A stunning geomagnetic display of the Northern Lights over the Carl C. Icahn Center for Science. Captured by Penny Post P ’19, ’23 on Oct. 10, 2024
DEPARTMENTS
Remarks From the Head of School Letter From Alex Curtis
The Chapel “Hospitably Drawing Us In” 3 4 30 34 52 56 60 64 6 10 20 28
On Christian & Elm News About the School
Alumni Association News
Calendar of Events, Alumni Gatherings & Events
Classnotes
Profiles of Harold Green ’74, CEO and Ecopreneur, Global Emissionary; Jennifer Yu Cheng ’99, President, CTF Education Group; and Charles Calotta ’13, Award Winning Tenor
In Memoriam
Remembering Those We Have Lost
Scoreboard
Recap of Fall ’24 Sports
Bookshelf
Reviews of Works by Hayes Greenfield ’75, Charles Kenney ’76, and Michael Waters ’16
End Note
A Student Pays Tribute to Seymour St. John Chapel
FEATURES
Choate By the Numbers Strong for Today and Tomorrow
Archives Alive
Exploring Connection Through Time
It’s in the Blood
RH Factors’ 50-Year Legacy
Since 1925
Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin is published fall, winter, and spring for alumni, students and their parents, and friends of the School. Please send change of address to Alumni Records and all other correspondence to the Communications Office, 333 Christian Street, Wallingford, CT 06492-3800.
Choate Rosemary Hall does not discriminate in the administration of its educational policies, athletics, other school-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices on the basis of age, gender, race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic predisposition, ancestry, or other categories protected by Connecticut and federal law. Printed in U.S.A. CRH201201/17.75M
Editor
Susanne Davis
T: (203) 697-2475
Email: sdavis@choate.edu
Lead Design and Production
Beth Ann Strong
Design
Ann Marie Nolan
Classnotes Editor Henry McNulty ’65
Contributors
Christine Bennett
D. Gam Bepko
Jana Brown
Alison Cady P ’23, ’26
Joanna Cantor ’01
Lucy Domingo ’26
Kim Hastings P ’15, ’18, ’18
Kate L. Henricks
Rhea Hirshman
Nolan Silbernagel
KeriAnne Tisdale
Phil Ventre
Leslie Virostek P ’15, ’17, ’20
Photography
Joey Avena
Tom Kates
Choate Rosemary Hall
Board of Trustees 2024-2025
Danya Alsaady P ’17, ’19, ’23, ’28
Kenneth G. Bartels ’69, P ’04
Marc E. Brown ’82
Seth J. Brufsky ’84
Yahonnes S. Cleary ’96
Alex Curtis P ’17, ’20
Elizabeth M. Ferreira ’92, P ’28
Katherine B. Forrest ’82
David A. Fraze ’84
Kristen Mautner Garlinghouse ’85
Gunther S. Hamm ’98
Elizabeth A. Hogan ’82
Jungwook ”Ryan” Hong ’89, P ’19, ’22, ’25
Kelly Green Kahn ’86
Daniel G. Kelly Jr. ’69, P ’03
Patience P. “Duby” McDowell ’78
Christian B. McGrath ’84, P ’18, ’21
Takashi Murata ’93, P ’25
George F. Pyne IV ’84
M. Anne Sa’adah
Julian C. Salisbury P ’26
Life Trustees
Bruce S. Gelb ’45, P ’72, ’74, ’76, ’78
Edwin A. Goodman ’58
Cary L. Neiman ’64
Stephen J. Schulte ’56, P ’86
William G. Spears ’56, P ’81, ’90
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On the Cover
Cover photo: 1973. In the foreground (right) Polly Packard, original Coach of the RH Factors and wife of then sixth form dean Jeremy Packard, huddles with her team on the ice in Remsen Arena. This photo originally appeared on the cover of the Choate Rosemary Magazine in September 1974.
Dear Alumni and Friends of Choate Rosemary Hall,
Some may have heard that I had to take a short leave following a medical issue that caught me by surprise in August. Now that I am back, I want to express my deep appreciation to the entire Choate community for their support while I was away. I am very grateful to Head of Student and Academic Life Jenny Karlen Elliott for her brilliant leadership serving as Acting Head of School until my return in October. We often highlight Choate’s location in the wonderful town of Wallingford and so close to the vibrant city of New Haven as an attribute, and I was reminded in a very personal way how fortunate we are to be so close to world-class medical facilities. Choate has a long history of alumni and parents working at Yale New Haven Hospital; and it is a comfort to know our community benefits from such extraordinary resources and services just down the road.
We mark the turn of the quarter-century with indicators of our growth in this issue’s article “Choate by the Numbers.” As you read it, please know that these numbers are not merely metrics; rather, they reflect long-term strategy and planning — and the hard work of many. Now in year three of our 2021 Strategic Plan, we can report that we have begun or completed over 90% of our implementation actions outlined in the plan. The outcome of these directed and focused efforts is a School that is not only strong by the metrics but also grounded in its values and vision for the future. Thanks to the great efforts of our community, faculty, and staff, as well as the Board of Trustees thinking, creating, and holding themselves and the School to execute this plan, the School has continued to build on its strengths, as reflected in the numbers. With over 3,100 applicants seeking admission this past year, an 11% acceptance rate, and a 75% yield rate, I am gratified to see such interest and enthusiasm for Choate’s unique experience and the opportunities we provide. These Admission figures offer just one example of our progress. I hope you will spend time with this and the other magazine stories that illustrate the ways in which Choate approaches the present and prepares for the future; and I hope you will be inspired to be an ambassador for Choate Rosemary Hall.
Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year. I look forward to seeing you on campus.
Alex Curtis Head of School
Thalheimer Educator in Residence Program Brings GenAI Experts to Campus
The School community gathered on November 12 to explore the ethical and sustainable use of generative AI with renowned speakers Dr. Joy Buolamwini and Kate Crawford, who spoke about their research and efforts to understand the impacts of artificial intelligence technology. Their visit was made possible by the Thalheimer Educator in Residence Program.
Dr. Buolamwini is a groundbreaking researcher and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, whose mission is to raise public awareness about the impacts of AI and assist impacted communities and industry practitioners to prevent AI harm. She is the bestselling author of Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines and her writing has been featured in Time, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and The Atlantic
Dr. Buolamwini told her story of how, as an undergraduate student at Georgia Tech, and then graduate student at MIT, she uncovered what she calls “the coded gaze” — evidence of encoded discrimination in technology products. Her work led big tech companies to review and change some of those practices. She encouraged Choate students. “Follow your curiosity. So often we’re told our stories don’t matter, but my experience gave me hope with this (AI) experience and these skills — we’re seeing real changes from some of the largest tech players in the world.”
Kate Crawford, a leading scholar of the social implications of AI, added a global perspective to the discussion. Over her 20-year career, her work has focused on understanding large scale data systems, machine learning, and AI in the wider contexts of history, politics, labor, and the environment. Her current work with a transatlantic research collaborative called Knowing Machines Project is an interdisciplinary, international group, working not just on AI research, but on how that technology is going to change people’s lives. A research professor at USC Annenberg and a senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research, Crawford is also the inaugural chair of AI and Justice at the École Normale Supérieure. Her most recent book is titled Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
“We are seeing a moment of a radically new way of doing things,” Crawford said. She encouraged students interested in this area of AI research and technology to work together. “You can do something. Have your voice heard.”
Semifinalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program Named
The 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program named eight Choate sixth form students among the more than 16,000 semifinalists in the 70 th annual National Merit Scholarship competition. The students, along with home city and state, are Emma C. Bowles, Charlotte, N.C.; James W. Denison, Austin, Texas; Sarina D. Fernandez-Grinshpun, Mountain View, Calif.; Nilan Kathir, Cheshire, Conn.; Peisong Li, Beijing, China; Celeste M. Shattuck, Charlotte, N.C.; Alexander C. Wang, West Hartford, Conn.; and Jingyuan Zhang, Wallingford, Conn.
These students may now continue to compete for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million.
Renowned Authors Visit for All School Read Program
Students, faculty, and staff gathered in Colony Hall for a panel discussion this fall with acclaimed authors Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Reginald Dwayne Betts, as part of the All School Read program. Over the summer, students read either Adjei-Brenyah’s novel ChainGang All-Stars, a finalist for the National Book Award, or Betts’ poetry collection Felon, which received the American Book Award.
Both books delve into the complexities of the American penal system. Chain-Gang All-Stars offers a multifaceted exploration of the prison system, portraying a narrative of survival and resistance within an unjust justice system. In contrast, Felon examines the enduring impact of incarceration, highlighting how prison exerts pressure throughout an individual’s life. The authors read excerpts from their works and engaged with students through a Q&A session. The guests attended classes in the afternoon.
Adjei-Brenyah was recognized as one of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” authors. Betts is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and holds a J.D. from Yale Law School. Felon was named one of The New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2020.
English Department head Mark Gosztyla said, “The event deepened our community’s understanding of the ways justice is processed and experienced in America.”
Choate Wins Deerfield Day 2024
The annual fall tradition of Deerfield Day brought hundreds of current and future fans to Choate on Saturday, November 9 for the 102nd athletics meeting between the two schools. Choate claimed overall victory, finishing 6-5-1 on the day. (See Scoreboard.)
Student’s Play Wins Spot at Prestigious Playwrights Festival
Max Leventon ’25 celebrated a full professional production of his play Crank 004 last summer at The Blank Theater’s 32nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival in Los Angeles. Leventon was able to fly out and see the production, directed by Kenneth Castillo.
“The opportunity to see one of my plays produced was both such an honor and one of the most formative learning experiences I’ve had as a playwright. I was introduced to new experiences such as working closely with a professional director and actors, and in talking to them I learned so much about the professional world of theater.” Leventon said the experience gave him the inspiration to continue working as a writer.
Leventon credited his playwrighting experience at Choate. He said his Arts concentration and specifically his writing adviser Ms. Doak were crucial in the development of the play. “Ms. Doak had initially suggested I experiment with a larger cast, as previously I tended to focus on two person plays, and was also very active in providing me with consistent feedback as I made my way through the revision process.” He was also able to have a reading in the Gelb Theater, which is the first time he ever heard the play aloud, and that “gave me key information on the audience’s reaction.”
Ambassador S. Phillips ’61 Family Lecturer, John Della Volpe
John Della Volpe, the director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, visited the School in November to talk about his research and polling initiatives to understand American youth.
Della Volpe is the author of Fight: How Gen Z is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America. He is also a contributor for MSNBC, regularly appearing on Morning Joe, and his opinion pieces have been published in The New York Times and The Washington Post
Gopika Sheth ’27 introduced Della Volpe. She said of his visit, “It is very empowering to see someone who is dedicated to amplifying the voice of my generation. It’s not something we see often and is especially significant in a community like Choate, where so many students are civically engaged; it inspires us to keep on creating change and making a positive impact on our community. His work, which focuses on quantitative research combined with the lived personal experiences of Gen Z, is powerful and means a lot.”
Seven years ago, Della Volpe says, he noticed that “this Gen Z was different” when his standard polling questions produced very different answers from those of preceding generations. “Rather than the optimism that was typical of that age,” he says, “Gen Z’ers expressed real concerns,” but Della Volpe also identified a resilience underlying their fears, one characterized by activism.
According to Della Volpe, instead of falling under the weight of the things they have experienced — the opioid epidemic, mass school shootings, climate change, and racial injustice, to name a few — Gen Z has organized around these and other issues, becoming more politically engaged, full of personal and political purpose.
In answer to the questions posed by teacher Tim Yun of what older generations can do to lift up and support Gen Z, Della Volpe gave a two-part answer. First, spend time asking young people, “What’s a good day for you? And what are the stressors?” Second, “Remind Gen Z that we live in a different and better place because of their engagement.”
International Education Week
Choate’s third annual international education week, held in October, included a full slate of globally inspired offerings of music, food, dance, and drama as well as a preview of the School’s global travel programming for 2024–2025.
Among the many activities, such as cooking and sampling African snacks and Caribbean favorites, students attended a global opportunities fair to meet with faculty program leaders of short-term programs to Bermuda, Bhutan, and Northern Ireland, as well as term-long programs in Spain, France, Rome, and Jordan.
Family Weekend brought more than 600 families to campus October 24-26.
