BULLETIN Summer 2022
CATE
CATE BULLETIN CATE SCHOOL @CATE_SCHOOL @CATESCHOOL 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. EDITOR Matt McClenathen COPY EDITOR Kate Parker '85 GRAPHIC DESIGNER Mya Cubero PHOTOGRAPHERS Aimee Stanchina Alicia Afshar 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 AimeeMcClenathenStanchina ADVANCEMENT OFFICE Lindsay Newlove Evan Akers Chris ElanaSarahAndrewKellieGuilleGilesGil-ReynosoLancasterMacDonnellPrestonStone 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. FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Alekha Rao '22 and the Class of 2022 eagerly await the start of the 108th Commencement at Cate School.
1
Imani Oseso '22 is presented the Jeffrey Sumner Pallette '88 Award by classmate Chidera Chukwumerije '22 during Commencement as Head of School Ben Williams looks on.
INVOCATION Gary Pierce HEAD OF SCHOOL’S ADDRESS Our Finest Hour Benjamin D. Williams IV FACULTY COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS A True Sense of Community Karl Weis STUDENT COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS Leave No Trace John Endres '22 2021-22 AWARDS CUM LAUDE ADDRESS What Do You Notice? What Do You Wonder? Rachel Van Wickle BACCALAUREATE ADDRESSES Diamond Head '22, Paige Rawiszer '22, David Wood THE CLASS OF 2022 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. RETIRING FACULTY & STAFF We bid a fond farewell to six longtime Cate faculty and staff who have made a lasting impact on the Mesa. 6030281061418404 2 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022 In this Issue
It is our hope today that you also take a moment to reflect on your personal growth, your strength of character, the strong sense of self you have developed, your inclination toward kindness and service of others, the depth of your friendships – all are things you will carry forward when you leave here.
Let’s take a deep breath in gratitude for the ability to be here together as a community (something we could not do in this way the last two years), sharing in Mr. Cate’s clear vision over 100 years ago in picking this location to create the foundation for the school that has led us here today, and for the opportunity to share in the accomplishments of this class – the Class of me for a moment of silent months have had many “lasts” for our graduates. We have heard about many of them in their Servons speeches, their conversations with advisors and dorm parents and their conversations with one another – the last formal dinner, last winter dance, last athletic competition, last play or orchestra performance, last academic class on a Saturday morning, last coffee at Lucky Llama, and last night in the dorm.
In addition, you should carry the knowledge that while you may be leaving this Mesa later today, it is always a place you can call home.
Thank ClassCongratulations,you.of2022.
Good morning and welcome. I’d like to start by offering thanks for all that brings us together here today. Invocations often have a religious component, and having grown up as Christian Scientist this is not lost on me. In my church, all have the ability to become a spiritual leader, and all are encouraged to practice their spiritual growth in the manner that is most meaningful for them. It is with this individualized lens that I ask you to think about living our lives mindfully in terms of truth, love, spiritual growth, and harnessing the strength within yourself.
4 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
By Gary Pierce, Math Instructor Invocation
Thesegratitude.past
Please2022.join
We often celebrate the typical “school”
Today, however, is a first. Your graduation today marks the first step away from all you have known these past three or four years and toward all that lies ahead. We are confident that you are well prepared to move forward, you know the value of hard work, you know how to have fun, you know what deep and lasting friendships feel like, and you have a resiliency that will guide you along your path. We celebrate you today for all of your accomplishments and achievements, your impacts on this community – a community that you have helped to build – your own personal growth, and for the legacy you leave behind.
milestones – academic, athletic, artistic, and residential – all areas where you have excelled.
CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022 Head of School’s Commencement Address Our Finest Hour
By Benjamin D. Williams IV, Head of School
My friends and soon-to-be graduates, my remarks on this occasion are directed to you. They are a celebration of your class, I hope, and a reminder of the distinctive impact you have had here, especially this year.
Our finest hour. Krans was not the first to use that phrase. Almost exactly 30 years before, in May of 1940, just after the desperate escape at Dunkirk by British forces when things were most dire for his country, Winston Churchill ended his speech to the House of Commons, “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, all will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”
The mission to the moon was aborted as a result of an explosion onboard the spacecraft early on the third day of the mission that somehow did not completely disable the spacecraft or injure the three astronauts inside. Instead of landing on the moon as originally intended, the astronauts flew their capsule around the moon, slingshotting themselves back safely to earth.
We have not been on a crippled spacecraft barreling around the cosmos together nor are we facing the Axis onslaught that Britain did. But education is a journey that can take us to the heavens, a journey we have to fight for on occasion. You know this. For significant portions of your tenures at Cate, we too have lived on the knife’s edge, have faced challenges large and small, have had our hope tested by circumstances that felt beyond our control, have wondered just like those astronauts in that lunar module or those soldiers stuck in Dunkirk, will we ever get back to what we know? How will this journey end? Amidst this context, particularly this year, you have been our Gene Krans, our Directors of Flight Operations who assure any doubters, “This will be our finest hour.” And you have made it so, much to the delight of this community. You have brought joy, energy, humor, spirit, and solace when we have needed it most. From the greetings on middle Mesa when the new students arrived,
There is a question, too, implicit in these comments, maybe several of them actually, about why you have been able to do what you have done here. Think of this as your last moment in the Cate inquiry crucible, at least as students. And remember those famous words from Gloria Naylor that accompanied the beginning of this year, “The last time you do something – knowing it is the last time – is always more meaningful than the first.”
That welcome outcome was perpetually in doubt through the six-day flight, leaving everyone both on the ground and in space living on a knife’s edge.
Towards the very end of the mission, as the spaceship is about to re-enter earth’s atmosphere and there is grave concern that the explosion damaged the capsule’s heat shield, two NASA officials begin a dialogue about potential outcomes, all of them dire. At least as it is rendered in the film, one of those officials admits, “I know. It will be the worst disaster NASA has ever experienced.”
A man named Gene Krans is the Director of Flight Operations at the time, overseeing all of the work going on to bring the mission to a safe and successful conclusion. He has not had any meaningful sleep for days, preferring to stay at his post throughout the crisis. And he overhears this exchange between the two officials and takes umbrage. Ed Harris plays Krans in the 1995 film, and he turns from his position at the command console and says in a voice oozing with the restraint he is trying to demonstrate, “With all due respect, sir, I believe this will be our finest hour.”
There is a moment in the story of Apollo 13’s mission to the moon that has always stuck with me. Apollo 13 launched in April of 1970 and was a failure of sorts.
COMMENCEMENT 2022
to the tearful conclusion of our opening Sunset Ceremony, to the Blue Crew displays that began in the fall – who would have thought so many of you could do so many push-ups – to the kindness jar every assembly, to the reassuring and affirming perspectives in your Servons speeches, to the diligent and generous character of your everyday leadership and companionship, you have elevated this community and returned to us the world we wondered if we would ever see. Cate has felt like Cate again, thanks in large part to you. Can you remember some of our finest hours? How about the volleyball game against Foothill Tech in the fall and the inspired play of the team that led the rest of the school – all of whom seemed to be in rapt attendance – to rush the court when the final point was won. It was a great victory, but it felt like so much more. You all did that. Then there was the lip sync contest. I’m not sure I can share all the memorable moments from Hitchcock that evening –not with children present anyway – but I remember the seniors leading the way, the ones who corralled nearly all the underclassmen to participate, the ones who could actually dance, and the ones who showed quite demonstrably that the best way to build community is to let go of your inhibitions and embrace a few moments of public frivolity. If everyone is doing it, why should any of us feel embarrassed to join in?
8 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
There was the haunted house, of course, which was too scary for me but such a gift of adrenaline fueled fun for everyone else. The assemblies with Gingy, Zhengli, and Anna-Sung coordinating everything technological, the prefects out in front, and Ricky and Rachel always with something kind to say. The Winter Formal, which you lobbied to hold on a free day, that led to all of us in evening dress filling the stands in Sprague, the best dressed audience to a Cate basketball contest ever assembled. Like Chidera noted in her recent talk, you have followed the mantra on her screen saver. You have not been content with existing. You have lived. And you have assured the same for the rest of us, because you have pulled us along, sometimes willingly and sometimes not, into your joyful journeys. It is a marvelous accomplishment. If any of you ever wondered if you can make a difference beyond your own life, now you know you can. Have you wondered though – amidst this community success – why you have been able to lead us to such heights? In your own formal and informal statements to the community you have focused on moments that give you joy, on your friendships and your affections, on those little things that mean a lot, on the way you feel and why you feel that way. We have laughed at your tales of toilet paper tornadoes, cherished ill-fated pet fish, being marooned and left behind in the Yosemite wilderness, singing One Direction or Adele tunes at the top of your lungs, feeling daunted by Jinming’s intellect, raising cockroaches you name after yourselves. Your humor is contagious, even when it’s not intentional. Who can forget the memorable request to the community from our President, Rachel Ma, “Please, guys, don’t steal the kindness jar.” Now that’s Takenleadership.togetherthese statements and stories reveal that you have been happy here, often at the oddest times. Such moments will likely never lose a place in your Havememories.younoticed another characteristic of your stories, though, beyond the fun and laughter? They often begin with a worry or a sadness, a moment of dashed hope, a loss of confidence or of possibility, a question about yourself or your place in the community you can’t answer. Think of the stories we have heard that you have told: of sitting alone in the back of the bus to Pyles without a friend in sight, of dealing with a suddenly ill or lost loved one, of finding physics to be an insurmountable obstacle, of missing home or friends, of wishing we were smarter or faster or more gregarious, even of learning – as John Endres alone could tell – that no matter how good we are at anything, there is a fifth grader in South Dakota who is better. Your knowing, which is profound, finds its beginnings – if you listen to the arc of your own stories – in experiences you might prefer to forget. That’s not where your knowing ends, thankfully. Understanding is never gained simply as the byproduct of awful moments. What would that say about education? But here’s the rub. They are part of the equation. We wouldn’t know or appreciate all the wonderful memories you have given this community and each other over the last year, if we hadn’t at some point experienced their absence or their opposite. Could we enjoy that moment of anticipation or the rising chorus of “aaaAAHH” as Chidera soars over the volleyball net or Anna stretches toward the finish line far ahead of the pack if we hadn’t been deprived of such opportunities for a time? Can we relish the reassuring warmth of friendship without knowing what it feels like to be You have elevated this community and returned to us the world we wondered if we would ever see. Cate has felt like Cate again, thanks in large part to you. “ “
9 alone as so many of us were last year? Can we understand contentment if we have never known fear or uncertainty? Did we all show up at Carp High in November to cheer our extraordinary football team to victory because we are unfamiliar with defeat? Whether we were on the sidelines encouraging our friends or on the gridiron playing we were there to be witness to whatever transpired and to do our part to contribute to the outcome we desire. Such outcomes have not always come easily. We struggle with the polarities in life over the last several years because they have been extreme and for most of us unprecedented. But the reason that you, our seniors, could give us all that you did this year is not simply because you are the charismatic, energetic, unselfish people we know and love. Maybe it’s also because you and we experienced the years that came before this Ralphone.Waldo Emerson wrote, “The pleasure of life is according to the person who lives it, and not according to the work or the place. Life,” he said, “is an ecstasy.” We should all keep that in mind when we imagine the life we want to lead, its character, and conduct. We are not done with disappointment. But it will not undo us. For we know its opposite. We trust our endurance. And we understand that moments like this one can only be fully savored by those of us who have tasted moments that are far less savory. That is the lesson you have taught yourselves and us all, the truth of the kindness jar and the Class of 2022. May it also be the learned face you share with the world you encounter beyond this Mesa. You will be amazed at the difference you will make. An ecstasy, Godspeed.indeed. The Class of 2022 assembles on stage at Thayer Peck '53 Field.
CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Faculty Commencement Address A True Sense of Community
By Karl Weis, History Instructor
I thought about devoting my speech to something all of my students are interested in, explaining the difference between a B+ and an A-. One measly point separates them. But as many seniors have explained to me, a B+ is a catastrophic grade, an indicator that you have no future, while an A- is your ticket to the promised land. I’ve tried over the years to explain the difference, which seems absolutely clear to me. This is an A- paper – this is a B+. But why reveal my secrets at this point in my career? All I’ll say is I can tell the difference, and one day you’ll get it. Did you know you can google what to say in a graduation speech? Of course you did. This is a very tempting option. I searched for about thirty seconds and came up with this list of themes or opening lines:
• “If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.”
• “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”
I can talk a little bit about my history with this class – when you were freshman I basically ignored you unless you ran for me, and some of you did, very well – yeah Nick and Anna. I had a section of you for sophomore history and we hit the highlights of European and Chinese history and then went online in the spring. Junior year I had two great classes to explore American history with, mostly outside, and I had a fantastic group of seniors this fall to experience Comparative Revolutions. You reached all kinds of new highs in Senior Inquiry, which I had the privilege of helping to guide, along with Ms. Schwennsen and Mr. Bonning. I’ve gotten to coach a dedicated and more importantly fast group of runners from your class, and I’ve sheperded two awesome advisees, Kennedy and Ashi, for four years. So I think I know you pretty well.
The swim is freshman year – you are uncomfortable, in a strange environment where you’re floating, you can’t touch the bottom, you can’t really tell where you are going, you’re not sure why you’re there, and you crash into people. You get out of the water, relieved the swim and freshman year are over, and you transition to the bike, which is a lot like sophomore and junior year. The bike ride is calming – at first you are more For all of unknownsthethat the future holds for you and me, one certainty is the Cate community. “ “
• “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
• “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”
And my favorite –
We don’t very often get the chance to have our last say, to get essentially a “drop the mic and I’m out of here” moment. It’s my last chance to address you and the whole Cate community. After thousands of classes, countless pep talks intended to inspire nervous and sometimes reluctant runners before races, hundreds of faculty meetings and other special committee meetings – too many on Zoom – I get a final chance to say something meaningful, something that you may want to take with you. You’ve been treated to a bunch of really great talks in the last few days – all of the speakers, Mr. Wood, Mr. Williams, John, Diamond, and Paige have inspired us with all kinds of ideas and anecdotes, and because I essentially get to go last, I’m actually a little worried about saying something you haven’t already heard. So what should I say? What will have some relevance, some resonance with you on this happy day? Many graduation speeches this year will undoubtedly focus on COVID-19, and we shouldn’t forget what it has done to Cate and your years here. All of us will have our own memories, our own experiences with quarantines, masks, and outdoor classes. But I don’t want to give the pandemic any more attention – it’s taken up too much of our time already.
• “Be bold, be courageous, be your best.”
I thought about history and what was relevant from history for your experience at Cate. Could I bring in lessons from the American Civil War or the Qing Dynasty or African independence, to take an almost random sampling, that would deliver some profound message?
Good morning. Thank you to the Class of 2022 for honoring me with this opportunity to speak today. I’m especially excited about this chance to address you at least partly because this is my daughter Charlotte’s class, but she has gotten so much attention in speeches already this year that this will be her one shout out. Sorry sweetie – love you!
But a lot of you have already heard what I have to say in the classroom and you are already familiar with the events I just mentioned. So I turned to something else that I spend a lot of time on, and that’s sports. Specifically in this case the sport of triathlon. Triathlon is a pretty strange undertaking – you swim in a lake or ocean, crawl out of the water, ride your bike for a while, get off, put on your running shoes, and run as fast as you can to the finish. The ultimate test is an Ironman – 2.3 miles of swimming, 112 miles on the bike, and then a marathon, 26.2 miles of running. All of these races share a certain disregard for personal comfort and sense of camaraderie and purpose. I realized an ironman is just like high school.
• “There is no script.
• “Follow your fear.” My favorites…
“Mr. Weis, what do you want on this assignment?” I think all of the teachers teaching inquiry face this question all of the time, but if we have taught you anything it is how to get beyond this – and you have. We believe in athletic success and sportsmanship. We don’t win too many titles or awards, not when we are thrown into the extremely competitive pool of Southern California high schools, but we believe in working hard and getting better. We believe in Servons, in serving others, both at Cate and in the greater world off of the Mesa. These are individual efforts, and we celebrate the individual. Today is a celebration of you. But there’s also a collective effort. You were in this together, you supported each other, and you worked as a team. Although there were plenty of times where you had to go it alone and rely on yourself, you still had the backing of your peers, and ultimately of this institution, of the adults, faculty, and alumni who make up Cate. I’m still searching, and you may be wondering where this is going. There’s got to be more than just this. Numerous people have said over the years that a commencement speech is a perfect place to say something that you want to be immediately forgotten. When I gave a commencement speech 26 years ago, I spoke about the physical setting of Cate and the importance of a sense of place, specifically California and what that should mean to all of us. Very few of you were here then, and those who were don’t remember this anyway, so I could just recycle the whole speech. Paul Denison '79 suggested I do just that. But I do think there was something important in that speech. I still feel that the spirit of this place, as Mr. Cate put it, is vital to Cate. But that’s not quite it either – although it’s very close to what I want you to take away. So I turned to one more place where I’ve worked on the Mesa. I’ve done a lot of admissions interviews in my time here, and the question I get asked most frequently is some variation of “what makes Cate special?” or “What is the best thing about Cate?” And I always say community, the strong bonds that exist on the Mesa between students and students, students and faculty and the larger community that encompasses alumni, parents, past parents and basically anyone who has been a part of this institution. Even after 30 years here, I’m still sometimes bemused by my answer. When I first arrived on the Mesa in 1990, I realized immediately that the spirit of this place was community. I was a little bit skeptical of this idea. I considered myself a somewhat cynical veteran teacher after six years in a New York independent school – I wanted academic excellence,
Tori Trimble '22 and Ben Meyer '22 make their way to the stage during the processional of graduates.
COMMENCEMENT 2022
12 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022 comfortable, you can talk to people and see where you are going. It’s not too hard – you feel like you are cruising, but 80 miles in with 30 to go, it’s junior year. Your legs are getting heavy. Will this torture ever end? Finally, at 112 miles you are relieved to get off the bike and start to run. This is the last leg, you are a senior. But then you realize you have a whole marathon ahead of you. Senior year. The first half is tough – difficult classes, the college process, everybody constantly talking about leadership –but in the last part of the race/year you know that you are going to make it. You are going to finish/graduate. You are a senior after all, at the top of your game. You cross the finish line – today – with a final burst of energy, and you collapse and spend the next few hours, or in your case days and weeks, soaking up the admiration of friends and family. You have done it. It’s all been worth it. But one extended sports metaphor doesn’t really work as a graduation speech either. Graduation speeches often ask the audience, and especially the graduates, what they want to take away from this institution. And that’s certainly a reasonable line of thought – what have your four years really meant? There’s a lot I hope you will take with you from Cate. As a school we believe in academic excellence, in the value of learning, and learning for its own sake. We talk a lot about the culture of inquiry and you may be rolling your eyes, but it’s a real thing. Maybe it’s not unique, but it is special.
13 and the idea of community seemed a little bit California lala land to me. And it still does. But 30 years here have confirmed it – the real strength of Cate is the community. It’s not just admissions talk. But what does that really mean? This community is the sum of all of the people who call Cate their home, their school, their employer. But it’s more than that. There is a mystical connection, founded on time together and common experiences, good times and bad times. William Shepherd Biddle, Class of 1918, one of the most distinguished alumni of the school, wrote this in his introduction to Mr. Cate’s book, School Days in California. Current students will be familiar with this, as Mr. Williams often quotes from this letter in our Sunset Ceremony. “The essential quality of the school – its aims, its impact upon the student, its approach to the broad problem of education – has not changed. Indeed, there is a kinship, a fundamental continuity of tradition, between the old school and the new, …There on its mesa, high above the curving coast of the blue Pacific, flanked by the canyons and sheltered by the mountains we knew well, the School remains: a steadfast light in a troubled world.” If we substitute the word “school” with “community”, we are getting closer to what I mean – ”the community remains: a steadfast light in a troubled world.” Alumni of the school are bound to this community by their years here but also by their understanding and belief that the fundamentals of Cate remain the same and that they share an experience with current and future students. In about two hours, you are all going to be alumni. Students have shared so much – too much to catalog here – and in years to come you can look back and be buoyed and supported by these connections to your classmates and the faculty. The larger community out there, consisting of family and friends who support and love you, are also part of this community and always will be.
At all of these times we have shared a common emotion, a common belief in each other... maybe we can even call it love. I can’t really express how this community will sustain you as you go forward. But it will, even if you doubt it now. You will always have the support of your classmates and the support of this institution. Your years here – what you learned, the friends you made, the understanding that you can do it – will give you the strength to overcome challenges that will inevitably come your way. I’m confident that you can already feel those bonds that have grown over the last four years. And they are not going to go away. You will become parts of other communities – that’s natural and good. In just a couple of months, you will begin to develop relationships with a new group of people, in a new place, with different and powerful emotions. But you will always have this community to sustain you. So with any graduation speech, there has to be a takeaway. I’ve broken the most basic rule that we teach in writing – that you should start with your thesis and go from there. I have come to my thesis in a roundabout way, but I hope I have kept your attention. And it’s time to move on. This powerful sense of community, that is made up of all the students I have taught, the wonderful colleagues I have worked with, and the physical place that has been so special to me and my family is not just part of my past, it’s a part of my future and your future too. For all of the unknowns that the future holds for you and me, one certainty is the Cate community. So thank you to my colleagues. Thank you to this whole community. And thank you and congratulations to the Class of 2022.
I’m sure that you have had moments like I have when you realized that you were part of this wonderful group of people, this community. There are other times when we are reluctant to embrace it –for me, it’s in assembly where everybody screams their head off when someone gets up to make an announcement “Cheeeee” or when we explain our loss in a sports contest with the fact that our opponent is a school of 25,000 students who practice 25 hours a day, how could we possibly beat them, or in the fall when juniors and seniors go trick or treating at faculty houses. Really? But there are unforgettable times when the sense of community overwhelms us, despite our best intentions to stay aloof. Senior Inquiry Day this year – we came together to celebrate our love of learning, curiosity, and academic achievement. The accomplishments of the 15 seniors who presented felt like a triumph for all of us, for the community. Remember a Friday evening in November at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium where we all shared the jubilation of the football team and their championship. That is community. Remember the excitement you felt on your very first day on the Mesa – you were buying into something bigger than yourself – and then fast forward to the enthusiasm and joy with which you greeted new students this year when they drove up to the top of Heartbreak [Hill]. You screamed and cheered for hours and walked them to their rooms. Community is the remarkable parade of Servons speakers, your peers who have the courage and honesty to share their stories with the whole school, warts and all. Think about how we all feel, the pride and awe, as the speaker walks out of the chapel. And just two nights ago, when the seniors and faculty shared a last dinner together and Booth Commons was bursting with expressions of thanks and gratitude and appreciation between students and faculty. And there are plenty more of these – fill in your own moments of community.
CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022 COMMENCEMENT 2022
By John Endres '22 Y ou know, this whole week has been all about the Class of 2022 and rightfully so. But personally, all I’ve been thinking about this weekend is how we set the bar way too high for the Class of 2023 – how are y’all gonna follow this up? It’s a pleasure to see all of you here today to celebrate these incredible people. Being chosen to deliver this speech is truly one of the greatest honors I’ve ever received, and I am so proud to be doing this today. However, it is easy to let something like this get to your head, so a lot of people say it’s a good idea to start off a speech with some jokes at your own expense some selfdeprecating humor that will knock you down a few notches. And you know, I thought about that but then quickly
15
I should preface the finals statement
by saying that yes, we did take finals freshman year, but Cate insists they do not use freshman year to calculate our GPAs, thus, the finals didn't really count. However, a lot of us up here beg to differ with that claim after seeing our first wave of college decisions back in December. I obviously exaggerated that a little bit – not the $70,000 part, but you know. I do not mean to diminish the hard work and perseverance that the Class of 2022 showed. Even without finals, it would be easy to argue that no class in Cate history has faced obstacles of the magnitude we have. And I’m not talking about some minor inconveniences – I mean truly earth-shattering ordeals. A global pandemic, isolation, mudslides, Russia…some real scary stuff. Which leads me to college – wow. A word so short shouldn’t carry that much weight, and much like the aforementioned events, college scared so many of us. The college process is different for everyone, and you learn a lot from it. We all did. But honestly the biggest takeaway we all got from the college process was how much we all now hate Duke and Georgetown. The stress of college only adds to the barrage of responsibilities that comes with being a senior. And thinking back, some classes preceding us made the college process a competition. They made it seem like one’s value was based on your college. The opposite could not be more true for the people sitting up here today. The college process only helped us grow and love each other even more with unconditional support. It is one of the shining examples of how love is so much stronger than hate. realized that after living with Paul Denison '79 for a year, there aren’t any notches left. He’s knocked me down all the way. In that same spirit, giving this speech is probably the best my life is ever gonna get, so it’s all downhill from here. As a result, for the next 12 minutes or so I will be lavishing in my peak – it’s not getting better than this. But this speech isn't about me of course, this is about the Class of 2022 which is a lot of responsibility. This speech is supposed to be written in a way that represents the best of our class, and highlighting what makes us so special. I knew I was going to be giving this speech some months ago, so I had ample time to think, prepare, and practice. With that being said, I also wanted to write this exactly how the Class of '22 would, so as a result, in true 2022 fashion, last night, 10 hours away from the deadline, I sat down and got straight to work on the first draft. If I’m lucky, Mr. Hansen will give it a B+. Maybe those writing habits are a result of COVID-19 – and that honestly leads me to quite possibly the overall theme for The Class of 2022: things that didn't really matter. In our time at this prestigious high school – the most challenging academic experience we've had up until this point – we have taken a total of zero finals. I’ll put it into terms parents will understand: You all in essence paid $70,000 for an above average Airbnb. An Airbnb where, for the first two years of our time, we had to pay more money to do our laundry! Building great habits at Cate School –one checkbook at a time. And hey… you’re not even done yet! Four more years baby!
Student Commencement Address Leave No Trace
This class saved Cate. We reminded everyone what Cate is supposed to be. Following a year where nothing seemed to go right, our class was tasked with everything.rebuilding…AndI’ll tell you what, this group did a masterful job. “ “
16 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Call this extreme, radical, dramatic, what have you. This class saved Cate. We reminded everyone what Cate is supposed to be. Following a year where nothing seemed to go right, our class was tasked with rebuilding…everything. And I’ll tell you what, this group did a masterful job. Cate has a long way to go. There is no denying that. We are never satisfied with where we are, and we pride ourselves on passing on the torch to the next generation of Cate students. However, the people at this school give me and everyone else up here so much hope for the future. And we are proud to say that we helped lead that change. In every meeting Chidera and I have with Mr. Williams, he marvels at this class’s ability to achieve. However, we aren’t stubborn. We aren’t blind to where we fall short. It’s funny…it’s often believed that the older you get the more you learn. The point of education is to learn more and more, and your knowledge is supposed to grow over time. When I was younger, I always thought that the point of education was to pursue the goal of learning all there is to learn. However, now that we’re here, at the end of our high school journey, the one thing we’ve learned is how much we have left to learn. There is so much we don't know, so many events left to experience, and so many people left to meet. And isn’t that beautiful? The goal of learning is not to learn everything. It’s admitting that you don’t know it all. It’s admitting that you need people to help you. It’s admitting that you need people like the ones you see up here in your life. And that is when you will become truly enlightened. And what hurts the most is when those people who helped you learn and grow, leave. The worst part is letting go. But there’s beauty in what’s happening to all of us today. The creations and events that are temporary, the ones that you know will end and want to savor every last minute of: those are the most beautiful. And as we check the boxes of our Cate lasts, we finally are starting to look back at those gorgeous, fleeting moments that made our time so, so beautiful. Our last Sunset Ceremony, our last move-in day, our last holiday break, our last advisory, our last Harkness discussion – and now in these very moments – our last day as high school students. If those lasted forever no one would care. It’s because we know someday it will all end, we appreciated every second even more. Admittedly, sometimes too late. It’s little flashes like that in which Cate is so special. I like to think of everyone’s four years of Cate like a giant Snapchat.
Speaking of thinking back to the past, due to factors obviously outside of our control, we have only been to two commencement ceremonies. One our freshman year and one our senior year. How full circle is that? It’s truly something that cannot be comprehended until you’re up here, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that it still doesn't feel real. I mean four years ago we were sitting where the freshmen are now. Wide-eyed, and oblivious to how fast it’s all going to go by. It may be hard for the current freshmen to believe, but trust us when we say you are going to love and care for every single person you are sitting next to right now. As you get older, you start to realize that the group of people who genuinely and truly understand you and care for you gets smaller and smaller. That’s not to say you have fewer friends as you get older, but as you start to get busier and live multiple lives you spend less time with the people you truly love. Here at Cate, you spend every single day with the people you love, and the people who understand you. So when you finally realize that you love those people sitting around you, and trust me you will, hold onto them tightly and never let them go. Enjoy every last minute with these people because as we have so quickly found out, it goes by faster than you ever want it to. I have been so enlightened by the 68 people sitting next to me, and whilst I get sad every single time I think about us leaving this place, nothing brings me more happiness than knowing that these people are going to bring the same light and joy to other people across the world that they have already brought so many. Every single place that is fortunate enough to receive the people on this stage truly does not know how lucky they all are. However, I can guarantee one thing: The colleges that we are all off to also have no idea how much high school meant to so many of us. You know there is a phrase that the Class of 2022 has heard quite a lot these past few years. That phrase being, “how unlucky.” “How unlucky that you guys missed so
much high school due to lockdown.”
COMMENCEMENT 2022
“How unlucky is it that Cate is going through controversy during your time there.” “How unlucky is it that you guys had an abnormal experience.” No. We aren’t unlucky. We used those hardships, struggles, and sometimes pain, to unite together as one class. The prevailing notion around this campus is that there has never been a class more united than we have been. That isn’t by accident. That isn’t due to luck. It’s due to the fact that we all committed to bettering not only ourselves throughout this time, but bettering this community.
Chidera, Paige, Juliette, and oftentimes many more, sitting on the Bothin patio simply enjoying the company of each other. Daniel singing Adele at the top of his lungs from Longhouse upper hall. June dancing his heart out during lip sync. Peter scoring the game-winning playoff goal with seconds to spare.
Jumping for joy because you just won a state championship. Seeing Sidney with a barrage of freshmen by her side because they just love her that much. Watching everyone on this stage cry until there is nothing left because we know how special this group truly is. Moments that flash by in a second are what stick with you most at Cate School. However, unlike Snapchat, in real life you can’t replay your favorite moment. You can’t save that memory in a chat to look at it over and over again. You can’t add a textbox to explain the picture. You only get to live it once. You only get to relive it in your memories. And I speak for all of us when I say I cannot be happier to have lived these last four years’ worth of memories with every single one of you. And I know that even as we continue to add more “Snapchats” into our library of memories, we will always scroll back to the memories from the Cate Class of 2022.
When you send someone a photo on Snapchat, it disappears. Never able to be recovered again, and you only get to see that photo for a brief moment in time. The moments that we treasure most at Cate are those brief, incredible memories that disappear as soon as they happen. The ones you take for granted but wish so desperately you can see again. Things like Tori hoisting up the torn flag into the night sky, thus securing victory.
One of Cate’s first sayings that we ever heard was over our freshman outings week at Pyles. They told us to “leave no trace.” They meant that when we enter a place that is unfamiliar and different, to treat the place with respect, and leave it better than the way we found it. Well the Class of 2022 lived by that saying for four long, strenuous years. You best believe we left this place better than we found it. And I couldn’t be more confident when I say this class will make every place better than how they found it. With that being said, may we enjoy the last few moments we have to spend all together. Here’s to those incredible moments, here’s to making new ones, and here’s to the Class of 2022. Thank you all so much.
Ashi Kamra '22
Olivia Dorion '22 The Miramar Award Thomas Naem '22 Kennedy Simpson '22 Dohrmann Pischel Class of 1914 Medal
FACULTY AWARDS
William Shepard Biddle Class of 1918 Cup Ben Swain '14
Santa Barbara School Medal
Jay Dorion
Jinming Wang '22 receives the Santa Barbara Scholarship Cup, given to the student who demonstrates exceptional intellectual interest and achievement.
Chidera Chukwumerije '22
Ben Meyer '22
Jeffrey Sumner Pallette '88 Award
Fellowship Award: Centennial Cassia Sonderleiter Fellowship Award: Circumspice Juarez Newsome
Jinming Wang '22 Ellis Cup John Endres '22
Alekha Rao '22
Charlie Schofield '22 Nelson D. Jones '48 Medal
Stephen Spittler '63 Cup
Morgan Gwynne Temby '69 Award
William New, Jr. '59 ServonsAward Cate Class of 2022 Santa Barbara Scholarship Cup
William Shepard Biddle '18 Cup Diamond Head '22
AwardsCommencement
Juliette Calderon '22 Head of School’s Award
Daniel Boateng '22
Awards2021-22CATEBULLETIN/SUMMER2022
Imani Oseso '22
1. Kennedy Simpson '22 and Thomas Naem '22 share the Miramar Award, presented to a pair of seniors who have shown exceptional growth and progress.
6. Diamond Head '22 poses with the William Shepard Biddle Class of 1918 Cup, the School’s highest award, given to the senior who best exemplifies and demonstrates the qualities of humanism, idealism, and the desire to achieve that which Cate seeks to teach its students.
19
2. Juliette Calderon '22 receives the Santa Barbara School Medal, awarded for exceptional leadership and achievement in service to the School community.
4 5 6 7 8 2 3
4. Student body president, Rachel Ma '22, and vice president, Ricky Valente '22, accept the William New Servons Award on behalf of the Cate Class of 2022.
3. Olivia Dorion '22 walks off the stage after being presented with the Morgan Gwynne Temby Award, given each year to a student who has shown deep concern for the welfare of others.
5. Ben Meyer '22 and Ashi Kamra '22 (not pictured), receive the Head of School Award for their display of character through citizenship, the quality of their leadership, and the generosity of their actions.
8. Daniel Boateng '22 and Chidera Chukwumerije '22 share the Nelson Jones '48 Medal, given to seniors whose leadership by personal example demonstrates humility, integrity, and dedication. 1
7. Alekha Rao '22 and Charlie Schofield '22 receive the Dohrmann Pischel Class of 1914 Medal for their commitment to the community, willingness to accept responsibility, and generous friendship.
1. Emily Allison '23 is awarded the Chemistry Prize.
5. Xander Murray Osborn '22 is presented with the Hans F. Summers Award, the Science Department’s highest award, given to a senior who has demonstrated extraordinary interest and achievement in the sciences.
1 3 4 5 6 2 2021-22 AWARDS
6. Jae Lim '23 receives the Chinese Prize for his outstanding achievement in mastering the Chinese language.
20 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
4. Ben Meyer '22 and Rachel Ma '22 earn recognition for their 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art, respectively, with the Fred Bradley '68 Prize.
3. The Class Agents for the Class of 2022 are introduced by Director of Advancement Lindsay Newlove. From left: Lindsay Newlove, Imani Oseso '22, Ricky Valente '22, Juliette Calderon '22, Paige Rawiszer '22, John Endres '22, and June Han Bae '22.
2. Maggie Albrecht '25, Mike Barrera '25, and Daisy Gemberling '25 receive the Joseph Knowles Foundation Arts Award which recognizes exemplary achievement in the 9th grade arts program.
21 Academic Awards ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Philip Owen Poetry Prize Kennedy Simpson '22 James C. Durham '02 Writing Prize Sophie Conviser '22 Kelsey Sha '22 English Department Prize Julianna Forry '22 HISTORY DEPARTMENT The Frank B. Light Cup Noor Harwell '24 Sebastian Sutch '24 The James Masker Global Studies Award Lucky Drucker '22 Juliette Calderon '22 History Department Prize Charlotte Weis '22 Sidney Suh '22 HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT Gaby Edwards Humanities Award Zoey Flint '25 Daisy Gemberling '25 MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT Stanley M. Durrant Mathematics Prize Harry Su '25 Tonfai Nokhong '24 Colin Day Mathematics Award Charlie Schofield '22 Daniil Garbuzov '22 Allan J. Gunther Mathematics Award Diamond Head '22 Jinny Chung '22 Timothy Zhang '22 Rensselaer Polytechnic Medal Athena Ke '23 Irwin Exhibition Award in Photography Ella Chang '23 Digital Imaging Award Tyler Tom '22 Jayden Yan '22 Joseph Bradley Art Prize Kelsey Sha '22 Kennedy Simpson '22 Marion Wolsey Cate Acting Prize Carly Medina '23 Dance Award Kalia Lopez '22 Theater Award Jae Hall-Collins '23 Zhengli Sieh '22 Franklin Ellis Vocal Prize Dawson Fuss '22 Jinny Chung '22 Peter Folger '25 Music Cup Charlotte He '22 June Han Bae '22 Extracurricular Awards Betty Woodworth Librarian’s Award Anna-Sung Park '22 Mesan Award Anna-Sung Park '22 Sophie Conviser '22 El Batidor Award Daanish Ahmad '22 Jinny Chung '22 Public Service Award Juliette Calderon '22 Paige Rawiszer '22 Noah W. Hotchkiss Memorial Award Ben Meyer '22 Technology Prize Zhengli Sieh '22 Human Development Award Paige Rawiszer '22 MODERN ChineseDEPARTMENTLANGUAGESPrize Jae Lim '23 French Prize Charlotte He '22 Japanese Prize Aminah Hill '22 Peter Wood '22 Spanish Prize Elise Guerrand-Hermès '22 Charlotte Weis '22 Stanley D. Woodworth Language Cup Ada James '23 SCIENCE DEPARTMENT Pritzker Science Early Distinction Award Annie Chian '24 Chemistry Prize Emily Allison '23 Biology Prize Ashi Kamra '22 Physics Prize Ali Istanbullu '22 Jinming Wang '22 The Hans F. Summers Award Xander Murray Osborn '22 Art Awards Joseph Knowles Foundation Arts Award Maggie Albrecht '25 Mike Barrera '25 Daisy Gemberling '25 Fred Bradley '68 Prize: 2-dimensional Rachel Ma '22 Fred Bradley '68 Prize: 3-dimensional Ben Meyer '22 James R. Feld '81 Ceramics Award Jules Wecker '24 Tony Hooker '56 Sculpture Award Desiree Flores '23 Photography Prize Gigi Geyer '23
INITIATES Jinny
Chung '22 Lucky Drucker '22 Julianna Forry '22 Daniil Garbuzov '22 Diamond Head '22 Charlotte He '22 Ali Istanbullu '22 Ashi Kamra '22 Rachel Ma '22 Xander Murray Osborn '22 Alekha Rao '22 Paige Rawiszer '22 Charles Schofield '22 Sidney Suh '22 Jinming Wang '22 Charlotte Weis '22
22 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022 Athletic Awards Outdoor Program Award Ali Istanbullu '22 Jonathan Yoo '22 Redington Cup Award Josie Frazer '24 Kristian Scurtis '24 Sebastian Sutch '24 Most AthleteInspirationalAward Anna DiSorbo '22 Will Bouma '22 Sportsmanship Award Chidera Chukwumerije '22 Olivia Dorion '22 Xander Murray Osborn '22 Ricky Valente '22 Beach Soulé Award Mason Oetgen '22 Matty Holmes '22 Peter Cate '37 Award Charlotte Weis '22 SENIOR VARSITY SPORTS LETTER AWARDS Six Varsity Letters Chidera Chukwumerije '22 Julianna Forry '22 Ali Istanbullu '22 Coco Le Roy '22 Ethan Ligon '22 Rachel Ma '22 Xander Murray Osborn '22 Kobby Nimako '22 Kennedy Simpson '22 Tyler Tom '22 Tori Trimble '22 Jinming Wang '22 Seven Varsity Letters Olivia Dorion '22 Nick Patrick '22 Eight Varsity Letters Will Bouma '22 Lukas Hendriks '22 Imani Oseso '22 Alekha Rao '22 Nine Varsity Letters Anna DiSorbo '22 John Endres '22 Matty Holmes '22 Mason Oetgen '22 Charlotte Weis '22 Peter Wood '22 VARSITY SPORTS AWARDS Baseball Matty Holmes '22 Boys Basketball Mason Oetgen '22 Babacar Pouye '23 Tyler Tom '22 Girls Basketball Mary Foster '23 Sylvia Larkin '22 Imani Oseso '22 Boys Cross Country Andrew Busse '22 Jackson Molin '22 Nick Patrick '22 Girls Cross Country Anna DiSorbo '22 Kennedy Simpson '22 Football Will Bouma '22 John Endres '22 Matty Holmes '22 Mason Oetgen '22 Boys Lacrosse Harry McAdams '23 Xander Murray Osborn '22 Kristian Scurtis '24 Girls Lacrosse Ali Istanbullu '22 Imani Oseso '22 Tori Trimble '22 Boys Soccer Daniel Boateng '22 Ricky Valente '22 Girls Soccer Francesca Castellarin '22 Olivia Dorion '22 Rachel Ma '22 Charlotte Weis '22 Boys Swimming Charlie Schofield '22 Cyrus Symington '23 Girls Swimming Alekha Rao '22 Nicole Teh '23 Boys Tennis Asen Ou '22 Jinming Wang '22 Girls Tennis Aminah Hill '22 Emily May '22 Boys Track and Field Gabriel Madan '22 Justin Musyimi '23 Rory Zhang '23 Girls Track and Field Emily Allison '23 Kennedy Kirkland '23 Kendall Thorne '23 Boys Ultimate Frisbee June Han Bae '22 Gabriel Madan '22 Tyler Tom '22 Boys Volleyball Sage Hou '23 Clyde Kye '24 Mack Nieman '25 Girls Volleyball Chidera Chukwumerije '22 Elise Guerrand-Hermès '22 Boys Water Polo Lukas Hendriks '22 Cyrus Symington '23 Girls Water Polo Alekha Rao '22 2021-22 AWARDS Class Agents June Han Bae '22 Juliette Calderon '22 John Endres '22 Imani Oseso '22 Paige Rawiszer '22 Ricky Valente '22 Cum SocietyLaude CUM LAUDE SOCIETY
The Jeffrey Sumner Pallette '88 Award
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 proved to all of us that with simplicity and humility you can genuinely earn the love of those around you. Her kind and helpful nature draws people in and makes them want to befriend her from the very beginning. In all aspects of this community, she has taught us to love and relish each other for who we are and aspire to be, not what others think of Sheus.has taught us that it is important to remain true and honest to not just those around us, but to ourselves. Although she wouldn't admit to this herself, her presence and pure essence have influenced this community greatly. But most importantly she has taught our class that with honesty, kindness, and optimism anything can be accomplished. Throughout these four years, she has been our unconditional friend, and above all, earned our respect. In her Servons talk, she encouraged us all to embrace what makes us distinct and vulnerable. She implored us to seek the people who remind us that we are enough. She has been a bright steadfast light in my life and has inspired me to embrace this very vulnerability. Whether it be in the classroom, on the basketball court, or serving as a prefect in Schoolhouse she never fails to imbue her infectious spirit on every person she meets. She has inspired us all. We are honored to present the Jeffrey Sumner Pallette Class of 1988 award to Imani Oseso.
Presented by Chidera Chukwumerije '22
IMANI OSESO '22
Jay Dorion has done it all at Cate: raised a family, coached sports teams, taught in the classroom, and helped guide Cate through some of its most difficult times. However, even with all those jobs and paperwork, somehow Mr. Dorion is able to treat every single person like they are meaningful to this community. Cate, no doubt about it, has had its fair share of tough times during our four years. The one thing that remained constant throughout, the beacon of light that so many people looked to was Mr. Dorion’s presence. I, along with five other lucky students, are fortunate enough to shine in his light every single day as members of his advisory. And I can tell you all from firsthand experience that there is no kinder, or more compassionate person in this world than Jay Dorion. There is a reason so many turn to JDor for advice, comfort, and sometimes criticism. Because he makes them feel comfortable enough to do so. Mr. Dorion I cannot put into words how much you have impacted my life, and how much I owe to you. Of all the things I’m going to miss on this campus, you are what I’m going to miss the most. I will forever thank whoever decided to put my lucky soul into your advisory, and I love you. We all love you, and it is my honor and the honor of the Class of 2022 to present you with the Spittler Cup. John
The SpittlerStephen'63Cup JAY AssistantDORION,Head of School for Internal Affairs Presented by
Endres '22 2021-22 AWARDS
The Stephen Spittler Cup, Class of 1963, is awarded to a faculty member whose endeavors on the Mesa push their students to the limits of their capabilities, inspire the people around them to hold themselves to a higher standard, and who, each day, make us Catelaugh.has had its fair share of faculty in its 122year long history. Every single one of those faculty members has connected to their students in their own unique way. However, for the Class of 2022 there is a particular faculty member who stood out. This faculty member since day one has welcomed every single person on this campus not only with kindness and warmth, but also with respect. He has understood that Cate students bring their own abilities and personalities to this Mesa, and he cares for every person unconditionally. He listens… really well. He listens to criticism and praise equally, and his goal has always been and always will be to ensure Cate is a community where everyone feels welcome.
CASSIA SCIENCESONDERLEITER,INSTRUCTOR
A resident expert in the use of technology, one of the leaders of our selfstudy, a committed coach and an able and attentive advisor our Burleigh Pattee Fellow for 2022 is Ben Swain.
This particular fellowship comes with a $1,000 stipend and is awarded this year to a faculty member whose masterful classroom teaching is matched by an equally profound service to the community in other areas of endeavor.
Conceived to honor thoughtful, purposeful, and innovative classroom teaching. 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 his or her students. This particular fellowship comes with a $2,500 stipend. It is awarded this year to Cassia Sonderleiter.
Established by friends of Mr. Pattee, to honor outstanding teaching at Cate.
JUAREZ NEWSOME, HISTORY 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 Thiscommunity.isanhonor 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 Juarez Newsome.
The Circumspice Fellowship
The W. Burleigh Pattee Fellowship
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.
The Centennial Fellowship
BEN SWAIN '14, SPANISH INSTRUCTOR
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.
25
26 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022 1 4 2 3 5 6 COMMENCEMENT 2022
5. Alekha Rao '22 and her Schoolhouse Dorm Parent Dr. Laura Moore embrace in the traditional receiving line after graduation.
9. Filip Sentypal '22 has his boutonniere pinned on as the Class of 2022 gets ready for the ceremony. 7 9 8
Commencement Through the Lens
2. Ethan Ligon '22 listens to his senior citation on stage before accepting his diploma.
8. Imani Oseso '22 and Sidney Suh '22 capture one last moment together on the Mesa.
3. Rachel Ma '22 smiles as Head of School Ben Williams reads her senior citation.
27
1. From left: Ashi Kamra '22, Anna-Sung Park '22, and Gingy Hunter '22 pose for a photo in the Johnson Library prior to Commencement.
4. The Kingsley Advisory takes one last photo together before Commencement. From left: Jackson Molin '22, Chidera Chukwumerije '22, Kalia Lopez '22, Associate Director of Admission Faimie Kingsley, Sylvia Larkin '22, and Thomas Naem '22.
6. Daniel Boateng '22 pauses for a photo with Assistant Head of School for External Affairs Charlotte Brownlee '85 in the Johnson Library.
