

Kate Parker '85

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Mya Cubero

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Madison Sano

Aimee Stanchina

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Benjamin D. Williams IV

ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Charlotte Brownlee '85

ARCHIVIST

Judy Savage

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE

Avani Patel Shah

Matt McClenathen

Aimee Stanchina

ADVANCEMENT OFFICE

Lindsay Newlove

Evan Akers

Chris Giles

Guille Gil-Reynoso

Alison Hansen

Kellie Lancaster

Andrew MacDonnell

Sarah Preston

Emily Sosrodjojo '13

MISSION STATEMENT

Through commitment, scholarship, companionship, and service, each member of the Cate community contributes to what our founder called “... the spirit of this place ... all compounded of beauty and virtue, quiet study, vigorous play, and hard work.”

For alumni wishing to update contact information, please email alumni@cate.org.

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The Cate Bulletin is published three times a year by Cate School and is distributed free of charge to alumni, parents, and friends of the School. Send correspondence and address changes to: alumni@cate.org

The Cate Bulletin is printed by V3 on Topkote paper.

Benjamin D. Williams IV delivers his final Commencement address as Head of School to the Class of 2023 on Thayer Peck '53 Field.

In this Issue

INVOCATION

Frank Griffin

HEAD OF SCHOOL’S ADDRESS

Share Your Story

Benjamin D. Williams IV

FACULTY COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

Liminality

Rebekah Barry

STUDENT COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

Motion

Myla van Lynde '23

2022-23 AWARDS

CUM LAUDE ADDRESS

Deliberation

Lauren Jared

BACCALAUREATE ADDRESSES

Eswyn Gray '23, Willie Kellogg '23, Jennifer Brown '89

DEPARTING FACULTY & STAFF

We bid a fond farewell to six Cate faculty and staff who have made an impact during their time on the Mesa.

THE CLASS OF 2023

In a Commencement tradition, Head of School Ben Williams gathers observations, teacher and advisor comments, and campus lore to craft a “literary snapshot” of each senior.

A TRIBUTE TO BENJAMIN D. WILLIAMS IV

Close family members, friends, and colleagues write touching tributes to the distinguished Head of School following the end of his illustrious 25-year tenure at the helm of Cate School.

Invocation

By Frank Griffin, Math Instructor

Good morning everyone or dare I say great or amazing morning everyone, for this whole day will be memorable.

An invocation (from Latin) is literally to “call on or invoke the spirits” and the word shares a similar background to our ever popular Convocations, which stem from “to call together or assemble.” Today’s invocation has its origins in prayer and religious ceremony. In the early years of Mr. Cate’s Episcopalian tradition, formal ceremonies like this one started with a prayer, and for many decades at graduation, a local religious figure would be summoned on a Sunday morning to open the graduation ceremony and then quietly slip off the stage. More recently, a faculty member has performed this welcome, in part due to the fact that we are more available on Sundays.

My role today is much easier than that of the Clergy, since all I have to do is remind us to Circumspice (more Latin meaning “look around”) at both our setting and the people who are here to honor and support you, the Class of 2023. When we do, as we all know, the “spirit of this Mesa” just appears.

We all really just have one task this morning. Stay in the moment. You have looked forward way too much to this occasion, and no doubt you will look back many times as you scroll through the videos and pictures on your phones. Years from now, you might even see one of your classmates with disbelief and say, “We haven’t seen each other since graduation.” So right now, gather as many sensory observations and feelings as you can. Something magical may happen today. Don’t miss it.

Congratulations, Class of 2023.

Head of School’s Commencement Address Share Your Story

By Benjamin D. Williams IV, Head of School

When I was a graduating senior from high school, I delivered what they called the Salutatory Address at Commencement. You’re probably familiar with the Valedictory Address given by the top student in the class. Well, that wasn’t me, so they came up with a different name for it. I have a vague recollection of what I said, but I don’t have a copy of the speech anywhere. No computers back then or Google docs to make archiving easy. My remarks were handwritten, I remember that. I was a terrible typist, which was the only other alternative.

It’s strange, though, that the text of the speech is missing because I have everything else from those days. Had, I should say. In the great purge that has been this last year, I got rid of all of my old schoolwork. I was sort of amazed that I still had the stuff. Looking for a Great Gatsby paper? I had several Ben Williams originals from high school and college. They weren’t that good, though. You’ll be better off on your own.

I say that not because I reread my old papers. I didn’t. But I read some of the teacher comments and looked at the grades. It wasn’t a particularly affirming experience. You graduates will note as you get older that you remember your youth and particularly your scholarship with a certain self-serving generosity that often distorts the truth of things. My guess is that your parents know exactly what I am talking about. We

want to remember ourselves at any step along the way as a little or a lot better than we actually were.

Just ask Mr. Nolde, who taught me U.S. History my junior year. On what I remembered to be a relatively brilliant term paper on William Jennings Bryan and the Campaign of 1896, with the catchy title, “Why Did He Lose?” Mr. Nolde wrote, “On the whole, a good job but not outstanding. Hard to comment on. My biggest complaint is that your paper isn’t very interesting. It’s a bit dull.”

I wish the comments on my other papers were more affirming but … not so much. “Ben: I’d advise you to rewrite this paper,” wrote one unimpressed instructor. “Your analysis seems undisciplined,” said another. “This paper has some problems,” was the opening sentence of a third. And then there are the ones that damn with faint praise. “Parts of this are quite good, but …” or “Try not to go overboard with flowery adjectives.” That was from a paper on a Degas sculpture of a ballet dancer. You’d think a few adjectives would be helpful.

Water under the bridge at this point. I can’t do anything about the past no matter how I remember it. Nor can I recreate the 17 year-old Ben Williams and ask him what to say in a Commencement Speech. No. He did his job all those years ago. It’s mine now to close it all out. The last to his first.

That doesn’t mean the event or this speech will be memorable in the long or the short term, especially if we use my high school self as a barometer. But maybe what we say here or even how we say it is less important than the fact that we are here, together, to honor a moment that deserves attention: a moment that owes its existence to so

many moments leading up to this one. Like the loopety loop at the bottom of a rollercoaster, it’s only made possible by the momentum we gain in the journey toward it.

My father struggled with moments like this. He ran schools, too, and always labored over what to say to sum it all up. It’s too much, really, that plunge down towards the loopety loop to capture in words. But we try nonetheless. The most heated arguments I ever saw growing up were between my mom and dad when she was giving Dad feedback on the drafts of possible graduation remarks that he showed her. Mom was actually fairly gentle – at least relative to the folks who commented on my writing – but it still seemed an affront to Dad. I guess we are all a little fragile when it comes to the quality or the value of the work we do. Especially when we are trying to get things just right.

In the summer after my first year teaching, I started what I called a landscaping company to generate a little income when school wasn’t in session. Top of the Line Landscaping, I called it. It was just me really, and a lawnmower, a weed-whacker, a few garden tools, and a pair of gloves. I printed up flyers and advertised myself as the guy who would do all the jobs that nobody else wanted to do for a very reasonable rate. Cheap actually, I would come to learn. A couple of bucks an hour. Pricing has never been my strong suit. I stuffed the flyers under the windshield wipers of cars at the local grocery store, posted a few others around town, and waited for the calls.

And they came. Turns out there is a lot of stuff nobody wants to do but will happily pay someone else a very little bit of money to do. Weeding, there was lots of that. Some lawns to be mowed, too. I built a few stone walls, all by hand because I didn’t have any equipment.

When I needed a second pair of hands, I called one of my brothers.

One fellow hired me to clear a side hill that was covered in what looked like several centuries worth of fallen leaves and felled trees. That took me over a week with a rake, a big tarp to settle the leaves on, and countless trips dragging the leaf laden tarp to the top of the hill so that I could put the leaves in the back of my Dodge Dakota truck for transport to the dump. The old trees I broke up by hand – many were rotten – or cut up with a pruning saw because I didn’t own a chainsaw. We were trying to be as frugal as possible at this time. My oldest son, Ben, had just been born so Ginger was on maternity leave. My landscaping income (odd jobs, really) was all we had.

So my lunches that summer were always comprised of the cheapest cold cuts money could buy: baloney and American cheese. I get a little indigestion just thinking about it now. What’s remarkable to me, though, is how much I remember about that summer and those jobs I took on. More by far, than the details of my high school graduation or my remarks there. I was 25 during that summer of baloney sandwiches, so a few years older than my high school self, but I don’t think it is time that explains the memory.

Maybe it was the first moment I really thought of the value I placed on my time or my work. Or what might happen if I couldn’t work. That lesson came in June of that same summer, when I had to have an emergency appendectomy. I had come home the previous afternoon with pain in my side. I had been swinging a tool called a scythe much of the day, so I initially figured it was a pulled muscle. But the pain just got worse. As I lay in the hospital recovering after the surgery, I was mindful that I literally could not afford to be out of commission for very long.

It was an informative moment. And we need those. You know this, I recognize that. I have heard you in both formal

and informal settings talk about your moments, many of which you share in stories. This is gratifying to me, for our stories distinguish us and on occasion remind us who we are. Even self-aware people can wander from time to time. Our stories, in such wayward moments, are our north star. They help us find our way home.

In yours, often expressed in the chapel, I have heard the most forward thinking of you speak wistfully about savoring

One of you takes your best lessons from storybooks, one worries about living up to expectations in key moments, more than one has been keeping track of how many days remain until graduation, all are grateful that you know each other so well.

Well enough, in fact, that you share even very personal observations and details publicly: like what it means to live life in a second language or a new country, what it’s like to find God in the glorious visage of Ricky Valente '22, why it is so hard sometimes to believe in ourselves, or the lessons learned from a spider named Rosie.

Whether you have said it or sung it, there is a “Here Comes the Sun” vibe to many of your stories. You are, to paraphrase one of you, tougher than you know, faithful to each other and your identity as individuals, and a remarkable class of seniors.

the present moment, the most artistic struggle with the breadth of sensations in the world, and the most unlucky wonder about the vicissitudes of chance. The smallest of you revealed a towering work ethic, and the most optimistic a profound understanding that hope is a choice, sometimes an especially difficult one.

One of you learned courage and humility from a disabled brother. Another wishes she could be perpetually more than she is, though we wouldn’t change a thing about her. And one classmate in a rare demonstration of appreciation and concision celebrated each senior individually in his Servons speech.

It is no wonder we have been eager to soak up your acquired wisdom, which you all admit has come when you have taken some sort of leap, invested yourself somehow, tried something new or daunting or difficult. The ensuing knowledge will propel you in your respective futures in ways that you cannot know yet. But you can trust in it, just as you can and, in fact, must trust in yourselves, like you have here. If Cate teaches you anything, surely it is that you have what you need. And if you discover you need more, you know how to get that, too.

Our challenge now is simply to translate what we have done here – with all of its attendant meaning – to the other spaces in the world we will occupy. You and I share this particular challenge this year, which makes me all the more mindful of the sensations that surround and attend graduating and leaving. I have heard you wonder how much of yourselves you will leave behind at Cate. I think Sage acknowledged that others will fill his slots and that he will be “replaced.” It’s a tough word. I prefer “succeeded,” but

Keep sharing your stories. They are the tellers of us, immutable and immortal, and they contain the divinity of humanity, holding us together wherever we go in perpetuity. For me, that is a comforting thought.

“

either way, someone else is here and we are not.

Of course, Sage made those remarks in the same speech that he referred to Cate as a “prison” where we are all “trapped.” Do I have that right, Sage? Language is a wonderful medium for expression, isn’t it?

With all due deference to Sage’s sagacity (he is well-named, by the way), is it possible that Sage is asking the wrong question? Yes, others will follow us here. But need we be concerned with the part of ourselves that we leave behind? Is that what the work and the time and the companionship was for? To make a mark of some sort that lingers beyond memory, like a name carved in sandstone, or in the wood on the underside of a desk?

I have been told by a great many writers that they never complete a book. At a certain point, they simply abandon it, trusting the story to stand on its own. Are we any different? Everyone leaves

this place eventually. Some stay longer than others, but none remain forever, not in body anyway. Isn’t the better question then what part or parts of this place will we take with us?

Will those mystic chords of memory and affection reverberate always even as we travel beyond this place to other communities, other schools, other towns?

Nikita said after her Servons speech that she had already forgotten the speech itself, the experience erased by the surge of emotion and adrenaline and the trauma of public speaking. That was some comfort to me as I tried to recall my remarks from June of 1981. But, of course, it doesn’t matter what I said then. Just as it doesn’t really matter that Nikita summon the details of her experience on the dais a few weeks ago.

What she said was not for her. It was for us. It was her story, and she let it go. We took it up. And now the story lives

beyond her, just as all of ours live beyond us. Not simply here. Everywhere that we go, and perhaps beyond that. That is the true spirit behind community. Not static narratives, or loquacious Heads of School or nostalgic graduating seniors but living, breathing, evolving renderings that grow with us and within us, that travel as we do, that we pass on in some form to the children we raise or the partners we love or the colleagues we make or the young people we teach. “There is no greater agony,” Maya Angelou said, “than bearing an untold story inside you.”

Keep sharing your stories. They are the tellers of us, immutable and immortal, and they contain the divinity of humanity, holding us together wherever we go in perpetuity. For me, that is a comforting thought.

Godspeed you on your travels, my friends. I will keep you with me always.

Faculty Commencement Address Liminality

By Rebekah Barry, History Department Chair

Good morning, and to the Class of 2023, congratulations. Today is your day. It is a day to celebrate all that you have accomplished over the last four years and all that is to come. As you look out at the family, friends, classmates, and teachers here in celebration of you, know that even as you move forward you can always tap back into the strength and support of this community.

Indeed, if I had to start and finish with a single lesson that would be it: As you move through life, find those with whom you can most fully be yourself, and turn to them, for laughter, love, and guidance. But you know this already.

Throughout the year, you have modeled self-reflection and vulnerability in your Servons talks, mining lessons from The Princess Diaries and Dr. Seuss, Rosie the Tarantula and Max the Dog, Tyler Steinkamp and Kendrick Lamar, Mama Mia and “ghost trains.” And let’s not forget the two T’s: Teacups and Taylor Swift.

Although your voices and your journeys were distinct, again and again, you spoke about finding, trusting, and learning from each other. Hold on to this.

Hoping that you will carry that lesson forward, today I thought I would instead begin with a concept known as liminality. In simplest terms, liminality accounts for the mid-points in life, where one stands at the threshold of a new status. You all – in this very moment – are in a liminal state, with our graduation ceremony serving as a ritual rite of passage that marks your transition from high school student, to graduate, and to all the possibilities that that new identity holds. On a deeper level though, liminality allows us to explore what anthropologist Victor Turner described as a sort of in-betweenness or “subjunctive mood,” where we hover on the cusp of what is: not real…yet.

It is these “not real, yet” transitions that I want to explore further by sharing three short anecdotes. The first story is about a cave, the second takes place at the Pentagon, and the third is a story not my own, but of a woman who was called “the biggest, loudest, and indisputably, the rudest mouth” of feminism and radical politics in 1974.

All three highlight how the power to imagine can be a call to action. For it is precisely in these moments – where anything is possible because nothing is yet certain – that our capacity to imagine catalyzes forward momentum.

The first anecdote takes place on a high desert plain abutting the Sierra Blanca Mountains of New Mexico. Here, if you look closely across the horizon, you might perceive a subtle and unexpected dip, a place where the earth attempted to swallow itself: a steeply-sided sinkhole, at the bottom of which is a craggy, mouthlike entrance that gives way to a vast and awe-inspiring cave system.

In the 1990s, I had a chance to explore this cave as part of a four-person research team, and although there is a much longer backstory – not just of the cave’s geological evolution but also its

connections to Kit Carson, Billy the Kid, and the Apache Wars of Resistance – given our liminal focus today, I figured I’d start in the middle, quite literally. It had been slow going for over five hours as our team, guided only by the glow of our headlamps, traversed limestone ravines, lept across crevices slick with mud, and scrambled through passages with names such as Bat Cave, Devil’s Backbone, Hell Hole, and Satan’s Shoofly.

We eventually arrived at what seemed to be a dead-end; but here, the lead researcher instructed us to snap off our headlamps and sit in the pitch-black stillness. At first, nothing. But slowly, as our eyes adjusted to the absence of light and our ears became attuned to the silence outside of one’s own pulse, there it was. A whisper of air: the telltale sign of a much larger passage beyond.

We dug clear the headway of what proved to be a hidden, man-made tunnel, and up second, I scrambled toward the small opening. Suffice to say, this was a one-at-a-time sort of operation, a precaution in case the tunnel collapsed.

To enter, you had to turn yourself upside down, easing your head and shoulders into the hole and then slithering your now-inverted body down a slope, until you could draw yourself flat onto your belly. From there, you would push your pack in front of you, and then use your elbows to drag the rest of your body forward. Over and over again, for more than 150 feet, about the length of two back-to-back tennis courts.

Halfway through, I paused to rest. As I did so, I shifted my head, my helmet scraping the ceiling of the passageway, and rocks rained down on the backside of my body. There I was: buried underground, suspended in fear, neither here nor there. It was a liminal moment in every sense: frozen at the mid-point of the passage in what felt like middle earth. Heart pounding in my ears, and panic, like a lead weight, settling into my belly.

Dream and dig toward discovery. Hope and work toward change. The former inspires the latter; yet, to make real progress, we have to do both.

Standing here today, you will have guessed that I made it through – twice in fact, as this was a round-trip situation. But my story thus far is really just a preamble to help you imagine a more important consideration: that the tunnel existed in the first place. As a point of fact, the manmade tunnel that I found myself suspended in took seven years of digging, with a hundred excursions mounted in the 1960s by just a handful of cavers. Take a moment to picture this: bucket-by-bucket, meticulously excavating a 150-foot passageway sized by one’s own shoulder girth and guided only by the lure of faint airflow…for seven years. Talk about existing in a subjunctive state of “not real, yet.”

As female spelunkers Sue Carson and Becky Rohwer described in a witty “cave ballad,” digging cave tunnels requires “dirt and sweat and pain” and that you be “a little bit insane.” I would argue that what Sue and Becky joke about as insanity is, in reality, unmitigated conviction, and that this is critical fertilizer for discovery.

But what is most striking to me is that the dirt, sweat, and pain that spelunkers endure as they weasel their way through rock, stone, and earth – never knowing what they may find on the other side – is seeded by just a hint of air. I think that leads to a question that is worth holding on to as you all cross this threshold into the next stage of your lives: What does it mean to follow the wisp of a dream, to pursue the allure of even faint possibility? There is the question too of what to do when you get stuck. Here, cavers have some back-pocket wisdom that I also think is worth holding onto. As long-time tunneler, Lee Skinner, boils it down, “Dreaming and digging are two different things, and only the latter [makes] any progress.”

This is to say, sometimes you just have to “dig in,” which is ultimately what I had to do. Elbow over elbow, I slithered through. And on the other side of my panic was hands-down one of the most exceptional things I have ever seen – an underground canyon with 50-foot flowstone walls, dry rimstone

pools, pristine stalactites and stalagmites, and rare “velvet” and “rainbow” rock formations. What a gift.

Seeing however, that most of us rarely find ourselves in caves, I want to offer another anecdote, where the qualities of “dreaming and digging” borrowed from Skinner might be applied to a very different realm and, moreover, inspire us to think – not just about discovery – but also about societal change.

As such, I am going to draw you forward to the early 2000s, when I was working for the Air Force in their strategy division at the Pentagon. One project that I was involved with was a publication called The Handbook for Joint Urban Operations. In simplest terms, these Handbooks provide a common playbook used across all the different military branches to ensure coordinated operations. A key feature of these documents is that they are typically based on precedent and thus reinforce preexisting rules and norms.

Charlie Patel '23 and Jack Whelan '23 walk together during the processional of Cate's 109th Commencement ceremony.

I should pause and note that I was the only woman in this division, and generally the only woman in any given meeting that I attended at the Pentagon. And although many of my immediate male colleagues quickly became mentors and role models, this was still a time when it was all too frequently assumed that I was in the room to take notes.

Perhaps that provides some context for why, in the last round of editing the Handbook, I decided to swap out every “he” and “him” pronoun with “he/she” and “him/her” in referring to what is known as the Joint Force Commander. It was only a slight grammatical adjustment, but it did break a well-established precedent in countering the assumption that military leadership is male.

In the final review of the Handbook, one of the Marines who I was coordinating with commented, “But there has never been a female Joint Force Commander.” And I remember responding, “But there could be.”

When I was working at the Pentagon in the early 2000s, it felt ambitious to imagine a female Joint Force Commander. At that time, there were only 30 female commanders period, much less a commander with authority over a multi-service force. Today, 23 years later, women such as Air Force General Lori Robinson – who is the first woman to lead a top-tier combat command – continue to shatter glass ceilings. The persistence of women, such as Robinson and so many others, is a reminder of the grit and determination involved in trailblazing.

This recollection also makes me appreciate the linguistic adaptations our LGBT and queer friends are asking for, as an act of envisioning a world where “they” can more fully belong. As civil rights activist DeRay McKesson argues, “We can’t fight for what we can’t imagine.” He points out that historically marginalized communities and their allies and accomplices are fighting for a world that we have never lived in, and that part of the work is to speak that

world into existence through the act of imagination.

It is this sort of imagining that Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza describes as having the potential to carry us “fearlessly further than we’ve gone before.” Unlike the whisper of possibility that motivates cavers to tunnel further toward new discoveries, here, many already share a clear vision for where we hope to go – a vision for a kinder, more equitable, more just, and sustainable world – and while that world has not been fully realized yet, we hold on to the possibility that “it could be.”

You all will play a role in moving us forward, and there will be smaller acts, a commitment to more inclusive language perhaps, as well as larger efforts and watershed moments. Some of you, like General Robinson, may even become a “first.”

And yes, there may be times when you tune into the news and feel defeated or stuck, but as anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Like Skinner’s acknowledgment that it takes “dreaming and digging” to make any real progress, societal change requires both as well. As McKesson notes: “Hope is not magic; hope is work...The work at hand is hope-work.”

One of the joys of teaching is that it fills me with hope, year after year after year. The knowledge that we are graduating students like you into the world is inspiring, as you have already proven to be dreamers and diggers in so many ways…and you have only just begun. For while your future paths are “not real, yet,” they are marked by what Turner described as the “unprecedented potency” of the subjunctive moment.

My advice to you is thus to always create space for possibility, even if it is a mere whisper, and then forge ahead, digging in and doing the work, whatever that may mean or be for you.

And lastly, perhaps you will take a page from the playbook of lawyer, civil rights activist, and radical feminist Florynce Kennedy, aka “Flo.” In her biography film, Gloria Steinem said, “Sometimes the only way you can get attention to the problem…is to break the form. You have to stop playing the game in order to change the content.”

Steinem was describing her good friend Flo. Tireless, fierce, and flamboyant, Flo pursued change, relentlessly, and she did so on her own terms and in her own way, typically wearing her signature cowboy hat and pink sunglasses. Flo’s story reminds us that: as important as “dreaming and digging” a better world into existence is the imagining of self.

Four years ago, you took a leap of faith in joining this community, not knowing what it would be like or who exactly you would be in it. You found your way, and you also found yourselves. As your Servons talks so beautifully captured, during your time here you had to envision – and at times, re-envision –the “you” that you wanted to be. Keep doing this. Throughout your life, and like Flo, unapologetically so. Because as Kiowa novelist and poet N. Scott Momaday writes, “We are what we imagine…Our best destiny is to imagine, at least, completely, who and what, and that we are.”

To conclude – especially on a day that is awash with so many words – I will leave you with just a handful.

Dream and dig toward discovery. Hope and work toward change. The former inspires the latter; yet, to make real progress, we have to do both. And along the way, don’t be afraid of “breaking form” and “changing the game” as you envision both our world and your place in it. Because we are what we imagine… or at least, we could be.

Thank you, and heartfelt congratulations to the exceptional Class of 2023. It has been an honor sharing these past four years with you.

Student Commencement Address Motion

By Myla van Lynde '23

Ihave this intense preoccupation with water, with its perpetuity and its course and its uncontrollable movements. Living so close to the ocean has left me with an appreciation for waves, for the early mornings and late nights when the surf takes on its own ungovernable presence. I am drawn to those transitory times, sunrise and sunset, when there is both gentleness and ferocity in the water’s movement. It is a comfortable rhythm, for the most part, but it is also terrifying. The waves do not hold back. Look at a fountain, a manmade apparatus that attempts to take control with layers of rock, but that must relinquish that control the second water comes out with protracted fluidity. Look too at how water flows out of a faucet, how it cascades and disregards intent by splashing all over the counter. There is no stagnancy here and no room for human definition. Water understands change instinctively because it is always in motion.

Summary is profoundly difficult. I hold words close to my heart, but still I find myself frustrated by the inadequacy of a sentence to express the fluctuating nature of reality. For instance, I could say: this class has spent the past four years here, attending Cate, completing high school. True, but not nearly true enough. Not enough because it does not include hours or white brick walls or when the amphitheater sometimes glows in the rain. Holding life close to your heart, the way we do at Cate, means that there are never enough words to clarify exactly what you mean. Still, since words are the best human measure of sincerity, we try our best to shape them into truth. Like water from a fountain, truth is perpetual, truth doubles back on itself. If you want to understand a moment, if you want to

find its truth, I think you have to look at the motion of it. And there is motion everywhere at Cate.

For many of us, that first motion comes in the decision to leave home. I wonder how much we knew about this movement when we decided on it, this movement away that is also a movement towards. This is not a motion we take lightly – there is deliberation and careful thought. There is courage. It is a motion that means when we remember high school, we remember a life, not just a classroom. We remember avocados and passion fruit lining the side of the road. We remember walking on the railroad tracks in Carp and we remember lingering over dinner, dinner fading into study hours. The very first thought I had when arriving here, scribbled furiously on the first page of the notebook I bought in breathless volatile mythic anticipation of high school: I am so scared, but everyone here is brave and interesting and that inspires me.

This class moved together, at first, pressed close in circles on senior lawn, clinging to one another across campus. We sat far too many at round wooden tables every meal and we discovered each other. It seems to me that a group must first learn how to move together in order to find where personal motion might fit. The formation of a class is a delicate tension between individual and collective, between the parts and the harmonic whole. The Class of 2023, with our noticeable array of talents and propensities and identities, exemplifies this sort of equilibrium. We move together, still, but with the confidence that comes from having now discovered our separate selves. Though we lost some of our early years to the pandemic, we

have managed to find our footing both separately and simultaneously. On a Sunday nearing the end of senior year, I swam in the Pacific and let the waves pull me under and then I came back up for air and ran down the beach to find my notebook so I could write: everyone here has something to say and that inspires me.

Emily Dickinson wrote a poem that I return to whenever I consider moving on from something consequential. “Forever,” she believes, “is composed of Nows/ ‘Tis not a different time/ Except for Infiniteness/ And Latitude of Home.” By her definition, moving ahead means moving to the next now, the next singular infinity. We move up and move on because time waits for nobody. As seniors, we wonder about the permanence of home. If we cannot stay in a place we consider our home, then should we take comfort in the latitude of a second? Looking back, it is incredible to consider all the latitudes we have moved through over these four years.

Cate students hold specific, deliberative motion in our bones. A day here requires moving amidst Harkness tables, amidst sports fields and dorms, and of course that day is itself a movement through time. We push ourselves to consider perspective, to move from one thought to the next. In conjunction, this is how we begin to shape truth. There is vibrancy in each of us and to share that means moving through every possible avenue of communication. We form connections through thought, through numbers, through discipline, through asking questions. I am not sure I will ever find myself in a place where curiosity is held in such high esteem. In the classroom, discussions move with

I see conversation feeding connection feeding community – and what is all of this if not motion towards something greater than the self? To the Class of 2023, what an honor it has been to move together in this place.

intentional fluctuations. Tangents are appreciated, even celebrated as the essence of education. I think our Inquiry projects epitomize this spirit –the satisfaction of following an inkling to its natural conclusion and the mutual joy of creating something we are proud of. All of this is movement approaching an understanding of the world, and even if we never quite reach a conclusion, at least we are on our way.

Outside, it only takes watching a single soccer game to understand the tenacity of Cate motion. See swimmers stretching on the poolside or dancers keeping time in transit, lacrosse players on the field. Here, late afternoon sun paints everything a surreal shade of orange. See how we take to the mountains at the start of each year and stumble upon astonishing wilderness. See even the lip sync contests, those brazen cheers and spirit. The routine of physical movement is simple and elemental.

In physics, we learned that the acceleration of an object depends on its mass and the amount of force applied. I always wondered whether the same can be said about human life. If we are constantly accelerating, what keeps us in that state? Some combination of relationships and setting must make up that applied force. Somehow, influences and experiences must coincide to propel us onwards, and that propulsion is a force for good.

It is striking that so many of our traditions here are centered around gesture. Sunset ceremony is a commemoration of the connections we have been able to sustain in our time here, and this tribute comes in the form of action. A hug or a handshake is a concrete manifestation of a concept. If words are not enough to express the truth of belonging, then there is accuracy in these motions. Walking out of Servons speeches, we link arms and move out of the chapel, allowing our steps to align. We recognize the emotional

journey we have completed through an actual journey. Indeed, even informal traditions find purpose through movement. When we leave assemblies, we coalesce into groups that form, drift, and re-form. Then, here is us reconvening. We are always organizing ourselves in one way or another.

And while our own movements are purposeful, there are forces in motion outside of our power. One such force is sound through space. Sound at Cate: idle small talk is interspersed with philosophical revelations at the lunch table. I wake to birdsong outside my window and fall asleep to diffused footsteps in the hallway. And music. Here, there is always music. We pass by the chapel during M Block accompanied by vestiges of violin or piano or electric guitar. We let our playlists mingle in dorms, in bathrooms while we brush our teeth together – I always thought it was a lovely thing to be able to hear the bass lines narrating your neighbor’s late-night musings. There is music, too, in coming home to a common room overflowing with easy laughter.

When I think of leaving this musical place, I think of memory, and when I think of memory, I think of pictures. Maybe years from now, high school will become film from our trip to Pyles or photo strips from that homecoming. There is an anticipatory nostalgia to the act of taking a picture, because in doing so, we say: this is something I want to remember, this is something I want to keep. Can we really keep it, though? Taking a photograph means trying to distill motion into stillness, which seems impossible.