CHOATE BY THE NUMBERS
At Choate Rosemary Hall, numbers transcend mere metrics; they embody our School’s values, aspirations, and commitments. Key indicators, as well as the individuals, initiatives, and stories behind them, represent our strides to make informed decisions, meet our goals, and chart our course for the future. They illuminate the transformative work of our community and the standards we continuously set and surpass. We share these numbers with you not only to inform but to inspire. We hope you — our readers and greatest ambassadors — will join us and share the Choate story with others.
WHO WE ARE DEMOGRAPHICS
Our enrollment of 860 students strikes an intentional balance, allowing Choate to offer a wide range of programs while maintaining a close-knit, connected community. 42% of our students are domestic students of color. 18% are international students representing 58 countries and regions. 25% of our students are day students, which strengthens our local connections, and our community welcomes boarding students from 41 U.S. states and territories. With over 90% of faculty residing on campus and a student:adviser ratio of 5:1, Choate’s faculty are fully engaged in student life, contributing to a vibrant and supportive residential campus experience. This intentional blend of backgrounds, perspectives, and commitments makes Choate a uniquely dynamic place to learn, grow, and build lifelong connections.
Our enrollment of 860 students strikes an intentional balance
CHOOSE CHOATE SELECTIVITY AND YIELD
Amid a competitive landscape, Choate has maintained a remarkable level of selectivity and appeal. A strategic and sustained effort to travel the globe, connect with new communities, and refine our brand message continues to be reflected in the strength of our applicant pool. Over 3,100 applicants sought admission this past year, and we continue to shape our community with an 11% acceptance rate. Our 75% yield rate — an outstanding achievement and a new high — illustrates the strong attraction our programs hold for families, as the vast majority of admitted students choose Choate. This figure reflects the confidence and enthusiasm for Choate’s unique experiences. Through focused outreach and a commitment to accessibility, Choate attracts a diverse, high-caliber applicant pool that aligns with our mission of nurturing tomorrow’s leaders.
THE PRICE TAG TUITION COSTS
Amid escalating tuition costs, Choate remains committed to affordability through careful, steady tuition management. Our $69,370 boarding tuition for the 2024-25 academic year ranks us 36th lowest among 40 peer schools, underscoring our commitment to affordability in an increasingly expensive landscape. Families value this predictability, especially as they prepare for future educational expenses. As peer schools approach the $80,000 tuition mark, Choate’s strategy to moderate tuition increases, demonstrated by keeping tuition increases at 2.9% in recent years, ensures that we will continue to separate ourselves and remain an accessible choice for families.
Our $69,370 boarding tuition for the 2024-25 academic year ranks us 36th lowest among 40 peer schools
Over 3,100 applicants sought admission this past year
MONEY MATTERS AFFORDABILITY
At Choate, accessibility and inclusivity are more than ideals — they are actions. By offering a robust financial aid program, Choate can enroll the best qualified students regardless of a family’s resources. We meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, and we encourage any family who may need assistance to apply for financial aid. This year, 34% of our students receive need-based financial assistance backed by a robust $15.7 million budget; the average award offsets 80% of tuition. This ensures that talented students from diverse economic backgrounds can thrive here, regardless of their financial circumstances. Further, our Beyond the Classroom Fund — which awarded over $330,000 to more than 250 students last year — ensures that financial constraints do not limit participation in extracurriculars, field trips, and other enriching opportunities. Choate remains steadfast in its mission to foster a diverse and fully engaged community of learners.
We meet 100% of demonstrated financial need
A DAY IN THE LIFE PROGRAMS
Dynamic balance characterizes the way students and teachers learn from and with each other every day at Choate. Over 300 courses and 8 Signature Programs including Advanced Robotics Concentration, Arabic & Middle Eastern Studies, Arts Concentration, Capstone Program, Environmental Immersion Program, Global Engagement Program, John F. Kennedy ’35 Program in Government and Public Service, and the Science Research Program allow students to go wide and deep in their academic pursuits. Community is fostered and traditions are celebrated through School Meetings, Community Conversations, Special Programs, and Convocations held in the 1080-seat auditorium in Ann and George Colony Hall. Vibrant art, theater, and music fill the Paul Mellon Arts Center throughout the year with dozens of performances and gallery offerings. Each season 35 interscholastic varsity teams compete against rival opponents. 100+ clubs and organizations channel the interests of students and knit the community together through these experiences.
Over 300 courses and 8 Signature Programs
The School has committed to green building, adding a total of 6 LEED-certified buildings to campus, including 4 LEED Gold and 2 LEED Platinum
GREEN INITIATIVES SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is at the core of Choate’s plans now and for the future. Since building the LEED Platinum Kohler Environmental Center in 2012, the School has committed to green building, adding a total of 6 LEED-certified buildings to campus — Carr Hall (Platinum), Ann and George Colony Hall (Gold), Hill House (Gold), Cameron and Edward Lanphier Center for Mathematics and Computer Science (Gold), and St. John Hall (Gold) — the most on a boarding school campus. 266 acres of our 458-acre campus are protected as part of this commitment, providing a space for hands-on environmental education, from scientific exploration to outdoor activities that nurture a lasting connection with nature. The solar field at the KEC typically generates over 250 MWh (megawatt-hours) resulting in a Net Zero operation and contributing positive renewable energy to the electric grid. Campus eco-reps educate our campus community of over 1,200 toward best practices in composting and recycling. Last year, Choate diverted 940,850 pounds of compost from landfills. By fostering a commitment to sustainable practices, we empower students with a deep sense of environmental stewardship — preparing them to lead in a world that increasingly values ecological balance and responsibility.
LOCAL IMPACT WALLINGFORD
For over 130 years, Choate Rosemary Hall and the Town of Wallingford have grown together, fostering a shared legacy of progress and partnership. Choate’s commitment to community shines through its hosting of local events annually and its 13,570 hours of volunteer service. As Wallingford’s 5th largest employer, with 545 employees, the School contributes $39.8 million in annual operational spending to the local economy. When combined with visitor spending — driven by nearly 10,000 annual visitors — and the economic activity from students and volunteers, Choate’s total impact reaches $43.6 million, supporting 564 jobs across various industries. Remarkably, 1 in every 56 jobs in Wallingford is tied to Choate’s presence, underscoring its integral role in the town’s vitality.
The School contributes $39.8 million in annual operational spending to the local economy
Our endowment per student of $594,000 and draw per student of $25,000, while high, is the second lowest among peers in the Eight Schools Association
CRUCIAL INVESTMENT THE ENDOWMENT
Our endowment, valued at $511 million as of June 2024, is a testament to our community’s past support and a foundation for Choate’s future ambitions. Recently bolstered by $117 million from the Inspire the Next campaign, the endowment enhances our ability to steward resources wisely and expand opportunities for generations to come. Although our endowment per student of $594,000 and draw per student of $25,000, while high, is the second lowest among peers in the Eight Schools Association, our disciplined financial approach enables us to achieve a remarkable impact with the resources available to us. Choate relies on the generosity of our donors to annual funds to support our day-to-day operations. We are grateful to the 8,426 alumni, parents, and friends who supported the Inspire the Next campaign with endowment, capital, and annual fund support.
We hope these numbers inspire you, our Choate Rosemary Hall family, to help us fortify a financial foundation that will allow our School to shape a transformative educational experience for generations to come.
ARCHIVES ALIVE
Exploring Connection Through Time
by SuS anne DaviS
Eva Swanson ’25 first encountered the Archives as a third form student in an English class. As she climbed the stairs of the Andrew Mellon Library with her classmates and followed a narrow hallway to the end, she had no idea it would become such an important place for her.
“To me, the Archives is a perfectly preserved time capsule that’s being added to every day. You have things from 1890 sitting beside merch from this past year. You usually see historical items or events in a vacuum (think the glass boxes around individual pieces at museums), and the Archives is the opposite of that in the best way possible.”
History, she says, guides her life. “The world changes so fast, and to get a good grasp on how and why it is changing, you need to understand the events leading up to that change.” As features editor for The Choate News, she runs stories about the school Archives, encouraging other students to visit.
Lemoyne (Lee) Sylvester, the School’s first archivist, began collecting archival materials in 1963 in response to the world’s interest in President John F. Kennedy C 1935, and from the start, she gave students access to the materials. Forty years later, the torch passed to Judy Donald RH ’66, who continued collecting and expanding for the next 20 years. In 2015, Head of School Alex Curtis approached Donald with a request that paved a new way for teaching from the Archives, which includes records from all three schools — The Choate School, Rosemary Hall, and Choate Rosemary Hall. Current archivist Stephanie Gold worked part-time with Donald then and recounts that experience.
Archives Alive Through Stories
“Dr. Curtis sought correspondence or documentation that could tell the story of the building of Seymour St. John Chapel and Archbold — both designed by Ralph Adams Cram and his firm in the 1920s.” (Cram, 1863–1942, was a leading architect in New York and Boston.) “He saw an opportunity for students in his Architectural History class to learn about buildings on their own campus and what it takes — including the correspondence back and forth between an architect and the head of school — for such a project.” Some of that archival material included different scenarios considered for location; the chapel was first proposed to be built in a different area that did not come through. At the time, Headmaster George St. John had also put Cram’s initial design into The Choate News, and alumni wrote back saying they did not like it; they asked him to go back to the drawing board. Gold says, “It was incredible to have these sixth formers experience their teacher, who happened to be their Head of School, exhibit joy in learning the deeper histories of these familiar buildings, using our historical documents to do so. The same time he was championing new building projects, he was demonstrating to his students his respect for the historical record and how we learn from the past.” Curtis taught his Architectural History course for seven years and continues co-teaching in Jonas Akins’s class, Our School Upon the Hillside.
“ The Archives has played an extraordinary role in shaping my approach to many of my responsibilities — from teaching my Architectural History course to overseeing new construction on campus,” says Curtis. “Over the last fourteen years, both Judy Donald and Stephanie Gold have spent generous amounts of time helping me to explore and understand George St. John’s vision for this campus. This understanding has directly influenced the placement and design of several significant projects completed during my tenure. For example, Lanphier Center was designed to work in harmony with both Archbold and the Science Center; and St. John Hall completes George St. John’s vision for Hill House Circle. In 2019, when Hill House suffered a lightning strike and devastating water damage from efforts to extinguish the resulting blaze, archival photos from 1914 allowed us to restore the building with fidelity to its original design and charm. To be sure, the Archives is an indispensable resource, allowing us to honor the School’s history as we plan for its future.”
– Alex Curtis, Head of School
European
History and Our School Upon the Hillside
In 2018, Akins started teaching European History from the Archives, focusing on a World War I unit. As a university student, Akins had researched archival material on World War I England, boarding schools, and war news, which led to a teaching job after graduation at one of the schools he researched.
Akins says, “Students like working in the Archives, seeing things like The Choate School Battalion World War I uniform and cap. The uniform is small, and it hits home, that someone roughly their age wore it and fought in the war. They also enjoy learning of Rosemary Hall’s moving operations to Florida to save the cost of coal during the war.”
Akins now teaches from the school Archives for another course he created called Our School Upon the Hillside. Students utilize “mystery boxes” curated for them and containing materials related to alumni from The Choate School and from Rosemary Hall — four from each school. Students select a box to work from based on their interests. (See sidebar to right for example of contents.) The benefits of accessing the Archives this way, according to Akins, are many. Items such as The Brief, an issue of The Choate News, a sampling from the course catalogue, letters home — whatever might give context to the life of that student in that time — is curated in the box. Students may complete their assignments without needing to search other collections and must hold and handle materials — a process that Akins says aids reflection. Later in the course, students dive into their own primary archival research projects about the Schools’ histories. (See sidebar below for student projects).