7. Students gather to take a classic Cate photo through the Johnson Library windows. Back row: Ricky Valente '22, Daisy Scott '22, Aidan Carlander '22, Claudia Schmidt '22, June Han Bae '22, and Jayden Yan '22. Front row: Lucky Drucker '22, Kelsey Sha '22, and Emily May '22.
“
I notice that there is a lot more to wonder.
Good morning! What a treat it is to share this moment with you all. I am in awe of the way the 16 of you have gone about your life on this Mesa, studying, collaborating, performing, competing, mentoring, and serving. It is so, so, so impressive. By now, you are experts at the process of inquiry. You know how to observe, question, respond, and infer. You have spent years seeking patterns, testing models, communicating your ideas, and reflecting on your discoveries. Most importantly, you have learned that any worthy exploration will likely lead to more questions. More things to notice and more things to wonder. More unknown.
What Do You Notice? What Do You Wonder?
By Rachel Van Wickle, Math Instructor There is so much fun to be had when you apply the game of, “What do you notice?” “What do you wonder?” to your life beyond the Cate classroom.
I wonder where your curiosity and creativity will lead you in the years to come. I wonder what amazing things you will be in awe of and where the habit of lifelong learning that you’ve developed at Cate will lead you.
Considering what you notice and what you wonder can turn the scaries that come from the unknown into awe and into joy. So, I thought we would play a few rounds together today. I notice that tomorrow, you head out on a new beginning. I wonder if you realize just how prepared you are to leave Cate. I wonder what your time at Cate will keep teaching you. It is likely that Cate has given you a lot of sneaky lessons, and I have a feeling that you will continue to realize them over the rest of your life. I hope this gives you confidence.
“
28 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Cum Laude Address
I notice that there is a lot more to wonder. I wonder where your curiosity and creativity will lead you in the years to come. I wonder what amazing things you will be in awe of and where the habit of lifelong learning that you’ve developed at Cate will lead you. Along the way, perhaps you will allow yourself to sit in your curiosity for a bit as if it were one of those old Raymond Commons swallow-you-up dining chairs. Be immersed in it and enjoy a little notice and wonder. I wish you all the most wonderful adventure. Congratulations!
I notice that you have a keen skill in the “look it up” method. You have the ability to get information at what seems like the speed of light, and you never hesitate to get out your phone when something random needs to be fact checked. As weird as it sounds, I wonder if you might consider the following statement: “Let’s just not know.” This is uncomfortable to us because we are problem solvers. We like the satisfaction that comes from a clean, one and done Google search. Who knew that is what a baby pigeon looks like?! However, there are moments when we must pause and let something be unknown for a little bit. Sometimes, this holding back allows us to connect and share a moment of notice and wonder with others. Rather than having all the answers all the time, I invite you to just be. To just not know. I notice that you have had a lot of opportunities to engage in productive struggle in your classes at Cate. Think back to when you first learned the
Oftentimes, holding off on knowing answers right away actually makes space for more understanding. I wonder how you might apply this idea in real life next year. What would that look like? How might having the patience to listen and wait for answers lead you to make less quick judgements and more thoughtful connections with the people around you?
Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Your teachers asked you to notice patterns far before the theorem was generalized as a whole. The FTC could have been a quick Google search, but would you know it? Would you see the connections in it? Would you see the beauty in it?
I also notice that your time at Cate has been marked by a unique compassion and commitment to overcome challenges. Collectively, there is a sense of mellow boldness about you. There is spunk, too, as evidenced by your Servons speeches revealing pranks here and there and the rowdy competitions you’ve participated in during assemblies.
29
16 members of the Cate Class of 2022 were inducted into the Cum Laude Society. Back row: Charlie Schofield '22, Ashi Kamra '22, Ali Istanbullu '22, Alekha Rao '22, Daniil Garbuzov '22, Jinming Wang '22, and Xander Murray Osborn '22. Front row: Diamond Head '22, Jinny Chung '22, Charlotte He '22, Sidney Suh '22, Lucky Drucker '22, Julianna Forry '22, Paige Rawiszer '22, Rachel Ma '22, and Charlotte Weis '22.
But in thinking about the ways you have demonstrated such a strong, solid presence on this campus, I wonder how you might use the skills you’ve practiced at Cate to assert yourself and bring peace in your next community.
The moment we are in is truly unique. Our near futures are not nearly as straightforward as they used to be. Now, as we all try to carve a path forward for ourselves, the emotions we feel have an ineffability to them, so instead of trying to put them into words, I’d like to express my gratitude to you all.
30 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER
hen Mr. Williams walked up to me at Spring Fling in pink board shorts and asked me to write this speech, I didn’t know how to feel. I’m so honored to have the chance to speak before you all, but I couldn’t really understand what speaking at Baccalaureate meant. After all, Baccalaureate and graduation seemed so far away. The only memory I have of Baccalaureate is from my freshman year, and I definitely focused more on signing yearbooks than whatever sentimentality was happening in the chapel. That being said, these past few days, the reality that I would be leaving this place really began to set in. The distance that I once had between myself and so many of the events that I’ve been attending for the past two weeks has now disappeared. Reading the 2021 Commencement address and Baccalaureate speeches now evokes so many emotions.
Baccalaureate2022
Ceremony To the Class of 2022
W
As I think about our rapidly approaching graduation, I’m reminded of a phrase that Mr. [John] Swain often says: “There are some students who give more to Cate than they receive.” The first time he told By Diamond Head '22 me this, it confused me, but now, when I think about our class in the context of this quote, it starts to make sense. We’re all aware of the difficulties our class has faced during our four years at Cate. While of course Cate isn’t perfect, my own memory of freshman year, and all of those traditions which I originally didn’t pay attention to made me come to love this community. Sitting around a table at a formal dinner in Raymond Commons as seniors led conversations and welcomed me into them. The smell of the birthday treat of my dreams wafting out of Cece’s apartment. The hugs we share after a particularly moving speech. Or the sound of Not-Morgan-Freeman lulling me to sleep in the theater with words about the Gaviota Coast. My early experiences at Cate taught me what type of community it truly was. I was supported before I even knew I needed it, and I constantly had people in my corner, excited for me to succeed, and ready to do whatever it took to help me get there. It’s this memory of Cate that I desperately wanted to take with me. But with so much change, tension, and tragedy, my memories of that version of Cate felt increasingly inaccurate. More often I found myself faced with those small inequities which exist in contradiction with the place I’d come to love. In those moments, I was grateful to have the ability to look to the other members of the community. I saw Imani’s smiling face and Coco’s kind notes on my desk; people around Sunset Bench, halfway down the hill, and along Pars lawn, all bathed in the sunset’s golden glow as well as enraptured by it. I saw the compassion which I’d felt as a freshman echoed in all of your actions. Our entire class found ways to keep that love with us, embodying our dedication to Cate and what it meant to all of us. Like many of you, over last summer I was nervous. The Cate that existed in my memory, compared to the Cate I had just left, were at odds with each other, and I wasn’t sure what I would be returning to. I’ve realized now that many seniors have a similar experience as they progress at Cate. Memories of their early years become somewhat rose-colored as the imperfections of our school reveal Thethemselves.difference between our class and the others I’ve seen is our reaction to these imperfections. To be fair, we were pretty unique. Our class would be the only one who’d experienced a “normal” freshman year. We were the last class to participate in a spring that took time to honor the Theseseniors.unique perspectives, along with the gravity of what we faced as juniors spurred a different reaction to these growing pains. We were faced with a new challenge, but also an opportunity: the only students who had any idea what the blueprint of a Cate school year was were us. While there was some sense of responsibility to reinstate all of the traditions that we once loved, we also had the ability to create new ones.
About earnedthat“lauri”“Bacca”ThecameBaccalaureateCeremonyBaccalaureatetheisanoldritualthattothiscountryfromBritain.termcomesfromtheLatin–meaning“berry”–and–referencingthelaurelswereusedtoadornthosewhotheirdegrees.
'22
Seeking a Great Perhaps By Paige Rawiszer
We’d seen our school, imperfections and all. As a result we could revel at its beauty, and we had the chance to help be a part of remedying some of its issues. I couldn’t be more proud of the revival we created. Because of you, in every meeting, assembly, Servons speech, and formal dinner, I was reminded of the community I’d last seen in my rose-colored glasses. I know this undertaking was not easy. It started with a 6:00 a.m. morning in front of admissions, some blue glitter, pom poms, and all the energy we could muster. From there it became long conversations in dorm rooms, shared mugs of tea, rousing cries in assembly, and hours of planning events. Creating something new puts people in an incredibly vulnerable position. With it comes tension, conflict, and contradiction. Again, in those moments of uncertainty, I was able to rely on you all. With your help, we steered through the uncertainty and found our way back to what’s truly important to all of us: living in a community that everyone has the right to contribute to and the responsibility to better. Through our memory of Cate, we were united and dedicated to creating a place that the students after us would fall in love with. I think we did a pretty good Tomorrow,job. we will graduate and subsequently begin our individual journeys to other communities. The work we’ve all done this year shows our ability to seek true connection, compromise, and ultimately, a supportive community. I hope we can all find a reason to be as dedicated to our next home as we were to Cate, and that we’ll bring those values with us wherever we go. Thank you all for being the class I get to graduate with. I hope you take the time to relish in the community you’ve created.
BACCALAUREATE
32 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Those in charge first start this brainwashing of fulfillment when we are brought into the wilderness firsthand to see the power of nature and bond with each other as a class during the annual Outings Week. Any skeptics of this tactic have clearly never spent a week in the woods with unwashed teenagers, as days of continuous hail pour down, and all one can do is feebly hope to see the sun once more as your body feels like its reached breaking point. And just as you’re about to quit, the sun finally does come out, and as you and your peers watch it caress over the mountains, a smile breaks out on all of your faces.
“I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” In a way, I think these words, though infinitely profound and complex, can easily help frame the Cate experience. Through academia, newfound independence, and interconnectedness, we are taught to view the world with an open mind and follow through on our dreams. We are given the tools to seek whatever the future may hold, whatever that Great Perhaps may entail.
Though Outings Week is often met with exasperated sighs, these trips act as the first introduction to Cate and truly help to solidify your choice to have attended this place; it is the first of many defining moments in our collective “Great Perhaps.”
33 I n
John Green’s novel, Looking For Alaska, the protagonist, Miles Halter, states that his reasoning for attending boarding school is in honor of the last words of the French poet François Rabelais, which were, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” The remainder of the book is spent trying to unpack those seven words as Miles deals with love, tragedy, religion, grief, and the world of boarding school.
The rest of these moments happen slowly, seemingly insignificant. You sit around a Harkness table and listen to the wise words of your peers. You see that it’s chicken tinga tacos and sprint to the dining hall. Or, you see it’s marinated flank steak and rush to the bus to Carp. You run in your first track meet and hear Mase screaming as you cross the finish line. Joy Doyle revokes your '25 house lawn privileges due to an exorbitant amount of inflatable rafts. You smile when signing into dinner and stay some extra minutes when Newsome, Señor Urizar, or B-Rod is the MOD. You cry, a lot. You cause some chaos or mischief in the dorm and subsequently apologize by spending your Sunday in BCB1. You make the type of friends you knew you always could have, and then have no mercy when betraying these same friends in the elimination game. You feel comfortable sitting with anyone in the dining hall. You receive SBNs that read, and this is a direct quote from Ivan Barry, “Please have your room in tip-top, not a spot condition. It’s getting out of control.” You bond with the underclassmen in your dorm. You smile during assembly every time something absurd happens, like the time ballroom dancers just appeared. You listen to Brooks Hansen talk about literally anything and can feel your brain expanding. You have advisory dinner with your mini family. You scream, “Duel One, Let’s Rock.” You have the type of laughter that you hope never ends. You stare into another spectacular sunset while sitting in a hammock hanging off the side of Parsonage. You spend the night at Bee Camp with your sem full of freshmen and wish the time could reverse and you could be in their place. Oh, what you would do to have three more years left. All fleeting moments when you look back and realize that you’re living this Great Perhaps, the life you once dreamed of having.
This past week, about 20 fellow seniors and I went to the extremely isolated Santa Rosa Island (about a three-hour boat ride away) as the culminating experience for our spring science electives. With several coolers of Trader Joe’s dark chocolate-covered espresso beans and an acceptance of a lack of showers, I was excited to spend some final time with my classmates in this new environment. During one of the days, a group of friends and I went on a hike to Black Rock, a breathtaking landscape, with, shocker, a lot of black rocks. We took a long break there, and as I looked out into the view, I couldn’t help but think about this speech and what I wanted to say. And while sitting on this rock in the middle of a literally isolated island, the only thought that could come to my mind was gratitude for my constant lack of isolation. Many times while sitting there, we all would look up and comment that we will never see anything like this again. And maybe that’s slightly dramatic, but I don’t think that it’s the view of the crashing waves that we were really talking about. We will never be here, together, carefree, with our entire lives ahead of us. We will never have that same wonderful gift of childlike innocence surrounded by the comfort and familiarity of Cate, and that’s why it hurts so bad to move on. So many people have asked me if I’m excited to graduate, and I am, but there’s something that’s holding me back from feeling solely happiness. And I think it’s because leaving Cate, isn’t just about leaving high school. It’s about so much more. It’s about leaving behind the family that I’ve created out of things as elementary as late-night McDonald’s runs combined with events as complex as shared experiences of the process of grief and healing. It’s about leaving behind the amazing individuals that I have the honor of calling my teachers and dorm faculty, who time and time again show me the true meaning of service. It’s about leaving behind the constant friendship, laughter, solidarity, perseverance, and strength of the Class of 2022 that fills this Mesa. I truly don’t know if I’ll ever find something as dependable as this group of people again. I can’t comprehend what I’m going to do without them. And though the thought of leaving all this behind fills me with pain, it is because of all of these things that I am certain I have found a singular piece of my Great Perhaps. And it is with the lessons we have learned and the memories we’ve created while on this Mesa that we will go to find the rest of it. Thank you.
Anyone who works with David Wood knows what he expects of himself. So we do our best to offer a commensurate level of commitment, knowing that only in so doing can we honor all that David gives to us. It seems only fitting, as David concludes his remarkable service to Cate and his son Peter graduates with the Class of '22, that we hear one last time from a life changing teacher and standard setting community member. Told that Mr. Wood would speak at Baccalaureate this year, a member of the senior class smiled and said simply, “That’s awesome. I love Mr. Wood.” Don’t we all? Ladies and Gentleman, David Wood.
By David Wood, Japanese Instructor
David did not set out to become a teacher. He was a banker initially, posted to Japan. Yet in that place, he found a different calling, a captivation with the culture he found, and an eagerness to share it. His teaching is born of that very ambition – to share what he loves so that students might discover just what David did. That conviction has made David Wood one of our most impactful teachers. His colleagues at Cate are as eager to learn from his pedagogy as his students. Our professional days over the decades regularly include lessons or sample classes taught by David. We line up to see how he builds his curriculum, to appreciate the discipline and intentionality behind it. And we acknowledge, even as teaching is evolving and changing, that David Wood remains perpetually at the forefront of our evolving work. His most recent post has him guiding our Inclusive Teaching team, work that David is unmatched in. But the classroom is far from David’s only area of expertise. He is the embodiment of the triple threat, as capable as a coach and residential advisor as he is as a teacher. His booming voice can be heard across the Mesa as he exhorts his players on the soccer field and lauds their efforts.
Monument?BeWhatAddressBaccalaureateWillYour
S i monumentum requiris, circumspice.
BACCALAUREATE
34 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Luke continued, “give us the gift of knowledge and a part of themselves, and they guide, nurture, and protect the spirit of the school. We students then carry that knowledge, and these people, around for the rest of our lives.” Of our speaker tonight, Luke said, “I’m here in particular to thank Mr. Wood, as his teaching has had a profound effect on the course of my life and who I am.” Such an expression of gratitude speaks to the character of a teacher who has invested himself completely in his craft. To enter David Wood’s classroom is to leave the Mesa behind, to journey to a new place and culture, to understand that the study of language is an exercise in understanding and appreciating a people, a way of life, a set of customs, beliefs, and traditions.
By Benjamin D. Williams IV
Before addressing the youthful, yet mature Class of 2022, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings, wider family and friends, trustees, colleagues and community members, and all those who have supported and been supported by our seniors – that includes you all on the livestream –I’d like to make two acknowledgements.
Introduction Baccalaureateof Speaker
First, I’d like to recognize that, as a privileged white male, I have biases. I humbly ask for your forgiveness, in advance, for ways in which this presentation falls short for you as a result of these biases. Second, I’d like us to take a moment to recognize this sacred place. We are prone to nature’s elements as we honor our graduates under the broad evening sky, nestled between the shoulders and outstretched arms of Tiptipsup and the island of Michumas, sentinel of the waterway we now call the channel. We gather at the Class of 1981 Amphitheatre, on land that was once inhabited by the Chumash and Micqanaq’an peoples. Please join me in taking a moment to recognize those who came before we came and to be grateful for this sacred land we borrow.
At our Valediction event earlier this Spring, Luke Caffey '99, spoke about the spirit of this place. With language reminiscent of our founder’s, Luke opened his remarks, “As students, we come and go fairly quickly. The spirit, though, is defined by those who make their lives here and carry the torch from generation to generation: our “Theseteachers.”teachers,”
So here are my questions for you, the amazing Class of 2022: What will be your monument? How will you build it? Whom will it serve? “
“
I learned pretty early on that Japanese language students, at least those at Cate, were more interested in taking care of each other than in memorizing kanji.
other cultures and hold up mirrors to our own. But what can I point to, now, specifically, as my contribution, my impact, my added value? How can I honestly look under my own feet and know that my inward gaze has brought about meaningful change, both in others and in me?
“Look under your feet!” Or, literally, “under your feet, shine reflection.”
With hubris, perhaps not atypical of new teachers, I thought I had this world changer in my first years here.
The journey to value, then, begins with you. Perhaps you know this already – you have shared remarkable journeys of reflection in your Servons talks throughout the year. But I wonder if you have indulged yourselves to wonder about the power, individual and collective, that you have yet to realize. The power to be, as you have likely heard, the architects of your learning, and the power to shape the communities you will serve. The power to impact the world is…under your feet.
36 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Curiosity and compassion impelled them to respond appropriately when a classmate sneezed. “God bless you” or “Gesundheit” was not permitted. However, since the Japanese only apologize when they themselves sneeze and are silent when others do, I suggested that students use an expression, お大事に (take care of yourself). This response to sneezing caught on quickly with the students, not because I required it of them, but because they cared about each other. I soon became convinced that within a decade my disciples would spread the Gospel of Sneeze, and all of Japan would adopt this simple expression. Well, 30 years later, I am disheartened to report that my visions of grandiose, measurable impact on the world may have been premature. I’m not sure even my former students remember this phrase, let alone 130 million Japanese.
A little over a month ago I had another interaction with a student about a different bodily function – no, Rachel and Kalia, not that one. As I was sitting at Booth on a Sunday morning, a junior walked by. I noticed he had the hiccups. I asked him if he would like me to cure him. He looked at me, not knowing quite what to say. A “yes” might bring an almost volcanic response; a “no” would mean continuing to suffer. He chose, “yes.” I said, “Are you sure?” Trapped. “Uh, sure,” he confirmed. Knowing that this young man was an avid birder, I asked him, “What was the first bird name you learned?” He paused for a moment, looked a bit upward, briefly activating those long-term memory pathways, and responded, “I don’t remember.” I waited a few seconds and then let him know that he had cured himself. You see, even memory failure has its uses sometimes. It is curious the things we remember, and perhaps even curiouser the lessons we remember, but don’t apply to our own lives. Take this one: my mother (hi, mom) had many sayings that she hoped my siblings and I would remember. Sayings like, “The world will not beat a path to your doorstep” and “Speak highly of yourself and no one will believe you; speak poorly of yourself and everyone will believe you.” And then there was the old favorite, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Sure I remember it, but I don’t think there is a student in all my time here who would suggest that I exercised this one effectively, if at all. Just ask Mr. Person what he remembers about his times as a resident of High House. Apparently, vinegar all the way! So, if memory is so fickle, how do we make this time sacred? What message, what teaching, what perspective, what truth can we share that will be, literally, world-changing? I know! With fewer than 24 hours remaining in your journey as a Cate student, I have one final assignment for you. Vinegar, right? Perhaps Mr. Griffin will be pleased to learn that this assignment will come in the form of questions. Before the assignment, though, let’s start with a bit of Lector,exploration.simonumentum requiris, Therecircumspice.aremany sacred places in this world. One such place is St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. In 1666, less than two decades after the first known usage of the term baccalaureate, the Great Fire of London raged for two days, gutting what was then the heart of the city, including St. Paul’s Cathedral. Within six days of the fire, mathematician, scientist, and budding BACCALAUREATE
This moment, this space in time, is also sacred. Perhaps you are wondering if my musings are going to go the Ben-Meyerfive, or if these meanderings will escort the stars out of hiding and give you the opportunity to delay, for just a bit longer, our inevitable farewell – “15 more minutes”, right? It will be a test case, of sorts, for our inquiry question: How do you experience time? Even as the benches harden, and excitement for tomorrow pecks at your attention tonight, perhaps Charlotte Weis’ Servons advice to “accept each moment” will bring you back to this place and time – this sacred space. Our shared responsibility – shared because there is no speaker without an audience – is to make the most of this opportunity, together. How do we, as Mr. Collins implored in a talk a while back, deliver value to this moment? I will confess that I have no original wisdom for you in this regard. I will ask questions but provide few, if any, answers. My hope is to offer you some items for the suitcase that is your conscience – take them with you, wear them, store them, or give them away. What you do with these items is, of course, entirely up to you. About 700 years ago a disciple of Zen Buddhism inquired of the sage, Sanko Kokushi, about the essence of Zen. Sanko responded with, “脚下照顧” ( きゃっかしょうこ／kyakka shouko)
I will admit that I have long held this belief for me. Sure, teaching Japanese might somehow open windows into
37
architect, Christopher Wren, submitted a plan to rebuild central London. Though the plan was initially rejected, Wren persisted. He was finally commissioned to build the cathedral and, eventually, 50 more churches over the ensuing decades. Upon his death, Wren was entombed in St. Paul’s Cathedral, where his son placed a simple plaque. Inscribed on the plaque was the Latin sentence, “Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice.”
questions for you, the amazing Class of 2022: What will be your monument? How will you build it? Whom will it serve? Will it be like St. Paul’s Cathedral and the transformation of London? Or will it be more like the simple model of wabisabi that is the Silver Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan? This latter structure was originally a retirement villa of the 15th-century shogun, Yoshimasa Ashikaga – see where I’m going with this? It turns out that this samurai was quite a failure as a shogun –lousy general, ineffective administrator, poor husband, and disloyal father. However, he was hugely successful in cultivating and promulgating what we now consider to be traditional Japanese arts: tea ceremony, noh drama, garden design, architecture, poetry, flower arranging, and sumi-e. Though his successful grandfather covered his villa in gold leaf, Yoshimasa’s is a plain structure in the midst of a simple, yet captivating garden. His was a monument to the arts. Or will your monument be more similar to some that are of significance to those in our circle? Will it be like Mama Z’s favorite, the Eiffel Tower? This monument of architectural genius that was built to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution was initially hated by Parisians. But it was left standing after the 1889 World Fair because it was such a great radio antenna. Now it is a beacon of solidarity, a monument to engineering, and a tower unlike any other. Or will your monument be more a clarion call than a beacon, like the statuette of El Tuturutu at the top of a fountain in the main square of the town of Arequipa, Peru? El Tuturutu, the subject of Señor Urizar’s favorite monument, represents one of the earliest syncretisms adopted by the Spaniards and accepted by the native populations in Peru. Perhaps the most famous of the Incan emissaries, El Tuturutu was chosen by the emperor and served in his inner circle. He went ahead of the royal entourage, blowing his seashell horn, a pututo, to announce the arrival of the emperor. The conquering Spanish chose to avoid conflict with the indigenous population and, rather than erase the legend of Tuturutu, embraced it, adopted it into Spanish culture, and placed a small statue of Tuturutu atop the fountain over 450 years ago. Or will your monument be a daily reminder of family and its position in the arc of history? Señora Causera grew up in Paterna, a town fifteen minutes from
“Reader, if you seek a monument, look around.” The suggestion was that a statue of Wren was not needed to appreciate all of his contributions, simply look around at the fifty-plus churches and the transformation of London for his Somonument.herearemy
Valencia, Spain, where there is a tower that is part of a belt system designed and constructed in the 12th Century, during the Arab Age, to protect the kingdom of Valencia. One of the unique characteristics of this monument is the network of surrounding caves, or earthen houses, that were excavated in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At one point they numbered nearly five hundred and made up the heart of the town.