In his short story “Blow-Up,”

Julio Cortázar tells the story of a man who becomes disillusioned with photography as a vehicle for memory. He writes of, “… life that is rhythmed by movement but which a stiff image destroys, taking time

in cross section, if we do not choose the essential imperceptible fraction of it.” Where is this essential fraction? How can we parse it out among infinite other fractions? Cortázar turns life into sheet music, arguing that rhythm is indispensable. A photograph has the potential to hold the rhythm of life, but usually it falls short, landing somewhere in between measures or in a different melody altogether. If movement is the cadence that propels, it follows that most attempts to capture truth will throw us off beat. The rhythm of Cate, or of any place for that matter, is thus a sort of an enigma. Every revision leaves space for another, perfection left improbable. Try to stop time in a second and it moves on to the next while you are still stuck in the last.

clatter of silverware on the table and tennis shoes on wood and comfortable chatter and wonder what it all adds up to. I see conversation feeding connection feeding community – and what is all of this if not motion towards something greater than the self? To the Class of 2023, what an honor it has been to move together in this place.

I like to keep lists of things I find in each place I visit, those nonmaterial things I cannot take with me when I leave. I am not sure exactly when this started, but now I have index cards in red ink and mental souvenirs. On my Cate School list, underlined and in bold: here, I have found people who have taught me how to think, who come from wildly different places, who remind me to stop and absorb the finite charm of a dandelion. And that is irreplaceable. Each of my classmates has taught me something – at every moment, inspiration is instinct. Beside these students, I have found intuition and wonder. Here, I have found home.

this conjunction of meaning and setting? At this school, we look for the point at which imagination and reality overlap, the point at which the two can move as one. Every landscape moves. Sunsets outside Parsonage bleed into the sea and that is poetry in motion. Here are those years spent with our heads tilted back, eyes open, here is us letting in the sky. Here is the music of us atop the quiet, pulsing rhythm of our movements.

So then, perhaps it is best to stand still and watch the motion of life happen around us. Summary is not so difficult if we relinquish the need for absolute clarity, or if we let tranquility and motion coexist. To explore this, I sat in Booth Commons one morning and watched. A dining hall illustrates so perfectly the passage of time, and I stayed there because I was fascinated by the ebb and flow of the room. For those of you who have more time left at Cate, I urge you to look around at this precious movement. Look at the way we sit and how our body language mirrors the patterns of our speech. Listen to the

A home is a setting and a setting is a place, and place is where movement is cradled – every minute here is held fast in the folds between classrooms and walkways and memories. We might move through Cate as individuals, but it is this shared context, this definition of a Cate student, that allows us to be known as a particular whole. We travel together. Motion. In an essay entitled Drawing the Constellations, Rebecca Solnit notes, “So metaphors are, like constellations, navigational tools to travel by… They measure the route from here to there. The body of the beloved is a landscape, but landscape is also a body; each is traveled in terms of the other, and thus the world is knit together, with those constellating lines of imagination.”

Even metaphors are motion. Cate has the potential to be a metaphorical constellation, each of us a star wondering at the spaces in between. A metaphor is a landscape. A landscape is place and space and definition all at once. What else can we do in a place of learning but strive for

The motion of time creates a beautiful narrative confusion. Where are we now? Is it the same place we were four years ago, or have we ended up somewhere thoroughly different? No answers are definite and no answers are universal, but what is certain is that we have moved through these years and now find ourselves on the verge, on the precipice of personal revision. If change is a constant, then leaving is no more than the next motion in an immortal series. We know, however, that it means more. This final motion takes on a significance that is almost too large, as if our minds have outdone our bodies. That makes me think again of fountains and waves and eternity.

We are graduating and this is a motion laden with consequence. The essential fragment of leaving a place is here, now, when the Class of 2023 walks down the grass. We move onto the stage, in motion, in memory of all the motions we have completed during our time here. This setting holds that memory, and each of us holds a fragment of that memory. Each of us, in other words, holds a piece of our greater truth. That is the gift we have given to one another, that is the acceleration we have unanimously applied. Here, find brave and interesting souls who have coincided. See us coincide for a moment onstage, an action in direct representation of the way our minds have moved. Alongside memory, we hold pride in ourselves and pride in this school.

We have learned fiercely and permanently from our movements here and hope that those who follow will do the same. Thank you.

We have learned fiercely and permanently from our movements here and hope that those who follow will do the same.

“

2022-23 Awards

Commencement Awards

Jeffrey Sumner Pallette '88 Award

Claiborne Beurle '23

William New, Jr. '59 ServonsAward

Monique Parsons '84

Santa Barbara Scholarship Cup

Emily Allison '23

Ellis Cup

Nicole Teh '23

Ellie Tunnell '23

Morgan Gwynne Temby '69 Award

Desi Flores '23

Beatrice Thompson '23

The Miramar Award

Charlie Patel '23

Babacar Pouye '23

Dohrmann Pischel Class of 1914 Medal

Mary Foster '23

Wade Nieman '23

Nelson D. Jones '48 Medal

Willie Kellogg '23

Kennedy Kirkland '23

Santa Barbara School Medal

Cyrus Symington '23

Head of School’s Award

Liz Sutter '23

William Shepard Biddle '18 Cup

Claiborne Beurle '23

Charlotte Brownlee '85 Cup

Charlotte Brownlee '85

Kendall Thorne '23

Benjamin D. Williams IV Inquiry Award

Benjamin D. Williams IV

Ella Chen '23

The Stephen Spittler '63 Cup

BETH CAYLOR Science Instructor

Each year, The Stephen Spittler Cup, Class of 1963, is awarded to a faculty member whose presence on the Mesa pushes their students to challenge themselves in and out of the classroom, who inspires their students to lead with kindness and respect, and who brings joy and laughter to all of those around them.

Every faculty member on this campus is cherished and admired for their generosity, kindness, and passion. This year, however, the Class of 2023 chose to recognize one faculty member in particular for their devotion and investment in us and the whole community.

This faculty member is quick to light up a room with her smile and daily checkins. She is known and loved by all for her kindness and warm soul. Whether it’s in the classroom or on the dance floor at prom, she is all of our biggest cheerleaders.

Often thought of as a mom to us all, she is quick to make the Bothin common room a place for laughter,

baking, and bonding, and anytime you need advice she is patient as she listens and thoughtful as she responds. She demonstrates her empathy and compassion in her respect for all members of the community, and she is not afraid to urge us to reevaluate our misconceptions. Who better for us to learn from than someone who cares so deeply about us?

Beth Caylor has devoted herself to our class. She’s a weekly Public Service Night participant, Bothin Dorm Head, she runs Cate’s scuba program, and brings her science knowledge (and passion) to the biology classroom each day – whether that’s learning about the foundations of cell knowledge or how humans are actually descended from fish. On top of being a mother figure to us all, she is a mother to her son Holden.

And yet, her jobs never take away from her spirit, from her unending encouragement or her open arms. And I can attest when I say this, no advisor brings better snacks to advisory each week than her. I could not be more lucky

to call Ms. Caylor my advisor along with my five advisory siblings. At Cate, she has been my biggest advocate and loudest supporter. Every day, she inspires me to practice kindness above all else – and I know it’s not just me who she inspires this in, it’s all of us.

As we move beyond this Mesa, we’ll keep your generosity and selflessness in mind, trying our best to follow in your footsteps and care so deeply for those whom we are surrounded by.

Ms. Caylor, I can’t adequately express my gratitude for you and all you’ve done for me. Without you, I wouldn’t have grown in the ways I did or thrive here in the ways I have. Thank you for being my biggest supporter, I love you and I’ll forever be grateful for you.

When we need support, you are who we go to, and when we need love, you are who we go to as well. It is our honor and the Class of 2023’s honor and privilege to present you with the Spittler Cup.

Presented by Claiborne Beurle '23 and Charlie Patel '23

The Jeffrey Sumner Pallette '88 Award

CLAIBORNE BEURLE '23

Presented

by

Liz Sutter '23 and Cyrus Symington '23

The Jeffrey Sumner Pallette '88 Award is presented by the graduating class to a classmate whose presence and character have inspired our class to laugh, question, and care for each other through a combination of honesty, kindness, and optimism. This person has remained unapologetically themselves, showing us all that authenticity is the key to joy here at Cate.

This place will forever be grateful for her ability to care genuinely about everything and everyone. Through her commitment to leading spaces surrounding environmentalism and feminism at Cate, she never hesitates to lead change around campus. She’s a regular face in assembly announcements, spreading awareness through fun skits and positive energy. And above all, she still has time to check in with her beloved '25 House girls, who have looked up to her so much this year.

She has the remarkable ability to see the good in everything. In her Servons speech, she touched on the idea that there was time where she wanted to leave Cate, but I can say without hesitation that our grade would feel incomplete if she had gone. She joined our community during the midst of the pandemic, a tough time for everyone, but still learned to flourish at Cate, bringing enormous amounts of joy to our grade.

Whether it’s sharing a laugh in the dining hall with her or sitting patiently while she braids tinsel into your hair, you only ever feel happier after you interact with her. In some way or another she has touched us all. We are honored to present the Jeffrey Sumner Pallette Class of 1988 award to Claiborne Beurle.

The W. Burleigh Pattee Fellowship

HANNAH SOLIS-COHEN, HISTORY INSTRUCTOR

Established by friends of Mr. Pattee, to honor outstanding teaching at Cate. A student at Cate and the parent of an alumnus, Mr. Pattee served as a Cate trustee for 28 years. Known widely for his good sense and frugal lifestyle, Mr. Pattee was a stickler for value.

At the Burlingame Country Club outside of San Francisco, where Mr. Pattee was a member, the caddy fees were, in Mr. Pattee’s mind, completely intolerable. To avoid the expense, Mr. Pattee built a small trailer that he could strap to his faithful Labrador retriever. The dog dutifully followed his master over the course, clubs in tow, requiring only a biscuit or two in the way of a tip. There were, however, things that Mr. Pattee was quite willing to pay for, and good teaching is at the top of the list.

This particular fellowship comes with a $1,000 stipend, and is awarded this year to a teacher who has committed herself broadly to this place, as devoted to building new curriculum as she is to guiding student athletes or supporting the many young people who turn to her for guidance. It is awarded this year to Hannah Solis-Cohen.

The Centennial Fellowship

COLLEGE

AMY GILES

Conceived to honor thoughtful, purposeful, and innovative classroom teaching, and focused directly on pedagogy and practice, this award seeks to recognize an educator whose work this year has demonstrably advanced his or her own teaching skills, course design, and lesson planning and in so doing impacted productively the learning of their students. This particular fellowship comes with a $3,000 stipend to be divided among the recipients: Maude Bond, Margot Dorion, and Amy Giles of the College Counseling Team.

The Circumspice Fellowship

TROY SHAPIRO, SCIENCE INSTRUCTOR

Designed to acknowledge the multiplicity of endeavors in which Cate faculty members are involved. This award recognizes excellence in teaching in the broadest application of that role, encompassing as we do at Cate, all that happens in the classroom, in the dormitories, on the stage or athletic fields, and in broad-based engagements with the community.

This is an honor built on the actualization and exemplary achievement by a faculty member of the very same diverse commitments we ask our students to make. This particular fellowship comes with a $2,500 stipend.

The Circumspice Fellowship is awarded to Troy Shapiro.

The Charlotte Brownlee '85 Cup

CHARLOTTE BROWNLEE '85 KENDALL THORNE '23

The Charlotte Brownlee '85 Cup or The Brownlee Cup is awarded to a student whose expression of self and citizenship on this Mesa embodies the four pillars of the School’s mission: commitment, scholarship, companionship and service. Named in honor of a member of the first co-educational class to enroll at Cate who returned to the Mesa to lead and shape this School, the Brownlee Cup pays tribute to those who invest themselves completely and in so doing contribute profoundly and perpetually to the spirit of this place.

In this year of the Brownlee Cup’s inception it will be awarded twice. The first award is given to the alumna it honors, who notably in a recent speech to the community pointed out that she never received an award when she was a student at Cate. We remedy that today. Join me in congratulating Charlotte Brownlee.

The second award is to a member of the Class of 2023: Kendall Thorne.

William New Jr. '59 Servons Award

MONIQUE PARSONS '84

The William New Jr. '59 Servons Award was conceived to honor the legendary service to Cate of its namesake. For many years the award was presented by Bill New himself: an inventor, philanthropist, trustee, and friend. With Bill’s passing, the award now lives beyond him, a memory of the service he offered this community and a standard for those of us who would presume to follow in his footsteps. The Servons Award acknowledges service that is as distinctive and unselfish as it is impactful and memorable.

It is awarded this year to an alumna of Cate whose investment in the life and work of the School has only grown from its impressive beginnings. A native Carpinterian, she arrived at Cate as a sophomore, graduating with the Class of 1984 and going on to Princeton. A brilliant writer with a distinctive focus on religion, she earned her Masters in Journalism from the Medill School at Northwestern and then a Masters of

Divinity from Harvard. Professionally, she became a fixture on NPR, an author, and a celebrator of the connective tissue that unites all people and faith systems.

She joined the Cate Board of Trustees in 2006 and quickly stepped into leadership roles. She led our Education and Student Life Committee, helped to plan key retreats, even hosted a trip for trustees to visit peer schools in the northeast to better understand our market and our place within the constellation of boarding schools. In 2011, she became President of the Cate School Board of Trustees, the first woman and the first alumna to hold that position. Kind, thoughtful, unendingly fair, and determined always to care for the community of the School, our Servons Award winner consistently stepped into the most demanding trustee roles and carried the weight of her responsibility with patience and grace. The School’s 2014 Strategic Plan, which laid the groundwork for so much of the change

on our campus and in our program is one of the meaningful byproducts of her visionary leadership and guidance.

Her efforts to expand the diversity of the Board of Trustees, and in particular to engage more alumnae in the volunteer leadership of the School have resulted in a Board today that is majority female and more reflective of the diverse heritage of our school community.

She even stepped up to lead the For Cate and Forever Campaign with her husband, virtually assuring the success of the most ambitious fund-raising effort in our School’s history. It is my great pleasure to honor with the Servons Award one of those rare keepers of the spirit of this place, Monique Parsons. Accepting the award on behalf of his mother is current 11th grade Cate student, Jules Wecker.

Jules Wecker '24 accepts the William New Jr. ’59 Servons Award on behalf of his mother, Monique Parsons '84.

The Benjamin D. Williams IV Inquiry Award

BENJAMIN D. WILLIAMS IV ELLA CHEN '23

“Cate is a question place, not an answer place.” This important message about learning at Cate is often part of Ben Williams’ public remarks on behalf of the School. The statement speaks to an educational philosophy grounded in humility and inquiry. To honor a quarter century of remarkable leadership as Head of School and perpetual teacher, the Ben Williams Inquiry Award is given to a student whose scholarship is generous, original, and demonstrates a sense of wonder about all that we do not know.

It is my pleasure to present this award to two recipients – the first is to whom the award is named. In honor of your remarkable 25 years of leadership and on behalf of the countless number of students, faculty, families and friends you have influenced and inspired, we present this award – your award – to you Ben – the “Benjamin D. Williams IV Inquiry Award.”

The second awardee is to a student of the Class of 2023: Ella Chen.

Faculty Awards

Stephen Spittler '63 Cup

Beth Caylor

W. Burleigh Pattee Fellowship Award

Hannah Solis-Cohen

Fellowship Award: Centennial

Maude Bond

Margot Dorion

Amy Giles

Fellowship Award: Circumspice

Troy Shapiro

Academic Awards

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

James C. Durham '02

Writing Prize

Myla van Lynde '23

English Department Prize

Beatrice Thompson '23

HISTORY DEPARTMENT

The Frank B. Light Cup

Mia Groeninger '25

Harry Su '25

Edwin Hartzell United States

History Prize

Oscar Livingston '23

Thomas Paige '24

Sophie Alijani '24

The James Masker Global Studies Award

Eswyn Gray '23

Ellie Tunnell '23

History Department Prize

Carlo Kim '23

Harry McAdam '23

HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT

Gaby Edwards

Humanities Award

Elise Tsai '26

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT

Stanley M. Durrant Mathematics Prize

Harry Su '25

Colin Day Mathematics Award

Brian Payne '23

Allan J. Gunther Mathematics Award

Athena Ke '23

Rory Zhang '23

Rensselaer Polytechnic Medal

Annie Chian '24

Computational Thinking Award

Kendall Thorne '23

Oliver Dworsky '23

MODERN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT

Chinese Prize

Cathleen Chow '23

French Prize

Athena Ke '23

Japanese Prize

Ada James '23

Spanish Prize

Myla van Lynde '23

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Biology Prize

Ella Chang '23

Chemistry Prize

Desi Flores '23

Physics Prize

Brian Payne '23

Pritzker Science Early Distinction Award

Jeeyou Jung '25

The Hans F. Summers Award

Emily Allison '23

Art Awards

Joseph Knowles Foundation Arts Award

Ramya Bangaru '26

Ian Sheshunoff '26

Fred Bradley '68 Prize: 2-dimensional

Talia Tom '23

Fred Bradley '68 Prize: 3-dimensional

Wade Nieman '23

James R. Feld '81

Ceramics Award

Mei Gong '24

Jules Wecker '24

Tony Hooker '56 Sculpture Award

Desi Flores '23

Photography Prize

Gigi Geyer '23

Ella Chang '23

Irwin Exhibition Award in Photography

Caroline Batchelder '24

Digital Imaging Award

Tonfai Nokhong '24

Joseph Bradley Art Prize

Ada James '23

Justin Musyimi '23

Marion Wolsey Cate Acting Prize

Carly Medina '23

Shelby Kernisant '23

Dance Award

Eswyn Gray '23

Jae Hall-Collins '23

Theater Award

Ben Kim '23

Noor Harwell '24

Franklin Ellis Vocal Prize

Phebe Hancock '23

Jack Whelan '23

Peter Folger '25 Music Cup

Nicole Teh '23

Josie Frazer '24

Extracurricular Awards

Betty Woodworth

Librarian’s Award

Lylie Bechtel '23

Myla van Lynde '23

Mesan Award

Ada James '23

Marley Joseph '23

Thalia Ruxin '23

El Batidor Award

Tatiana von Bothmer '23

Cathleen Chow '23

Myla van Lynde '23

Community Engagement Award

Eswyn Gray '23

Noah W. Hotchkiss

Memorial Award

Jengus Ercil '23

Nikita Nautiyal '23

Technology Prize

Ben Kim '23

Student Activities Award

Ellis Alegrado '23

Kaity Hendricks '23

Alex Huffer '23

Shelby Kernisant '23

Carlo Kim '23

Tatiana Young '23

Will Vanica '23

Human Development Award

Emmett Mack '23

Alex Tang '23

Athletic Awards

Outdoor Program Award

Willie Kellogg '23

Redington Cup Award

Nic Forry '25

Peter Lehman '25

Jenevive Won '26

Most Inspirational

Athlete Award

Kennedy Kirkland '23

Babacar Pouye '23

Sportsmanship Award

Gigi Geyer '23

Emmett Mack '23

Kendall Thorne '23

Beach Soulé Award

Wade Nieman '23

Cyrus Symington '23

Peter Cate '37 Award

Ellie Tunnell '23

SENIOR VARSITY SPORTS LETTER AWARDS

Six Varsity Letters

Emily Allison '23

Ava Bracher '23

Jengus Ercil '23

Jack Higgins '23

Athena Ke '23

Jae Lim '23

Nicole Teh '23

Rory Zhang '23

Seven Varsity Letters

Mary Foster '23

Caden Fuchs '23

Alexander Goncharenko '23

Stella Meister '23

Charles Patel '23

Tamsyn Taptich '23

Will Vanica '23

Eight Varsity Letters

Phebe Hancock '23

Sage Hou '23

Harry McAdam '23

Brian Payne '23

Liz Sutter '23

Cyrus Symington '23

Talia Tom '23

Myla van Lynde '23

Wade Nieman '23

Jack Whelan '23

Nine Varsity Letters

Lylie Bechtel '23

Emmett Mack '23

Ten Varsity Letters

Kendall Thorne '23

Eleven Varsity Letters

Oscar Livingston '23

Twelve Varsity Letters

Gigi Geyer '23

Ellie Tunnell '23

VARSITY SPORTS AWARDS

Baseball

Marley Joseph '23

Emmett Mack '23

Boys Basketball

Jengus Ercil '23

Babacar Pouye '23

Will Vanica '23

Girls Basketball

Desi Flores '23

Mary Foster '23

Talia Tom '23

Boys Cross Country

Caden Fuchs '23

Harry McAdam '23

Girls Cross Country

Emily Allison '23

Kendall Thorne '23

Football

Jack Whelan '23

Pen Brooks '24

Tyler Martinez '24

Kristian Scurtis '24

Boys Lacrosse

Harry McAdam '23

Wade Nieman '23

Jack Whelan '23

Kristian Scurtis '24

Burak Yanar '24

Girls Lacrosse

Phebe Hancock '23

Ellie Tunnell '23

Boys Soccer Sage Hou '23

Jae Lim '23

Girls Soccer

Gigi Geyer '23

Emie Nam '23

Tamsyn Taptich '23

Boys Swimming

Cyrus Symington '23

Zack White '24

Girls Swimming

Nicole Teh '23

Angie Zoric '24

Boys Tennis Jengus Ercil '23

Girls Tennis

Ella Chang '23

Ellie Tunnell '23

Boys Track and Field

Justin Musyimi '23

Rory Zhang '23

Girls Track and Field

Emily Allison '23

Kennedy Kirkland '23

Kendall Thorne '23

Boys Ultimate Frisbee

Alex Tang '23

Max DeVore '25

Boys Volleyball

Clyde Kye '24

Mack Nieman '25

Girls Volleyball

Ava Bracher '23

Gigi Geyer '23

Mel Davidson '24

Boys Water Polo

Emmett Mack '23

Wade Nieman '23

Cyrus Symington '23

Girls Water Polo

Stella Meister '23

Liz Sutter '23

Myla van Lynde '23

Class Agents

Claiborne Beurle '23

Ella Chen '23

Mary Foster '23

Jae Hall-Collins '23

Kaity Hendricks '23

Wade Nieman '23

Charlie Patel '23

Nicole Teh '23

Ellie Tunnell '23

Cum Laude Society

Emily Allison '23

Ella Chang '23

Ella Chen '23

Cathleen Chow '23

Caden Fuchs '23

Athena Ke '23

Carlo Kim '23

Jae Lim '23

Myla van Lynde '23

Brian Payne '23

Cyrus Symington '23

Tamsyn Taptich '23

Nicole Teh '23

Kendall Thorne '23

Ellie Tunnell '23

Rory Zhang '23

1. Beatrice Thompson '23 and Desi Flores '23 were recipients of the Morgan Gwynne Temby '69 Award, given to students who have demonstrated deep concern for the welfare of others.

2. Nicole Teh '23 and Ellie Tunnell '23 share the Ellis Cup, awarded in honor of Sandy Ellis, in recognition of a student whose spirit, energy, and unselfish concern for the community have had an unusually positive impact on the School.

3. Cyrus Symington '23 gets a close look at the Beach Soule Award – awarded to Symington and Wade Nieman '23 – in honor of outstanding athletic achievement.

4. Benjamin Kim '23 brought home the Technology Prize, given to a student who shows both excellence in the productive use of technology and support of others.

5. Babacar Pouye '23 holds up the Most Inspirational Athlete Cup, awarded alongside Kennedy Kirkland '23 (not pictured) and given to students, who by personal example, have inspired their peers with hard work, leadership, and unselfish play.

6. Liz Sutter '23 walks off the stage after receiving the Head of School’s Award, given to a member of the senior class whose commitment and service to the Cate community has been impactful, meaningful, and profound.

7. Gigi Geyer '23, Emmett Mack '23, and Kendall Thorne '23 were presented with the Sportsmanship Award for their exemplary behavior, deportment, graciousness in victory and defeat, and sense of fairness.

Commencement Through the Lens

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1. Carly Medina '23 and Jae Hall-Collins '23 are all smiles while walking to the stage during the processional.

2. Ellis Alegrado '23 listens to her senior citation before accepting her diploma.

3. Eswyn Gray '23 and Abby Oke '24 embrace following the ceremony.

4. Carlo Kim '23 and Alex Huffer '23 pose for a photo in the Johnson Library before Commencement.

5. Shelby Kernisant '23 gleefully approaches the stage to accept her diploma.

6. Students take one last photo together as Cate seniors through the Johnson Library windows prior to the ceremony.

7. Zaq Asuamah '23 has his boutonniere pinned on by Charlotte Brownlee '85 as the Class of 2023 gets ready in the Johnson Library.

8. Oscar Livingston '23 shares an embrace during the traditional faculty receiving line following graduation.

9. Sage Hou '23 shares a laugh on stage with his fellow graduates.

10. Desi Flores '23 smiles as Head of School Ben Williams reads her senior citation.

Cum Laude Introduction to Lauren Jared

By Benjamin D. Williams IV

Our speaker this morning is Lauren Jared. A scholar and teacher, friend and mentor to many students and colleagues in her remarkable 32 year tenure at Cate. Her teaching and work as a historian has been about engaging her students in the mysteries and nuances of the past, but more importantly she works to help all of us see humanity through the eyes of history and to see the power of kindness and understanding in the process of learning.

Lauren came to Cate from a UCSB PhD program in Medieval history and what began as an interlude while she finished her dissertation, became a career with Cate students at the center. In her years at Cate Lauren has taught Humanities, US History and senior electives in the History and English departments and as a fourteen year chair of the history department she created an atmosphere of collaboration and intention that fostered some of the most creative curriculum development in the department’s history. Lauren is also one of the Humanities originals, part of a team that has shepherded that foundational 9th grade course through many changes and updates over the years, including the most recent iteration that offered an inquiry approach that has had a profound impact on program development throughout the school.

Her students have long recognized her wisdom and the depth and great breadth of her knowledge. She is game for any good intellectual discussion whether it is about the surprising power of women in the Middle Ages or the nuances of contemporary politics and the pros and cons of the ballot initiatives in any given election. She is deeply committed to helping students find the strength and power in their own voices and has the humility to be always open to learning herself. The Class of 2019 honored Lauren with the Spittler Cup and noted that Lauren, “truly embodies the inquiry we value so highly at Cate…Not only does she teach, but she is also in the classroom to learn with us.”

We welcome this life-long learner whose intellectual curiosity and deep kindness have made a profound impact on the School for more than three decades.

Cum Laude Address Deliberation

By Lauren Jared, History Instructor

Good morning! I am happy and honored to be with you today, as we celebrate your many achievements and thoughtful contributions to our Cate community.

I have spent almost my entire professional life here at Cate. In that time, I have endeavored to teach skills that I find essential to creating a love of learning but also a meaningful life.

Inquiry is such a great place to start: What do I notice? What do I wonder about what I notice? What might it all mean?

Analyzing for PIES (Political, Intellectual, Economic, Social) is useful for all sorts of things. With any culture we encounter, whether past or present, we can examine its political leadership, laws, and government; its intellectual outlook and values; its economic status and occupations; and its social structures that can bring folks together or divide them.

Then there’s TEAC (Topic, Evidence, Analysis, Conclusion), of course, a great way to develop and organize our thinking and learning, and to support our oral or written arguments with compelling evidence and analysis.

But my favorite approach to learning, an approach I’ve long worked to teach and refine is deliberation. Not debate. But deliberation. With debate, as you’ll recall, the purpose is to take a side, defend it, and win the argument. This can be an important skill. At its best it encourages us to examine our arguments and to understand that there are two sides to every story. But I believe that debate’s emphasis on winning can often become a defensive process, one that leads to entrenched thinking and an unwillingness to change one’s mind or to consider what may in fact be better alternatives.

One of the things I love about deliberation is that it gives us a way to explore issues that are multidimensional and complex – as is much of life – whether these be historical, contemporary, or personal issues. Deliberation provides opportunities to test our assumptions, to rethink and deepen our ideas, to become curious about what we think, and to change

our minds for the better. In these ways, everyone can win.

Do you remember your earliest deliberations in Humanities? In the Athens unit, our deliberations centered on two different questions: Should the Melians ally with Athens or fight? And, was Antigone, Socrates, or Snowden the hero? As 9th graders, you were often so

we become curious to discover not just what we think but also what others think, what they believe, and why. Even in our earliest Humanities deliberations, some of you became really good at reading the room to elicit the views of those who had not yet joined in the discussion, inviting them to enter the conversation to offer their additional perspectives, and making them feel validated and valuable.

This interpersonal, collaborative aspect of deliberation is what makes it powerful. But we have to practice our deliberation skills – and our deliberative stance. Those of you who were in my Humanities class may recall that our very first deliberation devolved into a shouting match. That was the one in which we asked ourselves which civic responsibility was most important. It can be hard to move from a defensive position to a more open one in which we want to learn just as much about other people’s opinions as we desire to promote our own.

thoughtful in your responses, weighing definitions, evidence and arguments, as well as your own assumptions. By grappling with your classmates’ ideas and exploring the complexities of the evidence more deeply, we all built a greater knowledge and understanding of historical developments, their significance, their relevance, and even their impact on our own personal views.

Another thing I love about deliberation is that it is a collaborative process. In deliberating issues, we learn not to defend at all costs, but rather to share and develop our ideas, to ask other people questions with a sincere desire to understand their thoughts and feelings. We reach out to others to include them in the conversation. When we engage honestly and openly in deliberation,

There is mounting empirical and psychological evidence to suggest that when we stridently defend our own position we alienate others, blocking them from changing their minds, especially when they find their opponents shouting down their views. Jean Guerrero’s column in this week’s Los Angeles Times, argues that when people feel verbally attacked, they also feel victimized and persecuted. They defend themselves by doubling down on their own position. From our perspective such a response makes no sense – especially when we believe our evidence is unassailable. In the end, the emotional component of the experience holds greater sway than the facts. Guerrero concludes that we can “reinforce [our opponents’] belief by ridiculing it, or [we] can defuse it with careful words rooted in compassion.”

When done well, deliberation can help build humility and empathy through compassion for each other. It can help build bridges, even with those whose ideas are diametrically opposed to

Deliberation provides opportunities to test our assumptions, to rethink and deepen our ideas, to become curious about what we think, and to change our minds for the better.

ours. It can even change minds. A few years ago, I read Rising Out of Hatred by Eli Saslow, which chronicles how Dan Black left behind his extreme right-wing ideology. His journey was a slow one, involving his friends’ companionship, as well as their patient deliberations of evidence with him over the course of two years in college. In changing his mind, Dan Black came not only to reject the ideology shared by all of his family and childhood friends but also to publicly disavow it.

But what about changing our own minds? Do you remember how our Humanities deliberations ended? Often we asked you to respond to the writing prompt: “I did think…. Now I think…” As 9th graders many of you remained firmly in favor of the position you’d prepared. After all, you’d invested a whole homework session in developing that position. Yet some of you acknowledged changes in your thinking – or you even changed your mind. Prior to the deliberation most of you thought the Melians were fools to

fight against the mighty Athenians. But after deliberating, you appreciated why the Melians’ sense of honor and pride impelled them to defend themselves against Athenian invasion and subjugation.