Sample Student Research Topics from Jonas Akins’ Classes Using the Archives
• The St. Andrew
• The Birth of Jazz at Choate
• The Choate-Deerfield Rivalry
• Vietnam and Identity at Choate
• Choate Publications: “The Lit, The Brief, and The News”
• Educational Transformation During WWII
3.30.18 | Jonas Akins | European History | HI553HO | (10 students)
Choate Battalion
• Uniform, hat – AR Box 1, Aisle 10
• Panoramic photograph of C.S.B. – Aisle 1
• Scrapbooks: Robert Bishop ’18 – AR CH Scrpbk #58; Bosworth Grier ’19x – AR CH Scrpbk #52
• Photograph of Choate School Battalion – Photo File – World War I
• Bugle – Research Room, lower shelf
• Drill Regulation Book – Research Room, lower shelf
• 1918 Brief potato planting – Photo File – World War I
• 1917 Donation for Ambulance – Photo File – World War I
Rosemary Hall
• Caroline Ruutz-Rees War Work – Photo File – RH CRR
• Potato Harvesting – Photo File – RH War Efforts
• RH in Florida, Winter 1918 – Photo File – RH Florida; AR RH Scrpbk #13
Post War
• Choate Memorial Book – Aisle 3
• Memorial House:
» Rummell lithograph of original location, 1919 – Photo File –Rummell, Richard
» Full page dedication – Aisle 10, Lower Shelf
» Picture of Common Room – Photo File – Memorial House
» Postcard of Memorial House – Research Room – Postcard collection
» Hatch Study – two views – Photo File – Memorial House
◊ Letter to George St. John from Hatch while at basic training –VI A .10 Box 1 – Hatch folder
• Disappeared Traditions at Choate Rosemary Hall
• Politics and Prep Schools
• Lacrosse at Choate
• Alan Lomax at Choate
• The PMAC’s Role in Community Creation
• The Junior and Lower Schools at Rosemary Hall and Choate
Stories Waiting to Be Retold
The story Gold likes to tell at the end of a class visit that focuses on how Rosemary Hall and The Choate School reacted to World War II is that of David (Dutch) Barker ’42. Barker attended The Choate School from Pasadena, Calif. Early on, Headmaster George St. John saw his photographic talent and even got one of Barker’s student photographs accepted to a professional magazine in England. Upon graduation, Barker enlisted in the Army Air Corps and trained at Life Magazine’s Photographic School before joining the 8th AAF Combat Camera Unit. Barker’s military pictures appeared in the film Memphis Belle, further testament to a man who became a staff sergeant and won the Air medal with clusters. On January 11, 1944, flying with a new crew on his 25th mission, he leaned out the window, trying a new super camera. Thirteen flyers attacked and as his pilot later told it, “Dutch was leaning out the window, getting pictures of the planes coming in — absolutely unafraid” (credit The Choate Memorial Volume). The plane fell from the sky with the tail shot off and Barker died in the crash. His mother donated his photographic equipment to the Choate Camera Club (he had been Vice President and then President of the club during his time at School), and the Purple Heart he had earned to The Choate School. Gold shows students the medal framed and protected under glass. She says that many have never heard of the Purple Heart prior to hearing Barker’s story.
Courses Taught from The Archives 2015–2025
• 2015–2022: Art History Seminar (Architectural History) – Dr. Curtis – Working with Head of School correspondence of George St. John & Ralph Adams Cram on the building of Chapel and Archbold
• 2017–Present: Introduction to Literature – Ellen Devine – intensive research project
• 2018–2022: European History – Jonas Akins – WWI –Show & Tell style
• 2019: Reading & Writing Poetry – Mark Gosztyla –research primary sources to develop poetry
• 2019–Present: American Studies – Tom White/Amy Salot – intensive research project
• 2021–Present: The Art of the Essay – Colin Mort –intro to archives, scavenger hunt in school Archives
• 2022–Present: United States History – Emily Kaplan, Wes Jenkins, Laura Pace – WWII – Show & Tell style
• 2022–Present: Journalism & Nonfiction Storytelling –Mark Gosztyla – previous speakers at Rosemary Hall, Choate, and Choate Rosemary Hall to create exhibit posters
• 2022–Present: Introduction to Literature – Mary Roca –similar to Ellen Devine’s intensive research project
• 2023–Present: Vietnam – Jenny Elliott – Using primary sources to learn how Rosemary Hall and The Choate School responded to Vietnam
• 2023–Present: Our School Upon the Hillside – Jonas Akins – term-long use of School Archives for different projects including an intensive research project
• 2023–Present: United States History – Laura Pace –Historical walking tour covering colonial-era houses on campus: Squire Stanley, Homestead, Atwater Cottage
• 2024: American Literature & Composition – Joseph Lampe – independent scavenger hunt in school Archives to connect with Crying Lot of 49 text
Since arriving at Choate in 2022, history teacher Laura Pace has been fascinated by the School’s colonial era buildings, specifically Squire Stanley and Homestead. She earned a “colonial America focused” history degree from her college, where she made extensive use of the school’s Archives. Now, in her U.S. History class at Choate, students read about the history of slavery in New England, and then Pace and Gold take them on a walking tour of buildings as primary sources. Gold shares research done with students over the past two years for the Witness Stones Project, and Pace helps her students make connections by telling them that the School was founded in 1890, “but on the land on which the School sits, people were enslaved, and in some of the buildings that students currently live in, people were enslaved.” Gold shares pictures of Squire Stanley through the years, and lectures on the enslaved people who lived there — Kate and Mina, mother and daughter. They walk on and learn about Lettice, a six-year-old girl who was enslaved at Homestead.
Pace says, “It’s easier for students to understand what’s happening in the world, and in our course, when they can connect it back to buildings they know and live in.”
Dealing with heavy or difficult material is a reality of teaching from the Archives, says Gold, but plenty of the stories are heartwarming, such as the story of Elizabeth M. Greene RH 1924. Her extensive letter correspondence with her father reveals a close bond between the two as they write about the kinds of things any boarding school student today would understand: a request to have her winter coat shipped, the amount of homework, meals, and her teachers.
Henry Gillibrand ’26 worked with Elizabeth Greene’s letters in his English 100 class. “I was able to see the dramatic parallels between my life at Choate now, and life a century ago. Being able to see that life wasn’t that different back then for Choate students enticed me to delve into these studies and create work analyzing her life at the most detailed level. This project let me look at photos of clothes, dormitories, and what student life looked like at the time. I am grateful I have access to such detailed and wellorganized records.”
ENGLISH 100
“It’s a pretty rare gift for a secondary school to even have an Archive,” says English teacher Ellen Devine. She has been using the Archives for her EN100 class since 2017. Like Akins and Pace, she enjoyed archival research as an undergraduate too.
“Something that I think is particularly interesting about looking at schools like ours is not just the way that they’ve changed in terms of landscape and architecture, but also in terms of who is permitted access to these schools. The stories about the founding of Rosemary Hall, the founding of Choate, and the eventual merger of the two schools, as well as each school’s history regarding when they began admitting students who were not white and Christian — those are interesting stories to me.”
Devine’s initial Archives interest was in former Headmistress Caroline Ruutz-Rees, “an incredibly progressive and revolutionary thinker when it came to education,” but when it came to exploring the Archives with her students, Devine has been more drawn to “thinking about the ways in which many of us at the table wouldn’t be at this School at different moments in the Schools’ history. I want students to explore connection across time, generation, location, and the other identifiers that are incredibly important to each of us and which can be used either to ensure or deny access to all sorts of things.”
Devine and the School archivists have worked hard over the years to refine her course for greater impact. “There are certain people in the Archives, who we know a lot about. I wanted students to think about how schools are not ahistorical and are shaped by all the periods in which they have existed — for instance, during World War I at Choate, students were doing military drills and growing potatoes for the war effort. I want my own students to think about how contemporary events and global influences are shaping the School that they go to in the present, not only shaping the School, but also shaping themselves. The goal of the project is for the students to experiment with and explore what it means to be driven by inquiry and develop a critical consciousness.”
It is important to Gold that students understand that most archival collections hold triggering material to some degree and it is likely they will come across material they find offensive in our own collections. While students are not required to work with triggering archival material, sometimes students want to access these records specifically — to grapple with what the person was talking about, and with historical perspective to think it through. Gold explains that in that case, she and the teachers provide individual support along with encouraging visits to the Counseling Office if students need it. Regarding sensitive information, she adds that personnel and student records are not part of the School Archives and most archival materials the students can access were created to be shared.
“The supplemental material in the mystery boxes gives students a feel of what it was like to live in that time,” says Gold.
Pillars of Impact
Gold says she hopes students make a personal connection to the Archives and that they “add their footprint there for future researchers,” but it is also important to her that students will feel comfortable to walk into their college’s archives after they leave Choate.
Akins hopes what he calls “the interactive process of working with the Archives” helps students see themselves as part of the Choate community. But he says, if it works really well, “They see that this is just the beginning of their story with Choate Rosemary Hall.”
The Future of Archives
Recently, through a generous grant and capital requests, the school Archives has begun digitizing our archival collections. The process is slow, but ongoing. The Rosemary Hall scrapbooks, The Choate News, The Question Mark (Rosemary Hall’s literary and school news magazine), and team records from the Athletics Department have been digitized.
“We are currently working on the Bulletin and the correspondence of Headmaster George St. John,” says Gold. She adds that she would love to hear from alumni willing to consider contributing their Choate related items such as scrapbooks, letters home, recollections.
“Even if they don’t have any items to donate from their time as a student, they can write a recollection of what their time was like. Did they enjoy certain things about school? Because when a student is reading that in the present time, they’re like, Oh yeah, I enjoy that. I enjoyed that part of school, too.”
Catherine Adams’ jewelry making class works with metals and jewelry from all three schools — The Choate School, Rosemary Hall, and Choate Rosemary Hall.
By Rhea hiRshman
If you walk into Remsen Arena, take a few steps, and turn around, you will see a wall festooned with banners featuring the seven Choate Rosemary Hall graduates who went on to garner Olympic medals in women’s ice hockey. “Every time we step on the ice,” says current head coach Laura Troy, “those banners remind us of the heritage of this team.”
But the program that has sent alumnae to every Olympics since women’s ice hockey made its debut in the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan, began almost by accident.
As Susan (Susy) Peck Lauderdale ’75 recalls, the idea for a girls ice hockey team emerged among members of the Rosemary Hall ski team on a bus ride to the Mt. Southington ski area during her fifth form year. The weather was miserable. The slopes were icy. “And,” she says, “we hated that bus ride. We all wanted to do something else in the winter, but no one was interested in basketball or volleyball or gymnastics.” Then, Lauderdale says, someone called out “Let’s start a hockey team! Can we play hockey?!”
A group of students got Polly Packard (wife of sixth form dean Jeremy Packard) on board as the coach and, by December 1973, a girls ice hockey club was practicing. Calling themselves the “RH Factors” (“We’re out for blood”), they played their first interscholastic game the following January, an away game against Taft, which has since become a perennial rival. The Factors’ 5-4 win included a hat trick (three goals by one player in the same game) scored by Lauderdale, who finished the season as the team’s top scorer and remembers the moment well. “I was just coming out of the penalty box,” she says. “Taft didn’t see me. A defender was about to take a slap shot and I came in right behind her and stole the puck.” The Factors’ fans went wild. The Factors finished their first season, topped off with a trip to the first East-West Invitational Girls Hockey Tournament in California, with an undefeated regular-season record.
Because so few secondary schools had girls teams at that time, the RH Factors often played against college teams such as Middlebury, Yale, and Wesleyan. Opposing teams were not the sole challenge in those early days. The only available ice time began at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. The girls had to provide most of their own equipment, although The Choate School athletic director Bill Pudvah ’34 was able to scrape together a few items such as helmets, pants, and socks. Rather than hockey skates, which are lighter, more maneuverable, and more protective, the players wore figure skates. Still, 28 players completed that first season, and by the following year, girls ice hockey was considered an official winter sport.
As was often the case for the RH Factors, many of the girls who wanted to play had little or no experience with hockey. Cheryl Stahl Borek ’80 had spent her childhood skating on frozen ponds with a stick in her hand, wearing too-big skates handed down from her father. “We didn’t have the kind of depth that teams have now,” she says. “Many of my friends were like I was — just learning the game.” She was cut from the squad in her first year. But she learned to play under the club program run by Bill Pudvah and made the varsity squad, coached by Ted Sherman, the following year. Her father bought her good-fitting skates. By her sixth form year, Borek was the team captain and was recruited to play at Brown.
“I loved my entire time at Choate,” Borek says, “in the classroom and on the ice. A lot of my identity was wrapped up in being a female athlete, especially in a sport that was not widespread at that time. Being in that early wave gave me confidence in other parts of my life.” While the male hockey players were supportive, and the coaches treated the girls like serious athletes, Borek also remembers significant discrepancies in the resources and facilities allotted to the girls’ team.