Sra. Cuasera’s grandparents lived in one of these naturally climate-controlled dwellings. Her daily trips to the nearby library in middle school, high school and college provided regular reminders of her place in history and connection to family, as much then, as her memory of it does Speakingnow.of family, this can be a monument, too. There is a woman in the audience (probably more than one, actually!) who has devoted her life to family. Family dinners, stories of ancestors, her own and that of her husband, making clothes, mending clothes, cleaning, cooking, laundry, interior decoration, children’s education – you name it she did it, for family. Then, when an opportunity arose,
The Wood family following the Baccalaureate address.
So, now that I’ve shared some monuments, here again is my question for you, on the eve of your next beginning: What will be your Asmonument?youstart to ponder this question, consider what a monument is. MerriamWebster defines it as, “a lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great.” A lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great. My “lasting evidence” wasn’t going to be a physical structure, but rather the Japanese language equivalent of “Bless you” and the cultural shifts that phrase might ignite. Well, we know how that “monument” turned out! But like Yoshimasa Ashigaka, I have another chance. Tonight, though, is not about me, it is about you, the kind Class of 2022.
For Elana Stone, their wedding ring is a daily reminder of the way they and Amy have committed to each other. Growing up, Elana didn’t believe in marriage and never thought of it as an institution they would, or even be allowed to, enter. Moreover, after (finally) being permitted to marry, they expected it to be a formality, a legal recognition of a relationship and a guarantee of their place and rights. What Elana hadn’t realized was how meaningful it would be to share with family, friends, and community a commitment to each other. Their simple band, then, is a physical monument to an idea of commitment – a commitment between two people as well as a covenant of and with a community to recognize, support, and nurture that commitment to building lives, together.
BACCALAUREATE
she decided to indulge herself a little with a side hobby. She made decorated hair combs and went door to door throughout the city to sell them. One day she went into a boutique to sell these combs, these works of art for the hair.
So here are some more items for your conscience suitcase.
Long story less long, they bought her combs and eventually engaged her to make artful accessories for semi-annual fashion shows – the Paris runway. Some of her pieces are now in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. But if you ask her what her monument is, I think she would say, family. If you like, you can ask her, though you might have to plow through her embarrassment. She’s Peter’s grandmother, and she’s sitting right over Celebrationthere.and transmission of heritage could also be a monument. Cristina Link immigrated to the United States from Argentina when she was three years old, learned to navigate this new world of language, culture, and academia, and eventually excelled in high school. After graduating university, she went to work at Jet Propulsion Laboratory – yes a rocket scientist. A yearning to teach, combined with a gravitational pull to her cultural roots led away from the final frontier to something a bit more earthly – a position teaching Spanish at Cate. Here she found a partner in cultural exploration and married him. Cristina gave up her teaching position and career once again, but this time to focus on their two children. It was an unwavering commitment to her roots, infused with a determination to connect them to the immigrant experience that provided the bedrock for their cultural and ethical conscience. It is perhaps no wonder to her, though a source of deep gratitude in her husband, that their daughter writes about making space for women’s testimony, and all of their son’s heroes are Andnon-white.forsome, a monument represents an idea, a recognition, and a commitment.
First, si monumentum requiris, circumspice. If you seek a monument, look around. Yes, in this sacred place, in this sacred moment go ahead, look around. And you folks on the livestream, I haven’t forgotten you. You look around, too! I’ll wait. What do you notice? When I look around at the channel and Michumas beyond, or, the range of Tiptipsup, sometimes glowing pink, sometimes capped in snow, or at the sunrises and sunsets, I think, of course,
38 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Which brings me to my second hint or prompt: “Look under your feet!” You, the magnificent Class of 2022, have been here, connected with each other and with us, working your magic to restore and reinvigorate, to critique and console, to laugh and cry, to peer and probe, to call and respond, to throw yourselves in and tire yourselves out. But soon, you will leave on individual journeys. You will walk your respective paths on our own feet. Yes, collaboration and cooperation will be important. But you may only realize the full measure of potential that you and your community bring to your endeavor, your monument, as you come to know, and fully appreciate, yourself.
脚下照顧 Finally, if you, the outstanding Class of 2022, have been caught up in reflecting on your time, losing yourself in some nostalgia, and haven’t heard or, gasp, don’t remember a word of this address, know that you can always come back, look above the west doorway to School House at the inscription, which reads, “This school was founded in 1910 by Curtis Wolsey Cate. Si monumentum requiris, circumspice.” And if that doesn’t jog your memory of my question, at least you’ll have a cure for the hiccups.
39 that our natural world is a monument. And, as I stand before you and with you, and look around, I see that you are a monument too.
and caring, both in a jar and in your daily interactions. Not because you wanted a teacher to let their class out ten minutes early, but because you are genuinely kind. Honey, not vinegar.
Oh, and one more thing. If it is wisdom you seek tonight, I encourage you to head to the chapel and collect a copy of one of my favorite books. It is about a simple person who takes up a lifechanging quest. I hope that it will inspire you to wonder, embolden you to dream, and remind you of the value of human Andconnection.whenyou get to the chapel, consider reading the quote on the wall facing the front doors. It is from Tennyson’s poem, In Memoriam A.H.H: “And year by year memory fades from all the circle of the hills.” Which brings me to one last request; I humbly ask that you do not clap at the imminent conclusion of this address. Rather, I would prefer us to remain for a moment in stillness, once again taking in this sacred place and letting any echoes of my thoughts and your thoughts settle. Or, as Tennyson suggests, allow them to fade from all the circle of the hills. Thank you and good night.
You, the unbelievable Class of 2022, are a monument to Cate School. You, collectively, are a lasting evidence, reminder, and example of something notable and great. You brought energy to the beginning of the year; energy that this year’s freshman class will always remember, and pass on to their freshmen. This did not happen by coincidence; it happened because you worked at it. As Julianna shared, “[you] came back determined to enjoy the time together and to introduce the rest of Cate to the happiness [you] once found in attending school here.”
You dedicated sustained spirit and passion to the Mesa and our community. From Blue Crew and the raw, awesome, POWER of EVO, Guilty Gear and the Fighting Game community to Dorm cheers, like “High…” and … (What, no one from Cook House West?) Enough said. You have been a bridge for treasured traditions. Formal dinner, prefect-led kitchen crew, Spring Fling, and others. And new ones, too. Your assembly games, whether faculty musical chairs, stack-thecups, whipped cream eating, or a draw-Mr.-Williams competition brought fun and laughter to our mornings.
You demonstrated honesty, humor, and vulnerability in your Servons Talks. We needed healthy doses of each of those.
So, if all the energy, commitment, scholarship, companionship, and service to and for this community is your monument for the souls of those who remain and follow in the years to come, perhaps I should rephrase my initial questions. Maybe I should ask, not what your monument will be, but rather what your next monument will be? How will you build it? Whom will it serve?
And you built strengths on top of strengths. You helped bring a CIF Championship to the Mesa, demonstrating that hard work, commitment, and a team ethos over the long term is proof of what the growth mindset can do. You brought questions, too. Inquiry Day was evidence that curiosity, knowledge, compassion, communication and determination are alive and healthy at Cate. Entranced by Kalia’s Romeo and Juliet, finding meaning and relevance in my fellow volcanoes, wondering if tonight’s story will endure the abstraction process proposed by Naruepan, dazzled by Diamond shining light on my biases and privilege – a cultural こもれび – and thankful that it is, really, okay to be bored, my only regret is that I could not attend more of these wisdom sessions.
You have been a voice for new perspectives and awareness, as well as a force for change. Bringing Black Joy and Rice Stories to center stage complemented behind-the-scenes work on active, honest, and bias-challenging Youconversations.broughtkindness
Perhaps most importantly, you brought yourselves to this sacred Mesa, each and every day with the energy and dedication already noted. You showed up. Big time.
Thomas recognized the importance of finding strength in moments of weakness, and you did that too. You exhibited patience with restrictions and testing, even as nearly every fiber of your being yearned to just let loose. Well, you can do that now – go ahead, let loose, but don’t let go!!
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.
The Class of 2022
40 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
WILLEM BOUMA Carnegie Mellon University
CLASS OF 2022
When June was selected to serve as a prefect in '25 House, a faculty member wrote, “There is no one better than June to shepherd our youngest students into the Cate community and life away from home.” He is patient. He is kind. And his contemplative nature makes any interaction with June informative and affirming. “He is interested in the mysteries of life,” said his advisor, which is why he relishes our most challenging courses and the most complicated questions. June wants to think about the difficult issues we all face. And when he is done with such intellectual endeavor, he’ll break out his guitar, tune in to a little K-Pop, or take some swings in the batting cage. Expression, especially in song, seems to bring out June’s appreciation of the nuances of being human, of emotions and feelings, of hope, for this young man studies the hard questions because he may well be able to answer them in due course. And like the underclassmen in his dorm this year, all will be better for June’s wisdom.
JUNE HAN BAE University of Southern California
DANIEL BOATENG University of Notre Dame Daniel’s life has been an odyssey already, full of change and challenge, journeys to new places and countries, and the slow steady realization of a remarkable dream. He leaves us to play Division I soccer next year, an intention that formed in Daniel’s mind when he was a child – an intention that took him away from his family and the familiar. But Daniel knows what it takes to achieve. His life is about principle and commitment, faith and its expression. At Cate he is a leader because his integrity is unimpeachable, his determination always to do the right thing unshakeable, and his vision for how we treat each other profoundly reassuring. On the pitch, even amongst such talented teammates, virtually every play goes through Daniel. He is the pathway we take toward success, in fact, even off the field. Said he recently, “Life is a learning process, and we need to make sure we leave the world a better place.” He has surely done so at Cate.
Daanish’s film teacher shared that Daanish inserts small creative techniques into his productions as a sort of fingerprint or signature, so that we understand whose voice we are hearing or whose lens we are looking through. Self-described as “outspoken, honest, independent and smart,” Daanish is actually far more than that. Said his English teacher last year, after acknowledging Daanish’s love of words and stories, “He can get swept away in his own language.” He is undaunted by the complexity of the human condition. He loves it, in fact, with the same conviction that distinguishes his many friendships, all of them the logical byproduct of Daanish’s great fascination with people and ideas and his profound capacity for empathy. Believing as Daanish does is not easy. It can lead to disappointment on occasion, for the world is rarely what we want it to be. But we can make it better, render it better, tell the stories of its people. That‘s what Daanish will do.
In an assignment for one of his teachers this spring, Will steered clear of what he called “the easy path,” choosing instead to focus on “the less conspicuous connections” that really compel him. Will much prefers that which is difficult to attain, the accomplishments or the insights that he has to work for, dig deep into the text to find, spend hours and hours preparing for. His advisor called Will, “the type of young person you can build a classroom dynamic upon.” But even that generous statement may be too limiting. We have built teams around Will Bouma, teams whose connections Will perpetually fortifies, teams who learn what commitment looks like by watching Will. One coach even called him “a granite mountain:” solid and foundational. But he is far from a block of stone. His energetic participation in class is evidence of a highly active and capable mind, just as his willingness to forego the simple path in favor of the more elusive higher truths speaks to a level of aspiration that will carry Will far beyond the collegiate gridiron to success, insight, and understanding in whatever field he chooses.
42 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
DAANISH AHMAD New York University
43 ANDREW BUSSE Emory University
AIDAN CARLANDER Tulane University
Aidan told the story, earlier this year, of his bumpy beginning at Cate. “Fall into this place,” he was told by his advisor, “and we will catch you.” A truly curious student with an affection for history and an encyclopedic knowledge of sports – especially baseball – Aidan did what his advisor suggested. And to borrow from Robert Frost, “that has made all the difference.” A deep thinker by nature, Aidan has parlayed his interest in the past to the study of human behavior. He is a Teaching Assistant this year as a result, and a thoughtful mentor to all who seek direction and understanding. And he has become a mainstay of our baseball program, ubiquitous on campus with his backpack holding his bats, gloves, and other gear, always at work on the game he loves. It is the combination of that kind of commitment and a truly genuine desire to grow, improve, and learn that have made Aidan remarkable at Cate. We never had to catch him. He lifted himself up from the start, and he’s still rising.
FRANCESCA CASTELLARIN Barnard College
JULIETTE CALDERON WITH HONORS University of Virginia A letter about Juliette began with all the things she loves: languages, people, problems to solve, books to read, anything she can organize, and every form of service. This relentlessly positive, ever engaging, always thoughtful young leader comes as close as anyone to the personification of Servons. That is conspicuous in her leadership of our Public Service Program and her resolve to maintain connection with the communities we support even amidst the constraints of the pandemic. It’s in her own attendance at every service related event since her freshman year. And it’s in the unselfish optimistic spirit that distinguishes her every gesture and decision. Juliette has an uncanny knack for living every minute to the fullest. If you wonder what that looks like, just watch this Spring’s Musical, Mamma Mia, in which Juliette is one of the leads. It is almost as though Juliette goes through life to the tune of an ABBA soundtrack, bringing hope, joy, and distinctive style to every interaction.
A faculty member trying to capture the generous, responsible, kind-hearted citizenship of Francesca Castellarin said simply, “Francesca believes that small acts can make a difference.” It is how she lives her life, one thoughtful moment after another, always in service of some larger purpose or interest. That is obvious in her studies, where Francesca’s diligence and curiosity drive her insightful mind. Teachers universally laud her contributions in class and her unflagging interest to build her own level of understanding. They also note that Francesca’s scholarship follows from an aspiration, in one teacher’s words, “to make the world a more equitable and just place.” She is already taking steps in that direction. One of our most loyal participants in the Los Niños program and the Head of our Mixed Student Union on campus, Francesca is a believer in and supporter of the richness of human identities. An athlete, too, a vocalist, a ceramicist, and the consummate community member, Francesca will surely live up to her world-minded aspirations.
Andrew has worked for and honed, and its expression culminated in his Servons speech this fall when he encouraged his peers to forget about missteps (everybody else has, he noted), be kind and forgiving, and to hold fast to the present moment which is always the most important one. A talented student, Andrew has come to his wisdom honestly. He has worked hard in every area of endeavor, supplemented his studies in the summertime, and, as he also noted in his speech, put pressure on himself to reach excellence. Thankfully, he has also added to the flavor of this place by establishing the Cooking Club, serving as Treasurer of the Student Senate, and becoming a Teaching Assistant, enriching all of our present moments in myriad ways.
Andrew Busse has built a wonderfully positive, often light-hearted, pleasantly irreverent view of the world and our place in it. Blessed with a subtle yet disarming sense of humor he can invigorate any gathering and lighten any mood. That perspective is something
CHIDERA CHUKWUMERIJE
ANNA DISORBO Skidmore College
Yale University
SOPHIE CONVISER Hamilton College
Sophie likes to climb. Literally. She spends whatever time is available to her on the rock or on the climbing wall honing her skills, testing new routes, finding a way to the top. Other climbers call her skills prodigious. Sophie might use other words. She is a master of understatement and self-deprecation. Asked to reflect on her ninth grade year, Sophie said, “Nothing transformative happened. I just slowly figured stuff out.” There is nothing Sophie can’t figure out. Blessed with a remarkable mind and an unhurried contemplative approach to scholarship, Sophie’s momentum as a student is as sure as her balance on the rock. Observed another of her teachers, “Good mathematicians think fast and great mathematicians think slowly.” “Sophie,” the teacher said, “is a fabulous math student.” Whatever Sophie does – in small acts of community building, in her leadership of the Yearbook, in her generous friendship – Sophie reveals the peaceful energy that allows her to scale the heights, on the rock and off.
44 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Chidera became one of our Head Prefects this year, selected by her peers, perhaps in part because it is so easy to trust in Chidera’s leadership. She is authentic always, gracious and humble, ambitious, and endearingly nostalgic. As one of her classmates noted earlier this spring, Chidera had a habit of playing the most depressing Adele album every morning so they could have a good cry about leaving Cate before going to class. By the time she gets to class, though, the emotions are put to the side and Chidera is all business. A truly insightful and talented student, she has pushed herself in every area of endeavor to be exceptional. And she balances her academic firepower with unprecedented skills as an athlete. Our gym was filled often this fall with cheering students to watch the volleyball team that Chidera led, and the decibel level increased dramatically every time Chidera rose alarmingly high to put down another set. Reliably extraordinary, Chidera affirms with every generous act our faith in her. And we’ll be the ones crying when she leaves.
YEJIN (JINNY) CHUNG WITH HIGHEST HONORS University of Pennsylvania We have become accustomed to seeing Jinny out in front. She’s there with No Strings Attached, our acapella group, leading the ensemble that she helped to create several years ago. She’s there on stage in virtually every dance number, her precision, energy, and creative unparalleledmesmerizing.expressionAtrulyartist,Jinny seems to have mastered every form of expression, even writing, serving as the El Batidor Co-Editor in Chief. A Head tour guide, a Teaching Assistant, and a truly insightful scholar, Jinny applies the same generous resolve and careful discipline to everything she undertakes. One of her teachers, in deference to the effort Jinny puts in to learn and grow and thrive, quoted Horace, “Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work.” And so Jinny earns each moment, each accolade, each achievement, demonstrating the art of learning, the art of being and the art of becoming.
CLASS OF 2022
Anna DiSorbo is at her best when the challenges are the most profound or the work most difficult. Feisty and fiercely independent, yet totally unflappable when the stresses are greatest, Anna has made a habit of accomplishing the unprecedented. We see it nearly every time she steps onto a cross-country course. Anna isn’t just fast over great distances, she glides over a course, the smoothness of her gait belying the effort required to make momentum look easy. Either the fastest or among them in virtually every race, Anna competes relentlessly. It’s no different in the pool, where the longest races always find Anna lengths ahead of would-be competitors. Her work in the classroom or in the digital arts lab where she is an award winning creator is no less disciplined or impressive. Anna is thoughtful, patient, and facile in all areas of study. And because she prepares so purposefully and so intentionally, we tend to see Anna perpetually at her best. And Anna’s best is inspiring, indeed.
LUCKY DRUCKER WITH HIGH HONORS Dartmouth College Lucky is an aerialist, a dancer whose choreography is performed aloft hanging from long silk ropes and twirling rings. It is a discipline that requires strength, agility, grace, courage, and artistry. Her performances are breathtaking, but living and learning with Lucky is just as invigorating as watching her art. The smile is the first thing you notice. Lucky is never without it, though she may well admit that it is often fueled by caffeine.
When Olivia spoke to our community earlier this year in her Servons speech, she focused on family. It’s what matters to her most – those connections to people we love and people who love us. Olivia lives her life building family. Every gesture is an attempt at connection, every commitment is a way to help, every kind moment is something to cherish. She became a Teaching Assistant this year because she knew she could be a resource to those trying to find their way through Cate. And so the family grows. An accomplished athlete and a particularly talented soccer player, Olivia was the MVP of the varsity team this year, serving as the center back and assuring her teammates they were safe to do their jobs because Olivia would always do hers. Such commitment to teammates is rare and it inspires the very affection you’d expect. Her team is also her family. Said one teacher, “Olivia makes working hard while having fun easier for everyone.” And another pointed out, “Olivia constantly took on challenges and turned them into triumphs.” It is quite a family she has made here.
45
JOHN ENDRES Davidson College John Endres never lets anybody down. He is for us all exactly what we need him to be. When we are unhappy, he is the jester who brings us back up. When we are alone, he is the one who looks for us to bring us into the fold. When we are bored, he shows up … and just starts talking. He can go on and on, more often than not sharing self-deprecating stories of his own various misadventures. And when we need a friend, someone to back us or hold antagonists at bay, John is our forever champion, the one who will see that we are safe and cared for. He is one of our most conspicuous leaders at Cate for all of these reasons and a whole bunch more. A Head Prefect, a varsity athlete, a self-identified kid from South Dakota who realized at some point there was a bigger world out there. Magnanimous as he is with his support, John loves a few things above all – sports, his friends, his advisor, and the chance to be with people. He identifies his dream job as becoming a senator, but none of us doubt John will go far beyond that office. Besides, we all want to be able to vote for him.
In her Servons speech a few weeks ago, Julianna shared the changing emotions, the occasionally daunting worries, and the moments she cherishes in a Cate journey that has been predictably unpredictable. Her talk captured Julianna’s remarkable poise, her vulnerability, and her capacity for gratitude. One of our most energetic and able students, the one a faculty member acknowledged this fall is most likely to put thoughts and ideas into action, Julianna’s genius lies in her inclination to assess herself and the world around her honestly and genuinely. She is a scholar who leads with her heart, appropriately focusing this community on what we can do for others. Service is her nature, and she gives her time so that others’ lives are supported and enriched. Pajama fundraisers for childhood cancer sufferers, tutoring for those in need, serving as a Teaching Assistant and Head Tour Guide, leading our Active Minds support group, even coaching tennis; Julianna gives whatever it takes. And all lives are made better for her part in them.
University of Notre Dame
JULIANNA FORRY WITH HONORS
OLIVIA DORION Bates College
Lucky loves a good cup of coffee in the morning and a few more through the day. It propels her incredibly positive energy, her profound curiosity, and her desire to make the most out of each and every day. Her contributions to this community range from the broad titled stuff – she is a prefect and a leader of Round Square – to small kindnesses like rescuing a trapped starling or befriending a lonely underclassman. There is a reason, no doubt, that Lesley goes by Lucky. She is a four-leafed clover to every community she joins, the bit of good fortune that assures much more good lies ahead.
SEAN HARBISON San Diego Community College
ELISE GUERRAND-HERMÈS
WITH HONORS
DAWSON FUSS University of Miami Dawson knows what he loves, and he has made himself great at it. A performer and musician, a vocalist and songwriter, a dancer and an artist, Dawson has been relentless in building his repertoire and honing his craft. One faculty member called him our own Lady Gaga, for he has the range and insight that seems to distinguish truly great music makers. If there is a song playing over the Booth sound system, in all likelihood, it is one of Dawson’s. Such productivity as a performer is hard from Cate. Our own program is relentless and demanding. But Dawson has found a way to answer every responsibility, even composing a song about virtual learning in the Spring of 2020 when we were all separate from each other. As one teacher noted, Dawson seems to be following the great advice of Pablo Picasso, “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” And so we have watched as Dawson has built his foundation, and we intend to stay tuned as he shows the world just what this artist can do.
46 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
CLASS OF 2022
How do we best measure growth? In Sean’s case we could go with height, because he was easily a foot shorter than he is now when he arrived on the Mesa. Clearly the food at Cate is nutritious. But the scale change we have seen in Sean transcends his frame. He is a thinker, a listener, and a learner. Rarely the first to offer thoughts in a class discussion, Sean bides his time and gives his eager mind opportunity to work. As one teacher noted, he’ll be the last one to speak, usually offering something his peers haven’t thought of. They have learned to listen closely when Sean has something to say. One faculty member called Sean, “wise and philosophical, especially for someone so young.” Thankfully, all that wisdom hasn’t reduced Sean’s capacity for fun. He is a great friend to many who gravitate to his sense of humor, his modesty, and his sincerity. We lost Sean for a year during the pandemic, but we could not be more pleased that he returned to us to finish as a senior and bring to a distinctive end a journey that has been full of the very best and most meaningful learning.