Perhaps you at first thought Edward Snowden was the hero because you could relate to his modern-day concerns with internet privacy. But after deliberating, you may have come away leaning more toward Antigone because of her stance as a young woman against the prevailing powers of patriarchy, or toward Socrates because of his profound, centuries’ long impact on civil disobedience.

As 9th graders, your learning at Cate was in its earliest stages. So even with deliberation, your willingness to change your mind was much more limited –as were the conclusions you reached. Since then you’ve deliberated weightier matters, such as the ins-and outs of Supreme Court rulings, the relationship between feminism and intersectionality, the ancient wisdom of the world’s

religions, and so many more. I invite you to consider how much more context you have now built from your classroom learning, your service in this community, and your growing care and compassion for each other and the world around you – a larger context which allows you to reach conclusions that are all the more sound and defensible.

Does that mean you no longer need to change your mind and can now simply defend what you have come to know and believe? In some ways, I think, yes. Your current views are certainly wellinformed, well-warranted, and hard won based on your extensive learning and experience to date. I truly hope and expect that each of you knows much more about who you are and what you stand for. Such self-understanding is essential to living a meaningful, productive, and fulfilling life.

But that self-understanding is not yet complete. In Ken Burns’ documentary on Vietnam, he tells the story of the controversial design of the Vietnam

16 members of the Cate Class of 2023 were inducted into the Cum Laude Society. Back Row: Brian Payne '23, Carlo Kim '23, Kendall Thorne '23, Cyrus Symington '23, Jae Lim '23, Caden Fuchs '23, Ella Chang '23, and Tamsyn Taptich '23. Front Row: Emily Allison '23, Ella Chen '23, Ellie Tunnell '23, Athena Ke '23, Cathleen Chow '23, Rory Zhang '23, Nicole Teh '23, and Myla van Lynde '23.

Memorial. One woman recalls her days as an activist war protester. In the 1960s she was so certain in her views, chanting “horrible things” to returning vets, calling them “baby-killers and worse.” But now at this much later point in her life, having visited the memorial many times, she reports feeling “deeply grieved.” All she can say is that she was young back then –just like the soldiers themselves – and in thinking about them now, she can only tearfully repeat, “I am so sorry.”

So I’d like to make a pitch for the ongoing value of deliberation. As you head off toward college and your life’s journey into adulthood, as you continue to learn, grow, and change, I hope you will continue to practice and strengthen your deliberation skills. Your openness to changing your mind can foster your academic growth in college, as well as your lifelong curiosity and learning. Your willingness to listen to others, without insisting they agree with you, can help nurture your relationships with others, while allowing you to become even more compassionate individuals and community members. Having traveled at least some of this Cate journey with you, I have faith in your capacity to live out these generous principles of deliberation. When we meet again, I hope we can talk about all of the additional ways in which you might answer the prompt: I did think… now I think.

More immediately, though, I wish you much joy, deep satisfaction, and a whole lot of fun as you move through the remainder of this graduation weekend and all that it brings.

Thank you.

As you head off toward college and your life’s journey into adulthood, as you continue to learn, grow, and change, I hope you will continue to practice and strengthen your deliberation skills.

“ “

2023 Baccalaureate Ceremony

Our Wild and Precious Time at Cate

By Eswyn Gray '23

About the Baccalaureate Ceremony

Baccalaureate is an old ritual that came to this country from Britain. The term comes from the Latin “Bacca” – meaning “berry” – and “lauri” –referencing the laurels that were used to adorn those who earned their degrees.

Driving up Heartbreak Hill on move-in day, I could feel my stomach churning with nerves. I was among the first freshmen to arrive on campus, so the seniors, bursting with energy, welcomed my family and showed us to my dorm, '25 House. While I was beginning to unpack my bins and boxes as my roommate, Ada, showed up with her parents – and her plants.

As she filled her side of the room with knickknacks and hung up her LA subway maps and bright-colored film posters, I pulled out three gold frames to hang on my wall. Each contained pictures of a pastel landscape and a quote from poet Mary Oliver. I think these words were meant to ground me in my time at Cate.

What I enjoy about Mary Oliver is that she writes about the simple things she loves: nature, hummingbirds, storms, bright wildflowers, her dogs, and solitary walks in the wild. Her passion lies in the natural world rather than the human one.

In one of the three frames, the quote read, “Instructions for living a life: pay attention, be astonished, tell about it.”

This frame hung on the left side of the wall by my bed. The one hanging on the right reads, “It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.”

For the third frame, I hung it in the middle because I loved it the most. This one is a question. “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

I think this quote stuck with me the most because, at 14, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I thought maybe my time at Cate would help me answer this question. But now, after having these quotes hanging in my dorm rooms all four years, I can honestly say… I still can’t answer Mary Oliver’s burning question, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Now that we’re graduating, though, many people, perhaps our parents, grandparents, teachers, or little siblings, hope we have some answers to a question like this. There is an expectation that it’s time for us to go out into the world with conviction and tell them what we plan to do, then do it.

And while I can’t come up with an answer that feels satisfying for me right now, I can share with you how my time at Cate has helped me to develop an appreciation for why life is wild and precious.

By the spring of freshman year, the “wildness” of life and the pandemic brought me Zoom physics lab challenges and Humanities discussions on a rectangular computer screen instead of sitting around the Harkness table with my classmates. I came to Cate hoping to connect with people from all over the world. The wild thing is that I found myself laughing and talking with friends in separate cities, states, countries, and sometimes on different continents – in my own room, at home.

For me, wild now means so much more than just rivers, mountain hikes, migrating geese, and the wonder of the natural world. For me, wild now means the untameness of life, people, places, and interrupted dreams.

Having made it through these wild and challenging four years, I’m proud of myself, but I’m more proud of my class. The fact that we are here shows that we endured. But we did more than that. We also created something special. Despite months lost to distance and disconnection, we came back. We got to know each other again, and we built a bond.

We met at sunset bench to talk and watch the sun dip into the ocean, we danced in nice clothes at formal events and in character on stage for convocations and musicals, we played bingo with seniors in our Santa Barbara community, we won powderpuff twice in a row, and just a week ago, students from senior Biology classes witnessed something magical

– hundreds of dolphins swimming alongside our boat on a trip to Santa Rosa Island.

Perhaps the challenges we faced did not drive us apart but brought us together in a deep and meaningful way. The experience was wild and unpredictable, but there’s beauty in coming through to the other side. So, as we go out into the world, I know from my time with the Class of 2023 that we are ready for the wildness and that we are bold enough to embrace it.

Mary Oliver’s question also forces us to examine how we will live our “precious” lives.

I think she used this word because life is only so long – it eventually ends. It’s kind of like Cate in this way. We have four years; that’s it. At Cate, as in life, you learn lessons that only come after you’ve struggled and failed. You meet people who support you and love you and whom, inevitably, you will have to leave and say goodbye to someday. And you make memories that you take with you forever. Perhaps this is why we often get anxious when we don’t know exactly what we want to do with our lives. It’s because we only have so much time to try and make an impact or reach our goals.

But not knowing how much time we have is what makes each day even more important. Because of that preciousness, I think we should try not to take the small things for granted.

Like seeing Nicole’s smile and knowing everything you were worried about will be okay, or improvising with Jae at the Coffee House and letting the music sweep you up, or hearing Myla’s reviews on a book or poem, or when Tati and Liz take you to see the view from Shepard Mesa, and it’s so beautiful and vast, you feel small but somehow not insignificant.

It’s also like being able to say hi to everyone you cross paths with on your way to class because Cate is so tight-knit, or opening your blinds every morning to a view of the ocean and feeling so grateful,

or spending time with your advisory every Tuesday, or when Mr. Williams laughs, and you laugh too, or when you hug your classmate after their Servons talk, and they squeeze you back a little tighter.

Life is precious because it is fragile, it is short, and it ends. That’s why it’s important to find what brings you joy and the things that you love.

The question that has hung on my wall for four years is actually from “Poem 133: The Summer Day.” The latter half moves me, so I’ll read it for you now. Mary Oliver writes, I don’t know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

To me, in this part of the poem, Mary Oliver talks about not really knowing how to pray in conventional ways in order to reflect on existence. But what she does know is how to kneel in the grass, how to take a stroll through the fields, and how to be idle and present. That is her solace. That is her form of prayer.

I, like Mary Oliver, don’t always know exactly what a prayer is or the right one for this moment. I don’t know how to fully express my gratitude for the people here and the time I spent with them. But when faced with the difficulty of letting it all go, I know I’ll find peace in having known you – the Class of 2023. In a turbulent world, it’s important to find stillness and calm with people who know you and care about you. That is what you have all been to me and what we have been to each other.

My time with you was one wild and precious adventure, and I will cherish you all forever and this place we leave behind. Thank you.

Cate Mesa

By Willie Kellogg '23

Of course, I could not attend the prom. Nonetheless, Mesa Clinic allowed me to come in formal atire and see my class off. I’m sure that I cut a rather pitiful figure, standing alone by the gym in a tuxedo and face mask, waving at the Santa Barbara-bound buses whisking my friends away to a culminating moment in their teenagerhoods. Later when I collapsed in my backyard with a bowl of ice cream, I intended to pity myself too.

But self pity, I found, was impossible. Over the past few weeks a meadow of pink primrose had flooded my backyard, and this mini-superbloom was nearing its peak. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds fluttered among the iridescent petals, and the muted trickle of sycamore-lined Gobernador Creek emanated from its namesake canyon. In recent days, the avocado orchards on the flanks of Shepards Mesa have become sunburned, that is, their leaves have acquired an odd

tinge of red, and in the golden evening light the contrast against their verdant understory of nasturtium enhanced that rare hue. Along the flanks of the canyon, oak trees clung to rockslides by masses of squirming roots, and beyond the orchards of the coastal plain, the gilded ridges of Santa Cruz Island floated on the channel. By the time the gibbous moon appeared above Casitas Pass, I couldn’t even force myself to wallow in self pity. In a setting so breathtaking, I could only be happy.

Joy at the nature of this place is a far from uncommon emotion here. I am often struck with happiness just by viewing the white patch of coldwater sandstone on Divide Peak, a carpet of liverworts in the bioswale, or even by the shape of a hilly pile of dirt eroded by the rain. And appreciating the land seems to make it easier to do so elsewhere; It is a gift that keeps on giving. Thus, the beauty of this place has instilled in me an undying

It was not until this month that I had my first bout with COVID-19. It came at an unfortunate time – the day before I had expected to go to prom. I had been feeling unwell in the preceding days, but, half expecting I had contracted the disease, I’d resolved to not visit the health center lest I be banned from prom, or god forbid, American Wilderness. Devious, I know. But that Friday, I was badly losing my daily race from my new house to class, so I decided to report my sore throat and fatigue to avoid some punitive chore. Bad move. Mesa Clinic indeed tested me, and that test was indeed positive.

excitement, for which I feel exceedingly lucky and grateful.

But fundamental happiness is not the only virtue this land has gifted me. More than half my life ago, I and two other fac brats built brick structures outside Cook House West (CHW) for the invertebrates we dug up. We called it the “habitat.” Once, I unearthed a slug, and, setting it free on the top of “the habitat”, watched it descend on a thread of slime. I was unaware that a slug could do this, and I had a sense that I had discovered something new. I learned a couple elemental lessons from this moment, the first being the value of the underloved aspects of nature, and the other the abundance of undiscovered phenomena in the world. These epiphanies still guide my curiosity, and I owe them, in large part, to this place.

The bricks that once constituted the “habitat” now form a walkway outside CHW. I was rather inconsolable when they destroyed “the habitat” for this walkway, as I was inconsolable when the last of the Italian stone pines were cut down.

When I was a child, most open areas at Cate had one or two stone pines, which were these massive, reddish-barked trees topped by canopies that could probably shade an acre. One by one the trees succumbed to drought or pestilence and had to be cut down. But one such pine endured outside Pars near the walkway to Sunset Bench. The tree was a granary for acorn woodpeckers; its bark riddled with thousands of acorns the woodpeckers stored for later eating. But drought, or perhaps the stress of decades of sunsetwatchers walking on its roots, condemned it to the axe during the spring of our freshman year. I want to say that I cried when the canopy was lopped off and the trunk chainsawed into giant wooden cyllinders, but a more silent grief is closer to the truth. It was a grief very much for the end of the life of the tree, but also for the livelihoods of the acorn woodpeckers, the sap-sucking and acorn-boring insects, and that indescribable crimson of sunsetlight on its bark. A piece of that acornriddled bark still hangs on my wall, so every day I am nostalgic for what that place once had.

I don’t know when I developed such a sympathy for nonhuman life, but it probably began here, and experiences like the death of a stone pine certainly reinforced it. Cate Mesa taught me it isn’t possible to feel indifferent to the loss of so much beauty. And while my days as a militant six-year-old sneaking into dorm rooms to confiscate bottles of insecticide are over, I still refrain from killing even the most irritating insects because of the ethics this place imparted on me.

The landscape between Gobernador and Lillingston Canyons has changed me in other ways that are hard to define. It changed me when I was first stung by a bee in the grass where Booth Commons now stands. It changed me in a moment

of profound awe while walking home from Bee Camp one evening in third grade. It changed me when I discovered the prickly pear trees of succulent heaven, a bizarre stinkhorn fungus on the goat trail, a rattlesnake outside Long House, a spider with an abdomen the size and appearance of a gourmet chocolate. It changed me when I found bears and a mountain lion on my infrared camera. It changed me when the Thomas Fire incinerated the chaparral, and when the rare tiger lily sprouted in its wake. It changed me with the help of Tim Smith when I climbed Divide Peak, and with the help of Troy Shapiro when Alex Espinoza “got out of the pool” for the first time on the climbing tower.

It did not change me, however, when I convinced myself I was immune to poison oak and then suffered a head-totoe systemic reaction; this exact chain of events actually happened several times. I’m currently in the “I’m immune to poison oak” phase of the cycle. But it did change when I convinced myself I’d been poisoned by hemlock. It changed me when I ignored Frank Griffin’s lesson on Maclaurin Series to witness a snowstorm enveloping Noon Peak. It changed me when I watched an ostracod (a type of microscopic crustacean) devour a hapless annelid worm. And of course it changed me when I missed Prom due to Covid and watched the moonrise over a meadow of primrose.

That is the role Cate Mesa has had in shaping who I am. My personality is a product of this land in the same way that it is a product of its people. But the formative effect of this place is certainly not unique to me. After 13,000 years of human habitation, I can guarantee that what we now call “Cate Mesa” has had a similarly profound impact on others. In fact, I would go so far as to say this land has impacted everyone in the audience, but to a varying degree and with varying effects.

Anyone who has spent time here has been influenced by the ubiquitous beauty: the smell of eucalyptus and sagebrush and the cries of feral peacocks in Lillingston

Canyon at sunset. It is how much you let such qualities of this place influence your thoughts that determines how much it is a part of you.

I believe we should strive to be a product of the places we know. Letting this place affect who I am has brought me immeasurable gratification, and I imagine it can do so for everyone. For those of us who get to experience Cate Mesa in years to come, let it affect how you find joy. Cate is a beautiful and easy place to learn how to source happiness from the world. For those of us who are moving to new places, each location may have a different effect on who you are. Do your best to become a product of that place, but remain a product of this one. Knowing how to think in different parts of the world will better-equip you for more of it.

Some often-quoted motivational speaker said something along the lines of “we are the product of our five closest friends.” In order to let a place become part of us, we should let the place be counted among those friends. Love it and learn from it as you would for another person. You’ll be happier for it. I know from experience, because this place has been my friend.

So thanks, Cate Mesa, it’s been real.

My personality is a product of this land in the same way that it is a product of its people.

“

“

Introduction of Baccalaureate Speaker, Jennifer Brown '89

By Benjamin D. Williams IV

Jennifer Brown first set foot on this Mesa 36 years ago, in the fall of 1987, when she arrived as a new junior from Newport Harbor High School. In a letter from the pastor at her church that accompanied Jennifer’s application was a prescient statement. “I believe that the time has come for Jennifer to assess her considerable gifts and talents and to bring into focus her life goals and ambitions.”

It’s a weighty expectation for a junior in high school, but Jennifer has never been daunted by high expectations, and she has always been – to quote several of her teachers – older than her years. One, in fact, was so impressed with Jennifer’s insight in Art History that she urged Jennifer in her final teacher to comment, “Go dancing, singing, laughing, and loving with bouquets of joy for yourself and others.”

From Cate, Jennifer journeyed to Middlebury College and thereafter to the Manhattan School of Music, where she earned a Masters in voice. After a time spent performing opera and musical theater, Jennifer pivoted and studied Business at Fordham. That breadth of experience and attention to discipline and study led Jennifer to a career as a corporate leader and inclusion expert.

Over the last several years, Jennifer has been a key partner to our Board of Trustees as we have attempted to improve our school governance and build practices that support and affirm all members of our Cate community. We did not turn to Jennifer because she is an alumna but because of the work she had done in the world that revealed her expertise,

her wisdom, and her commitment to the very service Cate calls us to offer to the world.

An award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, author, and diversity, equity, and inclusion expert who is deeply passionate about the capacity of people to build a better world, Jennifer has set about helping us do just that.

As the Founder and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting (JBC), now in its 20th year of operation, Jennifer and her team design and execute inclusion strategies that have been implemented by some of the biggest companies and nonprofits in the world. She is also the bestselling author of four books on inclusive leadership which addresses some of the most pressing challenges of our times and demonstrates how identity, privilege and equity can drive opportunity for all.

Her keynoting has taken Jennifer everywhere from Google to IBM to the NASA Space Flight Center to leading business schools around the world, and her podcast, The Will to Change, is in its fifth year, and recognized as one of the top DEI podcasts.

Jennifer just relocated from New York City, her home for the last 25 years, and decamped to the beautiful Hudson Valley of New York State, with her partner of 25 years, Michelle, and their rescue kitties. It is a great privilege to welcome her back to the Mesa today on this auspicious occasion and to celebrate again the work we do together.

Baccalaureate Address Leap into the Unknown

By Jennifer Brown '89

Iwant to talk to you today about leaps into the unknown.

At a time as momentous and significant as your high school commencement, perhaps you’ve been thinking a great deal about the unknown … that big question of “what comes next?” You may be filled with equal parts of excitement, and trepidation. Though some anxiety is inevitable at this moment of transition, today I want to explore with you the beauty and potential of uncharted waters. And I’ll do that by sharing a bit about my own past leaps into the unknown, the ones I continue to make, and how to get a little bit better at them, listening and learning more each time. Maybe you’ll even learn to love them, as I have.

I only had half of the Cate experience that most of you have had. As Ben shared, I first arrived here in 1987 as a “new junior” –part of a small and fortunate group of kids who wanted a more rigorous high school experience. In my case though, I was finding my big public high school environment difficult to navigate, barely keeping my head above water; as a sensitive, musical and nerdy kid, I had lost my way in the vicious cliques, social hierarchies, and rampant materialism of high school in the '80s, faithfully immortalized by every John Hughes movie, from Sixteen Candles to the Breakfast Club.

The decision to pull me out of this environment and plunk me down at Cate was ultimately made FOR me – by those two lovely people (gesture to mom and dad). If you knew my mom, you’d know this was not optional!

And make no mistake, it was tough entering a class mid-stream – five of us girls were housed together in '25 House, juniors in what was then a freshman and sophomore dorm! We clung together initially, and developed deep bonds as a result.

It was the right decision for each of us –and my first big leap into the unknown. Cate offered the structure, intimacy, and encouragement to shine that I needed, to re-bloom; I could return to a love of learning, to friendships more true, and to the values I held, shedding the protective layers I had built to survive in these tender years. This ongoing

The clues to your path are all around you, today, if we courageously listen. What lights you up? What feels joyful to do, to talk about, to share? And conversely, what’s out of alignment?

“

journey – back to myself, a rediscovery of what’s at my core – first ignited here at Cate and continued at Middlebury College, and for that I am so grateful.

Perhaps like me, coming to Cate was your biggest leap so far; you are now at the cusp of another leap. I can tell you that only more leaps lie ahead. Life after Cate is bound to expand your horizons beyond any imaginable scope. Maybe you’ll move to a different part of the country, or even a new part of the world. Maybe you’re looking forward to being a small fish in a bigger pond than Cate, where you can be anonymous and experiment, and find your way to a new community or a new part of yourself. Maybe you’re excited to lead, to make your mark. Maybe you’ll miss the comfort of this place.

As you prepare yourself to take flight from this nest, how would you describe your purpose? Your unique gifts, and passions? This special environment has nurtured these clues to your soul’s truth; you’ve likely caught a glimpse, even if you aren’t yet aware of which seedlings will become big, beautiful trees. Pay attention. At this stage in your life, your job is to listen carefully, and observe –to lovingly witness yourself evolving. Whether we tend to go towards selfcriticism, or an overly-developed ego, can we instead ask, “what am I now meant to learn?”

For example – I was in every musical and choir at Cate and in college, and I knew I loved performing on stage –the improvisation, the adrenaline rush, and of course the rehearsal shenanigans (especially with my sister, Mimi Brown '92, in Jesus Chris Superstar). I had no idea, however, I’d someday become a trained opera singer, and pursue this as a career in New York City.

Life caught me by surprise once again just when my career was beginning to take off – I was forced to abandon singing forever because of vocal difficulties, having to undergo several vocal surgeries, and carried that heartbreak with me as I fumbled through my next steps,

despairing that I’d ever find work that felt that deeply authentic again.

I wanted answers so badly at that age and point in my life; but my unpredictable and winding path kept me guessing, and carried me elsewhere, and the beauty of it was – and is – that nothing is wasted, and we – you – have more time than you know, to let it unfold.

The voice – and the stage – would return to play a key role; I was meant to use them, just not as a singer – but instead to amplify unheard voices, and to influence systems, like the workplace, to change. When I could no longer sing,

to me, from neurodiversity, to gender identity and expression, mental health, even to size (or body) positivity. I also fearlessly talk about the role of privilege in our journeys, and am daily reminded of my own. On all of these topics, I am an author many times over, and speak all over the world.

I voice the message I so desperately needed to hear in my younger years: “you matter” and “you belong”. All of you. And I don’t think we ever stop needing to hear this.

The clues to your path are all around you, today, if we courageously listen. What lights you up? What feels joyful to do, to talk about, to share? And conversely, what’s out of alignment? Much will compete for your attention, that’s not your truest calling; I have found truth to be delicate as it emerges, and I’ve needed to tend, protect, and encourage it - with so much patience.

I returned to school to study organizational development and leadership, founding my own company nearly 20 years ago, dedicated to creating more equitable workplaces where MORE of us can thrive.

Drawing on my own experience of invisibility, and bias, as well as my strong voice and courage from years of auditioning, I discovered I could BE a voice, not just for my identities, but to raise awareness of others’. And I am a work in progress, continuing to expand my knowledge about identities new

Stanford University professor Carol Dweck coined something called “the growth mindset,” or the ability to thrive on challenge, and perceive life’s many obstacles as a springboard for learning. Its opposite is a fixed mindset, which assumes traits are immovable. How do we practice this? We feel the fear, and do it anyway. We fail forward. We get comfortable with being uncomfortable. And we sense, if we’re not uncomfortable, we’re probably not growing. And like bamboo, how do we flex, and not break? In times of struggle, I like to ask, “what is it that I am meant to learn?”

I had to practice the growth mindset at age 22 during my senior year at Middlebury when I came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. I could count the number of out people at school on one hand, and I could sense their struggle, and their difficult path.

This caused a reckoning with how I had been raised, what is socially acceptable, the stigma I’d face – as well as my agency, my freedom, to live according to my

Let yourself be swept up, and swept away by the world of opportunity you now have access to.

Be willing to abandon the plan, and to be shaped by bridges you had no intention of ever crossing.

heart. Would I go my own way? Was I ready to risk everything? Coming out to your family and friends back then was most often one of toughest milestones for queer people, for sure, but then carving out your own place in a new community that is discriminated against every day –with very few role models to guide and protect you – is a whole other battle.

I joined this community of identity where, at the time, I literally knew no one, and wherein I began to also unravel my own biases and awaken to the deepest purpose I’ve known.

When leaping into the unknown is too daunting, I turn to the metaphor of the bridge. When we set foot on a bridge, we’re choosing to leave a place of safety and comfort, or to escape danger. In either case, you’re choosing to leave what you know. Whether we choose to take those first steps onto the bridge or life forces us to, it’s the work of our lives to travel towards the other side, the unknown – towards that future version of ourselves.

Why do we set out in the first place? We leave the safety of the river banks because we sense there is more – more to learn

about the world, and more to discover about ourselves. Perhaps the bridge is long or short, sturdy or dilapidated, solitary or filled with companions. We won’t know until we venture out – but travel, we must.

You will encounter many bridges in the future, and take that first step, getting stronger each time. I’ve learned to live on the bridge, and have found important work there, helping others traverse choppy waters of understanding that today divide and polarize us, but I wasn’t always comfortable there. You’ve been so well prepared by this place, and already have experience traversing academic achievement, the feeling of winning an entire match (shout-out to Jengus and Cate tennis!) endured a whole pandemic, and perhaps had your eyes opened and hearts broken by the social upheaval of the last few years.

As you graduate Cate tomorrow, what are your next brave steps? Where do you feel that dissatisfaction, stirring? You’ve been tethered, but you now have a fresh start and so much choice. For a while at least, I suggest you resist needing all the answers, or even clarity. Let yourself be swept up, and swept away by the world

of opportunity you now have access to. Be willing to abandon the plan, and to be shaped by bridges you had no intention of ever crossing. In my college experience, I changed my major five times, and I only landed on my eventual one because I simply ran out of time. As you define the contours of your future, you will get confused, and rest assured: that’s exactly what’s supposed to happen.

There is so much beauty in “becoming,” not just “being.” Set out on the adventure, especially if you don’t know where it leads. You will meet incredible people on the bridges you travel, who will leave you changed, expanded, stronger, and more resilient. Seek them out, let them shape you, and one day you might find yourself being that guide for someone else following in your footsteps. I hope when that day arrives, you will leverage the lessons you’ve learned here and pay them forward to create a safer passage for the next generation.

Here’s to the glorious unknown that lies ahead. I’ll see you there, on the bridge.

Vocal Director Gabriel Di Gennaro leads Cate’s Chorale group in the School song The Crown for the King to close out the Baccalaureate ceremony.

The Class of 2023

Every year, before Head of School Ben Williams confers diplomas upon graduating seniors, he speaks of their individual character and achievements, noting the unique ways they’ve enriched life on the Mesa. These “literary snapshots,” composed of observations, along with excerpts from teacher and advisor reports, speak to the depth and breadth of the Cate community.

Ellis’ greatness lies in her ability to maintain composure when everyone else is losing theirs. Peers and teachers alike have noted her “zenlike demeanor” and have chocked it up to a certain generosity of spirit which keeps Ellis perpetually on an even keel. Ellis is among the most supportive of classmates, engaging, warm, and a significant contributor to productive group dynamics. She became a Teaching Assistant this year for that very reason, helping her seminar students not simply to be attentive to each other but to meet their responsibilities, maintain their schedule (Ellis is meticulous in maintaining hers) and make life and community on the Mesa ever better. Said a teacher recently, “Ellis is influential here.” Wherever she chooses to contribute, the impact is noticeably positive, the gesture is kind and affirming, and the fortunate beneficiaries forever grateful.

EMILY MARLENE ALLISON WITH HIGHEST HONORS Dartmouth College

Nearly every afternoon during her first year at Cate, and sometimes early in the morning, Emily could be found on the track running laps, staying fit, readying herself for the return of competitive sports. Emily admitted later she loved the relative autonomy of that strange COVID constrained time, for it allowed her to focus on the things she loves. Emily is an unparalleled student, deeply insightful, and masterful at digesting and applying new concepts. She strives not simply for her own edification, but for everyone’s. A Teaching Assistant, one of the heads of our Public Service program, captain of two varsity teams, one of the senior leaders of our 9th grade outdoor trip, Emily is constantly finding ways to give to this community. Said one faculty member, noting Emily’s many contributions to this place, “Emily said ‘yes’ to everything in that first year, and has built on that generous momentum ever since.”

ASUAMAH Babson College

It is easy to wonder what is on Zaq’s mind. Engaging and friendly as he can be, there is an introspective quality to Zaq that is compelling and endearing. We know from his work in a classroom that Zaq is a thinker. He is always processing and considering his world, the concepts under study, perhaps far more. His contributions to dialogue are always thoughtful, concise, and artful in their clarity. There is something captivating about a student who shows glimpses of depth of thought that leave teachers and students eager to hear more. Zaq often obliges, but he has other things to do, too. A standout player in our football and lacrosse programs, Zaq leaves a mark in more than just the classroom. His power and speed and savvy on the athletic field complement the capacity we see everywhere else, and his willingness with each passing year at Cate to give more of himself to this community has made us all grateful.

BECHTEL Barnard College

Lylie has become one of our most conspicuous leaders. A visit to Assembly on virtually any day will reveal Lylie out front, reminding us of how to distinguish trash from recyclables, how to be better stewards of our environment, what to do with old clothes that might be useful to someone else, why community is about caring for more than ourselves.

This remarkably unselfish, unusually generous, courageous young woman has become one of our archetypes. We know what Servons looks like by watching Lylie. It is manifest in her scholarship, too, which is distinguished by relentless positivity and deep empathy. Said one teacher, “Lylie lives and learns easily with others.” Another observed, “As a Teaching Assistant, Lylie encourages her students to reach beyond the borders of our campus and invest in the world around us.” In so doing she assures members of this community take on so many of the virtues we see in Lylie.

ZAQARY

LYLES

ELLIS ALEGRADO Universidad de Navarra

CLAIBORNE VIRGINIA BEURLE University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In a recent letter, a faculty member noted that Claiborne is likely to describe herself as “a novice or work in progress.” That’s not simply a reflection of Claiborne’s endearing humility but evidence of her brave inclination to join in, to try something new, to worry less about the outcome and more about the journey. Irish dancing? Sure. Playing a rather lascivious middle-aged lush on stage? Why not? Becoming one of our Head Prefects this year because her fellow prefects wanted her style of leadership? Are you sure? Claiborne’s expression of self comes from the most genuine and appreciative of places. She loves people. She loves causes that matter. She hopes we can always do and be better. And when we are with her or watch her or hear her, we always try to be. Said her advisor recently about Claiborne’s likely impact beyond Cate, “I’ll be proud to say ‘I knew her when …’” Won’t we all.