The team remained the RH Factors for a year or so after Borek graduated. By the 1982-1983 season, they had become the Choate Rosemary Hall girls ice hockey team and were wearing jerseys emblazoned with “Choate.” Facilities and resources continued to improve, although Kristin (Moomaw) Harder, who coached the team from 1991 to 2000, says that even as late as when she started,
“I had to battle to be sure that the players were treated with respect — that they got equal access to ice time as the boys, that their uniforms were appropriate, and that they had the same access to transportation. I wanted them to be recognized for their hard work and talents, and to have every opportunity to develop as individual athletes while creating the most competitive team possible.”
In a growing program, recruiting became a significant part of the coaches’ job. As more younger girls gained access to the sport through leagues, camps, and schools, coaches were traveling extensively to watch players, meet with families when they came to the Admission office, and develop relationships with youth and club coaches around and outside the area. Troy notes that the coaching staff’s objective is to recruit and support student-athletes who value both their athletic and academic commitments. “Part of our job is to help them find that balance while also preparing them for their college experiences,” she says. “In both academics and athletics, students are responsible for their own performance but can learn from each other and work collaboratively. We don’t want our players to sacrifice academics to competitive hockey or vice versa.”
For the past several years, ice time, facilities, and other resources have been equal for the girls and boys hockey teams. Recruiting efforts have brought in athletes already skilled in the game, including the seven Olympians: Angela Ruggiero ’98, Kim Insalaco ’99, Julie Chu ’01, Hilary Knight ’07, Josephine Pucci ’08, Phoebe Staenz ’13, and Sammy Kolowrat ’15.
James Stanley, who teaches history and economics, has been an assistant coach with the program for many of his 23 years at the school. “When I think about girls hockey here,” he says,
“I recognize that ours has been a pioneering program. Our players have helped show other young women around the country what they could do. There is self-knowledge that comes with sports. In competition, players learn that they can push beyond their ideas of their own limits — and see that they can accomplish more in all aspects of their lives than they previously realized.”
Stanley remembers his first time seeing Angela Ruggiero in action — when she was a third former playing against a very good team from the school where he was then working. “I thought, this is something different,” he says. “This is taking the game to a whole new level.”
Recruited by a Choate coach who saw her playing at a summer hockey camp in Connecticut, California native Angela Ruggiero had played hockey since she was seven. Winner of four Olympic medals, including the gold in 1998 while she was still a high school student, she is the recipient of many other accolades and awards in her college (Harvard) and professional careers, including induction into the United States and international hockey halls of fame.
An author, business owner, and sought-after public speaker, Ruggiero gave the 2012 commencement address at Choate. Still, she says, as someone from a blue-collar, workingclass family, coming to Choate Rosemary Hall for her was not primarily for sports but for the academics. “Choate changed my life,” she says. “It was the nurturing environment I needed, especially being all the way across the country on my own. I knew that I was getting the chance of a lifetime academically. My experience at Choate was about developing as a person, learning how to study, and helping me find confidence. It flipped a switch in my head about how I saw myself and what I could accomplish.”
Kim Insalaco, Ruggiero’s teammate on Team U.S.A. in 2006, a first-generation college student who came to Choate as a fifth former, says of the 1998 Olympics team: “It put Choate girls ice hockey on the map, and the visibility of that event was incredibly powerful,” she says. “It showed me that I could get to the pinnacle of the sport I loved. Choate helped me get there.” She credits her teachers and coaches — particularly Kristin Harder — with helping her “form into the person I wanted to be.”
One year behind Ruggiero, Insalaco set out to break her friend’s single-season scoring record. When she did so, with 51 goals in her sixth form year, Kristin Harder commented, “Well, it looks like we are headed in the right direction!” Insalaco went on to play hockey at Brown, where she sometimes found herself on the ice opposing Ruggiero and Julie Chu, who also went to Harvard — “not easy playing against them, but fun and rewarding,” she says.
Four-time Olympian Chu grew up playing basketball, hockey, and soccer. While sports helped her feel a sense of community as she adjusted to boarding school life, she also relished the full range of academic offerings, and experiences such as checking out the School’s improv scene and watching her peers perform in plays and concerts. When she entered Harvard after deferring admission for a year so she could train for and compete at the 2002 Olympics, she says, “The foundation I had built at Choate helped me take full advantage of the college student-athlete experience.”
After Harvard, Chu played professionally. She has received many honors, including being chosen to carry the American flag during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and having the national rookie of the year award named for her. Now a full-time coach at Concordia University in Montreal, Chu sits on the National Hockey League’s Player Inclusion Coalition, a group of current and former NHL players and women’s professional hockey players “who work to advance equality and inclusion in the sport of hockey on and off the ice.”
Harder, who traveled to the Olympics three times to cheer on the players she had coached, says, “It was amazing to have a front row seat as so many barriers were broken for women in the sport — first Olympics, first gold medal, a professional women’s league, Hall of Fame Honors for female players — none of which existed when I started coaching at Choate.”
Lauderdale adds,
“Who knew that a few restless ski team members and several other determined young women would be willing
to buck traditional gender roles and do whatever it took to create the team that they wanted? I think I speak for everyone who participated in the Factors’ creation — the players and all who supported and taught us — to say that we are so proud of everyone who has made the program what it is today. We hope that you all had as much fun as we did because we had a blast!”
SINCE 1925: THE CHAPEL HOSPITABLY
“DRAWING US IN”
Over 100 years ago, when George St. John envisioned a chapel as a “rallying place,” he engaged leading architect Ralph Adams Cram (1863–1942) for the job. Cram made four studies for the chapel design, and St. John recounted that he told Cram after seeing one of the drawings’ beautiful, but severe, early colonial style that “We wanted a chapel hospitably drawing us to it.” Cram’s subsequent version with an open-armed portico became the blueprint from which the Chapel was built. The Chapel was extended in 1968 and in 1998 was renamed and rededicated as the Seymour St. John Chapel in honor of The Reverend Seymour St. John C 1931, who served as Headmaster from 1947 to 1973. Renovations in 2004–05 included transforming the space that is now the Joan Harris Gelb Theater. The Seymour St. John Chapel continues to draw the School community together for important events and celebrations.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
The Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Association’s mission is to create, perpetuate, and enhance relationships among Choate Rosemary Hall alumni, current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and friends in order to foster loyalty, interest, and support for the School and for one another, and to build pride, spirit, and community.
OFFICERS
President
Elizabeth Alford Hogan ’82
Vice Presidents
Jaques Clariond ’01
Justin Graham ’98
Lena Sullesta Jessen ’92
Dewey Kang ’03
John Smyth ’83, P ’20
Members
Sam Chao ’04
Marisa Ferraro ’92
Chris Herzog ’99
Ashley Holt ’11
David Javdan ’86
David Kestnbaum ’00
Jack Kingsley ’87
Lambert Lau ’97
Brad Mak ’96
George Ramirez ’11
Will Gilyard ’98, Faculty Representative
Additional Executive Committee Members
Chief Advancement Officer
Anne Bergen
Director of Alumni Relations
Andrea Solomon
Alumni Association
Past Presidents
Susan Barclay ’85
David Hang ’94, P ’25
Chris Hodgson ’78, P ’12, ’14, ’17
Parisa Jaffer ’89
Woody Laikind ’53
Patrick McCurdy ’98
REGIONAL NETWORK
LEADERSHIP
Boston
Gabby Rundle Robinette ’06
Chicago
Maria Del Favero ’83
Jacqueline Salamack
Lanphier ’06
Connecticut
David Aversa ’91
Katie Vitali Childs ’95, P ’24, ’26
Los Angeles
Wesley Hansen ’98
Alexa Platt ’95
New York
Conrad Gomez ’98
Leah Lettieri ’07
Rosemary Hall
Anne Marshall Henry ’62
San Francisco
Albert Lee ’02
Washington, DC
Olivia Bee ’10
Dan Carucci ’76
Tillie Fowler ’92
Beijing
Matthew Cheng ’10
Gunther Hamm ’98
Hong Kong
Jennifer Yu Cheng ’99
Lambert Lau ’97
Sandy Wan ’90
London
Tatiana Donaldson ’13
Elitsa Nacheva ’08
Seoul
Rae-Eun Sung ’97
Shanghai T.C. Chau ’97
Thailand
Uracha Chaiyapinunt ’13
Isa Chirathivat ’96
Pat Sethbhakdi ’85, P ’18, ’18, ’20
Tokyo
Kirk Shimizuishi ’96
Miki Ito Yoshida ’07
Engage with us!
The Alumni Association is always seeking ways to engage with more alumni. We understand it’s not always possible to visit campus amid life’s demands.
Since you’re reading the Bulletin, we know staying connected matters to you! Here are a few more ways to stay involved:
» Join us at an event near you
The Alumni Association boasts 15 regional networks across the U.S. and abroad. Local volunteers organize 1-2 events annually, and the Advancement Office hosts webinars year-round. No matter where you are, there’s a way to engage! Explore our events calendar to find upcoming opportunities near you: choate.edu/alumni/event-calendar
» Network with alumni in your profession
In 2022, we launched the ChoateNexus professional networking platform, which is powered by PeopleGrove. With more than 2,000 active users, ChoateNexus is the place to meet alumni in your field, find your next employee, or seek mentorship and advice. Visit choate.peoplegrove.com to learn more and sign up.
» Explore the benefits of mentorship
The Forever True Mentoring Program invites both seasoned professionals and recent graduates to connect through a series of six virtual meetings over a 12-week period. This program supports new alumni in exploring different fields and developing essential job-seeking skills. Mentors often share that they benefit just as much as their mentees, making it a truly rewarding experience. To learn more or join the next cohort, email us at alumnirelations@choate.edu.
» Follow us on Social Media!
instagram.com/choatealumni | @choatealumni
facebook.com/Choate.Alumni.Association | Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Association
linkedin.com/in/ChoateRosemaryHall | Choate Rosemary Hall
Have you taken a new job? Changed locations? We can only include you in regional programming if we know where you live! Take a moment to share your updated info by scanning this QR code and filling out the form:
The Celebration of the Decade!
MAY 16-18
Classes ending in 0s and 5s: in the 10 years since your last Reunion, much has changed, both on campus and in your lives. But the things that matter most endure — meaningful connections, transformative education, and lifelong friendships.
It’s time to: Call your friends. Reserve your hotel room. Book your flight. And register for the celebration of the decade! See you there!
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! For more information and to register, visit the Reunion Webpage: choate.edu/reunion
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
JANUARY 2025
27 – DC – Student/Alumni Dinner
FEBRUARY 2025
15 – Shanghai – Reception with Head of School 17 – Hong Kong – Reception with Head of School 19 – Singapore – Reception with Head of School 26 – Virtual – Wild Boar Book Club
MARCH 2025
TBD – LA – ChoateNexus: Film & Entertainment
12 – Virtual – ChoateNexus: Professional Development
27 – AAEC Meeting & Sixth Form Alumni Dinner
APRIL 2025
3 – Florida – Golf Tournament at Boca Grove
MAY 2025 16-18 – Reunion Weekend For more information and to register:
1950s
’52 C Robert Gordon writes, “My son, Paul Gordon, has decided to climb the Colorado fourteeners, the famous 14 peaks that are over 14,000 feet in elevation. He has scaled six peaks so far, now has eight more peaks to climb. Once you have done all 14, you can join the Fourteeners Club, an interesting group. Alumni in Denver had a party just for fun. It was a blast.”
’55 C Jere Buckley writes, “In 1996, I retired a bit early from my 35-year career as an engineer with the Perkin-Elmer Corp. in Wilton, Conn. My wife, Caryl, and I then moved to the small town of Webster, N.H., and built our log-home ‘dream house’ on property that already featured a lakeside seasonal camp. We are still there … but just some of the time. We now also have an apartment at the nearby RiverWoods Manchester Continuing Care Retirement Community. We split our time, on an unpredictable but seasonally influenced basis, between our log home in Webster and our RiverWoods apartment. We were motivated to join the CCRC primarily by peace-of-mind considerations, knowing that we will never have to make major health care decisions on an emergency basis. The many other benefits have exceeded our expectations! We have made many new friends and enjoy a wide range of interesting and informative activities. Our Webster home — the log house and the lakeside camp — continues to be a ‘magnet’ for our three children and their families … including seven grandchildren and now three great-grandsons.”
