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.