Syracuse University

Ava has one of the most important jobs on campus. She is the student who helps each of her classmates tell their story, render their unique perspective, and fill this campus with insight. It is no accident that our Servons speeches have been so thoughtful and so revelatory. Ava, a great believer in the power of words, has helped so many others fashion theirs. She has used hers, too, to similar effect. Blessed with what one teacher called “sanguine mature calmness,” Ava captures ideas with the deftness of a poet and renders them just as artfully. Said another teacher using the metaphor of Ava’s affection for sailing, “Ava welcomes the wind, the waves, and the turbulence and keeps on steady as she goes.” Her teammates on the volleyball court and the soccer pitch see the same, for no challenge keeps Ava from her purpose. And given that her intentions are always unselfish, we find ourselves, when all is said and done, with Ava to thank.

ELLA CHANG WITH HIGHEST HONORS Amherst College

“Ella Chang is a force for good,” said a faculty member this fall. A dance performance becomes reality because Ella imagines it, then choreographs it, and then performs it. Ninth graders looking to find a home at Cate do so because Ella is one of their prefects in '25 House and she tends to them, reminds them what they are capable of, and teaches them to trust themselves. As the world saw ever greater incidents of bias and brutality against people of Asian and Pacific Island heritage, Ella became involved in Stop AAPI Hate and brought one of the organization’s founders to speak at Cate. She wins awards for her photography because she can see and capture the world and the people in it in unique ways. She masters the life of her mind with equal nuance and vision, producing scholarship that is mature, meticulous, and wise. To all endeavors, Ella brings incredibly positive energy, faith in her many partners and the understanding that worthy work is its own reward.

ZIMO (ELLA) CHEN WITH HIGHEST HONORS Wellesley College

When this school year began, Ella would often stop by Long House to host Settlers of Catan games with students in her 9th grade Human Development class. The prior summer she spent in Beijing fulfilling a Mark Metherall '87 Memorial Service Project to support migrant high school students who might otherwise fall through the cracks. She joined our Active Minds club and became a peer counselor to enlarge services for students grappling with the many challenges of the last several years. And if there is an opportunity to galvanize the community with an incredible dance performance or a K-pop routine, Ella will be front and center. In such moments, her movement is as graceful, as energetic, and as inspiring as her citizenship. Said her advisor not too long ago, “Ella is a scholar, a writer, a servant-leader, a dancing queen, and a mama bear.” And one of her 9th grade charges admitted, “I know I want to be just like her when I’m a senior.”

AVA BOVET BRACHER

CATHLEEN LINN CHOW WITH HIGH HONORS University of Chicago

When Rudyard Kipling wrote about filling “the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run,” he must have been imagining Cathleen Chow. She is relentless in her productive use of time, unfailing in her efforts to do something worthy, and remarkably successful in accomplishing all that she sets out to do. Whether the focus is neurobiology (one of Cathleen’s favorites), the latest music to perform in the chamber orchestra, a good stir-fry meal to prepare, or the week’s public service opportunities, Cathleen is all-in. It was she, after all, who led the effort to fold a thousand paper cranes in honor of Mr. Wood’s retirement last year. Netmaster, varsity athlete, Curriculum Committee rep, and to quote her advisor, “an early bird for running and a night owl for working,” Cathleen wastes not a moment of time, spending it in service to something or someone who needs her special kind of attention and care.

OLIVER DWORSKY University of Chicago

Oliver loves a good discussion, thrives on complex arguments, finds ways to make clear the most complicated thoughts and concepts. Said one of his teachers, “He is the kind of student every teacher enjoys teaching.” Another lauded Oliver’s sense of humor and love of wordplay and language.” He has become a leader in our Model United Nations program where such skills are especially important, and a cornerstone of our public speaking and debate clubs. But Oliver is far more than a verbal gymnast. He is an actual one, a member of the Santa Barbara Gymnastics Club, and a competitive diver, capable physically of the same grace and control he so clearly manifests intellectually. Artistry of all sorts seems to be Oliver’s bailiwick, and he has all the tools to render his ideas or express his unique vision. Even service, which he expresses every Wednesday evening, is part of the collage that encapsulates Oliver’s commitments at Cate.

JENGUS CARLISLE ERCIL WITH HONORS University of Pennsylvania

“Jengus,” wrote his advisor, “lives up to the weight of his historic name.” He is powerful everywhere: a truly deep thinker and nuanced scholar, a forceful athlete, and a dedicated and energetic public servant. Jengus says we need to show up for our moments, the opportunities we have to be our best, but he is quick to point out the times when he hasn’t been. That may be what drives Jengus, the desire to be ever better, but he carries that aspiration casually, not overweighting any one moment and always believing in the next. That is why he has been able to carry teams – basketball and tennis in particular –win a CIF title, drive discussion in classes, or improve the lives of children separated from their parents in Tibet, because he is not afraid of the responsibility. He wants the opportunity to be helpful, to make the shot, to win the match, not for himself but for his teammates, his classmates, his communities at Cate and elsewhere, and his own laudable conviction.

MARY REBECCA FOSTER Indiana University

Mary Foster will take the road less traveled every time. She’d probably prefer to try the road never traveled. Mary likes to push herself to see what she can do, likes to discover things in the world that maybe others never get to see or experience. And she is calm and unflappable, whether the adventure finds her on unfamiliar ground, tearing down a rebound on the basketball court, sorting out a vexing math problem or mentoring the girls she serves as prefect in Schoolhouse. Intrepid and undaunted, Mary soldiers on whatever the challenge, learning what she needs to learn, applying the many skills that have made her a truly impactful student and senior, and meeting the needs of the moment even when most of us could not. Small wonder she has gone through more training tape at the Athletic Training Center than any other. Tape it up, she’s fond of saying, and I’m right back in the game.

CADEN FREDERICK FUCHS WITH HONORS Colorado College

“Caden is a true wordsmith,” said one of his teachers this fall, capable of marvelous “narrative fluidity,” and exquisite “character renderings.” Smiths are craftsmen, and language is far from Caden’s only medium. We see his art on canvas, and it is breathtaking. We hear it in his music. Find it all over his scholarship. “Our academic philosopher” said one of his teachers. Caden admits that his muse in all of these endeavors is the outdoors and the contemplation inspired by the wild places on our planet. But he is just as comfortable in the company of people and often finds himself leading – like in Sophomore Seminar or our Young Men’s Forum. We gravitate to Caden because he seems to have a certain peace and perspective that we value and might like to acquire ourselves. His opponents on the lacrosse field don’t necessarily see that from this fierce defender, but we do, and we trust that this lover of wisdom will always share some with us.

ANDREW LUCA GANSA The American University of Paris

Luca began his high school journey in Florence, Italy, but saw it upended by a pandemic that brought him ultimately to Cate. But thankfully, he has not lost in the least that worldly, international focus that has long distinguished his education. He has continued his work with the Model United Nations and has pursued a passion for filmmaking. His most recent focus is the many connections between Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and those working in Italy. Among the questions he is asking, what can Florence teach us about fostering a culture of innovation? Head of the Finance Club, an entrepreneur himself, a diligent student and a great and loyal friend, Luca has made his own mark on our community. Said one of his teachers not long ago, “Luca’s warmth, flexibility, and quiet strength stand out in every interaction, every gesture, every aspiration.”

GRACE (GIGI) FRANCES GEYER

Tufts University

Gigi is an artist, so she sees and feels the art in everything. Her “love list” that Gigi shared in a Servons speech contains sensory experiences like “the smell of the fog,” “the taste of the surf,” “the warmth of a friendship.” She steps behind a camera and suddenly she captures images that the rest of us can only see with Gigi’s help. She strides onto a soccer pitch or a lacrosse field or a volleyball court and her skills and her energy and her drive to compete are overwhelming and powerful. She walks into a classroom and suddenly the dialogue is richer, the insights are more frequent, and the subtleties of the text or the concept or the formula are revealed. Wherever Gigi is, the experience for any present is invigorated, a truth that inspired a faculty member to note, “In my decades of working with young people, I’m not sure I have encountered any one in whom I believe more than I believe in Gigi. She is remarkable.”

ALEXANDER GONCHARENKO

Claremont McKenna College

Sasha has learned discipline at Cate, has found a way to channel all that energy and ability in productive purposeful ways. You see it in the classroom, where his keen analytical insight is on full display. You see it on the lacrosse field and in the Harcourt Fitness Center, where he has honed his fitness and built himself into an impactful player. You see it in Model United Nations where Sasha is a frequent delegate, in the Eastern European Culture Club, which Sasha leads, but mostly in those daily interactions and rituals that reveal a person’s true character. A lover of history and political science and global affairs, Sasha seems headed for broad impact in the world, and as a child of Russian and Ukrainian heritage, he understands the complexity of the challenges. A standard setter for growth and learning, Sasha has all the potential and the maturity to do all the world needs him to do.

ESWYN KHUYEN GRAY WITH HONORS University of St Andrews

Eswyn is all heart. Every gesture it seems has some generous intent. She is an avid participant in our Public Service Nights and notes among her favorite Cate memories singing with friends at Cornerstone and playing with the kids of displaced families at Transition House. Eswyn even helped create the Cate Performing Arts Outreach Group to visit local retirement homes. Such expressions of self go hand-in-hand with Eswyn’s passion for dance and movement. She is forever compelled to bring beauty into the world and leads a host of fellow artists in our Dance program. And like every truly great dancer, Eswyn has the dedication and the commitment necessary to do the unprecedented. As one faculty member noted, “Eswyn continues to dazzle.” And in so doing, she brings people together, gives them reason to be hopeful, and reminds them of the wonder we each bring to the world.

DESIRÉE ALEJANDRA FLORES GRIMALDI Gettysburg College

When Desi stepped to the podium this year to deliver her Servons speech, she talked about the challenge of coming to Cate from her home in El Salvador and adjusting to speaking English almost exclusively. It prompted one faculty member to reference a line about Ginger Rogers who “did everything Fred Astaire did except backwards and in heels.” For Desi has indeed danced her way through Cate and into the very heart of this community. As generous and well-meaning a student as we have known, bright, determined, and wholly attentive to needs that transcend her own, Desi has become part of the center that holds us together. She does that literally in '25 House, where she is one of four senior prefects; on the trail for those trying to become comfortable in the outdoors; even on the basketball court as one of our starting guards. “The best of who we are at Cate,” said one of her teachers, in any language.

JAELEN EMMANUEL HALL-COLLINS

University of California, Los Angeles

It has gotten to the point that people start cheering before Jae even begins a performance. They simply can’t contain their excitement about what they are about to see. Some memorable character renderings in dramatic roles over the years have laid the groundwork for Jae’s celebrity. But it is his dancing that has taken him to Cate stardom. He moves with a thrilling combination of power and grace, articulating sensations, emotions, and feelings with uncanny precision and force. His prefectship flows from the same well of feeling and is rendered with similar art. Jae wants to be helpful, wants his students to understand their possibilities and know how to realize them. Said one student, “He’s like a great big brother,” always calm and composed. And a teacher observed, “Jae brings humility and honesty to every dialogue.” A show-stealer in every endeavor that matters, that’s Jae.

There are few things as inspiring as watching Phebe compete. Pick the sport – soccer or lacrosse – and we’ll see the same impressive skill, unyielding tenacity, and a certain fierceness that makes you happy Phebe is on our side. Her complete commitment in such moments – to her team, to her sport, to her school –speak volumes about Phebe. Regardless of how much she gives or how she does, Phebe asks for more from herself. Her vocal performances show the same artful expression and the same power. Phebe can sing like few others, offering mesmerizing performances that only Phebe can find flaws in. Phebe’s greatness comes from such selfscrutiny perhaps, for the rest of us see and hear only the magic of resonant sounds, and a unique voice full of impact and energy. Like she did as Velma Kelly in Chicago, Phebe leads every cast or chorus or community she joins.

PHEBE GREGG HANCOCK University of St Andrews

ELIZABETH HENDRICKS George Washington University

Kaity has made a point of caring for this community. Generous, kind, warm, and inviting, Kaity has, in the words of one faculty member, “always made others feel welcome and at ease.” She leads our Black Student Union and Women of Color at Cate. She is one of the leaders of our Activities Committee, and she is always eager to head into the backcountry on an outdoor trip. Her every thought focuses, it seems, on what might be done to improve experiences beyond her own. And Kaity is successful in large part because she is not afraid of hard work. In fact, she likes it. In the classroom, she is known to consistently test and refine her ideas. Her written work reveals a propensity to produce several drafts, each building on the last. In such ways, Kaity has become a model of service and scholarship, balancing generous thought with intentional action and accomplishment.

Jack tries everything. An avid reader, he is as captivated with J.R.R. Tolkien as he is with Sun Tzu or Amor Towles. A brilliant athlete, he has represented Cate at different times in cross country, football, basketball, track, and swimming. Regardless of the area of endeavor, Jack gives himself over fully to it and to the people who pursue it with him. And he is brilliant company anywhere, a student of uncommon insight, and a genuine and loyal friend. That ever-present smile comes with a wry sense of humor, a sincere interest in others and exquisite timing. Indeed, it is the combination of all those qualities –adaptability, curiosity, compassion, and a keen interest in what is happening in the world – as well as a generous capacity for ethical, principled leadership that will propel Jack’s life from here. Born into a family of servant leaders, Jack is poised to lead the next generation in worthy work.

ALEXANDER HE HUFFER Tulane University

There is a certain magnetism to Sage. People gravitate to him and once they find him, they stay and hang out. He is as comfortable as his ubiquitous flannel pajama pants, earnest in wanting to get to know folks, perpetually well-intended and unfailingly easy-going. Asked about his future not long ago, Sage was typically candid, “I know I want to change the world but heck, every kid does these days. If going to a good college helps … I’ll take it. I just want to make a positive difference in people’s lives.” That comes strangely naturally to Sage. He is a prefect for that very reason, a leader in the winds section of our orchestra, and one of the folks we looked to this year when we needed energy or spirit or another goal on the soccer field. Said one faculty member, “Sage is well named, for his worldly wisdom and captivating charisma are rare indeed.”

Alex Huffer knows what’s required to truly master something. He has been playing the violin since he was quite young, and his devotion to that craft has taken him to Carnegie Hall, to Juilliard in Beijing, and to a host of other venues. He has even done some sidewalk busking to raise money for causes that are meaningful to him. No doubt the pedestrians walking by were as transfixed as we have been at Alex’s ability to make music. But the odyssey is not simply about the violin for Alex. He is equally captivated by the sciences and the possibility of a career in medicine. He is compelled by the outdoors – a fitting avocation for a young man from Alaska – and is the first to take to the trail or hop in a canoe. At Cate, Alex has joined the lacrosse team, exercising the same penchant for practice and preparation that has distinguished his music to contribute to the success of the team. A concertmaster and a defenseman … quite a combo!

KAITLYN

JACK MCINTYRE HIGGINS Bowdoin College

SAGE CHEN HOU Emory University

ZOFIA HELENA ORANJE INGRAM Scripps College

There is a certain jubilation that radiates from Zosia, the kind that forces any who interact with her to smile a bit, find some energy in our step, feel better. We admire her genuine clarity of purpose, her interest in contributing, and her uncanny good humor. For Zosia, scholarship is a way to scale her own helpfulness. She has become an expert in nutrition and a key member of our Food Committee, precursors in all likelihood to a career in medicine or health. She became a Teaching Assistant this year in response to an intrinsic motivation to help guide and support students who need Zosia’s kind of attention and compassion. Said one teacher, “Zosia is brilliant at determining what is best to do and then determining a course of action to see it accomplished.” “She combines personal agency with a genuine fascination and drive to do good work,” said another. Zosia’s kind of light is rare indeed.

ADELAIDE VAUPEL JAMES University of California, Los Angeles

Said a faculty member recently, “Ada is a relentless, self-aware creator.” Her every expression is artful, from articulate renderings of mathematical thinking to a suite of handmade kites derived from poems she wrote. That is Ada’s genius, to be able to communicate meaning in so many different ways. Perhaps that is why Ada also gravitates to and excels at the study of languages. Having come to Cate already fluent in French, Ada has now mastered Japanese, taking home the Modern Languages Award usually reserved for seniors as a junior and still attending French classes during free periods just to reconnect with the language. She even saw to the publication of Cate’s Literary and Arts Magazine when COVID forced distance learning on the School in the Spring of 2020. Said Ada at the time, “So much good work had been done. It needed to be seen.” Thanks to her, it was.

MARLEY JOSEPH American University

Marley Joseph provides the momentum to just about everything that energizes this community. A lover of music and a great performer, Marley is a driving force behind many of our Coffee Houses. He is a writer, too, and an editor of our yearbook. Friends and fans call him “Mojo” and he brings it, regardless of the circumstance or the venue. Watch him on the basketball court, where that long frame makes him a formidable threat in the paint, or on the baseball field where he has become a remarkably skilled player. In such endeavors – as in all others – you see not simply Marley’s skills but his inexhaustible personality, his drive, and the manner in which he invigorates his teammates. This deep-thinking, charismatic, sincere young man has stories to tell in the world – he fancies a career in journalism, media studies, or communications – and any tale that Marley tells is one we want to listen to.

YIFENG (ATHENA) KE WITH HIGH HONORS Scripps College

Athena has never met a challenge she wouldn’t or couldn’t overcome, never met a problem she won’t ultimately solve, never conceded in battles full of difficulty. She is one of our most distinctive students, so facile in mathematics and science that she has become one of our most effective teachers, leading the Peer Tutoring program in math. Task-oriented and a brilliant collaborator, Athena shines not simply because of her own gifts but because she is so good at bringing out the aptitudes of others. A squash player for many years, Athena decided this year to pick up a tennis racket and became a contributor to our varsity team. Serene and friendly always, Athena’s aspirations are expressed in the manner of her being, in her thoughtfulness, in her insight, and in her conviction. Named for the offspring of Zeus, Athena has all the wisdom of her namesake and the fortitude to share it with our wanting world.

WILLIAM BREWSTER KELLOGG WITH HONORS Dartmouth College

Willie Kellogg grew up on this campus and, in a bit of prescient costuming, came to a Halloween parade when he was three years old dressed as Einstein. He looked the part. And he has lived up to it. Willie is brilliant and passionate about the study of the world around him. Geology, ecology, plants, animals, insects: you name it and Willie can tell you something important about it. He leads students and faculty who share his interests in the outdoors, he models in his every interaction the kindness and humility that distinguish truly generous citizens, he climbs mountains, rocks, and boulders with the agility of squirrels or cats or mountain goats. His inquiry is just as agile and graceful, for knowing more is always Willie’s intention. In a picture taken not long ago, Willie is playing his banjo while sitting on a rock in the middle of a robustly flowing Carpinteria Creek, the sound of the moving water mixing harmoniously with Willie’s strumming. Quite a concert he and nature make together.

SHELBY GERMAINE KERNISANT Occidental College

“All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare wrote, “and all the men and women merely players.” But some players stand above others. We have been transfixed by the character of Shelby’s persona since she arrived on this Mesa, been entranced by her voice, appreciate the power of her every rendering. In theater performances, Shelby becomes the character she embodies. In musical venues, Shelby gives herself over completely to the song. “You be good to Mama,” Shelby sang in Chicago, “and Mama will be good to you!” But Shelby’s more than “good.” Her work in the classroom is distinctive for its resonance with Shelby’s values and interests. She is a lover of people, a student of the human experience, a hopeful and optimistic learner. A faculty member once compared her to the great James Brown who wrote famously, “I got something that makes me want to shout.” Shelby does, too.

ARHUM KHAN University of California, Santa Cruz

In the thick of COVID, Arhum was marooned at his home in Saudi Arabia, unable for a time to reach Cate. Yet he never missed an advisory, Zooming in from the other side of the world, kept up with his work, and finally seamlessly made his way back to the Mesa. There is nothing overly demonstrative about Arhum. He simply works himself through even the most challenging circumstances with gentle persistence and singular grace. On campus, he is broadly involved, serving as tour guide or a big sib and helping out as a peer tutor. Said one faculty member, “Arhum has a lovely way of explaining complicated concepts simply.” He has also said “yes” to new experiences like surfing, kayaking, hiking, and the like. Arhum has found a home in the outdoors which meshes nicely with his contemplative nature. And he can make others feel at home, too, a quality that is immensely valuable in communities like ours.

BENJAMIN KIM WITH HONORS Boston University

Ben Kim waited until his senior year in his Servons speech to fully introduce himself to this community. A private young man with keen interests – many of them technological – Ben confessed to the assembled faculty and students, “This is who I am.” The applause was so thunderous that afterwards a quizzical Ben noted, “My speech wasn’t that good.” Ben simply underestimated how badly we all want to know him. He spends his days immersed in programming and technical theater. He is fascinated by lightboards and keyboards and worlds beyond this one, worlds of imagination and creation. He loves sci-fi movies and video games and tutoring local students. And he is kind and friendly, insightful, and generous. Ben will make the difference he wants to make in the world, even if it means creating a new one folks can escape to in a video game. But he is great company in this one, too.

CARLO KIM WITH HONORS Brown Univeristy

Carlo is an uncommon intellectual, a remarkable student, a passionate citizen, and a likely world-shaper. He arrived at Cate having read more broadly in history and philosophy and political science than any student we have ever encountered. He is compelled by the character of the world we live in and by the manner in which humans can make it better or worse. His scholarship flows from a desire to use his learning to effect change and growth. And his stentorian voice gives him the means to educate and inform those of us who need badly to know what Carlo knows. A co-leader of the Black Student Union, the author of countless podcasts and essays, an activist and a leader, Carlo Kim has already made a formidable impression on communities far beyond ours. And we sense this is still just the beginning for this insightful architect of truth and art and meaning.

KENNEDY JULIA KIRKLAND Bowdoin College

Kennedy is fast. She set school records as a sophomore, blazing a trail of unprecedented success on the track. The only other Cate graduate to accomplish similar feats became an Olympian. Best watch Kennedy, because she may well do the same. But Kennedy is just as impactful off the track. She is one of our most conscientious and gracious prefects. Her patience and even keel make her the ideal mentor, captain, big sib, friend, partner, leader. Her questions in class often guide everyone else’s learning. Her generosity of spirit is matched only by her resolve, for you don’t reach the level Kennedy has reached – as a student or a citizen or an athlete – without acquiring the discipline and the fortitude to push beyond limits. Kennedy just loves to test herself, to learn from trying, and to use that knowledge to be better, faster, stronger, and smarter. Our Superman without the cape.

DEVON CAROLINE LACK Barnard College

Devon’s nature is revealed in the things she loves: Mandarin Chinese, for instance, a language Devon came to know while living in Asia as a child and one she now helps to teach to her fellow Cate students; the art studio, where Devon can often be found working on her latest piece or imagining the next one; a good cup of coffee, for Devon never arrives on campus without one; a cause worth committing to, her teammates on the lacrosse team, some fine choreography, leading well crafted seminar classes. All of these things and more compel Devon, inspire her in some way, and enable her to express her generous and creative soul. Said one teacher, “Devon has an unusual capacity to meet the moment, whatever the moment demands.” In her journey through Cate, she has met them all with energy, humility, individuality, and poise.

LINDSEY CAMILLE LAURENCE Northwestern University

“I have never met another student,” said a teacher this fall, “so brilliantly able to use laughter to help, to connect, and to heal.” That is one of Lindsey’s unique gifts, and it speaks to her desire to impact positively lives other than her own. In the midst of the pandemic while others remained in solitude she earned a Metherell Grant to build a play structure at the Manuelito Navajo Children’s Home. Lindsey prefers to be busy helping. She is happy to be busy studying too. Lindsey is an outstanding student, a truly distinctive writer, and a talented artist. Her facility with technology led to her appointment as a CateNet Master, which is like a Jedi around here. Most important, though, is Lindsey’s expression of her own laudable priorities: thoughtful scholarship, caring advocacy, and compassionate community citizenship.

Daniel’s genius lies in his capacity to hold seemingly antagonistic traits and interests in unusual harmony. He is a musician, for instance, so skilled on the violin that he was invited last year to perform at Carnegie Hall. He is also, as of this fall, a powerful linebacker on the football field, as deft with opposing players (though slightly less gentle) as he is with the bow of his violin. He is kind, too, and caring, one of the best and most supportive friends any of us could have. After dinners with his advisor and fellow advisees, Daniel will be the guy who slips away to do the dishes. He is also the most likely to lift the most weight or show the most discipline in the fitness center, the one to solve the most challenging problem in his advanced math class, or master a particularly challenging writing assignment. “Grace,” says author Norman Maclean, “comes by art.” Daniel’s life on this Mesa is full of both.

JAEHAN LIM WITH HIGH HONORS Washington University in St. Louis

A letter about Jae written this fall referenced his “limitless craftsmanship.” One faculty member concurred and saw proof in Jae’s mathematics. “He is a fearless problem solver, fluent in all manner of derivative and integral manipulation.” “Yes,” said another teacher, “but have you seen him on the soccer pitch?” That’s where his genius is most evident. He is magic with the ball at his feet and somehow manages to see just where it should go next. “Then again,” said another, “his service in Nepal speaks to a different kind of craftsmanship, the inclination to work on behalf of others.” How like Jae to bring the sport he loves to the kids who need it most. Jae plays the french horn, too, serves as a tutor, works in the library, leads clubs and teams, and still manages to do exemplary work in every area of academic endeavor. Limitless is the right descriptor not simply because of the scale of Jae’s talent but because of the number of people whose lives he touches.

OSCAR SYDNEY LIVINGSTON

Oscar is our faceoff man on the lacrosse field, the one we rely on to give us an edge and get us started well. He is an easy guy to trust with that kind of responsibility not simply because he is a great athlete, quick, and strong, but because he is a great teammate, loyal, determined, and resilient. Said one teacher, “Whenever Oscar comes up against an obstacle, he becomes even more focused and tenacious.” Oscar grew up in Scouting, ultimately earning his Eagle Scout designation, so he understands the importance of commitment and service. He is a Teaching Assistant this year as a result of such convictions and because he has grown to be such a facile learner himself. Said another faculty member, “Oscar is as effective at learning as he is at teaching others.” He has a growing interest in neuroscience, too. Nothing is beyond Oscar’s curiosity or his capacity. And we never doubt – at the beginning or the end –that he’ll be the one with the ball.

EMMETT FRANCIS MACK

Catholic University of America

Emmett grew up just beyond the right field fence of the baseball field. His goal –among others – was to break one of the windows of his house one day with a home run. He might have done it, too, but he hit the ball too far more often than not – over his house or his neighbors’. A prodigious talent on the baseball field, or really any field of athletic endeavor, Emmett has proven that he is exceptional time and time again. That is as true, thankfully, off the field as it is on. A curious, engaging, wonderfully charismatic young man, Emmett is easily fascinated by concepts or ideas, friendships, and responsibilities. He is a Teaching Assistant because he is inclined to share that curious spirit with students, he shapes surfboards because he loves working with his hands, and he relishes the give and take of an energetic debate. Just ask Emmett about the snowball he made and the Free Day that was slow in being awarded and you’ll see how he keeps us all on our toes.

DONGYUN DANIEL LEE University of Chicago

University of California, Berkeley

HARRISON LAWRENCE MCADAM Northwestern

University

Harry is a scholar at heart. He is, said one teacher, “the kind of student who asks for supplemental reading to buttress his knowledge and then follows up and does the work.” His booming voice is filled with insight and curiosity, and it expresses an intellect that will push the boundaries of what we currently know and understand. But Harry’s is not simply a life of the mind. He is pretty facile with a lacrosse stick, too, leading our team for years with his precise attack and unyielding drive. He is an artist out there on the field, just as he is when he picks up his cello, or fashions an argument for a class or debate. A captain in lacrosse and cross country and a member of a committee of the Board of Trustees, Harry holds key positions. But his most impactful leadership is exercised through authority that Harry naturally assumes and uses to advance change or improve experiences and serve better the people he cares deeply about.

CARLY MIKEL MEDINA California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Carly is a giver. She is most focused on the needs of those with whom she shares her time: cast members of the play or musical or dance company; students in her Sophomore Seminar class; folks she befriends around campus who need someone to brighten their day. And Carly is a great teacher and counselor and confidante, the very kind of unselfish companion that gives communities their generous character. We aren’t ever disappointed when Carly turns that big heart towards her art. For Carly is a performer without parallel, an actor who can embody any role, a vocalist who makes us lean forward in our seats so that we can enjoy every word, a dancer adept at conveying meaning through movement. And she has crafted her work diligently, refining copious natural talent with discipline and practice and poise. We expect to see her on ever bigger stages in the years to come, bringing her generous soul to all manner of new characters.

STELLA ZENANI MEISTER WITH HONORS Colorado College

Stella just wants to know things, all kinds of things. Her curiosity takes the most productive of forms, largely because Stella follows it wherever it leads, regardless if the material is relevant to a course or an assignment or anything else. Her unending good humor means, too, that the journey will be full of laughter and light, hope and possibility. Asked about her ideal course of study, Stella said emphatically, “I want to learn Swedish and Latin, anatomy, constitutional law, ethics, how to play the drums, etymology, microbiology, astronomy, and current events.” Any free time might be spent in the pool, where Stella shines as captain of our water polo team, or holding down a job, which Stella has done for the last several summers. Faculty call Stella humble and genuine, permanently perceptive and unfailingly honest, someone who loves to learn and grow. A wonderful example is Stella of how to give yourself fully to your scholarship.

AMELIA ANN MONTSINGER Northeastern University

Amelia noted in her Servons speech that if it weren’t for bad luck … she wouldn’t have any luck at all. It is certainly true that misfortune seems to find Amelia with some regularity and often at the most inopportune times. But there is another side to that coin, one that explains Amelia’s fortitude, her patience and resolve, her endurance and her success.

For Amelia pushes back against the forces in the universe that might obstruct her progress. She is diligent and resourceful. She synthesizes all sorts of complex inputs and consolidates them into clear, understandable truths. That facile mind of hers infuses her scholarship with creativity and insight. Languages in particular, like French where Amelia is doing independent work beyond our course of study, compel Amelia and speak to her interest in communication and expression. For as we saw from the podium during her speech, Amelia has stories to tell, and bad luck is a thing of the past.

A family looking for directions on campus ran into Justin recently, so he escorted them to their destination. Said one of the group afterward, “Are all of your students as kind and gracious as Justin?” Teachers who have the opportunity to work with Justin have similar praise for him. He is enthusiastic, interested, and energetic, full, said one, “of charitable spirit.” And anyone who has seen Justin compete on the track likely struggles to find words to capture his speed or his skill. Justin just operates on another level, one most us can’t reach. Thankfully, though, he slows down when he is around us. In fact, his demeanor and pace in the world is steady and contemplative. He is a brilliant photographer who captures images of the world as only he sees it, a leader and social activist, and one of the most peaceful people with which to converse. Said a faculty member, “Our Mesa thrives because Justin lives among us.”