Peter Mudford and his wife, Alison, moved to 40 Maple Road, THAME, Oxfordshire 0X9 2BH, UK, several years ago. He is Emeritus Professor of English and European Literature at the University of London. They remember with pleasure their gathering at Choate in 1995 and meeting with so many classmates.
Roger Vaughan writes, “Feet and ankles have failed, but lucky me, the brain still works. About to have my 22nd book published: PATSY — The Indomitable Patsy Kenedy Bolling. Daughter of the last Nova Scotia schoonerman, Patsy was racing Minis, Jaguars, Porsches, and yachts (with Ted Turner) in the 1960s when women didn’t do such things. At 81, she’s going strong. An engaging tale, soon to be available on Amazon.”
’56 C Oliver Cook writes, “My wife, Sharon Love Cook (author of the Granite Cove mysteries), and I have been married for 56 years. We have a daughter, Jessica, and son, Oliver Jr., along with my BFF, Lionel, a rescue dog from Kosciusko, Miss., birthplace of Oprah Winfrey. I will celebrate my 60th anniversary of being admitted to the practice of law in Massachusetts; I have no plans to retire. I have been an active member of our Episcopal Church, St. John’s, here in Beverly Farms, Mass.”
Donald Freedman writes, “I didn’t think I would be a grandfather, but I was wrong. My granddaughter is now almost 5, and my wife and I feel so lucky to have Sophia in our lives. Her mother is from the Republic of Georgia, and we visited there two summers ago. Now our travel is more limited, because I am legally blind due to glaucoma. We are still active and happy in our small town of Sheffield, Mass.”
Richard Main writes, “Living in Carlsbad, Calif., by the beach. Ocean a little cold to swim at this point (low 60’s) but very nice place to live. No other Choaties around here that I know of, but some in LA 100 miles to the north. I remember my days at Choate as wonderful times with an education that surpassed most of college have to admit spent a lot of time water-skiing in Biscayne Bay (University of Miami). Sadly, my roomie at Choate, Dave Flinn, has gone on his final journey into infinity. I had great masters at Choate Seymour St. John’s watch. I’m sure it is today as well and there are girls now too!”
’57 C Barry Feinberg writes, “Happy to be living once again in New England in Hampton, N.H.”
Peter Schmidt writes, “Aging well at 85 in Toronto; active with my wife of 50 years; travels, family, keeping fit/eager/curious/challenged and intellectually relevant. I regret not having kept in touch with Choate classmates.”
’58 C Ian Bennett writes, “ In the photo I’ve included, the year is 1963. I had just graduated from the Navy Officers Candidate School in Newport, R.I. I’m stationed on a destroyer home-ported in San Diego, Calif. When I arrived, my ship was at sea doing some training maneuvers. It turned out that these were practice maneuvers for a visit by President Kennedy. When the destroyer returned, we stayed in San Diego overnight and went back to sea the following morning. At noon, we received a message that each of the participating ships should send one officer to the aircraft carrier. The Captain of the destroyer selected me because I knew nothing about the maneuvers that were scheduled to be shown
Ann Connell Davis ’42 with her sidekick, Cooper Oliver Cook ’56 and his BFF, Lionel, at their favorite clam shack in Ipswich, Mass.
Barry Feinberg ’57 and his wife, Minerva, visiting Easter Island, Oct. 2024
to the President. A helicopter picked me up off the fantail and delivered me to the carrier flight deck. The President arrived in a special helicopter. After climbing down to the flight deck, the President shook hands with the Admirals and said he would like to meet the officers who represented the participating ships. I was the last officer in line. He asked me where I had received my commission. I said, ‘Officers Candidate school in Newport.’ Then I asked the President for his permission for me to send his best wishes to Seymour St. John. He said, ‘You’re a Choate graduate.’ The following day, a letter was delivered to the destroyer in which was the photograph below. I sent it home. My father had a friend in Washington. The signed photograph was delivered to my father four days after the assassination.”
Wells Doty writes, “After 26 years in the Navy, including one year in Vietnam with the Army, and another 40 teaching at the college level, I have retired in South Carolina. Been around the world, visited over 60 countries and been to all 50 states. It’s been a good life and I am thankful. The greatest skill I learned at Choate was how to write well, and that has been a great help throughout the years.”
James Dwinell III writes, “Ellen and I continue to enjoy our summers at Bald Peak Colony Club at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. We have been here for 31 summers. We both like to work in our flower gardens and to play golf frequently. That has become more of a challenge as the years pass by. This year we had our usual annual lunch with Chris and Kit Norris. Lots of memories about Choate and what an important influence it had on us. It is always fun to catch up on what is happening with all the grandchildren and their families. Not in the ladies’ interest, but Chris and I moaned about the horrible performances of the Red Sox and Patriots. We always end with great enthusiasm and respect we have with our friendships.”
1960s
’61 C Maurice Heckscher writes, “Fortunately, I’m still kicking, thanks to modern medicine. I feel good and staying active playing lots of pickleball. May be getting a new knee. Happily married for 47 years with 15 wonderful grandchildren. Hello to all from MooMoo!”
Clip Kniffin writes, “My wife, Ellie, of 52 years passed away in August after a long struggle with lung disease that resulted from treatment of Hodgkins disease 40 years ago. Ellie and I had three sons and 14 grandchildren, of whom 13 survived her.”
Ken Phillips writes, “I am writing from my off-grid retreat on a mountaintop above Grahamsville, N.Y. — latitude: 41.825871; longitude: -74.514057 — where the wind blows through the corner of my cabin thanks to an army of porcupines who ate a huge hole in the siding and even dined on some of the furniture. The place is a wreck! I have come to my mountaintop sanctuary following the death of my wife of more than 43 years. Pauleitta began her ‘Next Great Adventure’ on March 15, 2024
and, like Teddy Roosevelt, I have retreated to nature, a simple life and my farm — which I have visited only briefly during the past six years. Fortunately, living off the grid makes it easy to stay busy. I find that being forced to stay active works far better for me than riding an exercise bike or hiring a personal trainer. Don’t want to cut wood? It will be a long, cold night! Can’t start the tractor? Not an option … Walk? I am also finding that winter nights give me time to work on the ‘My Minnewaska’ website and YouTube channel that I expect to launch in 2025. My goal is to preserve the history of my family’s Lake Minnewaska resort through a series of first person accounts. I will also use GPS to provide additional insight. For example, I am able to review historical photos and illustrations and direct a present day viewer to the same spot where the photographer or artist recorded their observations a hundred years ago … What a wonderful way to document change! I expect to return to my St. Augustine, Fla., home by early December, and would love to visit with fellow Choaties — Snowbirds are welcome! Text me at (904) 806-3978.”
BOTTOM LEFT Morris Everett ’59 and Scotty Low ’59 vacationing in Maine (Sept. 2024)
LEFT At St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Chatham, Mass. Left to right: Doug Karlson ’80, Doug Barnes ’59, John Sargent ’58
BOTTOM RIGHT Ian Bennett ’58 meeting JFK
’62 C Deaver Brown writes, “Back in the day, we had many great masters. One of the best was Gordon Stillman, who was a wonderful history master, tennis coach, and house master. He put forth that Calvin Coolidge was one of our best presidents. Silent Cal did the job, gave no press announcements, cut the deficit, cut taxes, and the economy grew. I wrote an eBook and related audiobook remembering Mr. Stillman.”
’63 RH Vicki Brooks writes, “We recently got back from an interesting trip to Germany and Switzerland — and unfortunately four of the six of my fellow travelers (and I) got a nasty case of bronchitis. On top of that, I am about to embark on an adventure, first, to see nieces and nephews who live in South America. My older brother Randy and his kids live in different spots in South America. Following these visits, my younger brother Wes and his wife and I are going to Antarctica … and then I will finally be back home for a quiet winter!”
Donna Dickenson writes, “My husband, Chris, and I feel fortunate to be living in a supportive and cohesive environment, a village of about 350 people of all ages and backgrounds, including five Americans. With a communally owned pub, orchard and village hall, as well as a flourishing primary school, it’s far from being just a dormitory suburb of Oxford, five miles away. The only drawback recently has been being cut off by flooding: we’re safe on our hill, but the approach roads have been inundated by very wet weather. Still, it’s nothing compared to the hurricanes in the U.S. southeast. I very much hope none of our classmates have been affected.”
Alice Chaffee Freeman writes, “There’s a lot going on here in the Temple of Deferred Maintenance. Our creaky old house has been the ancestral home of generations of mice, and they are sentimental about it; they don’t like the noise and disruption of renovation. Nevertheless we persist, our aim being to end up with a place in which we can feel warm, safe, and comfortable in our dotage. And if 80 isn’t a dotage, what is?”
Margo Melton Nutt writes, “This past summer, I was part of two nice events at the Weston (Conn.) Historical Society having to do with the house I grew up in (which was built in 1739). The first was a reading from my book about the Melton residence in the house from 1938 to 1953; the second was a fundraiser for the Historical Society — a house and garden tour. The current owners are very cognizant of the history of the house and respectful of it, although it has changed much over the years. Memories came flooding back when I visited the house I hadn’t lived in for 70 years!”
’64 C Steven Boswell writes, “After graduating from college, rather than getting drafted I joined the Peace Corps and taught in a Saharan oasis in Chad for three years. I then went to Laos for two years under a Fulbright teaching grant. Having greatly enjoyed both teaching and living in developing countries, I decided to pursue that as a career. After getting a master’s degree from Indiana University, I continued teaching EFL, mainly at the university level, in Kuwait, Burundi, Vietnam, China, Palestine/ West Bank, Turkey, Tibet/China, and, since 2002, here in Cambodia. I got married to my wife, Dany, in 2008 and our son, Harry, was born in 2009. After retiring in 2010, I wrote a book on Phnom Penh (King Norodom’s Head, 2016) and just finished an as yet to be published one on the Vietnamese city of Hue, where I lived for three years. I have neuropathy in my feet and weak legs, which means I spend most of my time at home, only occasionally going out with a cane, but otherwise am in good health. I have had no contact with Choate since graduating, and the only Choatie I remained in contact with was John Lathrop, and that was a long time ago. Cambodia is a wonderful place to visit; in the words of Somerset Maugham, ‘No one should die without having visited Cambodia.’ Therefore, should any of you plan on coming this way, please let me know.”
1 Judy Donald ’66, captain of Rosemary Hall’s first volleyball team, visits with the Choate volleyball team before a match against Greenwich Academy this fall.
2 Ken Phillips ’61 with his 1946 tractor at his off-grid cabin
3 Ben U and Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda, both ’64, in Phuket, March 2024
4 Left to right:
5 Maurice Heckscher ’61 in southern Delaware
Penny Heald Whitehouse-Vaux, Mary Lou Lange, Toni Wiseman, all Class of ’67
Jeff Gould writes, “I thoroughly enjoyed our 60th Reunion and the beautiful campus. It was wonderful to see my classmates and former faculty member Tom Yankus ’52, which was such a highlight for me personally. We are expecting our second great-grandchild in January, and just celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary. Considering all of the above, time just seems to fly by.”
Kim Masters writes, “I am living near Asheville, N.C. During hurricane Helene, many had no water, electricity, road access, food, internet, amidst the destruction of homes and businesses from floods and fallen trees. The Kohler Center comes a bit late for them. With my background in child psychiatry and Egyptology, I see how much stress all this puts on children and families, and how much the flood was a yearly cause of worry in Ancient Egypt for drought or floods, because of the risk of famine and diseases from both. On the Euphrates many days away from Egypt even by chariot travel, the floods wiped out empires leading to the Gilgamesh and biblical flood narratives about death and attempts to circumvent it.”
Dan Rugg writes, “Our eldest granddaughter, Ellis Walker, will graduate from West Virginia this year. Thus far she has maintained a 4.0 average after validating first semester freshman year. She plans to continue with school to earn a Ph.D. in psychology and become an OT … One outstanding achievement!”
Hoi Sang (Ben) U writes, “Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda and I have been friends for the past 60 years. Our families have also gotten to know each other over four generations. My two sons, Hung (’98) and Wei (’99), and his nephew, Salin (’99), were all at Choate at the same time. Over the years, we have also traveled together to different places in Asia and visited each other. My last visit to him was in March 2024 when we got together in his home in Phuket.”