DANIIL GARBUZOV WITH HIGH HONORS University of Chicago I first came to know Daniil in the spring of his first year at Cate, when he stopped by my office to ask me to sign a document giving him access to college classes during the summer. Each year since I have enjoyed that ritual, and the opportunity to learn what Daniil chooses to study each summer. He is an intellectual through and through, deeply compelled by complexity and inquiry. One of his teachers referred to his scholarship recently as “eye-popping.” But Daniil holds his wisdom humbly, engages conversation energetically, and is as happy to learn the truth from someone else as to express his own. Gracious and inquisitive, he is the student every other student and every teacher wants to be in class with. He has even tried his hand at teaching as a TA, has become a mainstay in our Outdoor program, and has learned Spanish, Russian, and is working on his Italian. Daniel wastes no time when it comes to building fluency and understanding, allowing him to find solutions regardless of the language of discourse.
Harvard University Elise announced herself to the Cate community as a freshman on the varsity volleyball team. A highly skilled and remarkably capable hitter –even at that age – Elise became a mainstay of our team almost immediately. In that same year she would earn similarly powerful distinction as a writer and a scholar, winning the Humanities Award and captivating teachers and classmates alike with the scale of her intellect and the grace of her language. Since that time, Elise has stayed the course, using her powerful mind to elevate our intellectual discourse and her powerful arm to deliver success for our volleyball program. She has also invested her time outside this Mesa, starting a tutoring program for kids in Carpinteria, and encouraging her friends to join her in offering their support to students in need of guidance. A faculty member speaking of Elise’s many contributions to her communities already acknowledged our “good fortune” that we are a part of this unfolding story, so full of scholarship given as service and accomplishment measured in lives improved and educations fulfilled.
Diamonds they say are so rare because they are formed under the most extraordinary conditions. What emerges ultimately is a truly unprecedented jewel. That is the case with our Diamond as well.
She literally immerses herself in such things here at Cate, so energetically, in fact, that her Advanced French teacher noted last year, “Charlotte’s natural talents and propensity when it comes to creative writing and the reading of literature are remarkable.” Charlotte is also one of our most conspicuous and accomplished vocalists, singing in our elite choir and in our acapella group. If there is a musical to be staged, Charlotte will earn a key role. If there is some service to be offered the community, Charlotte will step in, as she did this past year leading our afternoon tutoring program. And when Charlotte gets a moment to herself she straps on her roller blades and heads out on a journey. Charlotte He with wheels on her feet – it’s a fitting metaphor given the momentum Charlotte has built at Cate and all she is likely to accomplish in the future.
WITH
AMINAH HILL
Charlotte has kept all of the notes and letters sent to her over the years. It is a record of sorts, she admits, of a remarkable journey from childhood and growing up in China to her high school years here in California. Charlotte knows something about great stories and amazing journeys.
Santa Barbara City College
MINGHAO
Aminah arrived on campus as a tennis prodigy. Even as a freshman, the velocity of her groundstrokes and her ever aggressive style put opponents on their heels in a hurry. The only problem is that Aminah works so hard on her game that her own body sometimes struggles to keep up. A few injuries, more than any opponent, have set her back on occasion. But Aminah takes such challenges in stride, focusing her considerable aptitudes elsewhere. She has become a diligent and insightful student at Cate, never afraid of the work required to build her own skills and competence. There is something very personal in her scholarship – like in her study of Japanese – that reflects Aminah’s ability to forge and further relationships. Her gracious manner and inviting disposition certainly make Aminah the perfect companion and a reliable friend. That steely-eyed look on the tennis court gives way in other pursuits to a cordial smile or an outright yell as a leader of our Blue Crew. Inspiring the very best spirit is what Aminah does best, whether it is through her own prowess or in her celebration of everyone else.
(CHARLOTTE)
HONORSHIGH
47
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Diamond is as rare and as full of shining facets as her name suggests. In a community teeming with wise people, Diamond still stands out, her distinctness measured not simply in wisdom or insight but in patience, perspective, balance. Diamond is perpetually ready, it seems, for any challenge, any opportunity, any moment of possibility that might reveal some new truth or understanding. As agile as she is intellectually and otherwise, Diamond is far from the passive beneficiary of all that comes her way. Quite the opposite. She engages her education deliberately and with robust energy. As a junior, for instance, in addition to a full complement of academic courses, Diamond also took ceramics, jazz band, orchestra, and music ensemble. She is a prefect in Long House, a Tour Guide, a technical theater maestro, and a prolific baker. Everything Diamond does is strangely unselfish, generously kind, and unswervingly principled.
HE Pomona College
There are patterns in the language faculty and friends use to capture Lukas. He is “fiercely independent and intrinsically artistic.” “He’s quiet, unassuming, and smart.” He is self-aware and adaptable, open-minded and respectful. Lukas’ advisor suggested that “nothing quite fills Lukas’ soul like capturing the perfect image with his Nikon FM.” Yet his soccer coach says the same of Lukas’ seeming fulfillment as a competitor on the pitch. Whatever Lukas does, be it artistic, athletic, or academic, he derives a certain joy from the experience. Not effusive over the top kind of stuff. That’s not Lukas. It’s more subtle, an easy smile or an uptick in energy, and focus. When Lukas is into something, he’s all in. Which is why he has grown so markedly at Cate, revealed impressive aptitudes and acquired others, shown just what he is capable of. The fact that Lukas has his own way of doing things has prompted a few to call him offbeat, but that’s probably because they can’t hear the rhythms in the world that Lukas does, the ones he is so in sync with and make him such a memorable and meaningful young man.
LUKAS HENDRIKS
Tufts University
DIAMOND HEAD WITH HONORS
After her second visit day, Ali’s mother said to us and to Ali, this is a magical place, but I can’t send my child across the country for high school. We thought that was it. But Ali is persuasive and nothing – even parents – come between her and the future she imagines for herself. Friends and faculty alike alternate in describing Ali with words like fun and friendly, fierce and as one put it “full of bad-assery.” It was intended as a compliment. Ali just gives her whole self to everything she does, and she expects everybody else to do the same. That’s as conspicuous in a classroom, where Ali’s curiosity often drives the dialogue, to the athletic field where Ali is perpetually undaunted, thriving in the competition, and always exhorting her teammates, to the outdoors where she is fond of scaling vertical rock walls or descending single track trails on a mountain bike. Said a faculty member recently, “Ali arrived at Cate with the ability to interact authentically with people and to center their experiences around shared goals.” Four years later we are all better for Ali’s presence, her friendship, and her fire.
GINGER HUNTER University of Southern California Gingy left her home in New York City with particular goals: commitments she made to herself to build fluency in her written expression, to test herself intellectually and creatively, to join teams and find a place for herself in the arts. Generally reserved and economical with her language, Gingy is nevertheless the master of a remarkable mind, one that is perpetually taking in all that surrounds her and propelling her learning and growth. She has become a leader at Cate because of her learning disposition, guiding our Black Student Union, our Creative Writing Club, and our technical theater program. If there is something important happening on stage, Gingy is always behind it. If there is a necessary conversation to be had, Gingy will advance it. Equal parts discipline and artist, Gingy just brings a unique sensibility to her efforts and a profound optimism that she can accomplish all that she puts her mind to. Such spirit brought her here and saw her through marvelously. She’ll do the same wherever she travels in the years ahead.
CLASS OF 2022
MATTHEW HOLMES Bates College
Asked recently about studying math at Cate, Ella said, “I enjoy the tricky problems with no obvious solution right away, because they are so satisfying when I figure them out,” for Ella never doubts that she will find the solution. This understated confidence permeates everything Ella does at Cate, reveals her generous resolve to learn new things, and explains why Ella is unlikely to choose any single area of academic endeavor to focus on. She likes them all. An eager reader, Ella has also become a very adept writer, capable of producing work that one of her English teachers noted is “rich in sensory detail.” Selfdeprecating and humble, Ella is rarely first to assert an opinion or perspective in class. But she can be the last, often capturing the complexity others were reaching for in a single succinct statement. As one teacher noted, Ella is at her best when the challenges are greatest and the volume of work is most acute, a heartening virtue and one that will serve Ella well in every phase of her life.
48 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
ELLA JONES Tulane University
A colleague noted in a letter earlier this year, when other little children his age were busily working their way through Curious George, Matty was committing to memory The Baseball Encyclopedia. It’s still in there, and every subsequent edition. But Matty is far from just a lover of sports and statistics. He lives the games he loves and plays everything at an exceptionally high level. Said one coach, “Having Matty on the field is like having another coach out there.” Equally impressive, the very commitment and work ethic that has made Matty such a force in athletics has also propelled him as a student. That early background in statistics and batting averages has translated into impressive quantitative competence, but he is just as adept in the humanities, in the study of human motivation and history, and in the subtleties and nuances of human experience. Such insight has led Matty to become a mentor to younger students at Cate and reveals his generous tendency to apply what he learns to the way he plays any sport and the way he lives his life.
Colorado College
ALIANA ISTANBULLU WITH HONORS
COCO LE ROY Williams College
In a letter about Sylvia this fall, a faculty member called her “Pacific Northwestern to the core.” In Sylvia’s case, that means she’s a lover of the outdoors and the work required to get into truly wild places. It means she’s the first to step up when something needs doing and the one who keeps her sense of humor no matter the challenge. It means, said another, that Sylvia doesn’t concern herself with rules as much as she trusts her sense of right and wrong and lives by that conviction. It means she is as adept in a classroom as she is on stage with the jazz band, creating music with her saxophone or meaning with her mind with unusual and distinctive facility. Sylvia has become a prefect this year, a critical guide to those students newest to Cate, a Head of our Women’s Forum, and a keeper of our community compass so that we never lose track of what is most important. Amidst a time that has tested us all, Sylvia has revealed herself in every area of life to be the thoughtful constant we most need. Surely we would do all well then to be Pacific Northwestern just like Sylvia.
SYLVIA LARKIN Brown University
ETHAN LIGON
Claremont McKenna College Ethan strides onto the football field, and he is the immediate focus of our attention. Lightning fast, incredibly quick, with hands that seem to stick to any footballs that come near, he can make the sublime look simple. His coach said, “Ethan is in the top one-percent as a player and a person that I have had the pleasure to work with.” Ethan’s talent has been thoroughly and systematically honed by a young man who believes strongly in hard work, in commitment, and in the communities of people he aims to support. That is why Ethan’s genius is just as conspicuous off the field, where the very qualities that have led him to athletic success are readily apparent. He listens carefully, engages thoughtfully, indulges his great curiosity, and always gives his all. The harder the material, the more likely Ethan is to thrive. In so committing himself, Ethan has connected this community, not simply to him and his notable aptitudes, but to each other and the concept of service by which he lives.
ASHIMA KAMRA WITH HONORS Wellesley College
49
Ashi rarely has a spare minute. She is too empathetic, too curious, too committed to the community for that. A prefect, Ashi is the first to acknowledge what others might need from her and then to offer it with her characteristic kindness and poise. She has been leading critical ventures at Cate since her junior year, beginning with our Active Minds Program, our tour guide program and even as junior head of El Batidor and The Mesan. Yet she still found time to become a remarkable dancer, a mainstay of our tennis program and one of our most accomplished students. One faculty member lauded Ashi’s “eagerness to stretch her academic limits” even though she doesn’t seem to have any limits. Another called her “a talented, curious scholar.” And a third, noting Ashi’s grace and energy on the dance floor said simply, “In such moments, Ashi is in command.” That, in fact, is what Ashi leaves us, an awareness of her command of her art, her powerful mind, her movement, and her unending compassion. If life is measured by the manner in which we show our grace to those we encounter, then Ashi is headed for unprecedented impact.
Coco Le Roy – no one here has ever called her Caroline –is as memorable and distinctive as her iconic four syllable name. We brighten when Coco is around because you can’t really be down in her presence. Her energy is too generous and productive. Her manner is too kind and empathetic. Her motives are too good and laudable. Angela Duckworth once noted, “Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.” Coco has both. A student of uncommon vision, she has managed to build momentum with each passing day, growing, learning, and leading with ever increasing skill. She is a prefect this year and one of the leaders of our Public Service Program, the first always to share a scrabble board or a game of checkers with someone in need of a little fun or stop by the room of a student who could use a friend. She’s not all generosity, of course. Coco is a stingy goalie on the lacrosse field and a relentless offensive player on the soccer field, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Who knew anyone could capture all of that in four syllables?
GABRIEL MADAN University of California, Berkeley Gabe builds Rube Goldberg machines in his spare time, has a virtual reality project he is trying to get a patent for, and likes nothing better than a problem somebody suggests is unsolvable. One way or another, using his facile mind, his hands, or his best code, Gabe will find a way, usually with a smile on his face the whole time. Indeed, when asked to supply four adjectives to describe him, Gabe suggested indefatigable, funny, straightforward, and quick. No doubt that last one has application in the cognitive and athletic realms. Gabe is a skilled ultimate frisbee player where his quickness is a great asset, and he is a co-captain of our track team. But his mind moves even faster than his winged feet, which accounts for his great success in our classrooms. Said one instructor, “Gabe never quits on a problem, he is immensely supportive of his peers, and he has fun in class.”
JACOB LUDVIKSEN University of Wisconsin, Madison A letter about Jack written this fall begins, “Jack Ludviksen is a maverick.” Maybe that’s why he shaved his head in the midst of basketball season or journeyed to Joshua Tree during Outings Week with the sophomores. He will do the stuff that others won’t, not because he is necessarily trying to make a point – though I hear the head shaving proved lucrative – but because he is focused on what he is trying to accomplish. At Joshua Tree, it was about spending time with a class that needed someone like Jack to help them cohere, someone who is warm and not judgemental, someone who enjoys the company of others and knows how important friendships are, someone who knows as well what it means to be a student, to learn, invest, grow. A “renaissance man” of sorts, Jack is driven by his own curiosity and follows it relentlessly. Unflappable and easy-going – Jack’s favorite word may be “chill” – he can dig into concepts he loves for hours. Shortly after the onset of the pandemic he asserted to a faculty member, “This week, I think I would like to be an epidemiologist.” Good timing. Whatever he decides, Jack will be great at what he does just like he has been here.
That very joy propels Gabe’s many friendships just as profoundly as it does his scholarship, and it makes us mindful that the journey ahead for Gabe is likely to be invigorating, innovative, and full of fun.
CLASS OF 2022
50 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Pomona College
Rachel Ma is intrepid. She loves something new, something different, something that asks for a worthy commitment from her. She became president of the student body in part because of her adventurous spirit and because she wanted something important for all of us. When planning a recent vacation, Rachel reached out to a Buddhist monastery, hopeful she could spend a little time connecting with the spiritual side of her existence. Said one faculty member, “Rachel is driven by a fundamental sense of wonder.” And she seems to find it everywhere. It’s in the kindness jar and the gratitude found in those who contribute to it. It’s in the outdoors or on her surfboard, where Rachel can feel the scale of the earth around her. It’s in her scholarship, which is so highly attuned, so creative, and so profound. It’s even in her mastery of the game of soccer, where Rachel’s many aptitudes find such genuine expression. Uplifting us all by being herself, that is what Rachel does best of all.
RACHEL MA WITH HIGH HONORS
KALIA LOPEZ Southern Methodist University Kalia leads us in areas where the potential for misunderstanding is greatest, where it can be the most difficult to build common ground and understanding.collectiveAHead of both the Hispanic Latino Association and the Black Student Union, this bi-racial young woman lives at the nexus of misunderstanding. Which is why she works so hard to connect us, to build common understanding even if there isn’t common experience, to trust and listen. And Kalia finds expression not simply in discussion and dialogue or even in action. It was she, after all, who conceived the Cate Olympics, which returned for a time a sense of normalcy to this campus last year. It is movement, though, that captures most fully that which Kalia expresses. She is a dancer of remarkable grace and power, the one we look to when we want to see a story told in a language we can understand but lack the power ourselves to create. In those moments it is always Kalia who steps up, Kalia who choreographs the performance, Kalia who shows us what we need to see.
Trying to properly render Emily, her advisor invoked a Mary Oliver poem called Sometimes. “Instructions for living a life,” the poem reads: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Emily is actually in charge of telling about it. She leads our Servons Speaker series, guiding her peers as they render the product of their attention, their journey, their astonishment. Emily is not an accidental guide. She is the one we naturally seek, the one whose vision we trust because it does not crowd out our own, the one who wants to know what we see and feel so she can help us share it. Her own scholarship is notable for the questions Emily asks and the curiosity that compels them. Small details matter as much to Emily as broad understandings, for the one always informs the other. You can see the same in her remarkable photography, in the quality of her friendships, even in her play on the doubles court. Emily’s contributions to anything take us somewhere, and often it is exactly the place we needed to go.
JACKSON MOLIN Northeastern University
Ben tried to convince me to let him call a free day earlier this year. It was part of an effort to demonstrate kindness. I was uncooperative, though, so he found another way to do something generous for the community. Ben always finds a way, whatever the objective. His mind is perpetually eager for a new challenge, a vexing puzzle, an opportunity to get lost in some inquiry. A colleague called Ben “an Artist with a capital A.” Someone whose every gesture is touched with some degree of artistry. It is certainly there in conspicuous ways in Ben’s ceramics, which are masterfully conceived. It’s there, too, in his principles, in his integrity, in his commitment to building a worthy life. At Cate, he has done so with vigor, inspiring teammates and friends, the students he leads as a Teaching Assistant and those he introduces to Cate as a Head Tour Guide, even his teachers and coaches with his leadership and his character. It’s a story of generous contribution. Maybe I should have let him call that free day after all.
Certain words pop up in every communication about Jackson: gregarious, extraverted, energetic, affable, and honest. Everybody knows Jackson because he is quick to engage, eager to meet, and exhilarating to be around. A New Yorker through and through, Jackson is quite comfortable in the hustle and bustle of life, and is never deterred by all that is going on. Teachers note his hard-working and resilient nature, often commenting that he will pursue any question relentlessly. He is good at asking them, too, because every search for answers reveals something new to be discovered. The students he leads as a Teaching Assistant rely on Jackson’s inclination to explore and analyze the lives we lead, and they trust his insight and his commitment to each of them. As one teacher noted, “Jackson eagerly steps into leadership and mentorship roles and goes beyond what is expected, always for the good of the group.” How fortunate we have all been to be members of that group.
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Xander arrived on this campus seemingly fully formed, older than his years and wiser.
Reserved and exceedingly humble, Xander focused on the things that he could do and all that he might learn. A great connector of ideas and disciplines, Xander is quick to find the common threads that run through all scholarship.
EMILY MAY Southern Methodist University
As his advisor notes, “Xander solves calculus based physics problems, connects molecular and generational genetics, writes compelling legal analyses, and compares poetic interpretations of nature.” Just a day in the life. He is also the kid who will admit he’s proud of his mother out loud. How’s that for wisdom?
51
BENJAMIN MEYER Case Western Reserve University
ALEXANDER MURRAY OSBORN WITH HONORS
Xander’s power has another expression too, on the lacrosse field where he is indomitable, our leader and best player, a force no opponent can reckon with. His brilliance comes there – as it does in other realms – from discipline, from resolve, and from the understanding which we see clearly in the classroom too that work itself and the learning that is derived from the effort is its own reward.
It is rumored that in the huddle, before our opponent’s last play in the CIF championship football game, Mason looked at his teammates and said, “I’m going to intercept this pass.” And that’s how the game ended. So many games have ended in our favor because of the quality of Mason’s play. He is fast, quick, smart, disciplined, and totally undaunted by anyone or anything. He is the consummate athlete, but that alone isn’t what makes him great. Mason’s special power stems from his appreciation not simply for his friends or teammates but for the fact that they get to do whatever they do together. There is no ego to Mason. He is too busy paying attention to all he admires in others. Despite the many awards and accolades Mason has received, he is most proud of his work as a Teaching Assistant and the opportunity to help others build their own paths forward. Among his lessons, “Don’t wait for life to come to you.” Go to it. Give yourself to every opportunity. And whatever the outcome, enjoy every minute.
ISAAC (KOBBY) NIMAKO Bates College
CLASS OF 2022
IMANI OSESO Wellesley College
Kobby is fascinated by the world and the people in it. Why do we believe what we believe, he asks? His college essay was about God, hardly the topic that most young people would reach for in such a moment. But Kobby is driven by a different kind of curiosity, informed by a perspective on the world that is unique and broad. Having grown up in Ghana where his focus was on mastering the game of soccer – something he more than accomplished – Kobby is only now learning about all of his other aptitudes. He is an artist, for instance, and a master with charcoals, though he’ll disagree if you make such a claim. On the pitch he is the center back, the player who choreographs everything in front of him and ensures nothing gets behind him. Kobby is very good at that job. But what is ahead of him now – even beyond the collegiate soccer which he will play next year – is the opportunity to share a whole new set of skills with communities that need Kobby’s creativity, his insight, his inclination to ask questions, his art.
52 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
MASON OETGEN Southern Methodist University
The promise of Imani Oseso was first revealed to Cate when a representative of our community met her as 7th grader. A written summary of the interaction read, “Imani is a striking scholar already, soft-spoken with immense academic aptitude, her intellectual curiosity expressed in her love of grammar, vocabulary, and dystopian literature.” Her years on the Mesa have only furthered our admiration for Imani and her capabilities. She has become one of our leaders; a prefect, one of the Heads of Active Minds, captain of our lacrosse team, and a show-stopping basketball player. Said one peer, “It’s simply impossible not to love Imani. She does the right thing when no one is looking and always puts others’ needs ahead of her own.” It is easy, in fact, to run out of superlatives in trying to capture the graceful impact Imani has on any team or dorm or classroom. Her sincerity and unselfishness stand out always, and her gentle manner (except on the lacrosse field or the basketball court) draws us to her and her warm company.
THOMAS NAEM University of Richmond Thomas is a masterful thinker and a careful observer. He assesses things constantly, including his own decisions, his own perspectives, his own trajectory. His growth over these four years at Cate has been truly impressive. His own scrutiny has compelled him to build stronger arguments for the things he believes in, to work harder to understand the concepts that elude him, and to learn all he can from every moment and each opportunity. When he spoke to the community in his Servons speech, it was a message of appreciation and evidence that Thomas doesn’t miss the meaning of any single moment. He doesn’t want us to either. He has led us, too, as an Inclusion rep, an Activities Head, and as one of the heads of the Politics and Ethics Club; positions where Thomas’ eager mind can move the community. Having stepped well out of his comfort zone, this young man from New Jersey now seems undaunted by challenge and eager to take from every opportunity some message about how best to live a worthy and unselfish life.
New York University Shanghai Nick is a runner. That means he knows hard work. He actively seeks it. He understands discipline, because you can’t race without it. And he recognizes that sport is less about competition than it is about unlocking that which is inside each athlete. Inside Nick is a remarkable contemplative mind, a generous, kind spirit, and an inclination to do something meaningful and worthy. Said his English teacher, “Nick is inclined to open with precursors like, ‘I’m not sure this is right, but …’” He is not worried about some allegedly correct answer. He wants to share what he sees and wants to know what others see. He is the Head of our video yearbook for similar reasons. He wants to share the stories of our journey, the meaningful and the whimsical. His graciousness when he meets another community member is always sincere. Nick is happy to see us. If we pose an interesting question, so much the better. Nick will look us in the eye with appreciation, and then answer. Runner that he is, Nick is clearly going places, at speed. His mind and character are unmatched in that regard, and they will take him far.