EMILIA NAM WITH HONORS University of Michigan

Emie Nam leaves it all on the field. One of our most accomplished soccer players, she controls the midfield of every game with the pace of a hummingbird. She is everywhere, somehow, always with the ball at her feet, always one step (or more) ahead of everyone else. And when the game ends, Emie is spent. Every bit of herself, her fire and her resolve, her affection for her teammates and her commitment to the contest itself she pours into her performance. It is rare to find students who push so hard toward their limits. Emie’s scholarship is similarly infused with conviction and commitment. But in academic settings, Emie is more inclined to slow down. She has to. Just ask the countless students she introduces to problem-based learning. Joyas Voladores hummingbirds were once called. Flying jewels is the loose translation. It’s a fitting allusion to Emie’s trajectory and to the rareness of her inspiring intellect and humanity.

Nikita is undaunted. “She sees the most pressing dilemmas facing our world as a personal to–do list,” wrote one faculty member. She has been a driving force behind work at Cate to build better community by making us more inclusive. She was invited to join the Discipline Committee because her wisdom makes our decisions more just. Her participation in our orchestra, where she serves as first violin creates similar harmony. And as a student, Nikita expresses all of the virtues and qualities that distinguish her citizenship. Said one teacher, “Nikita moves gracefully between subjects, combining the analytic capabilities of a true scientific thinker with all the fluidity and composure of a musician.” If there was ever a citizen of the world whose generous aspirations towards community building mesh perfectly with her array of skills, aptitudes, insights, and instincts, it is Nikita. She just makes people and places better.

Everyone has a distinctive Wade Nieman story, a memory of a moment when Wade did something that captivated them, or amazed them, or entertained them. Maybe it was during an art show where they came upon one of Wade’s ceramic pieces that took their breath away. He is a master potter, innovative and bold. Or maybe it’s on the lacrosse field or in the pool, where Wade’s combination of strength and grace make him truly formidable. It could have been on stage, too. His seductive dancing as a libidinous would-be suitor in Mamma Mia last year was unforgettable. But most of Wade’s genius is expressed more privately, in affirming interactions throughout the day and night. An attentive prefect, he is perpetually sought out by his young charges, who see in him a man worth emulating. In class, he is the student who can propel the dialogue, give it character and energy, and the best possible spirit of inquiry. Memorable, truly.

JUSTIN AARON NGANDI MUSYIMI Tufts University

NIKITA NAUTIYAL Rice University

WADE EMMETT NIEMAN Tulane University

CHARLES NEIL PATEL Tulane University

Charlie will tell you he is a bit of an adrenaline junkie. He lives to ski the steepest and most challenging slopes, prefers to kayak in truly raging rivers and likes to surf big and mean-looking waves. But the Charlie we know on the Mesa has learned the value of slowing everything down, of thinking deliberately and intentionally, of maintaining calm and keeping perspective. Charlie has become a paradigm for leadership and citizenship at Cate. He just seems older and more capable of facing the most difficult dilemmas. He was named Head Prefect by his peers for that reason. He chose to become a coach this year when his athletic eligibility ran out. And he threw himself into new areas of study – computer science in particular –because he understands the need to broaden one’s knowledge and perspective. One faculty member called Charlie “one of our most admired seniors,” a triple black diamond level accomplishment for this master of all things difficult.

BRIAN EDWARD PAYNE WITH HIGH HONORS California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

At a reception for new day students in August, Brian, the day student prefect, held forth on the manner in which those newest to Cate might get the most out of the experience. “Engage, work hard, say yes to new things, stay late and arrive early,” the very things that Brian has done throughout his tenure. One faculty member called him “a paragon of consistent excellence,” for Brian doesn’t ever give less than his full self to anything he does. That dedication to a craft or an enterprise or a course of study has made him a brilliant student, capable of excelling in any discipline, a talented swimmer whose commitment sets an example for the team, and this year in particular a demonstrative leader and community builder. In all of these endeavors, Brian’s generous nature and kind bearing are just as distinctive as his impressive outputs. Even his trademark response when asked how he is doing is telling. “Just fine,” Brian always says. Indeed, he is.

THALIA CHLOE RUXIN University of Virginia

Babacar’s life journey is already impressive in scale. Born in Senegal, he came to the States as a youngster (kneecap height if you can imagine it). And while he has thrived here, Babacar has stayed connected to his ancestral home, to his faith and culture, a decision that has given him a certain peace and a unique perspective on the world. He is curious, increasingly confident, and ever more inclined to use his distinctive and resonant voice. He knows, too, what is required to become truly great at something, what discipline is necessary, and what sacrifices are involved. Babacar built himself into one of the most dominant basketball players ever to don the blue and white. His thunderous dunks brought the crowd to its feet as he led the team this year to a deep CIF run and earned a host of personal honors. Yet, Babacar will talk just as fondly about the students he works with as a Teaching Assistant or the 9th graders he worked with at Pyles. A gentle giant he is, and not merely in stature.

Thalia will always choose the work that asks the most of her, especially if it will return something worthy for others. That’s conspicuous in her involvement in our Public Service program, where Thalia’s generous example is consistent and captivating. She seems to derive energy from the people she meets, folks who need Thalia’s unselfish attention. She finds similar exhilaration training with the track team, where she has become an impactful hurdler. How like Thalia to become great at getting past obstacles. And this year, Thalia has taken on the leadership of our yearbook, The Mesan, which is among the most complicated and time-consuming jobs on campus. Thalia manages it without concern or duress. She knows what real difficulty is, sharing in her Servons speech the bravery of her disabled brother, and so she confronts challenge with poise, grace, and an appreciation for the opportunity simply to try.

SERIGNE BABACAR POUYE Bates College

Smith College

The opening line in a letter about Daisy this fall read simply, “Details matter.” Daisy knows this better than most. And she lives it, from her work in our Theater program, to her incisive scholarship, to her leadership in our inclusion efforts. Daisy is not only out front, guiding us to be better people or a more welcoming community, she is also behind the scenes organizing a cookie fundraiser to celebrate trans awareness day, or creating costumes for the play, or making sure the Big Sib program is keeping those newest to Cate connected and supported. Daisy is not simply generous or caring or wise –though she is all of those things – but she manages to translate every laudable intention into a thoughtful action. And every time she asks a new question, we sense she is constructing a new plan to enrich the experience of someone who needs Daisy’s kind of care. We all need it, actually, which is why Daisy has been so busy these past three years.

ELIZABETH TREXLER SUTTER Middlebury College

In her Servons speech, delivered at the very beginning of the year, Liz encouraged the community not to forget the lessons of youth. “No matter how old we get,” she said, “childhood can and sometimes should guide us.” Perhaps that is why Liz’s leadership this year – she is our Student Body President and the captain of two varsity teams – is expressed so naturally and comfortably. It has been in her since the beginning, the byproduct of her perceptive nature and lessons well-learned. She is entirely authentic, profoundly self-aware, and a thoughtful listener. If a game doesn’t go well, she calls it a learning experience. If she takes a shot off the helmet in lacrosse – she’s been our goalie for four years – she chuckles. And even though she shares in Assembly each day acts of kindness from the community, Liz was a very convincing murderess in Chicago. Now that’s range.

CYRUS KENT SYMINGTON WITH HONORS Harvard University

Cyrus is genuine, brilliant, and full of purpose. His scholarship, which is marvelous, is distinguished by the wonderful economy of his questions, the patience of his listening, and the character of his processing. Teachers call Cyrus’ curiosity “contagious” and his presence in any venue impactful and welcome. He has been a leader in our water polo and swimming programs since his 9th grade year. To watch Cyrus in the pool and to observe the power of his stroke is to appreciate the intentionality and the hard work that makes his pace possible. Cyrus bemoaned recently his failure to take advantage of the present moment, and yet we have never seen him do anything but make the most of every minute or opportunity or engagement. His standards of productivity are just higher than most, and because of that – through his own good works and the quality of his example – Cyrus has shown the difference that one student can make at Cate.

ALEX TANG

University of Southern California

Alex is a student of uncommon diligence, a truly skilled communicator, and this year a conscientious and attentive teacher in our Human Development program. Work of any sort seems to appeal to Alex, but he is especially motivated when someone else is the beneficiary of his efforts. His good intentions shine through his every gesture, making Cate warmer, wiser, and more fun. He has turned this small community into his family, has become content in the wide open spaces he loves to explore, and has found great passions and interests to pursue. Said his advisor, in attempting to capture the breadth of Alex’s activities, “He is a volunteer hand on a deep sea fishing boat, a recreational chef whose tastes lean towards brisket, a citizen of the world with global interests, an ultimate frisbee captain and MVP, and a frequent visitor to the CIA World Factbook.” This helpful young man will bring flavor and focus to any community he joins.

DAISY TRUE RYAN

TAMSYN TAPTICH WITH HIGH HONORS Middlebury College

There is nothing more reassuring or confidence inspiring than knowing that Tamsyn is on our side. That is especially conspicuous on the soccer field, where Tamsyn is impossible to get past. The center of our defense, fast, smart, agile and relentless, she thwarts opposing players with uncanny consistency and ruthless precision. But Tamsyn’s leadership and agility is just as evident in academic pursuits. She is a remarkable student, resourceful, detail-oriented, and dedicated. Much like on the pitch, Tamsyn is interested in depth of experience, in practice that takes her beyond the immediate answers to the understanding necessary for real substantive knowing. A head peer tutor, she is equally focused on what and how others might learn. “One of our most reliable seniors,” one faculty member called her, a leader who contributes by holding the line and pushing herself and us towards our very best efforts.

NICOLE TEH WITH HONORS Scripps College

Said a teacher recently, “If Cate had an award for the most contagious spirit, Nicole would win it.” She is relentlessly positive, endearingly hopeful, and incredibly tough. She does not pretend that life is without huge challenges and setbacks. Nicole acknowledged just that in her wonderful Servons speech, but she also noted that we have a choice in how we face anything – good or bad. Hard to imagine better guidance for anyone, but especially for the students Nicole serves, or the athletes Nicole leads as captain of the swim team, or even the pop music aficionados who share Nicole’s belief that Taylor Swift may well be the best recording artist of all time. Wherever she goes, Nicole brings a certain lightness of being that not only invigorates the journey but guarantees its value and the endurance of its memory. One teacher even admitted asking herself after an inspiring class discussion, “What would I do without Nicole?” Remember all she has taught us.

KENDALL REESE THORNE WITH HIGH HONORS University of Chicago

Beatrice must have been born wise, or acquired her wisdom as a toddler or perhaps in middle school, because she has been older than her years for as long as we have known her at Cate. Calm, confident, comfortable in any setting, endearingly kind, and surprisingly candid, Beatrice brings maturity and insight to every interaction or endeavor. She has become a leader at Cate and not coincidentally one of the first to try something new or step out of the familiar. A backstage fixture in our Theater program, Beatrice has risen to the level of student director. But she is just as likely of late to be out front as a dancer and a performer. If there is an adventure to be had in the wilderness, Beatrice will serve as guide and invite others to join. And if there is a class discussion to be joined, Beatrice will bring “bold and unique observations.” Said one teacher, “Hers is the voice that draws people in and pulls disparate ideas together.”

Kendall’s brow furrows slightly when she notices something in class: a concept others can’t grasp, a detail most would overlook, a possible explanation no one else can formulate. Then almost dispassionately she explains what she sees, concisely, directly, matter of factly. Her extraordinary mind is relentless in its problem solving, making Kendall’s among the most productive and almost prescient scholarship. Kendall doesn’t have time to be inefficient. After class she’ll head for the cross country course, or the gym, or the track. She might have a tour to give – Kendall is a former head tour guide after all – or a friend who needs help with something. Kendall is always the first to offer assistance, prompting her advisor to note that “much of Kendall’s leadership comes when no one is watching.” But she still won an Ethics in Sports Award and a host of other accolades, because contribution on Kendall’s level gets everyone’s attention.

BEATRICE JANE THOMPSON Reed College

TALIA TOM

The American University of Paris

Talia builds communities wherever she goes. Watch her with her basketball team, and her spirit is as impactful as her skill, always positive, never ebbing in the least. Her Human Development classroom has a similar balance, full of humor, good teaching, and productive expectations. And her broad friendships speak to Talia’s lovely, affirming way with people. It helps, of course, that Talia is facile with three languages and that she values the diversity of people and cultures in the world. She is a great lover of art and fashion, too, and the way in which culture is reflected in our various forms of expression. An artist herself, Talia seems to be building her own voice through her craft. There is a certain artfulness even to Talia’s scholarship, for she values feedback and is thoughtful in using what she hears to improve and inform her academic work. Either by example or engagement, Talia sets a standard and invites all to follow along.

ELOISE EVANS TUNNELL WITH HIGH HONORS Harvard University

If we really need something done well and quickly and thoughtfully, we ask Ellie to do it. It doesn’t matter that she already has more on her plate than anyone else, because it seems Ellie can handle more than anyone else. She leads efforts that everyone relies on: like the newsletter that goes out explaining the weekly goings-on, or the Food Committee which sees that student input guides our menuing, Round Square, Teaching Assistant. She captains teams that thrive because of the quality of her play and the character of her commitment. Ellie never stops on the field or the tennis court – not once – and when she goes, it’s at a pace none can match. Her scholarship is similarly powerful, filled with commitment to do better for the world or its populations. Said a friend, “Ellie’s passion projects begin when she notices a need in her community.” Like the irrepressible Eloise of children’s book fame, Ellie makes life and work on the Mesa poignant, profound, and full of good purpose.

MYLA MARGARET VAN LYNDE WITH HONORS University of Vermont

Myla loves the outdoors and seems most content and most at home in places where she is closest to the vastness of the world. A certified lifeguard, Wilderness First Responder, and Leave No Trace trainer, Myla has honed the skills needed to be safe in the backcountry and even served as a leader in this year’s sophomore Yosemite trip. Her time in such settings, while immediately welcome to those fortunate to be in her company, may well serve as the inspiration for her truly exceptional, lyrical prose. One teacher called Myla “an artist with the written word.” Others use words like bold, elegant, and unprecedented as they struggle for descriptors to capture the scale of Myla’s talent. It is rare to be able to evoke such awe among Cate teachers, but Myla seems unfazed by her own exceptionalism. She is too busy competing in aquatics or leading El Batidor or imagining the next iconic piece of writing to share with friends.

WILLIAM CHADWICK VANICA Georgetown University

We have heard Will often over the last four years, early in the mornings or late in the day, working out on the tennis courts, hitting balls against the backboard, making himself into a formidable player, a CIF champion as it turns out. His dedication and discipline are conspicuous and unusual, and they don’t simply apply to racquet sports. Will works hard at everything, and he has become an outstanding student – a standout in computational thinking, and French in particular. Entrepreneurial as well, Will works closely with the management of the Blue Ewe to see that stocking options are evolving with student interest and need. Aspiring to a career in international business and perhaps the business of sports, Will is uniquely positioned to construct the future he imagines for himself. Certainly his commitments at Cate – he also serves as a Residential Life Representative – reveal a young man interested in having impact on lives beyond his own.

TATIANA SIERRA VON BOTHMER Brown University

Tatiana seems to have known long before most the character of service that will distinguish her life. She will teach. And she will be great at it. Tatiana’s afternoons she spends at the Cate Early Learning Center, and her arrival is always cause for celebration among her students. Gentle, thoughtful, peaceful, and purposeful, Tatiana is the ideal person to lead learning. She does here on the top of campus, too, not simply through her own scholarship – though that is remarkable in its depth and precision – but in her efforts to guide the full community.

Tatiana is compelled by a host of environmental issues. She has set up a clothing swap designed to keep items out of the landfills and ensure even apparel has a happy home. She is an editor of El Batidor and a phenomenal tutor, always investing herself to ensure the well-being of this community. Said her advisor, “Tatiana’s dedication to her work, to people, and to the earth is formidable.”

MAESA VONGKUSOLKIT Bard College

Different cultures have names for journeys of discovery: walkabout, spirit trail, pilgrimage, etc. Maesa is on one. She is overflowing with curiosity and wonder, with questions on the largest scale and insights to match them. When the pandemic made it impossible for Maesa to reach Cate, she stayed in Thailand and studied traditional Thai medicine with Buddhist monks and nuns. She studied weaving and dyeing techniques for textiles, and then when circumstances allowed her to return to Carpinteria, Maesa became fascinated by the Chumash, a Native American tribe indigenous to the Central Coast. Said one faculty member, “Maesa has been on a quest to probe the true nature of community and connection.” Those efforts have revealed Maesa’s inclination to savor learning, to take in all its flavor and nourishment, so that she can travel ever farther down the road to knowing and understanding.

TUE ANH (AVERY) MINH VU Gap Year

Avery is deeply committed to her scholarship and seems especially compelled by the study of languages. She is a strong speaker of Mandarin Chinese and has worked hard to expand her already impressive vocabulary. And in English she has a capacity her teacher notes for “engaging philosophical questions.” Indeed, Avery has demonstrated an inclination to think deeply and to press ever further on the possibilities of her own cognition. In so doing, Avery is showing a greater inclination to use her voice, to contribute to discussions, and to test her perspective against other vantage points. She has also committed herself to our after school tutoring program for students in Carpinteria, where Avery supports others’ learning with the same diligence with which she pursues her own. Said her advisor last year, “Avery understands what is required to learn and grow,” and she is passing that on to those she teaches.

CHAU ANH MINH VU WITH HONORS Brown University

In an attempt to capture Chau Anh’s introspective scholarship, a faculty member invoked writer Susan Cain, noting that many brilliant ideas and inventions have come from “cerebral people who knew how to tune in to their inner worlds and the treasures to be found there.” Chau Anh has lots of intellectual horsepower that she has applied to every area of endeavor but with particular effectiveness in the Humanities, where teachers have noted written work that is “just dazzling, without exception.” Chau Anh was also involved in the creation of the Ethics Bowl and has shown a keen interest in mental health issues afflicting young people. She has written about the issue for publication and aspires to focus on the area of well being in her professional life. In the meantime, Chau Anh is busy answering the biggest questions and putting that powerful mind of hers to work.

CARLY JORDAN WEINBERGER WITH HONORS Wellesley College

Carly began the year by participating in the Round Square Conference in London, evidence of her increasingly intrepid nature. She took on the prefectship in Cook House East, as well, eager to support her fellow dorm-mates. And she continued to apply herself to those areas of endeavor that have distinguished her work throughout her tenure: like writing brilliant prose or choreographing and performing compelling dance performances, or casually eliminating the Head of School in day one of the Elimination Game. Carly’s capabilities in every area of life or study give her a growing sense of confidence and the inclination to try new things just for the sake of the experience. She was part of the junior varsity lacrosse juggernaut that overwhelmed opponents this spring, a fitting gesture from a senior who understands that the value of any experience depends in part on our willingness to commit fully to it. And Carly is always all-in.

TATIANA ARIELLE YOUNG Scripps College

Tatiana joked in her Servons speech about always looking up at people. Measured in aptitude or resolve, though, she is a giant. Few students have internalized Malcolm Gladwell’s standard of 10,000 hours of practice like Tatiana has. She takes initiative always, actively builds her skills, responds quickly and generously to feedback, and is in the words of one of her teachers “perpetually brimming with positive intent.” She loves sports, too, and has been an important contributor to our tennis program over the years. And when she is not on the courts, Tatiana is studying Shaolin Kempo Karate and is approaching her black belt. Martial artist that she is Tatiana also gravitates to other art forms, in the studio or with the written word. In becoming great in such diverse areas of endeavor, Tatiana has shown the impact discipline and a gracious attitude can have on growth and learning. It is we who look up to her.

JACK PETTIGREW WHELAN Middlebury College

Jack has left so many impressions on this community. We hear his voice in our heads because we have heard him sing so many times and are always mesmerized by the sound. We are accustomed to seeing him on stage, either performing as he did last year in Mamma Mia, or this year as a prefect leading Assembly. And we relish watching him compete on the football and lacrosse field. He is an overwhelming talent in any venue, as powerful and daunting to opponents in sport as he is artful and resonant in song. Beauty and the Beast all in one. But Jack is even more than that. His scholarship is adventurous and full of initiative. Mathematics and music theory captivate him equally, such that he took up conducting Camerata, our elite choir, so he could guide his peers in the expression of a musical text. The fact that he did so with stitches in his chin left over from a collision in a recent lacrosse game made it all the more fitting.

ZHIYUAN (RORY) ZHANG WITH HONORS Amherst College

Rory inspires affection and connection. He is soft-spoken and easy-going; goodhumored and patient; humble and brilliant. His advisor called him “quietly beloved by his dorm, his advisory, and his classmates.” Rory’s selection as a prefect this year, and his great success in the role speak to the manner in which he lives up to even our most aspirational expectations.

Then again, Rory is used to doing exceptional work. He is a fabulous musician, dazzling on the keyboards. He is also an unparalleled math student, and this year he took on an inquiry project exploring the intersection of mathematics and music. Born and raised among different cultures in Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean, Rory doesn’t seem inclined to rush toward conclusions or judgments or answers. He is too thoughtful for that. We are happy to wait for whatever Rory chooses to share, because we know his insights will be generous and profound.

Departing Faculty

By Benjamin D. Williams IV, Head of School

Charlotte Brownlee '85

In the spring of 1981, women were admitted to Cate for the first time, one of the best and most impactful decisions in the School’s already long history. Among those newly admitted students was a ninth grader named Charlotte Brownlee. She would go on to distinguish herself not simply as an outstanding student and community member, but in time as a school shaper and leader, a school historian and spirit keeper, and a model of serviceminded commitment.

Gregarious, energetic, musical, and broadly talented, Charlotte showed even as a youngster the makings of greatness. While she has noted publicly that her many activities and accomplishments were not recognized with awards from the School, there was no shortage of praise or appreciation for Charlotte’s ubiquitous efforts and engagements. In fact, on her application, a teacher from Witherspoon Middle School in Princeton, New Jersey, where Charlotte was a student, in response to a prompt about weaknesses responded somewhat indignantly, “Weaknesses? Bite your tongue! If you were to have a daughter in the 8th grade and you were to write down on paper all the cherished qualities of mind and body and … yes, soul, you’d be writing a word portrait of Charlotte Brownlee.”

Charlotte lived up to even that remarkable billing. In her senior year her advisor asked quizzically, “What isn’t Charlotte devoted to?” He went on to observe, “I think Charlotte loves life, its infinity and its imperfections.” The friendships that Charlotte built in those years speak to the scale and quality of the connections Charlotte so naturally builds. Said one classmate, “My life has been shaped by meeting the already wise and charming Charlotte when I arrived as a clueless new sophomore.” Another alumna noted, “What’s most inspiring to me about Charlotte is the genuine joy and curiosity and generosity she brings to learning. She is a true educator.”

It was one of her Cate teachers who reached out to Charlotte twenty years ago who assured her return to the Mesa. Charlotte had completed her undergraduate work at Harvard, spent some time as a buyer in the fashion industry, earned an MBA at UCLA and was working in the University Advancement Office when the call came. “We are looking for a Director of the Cate Fund,” the teacher said, “I think you should apply.”

Charlotte did. Her success in that role led to her appointment as Director of Admission and then ultimately to Assistant Head for External Affairs. Said a trustee of her work, “She genuinely loves students. Her curiosity is infectious and without limit. I think that’s what’s made her such a gifted and savvy Cate admission director.”

Under Charlotte’s leadership, advancement work, admission work, even communications grew markedly in scale and sophistication, even as the focus turned appropriately to the nature and quality of the student experience on campus. “She’s a connector, in the best sense of Malcolm Gladwell’s term, and always has been,” said a classmate of Charlotte’s. And so Charlotte set about building and supporting a community of remarkable people eager to know and work with each other.

She jumped into the classroom as well, pioneering courses focused on California

history and literature. “Her contributions as a classroom educator will endure on this Mesa,” said a colleague.

Indeed, most of what Charlotte does is not transient in the benefits it offers this place. It lasts, sinks deep into the soil and walls, becomes part of the soul of this community. Who doesn’t remember people like Charlotte who show through the conduct of their lives how profoundly they believe in you? Spend a day or an evening on campus and you’ll find Charlotte in a dorm braiding tinsel into girls’ hair, hosting a seder at her home, playing her mandolin or singing a few show tunes, watching a game on the fields or in the gym, or playing Bananagrams in Booth with the girls from Bothin.

There is an inscription on Schoolhouse Dorm, visible from the landing adjacent to High House. Si Monumentum Requiris Circumspice. If you seek her monument, look around. For it is not in the buildings and structures that adorn our Mesa. It is in each of us, the human community at Cate: Charlotte’s masterpiece.

JENNA DEBOISBLANC

She goes by many names: DeBeeBee, Ms. DeBeeBee, the artist formerly known as DeBeeBee. She can invigorate a community or an activity like no other we have encountered. Her energy is unending. Her creativity is awe-inspiring. And her investment in every moment – absolute. Jenna inspires students and colleagues to think in innovative ways, to express scholarship artfully, and - to borrow from Ted Lasso – not to judge but rather to be curious. She has taken Cate by storm over the last three years, saying “yes” to every potential adventure, teaching computational thinking and connecting the logical sequencing of computer coding to the unlimited possibilities of machine rendering and human expression. We have enjoyed every second of our time with this remarkable scholar and wholly uninhibited dancer, and we wish her nothing but new and exciting discoveries on the road that lies ahead.

MIKE FERGUSON

Behind virtually every Cate action over the last decade – whether it be programmatic, infrastructure related, focused on health and safety, or involving the physical plant - Mike has been a key player in making it happen.

If we wonder how reliant we have become on technology, we should make a point to spend the day with Mike. He oversees and provides training to support every transition of software: first class to gmail, blackbaud to veracross, haiku to Schoology. He has the unenviable task of ensuring that we have adequate bandwidth, moving this year from microwave based systems to fiber optic cable. He even builds websites and interfaces, works magic with servers that are so abstract they too have become virtual, and manages it all with incredible patience and unending grace.

He has truly become indispensable over the years, making the prospect of his departure daunting to imagine. But because Mike is Mike, he has anticipated our needs for the coming years and taken care of them all already. Hard to imagine that kind of productivity. But Mike is good at doing what the rest of us can only imagine.

ERIK HANSEN

Erik joined the Cate faculty as we were imagining the potential evolution of the Harcourt Fitness Center and the strength and conditioning program that would take place within it. We could not have asked a better or more expert or more innovative program leader.

Erik not only determined the design of the space and the machines and equipment that would occupy it, he built a culture within teams and the community for competition, building strength, and limiting the potential for injury. He also took his great organizational discipline and clear priorities toward student wellbeing and applied them as a dorm head. His open door practices and frequent barbecues revealed Erik’s capacity for community building in the same way that his coaching of our swimmers in the pool demonstrated his ability to galvanize a group and help each member contribute. He leaves us for similar work with some very fortunate student athletes at Westmont College where he is sure to have a significant and lasting impact, just as he has here.

The business office is a place that is constantly in motion. People walking through the door needing assistance, phones ringing, and projects that require ongoing attention. Kim has been the organizing force in the office for the past 15 years. There is a calm about her that puts everything in perspective, centering the office and the people in a way that adds a zen-ness, a wonderfully welcoming and warm, but no-nonsense, sense of order and purpose. Growing up in Carpinteria, Kim came to Cate with a long history of managing busy people and places. A longtime owner of Carpinteria’s Foster Freeze, organizing many events and summer programs for her church, and just before Cate, working with a local flower company with their national and international reach, she knows how to deftly manage many tasks at once with efficiency and kindness. We couldn’t be more excited for her as she heads off to New Mexico to be closer to family, with more time to visit her sons and grandchildren, and are so very grateful for the sense of humor, care, support and dedication to this community she has shared these past 15 years.

Mari is now completing her second tenure at Cate. She left us for a few years but returned to teach in our Humanities Program, where the curriculum reflects Mari’s broad conception of scholarship and its applications. A writer herself, Mari’s own artistry is very much present in her teaching, as is a profound affection for language and the written word.

The parent of one Cate graduate, Mari knows our community well from all angles, and has stepped in when we most needed her to see that our students enjoy all the possibilities of inquiry. She leaves us to lead her own school in Santa Barbara, so we trust that our connection will continue well into the future.

Employee Recognition

25 YEARS 30 YEARS 20 YEARS 15 YEARS 10 YEARS 5 YEARS

Sara Boardman

Luis Flores

Jessica Knapp

Laura Moore

Jorge Reynoso

Sunny Rich

Judy Savage

Morgan Sperry

Aimee Stanchina

Elana Stone

Tobin White

40 YEARS

KIM PETTIT

MARI TALKIN

Mike Ferguson

Kyle Mason

Kim Pettit

Erik Hansen Jay Dorion Monica Garcia-Gamero

Benjamin D. Williams IV

Gilberto Ortega

John Tilton

David Wood

Jeff Barton

A Tribute to Benjamin D. Williams IV

By Charlotte Brownlee '85

After almost 20 years, I can’t really recall exactly how many times I have been summoned to Mr. Williams’ office the morning after a Discipline Committee meeting to support an advisee as they met their fate, but let’s just say it has been more than just a handful. Most of those DC’d would tell you that the two scariest moments were facing the panel of their peers and teachers in the DC itself and sitting in those oversized chairs waiting to go into Mr. WIlliams’ office. For most students it is the first time they have ever stepped into his office with that giant desk and Mr. Cate’s saddle in the corner. If you haven’t ever been inside, it’s less like Principal Rooney’s in Ferris Bueller’s Day off, and much more like Dumbledore’s – it is definitely a thing of movies and novels. However, what those seemingly unlucky students would also likely tell you is that they were met by Mr. Williams with a humanity – a grace – that left them wanting to work towards redemption. Towards finding their way again. Not to hit the river metaphor straight away, but Ben is like a master river guide, calmly and expertly steering these capsized kids through Class 5 rapids.

I often wonder what it would be like to have a heart as immense as Ben Williams’. While, yes, on one level I mean that in the literal sense, more importantly I mean it in the way that Ben uses that huge heart of his to love. I think we all see the delight he takes in each of you and your contributions to this community. But less obvious is the way he loves each of you, flaws and all. The great Fred Rogers once said, “I don’t think anyone can grow unless he’s loved exactly as he is now, appreciated for what he is rather than what he will be.” Ben Williams demonstrates that difference – by accepting rather than judging – as he celebrates all of you for who you are today. In those post-DC conversations, Ben is one of the greatest listeners there is. Students have told me they feel more seen and understood – more listened to – by Mr. Williams than by anyone else in the process. He doesn’t see you as your worst moments but instead for your potential. Ben wrote about not subscribing to the “fallacy of an error-free life” in a 2015 Notebook where he said “To trust them and to teach them is the only way to honor not only who they are but also who and how they ultimately will be.” That, my friends, is truly the magic of Ben –and by extension of his school. He has given you the space – and the grace – to fall down, get up, and do it better the next time. And he recognizes that this is exactly what it means to grow up.