’65 C Peter Calder writes, “My wife, Cynthia, and I moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., in October after living for 16 years on Skidaway Island, Savannah, Ga. Our new home will be in Vicar’s Landing, a CCRC close by the Tournament Players Club. In 2020, I resigned from my Executive Director duties at The Louis Calder Foundation but continue as a Trustee, providing oversight on administrative and investment matters. Be glad to hear from Choate alumni in the Ponte Vedra area.”
’65 RH Helen McGregor Caivano writes, “At 77, I’m balanced between living each day as if it could be my last (yes, please, to potato chips!) and thinking I might have another good 15 years (more chips for me!). I live next to my daughter, son-in-law, and 13-year-old granddaughter in Bar Harbor, Maine, and bought a condo in Portland, where my other daughter lives. Plus, I got a new knee two months ago. Finally one that works after all these years! So I guess I’m trusting in the future.”
1 Vernon Glenn ’68 with his grandson, George Douglas Glenn, who just turned 1
2 Vickie Spang ’69 at the Portland Oregon Art Museum exhibit of photos that Beatle Paul McCartney took in 1963-64 and re-discovered in 2020
3 Six Choate ’68 classmates met in Vermont with their wives for several meals and lively conversation. Left to right: Art Brisbane, Philip
4 Harold Holmyard ’68 sharing at a pastors’ conference in South Sudan
Nadeau, Bret Hall, Andy Berry, Bob Bradshaw, Rory Cartwright
Glenn Close writes, “My entire family, minus two nephews, lives in Bozeman, Mont. I am supremely happy there and am actually building a house. Living life backwards keeps you young. I have been busy with various jobs. Last summer (2023), my dog Pip and I went to Finland to shoot The Summer Book, based on a beloved Tove Jansson book. I was in the UK this summer, shooting Wake Up Dead Man, the third Knives Out movie. Presently, I’m in Los Angeles, shooting All’s Fair, a Ryan Murphy series. Luckily, I can hop up to Bozeman when I have breaks in the action. Love to all the fabulous women of the Class of 1965.”
Ann Mason Sears writes, “First and foremost — May 16, 17, 18, 2025 is our class Reunion — 60 years. Who can make it? Have you even thought about it? A chance to get together with old friends, roommates, and lifelong buddies. The weather gods have not been so kind this year with Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Our community, Longboat Key, suffered major damage and the cleanup has begun. We were luckier than many but so sad to see the destruction. Herb and I are headed on a cruise to Central America and the Panama Canal — escaping the project and hopefully not heading into another storm.”
’67 RH Mary Lou Lange writes, “I had a great visit with Penny Heald Whitehouse-Vaux and Toni Wiseman recently. Penny and her husband, Willie, were in the States to go to Kate Mowlem’s daughter’s wedding. I also did more camping on the Cape with my dog, Dovydas.”
’68 C Harold Holmyard writes, “I was on a trip to South Sudan with a friend in June. We shared the books of Zechariah and John to a pastors’ conference there, helped by translators. A book may come out of the experience.”
’69 RH Vickie Spang writes, “I’m adjusting to retirement by traveling; taking classes; and supporting the Getty Museum. I stay with classmate Helen Halpin when I’m in the SF Bay Area, which is often; roommates yet again!”
1970s
’71 C David Adler writes, “After attending our daughter Annabeth’s wedding in San Diego, on the drive back to Woodstock, N.Y., Carmen and I decided to make a detour in Davidson, N.C., to have lunch with Norris and Lucy Preyer. Norris and I hadn’t seen each other since graduation and enjoyed catching up.”
Constantine Axiotis writes, “I retired as Professor of Pathology in 2019. I’m taking it easy playing bouzouki, guitar, blackjack, and traveling. The Ax abides.”
Dave Clarke writes, “My nonprofit Psychophysiologic Disorders Association held a highly successful three-day conference on mindbody pain and illness attended by 270 international participants in Boulder, Colo., in September.”
Walter (Terry) Maguire writes, “I’m sad to hear of the passing of my former Choate roommate, Mark N. Peters. All who knew Mark were aware of his keen sense of humor. He excelled in the classroom at Choate … except in physics! He was defensive lineman on the football team, was the heavyweight wrestler on Choate New England Championship team. He was also recognized as an All New England Prep Lacrosse Defenseman. He was a lifetime close friend of mine. We shared our recollections of Choate fondly … But with a twist, of course. Our loss.”
’72 C John Roberts writes, “I have recently retired after 40 fulfilling years as an orthopedic spine surgeon. The surgical speciality has benefited from the rapidly expanding evolution in spinal instrumentation and from the use of intra-operative robotic guidance. I am extremely gratified to have helped so many patients in need, and am deeply grateful Choate started me on this journey. My new journey will be to explore the far reaches with family and friends!”
’73 C Jim Beloff writes, “I’m excited to share that the latest edition of our Daily Ukulele songbook series will be released in November 2024. Entitled The Daily Ukulele: Another Year, the songbook was a 2-1/2 year endeavor with yet another 365 great songs compiled and arranged for the ukulele.”
Bruce Burnett writes, “I had the pleasure of hosting Bob Phelan ’73 at the Presidents Cup golf tournament held at the Royal Montreal Golf Club. We had a great catchup, as he was our house guest. Other than the Americans’ winning yet again, it was a great time for all of us.”
Chip Forrester writes, “It’s been quite a political year, as I head towards retirement at the end of 2024 — my last campaign before I spend time with my granddaughters, Mary Lou, 5, and Betty Joy, 3, who both returned from China with my son, Evan, and his wife, Wen Wen. Serving as Co-Chair of the Harris/Walz Southern Finance Committee has been a true honor and a fitting end to my political career.”
Peter Parziale writes, “My mother, formerly a secretary at Choate Rosemary Hall, passed away in June at the golden age of 93. My brother, John ’75, joined our three sisters at Mom’s bedside in Illinois. In retirement from 30+ years as a public school math teacher in southern California, I keep busy at various volunteer events.”
Choate ’71 classmates catching up in North Carolina: Norris and Lucy Preyer with David and Carmen Adler
Constantine Axiotis ’71 with daughters Alexandra (left) and Evangeline (right) vacationing in Halkidiki, Greece in June 2023
John Roberts ’72 sharing a surprise 70th with Susan and the 10 grandchildren
Barbara Laney ’72 visited Maine and had dinner with former faculty, Ann Nesslage and Joanne Sullivan, and former archivist Judy Donald ’66.
Harold Green
From Entrepreneur to Ecopreneur
’74
his first business, Chamberlain Contractors, a year removed from Choate. Decades after launching that successful asphalt paving company, Harold was still modernizing his business. In the early 1990s, he established a recycling operation to collect asphalt and concrete rubble, turn them into useful byproducts, and sell them. During that same period, he began testing a process to blend the byproducts with liquid asphalt cement emulsified in water. He further enhanced his process when he bought a KMA cold recycling mixing plant, which introduces processed asphalt, cement, water, and other elements under pressure to make eco-friendly asphalt.
“It’s about a quarter of the cost of conventional hot mix asphalt,” Harold explains, “and the carbon footprint is 90% less.”
After a decade of using recycled materials to differentiate his company, in 2012, Harold created one of the first methodologies to capture, validate, and verify carbon emissions associated with using alternative environmentally friendly construction materials. The process was approved by Verra, a carbon registry that “sets the world’s leading standards for climate action and sustainable development,” and patented by Harold and his latest company, Global Emissionairy (GE). GE incentivizes paving and transportation organizations “with carbon credits to use recycled materials and sustainable installation methods.”
“We capture data from various sources, go through a verification process, and then post, issue, and sell those carbon emissions.” Harold explains. “I’m one of the first companies worldwide to have created this technology.”
If you have driven down I-81 in Virginia near Roanoke, you have been impacted by Harold’s forward-thinking approach. Sections of that road were resurfaced through the pavement recycling process his company perfected. The original I-81 project was estimated to cost more than $50 million and take two years to complete. Instead, through GE’s alternative method, the job took less than two months and cost the Virginia State Department of Transportation $7.5 million, a significant savings for taxpayers. Harold has a new project on tap to help asphalt companies comply with California’s zeroemissions mandate for hot asphalt through carbon credits, and his primary focus has shifted to working with incubators and accelerators to help them capture their own carbon emissions.
The visionary nature of Harold’s career can be traced to his youth in New Jersey. His father was a lawyer by trade but an entrepreneur at heart, who helped bring movies to airlines in the 1960s. The elder Mr. Green died suddenly after Harold’s first year at Choate but had been instrumental in arranging a call between his son and then Headmaster Seymour St. John, notifying Harold of his admission.
Even when he is sleeping, Harold Green ’74’s thoughts rarely stop churning. The “serial entrepreneur” keeps a pen and notepad by his bedside because he never knows when the muse might strike.
The same goes for the hours when he is cutting acres on his Monkton, Md., horse farm, steering his 24-foot Batwing tractor at 11 MPH. “I always have a piece of paper with me,” Harold says. “That’s my thinking time, because I’m away from distractions.”
The distractions are plenty for Harold and have been since he graduated from Choate. He describes himself as “not the typical student” because his brain was always thinking beyond the classroom to the next chance to innovate. “School and the traditional educational format didn’t fit my personality and my drive to do things differently,” he explains.
Still, in the spring of his sixth form year, Harold partnered with Richard McDonough, former commissioner of insurance for New Jersey, to write the first no-fault insurance policy, a plan subsequently approved by the N.J. Legislature. Though it was a powerful experience, Harold realized he did not want to do similar work in the future.
While giving both George Washington University and Georgetown a try (he eventually decided higher education was not for him), Harold started
“While my father’s death was very unsettling, I already had the skill set I needed to succeed,” Harold says. “I was always told I could do whatever I wanted, as long as I gave it the right amount of energy.”
From as early as age eight, he worked at a local country club, lining tennis courts, mowing fairways, and deveining shrimp in the kitchen. He also traveled the world with his family and had a chance to see how other countries ticked. Even though school was not exactly his thing, Harold says he “refined [his] entrepreneurial talents at Choate.” While he will forever be an entrepreneur, today Harold also dubs himself an “ecopreneur.” He recently sold Chamberlain Contractors and his asphalt, concrete, and recycling plants to focus on the carbon emissions market through GE.
“I’ve been freed up, but I’m a serial entrepreneur, and will always look for the next deal,” he says. “For me, being this way wasn’t any risk. I just knew I could do whatever I set my mind to.”
By Jana BRown Jana Brown is a New Hampshire-based writer and editor.
’74 RH Laurie Weisman writes, “I have been spending the past few summers in the glorious Austrian Alps organizing yoga and wellbeing retreats at Chalet M-Austria with my partner. We have focused on different themes such as play, mindfulness, and creativity. This past summer, one of our themes was Journey into Joy, and we had a very joyful group, shown in the photo. We hiked, cooked, foraged, and laughed a lot, in addition to our yoga.”
’75 C Tim “T Barny” Barnard writes, “We had a dynamic celebration of International Sculpture Day at the T Barny Gallery and Sculpture Gardens last April 27 and 28. Ten other Sonoma County sculptors and I invited visitors to explore how ‘Sculptors Shape the World’. Immersing themselves in creativity as they enjoyed food, drink, and art, more than 400 guests discovered the power of artistic expression and unleashed their creativity in a welcoming atmosphere.”
Bruce Cooper writes, “I’m looking forward to attending the 50th in May and catching up with old and new friends. Starting to consider retiring in the next few years, but I am also gathering anecdotes for a crime novel based upon defendants I have represented over the past 30 years. In the criminal world, truth is often stranger than fiction.”
’76 RH Leslie Atkinson writes, “Forty-three years later, I continue to live in Valencia, Spain and now, having retired, planning a ‘staycation’ in Siem Reap, Cambodia, starting in November until ... If in the neighborhood, let me know!”
’77 C Lee Hockstader writes, “I’ve been the European Affairs columnist for The Washington Post since fall 2023. I’m based in Paris and travel around the continent — a sweet job, and probably my last chapter at The Post, where I’ve worked for 40 years. I feel lucky. I’ve seen some classmates in Paris — James Cott, Bruce Herzfelder — and I’d be pleased for more CRH visitors.”