ALEKHA RAO WITH HONORS
Asen, perhaps more than any other student faced with daunting challenges, has turned setbacks into opportunities and those opportunities into remarkable successes. Asen is, for instance, a truly brilliant digital designer, a multiple award winner in a discipline he took up and perfected after a leg injury sidelined him for the better part of a year. When the pandemic arrived and Asen was faced with Cate as a virtual experience for a time, Asen decided to learn Chinese, a language he so completely mastered in his time away that he joined our advanced class when school resumed in-person. His scholarship continues to take on richness and depth in part because the return to learning on campus has compelled Asen to reach out more demonstrably to his peers, his partners in the lab, the very resources he lacked when the pandemic began. Broad friendships are the result, as powerful as his scholarship and just as meaningful. Such agility reveals the dexterity and resolve behind Asen’s evolving citizenship and the special brilliance he uses to profound effect.
Tufts University Alekha won all-league honors in water polo this year, but she is far more proud of the team’s performance than she is of her own. Building community is what Alekha does best, and that is what led her team to victory. It’s what distinguishes her work as a prefect, too. Alekha is all about the people she seeks to support and the connections she can help the members of the group build with each other. She is also an incredible student. As her advisor notes, “Alekha gets good grades not because she crams, but because she understands.” And she asks questions, really good, thoughtful, well crafted queries. Though she seems headed for work in a quantitative field, Alekha could study and master any area of scholarly endeavor. The humanist in her will thankfully always shine through and her inclination professionally and personally to build community wherever she goes will mean so many in the future will have the good fortune to grow under Alekha’s compassionate care.
Case Western Reserve University Anna-Sung is one of the few who can tell folks what to do around here and get away with it. Her announcements as Co-Head of The Mesan (our yearbook) are much anticipated, since seniors, it seems, struggle with deadlines. Anna-Sung’s messages always end with a lovely “or else” statement delivered in a kind but not too understanding voice. We could learn alot from her. In fact, we have. A lover of literature and human experience, Anna-Sung brings a voice to class that is powerful, knowing, and insightful. She loves a robust character and the manner in which life is made complex through the act of living. She brings characters to life on stage as an actor, guides others inclined to do so as a stage manager, and is a mainstay of our technical theater program. She makes music on the oboe in our orchestra and is as broadly involved in the life and work of this community as any. With each generous gesture, Anna-Sung helps, improves, organizes, and gently admonishes us to be ever better.
ASEN OU Cornell University
53
NICHOLAS PATRICK
ANNA-SUNG PARK WITH HONORS
CLASS OF 2022
Charlie is an old soul, serene in bearing, earnest in his outreach, a quiet listener and an attentive friend. He is the first to reach out to someone who seems to be in need and is never stingy with his time or his attention. He became a prefect this year in part for that very tendency, but also because we know Charlie will always analyze every situation to determine the right and responsible thing to do. Who else but Charlie could study this community’s use of social media, as he did in his inquiry project, and then oh-so-gently guide us in a healthier direction. His leadership follows from that very inclination to help, not simply in the dorm but as a member of the Stream Team, as a Head Tour Guide as a junior, as a Big Sibling, and as captain of the swim team. In the pool, Charlie’s efforts and his achievements are especially conspicuous, for he has devoted time and effort to leading that team and contributing to its success. And the results, much like one of his teachers noted recently about a paper he turned in, are consistently “stunning contributions.”
Harvey Mudd College
CHARLES SCHOFIELD WITH HIGHEST HONORS
PAIGE RAWISZER WITH HONORS University of Pennsylvania Paige is an optimist. She believes in how things can be or might be, and she trusts in our ability to make them so. A great believer in social justice, Paige is not deterred by things that aren’t right yet. Opportunities to improve galvanize her best virtues, create energy and urgency. Said one faculty member, “Paige is unflappable, unstoppable, and willing to tackle just about any challenge.” In class, she is always in the mix, wrestling with questions not because of some distant cognitive relationship but because the ideas at play matter to Paige. Her leadership is expressed in a similarly profound way. She is an avid public servant, a leader in Round Square, and a member of the Politics Club. The students she serves as a Teaching Assistant rely on Paige’s ever attentive care and guidance. “Everywhere,” said Paige’s advisor, “She sees potential for hope and change.” With people like Paige involved, there always is.
CLAUDIA SCHMIDT University of Florida
Claudia is all about building skills or expertise or the best habits of body and mind. She started our public speaking club with that very intention, to practice and gain facility in an art. A dancer by training, Claudia knows the work that goes into art, and now she focuses it broadly. An ambassador for the Harcourt Fitness Center, Claudia created Girls Lift, a strength building program for young women that has taken off at Cate. Her studies get Claudia’s full attention as well, prompting one teacher to observe, “Claudia is expert at doing the work to enable the extraordinary.” Another admitted, “She cares deeply about ideas and her head is full of nuanced thoughts.” Claudia herself will tell you that because of her diverse interests she is not likely to follow a conventional path in life. She has a great fascination with special effects make-up for instance – the really gory stuff – but likely she will do elsewhere what she has done here; contribute to every aspect of living and learning, give herself completely to each effort, serve generously and thoughtfully, and find purpose in every facet of life.
DAISY SCOTT Tulane University
54 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Daisy’s natural reserve hides a work ethic that won’t quit. She gives her all to every endeavor, inspiring students and faculty alike with her effort and her resolve. “Every day she came ready to work,” said one of her volleyball coaches. Another faculty member observed, “Daisy is at her best when she is serving others. It is in those moments she is most at ease.” And so she engages our Public Service Program, connecting with those who need her attention and her support. She goes to Los Niños to connect with families and children looking for partners in improving their community. She dives into her work, hopeful that her efforts will allow her to have ever-greater impact on the lives she encounters in the years ahead. And, if Daisy is looking for a little solitude, she’ll head to the ceramics barn and get lost in the art of making pottery. Having grown up in a household filled with “animals in need of a home,” Daisy understands that it is the multitude of lives that intersect with our own that make any existence worthwhile.
Kelsey doesn’t worry about impediments. Even her Servons speech, which detailed some of the many obstacles encountered by her ancestors over the years, was a story of overcoming odds, creating choices, building new paths. We sense Kelsey has a similar trajectory, not simply because of her focus on film but because she is adept at everything that she does. Her teachers use words like “unflagging, creative, outstanding, generous, purposeful, and collaborative” to describe her. One called Kelsey “a godsend.”
Her prefectship this year springs from that same well of good intentions and generous gestures fulfilled. Kelsey is the star of the film she’s too humble to make, the latest in her family to follow her own path to a remarkable life.
It wasn’t until this year that Zhengli stepped confidently onto stage and into the spotlight. A master of technical theater who seemed content for a time to orchestrate everything from backstage, Zhengli apparently had a change of heart. He is a gamer, you see, and his announcements about upcoming tournaments sound like an invitation to Wrestlemania. In those moments, the showman in Zhengli comes out, the energy, and the charisma. We have always known the power of his mind. Zhengli is a brilliant student, an accomplished programmer, and a creative, innovative thinker. He does well in every academic discipline, is an accomplished musician and a member of one of our rock bands, an adept writer, and as a colleague put it, “the tamer of the beast that is our sound and light board in the theater.” To know Zhengli best, though, is to watch him during an assembly in the amphitheater as he controls the sound levels, chooses the music, and then, when his time comes, stands tall to announce the time to rumble.
FILIP SENTYPAL
KELSEY SHA WITH HONORS
KENNEDY SIMPSON
Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School
There is no more conspicuous citizen on this Mesa than Kennedy Simpson. She is everywhere, usually with guitar in hand, exhorting others to join her in song, or conversation, or a good laugh. In Joshua Tree this fall, after spending a little time with Kennedy who is a bit of a geology freak, one of our guides asked with amazement, “Are all of your kids like that? Do they all know so much about rocks.” No, not really. The simple fact is that Kennedy has profound passions. If she is into something, she is way in. Perhaps that is why her affection for music has so transformed our community. Kennedy makes sure that the Mesa is filled with song. And she is so warm and convincing, others who may be a little more self-conscious otherwise become overwhelmed by Kennedy’s outreach. To the stage they go, or the microphone, or the piano; as long as they are beside Kennedy, all is well. This class is known for its community building character and Kennedy may be its musical personification. It is her voice we hear in our heads, the great connector among us.
55
ZHENGLI SIEH Northeastern University
Loyola Marymount University
Filip’s advisor called him “a secretly skilled visual artist,” as though somehow he wouldn’t want that to get out. We know Filip is an artist. We hear it every time he sings. Perhaps, though, we don’t know the entire broad range of his artistic skillset. One of our most independent young men, Filip never ceases to surprise with new aptitudes and interests. Easy-going and rarely demonstrative, he seems far less impressed with his own gifts than we are. And he is a devoted friend, committed to relationships that he has built over many years. No investment Filip makes is temporary. That is not the nature of his commitment. His teachers note that across the board. “He is capable of propelling a class forward,” said one. And we see it in the way Filip lives his life – seemingly without drama or angst –focused always on the opportunities ahead and what they might offer. History compels Filip from an academic standpoint, but he seems focused on business and technology in the years ahead, a wise direction for a young man who combines intellect, art, and grace in in his every pursuit.
Kelsey is a filmmaker and a storyteller, the artist who knows exactly how to capture the scene or render the tale. So devoted is she to her craft that she spent countless hours in quarantine facilities and lockdowns engaged in film programs at UCLA or the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio.
Tulane University
A teacher said of Tori, “She is equally practical and whimsical, analytical and adventurous.” Tori dives headlong into the activities that she most loves, building momentum through the character of her commitment and the quality of her talent. Just ask her lacrosse coach who said recently, “Tori is a rock star on the team. Her discipline inspired her defensive teammates and made her a threat to opponents anywhere on the field.” She engages her studies with the same energy. “Tori spoke often and persuasively,” said one teacher, “enlivening and enriching her class’s experience.” This year she has even taken on the role of Teaching Assistant in our Human Development Program, throwing herself wholeheartedly into the support of her freshmen. She even took on leadership of Active Minds to support the School’s mental health efforts. Having grown up on a farm in Kentucky, Tori is indeed a long way from home, but she has lost none of the work ethic she built there or her love of the outdoors or her inclination to take advantage of each opportunity to grow and learn.
CLASS OF 2022
Sidney Suh sent me a letter last summer. She was preparing to take on her responsibilities as prefect in Long House and she wanted to talk about how best to support the girls. Sidney spends remarkable time and energy trying to ensure the quality of everyone’s experience, trying to support those in some need, trying to reduce the bumps that inevitably are found on the road of life. If empathy and compassion had a single face, surely it would be Sidney’s. And yet, she still manages – despite her unselfishness –to be a brilliant student, excelling in all forms of intellectual endeavor. A thinker by nature, she seems most energized by work that is complex and meaningful. Literature and the human condition compel her, yet she also finds expression in technology, pioneering a program called Humanities+ which align the Humanities and the STEM fields. Whatever associations are to be made it seems, be they ideological or personal, Sidney will not only be the first to make them, but she will be the best at nurturing them and growing them, quite a gift Sidney offers to her communities and the people who compose them.
VICTORIA TRIMBLE
Brown University
Stanford University
TYLER TOM WITH HONORS
Tyler stepped to the podium to deliver his Servons speech without any notes seemingly or a script. Undaunted by the occasion, or all of those eyes and ears focused on him, Tyler launched into an extemporaneous celebration of the people who matter to him. He even took questions from the audience. Far be it from Tyler to follow a conventional approach. Instead, he follows his instincts, his gregarious nature, and his optimism to wherever it leads. Over the last two years, in the midst of the pandemic, it led Tyler to some remarkable scholarship. He stretched himself, said many of his teachers, “reading Camus, studying philosophy, helping his Dad with calculus, even writing a novel.” But Tyler needs three things to be completely fulfilled. Friends and studies get him part way there, but sports fill out his life. A skilled ultimate frisbee, basketball and baseball player, Tyler is all about competition, the game itself, and his teammates. He is scrappy, smart, well-practiced, and always confident of a win. A leader when we need him most, Tyler is the one most likely to show that the success of any effort is contained in the joy it evokes in those who join in.
Colorado College
SIDNEY SUH WITH HIGH HONORS
56 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
THOR THONGTHAI University of Chicago Thor lives a thoroughly examined life. His mind is always busy even as his outward affect reveals nothing but serenity and composure. Teachers call him “a powerful thinker, learner, problem-solver, and seeker of truth.” Thor took a year off from school last year and stayed in his home in Thailand studying music, philosophy, psychology, and further honing his voice, which distinguishes many of our singing ensembles. So enmeshed was Thor in his own studies, he even asked to spend another year away from school. Though we did not grant that request, we are mindful that Thor is one of the few whose learning would not diminish in the least if he alone were responsible for it. Since returning to Cate, he has become a prolific peer tutor, one of the leaders of our acapella group, an athlete, a capable debater, and one of our most mature citizens. We rely on Thor in so many ways, and he always lives up to our trust, prompting one teacher to say, “It is humbling and inspiring to work with such a committed, intelligent, and introspective student.”
Charlotte went on sabbatical with her parents to South Africa when she was in elementary school. She attended a local school and in a series of competitions at the end of the year – athletic and otherwise – Charlotte won every single prize. A little embarrassing, perhaps, but evidence that, yes, Charlotte is that good at whatever she does. Far older than her years suggest, Charlotte possesses a maturity of insight in the classroom that one colleague noted “elicits cheers from her teachers.” A prolific reader, a lover of the Humanities and human expression, a gregarious and unflappable friend, Charlotte moves through every interaction with profound grace, easy care and lots of good humor. This year’s Santa Barbara Athletic Roundtable Scholar Athlete of the Year, Charlotte displays a level of athleticism that is truly impressive. On the soccer field in particular, Charlotte’s long stride distances her from opponents and her powerful shot creates opportunities aplenty for our offense. The last of four sisters to graduate from Cate, Charlotte puts an emphatic and memorable exclamation point at the end of a remarkable Weis family Cate story.
Said his advisor, “Peter Wood is the reason that my advisees say ‘thank you’ after every advisory treat.” He is the one who shows them what hard work looks like, too, shows his peers how to follow a dream.
Peter doesn’t seem to expect that anything will simply come to him, and that’s just fine. He likes to work for things, loves a challenge, and to his advisor’s point, is simply grateful for the opportunity to try. Soccer is his first love, and he has literally willed and worked himself to become exceptional. There are players with more talent in all likelihood, but not many who give so much of themselves to the work. Peter’s scholarship flows from the same well of aspiration, making him a linguist already, an ever curious student, and a kind, thoughtful community member. Sometimes we all need to be tested to learn all that is within us. Peter tests himself, asks always for his best, then learns from the effort and grows ever better. For the model, the commitment, the aspiration, we can only borrow Peter’s own words and offer a simple, “Thank you.”
57
CHARLOTTE
JINMING WANG WITH HIGHEST HONORS University of Chicago
There is a pattern in our Servons speeches this year. A senior will get up and talk about their confidence in their own skills and then suddenly express feelings of profound inadequacy when confronted with Jinming’s. He is the bubble burster, the student whose intelligence daunts everyone else, the archetype, and the legend. And yet, Jinming carries all of that wisdom and virtue gently, quietly, without ceremony or celebration. He is gracious to a fault, smiles politely when people draw attention to him, and quickly moves the topic to other things. He is a prefect because his peers understand Jinming’s generosity and his unending reservoir of good will. He is a master of languages, fluent or proficient in Spanish, English, Mandarin, and complex computer code. He wields a tennis racket with the same facility as his keyboard, vanquishing opponents with the graceful power of his game and the practiced insight of it. Jinming stands out despite his efforts not to, making us all members of his fan club.
WEIS WITH HONORS
PETER WOOD Connecticut College
RICHARD VALENTE New York University
Ricky is full of charisma, gracious extraversion, and endearing joie de vivre. He seems to relish every moment, every chance to try something new, every opportunity to contribute in some way. He took up lacrosse as a senior for that very reason and became a contributor to our varsity team. A brilliant athlete already and one of our very best soccer players, Rickie moves on a field with practiced grace and enduring pace. Nothing seems to tire him out. And Rickie doesn’t worry much about miscues, mistakes, or inexperience. His coaches and his teachers laud Rickie’s ability to learn and adjust and respond when needed. He is, said one coach, “the most humble superstar around.” His leadership in the community is similarly adept. He is a prefect and the vice president of our student body, responsibilities that he carries with easy-going confidence and thoughtful care. Said Ricky of his objectives in the fall, “I just want to give everyone a great year.” And so he has, one generous act at a time.
Davidson College
58 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
CLASS OF 2022
Never brooding or overly serious, Tim’s inquiry always has a lighthearted touch and is filled with smiles and affirmation. He was selected to serve as a prefect this year because we value so highly the manner by which Tim advances his own learning and engages the community in the process. Said one of his teachers, “Tim is kind, considerate, patient, and generous. And he has a quirky sense of humor that makes him fun to be around.” While his mind will take Timothy to great heights in the future, his earnest citizenship and affection for his fellow man will likely shape his greatest impact.
TIMOTHY ZHANG University of Pennsylvania When it comes to learning Tim’s appetite is insatiable. A highly accomplished student in math and science, Tim does terrific work in every subject he studies. Said one teacher, “He is full of intellectual curiosity, and he possesses a remarkable breadth and depth of knowledge. Unlikely to settle at any point for easy answers, Tim will seek out the opinions and perspectives of others, doing his best to understand a concept or a question from every possible vantage point.
JAYDEN YAN Rice University
JONATHAN YOO Case Western Reserve University Jonathan expected a somewhat different journey at Cate from the one he has enjoyed. A brilliant student and mathematician, Jonathan imagined such pursuits would distinguish and define his legacy. And they have, sort of. The challenge is that Jonathan fell in love with other things at Cate, the outdoors and climbing in particular, and his energies and affections have been re-channeled as a result. Perhaps it was the challenge of finding his way on the rock, for Jonathan loves a complex problem to solve. But in his own words it was more about the freedom to climb that compelled him, the opportunity to find a way up. Said a faculty member, “We needed help getting new climbers up to speed and teaching people about safety expectations, clean-up, etc. Jonathan jumped in without hesitation, delaying his own opportunities to make sure the group was running as smoothly as possible.” Jonathan does the same as a teaching assistant, as a member of Camerata, even in his scholarly pursuits. “Senior leadership at its finest,” said one of many grateful community members.
Jayden builds things. He developed a curriculum around the Circuit Playground platform to introduce kids participating in our after school tutoring program to electronics, coding, and design. He 3-D printed combs needed for a gel phoresis lab because he noticed ours needed to be supplemented. He even pressed the Engineering Club that he leads to design an escape room puzzle for other students to test their skills. A similar project has since been adopted in the Honors Physics Course thanks to Jayden’s lead. Thankfully, his skills are not simply with technology and design. Jayden is pretty facile with people too, becoming a prefect this year and demonstrating that care for the community is one of his top priorities. One teacher imagined, in fact, Jayden’s answer were he queried about what education is for. “To better serve others,” the teacher suggested Jayden would reply. His intrinsic generosity and inclination to service is unique and will surely lead Jayden to build even more things that people and communities sorely need.
59 1 2 3 4 Commencement Through the Lens 1. Jonathan Yoo '22, Timothy Zhang '22, and Charlie Schofield '22 take a photo together in the Johnson Library before Commencement. 2. Claudia Schmidt '22 celebrates receiving her diploma. 3. Gabriel Madan '22 on the stage listening to his senior citation. 4. Aminah Hill '22 waits to receive her diploma as Head of School Ben Williams reads her citation.
Farewell
We bid a fond farewell to six retiring faculty who have made a lasting impact during their time on the Mesa.
Patrick is one of our archetypes: an incredible scholar, a brilliant artist, an expert craftsman, a phenomenal musician, and a transcendent teacher.
His performance on guitar during last year’s Baccalaureate, a lovely solemn rendition of Lynnrd Skynnrd’s iconic Free Bird, was similarly transcendent, an artist not simply playing music but becoming it. That is what Patrick has given Cate over more than three decades, his complete and total commitment, his hope for each student he encounters and colleague he mentors, and a belief in the beauty of the world and the beauty we can all create.
He has held virtually every post on campus, written a history of the School, built some of our most innovative course offerings, and participated in or led virtually every meaningful curricular initiative at the School.
His presentations to alumni or our parent community on Art History are studies not simply in good pedagogy but in the manner one uses an academic discipline to broaden what we see and distill what we might understand as a result.
Faculty2022
She is zealous about that care, handling all of the scheduling for the entire Tri-Valley league so that she can ensure the least disruption to the programming at Cate.
Patricia Collins Just a look at her home and the exquisite plantings that surround it reveals the fundamental truth about Patricia Collins. She makes things grow, nurtures them, protects them, and under her care everything flourishes. The community of people on the Mesa are no different, for we too have been cared for by Patricia.
Having served as Athletic Director early in her tenure at Cate, Patricia understands better than anyone the complex choreography of this place. And she uses that wisdom thoughtfully, so that we never see the artful work she does behind the scenes to make our lives as seamless as they can be.
The only glimpse of Patricia is when she heads to or from the office, usually with her little dog Ruby by her side, a furry bundle of affection beside an athletic administrator who loves this place, its people, and everything that grows here.
60 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER
By Benjamin D. Williams IV, Head of School
Perhaps that is why, if you visit a Cate reunion, everyone wants to see Mr. Pierce. So many stories of gestures large and small from Gary, of moments of unlikely laughter, untimely misadventure, and patient teaching.
There are names that will be eternally associated with this community, among the most notable of which is the family Vega. Our home here has been in the care of that family and particularly in the care of Tano Vega for as long as any of us can remember. And we are fortunate. Our grounds have owed their vitality to Tano’s constant care and oversight, his respect for Reginald Johnson’s and Lockwood de Forest’s original campus design, his determination to see that our playing surfaces, lawns and outdoor community spaces are in perfect shape.
Wherever we go on this Mesa, literally or figuratively, Gary Pierce has already been there, meaning his mark on Cate is as indelible as the lessons he teaches his students.
61
To truly understand Gary Pierce’s impact at Cate, you must begin in his classroom.
For that, we and they are in his debt.
On a campus where we emphasize the importance of place, Tano stands out as one of our most generous contributors, one who recognizes that the way we care for our home teaches lessons as valuable as any learned in a classroom lessons that last a lifetime, just like the care of the Vega family.
He has lived in virtually every residence on campus and contributed in some way to every student’s education. And in the afternoons, Fall and Spring, you’ll find Gary in the gym supporting our volleyball program, one that his two children led during their time at Cate.
Tano Vega
Every morning for the last three-plus decades, Tano has risen early from his home in Santa Ynez, gotten in his truck, and made the hour-long drive to Cate, arriving before many of us are stirring and staying sometimes long after we have retired.
Gary is a savior for math students who never imagined they would enjoy math.
Gary has stayed true to his beginnings at Cate over forty years ago, teaching, coaching, advising, and working in the residential program.
Gary Pierce
Gary is a specialist when it comes to mathematics, the guy who can make that sometimes nuanced and daunting language make sense to those for whom fluency does not come easily. His teaching is gentle, practical, kind-hearted, and full of humor and faith.
David Wood
Karl Weis Everybody has a Karl Weis story. The runners on his remarkable cross country and track teams will note his not so subtle jibes during difficult workouts, “It’s not that hard. It’s not gonna kill you.”
62 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
There is nowhere that Karl’s always thoughtful insight and well-meaning candor is not welcome, for we know him to be a shaper of this place. We trust in his wisdom, take comfort in his presence, are energized by his humor, and remain forever thankful that he came to Cate and chose to stay.
He has piloted programs that have taken off at Cate - including our sophomore African History course and our Senior Inquiry Program - he has led our History Department, our Kern Trip, and our Admission Committee.