Like Mr. Cate, Ben came to Carpinteria from the East (with a much–discussed Texas pit stop). Yet while Mr Cate clung to his Anglo roots, you could argue that Ben happily embraced the allure of the West and never looked back – well, one notable exception might be his affection for his bow ties. But, I don’t know anyone else who so delights in a 20-hour road trip across six states in the West to his oasis in Montana that he is willing to do it several times each year. And I am not simply talking about his love of a long drive, a great pair of boots or his 10 ton truck. In larger and more meaningful ways Ben embodies the immensity of the Western experiment –while obvious in his stature, it is found more importantly in his expansive understanding of human nature. There’s an idea that when the traditions or institutions of the East intersect with the wildness of the West, they take on a uniquely American quality. Ben has helped our school become a shining example of the Western mindset – full of possibility, a place for trial and error where we are all somewhat less burdened by the expectations of tradition. The West – and California in particular – is often seen as a place for rebirth – for reimagining all that we might become. Perhaps California was simply destiny for Ben – a place that supports his personal philosophy around growth and redemption.

As we move through this day of celebration, I am sure others will speak of Ben and his love of dogs, fishing, and most importantly, Ginger, but I want to talk a bit about his faith. One has to be optimistic to want to lead a school – there isn’t much room for cynicism when you are dealing with teenagers. If you’ve been at any of his admission talks through the years, you may well have heard Ben quote Steve Case of AOL fame – “The main thing should always be the main thing.” But what is the main thing here? Education? Growth? Care? I would wager that what Ben means is that our students are always the main thing. And he has faith that if we always put them at the center of our decision making, we can’t go too far astray. He also has faith in the wisdom of our teachers. Ben has a beautiful way of not making things all about him. He lets others shine. He has faith, albeit sometimes unmet, that if given the chance, people will do the right thing.

After our son Harry graduated (and I use that term loosely, as his commencement was on zoom during the Covid times of May 2020), my husband Alex wrote a note to Ben thanking him for making a Cate education possible for both Charlie and Harry. Alex wrote to him, “thank you for offering the gift of Cate to two boys who, in their own ways, and whether they knew it or otherwise, really needed Cate School.”

In his inimitable way, Ben wrote back to Alex saying, “It is unreasonable to believe that any of our young people will recognize while they are in an experience like the one they live at Cate, just how impactful it is and will be. Education, after all, is about faith. Some day our students and our children will understand what it all means.”

The other night we held an alumni gathering in downtown Los Angeles. Almost a hundred people turned out for it, and of those, more than a handful had been that student in Mr. Williams’ office the morning after a DC. Those alumni hug Ben, laugh about those experiences, and then inevitably tell him about the interesting things they are doing with their lives, and how that moment in his office was so often a pivot point for them in their growing up.

I wonder if any of us will be able to fully understand and express the impact Ben Williams has had on Cate – and on all of us. If education really is all about faith, how fortunate we are to have been led by someone who believed in all of us so steadfastly – and believed in all that our school could be. In those post-DC morning meetings, Ben encourages students to embrace their own power and possibility – to recognize that they are not damned to be the sum of their worst moments, but instead that they can choose to steer their course and build the

life they seek. That optimism – that hope – is Ben Williams’ special magic. I think it is the essence of his soul, that – like a river – runs through him with relentless steadiness from a mysterious source.

As our students who just performed Chicago might tell you, one of the heartbreaking things about doing theater is that you put on a show and then –poof – it’s over. The days and nights of rehearsal. The hard moments when you think it will never come together – and then – like we saw this past Family Weekend – the absolute triumph of shared joy with the performers and audience. Ben, for the past 25 years you have produced, directed, starred in, and of course authored an unforgettable 25 year production. But, unlike a show, you leave behind something far more lasting and tangible. It is said “we are, in the end, a measure of the love we leave behind.” The immensity of all that you have given – the faith and the love – is indeed as vast and enduring as your beloved rivers.

Chatom Arkin '01

Ben Williams and I both started at Cate in the fall of 1998. The poor school had no idea what it was in for by bringing us together that September! I still remember the awe that accompanied meeting the physically imposing and sonorous Mr. Williams. As a “green” kid from the country, I knew that I would learn so much from this leader.

I truly valued my two and a half years with Ben Williams while I attended Cate. I loved how actively he engaged with us as students. We both had an affinity for throwing frisbees, and we competed against each other in the final group of Dohrmann Pischel Open championship my junior year. He also taught me the game “tips”, which I still play to this day. As a new student to the school, I appreciated how much he put himself out there to meet his student body. I followed his lead – adopting some of the same bravery – and joined the musical, played volleyball, and engaged in community service. The contagious example he set provided me with a path that helped make Cate my new home.

I was expelled from Cate the second day of my final semester. Obviously, the event changed my life forever. And while I remember the day and the subsequent days so vividly, I also remember how Ben never made me feel like a bad person. My girlfriend, and now wife, was a year below me, and I would visit the school frequently during her senior year (after my expulsion). Ben always made me feel welcome. He would ask how school was going or how my parents were. And, he would remind me to be good to Emily and get off campus on time. His kindness towards me made me feel like I was still part of the Cate family. I had made a bad decision, but I was not a bad person.

I have always appreciated Mr. Williams’ unremitting display of courtesy towards me. It has helped shape me into the person I am today. I strive to be forgiving, understanding, and accepting. As an educator, I understand that kids do what kids do, and they need to be held accountable for their actions. But, they are children, and tomorrow is a new day. I have Ben’s precedence to thank for that. Thank you, Ben. Thank you for being part of my life and part of my journey. I hope you and Ginger enjoy retirement and never forget the profound mark you left on so many of us.

Drew Casertano, HEADMASTER, MILLBROOK SCHOOL 1990 -2021

My relationship with Ben began as fellow heads attending various professional meetings together, including as board members of The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS). From there, it became a candid and collaborative professional relationship, which then grew into a warm personal friendship that came to include Ginger and my wife, Linda, and two of our three sons who were fortunate to receive some career counseling from Ben.

Based on that experience, I would label Ben’s legacy as one of sharing and service. Of course, he is warm and caring, resilient and optimistic, authentic and forthright, and insightful and wise. He loves to laugh, at himself especially. And all those qualities are expressed through his willingness to share them and to serve the greater good. The Cate community, starting with its students, is so much the better as a result. So, too, is the boarding school world, as Ben has successfully led the TABS board through challenges and change. And the same is true for my family and me as a result of our enduring friendship.

Bravo Ben…and Ginger! And thank you.

Words About Dad

Carson Williams '19

My mother and father have served this campus for twenty-five years now in more ways than I can count. They’ve made it a home for thousands of people that have come up the hill and lived here at Cate: students, faculty, and residents. I recall the Quizlet nights when Ginger would help Ben study and remember the names of each incoming first year so that when they arrived on campus, they would feel welcome.

In the Williams clan, our love for canines runs deep, and for good reason. They are the silent leaders of the family. They are always happy to see us when we come through the door, regardless of the events of the day, they listen without judgment, support us, and love unconditionally. Our dogs set an example of service and faithfulness that we all try to live up to.

I don’t believe that the leadership style my father employed was learned just willy-nilly. As humans we emulate

and what my mother and father have done at this school is the work of the dog. They have listened, supported, and welcomed every person into the lovely home atop this Mesa.

Before he passed, my grandfather wrote, “Given the qualities which I have so admired, respected, and valued in the four-legged members of our family over the years, I’d like to be remembered as a good old dog.” That is exactly what I feel my parents have done at Cate. In addition to the campaigns he led, the minds he inspired, the speeches he gave, and the legacy he built, I hope my father, like his own, is remembered as the good-old labrador of Cate School. Always listening, ever faithful, and perpetually devoted to making this school a better place.

Grace Williams '10

I was lucky enough to witness the tremendous impact Ben Williams has had on Cate Mesa since he arrived 25 years ago. My perspective is unique, as his daughter, because I saw the

work he put in from all angles. I was a firsthand witness to the praise and criticism that came with being the head of a school, and how my dad received it and moved forward.

I am most grateful for the community he has had a hand in growing. Cate goes far beyond the boundaries of the Mesa – it lives within the hearts of those who have been students, teachers, parents and friends of the school. My dad has always been diligent about caring for this community and all those who are in it. He takes the time to know everyone, and make sure all voices feel heard as the school evolves and grows.

As my parents move on from this place, they too will carry Cate with them wherever they go. They leave behind a lasting impact that will continue to make Cate a home for years to come.

Greg Kubicek '74

It was a privilege and honor to have worked closely with Ben Williams for the past 27 years. During the years I was head of the Board, Ben and I had a call every Thursday to check in. I am not a sentimentalist, but while I have not had that call with Ben in more than a decade, I have not taken it off my calendar. Each week I see it and am reminded of things that made my life better—the Mesa, the school Cate is, was, and has become, and Ben.

I certainly enjoyed working with Ben, but there were times…One of the hardest assignments I ever received was to roast Ben when he returned from sabbatical. I talked to everyone I could, including his family members, to get dirt and other suitable material for a roast. It was a frustrating process. How does one roast Howdy Doody?

I’ve often thought being a Head of School is one of the most difficult jobs there is. All of his constituents know they have a valid viewpoint. The parents pay tuition and entrust their children to Cate. The alumni support the school and want it to be the way it was when they were here. The faculty live and work on the Mesa and have a strong voice, rightfully so. And of course there are the students, brilliant and energetic and in the midst of hormones. And then there are the Trustees…

Reconciling and balancing these frequently opposing viewpoints can often be near-impossible. I am in awe of how Ben was able to stand apart and be an adult in the room.

Ben is an avid sportsman who loves the outdoors. And although he hides it well, he’s very competitive. One time we were shooting sporting clays, and after a couple rounds that did not go the way Ben would have liked, I looked over to see Ben jumping up and down like a frustrated 8 year old, and while I am not have been able to hear him clearly, I believe he was questioning my parentage.

I have previously stated in a talk that I have seen and worked with many headmasters in my time and have come to the conclusion that Ben could be the best Head of School there has ever been.

One of the duties of the head of the board is to draft the headmaster’s performance review. One year, I stole the line that I overheard at a parent’s weekend—that Ben was the headmaster from “Central Casting.” He is tall, good looking, always a presence, and often clad in bowties and Brooks Brothers. He is a regular Mr. Chips. And why not? He was born to it—his father was a headmaster and both his brothers are current headmasters. It’s the family business.

great investments. He helped found the inquiry program that is one of the key features he’s leaving on the Mesa. Ben’s tenure will have profound effects on students for generations to come.

It is a legacy that he can and should be very proud of.

Family is very important to Ben. We have seen his children grow up on the Mesa, and of course none of this would have been possible without his close partnership with Ginger.

I was on the board when we hired Ben to be Head of School. We took a chance— he was 34 years old—thank goodness we took that chance. Whatever we

I love Cate and can never do enough to thank the school for all it has done for me. Even more powerful, my son attended Cate and loves it every bit as much as I do, and maybe even more. Cate keeps on getting better and a big part of that is what Ben has done for the school over the last 25 years. He has transformed for the better literally every aspect of the school. As I look around, we can see the additions to the campus and the new fabulous facilities, including where we are seated right here. But it is more than buildings that make a school. Ben has improved the curriculum, has worked to reward and develop the faculty, has raised funds for scholarships, and worked to diversify those on campus and the board. More than just asking for money, he’s proved that these are

might have seen in him at that time—he has exceeded all our most ambitious expectations and been transformational. Cate is a far stronger school now than it was 25 years ago when Ben first walked onto the campus.

I know I speak for the entire Cate community when I say to Ben—I could not be more grateful for your wisdom, empathy, patience, vision for the future, and leadership for the past 25 years.

I know I speak for the entire Cate community when I say to Ben—I could not be more grateful for your wisdom, empathy, patience, vision for the future, and leadership for the past 27 years.

Paul Denison '79 OUTDOOR PROGRAM DIRECTOR

It is an unenviable task to try to present a written snapshot to Ben, for any effort to encapsulate an experience in words will inevitably pale in comparison to his own penned tributes. Ben, the ultimate wordsmith. Thus, recognizing that my efforts will be unable both to appropriately represent Ben’s impact on this place and to measure up to his mastery of words, I forge, flailing, onward….

There are countless tangible relics of Ben’s impact at Cate, from the transformative building projects, the expansion and improvement of academic offerings, and the substantial increase in endowment. These are all obvious, significant, and impressive. However, when I think of Ben’s legacy, I’m impressed by something much more subtle, yet I’d argue equally impressive and perhaps more impactful. I’ve met all of Cate headmasters (including Mr. Cate) save one, and I’ve worked for three of them. All, including Ben, have cast themselves in the mold of “benevolent dictator” – strong personalities that lead with measures of both strength and fear, and it’s a model with which I am both familiar and very comfortable. And while Ben brings that same combination, he has been the first, I believe, to introduce a different facet to that model. While there has never been a question of the strength of his convictions or his willingness to stand by them, no matter pressures to the contrary, Ben has balanced that with an emotional component unseen in his predecessors. I would imagine Ben has shed more public tears than all of his predecessors combined, and I would argue this has been his greatest display of strength. Those tears have always arisen out of a deep love –love for family, institution, values – and they have helped to underscore how profoundly he feels about all he does. In a society that doesn’t necessarily celebrate the display of emotions as a strength, Ben has shown us all, faculty and students alike, that it is a powerful demonstration of leadership and a true sign of strength to share one’s sorrows and disappointments, and when he has done so, it has made me appreciate my own family, my own school, and my own values all the more. Ben has brought his authentic self for all of us to see and has shown us what it means to be human, what it means to truly care, and what it means to be strong and confident enough to be vulnerable. Those moments have never been easy for Ben (or for us), but how lucky it is to have had the leadership of someone who not only can so clearly and obviously role model his own commitment and passion but who can also display that real strength is not feeling we have to hide those feelings. Thank you, Ben. Excuse me while I shed a tear…

Monique Parsons '84

Like most Cate alumni, I have some vivid memories of the Hitchcock Theatre. But when I stood in the back of Hitchcock in 2010, at my first morning assembly 26 years after graduating, I thought I was in a different school. In a way, I was. Aside from the stage curtain and seat cushions, all upgraded to Cate blue, the space looked much the same. But that day in 2010, I saw a racially diverse student body. I saw women in leadership roles on the faculty. And I saw—and felt— kindness. Kids were singing and cheering for one another, wishing each other happy birthday, applauding for each other’s achievements large and small. The Cate School I went to in the 1980s prized a snarky, mean kind of humor; for many of us, including a nerdy, introverted Carp kid like me, assemblies always felt like a bit of a minefield. I once asked Ben Williams if this culture change evolved naturally or intentionally. He chuckled and told me a story. Not long after arriving as Head of School, he was in a morning assembly in Hitchcock and witnessed students mocking a guest speaker who’d visited the evening before. Soon after, in an inspired move to cultivate empathy and humility in the young critics in his care, Ben introduced the Tuesday Talks, where students stand up to give a formal address to the school. The mockery stopped, and these talks—now known as the Servons Speeches— are a valued weekly tradition at Cate. While serving as a trustee at Cate, I’ve learned that change doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because leaders with foresight and courage see where change is needed and inspire others to join the effort. When we reflect on the Ben Williams era at Cate, we can point to new buildings, new curricula, new policies, and new accomplishments, and rightly so. But for me, the Ben Williams era will always be the era of kindness.

Mattie Brickman '01

What I did not know, when I first met Ben, is that headmastering is the best writing gig in town.

I did not know this my freshman year when, rounding the corner by High House, I first shook his hand. I did not know this during our first long conversation at the square dance, when he had just become Head of School. But twenty-five years later — twenty-five years of assemblies, ceremonies, graduations, parents weekends, and alumni gatherings...of e-mails, Cate Bulletins, welcomes, intros, and countless other examples of casual, but crafted storytelling — one thing became clear: Ben may be the most prolific writer I know.

What I did know when I first met Ben — immediately — is how present he is when he speaks to you. How open and responsive he is to the moment. How connected he is. How quickly, yet gracefully, he discerns the things that make you tick. And how he encourages those things to grow.

This was certainly the case at that square dance, when I remember being surprised that he would take the time to have such a long, involved conversation with a tiny little sophomore. I’m grateful for that first exchange and for every one since. Conversations full of curiosity, exploration, and connection — the very traits, I now understand, that have made him both a great writer and an exceptional headmaster.

Knowing this, I can only imagine that the 1997 job description must’ve read:

“Thoughtful, confident writer who can compellingly craft and deliver a resonant story for any occasion. Must be able to create for a variety of venues, from large theatrical spaces to an audience of one at a square dance. (Oh, and can also run a school.)”

Lisa Stanson '92 PRESIDENT, CATE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Many know Ben as a storyteller, an accomplished outdoorsman, an educator and a visionary – someone whose legacy will be seen and felt on this Mesa and in the boarding school community, for generations to come. I have come to know him as a steadfast partner in some of the most challenging and exciting times for our families on and off the Mesa in the last century – taking on natural disasters, leading us through social justice movements and spearheading a complete re-imagination of our school’s curriculum and physical plant – all the while, focusing on the success of both the faculty and the students who are the heart of this community. But for me, in the last 25 years, I have also come to know Ben as a friend. My calendar has a one hour slot on Thursday afternoons reserved for “Meeting with Ben.” We usually start these with a few minutes of catching up on where the week has taken us, outside of school business. Sometimes it’s a discussion of the water levels on the creek near B Camp. Or the latest antics of his youthful Labrador Hopper. I share with him my encounters with Cate friends and pepper him with questions about Ginger and Montana. And then we get down to Mesa business. It is these moments at the beginning of our calls that I will miss the most. They are filled with stories, observations on our world experiences and always my favorite thing, Ben’s laugh. While I will no longer have these weekly calls, I will forever remember and channel Ben’s positivity and his unrelenting faith in our community. And most importantly, a commitment to its people. This will be one of the many impacts of his enduring legacy here on our Mesa and beyond. For a quarter century Ben has selflessly dedicated his life to the success of this community and its people. While many have contemplated the exact meaning of our motto Servons, to serve, I can say with great confidence that there is a person who has defined it for us. It is Ben.

Fred Williams HEAD OF SCHOOL THE RECTORY SCHOOL

As Ben retires, I have come to learn that Ben’s childhood and his life with his siblings have been regular topics in his oral and written remarks shared with the Cate community. While I question, with good reason, the accuracy of his memories, particularly those that put Joe and me in a questionable light, I do not dispute his purposeful intention to use his upbringing as teaching moments for the Cate students. These students would be wise to listen closely for Ben’s wisdom is without dispute. The same is true of his ability to lead a school.

The three Williams boys, like their father, have had the good fortune to serve as heads of school. Ben has done so in a most impressive fashion. So rather than celebrating this moment as I would have during our teen years—with a headlock and a charley horse—I instead take this moment to congratulate my brother on his exceptional leadership. From my vantage point, he has served the Cate School and the boarding school association as a whole with notable distinction, and there are so many beneficiaries, myself included.

Cate now finds itself without Ben Williams at the helm. This means I now have a full-time fishing guide at my disposal and ready access to one of the most impactful heads of school ever, one I have the privilege of calling my brother. Congratulations, Ben.

John Endres '22

The sound of birds chirping interrupts the cool ocean breeze in the air. The sun is just starting to set beyond the horizon, and a beam of light shines onto the grand mountains in the foreground. Ben Williams stands before every Cate student and faculty member, as he reads the same passage he always does. Sunset Ceremony is a tradition synonymous with Cate School. However, for me,

what made the ceremony memorable was Mr. Williams’ distinctive, dare I say iconic, voice echoing in every single person’s ear. What made the Sunset Ceremony so special was Mr. Williams. However, in reality, what made all of Cate so special happens to also be Mr. Williams. You hear that iconic voice in assembly making the simplest of stories sound like death-defying adventures. You hear the voice in sports games. You hear the voice when he says hello to you every time he sees you, and he somehow always knows your name even if you’ve never talked to him before. And you hear his voice read off the most incredible words you could ever hope to hear about yourself when you walk across the stage at graduation. So much of what made Cate memorable was only memorable because Ben Williams made it so. And as this special human prepares to leave an unforgettable legacy behind, it’s only right that we leave him with the kind of thanks that such a memorable human deserves. Thank you, Ben Williams. Cate School and the world are better places because of you.

Juarez Newsome HISTORY INSTRUCTOR

As we delved into Lincoln’s humble beginnings, his rise to power, and his pivotal role in guiding the United States through one of its most turbulent times—the Civil War, “the Big Man,” the students and I examined Lincoln’s political philosophy, his stance on slavery, and his unwavering commitment to preserving the Union. Additionally, we analyzed his iconic speeches, such as the “Gettysburg Address” and the “Second Inaugural Address,” and his personal writings, the Meditation of the Divine, to understand his profound eloquence and rhetorical skills. During our lively discussions, debates, and critical thinking exercises, the “Big Man,” although earning his “street cred” as a 21st century educator from day one, surprised the class with unanticipated “colorful language” to emphasize a particular point. He and I first taught “Lincoln

and His Words” twelve years ago, and as the students grappled with slavery’s pernicious effects, and a divided nation, a few constants stand out. The Big Man’s teaching needs are simple: a whiteboard, a pen and the text. The Big Man’s love for Lincoln is undeniable. Three hours a week spent in the classroom with our talented students enriched and expanded the Big Man’s perspective of our beloved Mesa while offering him a respite from other job-related issues. Lastly, the Big Man and his command of Lincoln’s words will be eternally missed.

Joshua Jongsoo Han '09

I still remember the first time I saw Mr. Williams at the 2004 Cate School reception in Korea. To a Korean boy in the 8th grade, his physical appearance, which to me appeared to be nothing short of a giant, was to some level intimidating. Then, I heard him speak. He spoke with much passion and sincerity, about how Cate was a community, a place where students feel at home, and how it’s a place where students learn not only academics but how to become a dedicated member of society. This short 15 minute speech that gave my parents the courage to send their 14 year-old son across the Pacific, and had me hooked onto the idea of becoming a member of the Cate community.

Over the next 4 years on the Mesa, I had the honor of seeing Mr. Williams’ leadership first hand. He truly was a giant: an exemplary leader who instilled upon us the meaning of community and service. A leader that taught us about passion, dedication, and much more.

He has been and always will be my role model.

Thank you Mr. Williams for your service. Servons.

Rebecca Haile EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ETHIOPIA EDUCATION INITIATIVES

In recent years, one of the great blessings I’ve received has been the evolution of my Williams College friendship with the extraordinary Ben Williams. Thirty-five years ago, I knew Ben as a friend, admired for his warmth, kindness, humor, and generally dashing upperclassman-scholar athlete-aboutcampus self. After Ben joined the Board of Haile-Manas Academy, a residential school for Ethiopian students of promise, I came to understand the true depth of the waters that run within him. In every interaction, Ben revealed the wise, insightful, and inspirational educator he grew into, the school leader the Cate community knows so well. Hearing him weigh in on complex issues, I’ve been in awe of his discerning judgment and realize how fortunate we are to have him. Ben has helped us navigate many tricky shoals, doing so with generosity of time and spirit, a remarkable ability to identify and balance competing interests, clarity of thought and expression, and always with student well-being and advancement of mission at the fore. No matter the problem – or the opportunity – a conversation with Ben makes for better decisions and better outcomes. In short, Ben Williams has been a gift in my life. I am lucky to count him as both a dear friend and a wise and valued colleague.

Meg Bradley

HEAD OF SCHOOL, SANTA CATALINA

2016-2022

MEMBER OF CATE SCHOOL STAFF

1998-2016

I first met Headmaster-elect Ben Williams in 1998, in Texas, to interview for a position at Cate. As good fortune would have it, I was Ben’s first hire. From the beginning, he was unabashedly clear about his vision for Cate. In 1997 he shared his belief that the school head is: “Endowed with the responsibility of leading a community of learners, he or she must be the head learner: the one willing to listen patiently, to process carefully, and to respond thoughtfully.”

In a recent Headmaster’s Notebook, Ben wrote about a trip in which he reconnected with Cate alumni from around the country. Ben noted the earnest affirmation of the alums regarding so much of what makes Cate – Cate. Reflecting on his tenure, I believe that so much about what makes Cate – Cate, reflects his vision. Sunset and Moving-Up-Day ceremonies, Chapel talks, inquiry and the cohesion of pedagogy, capital improvements that have transformed the Mesa and so much more. Along the way, Ben worked with a team of dedicated faculty and staff to re-create the Cate academic experience. At the heart of this work was a goal of designing space and time for independent student inquiry. Ben observed, “This kind of curriculum builds not simply subject mastery, but

cognitive versatility, intellectual agility and creativity, and an awareness of the interconnectedness of all things.” As a non-teaching member of the faculty, it was a heady experience to observe the commitment and hard work that Ben and Cate teachers put into implementing this comprehensive project. Ben served as the “head learner” and because of this gentle man’s conviction, Cate has evolved from a strong regional school in 1998, to one of the nation’s most selective boarding schools.

For me and so many others, Ben has generously served as a mentor. Over the arc of his career, he opened his door, day and night, to listen, coach, mentor and care for students and employees. On a trip to an NAIS conference, as the hallways filled with professionals, I could see Ben off at a distance, towering above the crowd surrounded by colleagues. For those of us seeking advancement in our careers, Ben readily provided his support, encouragement, and faith along with introductions to his vast network of colleagues. He showed me what an authentic vocation looks like through his untiring dedication and sacrifice along with his vast appetite to search, dream, and build.

In 2006, Ben asked and answered— What is an education? “It is an opportunity to broaden and sharpen one’s intellect, to develop one’s character and personality, and to realize all the potential available to create, to enhance, and to perpetuate the continuing evolution of our individual and collective humanity.”

Ben has left his mark on Cate helping to shape generations of individuals “lifting” their vision to higher sights while building something great—Cate today.

For me and so many others, Ben has generously served as a mentor. Over the arc of his career, he opened his door, day and night, to listen, coach, mentor and care for students and employees.

Joe Williams HEAD OF SCHOOL NEW HAMPTON SCHOOL

I am honored to have this opportunity to share a reflection on Ben’s tenure at Cate, his leadership in the independent school world, and more importantly his role as my big brother.

Ben has always led from the heart with an authenticity and humbleness that brings personality and purpose to his work at Cate. He has been steadfast in his values, beliefs, understanding for the needs of young people, and the importance of having high standards. I have always admired how Ben has navigated difficult topics and situations, finding clarity in the uncertainty of change or hardship, and just the right words to inspire, motivate, and unite his audience.

It has been my privilege to work in the same industry as Ben, to benefit from his guidance and perspective as I have navigated my own career and been proud to witness his impact on the boarding school world. And like any proud sibling, I sing his praises as often as I can! Ben, thanks for modeling servant leadership so well, for maintaining your sense of humor despite the demands of the work, and providing your wisdom and support so generously.

Sarah Appleton Pine '10

Sitting on the couch one evening, after playing Mario Kart or watching a movie with the Williams family, I noticed Ben writing, brow furrowed in thought. It was mid-year, and Ben was writing the paragraphs he reads for each student at graduation. The act of beginning them so early demonstrated to me that words matter so much to Ben because people do. He is invested in us well beyond knowing our names. I saw this in other ways, too, especially my senior year when classmates of mine, including school leaders, violated a major school rule, the repercussions of which reverberated throughout the community. When Ben addressed us at an assembly a few days later, what struck me most was his sorrow. We’d let ourselves down, and we, he knew, could do better. Rather than guilt, he communicated how much each individual matters in a community and how important community is. I’ve yet to find a community like Cate and a leader like Ben, someone with more fortitude and wisdom than anyone I know, yet who is unintimidating and generous. He embodies the spirit of this place more so, I’d argue, than Mr. Cate himself. It’s difficult for me to imagine the Mesa without Ben—from cooking our favorite Aunt Mary’s chicken at Mesa House to his campus presence—but we’re all growing older, and I’m excited for what’s to come for Ben—more Labs and a book, I hope.

Susan Baldridge TABS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

It’s no secret that Ben Williams has served the Cate community with extraordinary dedication and aplomb as your long time Head of School. What you may not know is that he has also skillfully and steadfastly served the broader world of boarding schools as a trustee for The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) since 2009. For 14 years – including for 4 years as chair of the Board – he has helped to steer the organization and its hundreds of member schools throughout North America and around the world with the same steady hand, navigating challenges and embracing opportunities for the good of so many. He has shared his time, his wisdom, and his experience, and the boarding school community has benefitted in countless ways from that generosity of spirit. I feel so fortunate that in my first year as Executive Director of TABS, I have had the opportunity to benefit from that same wise counsel and thoughtful attention. Ben, the boarding school community will miss you, your warm support, and your dedicated leadership – you have our deepest gratitude for all you have done!

CAMP CATE 2023

By Emily Sosrodjojo '13

On Friday, June 2, members of the Cate community including alumni, parents of alumni, current and former faculty, families, and friends arrived on the Mesa to celebrate Camp Cate 2023. This marked the much anticipated return of Camp Cate, with alumni and families back in the dorms, following last year’s Reunion Weekend. The weather greeted guests with warm sunshine and temperatures were in the mid-to-high 70s throughout the weekend. It was as though May gray and June gloom never took place.

Camp Cate 2023 was especially meaningful as the community celebrated the opening of the Jackson Ballard '15 Recording Studio – a belated celebration due to the pandemic. Jackson’s mother, aunt, uncle, and older brother, Brewer Ballard '13 were present and the Class of 2013 joined Brewer in the heartfelt

gathering. The celebration was filled with laughter and awe as guests listened to Ben Williams and Brewer Ballard commemorate Jackson and his quiet and formidable spirit.

Once alumni and families arrived and settled into their dorms, guests headed to Mesa House for the Camp Cate Kick-Off Party. Ben Williams greeted alumni and their families one last time as this was his final Camp Cate as Head of School. Alumni joyfully reconnected with one another and with former teachers and retired faculty members. Guests enjoyed delicious tacos and cold beverages provided by Firestone Brewery. It was not just the adults who had a festive Friday evening; children of alumni participated in the sixth annual Junior Camp Cate program. The camp was led by Flora Troy '19 with help from current Cate students. Campers enjoyed some tacos of their own before

heading to Booth Commons to watch WALL-E and make s’mores.