’79 Andy Tomat writes, “The AI technology wave is keeping me busy advising clients, primarily in Europe, with investments and acquisitions in the hardware supply chain serving AI data centers worldwide. My volunteer work as treasurer of the Episcopal Church in Los Angeles also keeps me busy and I had the opportunity to catch up with classmate Rob Hirschfeld, the Bishop of New Hampshire, when we both were at the church’s triennial general convention in Louisville, Ky. It was also great to see other classmates at our 45th Reunion and to reconnect with our devoted Dean, Ed Maddox, and to discover that he, too, had longstanding connections with the Episcopal church in LA.”
TOP Jim Beloff ’73 with the latest edition of the “Daily Ukulele” songbook series
MIDDLE Former President Barack Obama, U.S. Senate Candidate Gloria Johnson (D-TN), Chip Forrester ’73, and President Joe Biden in Los Angeles June 15 for a Biden/Harris fundraiser
BOTTOM LEFT Laurie Weisman ’74 with her Journey into Joy group sharing a meal before a visit to James Turrell’s Skyspace in Lech, Austria
BOTTOM RIGHT Leslie Atkinson ’76 at the Grand Canyon this past summer
1980s
’80 Michael Lewyn writes, “I was promoted to full Professor at Touro Law Center, and was elected Chair of the American Association of Law Schools Property Law section. In addition, I am pleased to announce that my stepdaughter, Yvette, is being married in March 2025.”
Jim Sherman writes, “Late summer was terrific, as I took an extended vacation in Europe with a mix of beach and small cities. It was one week in Cassis (southern France), then two weeks in the Greek Islands (Sifnos and Folengandros, new favorites of mine), and then one week exploring Krakow and the Baltics, which I hadn’t seen since a visit during the Communist era! While in Tallinn, there happened to be a marathon, so I joined for a portion of it and ran 20km, my personal longest.”
’81 Clif Edwards continues to enjoy Northern California, despite its recent bouts of over 110 degrees, where he works for Logitech and is the Jerry in a Grateful Dead cover band, named Possum (’cause we ‘play Dead,’ he explains). He and his wife, Amy, have twin boys who have just turned 18, so the family is negotiating the rigors of college classes.
Miles Spencer has published his second book, A Line in the Sand, a recent Amazon/Audible release in the historical fiction genre. It is based in part on his 1,100-mile trek through the deserts of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria, following the footsteps of T.E. Lawrence in Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Gregory Viscusi writes, “Stacey Gillis, also ’81, and I caught up during the Paris Olympics. I live in Paris and she was in town with her husband to follow the U.S. fencing team.”
1 Four members of the Class of 1974 at Westhampton Country Club in Long Island. Left to right: John Steinbreder, Peter Prentis, Ed Kelly, and Mike Kazickas
2 Andy Tomat and Bishop Rob Hirschfeld, both ’79, at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Louisville, Ky.
3 Tony Quinn ’80 and Anne House Quinn celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary on October 8. The photo shows their wedding at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC in 1988.
4 Tim “T Barny” Barnard ’75 hosted a celebration of International Sculpture Day at the T Barny Gallery and Sculpture Gardens; this is the entry into the T Barny Studios.
5 1980 classmates Marty Piombo and Beeper Schiavone reunite in Sausalito.
6 Holly Tippett ’80 (center) and Laura Machanic ’86 (right) with Laura’s husband on a fall evening in Chateauneuf-du-Pape en route to Sicily
7 Clif Edwards ’81 enjoying Dead and Company at the Las Vegas Sphere
’83 Kelly Clarke Heartquist writes, “After years of living and traveling around the world, I turned my passion into a career by launching Boho World Travel. Over the past year, I’ve faced challenges, embraced learning opportunities, and found success in an industry that is as complex as it is rewarding. It’s been a journey filled with incredible people, exciting prospects, and the chance to do exactly what I love. My educational background at Choate (despite my resistance!), Boston University, and life experiences gave me the confidence to take this leap — and I’m so glad I did.”
’84 Tom Kline writes, “Running a successful professional dealership is complex, complicated, and perpetual! Keeping operations running profitably, securely, and legally can feel like trying to tuck an octopus into bed at night while the tentacles keep flopping all over the place! My book Tuck the Octopus shows how to build a compliance program successfully and flag the important types of risks to consider to safeguard your stores.”
Mark Righter writes, “I had a great time seeing classmates Doug Gochman, Stacey Plaskett, Taylor Baldwin, Susie McGowan, and Todd Kelley at our 40th Reunion, as well as celebrating Mr. Ford!”
George Stein writes, “I’m excited to have created LA Lacrosse, a free lacrosse program for boys and girls in South LA. Classmates Noel Williams (board member), Greg Willams, and Bill Ryan are staunch supporters of this endeavor. We are always looking for support! Check out lalacrosse.org.”
’85 Ramon Agustines is currently living in Vancouver, Canada.
Ronna Chao writes, “I had a great time catching up with Bryan Wong while visiting my daughters in N.Y. I’m still living and working in Hong Kong … let me know if you’re in that part of the world.”
Beverley D Mac Keen writes, “I did only one year at Choate. I was a British system student from the Bahamas too young to go off to college at 16. In that one year I learned more from Paul Tines and Terry Ortwein than in the four years at Cornell that followed. While my career in the theatre spanned 30 years, the two years I got to enjoy when the school I worked for hired PT to be Dean of the Arts eclipses all. PT came to Dwight-Englewood and transformed the performing arts programming. The same professionalism and vitality that inspired me at 16 was shared with my two daughters. Lucky them to have had PT for two years when Mama only got one!! On the opening night of my husband’s recent Broadway show The Outsiders, I sat beside PT and felt the same energy I used to feel as a wide eyed student studying the arts in the PMAC. Near the end of the show PT and I both felt an odd sensation and looked at each other but didn’t say anything. Later when we discussed that moment PT sheepishly said he had the weirdest feeling that he was too embarrassed to even say. And I said tentatively, Was it Mr. Ortwein saying ‘well done?’ He gasped, as he too had suddenly felt his mentor Terry smiling on him. My mentor, my children’s mentor, my mentor’s mentor in a Broadway theatre enjoying what would go on to win
1 Fred Horowitz ’82 and his wife, Arlene, at the wedding of their daughter, Anna Horowitz ’15
2 Jim Sherman ’80 in Riga, Latvia
3 Doug Gochman, Mark Righter, both ’84, and the PMAC at the 40th Reunion
4 Jim Reardon ’83, third from right, with Dr. James Allison, front center, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2018
5 Kelly Clarke Heartquist ’83 at the ribbon cutting for Boho World Travel in Dallas
the Tony for best musical. Thank you Choate for PT and Mr. Ortwein, who changed my world.”
Burt Osterweis writes, “I’m pleased to announce the release of my new book on Amazon. Ideally suited for consultants and project managers, it contains pearls of wisdom for anyone working in a corporate setting. Thirty Years a Consultant – A Humorous Romp Through Corporate America’s I.T. Departments is a sassy collection of anecdotes, observations, and sage guidance.”
Lisi Tesher writes, “For the past 23 years, my mom, Ellie Tesher, has been the relationship advice columnist at the Toronto Star and syndicated around the country. I became her editor halfway through and we have worked together for more than a decade. Two years ago, she decided to slowly move towards retirement, and I took over two of her six weekly columns, continuing to edit her four. As of October 2024, I officially took over the column and she has retired. You can find me online at thestar.com every day except Sunday.”
’87 Todd Mansfield writes, “I was recently named head men’s tennis coach at Linfield University, a perennial athletic power in Division 3 athletics. Have a boy or girl interested in playing college tennis? Please reach out. I would love to help the greater Choate community get their kids started on the journey to a great four-year university. We are located in Oregon, one of the best wine regions in the country. Let’s go share a glass!”
6 Rookie class at LA Lacrosse, a free lacrosse program created by George Stein ’84
7 Kara Thompson ’85 met up with classmates for lunch on the way to Choate orientation with her daughter, Juliana. Left to right: Juliana Dlabal ’27, Thompson, Heidi Goldstein Shepherd ’85, Sharon Sullivan Kominiarek ’85
Dave Mishkin writes, “I’ve written a novel, Blind Squirrel. Here’s the synopsis: Noah Nicholson has a gift. He is blessed with extraordinary hand-eye coordination. This gift has helped him build a successful career as a minor league hockey player. But Noah is damaged. His parents died in a car accident when he was 12, and he has dealt with mental health issues ever since. It’s only after Noah loses his gift in a career-ending injury that he is able to begin the healing process. I’ve been the radio playby-play announcer for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning since 2002. I’m donating a portion of the book’s proceeds to Tampa Bay Thrives, a nonprofit focused on improving mental health in the region.”
Sophia Shaw, after a career leading, teaching in, and consulting with nonprofits, has launched PlanPerfect, an AI-empowered tool that allows small nonprofits to create, track, and report on strategic plans.
’88 Dede Griesbauer writes, “I’m continuing to race as a professional triathlete. In May, I finished 6th at Ironman Australia, and in June, I changed tune and joined a 4-man team for The Race Across America. The 3000+ mile race goes from Oceanside, Calif. to Atlantic City, N.J. On day 1.2 we went from a 4-man team to a 3-man team when we discovered we had a bad apple in the bunch and he walked away, pillow and bike in hand, at 4 a.m. in Durango, Colo. We carried on, less competitive, a man down, but a better team for it. The race took 8 days. Adventures continue in 2025!”
’89 Alison Gillmor Cameron writes, “I had a great time at Family Weekend in October, where two of my daughters, Sadie ’28 and Piper ’25, are loving school! Bumped into my old Atwater roommate, Sarah Ransom McKenna ’89, and Heidie Joo ’89, who were also attending for Family Weekend. We had perfect fall weather!”
Susanna Howe writes, “Our family has moved to the countryside. We now live in Old Chatham, not far from Hudson, N.Y., and not far from Great Barrington, Mass. It’s a big change for us, but we did it to give our kids (Gigi, 12, and Franny, 11) the chance to go to this great Waldorf School here at Hawthorne Valley Farm. We love it! Any Choaties around?”
Sarah McKenna writes, “I’m delighted to share that my son, Shane ’25, is loving life as a Choate PG this year (baseball pitcher)! Also, my company launched our fourth generation web data extraction platform Sequentum Cloud in October. It’s the culmination of fifteen-plus years of low code automated data ingestion, transformation, AI enrichment, structure and delivery. Got a data powered AI workflow you want to productize? Get started in minutes in your browser, no setup required.”
1990s
’91 Séamus (James Shay) Ó Séaghdha writes, “I married my husband, Bonfacio Cabel, on December 31, 2020. I’m currently earning a second master’s degree in mental health counseling. I was ip of a parish and Vicar of Vocations for the ANCC.”
’92 Celia Cheng recently opened her letterpress studio/store, Cravings Media, in Honolulu. She says this feels like coming full circle, since she took her first printmaking class at Choate as a fifth former, and it sparked a passion in her that she would return to later in life. Working creatively with her hands and opening this store, she says, is a dream come true.
’93 Casey McGuire Davidson writes, “I’m hitting my fifth year as a podcast host and life and sobriety coach for women. Last year I got to share my work on Good Morning America and in The New York Times, HuffPost, NBC News, and CNBC. If you haven’t checked out The Hello Someday Podcast and you’re sober curious, you should take a listen. It’s a top 100 mental health podcast and ranked in the top 0.5% of shows globally. I’m hitting 25 years living in the Seattle area with my husband and two kids, and I’m lucky to still get to hang out with Edie Sonne Hall and Karin Kidder. I also got to cheer at Ultimate Frisbee games last year with Doren Spinner when our sons were on the same team.”
’95 Katie Vitali Childs writes, “For the past two years, I have been the formal Head Coach of both the boys and the girls water polo teams at Choate. I am lucky enough to say I got to coach my kids … and my son, Chris, is off to Pomona-Pitzer to play at the collegiate level. Also exciting is that the girls team brought home the New England Runner-up trophy for the spring 2024 season.”
Andrea Sims was promoted to Professor in the Department of Linguistics at The Ohio State University. She is currently on sabbatical and using part of it to travel and give talks in interesting places.