If there is anyone who is the personification of the program he teaches it is David Wood. His instruction of Japanese is not simply an academic endeavor or a study of language, it is a celebration of a culture, an expression of principle and commitment, a merger of art, ideology, and discipline. Wood-San is our sensei, the one who knows always what is most important and whose unselfish deference to the needs of the community and his students is always Weparamount.seektolive
Ask anyone who has ventured into the wilderness with David Wood and they will acknowledge his incredible expertise and his oft used and only occasionally accurate response to the question, “How much further?” “15 minutes.” Always 15 minutes, even when it is not. Eventually, the kids catch on. A brilliant coach, too, a former Department Head and the most attentive of advisors, David’s skills have had broad application at Cate. And in the last few years, David has led our Inclusive teaching efforts, further refining his commitment and ours to make the classroom a place of fulfillment for every student. It was a fitting conclusion to a remarkable tenure.
His history students acknowledge a similar no-nonsense focus on doing their best. The many students he has taken into the backcountry over the years are quick to see his incredible endurance and his cool leadership when the going gets difficult.
Karl’s calming voice is the one we want to hear, whether it’s during the play-by-play at football games, in a classroom, on the track, in the Sierra or anywhere else we might want a little encouragement or a reminder that all will be well.
RETIRING FACULTY
up to his high standards because we don’t want to disappoint him and because we trust that he is always taking us to a place we need to go. That is as true on the Mesa as off.
Anna DiSorbo '22 and Francesca Castellarin '22 share a laugh while walking to the stage during the processional.
RecognitionEmployeeLauraBogueTraceyCalhounJuliaLarawayKaitlinMillerTroyShapiroCassiaSonderleiterAmyGilesHallieGreeneJohnKnechtSarahPrestonDavidSoto'08RachelVanWickleJuarezNewsomeJohnSwainMattPerleeJamieKelloggJanaRansomWadeRansomNikkiYamaokaGilbertoOrtegaJohnTiltonDavidWoodFidencioCelioJuanHernandezTanoVega YEARSYEARS4025YEARS3020YEARS15YEARS10YEARS5YEARS
Reunion Weekend 2022 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022 By Carson Williams '19
Congratulations to all those who finished this year’s contest.
Also setting up shop and fueling the early risers were Language teacher David Wood and Science teacher Jaimie Kellogg, bringing out the John Swaincrafted Wood Coffee Cart. As folks began to trickle through registration, helped by Ethan Ha '20 and Ada Hansen '24, they also made their way up to the beckoning smell of the fresh grounds and hot Mid-morningcoffee. meetings began with a listening and healing session facilitated by Dr. Deniz Ahmadinia, a professional experienced in trauma and traumarelated healing. With a large array of alumni years in attendance, the conversation was wide-ranging and productive. Other meetings included a “Cate of the Union” update hosted by members of the Alumni Leadership Council. In addition to reports from Advancement, Admissions, College Counseling, and the Head of School, President-elect John Kearney '00 and Alumni Leadership Council Chair Kel Mitchel '12 reported on the past year of Alumni Association events and plans for Around2022-23.lunch time, the Mesa was alive with activity. The new Booth Commons Dining Hall was busy serving a chicken tinga taco lunch while the Blue Ewe Student Store hosted a “Sip and Sale” for all alumni and guests. Folks who were not busy eating or enjoying a taste of wine explored the new complex to see if the new dining hall holds up to the old Raymond Commons. By the afternoon, the sun had broken through the clouds and the seventy degrees with an ocean breeze drove folks out to the tennis courts, pool, and soccer fields to soak up the rays the best way they could.
Faculty Jenna deBoisblanc who finished just minutes after John. The true winner was Pete Ruch '56, who completed the 6th Mesa Race of his career. When asked how often he runs, Pete answered, “Every five years when I come back for a reunion and run the Mesa Race!”
By Carson Williams '19Shared experiences bring us all together. Global pandemics and strict quarantines are just a few commonalities we have all experienced over the past two and a half years now. Perhaps more formatively, sharing a classroom, a dorm, and a school is what continues to bring us together. For the first time in three years and four days, Saturday, June 11, marked the return of on-campus alumni celebrations since the beginning of the Frompandemic.thebeginning, the energy on campus was palpable in anticipation of the return of everyone from the graduates of the Class of 1956 on to the five-year reunion Class of 2017. While this year was still far from normal, with alumni staying off-campus and one day of events on the Mesa, the long-awaited joy in the reunion of classmates, friends, and teachers made up for what was lost due to unusual circumstances. Another boon of this unusual year also became having multiple classes from different decades at the same reunion. Friends across years were able to connect in addition to just Reunionclassmates.Weekend began by era as groups from the 2000s and 2010s convened at Topa Topa Brewing Company in the Santa Barbara Funk Zone. At Topa Topa, folks laughed, drank, Jenga’d, and reminisced with friends as if being classmates was only yesterday. Alumni from the 1980s and 1990s gathered at Island Brewery, enjoying the local IPAs and for some, a burger from The Spot. For graduates of the 1970s, a gathering on the other side of town at Rincon Brewery was just as festive. Missing was the Class of 1972, who opted for a class-only party at Mulligan’s in Goleta. While other groups were off-campus, as a special treat for their 65th reunion, the Class of 1956 had their own dinner on Parsonage Lawn. Regardless of location, each class had chance to watch the same California sunset as it signaled the beginning of their time together at long-last. Saturday morning began with the traditional Mesa Race led by none other than Math Faculty and Cross-Country Coach, Tim Smith, from the center of the Day Walkway. Despite a blazing fast finishing time, John Tarlton '87 was not awarded 1st place due to a mishap in direction, taking him off course about halfway through the race. This window gave the top honor to Computer Science
A group of hikers led by Tim Smith and Will Bouma '22 made their way up the Bee Camp trail to the ridge above
Graduates of the Class of 2016 reminisce over an old Mesan yearbook.
65
66 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022 campus to get a bird’s eye view of Cate, the Carpinteria Valley, and the Channel AtIslands.fiveo’clock, the evening festivities began with a cocktail hour at Booth Commons with hors d’oeuvres courtesy of the Cate’s Flik Dining Staff and a variety of beverages. When six o’clock rolled around the Nelson D. Jones '48 Victory Bell rang signifying dinner-time, and a photo of the entire reunion group was captured to commemorate the first gathering since the pandemic. From the Kirby Quad, alumni made their way up to the Thayer Peck Field for dinner. This year, dinner featured local food trucks offering burgers and tacos. Wade Ransom’s famous CIF Championship Brisket had its own station – a crowd favorite. Flik Dining provided the greens, including a lovely fresh beet salad. Refreshments were in abundance and provided by various Cate alumni including “Sunset Bench Spritzers” by Riviera Sips (Michael Canseco '07 & Sandra Vega '06) and Lumen Wines (Will Henry '84).
This year was historic, it marked the return of in-person celebrations and will hopefully be followed by subsequent years returning to the rhythm of prepandemic Camp Cate. With a successful reunion in the books, we look forward to future summers where classes can reconnect once more and celebrate what brings us all together, our shared experiences, high up on this Mesa. Reunion goers gather in the Class of 1981 Amphitheater.
The following morning, alumni made their way back up to campus once more for a brunch in Booth Commons before making their way back to their respective homes. Some alumni even made a stop in the Schoolhouse Archives to view their student file – reminiscing about their teenage years.
Reunion Dinner would not be complete without some sort of dessert, and the arrival of the Mister Softee ice cream truck provided the perfect sweet to cap off the Insteadmeal.ofbeing
divided by class, this year’s groupings were made by decade, so table and photo groups were by decade. People sat at the tables and mingled by the fireplaces as they enjoyed their meals. A few adventurous souls also made their way out to the badminton nets and cornhole sets to challenge one another, courtesy of Juarez Newsome, the Cate Activities Head. As the night wound on, almost on cue, the marine layer rolled in and the lowering temperature on the field made it the perfect time to light the fire pits and roast some s’mores. Gradually, partygoers made their way from under the tent out to the Adirondack chairs surrounding the fire pits for a bit of “camp” Cate. By the time the fires were burning low and the last of the marshmallows were cooked, the last of the alumni on campus had made their way home for the night.
REUNION WEEKEND
Graduates of the last decade return to the Mesa.
CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Class
From left: David Young ‘56, Jean Young, Davis Kennedy ‘56, Marcella Ruch, and Pete Ruch ‘56 for their 65th Reunion. Classmates from the 1970s reunite on the Mesa.
Notes
69
James Zevely '62 (right) with dear friend, Scott Powers, having dinner in Truckee, Calif.
1951 Chris Strachwitz reports: “I am President of the still active Arhoolie Foundation, owner of the Down Home Music Store in El Cerrito, Calif., and owner of Tradition Music Co. BMI and BMG Music Co. are publishers of many of the songs I recorded for Arhoolie Records Inc., which was gifted in 2015 to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. by the Sage Foundation and Brazos Films (cultural music documentaries made with Les Blank). I live at AlmaVia in San Rafael, 1961Calif.”
A1974strongturnout of Caties gathered on December 4, 2021 for the post wedding party for Greg Smith and his bride, Belinda McCullough, on the beach in Oceanside, Calif. Alumni attendees included Best Man Zack Crane, Marco Gentile, Greg Kubicek (who made a special trip for the occasion), Fred Powell, Butch Twining, Jim Wright, and Steve Royce '75. Smith writes: “One thing we all realize is that, as the years go on, we appreciate our Cate classmates more and more every year. Younger alumni should know that people you were not necessarily close to during your years at Cate can become great friends later in life. It has been an unexpected lifetime gift.”
From left: Sam Hinckley '75, Lex Passaris '75, Mark Ewert '75, and Edward Johnston '75 had a mini-reunion on the occasion of a Bay Area visit by Mark Ewert '75.
1971 James Sheldon reports: “Reparations premiered at the Billie Holiday Theatre in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and was named Best Play of 2019 by the Audelco Awards, honoring excellence in Black theatre. The recent revival by the Gloucester (Mass.) Stage Company north of Boston was just named Best Play of 2021 by the Broadway World Awards (Boston Area). We are now trying to arrange a reading in London with the aim of landing a production there later in the year.”
James Zevely writes: “I have returned to San Diego after 12-plus years of living not too south of the border. Rancho Santini is just below Rosarito Beach and Valle de Guadalupe is now famous for its wines. Ensenada is a bustling port and international city with, at one time, more PhDs per capita than anywhere in Latin America. Fun place to live. I have a Specialized Turbo Vado e-bike that I ride everywhere, and it is a bit of a monster. Pickleball and swim are nearby at the YMCA. I am a great fan of Wave, the new San Diego women’s professional soccer team. Good soccer with much less drama than the men’s game, even though I played men’s soccer all through Cate and Johns Hopkins University.”
Marty Dodge recently published For The Love of Nature and it has been selling quite well. He will soon submit revisions for the second 1962edition.
Old friends, Robert Young '73 and Grant Ivey '73 got together in April to play some music.
From left: Butch Twining '74, Steve Royce '75, Fred Powell '74, Greg Kubicek '74, Greg Smith '74, and Zack Crane '74 at the wedding of Greg Smith and Belinda McCullough in Oceanside, Calif. in December, 2021.
The 2019 production of Reparations by James Sheldon '71 at Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn won five awards, including Best Play from the Audelco Awards.
1972 Bruce King published his fifth book on climate restoration, Build Beyond Zero, and looks forward to sharing it with his Cate classmates.
CLASS NOTES
Jonathan Howland '79 released Native Air this spring and conducted a book signing at Chaucer’s Books in Santa Barbara, Calif. in May.
Karl Behring '80 and Luke Marsh '78 reunited in North Beach, Md., in May.
People joined us from the Bay Area, Colorado, Florida, Fresno, Idaho, and San Diego. We had Jimmy Chapman '85, Heather Jackson '87, Dominique Rojas '85, and Lindy Yurich '87 join in on the fun too. It was great to be together. We cannot wait for the next time!”
1982 Matt Swinden shares: “After a career in Fire/EMS for over 38 years that started with my senior project at Cate, I have started my next career as a commercial pilot flying the friendly skies of Southern California in a ‘puddle jumper.’ You are never too old to pursue your passions in life.” Richard MacDonald serves on his local Royal National Lifeboat Institution, all-weather lifeboat crew, in the coastal fishing town of Anstruther, nine miles south of St Andrews, Scotland. He was awarded the Queens Platinum Jubilee Medal for his services on a Royal National Lifeboat Institution all-weather volunteer lifeboat. Richard would be happy to show any alumni visiting or studying in St Andrews around the lifeboat and can be contacted richard.macdonald@yahoo.co.uk.at Richard is based near St Andrews, Scotland.
70 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Richard MacDonald '82 is pursuing Servons at sea as a lifeboat volunteer for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in Scotland.
1978 Charlie Ganz reports: “I have been on a 7-day non-stop text thread between Karl Behring '80, Luke Marsh, and myself. Karl and Luke grew up in Chico, Calif. Karl lives in Phoenix, Ariz., and has retired. The last few years he has been threatening to visit Luke in the Washington, D.C. area, but the pandemic stopped him. Well, he has been on the road for seven days and apparently he has figured out that he can text without typing. We have documented proof of what he has seen on his journey. The only picture I wanted was of him and Luke and both of those guys look pretty darn good. 1979Cheers.”
1984 Mona Khalil co-authored The Future of Diplomacy After COVID-19, which focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international diplomacy and the challenges and opportunities it presents for advancing peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights in a post-COVID world.
1981 Stephen Ostercamp writes: “My wife Marie-Françoise and I mourn the loss of our son, Etienne Thomas Ostercamp (age 28), who died in Oxford, England, in January from a cancer in his chest cavity. He is survived by his parents and his brother, Pierre, age 24.”
Jeannie Pettigrew Whelan writes: “The Class of '86 could not stand it any longer, so we planned a rogue reunion in San Francisco. Dave Nalchajian did an amazing job of rallying people. We went to The Brixton on Friday night and had dinner at the Whelans on Saturday.
Jonathan Howland released Native Air in March, 2022, a work of literary fiction with an East Coast launch that took place at the AWP Conference and Bookfair in Philadelphia, Pa., and a West Coast launch at Green Apple Books in San Francisco, Calif. On May 4, 2022, he conducted a book reading at Chaucer’s Books in Santa Barbara, Calif. For more information about the book, visit www.jonathanhowland.org.
1985 Caroline Pereira founded BadassU.org, a membership community for young adults (ages 17-28) seeking to grow exponentially in a mentally and emotionally healthy way. Young adults are surrounded by likeminded peers who are driven to overcome any blocks that may be keeping them stuck or overwhelmed. Learn more at BadassU.org.1986
From left: Kyle Biehle, Margot Kramer Biehle '86, JP Whelan, Colin Drake '87, Will Wolcott '86, Mike Niven '86, Blake O’Neill '86, Stryder Thompkins '86, Brian Yager '86, Stu Gildred '86, Monty Schmidt '86, Pilar Woodman '86, Christina Murray McLeod '86, and Jeannie Pettigrew Whelan '86 at the home of Jeannie Pettigrew Whelan in May.
4. Jiselle Ooi '07 and boyfriend, Clarence, visited the Mesa from Singapore and reconnected with faculty members and old friends.
5. Alumni and parents of incoming Cate students visit with longtime faculty member, Frank Griffin, during Revisit Day in April. From left: Whitney Abbott '90, Samantha Wykoff '94, Frank Griffin, Josh Conviser '92, and Ethan Reece '90.
3. Kelsey and Ben Anshutz '07 enjoyed a beautiful day at Cate and stopped to take a photo in front of Kirby Quadrangle in April.
71 5 1 2 4 3
Front: Pilar Woodman '86, Dominique Rojas '85 and Heather Jackson '87 at The Brixton in San Francisco, Calif. in May.
1987 Belinda (Blum) Randolph left her job at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. She was working on Mission Operations for the Perseverance rover on Mars and for a Low Earth Orbiting satellite that measures carbon levels on Earth. Her new position is at Blue Origin, and she is working on their Lunar Permanence missions. Her husband, Tom Randolph, left JPL and joined Blue Origin for their Space Mobility program. Her family moved from La Cañada Flintridge to Ventura, Calif. Their son, Michael Randolph, is about to graduate from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis
2. Salvador (Sal) Carrera '90 and family stopped by the Blue Ewe to shop for some fun Cate gear.
1. Robert (Bob) Tabor '80 and wife, Kitty Lombardo, made a motorcycle trip from Sacramento, Calif. to the Mesa to visit Bob’s old dorm and favorite Cate spots.
Alumni Visit The Mesa
Back from left: Blake O’Neill '86, Jean Pettigrew Whelan '86, Will Wolcott '86, David Nalchajian '86, Stryder Thompkins '86, Janet Yesk '86, Bruce Edwards '86, Stu Guildred '86 and Denile Cooley.
James Black '91 and his wife, May, enjoying the New Orleans Jazz Festival in May. From left: Simone Shah '95, Amanda Priestley, Erin Bernau '95, Elena Schneider '95, Amanda Freeman Peiffer '95, Boyden Rohner '95, Jessica Pfeifer '95, and Irene Stevens '95 in Palm Springs, Calif. in November, 2021.
Members1995of the Class of 1995 hosted a mini-reunion in Palm Springs, Calif. in November 2021. Attendees included: Erin Bernau, Amanda Freeman Peiffer, Jessica Pfeifer, Amanda PriestleyCallis, Boyden Rohner, Elena Schneider, Simone Shah, and Irene Stevens. Janette Knowlton Abramowitz was unable to make the trip from Hawaii and FaceTimed to join in the fun! 1996 Michael Smith launched Regeneration.
CLASS NOTES
72 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
1991 Robin Scher has been working on a series of stop-motion Lego animation shorts. They are available on YouTube under the channel for “Allen Walker, Actor.”
From Left: John Larson '93, Colin Browne '95, Ashley Hill '94, Andrea Browne Robertson '94, Kelly Katzberg '94, Lisa Browne Stanson '92, and Amanda Salter '94 at the wedding of Andrea and Bruce Robertson in Portland, Ore., on September 25, 2021.
Maritsa Cholmondeley married Daniel Hofherr on April 1, 2022, in Santa Barbara, 2002Calif. Hayley Boyd recently founded a climate tech startup, Vert Science (https://www. vertscience.com), that helps fashion brands set net-zero targets and successfully meet them. Hayley moved back to Santa Barbara!
James Black writes: “My wife, May, and I attended the New Orleans Jazz Festival on May 6, 2022, when we stumbled across the Ochsner Medical tent onsite. Remembering my class of '91 classmate Skye Ochsner was from New Orleans, I wandered into the Ochsner tent hoping to find someone from the company that knew her. Alas, nobody knew Skye. However, five minutes later we were eating crawfish enchiladas at a shared table in the food tent when the lady next to me said she went to school with Skye Ochsner! Skye, do you recognize this lady? It is a small world!”
Matthew Syrkin Horowitz '94 and wife, Erika Mouynes, at the closing ceremonies of a global summit in Panama City.
VC, an early-stage venture fund focused on climate innovation utilizing circular and regenerative principles. Their strategy encompasses design (materials and packaging), use (consumer brands and products), and reuse technologies (reverse logistics and marketplaces) that generate measurable environmental impact alongside returns. Advisors include Retired General Wesley Clark, Leonardo DiCaprio, and William McDonough among 1998others.
Nick Ditmore writes: “We Obispo with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, and will start working for Orbital Sidekick in San Francisco, Calif. Their second son, Matthew Randolph, completed his first semester at UC Berkeley after spending two years at home during the pandemic. Matthew plans to major in Data Science and is considering a career in teaching. Philip Armour recently published a travel book called 111 Places in Denver That You Must Not Miss. Please check it out to learn more about Denver!
A1994groupofalumni attended the wedding of Andrea Browne and Bruce Robertson in Portland, Ore., on September 25, 2021. Colin Browne '95, Lisa Browne Stanson '92, Ashley Hill '94, Kelly Katzberg '94, John Larson '93, and Amanda Salter '94 attended the celebration.
73
welcomed our baby girl, Juniper (June) Anne Ditmore, on March 23, 2022, bought a home in the neighborhood of Montclair in Oakland, Calif. I am now the VP of Design at Joy, the all-in-one wedding planning app (withjoy.com). I have worked there for the last three years as the director of design.”
2005 Lydie (Freed) Fontana and Jason Fontana welcomed baby Girard Doty into the world on April 12, 2022. Alexandra2006and Jesse Glass welcomed baby Giselle Talia Glass into their family on July 28, 2021. Vanessa Cruz Santana and Julio Monterroso are proud parents of Matias J. Monterroso who was born on February 1, 2022. Olivia Sparkuhl and Ashwin Atre '05 welcomed their second child, Roohi Alice Atre, on January 19, 2022. Big brother Bodie Lee Atre is two years 2007old.
Ross Franken’s '03 children, Everett and Lucas, hold up the Cate banner on a ski trip in Branäs, Sweden.
Alana Salguero married Adam Dalva on October 31, 2021, at Franciscan Gardens in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
2003 Ross Franken reports: “It was a little cold on our last ski trip to Branäs in Sweden, but I had to bring out the Cate banner that we had been given on our previous campus visit, and my wife and boys, Everett and Lucas, helped hold it up. On a little bit of a sad note, our father just passed away after a long battle with cancer, and being on the Cate campus just brought back such a positive feeling. Our mom, Ronda, previously worked in the alumni office, and I can say with confidence that her positivity and helpfulness in that office continues to this day. As our parents were married at Mesa House lawn in 1980, Cate will always hold a special place in our hearts.” Marcus Spagnoletti proposed to Andrea Remmert this year. He writes: “Surprisingly enough, she said yes! We are happy and looking forward to seeing everybody next year for the 20th reunion.”
Eric Carmichael reports: “We moved to Oahu, Hawaii, earlier last year with my 1-year-old son as the new Finance & Business Development Manager, for Wonderful Sales, where I have worked for almost 10 years. My wife and I are expecting our second child at the end of this year.” Hayley Robinett married Andrew Patton on December 3, 2021, in Key West, Fla.
Dave Soto attended the wedding of Chris Cusack and Stephanie Rotolo in Ben Lomond, Calif. in April. Other alumni attendees included Brennan Cusack '11, Greg Cusack '12, Julian Martinez, and Julien Vollering Ashley Kim married Steven Choi on November 13, 2021, in New York, N.Y.
Allison Sparkuhl writes: “I’m happy to share that after five incredible years of leading Global Communications for Allbirds, including taking the brand through a Nasdaq IPO in November 2021, I have left to build my own brand strategy and communications consulting firm, Sparkuhl Strategies. It was an epic adventure helping the business grow from $1M to $300M in such a short time, and I am excited to support other entrepreneurs on their journeys.”
Julien Vollering '08, Chris Cusack '08, Julian Martinez '08, Dave Soto '08, Brennan Cusack '11, and Greg Cusack '12 gathered for Chris Cusack’s wedding in Ben Lomand, Calif.
Newly engaged, Marcus Spagnoletti '03 and Andrea Remmert are all smiles.
2008 Sohee Lee and Ben Carpenter eloped on January 20, 2022, and will be having a formal wedding celebration in August of 2023 with their closest family and friends. Lily Nguyen Sachs and husband, Clayton, welcomed their first daughter, Louisa Huê Sachs, on May 31, 2021. They live in Brooklyn, N.Y., and are excited to bring Louisa to the Mesa at some point soon for a visit!
From front left: Karla Casariego '08, Lizzy Roberts '08, Julia Weis '08, Lily Nguyen Sachs '08, and Rebecca Grossman '08 at the wedding of Ashely Kim '08 to Steven Choi in New York in November, 2021.