Saturday morning began with the Annual Mesa Race. Track and Field Coach Tim Weir took note of runners’ bib numbers and time, while Camp Cate counselors directed runners throughout the course. Former camp counselor

Kyril van Schendel '18 was the first male to finish the race at 10:57, and future Cate Ram Sofia Chu was the first female that crossed the finish line at 16:44. While the race took place, other alumni and families visited the new Otis Booth Dining Commons for the very first time. Science instructor Dr. Jamie Kellogg greeted runners, alumni, and families with espressos and lattes. Guests participated in various other morning activities, including frisbee golf, a trip to the Blue Ewe, and campus tours led by head tour guide

Mel Davidson '24

Photograph by Kaori Peters

The Johnson Library opened its doors around mid-morning for the Cate of the Union presentation hosted by the Alumni Leadership Council. John Kearney '00, current Alumni Leadership Council President, welcomed alumni and provided an overview of recent happenings on and off the Mesa. Lindsay Newlove, Director of Advancement, shared various ways that alumni can remain engaged with the school, its students, and with one another. Lindsay shared architectural renderings of the new Inquiry Collaborative project and explained the future impact of this capital project, which is a key part of the For Cate and Forever campaign. Alumni learned about the Matt McCall '83 challenge match that supports the Sanderson Smith Endowment Fund. Currently, more than 200 alumni from the 3s and 8s graduating classes have contributed

to the challenge match and more than $135,000 has been raised to date.

Director of College Counseling Maude Bond provided a summary on how Cate’s counseling office approaches the college application process. Dave Soto '08, Senior Associate Director of Admission, shared the diverse cohort of incoming students that have been accepted to Cate for the 2023-2024 academic year. Yutopia Essex, Director of People and Belonging, shared that Cate has altered its approach to better care for both students and adults in the community.

Throughout Saturday morning, young campers enjoyed arts and crafts activities and a scavenger hunt on the Mesa. The community reconvened on Commencement Lawn to enjoy afternoon sunshine and a BBQ lunch. Guests played lawn games such as corn

hole and spike ball, participated in friendly rounds of pickleball, or simply spent time relaxing in the pool. The Bonning Tennis Center and Sprague Gymnasium were destinations for sports activities as some alumni played tennis with 2023 CIF SS Champion Nate Newlove '25 or challenged former basketball coaches in pick-up basketball games. The Katharine Thayer Cate Memorial Chapel was open throughout the weekend for all guests who wished to honor Cate community members whom they lost since their last class reunion.

As the evening approached, Jr. Camp Cate counselors hosted young campers for a final dinner together in the Nelson D. Jones '48 Stables courtyard followed by games in Upper Booth Commons and dodgeball in the Fleischmann Gymnasium. There was lots of exciting chatter as alumni walked over to Thayer

Peck '53 Field for the annual Reunion Dinner. Making the trip all the way from Madrid, Spain, Marina Narain '13 and Rafa Sañudo '83 received an award for having traveled the farthest to attend the reunion. Andrew McPhail '83 received honorable mention recognition for flying in from Berlin, Germany, a shorter flight by a mere 33 miles.

Isabel Sorenson '18 kicked off the evening with opening remarks and Walter Douglas '73 shared a reflection as the Class of 1973 celebrated their 50th class reunion. Guests mingled, perused yearbooks, and reminisced about their Cate years as the night progressed. Fresh batches of muffet tuffets were brought out for old times’ sake. It would be remiss to say that Camp Cate 2023 did not end without a game of alumni dodgeball. The Class of 2013 and members of the Class of 1998 and 2018, made a pact to meet once again in Fleischmann Gymnasium at the next Camp Cate in 2028!

Sunday morning came quickly, and suddenly the campus had a serene atmosphere as guests packed their bags and left their dorm rooms. Hugs, laughter, tears, and smiles brightened the overcast day. Much excitement and buzz for the next reunion was ever-present. The dates are set for next year – alumni in classes ending in 4s and 9s are invited back for their reunion celebrations on June 7-9, 2024. We look forward to welcoming you “home” next summer! Servons

1: Aerial view of Friday night’s Kick-off Party at Mesa House.

2: Alumni reconnected with one another at the community BBQ lunch on a beautiful warm spring day.

3: Camp Cate participants pose for the signature group photo on the patio of the Class of 1985 House during the Ocean View Reception.

4: Class of 2018 proudly representing their class at Mesa House patio.

5: Jr. Camp Cate participants picking up their tshirts prior to the start of a fun weekend.

6: The Annual Mesa Race brought Cate Alumni of all eras to join the fun.

7: Rachel Ransom, daughter of Athletic Director Wade Ransom, joins Cate alumni in shooting basketball hoops.

8: Brewer Ballard '13 thanks guests for joining him and his family at the Jackson Ballard '15 Recording Studio opening celebration.

Class Notes

WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

For the fall Bulletin, we welcome submissions from members of all Cate classes. Please email Guille Gil-Reynoso at guille_reynoso@cate.org.

1948

75TH REUNION

Despite a valiant effort to arrange a visit to the Mesa for his 75th reunion, David Yager ultimately passed on the trip down the coast from Montecito. David reports: “Everything at Casa Dorinda is wonderful, but the wheelchair makes any such adventures a little too much of a challenge. My sons, Brian '86, Christopher '85, and Craig '81 are all doing well!”

1958

65TH REUNION

As always, Judge Tom Hutchins made his way back to the Mesa in honor of his 65th reunion. Although just a short visit, the longtime judge was inspired to be back at the School. After decades of service in Ventura County, he and his wife, Gail, live in Arroyo Grande.

1963

60TH REUNION

The Class of 1963 took over the soughtafter oceanside dormitory rooms in Parsonage for the 60th reunion. Tom Bourret, his wife, Beth, daughter Kristy, and her family enjoyed the long weekend – participating in almost every outdoor activity offered. Tom was thrilled to show his grandchildren, Stellan and Vance, the beautiful campus he had spoken of many times over the years. Tom’s daughter, Kristy, an avid runner, made sure to tack on a full “out and back” of Gobernador Canyon Road prior to the 40th Annual Mesa Race on Saturday morning! Tom’s classmate, Mike Haugh, also made the trip to the Mesa – traveling all the way from Pittsford, N.Y.

Front from left: Tom Bourret '63, Beth Bourret, and Mike Haugh '63. Back from left: Ben Botti, and Kristy Botti (daughter of Tom Bourret '63).

Walter Douglas '73 delivered remarks at Camp Cate’s Reunion Dinner.

Al Ewert '73 visited former classmate, Rob Young, in La Jolla, Calif. and took time to snap a selfie.

Al Ewert '73 has been enjoying teaching his grandchildren, Calvin and Maeve, how to surf at Tybee Island, GA.

1973

50TH REUNION

A festive group of over 45 members of the Class of 1973 returned to Carpinteria for the 50th reunion! In typical Class of 1973 fashion, a full 5-day weekend was planned for classmates and spouses. On Thursday evening, the class gathered at “Bocahouse,” the home of Leslie Ekker Leslie and his wife, Diane, provided the food and spirits as members of the class started to make their way into town. To nobody’s surprise, the party at Leslie’s was filled with all sorts of lively music late into the night. After grabbing a drink at Mesa House on Friday at the Camp Cate Kick-Off Party, the group gathered at Alan Farnham, K.C. Walsh, and Walter Douglas’ Bella Vista Guest House overlooking Carpinteria for dinner. Special guests included members of the Class of 1971 and 1972. After hearing from Walter Douglas at the Reunion Dinner on Saturday evening, a few members of the class mustered the strength to take the boat over to Santa Cruz Island on Monday morning! Al Ewert writes that he is spending time with the next generation of kids and enjoying his grandchildren, Calvin, and Maeve. Al recently visited Rob Young, a former classmate, in La Jolla, Calif.

Front row from left: Grant Ivey '73, Michael Avenali '73, Anthony Bracks '73, Adrienne Bracks, and John Liddle '73. Second row from left: Arden Kwong '76, K.C. Walsh '73, Karen Walsh, Lindy Hardman '73, Richard Livingston '73, Chris Madsen '73, Jeff Goddard '73, Amy Berkson, and Al Ewert '73. Third row from left: Jamie Hunter '73, Robert Young '73, Jay Caldwell '71, Robert Burnett '73, Jon Lewis '73, Richard Langerman '73, Walter Douglas '73, and Nancy Douglas. Fourth row from left: Jim Dreyfous '73, Enrico Melson '73, Alan Farnham '73, Scott Dingwell '73, Brad Roberts '72, Craig Swayne '72, Ryan Bates '72, and Carol Stanford. Fifth row from left: Jon Upham '73 and John Perkins '73.

Gail Stark, Peg Cordua, Chris Cordua '72, Jim Dreyfous '73, and Craig Swayne '72 catching up with one another at Friday's Kick-off Party.

Members of the class of 1972 and 1973 sharing a meal together on Saturday’s Community BBQ Lunch on Commencement Lawn. Left side from back: Grant Ivey '73, Jamie Hunter '73, Chris Madsen '73, and Richard Langerman '73. Right side from back: Richard Livingston '73, Jim Dreyfous '73, Craig Swayne '72, and Anthony Bracks '73.

1978

45TH REUNION

Despite a less than typical reunion turnout for the Class of 1978, those who attended walked away with various ideas for what is next. At Booth Commons Brunch on Saturday morning, classmates determined that it is time for Cate to take a serious look at digitizing its archival and alumni files. It was agreed that a professional company must be hired for the expansive job. That said, Charles Berolzheimer, Charlie Ganz, Christopher Morphy, and Bart Simmons agreed that an alumni volunteer committee must be formed and that Arden Kwong '76 should spearhead the effort. In quick order, the name “The Kwong Project” was born.

1983

40TH REUNION

For the 40th reunion, the Class of 1983 had an incredible turnout! Rafa Sanudo (Madrid) and Andrew McPhail (Berlin) both received awards at the Reunion Dinner for their efforts to travel from so far back to Cate for the weekend. Steve Campbell, Hugh Davies, Rob Mazzetti, and Jeff Smith all earned coveted “finishes” at the 40th Annual Mesa Race on Saturday morning. It is still unclear as to who rallied Mitch Metcalf and Matt McCall to attend.

Ned (Edward) Bowler writes: “I have started my own company called NedVentures (www.nedventures.org) and continue to work with kids and adults of all ages in wilderness settings. I teach outdoor skills that are essential

for living simply and thriving in nature like we are supposed to! I spend my winters and most of the spring in Santa Barbara guiding wilderness hikes and surfing. I’m in Oregon on the north Umpqua River June through October, 2023, guiding fly fishing trips and white-water rafting adventures!” John Evans writes: “David Smith and I have moved back to the Bay Area and have a two-bedroom apartment (with two bathrooms so you can come and visit) in

San Francisco near the Ferry Building. David took a promotion to be the General Superintendent of Golden Gate National Parks and we sold the place in Joshua Tree and moved to the city! I continue to work as a special agent for the National Park Service investigating serious felonies in the parks and internal allegations of misconduct. Dante (21) is headed to the U.S. Navy soon and Jakiah (19) is studying culinary arts in Honolulu and hopes to pursue her

Bart Simmons '78, Robert Knoop '78, Charles Berolzheimer '78, and Charlie Ganz '78 at the Camp Cate Friday Kick-off Party.

Front row from left: Charles Berolzheimer '78, Arden Kwong '76, and George Quirin '78. Back row from left: Bart Simmons '78, Charlie Ganz '78, and Charlie Phelps '78.

Front row from left: Steve Campbell '83, Charlie Forrester '83, Andrew McPhail '83, Teresina Moscatiello, Blanca Tamames, and Caroline Pereira '85. Second row from left: Bill Waller '83, Mitch Metcalf '83, Chris Misner '83, Rob Mazzetti '83, Merrie Morris-Mazzetti, Jane Allen '83, Hugh Davies '83, and Rafa Sanudo. Third row from left: Hugo Knef '83, Matt McCall '83, Jeff Smith '83, and Cord Pereira '83.

degree in pastry arts. Our last dog died, and the kids are ‘on their own’. Living as two adults on our own in downtown San Francisco is weird and a blast at the same time. Stop by if you are in town. You can email me at djsmithevans@gmail. com.” Andrew McPhail writes: “I am living in Berlin, playing super stepdad in a patchwork family with my new Italian fiancée, Teresina, and our young son, Odin (8). We will move to Wiesbaden (near Frankfurt am Main) at the end of August, where Teresina is a tenured professor at a film school. After a 20+ year career in the sports business at Puma and Nike, I am currently a guest lecturer at a business school in Berlin (and later Wiesbaden). I write screenplays in my spare time. In addition to Berlin and Wiesbaden, we spend a good deal of time in Saarland (where Teresina grew up), Nusco, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast (her ancestral homeland), and Provence, where good friends of ours live in Châteauneuf du Pape. Teresina is quadrilingual in Italian, German, French, and English – and I do my best.”

1986

Richard J. Marks is pleased to share the launch of his new website, richardmarks.com, focusing on leadership development and spiritual self-healing.

Ned Bowler '83 is enjoying guiding wilderness hikes, surfing, and whitewater rafting.

Andrew McPhail '83 received recognition for traveling from Berlin, Germany, for his 40th Class Reunion.

Members of the Class of 1983 enjoying the sunshine and the community BBQ lunch.

Front row from left: Jane Allen '83, Bill Waller '83, Jeff Smith '83, and Rob Mazzetti '83.

Back row from left: Hugh Davies '83, Teresina Moscatiello, Andrew McPhail '83, Charlie Forrester '83, and Matt McCall '83.

Rob Mazzetti '83 and Merrie Morris-Mazzetti arrive at registration to pick-up their name tag and Camp Cate t-shirt.

Andrew McPhail '83 (far right) with fiancée, Teresina and Odin (8) at their home in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin.

Alumni on the Mesa

1. Kelly (Portnoff) Barker '89 and Valarie Gardner '89 toured some of their favorite spots on the Mesa in February.

2. Ellen Cowan '90 and her son, Julian, visited Cate in February. Ellen loved showing Julian around campus and sharing Cate memories.

3. Avery Sheffield '93 recently visited the Mesa with her husband, Dan Rosenthal, and four children who loved exploring the campus and racing each other around the track.

4. George Luo '11 chatted with Cate’s Art and Ceramics Club students about his passion for finance and ceramics on March 21, 2023. (Luo is the sixth from the right.)

5. Ema Boateng '13 visited Cate in the Fall and caught up with faculty. From Left: Kyle Mason, Emily Sosrodjojo '13, Ema Boateng '13, Paul Denison '79, Randy Person '10, Wade Ransom with daughter Rachel, and Bryan Rodriguez.

6. Eliza Giles '13 hosted Cate Connect, an alumni panel offering insight to current students about the healthcare profession in March. (Giles is the third from the left.)

7. Erika Noble '14 enjoyed a meal with her former advisor, Juarez Newsome, before her hike with the Cate’s Women’s Forum in honor of Women’s History Month.

8. Julie Phan '16 brought her brother to the Mesa and spent the day chatting with former Cate faculty.

9. Abhimanyu (Abhi) Bangaru '21 and Shion Kato '21 visited Cate over spring break and discussed their experience at Case Western Reserve with Alex Tang '23.

10. Michael Armstrong '21 visited the Mesa in March and reconnected with his former advisor, Cece Schwennsen.

11. Peter Wood '22 caught up with good friend Maesa Vongkusolkit '23 while visiting Cate this spring.

1988

35TH REUNION

With one-day old jet lag from international travel, Ann and Bill Hamm made the journey back to Cate for the second time this spring. The Hamm’s attended Mesa Dinner in April and were excited to come back for Camp Cate.

1998

25TH REUNION

With so many children in tow for the Class of 1998, it was Junior Camp Cate that was the focus for the 25th reunion. No matter where you were on the Mesa, children of the Class of 1998 (Eli’s, Nadine’s and Ray’s) roamed the Mesa in search of the next activity. For the first time in Camp Cate history, a non-adult won the Mesa Race when Sofia Chu took 1st place female with a finish time of 16:44. Tim Weir, the cross-country coach, made sure to take note. Robert Hanson writes: “I am sad that I won’t be able to attend my 25th reunion this year, but my family is preparing for a major move in June to Portugal! My wife Sonia and I will be leaving our posts at Blair Academy, where I have been teaching for the past five years, to live in the Silver Coast region north of Lisbon. I plan to pursue screenwriting projects, and will begin developing a new documentary film. I plan to take up painting again with the goal of gallery representation. Our children, Audrey (6)

Ann Hamm and Bill Hamm '88.

Jennifer Coltrin, Alec Schumacher '93, Undral Larson, John Larson '93, Shelly Lee '93, Kelly Buchanan '93, and Kermit Shickel.

Front row from left: Rachel Mackenzie, Chessie Thacher, Nadine Courtney '98, Ray Chu '98, Heidi Fung, Rami Abughazaleh '98, and Chris Wilmer '98. Back row from left: Shane Witnov '98, Eli Miller '98, Andre Kock '98, Brian Brazier '98, and Isaac Liao '98.

Mesa Race winner Sofia Chu and her father, Ray Chu '98.

Robert Hanson '98 and wife Sonia on a scouting trip in March overlooking the town of Nazaré, which is famous for 100 foot waves.

and Benjamin (4), are excited to enroll in a Portuguese school and learn a new language. Hopefully Sonia and I will be able to keep up! I wish I could be at the reunion, but I’ll extend an invitation to Portugal to anyone from the class of 98! We’d love to host you! Servons!” Maritsa (Cholmondeley) Hofherr and Dan Hofherr welcomed baby Ashley Harper Violet into the world on October 11, 2022. Lea Redmon writes: “I can’t wait to share my new book with you upon publication in 2024! The name of my book is How to give great gifts! Do you have any great stories of remarkable gifts? I’d love to hear them! My email is: lea@luckypennyparlor.com. Please take good care and be well.”

2003

20TH REUNION

The report from the 20th reunion was specific and helpful, with wide-ranging feedback from those who attended. Olga Blik and Carolina Miro recommended the School add more hours to the Coffee Cart, specifically from 12:00 p.m. –4:00 p.m. when coffee was needed after sleeping late in High House. Tina Smith wondered if there was a way for classes to “chip in” to pay a current Cate student to be a “runner” for classmates and families throughout the weekend, picking up coffees, ice, and other items needed to bring the weekend together. Kyle Haskett noted that the construction does not allow frisbee golf players to complete (or even start) holes #3 and #8. He recommended that the School bring back the Dorhmann Pischel Open, but before that, check-in with Ned Bowler '83 about the “secret” back nine. Heather Clark and Nicolle Cotes are in love with baby Valentina who was born on April 7, 2023. Lizzie (Kay) and Christopher Hale welcomed their third child, Stevie J on June 29, 2022. This past May, Robert Hash climbed Mount Hood, the highest point and mountain peak in the state of Oregon and the second most climbed mountain in the world! Marcus Spagnoletti and Andrea Remmert were married on March 4, 2023 in Hockley, Texas.

Front row from left: Jon Voos '03, Carolina Miro '03, Megan Flannery '03, Nydia Di Bello '03, JJ Avrutin '03, Lizzie Hale '03, and Kristen Ardani '03. Back row from left: Olga Blik '03, Marcus Spagnoletti '03, Blair Morrison '03, Tina Hwang Smith '03, Robert Hash '03, Kate Dooley-Hedrick '03, and Kyle Haskett '03.

Lizzie Kay and Christopher Hale welcomed Stevie J to their family on June 29th, 2023.

Courtney Remmert, Andrea Spagnoletti, Carolina Miro '03, Tina Hwang Smith '03, Olga Blik '03 and Marcus Spagnoletti '03 at the Ocean View Reception during Camp Cate.

Nydia Di Bello '03, Bryan Rodriguez, Tina Hwang Smith '03, and Paola Rodriguez reconnected at the Friday Kick-off party at Mesa House.

2008

15TH REUNION

As is typical for the 15th reunion, many classmates carried newborns with them between Camp Cate activities. It appears that the School will be facing a possible legacy challenge when the Avrutins, DeGroots, McCartys, and Sotos begin the Admissions process in 2034. Jenny and Matt DeGroot welcomed Ozzy John into the world on January 25, 2023.

Shawn Devilla married Sydney Lehman on August 27, 2022. Ali Farr and Kyle McCarty are in love with Ryan Scott who was born on March 23, 2023.

Maureen and David Soto welcomed Alyson Gheen on March 15, 2023 and are overjoyed with their new baby girl.

Front row from left: Melanie Gerwin '13, Kailin Jones '13, Meghan Killea '13, Maddie Schrager '13, Lanéa Pearson '13, and Michael Martinez '13. Middle from left: Felix Pasarow '13, Wesley Greason '13, Emily Sosrodjojo '13, Reid Jeffries '13, Sam Pelham, Kat Pelham, and Arya Ondaatje. Back row from left: Katilyn Gulock '13, Jesse Gavin '13, Mabel Sabina '13, Marina Narain '13, Brewer Ballard '13, and Christian Ondaatje '13.

Christopher Hale, Stevie Hale, Lizzie Hale '03, and Cheryl Powers enjoying tacos and great company.

Rob Hash '03 and Livia Grace Hash (daughter) participated in the annual Mesa Race.

Matt DeGroot '08, Rob Massar '08, Jermaine Gross '08, Camille Robins '08, Anu Atre '08, and Dave Soto '08.

Jermain Gross '08 reading and enjoying copies of El Batidor in the Archives office.

Anu Atre '08, Lisa Holmes, and Camille Robins '08 reconnected with one another at the Oceanview Reception.

10TH REUNION

The Class of 2013 had quite the turnout at Camp Cate, considering that members of the class refer to themselves as “the few.” Jesse Gavin, Melanie Gerwin, Wesley Greason, Kaitlyn Gulock, Michael Martinez, Marina Narain, Christian Ondaatje, Felix Pasarow, Sam Pelham, and Emily Sosrodjojo attended Camp Cate for the first time as they were unable to join their fifth reunion in 2018. Reid Jeffries, Kailin Jones, Meghan Killea, Lanéa Pearson, Mabel Sabina, and Maddie Schrager are currently the only ones who can say they have perfect reunion attendance. Reid and Kailin both traveled from the East Coast to maintain their record; a testament to their commitment. Perhaps Grace Hunter can get partial credit for attending Friday’s Kick-Off Party via FaceTime, giving her a near perfect reunion record. The class spent the weekend catching up with one another, celebrating milestones such as Melanie and Felix’s engagement, Lanéa’s new chapter in starting a Masters in Counseling Psychology program, and Kaitlyn’s journey towards completing her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. The Class of 2013 proved to still be “the proud” during the Saturday Reunion Dinner class photos. They cheered in unison for their classmate, Thys Northup, who could not attend. It was as though they had traveled back ten years to their senior year of high school.

Grace Dickman and Hunter Weston were married on December 30, 2022 in Williamsburg, New York. Melanie Gerwin was engaged to Felix Pasarow on January 29, 2023 while hiking down the Grand Canyon; they met as students at Cate! Wesley Greason moved back to the Bay Area in 2023. He’s enjoying spending time with his family and friends. He writes that life is good. Chris Powell is entering his last year of medical school this fall and will graduate with an MD/MBA from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in May, 2024. He will be pursuing a career

in Psychiatry upon graduation. Emily Sosrodjojo finds herself back on the Mesa, making assembly announcements and helping with the Cate School yearbook. Emily extends gratitude to her classmates who helped with her Advancement responsibilities throughout Camp Cate weekend so the she could “clock out” and spend more time with them.

Former classmates, Melanie Gerwin '13 and Felix Pasarow '13, were engaged on January 29, 2023.

Wesley Greason '13 and his father, Sam Greason, enjoying good times together.

Meghan Killea '13, Marina Narain '13, Maddie Schrager '13, and Kailin Jones '13 at 1985 House patio.

Melanie Gerwin '13 shows off her engagement ring to classmate Grace Hunter '13, via FaceTime during the opening reception.

2018 5TH REUNION

Over 50 members of the Class of 2018 returned for their first ever Camp Cate! A big thank you to Nico Athanassiadis who hosted the entire class at his home in Carpinteria on Friday afternoon. The 5-years brought the energy – attended every event and activity throughout the weekend. Whether it was pickleball, basketball, afternoon barbecue, or the rainy Sunday morning hike, the 2018s were there. Not surprisingly, Kyril van Schendel won the 40th Annual Mesa Race with a blazing time of 10:57. What happens in Long House, stays in Long House! See you in 2028.

Mari Espinoza '18, Laura Vences '18, Gavin Fansler '18, and Shelagh Morphy '18 in front of the Nelson D. Jones '48 Stables.

Class of 2018 enjoying the sunshine and community BBQ lunch on Commencement Lawn. Front from left: Chrissy Revels-Robinson '18, Miriam Soliman '18, and Diarra Pouye '18. Back from left: Clarke Peoples, Emily Burns '18, Darling Garcia '18, and Charlie Corman '18.

Marko Pliso '18, Desmond Castillo '18, Nico Athanassiadis '18, Cole Dexter '18, Christopher Bennett '18, Patrick Armstrong '18, Nick Carlson '18, and Luke Beckmen '18 at Mesa House kicking off the beginning of Camp Cate.

Front row from left: Darling Garcia '18, Emily Burns '18, Mariam Soliman '18, Chrissy Revel-Robinson '18, Mari Espinoza '18, Farida Tahiry '18, and Young Su Ko '18. Second row from left: Diarra Pouye '18, Will Bowlin '18, Gavin Fansler '18, Katherine Scott '18, Kaliyah Dorsey '18, Shelagh Morphy '18, Jazmín Estevez-Rosas '18, and Charles Shi '18. Third row from left: Charlie Morris '18, Desmond Castillo '18, Kyril van Schendel '18, Cole Dexter '18, Nicholas Hildebrandt '18, Nico Athanassiadis '18, Parker Matthews '18, Hailey Panzer '18, Isabel Sorenson '18, Apple Lieser '18, Isabela Montes de Oca '18, Carter Melnick '18, and Simon Parker '18. Fourth row from left: Marko Pliso '18, Patrick Armstrong '18, Chris Bennett '18, Noah Meyer '18, Joseph Thomassen '18, Caden Cutter '18, Brynkly Meyer '18, Nick Carlson '18, Andre Pincot '18, Charlie Corman '18, and Ian MacFarlane '18.

Marriages

2003 Andrea Remmert to Marcus Spagnoletti March 4, 2023

2008 Sydney Lehman to Shawn Devilla August 27, 2022

2009 Molly Sprague to Robert McMickle August 6, 2022

2010 Belle Kammer to Jack McCarthy March 4, 2023

2011 Vivian Chen to Christopher Carrera September 12, 2022

2012 Katie Thomas to Kel Mitchel December 10, 2022

2013 Grace Dickman to Hunter Weston December 30, 2022

2017 Anna Hasson to Daniel Finnegan May 21, 2022

From left: Eleanor Bennett '10, Cormac O’Connor '11, Vivan Som '09, Conrad Kurth '10 (Officiant), Adam Turner '10, Jack McCarthy, Christian Lowe '10, Madeline Robison '10, and Johnny Woolf '10 carrying bride Belle Kammer '10.

From left: Greg Cusack '12, Kel Mitchel '12, Katie Mitchel, Casey Griffin '09, Austin Lokre '12, and Erin Griffin '12.

Births

1998 Ashley Harper Violet to Maritsa (Cholmondeley) Hofherr and Dan Hofherr September 11, 2022

2000 William Jackson to Caroline New and Michael Cappon November 3, 2022

2001 Quinn Taylor to Shauna Callery Fitzroy and Rob Fitzroy January 19, 2023

2003 Valentina to Heather Clark and Nicolle Cotes April 7, 2023

2004 Ezra Galen to Emily Grossman and Daniel Philpot November 10, 2022

2004 Louisa Mary to Chloe and Cameron Maloney September 21, 2021

2005

Beatrice Bobbie to Katie Kinnear and Gavin McElroy September 26, 2022

2006 Everett to Emily Mehta Farlow and Brian Farlow February 8, 2022

2006 Mateo Adrian to Sarah Long and Gil Ortega March 19, 2023

February

February

February

March

March

December

Vida

February 22, 2023

January 16, 2023

March

2006

Finnegan Lee to Courtney Phillips and Sam Spoehr

28, 2023

2006 Kaden to Nisha Vasan and Vimash Babaria

27, 2023

2008 Sebastian to Sarah Vázquez

25, 2022

2008 Ryan Scott to Ali Farr and Kyle McCarty

23, 2023

FACULTY AND STAFF

to Sara and Evan Boardman

Grant Harry to Katie and Matt McClenathen

Ainsley Brode to Taylor and Colin Donovan Wyatt

25, 2023

2008 Alyson Gheen to Maureen and David Soto

15, 2023

2009 Eliza to Maddie Johnston and Andy Calderwood

27, 2022

In Memoriam

Elizabeth (Betty) Webb Woodworth GP '86,'92,'94,'02, GGP '22,'24

AUGUST 17, 1921 - FEBRUARY 20, 2023

By Benjamin D. Williams IV

There is a lovely line in an essay by Christian philosopher Brian Doyle about students and schools. It reads, “We thrash after ways to say what we know to be true, that the breath and laughter and tears and furies and despairs and thrills and epiphanies of children on a campus season the very air, coat the walls, soak into the soil, in ways we can never quite measure or articulate; so that something of them, something of who they were and are, something of who they might become, swirls still in the rooms where they live when they are young.”

Betty Woodworth understood that, cherished the people – young and old – who give a place its soul, and became one of our constants. Over seven decades all of those young people who became themselves on this campus were reassured by the knowledge that Betty was here making Cate a proper home. It is why in moments like this past weekend at Camp Cate, the campus is filled with alumni returning to see Betty, to reminisce about days gone by, and to feel connected again to the journey that took them to Cate and through Cate.

As a young Head of School, I was privileged to learn from Betty, who was quick to offer encouragement or guidance or a well-timed bit of affirmation. Traditionalist in many ways that she was, Betty proved immensely open-minded even in the face of substantive change. But she was not always agreeable. I’ll never forget the day she threatened to chain herself to our historic barns to prevent us from moving them to another location on campus.

She was in league with fellow faculty member and stalwart opponent to the move, Marty Sykes. It was one of the more memorable moments of my Headship being threatened by those two formidable women. Not surprisingly, Betty ultimately became an admirer of the change as befits such a gentle caretaker of history.

Betty’s energy and vigor always attracted and captivated students, who would journey down to her house on many evenings to play scrabble or simply share stories. She hiked into the Kern River basin with our Junior class, a 40 mile round trip with lots of climbing, when she was in her seventies, and was a regular at every venue on campus long after she was officially retired. For 37 years she served as the School’s librarian and then a seemingly equally long tenure as the School’s archivist.

In that capacity she was fond of saying that the archives should be about “all those moments that are making the School what it is and will be.” I wonder if Betty understood how many of those formative moments – the ones that demonstrated unequivocally the character of this place – involved her. When Betty left campus in 2017, we gave her the Servons Award, the school’s highest honor, for remarkable, distinguished, and enduring service to Cate.

In the citation that accompanied that honor was Betty’s response to a question many years ago, “What does Cate stand for?” “Excellence and goodness,” Betty said, echoing words often used to describe her. That is no accident.

We bemoaned the simple truth in 2017 that succeeding classes at Cate would not know Betty. For communities like this one are distinguished not simply by the people who are a part of our lives here, but by the people we come back to. Betty has been one of those people for three quarters of a century. She remains one today, part forever not simply of the spirit of this place but its operation, the experience of its students and its faculty.

Funds in Betty’s name support our work in the libraries. The road upon which so many faculty homes have been constructed is named for Betty. We live for all intents and purposes in Betty’s neighborhood, a place where everyone loves words and language, where every conversation is invigorating and affirming, where friends, colleagues, and students gather to discover something valuable about the world and each other and where a welcoming smile greets every new visitor.

“Memory fades,” Tennyson says in verse that adorns this chapel, but impacts like Betty’s reverberate beyond lifetimes. How fortunate are we to live in a place that owes so much of its character to her.

Betty Woodworth is honored by the School with the naming of Woodworth Lane on the Mesa. Ben Williams, Head of School, presents Betty with named sign.

David Crosby '60

AUGUST 14, 1941 - JANUARY 19, 2023

By Leslie Turnbull '85

Beloved, brilliant musician and freesailing spirit, David Crosby '60 passed away on January 18, 2023 at his Santa Ynez ranch. While David’s pursuit of his creative muse carried him away from the Mesa in the late 1950s, he retained a deep fondness for Cate, calling memories of his two years at the School “ … among the best and most memorable of my life.”

David Van Cortlandt Crosby was born in Los Angeles on August 14, 1941. His father, a cinematographer, and his socially active mother fostered a love for the arts in their home; both David

and his older brother developed an early appreciation for music, especially jazz.

Following the family’s move to Montecito, David attended Crane School, Laguna Blanca, and, eventually, Cate. Gregarious and popular, David earned a reputation on the Mesa as “... the class’ leading playboy, but never … never … the class’ leading workboy.” He served on the social “Weekend” committee and, of course, excelled in music and musical theater.

David’s preference for art over academics was no secret at Cate; nor was the

fact that he, among others, was once responsible for the midnight purloin of the infamous “Macbeth” school bell from the top of the old dining hall and subsequent disabling of the Mesa’s electronic bell system. Not long after, David moved on to pursue his artistic aspirations.

David Crosby’s subsequent musical career took off quickly. He was a founding member of iconic folk-rock band The Byrds, whose 1965 cover of Bob Dylan’s Tambourine Man rose to the top of the charts and catapulted young David to fame.

Three years later, David co-founded another legendary rock band, Crosby, Stills & Nash. CSN (which would later become Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) enjoyed tremendous success in the 1960s and 70s, and is credited with launching the popularity of folk, psychedelic, and “California” rock during those tumultuous decades. Throughout those years, David’s ethereal vocals and exceptional songwriting skills garnered him critical acclaim and a devoted fan base that would follow him throughout his lifelong career as a solo performer and featured collaborator.

Like so many of his musical peers, David Crosby’s early life was not untouched by addiction. Following recovery and a well-publicized liver transplant in the 1980s, he never shied from recognizing his issues, sharing his personal story as a warning. In fact, David used the platform of his fame to champion a number of causes. An adamant pacifist, environmentalist, and waterman, David also became known as a passionate, effective activist.

For all his success, David never forgot his years on the Mesa. Over the last decades of his life, even as he enjoyed the triumphs of a career that earned him a 1997 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he periodically returned to the school to share his story and music with the Cate community.

During these visits, Crosby credited fondly-remembered language teachers with developing the deep love of literature which would deeply influence his songwriting over the years. “I started reading here, a lot,” he once said to a group gathered on the Mesa. “And I still do.”

The Cuttin' Capers, consisting of Burton Smith '58, David Crosby '60, and Tallant Smith '58, performing in the Spring Musical in the McIntosh Room circa 1958.

David Crosby '60 performs during Convocation at Cate in the spring of 1992.

Mark DeForest Orton Jr. '47

JUNE 19 1929 - OCT. 17, 2022

Published by Columbia Gorge News on Nov. 30, 2022

Conductor/Composer Mark DeForest Orton Jr. passed away on Oct. 17, 2022, at the age of 93. Mark was born in St. Paul, Minn., to Mark Orton and Margaret Kalman Orton and spent his first decade there. He took an early interest in music which was fostered by his grandfather Charles Kalman, the director of The Minnesota Symphony and a prominent arts philanthropist. At five years old, Mark would “conduct” nightly in front of the family Victrola. Through his grandfather, he was introduced to the celebrated conductor Eugene Ormandy, who, after hearing of Mark’s hobby, had a miniature conductor’s podium, music stand, and baton made especially for him. Ormandy would later become one of his mentors.

Mark went on to study music at Colorado College (with David Kraehenbuehl and Willi Appel) and at Julliard (with Vincent Persichetti and Robert Hufstader), where he earned a masters degree in choral conducting. In his early career in New York City, he was associate conductor under Robert Shaw with The Shaw Chorale and later conducted both The Summit Chorale and The Collegiate Chorale, with which he recorded several records for RCA. He worked with many notable 20th century composers including Paul Hindemith, Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc. In 1965, Mark met his wife Diane Breslow, who at the time was working with the Collegiate Chorale. They married and moved from NYC to Long Island where Mark took up a teaching position at S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook. He directed the BAFFA orchestra and chorus and also taught private lessons in conducting, piano and voice. At the same time, he began what would be a 35-year residency as music director of the Setauket Presbyterian Church. He

built a remarkable musical community there, the evidence of which could be seen in each year’s Easter and Christmas concerts when he would cram a chamber orchestra and a full choir into the small balcony to perform full requiems and masses. During the course of his career, Mark also wrote and arranged hundreds of compositions for choir, both liturgical and secular.

Career aside, Mark was a family man through and through. He was a devoted husband and father and coached little league baseball and soccer, chaperoned ski trips, and was himself an avid swimmer and borderline polar bear – swimming miles in the Long Island Sound in a questionable stars and stripes speedo well into October. Born between the wars, he was a gentleman of the old school, known for his graciousness and old-world style. That said, he was quite comfortable pushing fashion boundaries, sporting dashikis, Russian bomber hats, and sombreros alongside his conductor’s tux. Secrets of his longevity include time with his grandkids, playing Bach fugues on the

piano, regular servings of crème brulée, and martinis dry enough to double as paint thinner.

In later life, Mark and Diane left Long Island and settled near their daughter Xani in Hood River, Ore. Despite decreasing mobility in his later years, Mark remained a regular at both Freshies Bagels and 10-Speed Coffee and could often be found chatting it up at the bar at Divot’s restaurant.

He is survived by his six children, Jenifer Calandri, Melissa Morris, Dickson Cunningham, Mark Orton III, Alexandra Petros, and Michael Orton, along with 10 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, a host of nieces and nephews, and roughly 1/3rd of the feral cat population back on Long Island.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Hood River Schools Music Program, hrcef.org/contributeprogramsnew. Checks should be made out to HRCEF and sent to HRCEF, 1011 Eugene St., Hood River, OR 97031; memo: In memory of Mark Orton.

Chris Strachwitz '51

JULY 1, 1931 - MAY 5, 2023

Published by The New York Times on May 10, 2023

By Alex Traub

Chris Strachwitz, who traveled in search of the roots of American music with the eagerness of a pilgrim, discovered traditional musicians with the skill of a detective, promoted their careers with the zeal of an ideologue and guarded their work with the care of a historian, died on Friday, May 5, 2023 in San Rafael, Calif. He was 91.

His death, at an assisted living facility, was caused by congestive heart failure, his brother, Hubert, said.

Mr. Strachwitz (pronounced STRACKwits) specialized in music passed down over generations — cotton-field music, orange-orchard music, mountain music, bayou music, barroom music, porch music — stemming not only from before the music industry era but even from before the rise of mass culture.

Like other leading musical folklorists of the modern recording era — among them Moses Asch, Alan Lomax and Harry Smith — Mr. Strachwitz rescued parts of that history before they vanished. But the extent of his devotion and the idiosyncrasy of his passions defy comparison.

Mr. Strachwitz was the founder of Arhoolie Records (the name comes from a term for field hollers). In addition to recruiting his own artists, he did his own field recordings, music editing, production, liner notes, advertising and sales. In the company’s early years, he affixed the labels to the records and mailed them himself.

He was a lifelong bachelor who said that having a family would have thwarted his career. On his journeys around the country to record new music, he had for company a manually operated orange juicer and 20-pound bags of oranges. The targets of his search included a highway grass cutter, a gravedigger and a janitor, all of whose musical talents were basically unknown at the time.

He immigrated from Germany after growing up as a teenage count under Nazi rule and went on to explore the fullest reaches of American pluralism. He took an interest not just in the standard roots repertory of folk and blues, but also in norteño, Cajun, zydeco, klezmer, Hawaiian steel guitar, Ukrainian fiddle, Czech polka and Irish dance music, among countless other genres.

To account for what united his passions, Mr. Strachwitz said he liked music that was “pure,” “hard-core” and “old-timey,” particularly if a musician had a “spark.” His language grew more colorful when he defined his type of music negatively. “It ain’t wimpy, that’s for sure,” he said in a 2014 documentary film about him. The movie took its title from Mr. Strachwitz’s ultimate insult, which he used to refer to anything that he considered commercial, artificial and soulless: “This Ain’t No Mouse Music!”

The first Arhoolie album, released in 1960, was “Texas Sharecropper and Songster,” by the blues singer Mance Lipscomb. It vaulted Mr. Lipscomb into prominence during the 1960s folk revival.

The first Arhoolie record, released in 1960, was “Texas Sharecropper and Songster,” by the blues singer Mance Lipscomb. Mr. Lipscomb’s music had never been recorded, and the new release vaulted him into prominence during the 1960s folk revival. Mr. Strachwitz went on to help revive the careers of other blues singers, including Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Big Mama Thornton.

As both a record executive and a record collector, he made a particularly profound historical contribution to Norteño, music from the Texas-Mexico border. The Smithsonian Institution last year called his archive of Mexican and Mexican American music “the largest collection of commercially produced vernacular recordings of its kind in existence,” noting that it contained many records that are “irreplaceable.” It was the result of about 60 years of collecting (though Mr. Strachwitz never learned to speak

Spanish). Norteño musicians nicknamed him El Fanático.

He might have been considered a preservationist, but he also shaped the worlds that he documented. That was especially true of his recordings of Cajun musicians. In 2000, the rock historian Ed Ward wrote in The New York Times that Mr. Strachwitz “helped prod the culture into what is now a full-blown renaissance.”

Perhaps his most notable discovery in Louisiana was the singer and accordionist Clifton Chenier, who came to be regarded as the leading exponent of the mix of rhythm and blues, soul and Cajun music known as zydeco. During a visit to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as an older man, Mr. Chenier discussed his frustrations with the record industry. “They wanted you to do what they wanted you to do, and I didn’t like that,” Mr. Chenier said.

Mainstream musicians also saw something exceptional in Mr. Strachwitz. In a 2010 profile of him in The Times, the guitarist Ry Cooder said that Arhoolie’s second release, “Tough Times,” an LP by the blues musician Big Joe Williams, “started me on a path of living, the path I am still on.”

Christian Alexander Maria Strachwitz was born on July 1, 1931, in Berlin. He grew up on a country estate called Gross Reichenau in what was then the Lower Silesia region of Germany. (It is now a village called Bogaczow in southwest Poland.) His father, Alexander Graf Strachwitz, and his mother, Friederike (von Bredow) Strachwitz, ran a vegetable and grain farm of a couple hundred acres. The men of the family had the royal title of count.

The family lived in a manor built during the time of Frederick the Great, the king of Prussia. The Nazis appointed Chris’s father a local game warden, and during

World War II he joined the military and attained the rank of captain, though Hubert Strachwitz said his service was limited to escorting troop transports bound for Italy. On the family’s bucolic ancestral property, the war seemed far away to young Chris.

That changed in February 1945. The family fled as the Russians invaded the estate. Chris and two of his sisters had left shortly beforehand on a train; his father escaped in a horse and buggy; Hubert, Chris’s other two sisters and his mother left on a tractor-trailer. Thanks to a wealthy relative in the United States, the family was able to reunite in Reno, Nev., by 1947.

Chris served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956. Soon after being honorably discharged, he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He taught high school German in the suburbs of San Jose for several years.

In his free time, Mr. Strachwitz collected records, and he developed a particular interest in Lightnin’ Hopkins, whom he struggled to learn more about. There was no public information about whether Mr. Hopkins was even still alive.

In 1959, a fellow music enthusiast told Mr. Strachwitz that he had found Mr. Hopkins in Houston. When the school year ended, Mr. Strachwitz went on a road trip.

He later recalled that he found Mr. Hopkins playing in “a little beer joint,” improvising songs in a conversational style, telling a woman in the crowd to quiet down, wondering in song about the man from California who had traveled all the way to Texas “to hear poor Lightnin’ sing.”

Mr. Strachwitz believed that nobody had ever recorded a scene like that live. Following a tip from one of Mr. Hopkins’s songs, he returned to Texas the next year

and found Mr. Lipscomb. This time, he brought a recorder.Meeting musicians where they lived and recording them where they liked to play, rather than in a studio, became Mr. Strachwitz’s signature style.

He found unexpected commercial success when Country Joe and the Fish performed their “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag” at the Woodstock music festival in 1969. Joe McDonald, the band’s lead singer and principal songwriter, had used Mr. Strachwitz’s equipment to record the song in 1965 and given him publishing rights in exchange. With his share of the royalties, Mr. Strachwitz put a down payment on a building in El Cerrito, Calif., near Berkeley. It became the home of Arhoolie and a record outlet he called the Down Home Music Store.

Aside from recording music, he drew attention to the artists he loved by collaborating with the filmmaker Les Blank on several music documentaries.

As the record industry declined, Mr. Strachwitz focused on a nonprofit arm of Arhoolie that digitizes and exhibits his singular record collection. In 2016, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the nonprofit label of the Smithsonian Institution, acquired the Arhoolie catalog.

In addition to his brother, Mr. Strachwitz is survived by three sisters, Rosy Schlueter, Barbara Steward and Frances Strachwitz.

There was one word Mr. Strachwitz often used to describe success in his field. When he found an aged master of traditional music playing a song at a resonant time and place, he called it, as if he were hunting butterflies, a “catch.”

William M. Abbott M.D. '54

APRIL 14, 1936 - JANUARY 9, 2023

Published by Boston Globe from January 12 - 15, 2023.

William M. Abbott MD of Weston, aged 86, died peacefully in his home January 9, 2023. Dr. Abbott was born in San Francisco, Calif., graduating from Cate School, Stanford University, and Stanford University Medical School. He completed his surgical residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and subsequently was named its first Chief of Vascular Surgery. As a dedicated surgeon, researcher, and teacher, Dr. Abbott became a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, and served as a president of the National Society for Vascular Surgery. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia (Davison); his son, William W. Abbott and his wife, Katherine of Barrington, RI; and their two daughters, Annabelle and Allison. He is also survived by his daughter, Sarah L. Abbott of Westminster, CO; and her son, Morgan. A memorial will be planned for a future date. For online guestbook, visit gfdoherty.com.

Stephen Albert Norwood '59

FEBRUARY 12, 1942 - DECEMBER 18, 2022

Published on Legacy.com on Dec. 20, 2022

Steve went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ December 18, 2022. He was born in Pasadena, California February 12, 1942 to Dr. Jackson and Lenore Norwood. Steve graduated from Cate School in Carpinteria, Calif. in 1959. He earned Business and MBA degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. During the Vietnam War, he served as a 1st lieutenant in Air Defense Artillery. He began his marketing career selling computers for IBM, then developing and marketing oil and gas tax-sheltered investments in Seattle and Los Angeles. Steve moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1981, continuing to work in the financial services industry, representing products to the brokerage community and establishing full-service operations in local and regional banks.

On a Delta flight, he met Cynthia Leggett, one of the flight attendants. They married September 24, 1983, living in Dallas and San Antonio, before retiring in Austin in 2010. Steve continued to grow in his faith, finding strength and fellowship at Northwest Bible Church (Dallas), Faith Bible Church (Boerne) and Hyde Park Baptist Church (Austin). Steve’s relationship with God and his Christian friendships were central in his life.

Preceded in death by his parents, brothers-in-law John Martinson and Fred Clark, Steve leaves behind his adored wife, Cynthia; sister, Jaclyn Martinson; brothers, Robert Norwood and Daniel (Shari) Norwood; sisters-in-law, Nancy Clark and Louann (Ed) Ruby; plus a large extended family, who loved him and will miss his love, support, infectious humor and tremendous enthusiasm for life.

Jon Newhall '59, Steve Norwood '59, and Nick Niven '59 together during their 30th Reunion in 1989.

George David Sturges '59

MARCH 14, 1941 - JULY 21, 2022

By Ann Sturges Deyo and Lisa Jane Dinga

George David Sturges (Dave) of Pasadena, Calif. and Park City Utah died on July 21, 2022, following complications from vascular dementia. He was 81 years old. Born at the Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena on March 14, 1941, Dave received his primary and secondary education at Polytechnic and Cate School. Cate School provided the foundation for Dave’s lifelong love of learning. He regailed his family, including his niece and nephew with tales of life on the Mesa, and his deep respect for the teachers who loved their subjects and taught their students well. He kept in contact with many of his classmates until the end of his life. Thank you for the gifts given to him, which he shared with others throughout his life. George attended the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of New Mexico. He served in the U.S. Army in Landstuhl, Germany. He was preceded in death by his parents, Molly (Alger) and Albert Sturges, and his sister and brother-in-law, Molly and Robert Tuthill. He is survived by his sister, Ann Deyo, his niece, Lisa Jane Dinga (Paul), nephew Scott Deyo (Serena), and great nephew and great niece, Lake and Lola Dinga.

Dave spent his professional career with The William Wilson Company, The Rowan Company, and Podley, Caughey and Doan. Dave’s proudest accomplishment was his 47-year membership in Alcoholics Anonymous, where he not only maintained his own sobriety, but also sponsored many, and opened his own home to those in need of a place to live. Upon moving to Park City in 2001, he enjoyed skiing, and pursued his interest in art by becoming a plein air artist in his own right. He enjoyed the camaraderie of talented instructors and fellow artists, and was known as a friend to all.

Dave’s family is grateful for the excellent medical care he received over the years from Dr. Joseph Ferriter and Dr. Roger Friedman, the staff at Intermountain Healthcare Park City and the University of Utah Health, his at-home caregivers from Caring Hearts of Utah, and the wonderful end-oflife care he received in memory care at Spring Gardens in Heber City with Applegate Hospice Care.

When you gather with friends, enjoy sharing a tale about this man who cared for others, and loved telling a tale or two himself. Donations in Dave’s memory can be made to The Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts, PO Box 5555, Mt. Carmel, UT 84755 or online at: thunderbirdfoundation.com. Condolences to his family may be sent to the care of P.O. Box 1206, Park City, Utah 84060.

David G. Kronen '78

SEPTEMBER 24, 1959DECEMBER 30, 2022

Published by The Independent on Jan. 23, 2023

David Gregory Kronen, 63, died in peace at his home in Hope Ranch, Calif. on December 30, 2022, after a brave and prolonged battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, an aggressive neuromuscular disorder. He transitioned to a better place while surrounded by his loving family.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Dave moved with his parents (John Duncan Kronen and Elizabeth Riley Kronen) and three siblings to Santa Barbara in 1963. He attended Vieja Valley Elementary, La Colina Junior High, San Marcos High School (1977), and Cate School. In 1984, Dave graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, to then return to Santa Barbara where he would remain the rest of his life.

Although he had a highly successful career in banking, including a 20year tenure as Director and Regional Manager at Bank of the West in Santa Barbara, Dave was foremost a family man. He married the love of his life, Laura Corzan, in 1993 and together they raised three sons. A lifelong skier, outdoorsman, and waterman, Dave introduced his family to skiing and snowboarding at Mammoth, backpacking the Sierras, countless road and camping trips throughout the west, and summers of water skiing on Flathead Lake in Montana. Sunday family bike rides were frequent.

Hope Ranch Beach was where Dave spent 60 years worth of countless hours swimming, surfing, and enjoying beach picnics late into the evenings with family and friends. Dave and Laura’s home served as a gathering place for countless

friends and family to enjoy barbecues and fun. Warm greetings and endless hospitality were never lacking. If you needed a smile, a beer, or a quiet hand on your shoulder in support, you headed over to Dave and Laura’s; and if you needed a hearty laugh, there was no place better.

In addition to a long career as a local banker, Dave was also Chapter Chair of the MIT Executive Forum (2008-2011), Honor Roll at the Senior Management training at Pacific Coast Banking School, and was involved with many other nonprofits and local businesses. Particularly close to his heart, and as a founding member of a local nonprofit, The Friendship Paddle, Dave served on the board for over 10 years. He participated in every paddle until he couldn’t, and the last several proudly alongside his sons. Dave had a healthy appreciation for Santa Barbara’s natural beauty, especially the ocean and the Channel Islands.

As Dave’s physical health declined and he became less mobile, he delighted in having visitors at the regular “Thirsty Thursday” gatherings organized by boyhood friends in his backyard. He

never lost his sense of humor and avid interest in whatever was going on with friends and family.

Dave’s lively spirit is shown as his friends would say, “He may be late to a party but he was always the last to leave.” And if someone dear to him was overwhelmed or overstressed, Dave always reminded them, “Life is good. Remember that.” Dave touched a lot of lives in Santa Barbara and had more friends than you could count. Loyalty ran deep with him; he needed more than two hands to count the number of close friendships that spanned over 50 years.

Dave is survived by his wife Laura, and his sons Gregory, Steven, and Sam. He was preceded in death by his parents Jack and Beth Kronen. He leaves behind three siblings, Jack (Sue) of Honolulu, Hawaii; Ann of Malibu, Calif.; and Tom (Tammy) of Santa Barbara, as well as five nieces and nephews. They will all continue to honor his immense character, spirit of adventure, and loving nature.

Cletis D. Shelby '82

FEBRUARY 1, 1964 - JUNE 9, 2022

Cletis Shelby died on June 9, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nev. at the age of 58. Cletis was born on February 1, 1964 in Tennessee to Robert Shelby, Sr. and Mamie Shelby. He was baptized at an early age and raised in a Christian household. He received his Bachelor’s of Science in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986 and went on to earn his Master’s of Business Administration in International Finance from Columbia University in 1989.

During his sophomore year at UPenn, Cletis worked as a statistics tutor and in doing so, he met Lurdys Gordon. They started dating that year and would go on to get married three years later in 1987. After Cletis graduated from Columbia, he and Lurdys moved across the country to the San Francisco Bay Area and would remain married for 12 years. In 1996, Cletis and Lurdys welcomed their son, Christopher (Chris), into their home. Christopher’s arrival motivated Cletis to live an exceptional life that would enable him to inspire by example, showing Chris that extraordinary opportunities come through hard work, preparation, dreaming big dreams, and pursuing them relentlessly. Christopher will always remember his dad as a positive

Charlie Phelps, Andy Chamberlain '78, Blair Spaulding '78, Bill Sinoff '78, Dale Sokolov '78, and Dave Kronen '78 (bottom right) in a photo from the 1977 Mesan.

light into people’s lives and as someone who encouraged him to pursue his goals.

Cletis had a special attribute of connecting and networking with people all over the world. He was an individual that was able to lead transformational programs and had a passion for facilitating opportunities to individuals in less fortunate environments.

Cletis found work as a Principal Consultant and served as the Director for A Better Chance in the early 1990s, where he managed the recruitment and placement of talented minority students from communities throughout Northern California into the most prestigious private high schools across the country. As an A Better Chance alumnus, Cletis knew first hand the transformational impact that this educational opportunity would have in the lives of its graduates and their families and welcomed the chance to pay it forward. During his tenure, he significantly increased both the level of donations to fund the program, as well as the number of students who received educational scholarships to participate in the program.

Cletis also excelled with over 15 years of operational enterprise financial management, as well as Big 4 and independent consulting experience with Fortune 500 companies.

While at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, he published a white paper titled ‘Competitive Advantage of Investing in America’s Inner Cities’. In his free time Cletis enjoyed maintaining his fitness goals so that he could participate in triathlons, watching sports, salsa dancing, learning new languages, and traveling. His favorite places to travel were Spain, Costa Rica, Panama, Miami, and wherever Chris was.

He leaves to cherish his memory: his son Christopher of Las Vegas, Nev; his mother Mamie Shelby of Oakland, Calif.; brothers Edward (Priscilla) of Wiggins Miss., and Robert Jr. of Oakland, Calif.; and sister, Sylvia ShelbyDawson of Oakland, Calif. His favorite

aunts: Katie Jenkins of Chicago, IL, Ann Winters of San Leandro, Calif., Emma Bass (Rasko) of Richmond, Texas, and Sallie Carodine of Memphis, Tenn. His cousins who were like siblings: Lesia Zedd, Kenneth Winters, Joseph Hinkston, Darren Winters, Cedric Winters, Carlos Shelby, Gary Shelby, Cary Shelby, Lucinda Allen (Keith), and Greta Davis (Levy) and Larry Jenkins. Nephews: Kendall and Keith Dawson, and niece Sierra.

We would also like to note those who had a special impact on his life such as Marilyn Harryman (Mike) and his best friend, Larry Jackson (Karen); along with a worldwide network of family, friends, and associates. He is preceded in death by his father, Robert, Sr. and sister Shlandra (Penny) Denise Shelby.

Memorial donations can be made to A Better Chance, Inc., 253 West 35th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001 or via their website: https:// www.abetterchance.org/alumni/donate.

David “Dave” was an energy industry leader since the mid-1950s, having earned his Master’s in Geology at UCLA after serving in the USAF during the Korean War. Along with several other young geologists, he was hired by Armand Hammer and then helped build Occidental Petroleum (OXY) from a small drilling company in Bakersfield, Calif. to the significant international exploration and production corporation it is today, finally retiring as the President of OXY’s Oil and Gas Division. He was a visionary leader who had a nose for finding new oil reserves and for finding opportunities where others saw only obstacles. One of his discoveries was, and continues to be, the largest oil field in South America. He was passionate about his work and proud of helping to create value in the world. He was among the best storytellers of all time, and considering his many international adventures and his skill in diplomacy and deal-making with foreign governments, his stories were the stuff of legends.

David was a devoted husband of nearly 68 years to Sarah “Sally” Martin, whom he cherished and loved deeply, and together they spent many years supporting the Arts and assembling an impressive collection of California Regionalist painting, primarily watercolors of Depression-era California scenes. He was an inspirational father to his two sons, Jon '81 and Mat '84, and their wives Michele and Karen, a beloved grandfather to Sarah '14, Nathan '17, Anna and Leah, and a generous friend to many. He was fortunate enough to have his family living close by in Santa Barbara.

MAY 9, 1931 - FEBRUARY 1, 2023

Published by Legacy.com on Feb. 4, 2023

With both sadness and celebration of a life well-lived, we announce the passing of David R. Martin at 91 years young. His family and friends’ hearts ache to have lost the presence of such a great man.

He died peacefully at home with family at his side after a 20+ year battle with prostate cancer. He was a native Californian who liked to tell of his childhood growing up on a farm in rural San Fernando Valley catching crawdads in the free flowing LA River. David will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him. His legacy of success, hard work, generosity, love, and compassion will live on in the hearts of those he touched.

David Martin

Former Trustee

Archives

Ms. Alexandra Lockett Cate’s New Head of School

Last December, I wrote to the Cate community announcing Cate’s 9th Head of School and together we joyfully congratulated Ms. Alexandra Lockett on her new role and this momentous chapter in our school’s history. After a busy spring of hard work and celebration, it is finally time to welcome Alexandra, along with her husband, Paul Hauser, and their two children, Henry and Walker, to the Mesa on July 1, 2023. A thoughtful, structured transition process has been our highest priority and over the past few months, the Transition Committee and Cate’s key administrators have been meeting with Alexandra regularly to prepare the entire Cate community for the year ahead. As we build upon the success of the past 113 years and prepare Cate for the future, our focus has been to establish robust engagement plans for all community members, address logistics, and provide our new Head of School with the support and information she needs to enter this multidimensional role. You will soon be hearing from Ms. Lockett regularly, but in the meantime please join me in extending Alexandra and her family the warmest Cate welcome.

Servons, Calgary Avansino '93 Transition Committee, Chair

Cate School is thrilled to introduce Alexandra Lockett as its ninth Head of School and welcome her and her family – husband Paul and sons Henry and Walker – to the Mesa.

Ms. Lockett is introduced to the Cate community during Spring Family Weekend in April.

2022-23 Cate School Board of Trustees

OFFICERS OF THE BOARD

Lisa B. Stanson '92 President

Newport Beach, Calif.

J. Wyatt Gruber '93 Chair

San Francisco, Calif.

Marianne Sprague

Vice President

Santa Barbara, Calif.

David Tunnell Treasurer

San Francisco, Calif.

Benjamin D. Williams IV Head of School, Secretary

Carpinteria, Calif.

LIFE TRUSTEES

Richard D. Baum '64

Kenwood, Calif.

Dan A. Emmett '99

Santa Monica, Calif

Greg H. Kubicek '74

Vancouver, Wash.

TRUSTEES

Lauren Craig Albrecht '89

Pasadena, Calif.

Calgary Avansino '93

San Francisco, Calif.

Ryan MacDonnell Bracher '90

Rutherford, Calif.

Daniel J. Cherry III '96

Redondo Beach, Calif.

Lynn Harwell

San Francisco, Calif.

Sheila Marmon Heuer '90

Culver City, Calif.

Adam S. Horowitz '99

Irvine, Calif.

Athena Jones '94

New York, N.Y.

John Kearney '00 President, Alumni Leadership Council

Ventura, Calif.

Kristen Klingbeil-Weis

Santa Barbara, Calif.

Patrick Ko '97

Taipei, Taiwan

Casey McCann '97

Santa Barbara, Calif.

Jay P. Melican III '84

Hillsboro, Ore.

Rosalind Emmett Nieman '89

Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Monique Parsons '84

Glencoe, Ill.

Elizabeth Patterson

Santa Barbara, Calif.

Leone Price '02

Los Angeles, Calif.

Edward R. Simpson '86

Los Angeles, Calif.

Jiwon Choi Song ’00

San Antonio, Texas

Brian Tom

Hong Kong

Sylvia Torres-Guillén '84

Los Angeles, Calif.

Jeannie Pettigrew Whelan '86

CPO President

San Francisco, Calif.

FACULTY ADVISORY TRUSTEES

Annalee Salcedo Director of Studies

Carpinteria, Calif.

Troy Shapiro

Science Instructor

Carpinteria, Calif.

CATE SCHOOL