2004 Pei-Ru Ko was Cate’s Convocation speaker in May, honoring APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) Heritage Month. Pei-Ru is the founder and director of Real Food Real Stories, a nonprofit dedicated to humanizing the food system and inspiring cultural and social change.
the wedding, the Giles and Luo families had great fun and enjoyed softball and dodgeball games at Cate School.
2015 Noah Somaratne married Ella Astrid Mikaelsdotter Rosval on April 16, 2022, at Leadbetter Beach in Santa Barbara, Calif. Cate alumni and friends in attendance included Alex Brown '16, Andrew MacDonnell, Kian O’Connor, Noah Perlmutter, Dylan Schwartz, Hannah Solis-Cohen, Jan Somaratne, Ransi Somaratne, Brad Thomas, Chrissy Thomas, and Best Man Patrick Thomas.
2009 Amy Holm writes: “After eight years in Nashville, Tenn., working in Public Relations in the music industry, I have moved to Denver, Colo., to continue promoting live events and being back in the mountains! I am excited to be able to easily ski again and have reconnected with fellow alumni in the area which is always a lot of 2010fun.”
Liana Corwin married Hugh Gibbons on January 6, 2022, at Holy Trinity Abbey Church in Adare, Ireland.
Megan Falvey '10 traveled to Ireland to celebrate the wedding of Hugh Gibbons and Liana Corwin Gibbons '10 in January.
2018 Will Borghesani was featured in the Montecito Journal. The Montecito Union School, Marymount, and Cate alumnus is a final-year college student with sights on law school. Will graduated with a B.A. in Political Science and History from the University of Montana in Missoula,
74 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
From top left: Amy Giles, Chris Giles, Harry Gruner '11, Wesley Greason '13, Bill Pomerans '12, Nate Wilson '15, Warren Giles '15. Lanéa Pearson '13, Alexis Hill '13, Daniel Boateng '22, Eliza Giles '13, George Luo '11, and Alexx Temeña '11 at the wedding of Eliza and George in March.
2017 Musa Hakim writes: “Hey everyone! I am working full-time in Cleveland, Ohio, as a Materials Engineer and have co-founded a blockchain asset startup called Lazy Moose specializing in generating NFT projects. The projects we anticipate creating will emphasize
CLASS NOTES
2014 Maddy Barney married Austin Simpson on March 12, 2022, at the Robert Day '37 Walkway at Cate School. Miles Barney '12 officiated the ceremony. Alumni in attendance included Meghan Killea '13, Jenny Lundt, and Ben Swain
2013 Jesse Merchant married Javier Zuñiga on September 18, 2021, in Los Angeles, Calif. in their family backyard. They are now forming their own ice cream company, Bad Habit! This year, they are slated to open a dual-concept space with an ice cream shop and bar. For more information, check out badhabiticecreams.com. Riley McCarthy and Austin Gallegos eloped on April 17, 2022, and married in Big Bear, Calif. Eliza Giles married George Luo '11 on March 19, 2022, at her parents’ home (Amy and Chris Giles) on Shepard Mesa in Carpinteria, Calif. The day before social networking and accessibility. As we move towards launching our own project, we have already begun to work with the city of Cleveland to integrate Web3.0 (NFTs, Crypto, Blockchain Tech, etc.) into the future of our city starting with the FutureLand event in Cleveland in October of this year. We look forward to developing further!”
Musa Hakim '17 speaks to 8th graders in Cleveland, Ohio, on transitions from elementary school to college and the importance of establishing values throughout these phases.
75 Mont. Before he takes the plunge into the professional world, Will is taking some time to slow down and appreciate his surroundings. During the COVID-19 months in isolation, Will rediscovered his passion for fiction and is hoping to continue writing and publishing a novel he is finalizing. Will Borghesani '18 is taking some time to slow down, appreciate his surroundings, and is focusing on creative writing.
Robyn Collins '19 (left) celebrates with Asia Anderson (middle) and Caroline Bullock (right) the Division II Women’s Rugby Spring Championship in Houston, Texas.
2019 Robyn Collins was voted MVP of the 2022 Division II Spring National Rugby Championship for Claremont College. The team won the championship!
2020 Ethan Ha completed his sophomore season as a member of the Westmont College tennis team and won the Men’s Independent College Singles Championship at the 120th Ojai Tennis Tournament in April. Brandon Man attended a Cate reunion dinner with Cornell students and Cate alumni at the Four Seasons Korean BBQ Restaurant in Ithaca, N.Y. Alumni in attendance included Avery Carter '21, Rae Fox '21, Huy Le '19, Tommy Liu '17, and Jason Wang '17.
From left: Cornell students and recent Cate graduates Tommy Liu '17, Avery Carter '21, Rae Fox '21, Brandon Man '20, Huy Le '19 and Jason Wang '17 enjoy a meal at Four Seasons Korean Barbecue in Ithaca, N.Y., in May.
Ethan Ha '20 won the Men’s Independent College Singles championship at the 120th Ojai Tennis Tournament in April.
For the fall Bulletin, we welcome submissions from members of all Cate classes. Please email Guille Gil-Reynoso guille_reynoso@cate.org.at WE FROMLOVEWOULDTOHEARYOU!
From left: Dylan Schwartz '15, Alex Brown '16, Chrissy Thomas, Groom Noah Somaratne '15, Brad Thomas, Bride Astrid Mikaelsdotter Rosavall, Best Man Patrick Thomas '15, Jan Somaratne, Ransi Somaratne, Andrew MacDonnell, Hannah Solis-Cohen, Noah Perlmutter '15, and Kian O’Connor '15 at Astrid Mikaelsdoter Rosval and Noah Somaratne’s wedding reception in April in Santa Barbara, Calif.
76 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER Marriages2022 1974 Belinda McCullough to Greg Smith December 3, 2021 Maritsa1998 Cholmondeley to Daniel Hofherr April 1, 2022 Alana2004 Salguero to Adam OctoberDalva31, 2021 Hayley2007 Robinett to Andrew DecemberPatton3,2021 CLASS NOTES Ashley2008 Kim to Steven NovemberChoi13, 2021 Sohee2008 Lee to Ben JanuaryCarpenter20,2022 Liana2010 Corwin to Hugh JanuaryGibbons6,2022 Eliza2013 Giles to George Luo '11 March 19, 2022 2013 Riley McCarthy to Austin Gallegos April 17, 2022 Jesse2013 Merchant to Javier SeptemberZuñiga18, 2021 Maddy2014 Barney to Austin Simpson March 12, 2022 Noah2015 Somaratne to Ella Astrid Mikaelsdotter AprilRosval16, 2022
77
Vienna Rose to Amy and Andrew Gil April 5, 2022
Samay Patel to Avani and Hersh Shah February 23, 2022
Births
March 23, 2022
2002 Juniper “June” Anne to Grace Koerber and Nicholas Ditmore
2005 Girard Doty to Lydie (Freed) Fontana and Jason Fontana April 12, 2022
January 19, 2022
2006 Giselle Talia to Alexandra and Jesse Glass July 28, 2021
2006 Roohi Alice to Olivia Sparkuhl and Ashwin Atre '05
FACULTY AND STAFF Matias J. Monterroso to Vanessa Cruz Santana '06 and Julio FebruaryMonterroso1,2022
Leigh Charles to Laura Moore and Casey Ortiz March 30, 2022
2008 Louisa Huê to Lily Nguyen Sachs and Clayton Sachs May 31, 2021
Alfred Waterflow Ford '51
FEBRUARY 13, 1934NOVEMBER 26, 2021
CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
In Memoriam
Alfred Waterlow Ford, age 87, of Bethesda, Md., passed away peacefully in his home with his family at his side on November 26, 2021. Born and raised in California by his parents Norman and Helen Ford, Al was educated at UC Berkeley and then got his masters degree in Foreign Relations at Georgetown University. Following employment in Washington, D.C. with the Peace Corps during the exciting Kennedy years, Al’s career spanned 35 years with the US Agency for International Development with posts in many African countries and Haiti. Al was also an avid tennis player throughout his life, pursued a degree in music after his retirement, and had a lifelong love for reading. He is survived by his beloved wife Catharina; his daughter Christina (Anthony); son Thomas (Aynoor), as well as three grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice JSSA, 6123 Montrose Rd, Rockville, MD 20852.
Published by The Washington Post on Dec. 4, 2021
79 Washington Atlee Burpee '75 JANUARY 9, 1957 - FEBRUARY 21, 2022 Published by The Intelligencer on Feb. 24, 2022
After college Atlee returned to Pennsylvania and worked with the Burpee company, which was no longer family-owned. He was happiest working with vegetable seeds at the Santa Paula, Calif. branch and gained solid experience in various departments at company headquarters in Warminster, Pa. While his father had focused professionally on flower seeds, Atlee favored vegetable seeds. After his time at the Burpee company, he worked for two other seed companies before settling on Sakata Seed America, Inc. where he has been for the last 25 years, serving as the North America Sales Manager. Justin Davis, Sakata’s Sales and Marketing Director wrote, “Atlee was an exceptionally talented and knowledgeable seedsman who built his career on the principles of courtesy, respect, and commitment…. His true passion and love in life was his family. He was endlessly proud of [them] and was always showing pictures to colleagues while beaming with joy.”
Atlee was an active, committed member of Calvary Episcopal Church, formerly of Conshohocken. He is survived by his wife of 35 years Deborah (Stetser) Burpee, his son Lee Burpee, daughter Lisa (& Scott) Rafter, daughter Michelle Burpee (& Vince Orsini); and his sisters Gaye Burpee, Jeannetta Burpee, Carol Burpee, Emilie Burpee Ryan, Phoebe Burpee McGaw. He is also survived by his grandchildren Shane Rafter, Shannon Rafter, Alexandria Orsini, Ava Orsini; six nieces and nephews; and five grand nieces and nephews. Atlee is remembered by his family as a kind, easy going, good humored, and gentle man.
Atlee Burpee III. Atlee was the greatgrandson of the founder of the vegetable and flower seed company and was raised first on Warden Farm in Doylestown, PA and later in Santa Barbara, Calif. He graduated from the University of
Atlee was a life member of the Plymouth Fire Company and an active volunteer firefighter for many years. His hobbies evolved from rock climbing to cycling. He introduced a younger male cousin to the game of pool, another young cousin credited Atlee with his first ride on a motorcycle and Atlee competed with a third cousin for ATV time trials on a homemade track at the Doylestown family farm “Fordhook,” which became the name of a popular variety of lima beans. Over the last eight years Atlee’s sporting passion switched to ultramarathons of 50 and 100 miles. His capstone feat was completing 242 miles in a six-day race. He commented once that when he and fellow ultra-runners competed in the standard 26.2-mile marathons, these were considered “social events.”
Atlee was born January 9, 1957, in Abington, Pa. to the late Charlotte (Bates) Burpee and the late W. “Bill”
California Davis in 1979 with a degree in Agricultural Economics and a specialization in horticulture.
W. Atlee Burpee IV, a 37-year resident of Conshohocken, Pa., passed away in his sleep unexpectedly on Monday morning, February 21, 2022, at the age of 65.
Born in York, Ontario, Canada just outside of Toronto, Arlene grew up in Ventura, Calif. surrounded by surf, sun, and orange groves. At an early age, she attended Saint Paul’s Episcopal School, where she developed her skills in piano and ballet, eventually performing the lead role in the ballet “Peter and the Wolf.”
80 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
JUNE 4, 1969 - MAY 8, 2022 Published on Hiltonfh.com California where she met her future husband Don while working on former Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi’s campaign for State Assembly. The two married at Mission San Buenaventura in 1995 and then earned their MBAs from the RH Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, settling in the nearby area. Her career included an Office Manager role for Nao Takasugi’s State Assembly office, a five-year stint as a Marketing Manager with Intuit, and four years as an Office Manager helping grow the family business, Intrev, while she raised her son Casey. Her favorite position, by far, was as the Office Manager at Saint Martin of Tours Catholic School in Gaithersburg. Arlene loved to juggle the many activities necessary to keep the school operating smoothly, to visit with the many young faces who stopped by her desk, and to pass time with her friends and coworkers along the way.
A fan of animated movies, she loved watching Studio Ghibli and superhero movies with her kids, and often passed her time reading manga. She also enjoyed nurturing her two children, Casey (21) and Katelyn (14), as they matured into fine young adults. Arlene was also a parishioner at Saint Mary’s Parish and Shrine in Barnesville, where she, her two children and husband, Don, loved attending mass. She is survived by her two children, Casey and Katelyn; her husband, Donald (DP); her father, Erle Andrew Pearson; her mother, Alma Petronella Pearson; her brother Erle Andrew “Uncle Drew” Pearson II; her brother, Mark Adrian “Big Uncle” Pearson; her mother-inlaw Peggy Patti; her sister-in-law, Sarah Molina Pearson; her brother-in-law, Michael Joseph Patti; her brother-inlaw, James Edward Patti; her nephew, Mason Pearson; and her niece, Giovanna InPearson.lieuof flowers, donations can be made to the “Arlene Patti Memorial Scholarship” by mailing a check to Saint Martin of Tours School, 115 S Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 (mention “Arlene Patti” in the memo line).
IN MEMORIAM
After earning her bachelor’s degree in Textile Sciences and Apparel from Cornell University, she returned to Jo-Ann Arlene Patti '87
She attended high school at Cate School on the Mesa in Santa Barbara County, where she excelled at piano, drama, track, and soccer. Nicknamed, “Gnarly Arly,” she played sweeper on defense, helping her team to reach the CIF playoffs in her senior year. She also choreographed, sang and danced in Cate’s performance of “Guys and Dolls.”
Jo-Ann Arlene Patti (Pearson), 52 of Gaithersburg, Md. returned home to the Lord on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8, 2022, after succumbing to COVID-19 at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in nearby Rockville.
Just like at Cate, Nessie dedicated her time to creating numerous artworks, posters, and installations for any groups or businesses that needed them. She was a fervent supporter of small local businesses and those that ran them and actively participated in the Mallacoota Business and Tourism board. Her passion and dedication to the community led to her newest position as Community Connector & Arts Coordinator, inspiring those around her to engage in art.
I mentioned earlier that it feels impossible to capture the legacy of Vanessa Janss in writing. There are so many more things I can say. More accomplishments. More accounts of generosity. More stirring tales of grand adventures. Just so much more. But what I can say is that Nessie was brilliantly one of a kind, and we are all better for having known Vanessaher.leaves behind her husband Brett Menke and their sons Skylar and Hendriks; her parents Allison and Peter Janss; her brother Christian Janss and his wife Elizabeth and their children Lila, Oliver, and Calvin; and a million and a half grieving friends and loved ones.
isolated little ocean town of Mallacoota, having grown up on a sheep and cattle ranch between the small rural cities of Bliss and Paradise, Idaho.
81 others and I believe truly showed the generosity of Ness. I have since found Esky packs made up still in our spare room wardrobe.”
It was in Australia that Nessie’s talents and aspirations took off running. She channeled her prowess with the camera into a wedding photography business. She produced the environmental surf documentary “Close to Home” to raise funds for the Surfrider Foundation in order to protect coastal regions. She actively participated in her children’s preschool and fundraising, even taking on the role of soccer coach for her sons’ “Roo Ball” team. She was the president of the Mallacoota Boardriders Club and established the Wild Harvest Seafood Festival, which celebrated the bounty and variety of seafood in the region. And after years of dreaming of starting a Mexican food stand in Mallacoota, she opened her taco truck, Taqueria Costa Salvaje.
Vanessa Janss '99
Vanessa Janss was exceptional. She was kind, funny, adventurous, loving, fearless, inspirational, generous, and everything you could ever ask for in a friend, sister, daughter, wife, and mother. She was an incredibly gifted artist, a great student, a leader, a prolific writer, a go-getter, the life of the party, a really good cook, the best friend anyone could ask for, and the most amazing mother to two wonderful boys. After graduating from Cate, as a member of the Cum Laude Class of 1999, Nessie went on to get her Bachelor’s in Studio Art from UC San Diego and her Masters in Fine Art from UC Santa Barbara. Nessie’s talents were endless. At Cate, I would always ask her to draw little doodles for me. She loved sketching cute little hibiscus flowers and surf waves, and her spirited caricatures would always make me laugh. Some of my favorite designs of hers were the ones that graced many a Cate class and band t-shirt. Her art took her much much further than that after Cate. Her gallery shows were stunning, and her writing and artworks were printed in such publications as The Surfer’s Journal, Womens Surf Style Magazine, and the book Surf Story Vol. 1 by Robb Havassy Nessie married Brett Menke at Hollister Ranch on September 8, 2007 and they eventually moved to Brett’s hometown of Mallacoota, Australia. Despite moving halfway across the globe, there was a sense of familiarity for Nessie in the
By Sachi Price '99 This is incredibly hard to write, and not just due to the grief of losing one of your best friends. It seems almost impossible to sum up in words the gravity of someone so special. I can detail her mile-long list of accomplishments and recount our hilarious adventures or, more fittingly, our misadventures, but Nessie’s impact was so deep that no words can do her justice.
MARCH 11, 1981 - OCTOBER 24, 2021
After the devastating bushfires in Australia in 2019-20, her husband Brett recalls “she took it upon herself to assist local businesses that lost all their revenue by beginning an online store called My Mallacoota Esky (Esky is a slang term for a cooler. The idea was that she could fill a virtual cooler with products from Mallacoota businesses.) She did this with all her own funds and received no profit for herself. This was purely to help
Personally, we’ve known the Avansino family for over 30 years and got to know Kristen through our friendship with our Cate classmate, Calgary. Anyone lucky enough to have known Kristen was embraced by her unending enthusiasm, warmth and creativity. She was a kind, curious and vivacious woman who would do anything for her girls and their friends. Over the years, she welcomed many Cate students into her home –whether in Santa Barbara, Nevada or wherever else a group of Cate friends happened to be. We are both lucky to have toasted with the Avansino family in many places – from London to Italy.
Kristen Avansino TRUSTEE
Kristen Avansino (middle) with her daughters Marisa '97 (left) and Calgary '93.
Kristen was also impossibly stylish and impeccably dressed, no matter the occasion. She relished sharing her love of ballet with her daughters, grandchildren and anyone else who showed an interest.
82 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
DECEMBER 31, 1945 - MAY 16, 2022 FORMER
IN MEMORIAM
Kristen had a huge heart, generous spirit, and a wonderful sense of humor. Her laugh was truly contagious and her zest for life knew no bounds. For Calgary’s 21st birthday, Kristen performed a song and dance about the first 21 years of Calgary’s life that absolutely brought the house down, mortifying her daughter in the process. She was never someone who was shy to perform – whether it be a toast in honor of one of her beloved daughters, choreographing, or dancing.
The bond that the Avansino family –Skip, Kristen, Calgary and Marisa – has is one that is so deep and so profound. Even as their family grew to incorporate spouses and children, the love between the “core four” is palpable. Kristen’s presence will be so greatly felt by her family, friends, and those of us who were lucky enough to have known her during her years. To say she will be missed is an understatement. It was an honor to know her.
By Amy Nichols Richards '93 and Wyatt Gruber '93 We are deeply saddened to share the passing of one of Cate’s dearest family members, Kristen Avansino. She is survived by Skip, her husband of 55 years, her daughters, Calgary '93 and Marisa '97, and five grandchildren. Kristen served as president and executive director of the E. L. Wiegand Foundation, where she worked tirelessly to support the arts as well as numerous other endeavors throughout Reno, Northern Nevada and beyond. At Cate, Kristen served as a trustee from 1990 to 1998 and established the Wiegand Community Center and now Wiegand Performing Arts Center. Reflecting on her impact at Cate, current Head of School Ben Williams said, “Kristen was a critical partner for me and the trustees in a host of projects designed to support student life and the arts. In her capacity as President of the E. L. Wiegand Foundation, Kristen imposed remarkable discipline not simply on the grant application process but on our work with contractors, builders, and the like. Always supportive but never willing to settle for less than our best, Kristen forced us to be ever better at the work we do. In that way, she and the standards that guided her work had as much impact on the Cate community as her and the foundation’s extraordinary Priorphilanthropy.”toleading the E. L. Wiegand Foundation, Kristen was a professor of dance at the University of Nevada-Reno and was president of the Arte Italia in Reno, a museum that brought Italian art exhibitions and chefs from Italy. She also served on the San Francisco Ballet Board of Trustees for the past 30 years. Her love and enthusiasm for the arts knew no bounds, and the Wiegand Performing Arts Center at Cate is a testament to that love.
From Archivesthe
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1972, we take a look back at the 62nd Commencement in Cate School’s history. The following El Batidor article, written by Rodger Pitcairn '74, details the weekend’s exercises for the 44 graduating seniors.
Head SearchSchool
Annalee Salcedo P'26 Faculty Marianne Sprague P'91, '97,'98,'02, '05,'09 Trustee Brian Tom P'22,'23 Trustee Lisa Stanson '92 Board Trustee,President,ex-officio
MEMBERS
Sheila Marmon Heuer '90 Trustee Jay Melican '84 Trustee Rosalind Emmett Neiman '89, P'21,'23,'25 Trustee
The Search Committee will host a monthly Zoom update on the last Thursday of the month beginning on July 28, 2022. Please visit www.cate.org/about/head-of-school-search/ for further information on the Committee’s timeline, process, and the Committee directly at Headsearch@cate.org.
In response to Ben Williams’ recent announcement of his retirement after 25 years of service to the School, the Board of Trustees has established a Search Committee to oversee the identification of Cate’s next Head of School and engaged consultants Michele Haertel and Kristine Johnson with Spencer Stuart to assist in the process. They are currently gathering community perspectives and feedback on the opportunities, challenges and priorities for the future of the School. OF THE SEARCH COMMITTEE
progress or contact
Committee
Calgary Avansino '93 Chair, Trustee Maude Bond Faculty Frank Griffin P'09,'12 Faculty Wyatt Gruber'93 Board Chair, Trustee, ex-officio
84 CATE BULLETIN / SUMMER 2022
Kristen P'08,'09,'12,'22Klingbeil-Weis Trustee
of
OFFICERS OF THE BOARD Lisa B. Stanson '92 NewportPresident Beach, Calif. J. Wyatt Gruber '93 SanChairFrancisco, Calif. Marianne Sprague Vice SantaPresidentBarbara, Calif. David Tunnell SanTreasurerFrancisco, 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 Alumni Council President Pasadena, Calif. Calgary Avansino '93 San Francisco, Calif. Daniel J. Cherry III '96 Redondo Beach, Calif. Rosalind Emmett-Nieman '89 Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Patricia MacFarlane Santa Barbara, Calif. Casey McCann '97 Santa Barbara, Calif. Jay P. Melican III '84 Hillsboro, Ore. Monique Parsons '84 Glencoe, Ill. Leone Price '02 Los Angeles, Calif. Edward R. Simpson '86 Los Angeles, Calif. Marianne Sprague Santa Barbara, Calif. Brian Tom Hong Kong Sylvia Torres-Guillén '84 Los Angeles, Calif.
2021-22 Cate School Board of Trustees
Rebecca Foster Manhattan Beach, Calif. Sheila Marmon Heuer '90 Culver City, Calif. Adam S. Horowitz '99 Irvine, Calif. Kristen Klingbeil-Weis Santa Barbara, Calif.
FACULTY ADVISORY TRUSTEES Annalee Salcedo Math Department Chair Carpinteria, Calif. Karl Weis History Instructor Santa Barbara, Calif. Zhengli Sieh '22 gives his assembly-favorite and iconic “Let’s Rock” salute to the Class of 2022 one last time.
CATE SCHOOL 1960 Cate Mesa Road Carpinteria, CA 93014-5005 OrganizationNon-ProfitU.S.Postage PAID Santa Barbara, CA Permit #1020