’96 Joshua Cook writes, “After nearly 20 years of practicing law, including a dozen years in-house at John Hancock, I went out on my own in 2023. I opened Left of Boom Consulting to help small and mid-sized businesses prepare for and navigate cybersecurity and privacy crises. I also wrote and recently published Cyber Resilience by Design: The Executive’s Guide to Managing a Cyberattack.”
’98 Josef Powell writes, “In a crowd of 88,000plus at the FL Gators vs UCF Knights Football game, I ran into Lizzy (Swan) Oliver ’98, after we were randomly seated beside each other (imagine that, in a fully packed stadium!). We were both there with family members enjoying the Gators’ victory over the Knights. It was great to catch up, as always, with my ’98 classmates!”
’99 Kathryn Maresca Faull writes, “In October, Caroline Stetson Perkowski ’03 and her daughter Charlotte came to visit my family in our hometown of Riverside, Ill. Our daughters had the best time seeing the sights of downtown Chicago and meeting one another for the first time.”
Lauren E. Oakes and her husband, Matt Craven, welcomed a baby girl on January 25, 2024, Arden Hawley Craven. Lauren also has a new book coming out on November 12, 2024, Treekeepers: The Race for a Forested Future. The book offers a critical look at how forests contribute to the fight against climate change, revealing the complex roles they can play in making the planet more habitable for life into the future. Lauren spent four years working on this project and interviewed 150 people around the world to craft the narrative.
Shantell Richardson writes, “This past March I tied the knot with my sweet partner, John, during a small city hall ceremony with our parents in attendance. In October, I also had the pleasure of attending a celebration of Hereafter, a beautiful book of poetry written by Alan Felsenthal ’99.”
Casey McGuire Davidson is celebrating her fifth year as a podcast host and life and sobriety coach for women. Last year she got to share her work on Good Morning America and in The New York Times, HuffPost, NBC News, and CNBC. ’93
Ronna Chao and Bryan Wong, both ’85
Burt Osterweis ’85 with his new book, Thirty Years a Consultant
1 Dede Griesbauer ’88 waiting roadside for a relay-style handoff ... somewhere in America.
2 Opening night of The Outsiders on Broadway, Bev Mac Keen ’86 with husband and lead producer Michael Rego, daughters Stella and Christina Rego, and former Choate Dean of the Performing Arts Paul Tines
3 Dave Hurwitt (left) and Bob Huseby (right), both ’86, talking business at the Shelburne Farms Inn in Shelburne, Vt. over UVM Parents Weekend in the fall
4 Tampa Bay Lightning mascot Thunderbug joined longtime Lightning radio play-by-play announcer Dave Mishkin ’87 at a signing event for Dave’s new novel, Blind Squirrel.
5 After 35 years, Dan Marovitz and Meredith Savage, both ’90, finally crossed paths and had a great brunch in London.
6 Class of 1989 and current Choate parents Alison Gillmor Cameron, Sarah Ransom McKenna, and Heidie Joo
Jennifer Yu Cheng
’99 Engineering Educational Innovations
In the Hong Kong schools supervised by Jennifer Yu Cheng ’99, STEM readiness starts in kindergarten. Hands-on, designer-focused “makercentered learning” there cultivates the thinking routines that lead to innovation. “Even students at five and six years old are looking at problems in their daily lives that they want to address,” she says.
Among other projects, kindergartners have made a miniature vacuum cleaner out of a plastic bottle to make classroom cleanup easier, and they have upcycled old uniforms into a patchwork tablecloth.
Educating a “future-ready” workforce is a personal and professional mission for Jennifer, who might be described as an educational entrepreneur who thinks like an engineer. She is the president of the CTF Education Group, an innovative organization that combines educational management with community engagement and philanthropy to, in her words, “bridge the gap between the classroom and the workplace.” In addition to providing strategic leadership for the group, Jennifer is a kind of hands-on, operations-minded superintendent for some of the schools — located both in Hong Kong and in neighboring mainland cities — and a board member on others.
Capitalizing on global partnerships to advance educational research and best practices is central to Jennifer’s work. For example, the aforementioned kindergarten curriculum was developed through a research collaboration
with Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero. The endeavor included publishing a “playbook” that shares strategies for early childhood maker-centered learning with educators around the world.
Jennifer champions forward-thinking STEM education in her personal projects as well. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced every industry to adapt, Jennifer came to the realization that “this digital transformation was going to change the way we work forever.” This fact — and the persistent gender gap in STEM fields — led her to establish the eponymous JYC Girls Impact Foundation in 2020. Thousands of girls from Hong Kong have benefited from the charitable organization’s programs, which inspire teens to explore STEM learning, connect them to industry leaders and mentorship opportunities, and cultivate a variety of 21st century competencies, including leadership.
Jennifer says the biggest challenge she faces is developing and implementing education strategies for a rapidly changing world. She says, “K–12, for the most part, must catch up to the pace of change to stay relevant, whether it’s curriculum, whether it’s pedagogies … It’s a critical time for K–12 now.”
Jennifer says that transformative experiences at Choate Rosemary Hall strongly influenced her as an educator. As a student, she took advantage of the “endless opportunities,” which for Jennifer included founding the Chinese Club and trying out for volleyball. She believes the education was foundational across all disciplines and says Choate teachers played a pivotal role, especially in “seeing the potential in you before you even notice that there is a potential.” Today, she seeks to inspire her students the same way. “I believe all students can achieve,” she states.
After Choate, Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Columbia, minoring in economics. Her first career was in finance, starting on Wall Street and then pursuing investment banking in Hong Kong. Then the financial crisis of 2008 struck. That challenge offered an opportunity to “pause to think about career interest and where I want to make an impact.” She pondered how much she had always enjoyed teaching and mentoring, including serving as a prefect at Choate and coaching junior colleagues in the workplace. Says Jennifer, “The soul searching led to education.”
Jennifer went on to earn her master’s in education from Harvard. Meanwhile, her first entrepreneurial project was co-creating for Hong Kong schools a discussion-based, Harkness-style curriculum that was grounded in the teaching and learning methods she and her partner had experienced at their respective boarding schools. Jennifer’s other entrepreneurial and philanthropic ventures have sought to help create pathways for Hong Kong students to thrive at independent schools and universities abroad.
Jennifer’s latest endeavor is founding the Kindervarsity Education Hub, a pioneering CTF Education Group initiative. The vision is to create a dynamic K–12 learning environment that is akin to a university setting. It will feature multiple schools with different curricular options on one campus and residential life programming. A Future Education Research Institute will promote collaboration among K–12 educators, university researchers, and industry professionals to advance theory into classroom practice and foster curriculum development that brings the latest industry and workplace insights into the classroom.
Such opportunities have already begun. For example, last summer educators partnered with car company engineers to co-create a course that teaches middle-schoolers about AI automation. Students then had the chance to build a car at the factory.
This, says Jennifer, is only the beginning of a novel and globally impactful educational model. “We are a year into it,” she says. “There’s a lot more that we look forward to doing into the future.”
By LesLie ViRostek P ’15, ’17, ’20
Leslie
is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to the Bulletin
Virostek
2000s
’04 Liza Wehrly Andrews welcomed Mildred (Milly) Gray Andrews, her husband Paul, and their son George (3) on July 1, 2024. Milly is named after her great-great grandmother, Mildred Gray Bulfinch Schieber. Mildred (1894-1980) was one of the earliest members of the California bar, graduating from USC Law and passing the California bar in 1918. Mildred shared her pioneering spirit with her grandparents, Joseph and Ann Gray, who were founders of Truckee, Calif.
’05 Ian Grajewski writes, “My wife, Leslie, and I are thrilled to announce the birth of our fourth child, Grace Catherine Grajewski, on February 24, 2024. Grace joins older siblings Daisy, Mary Jane, and Siggy, and completes our very busy family. We are excited to travel back to Wallingford in the spring for my 20th reunion and hope to see many old classmates soon.”
2010s
’11 Jarred Kennedy-Loving writes, “In September, I participated in the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Marathon, running a personal best time of 3:35:58. It was my third Berlin Marathon and fourth in total (ran the London Marathon in April). I am particularly grateful for the love and support of family, friends, and my running team, Joy Run Collective.”
Lyra Olson and Daniel Hartsoe ’09 enjoy a friendly rivalry as coaches of women’s college ultimate teams! Daniel coaches Maryland’s program, while Lyra leads the Duke squad. Outside of ultimate, Lyra is wrapping up her dual M.D./Ph.D. and enjoying life in North Carolina with her husband, Matt.
’13 Sharel Liu writes, “This past July, I was a speaker at SIGGRAPH in Denver, and this October spoke at AU2024 in San Diego. I’m in the last year of the Masters of Architecture program at Columbia and am always looking to connect and reconnect with peers in these spaces. Please feel free to reach out!”
2020s
’22 Andrew Crews writes, “I am currently a junior at Skidmore College, an Art History major. Over the summers I have interned at the New Britain (Conn.) Museum of American Art and the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. In May, I was part of a travel seminar located in Venice. At Skidmore, I am part of the Tang Museum’s Student Advisory Council.”
TOP LEFT Kyle Galloway ’90 was in Phoenix moving two of his kids into ASU and met up with Meredith Savage ’90. They had a great time visiting and reminiscing.
TOP RIGHT Casey McGuire Davidson ’93 with husband Mike and kids Hank (16) and Lila (10)
BOTTOM LEFT Katie Vitali Childs ’95 (center) on the pool deck with son Chris ’24 and daughter Maddy ’26
BOTTOM RIGHT Hannah True Sears ’93 is assisting art critic, artist, and retired Smithsonian employee JW Mahoney with exhibits and transition to Assisted Care with family.
1 Celia Cheng ’92 at her letterpress studio/store Cravings Media in Honolulu.
2 Hugh Keefe ’02 enjoying July 4th on the Connecticut coast with his kids
3 In August, Choaties met on Martha’s Vineyard for a 5K race to support the Jabberwocky camp for people with disabilities. From left, C.J. Hughes ’88, Serena Torrey Roosevelt ’94, Jessica Hughes Karnes ’94, Celeste Peterson ’94
4 Lyra Olson ’11 and Daniel Hartsoe ’09 after a recent close game between their women’s college ultimate teams
5 Josef Powell and Lizzy (Swan) Oliver, both ’98, in the Gators stadium
Jarred Kennedy-Loving ’11 participated in the 50 th anniversary of the Berlin Marathon, running a personal best time of 3:35:58.
ABOVE Lizzie Quinn (left) and Laryssa Gazda (right), both ’20, pictured atop Mt. Garfield (4,491 ft). They hiked Mt. Webster and Mt. Garfield in the White Mountains of New Hampshire over Labor Day Weekend.
TOP RIGHT Caroline Stetson Perkowski ’03 with her daughter, Charlotte, and Kathryn Maresca Faull ’03 and her daughter, Louise
BOTTOM RIGHT Haley Strom ’20 is completing a Fulbright Scholarship in Burgas, Bulgaria, where she teaches English Literature, Culture, Oral Communication, and Tourism and Marketing to high school students. She is pictured (far left) with her fellow teachers at the Fulbright Bulgaria Orientation in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Jarred with his Berlin Marathon medal in front of the German Reichstag
Charles Calotta
A Musical Life
“I always compare opera to football,” says Charles Calotta ’13. “When the team is doing well, it’s because everyone is doing their job and trusts [their teammates], and the play goes off without a hitch.” Charles, a tenor who has starred in operas including Mozart’s Mitridate and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Tosca, grew up in New York City and attended the Buckley School, where he got his first taste of singing in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He was hooked, and matriculated at Choate Rosemary Hall as a fourth former, largely drawn to Choate’s strong performing arts.
At Choate, Charles took voice lessons with Maksim Ivanov, an opera singer who assigned him songs in German, French, and Italian. An athlete who played football and wrestled, Charles was attracted to the full-body approach of classical singing. When a football injury during his fifth form fall left him unable to compete on the wrestling team that winter, he applied for the Arts Concentration program, where he was the only singer. In addition to studying with Ivanov, Charles credited performing in Choate’s spring musicals with his commitment to the craft of singing. As a fifth former, he was cast as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Tracy Ginder-Delventhal, which he describes as one of the most rewarding stage performances of his life. “I’d never done anything that big and that immersive,” Charles says. “I feel so lucky to have had such good support and the opportunity to really make excellent theater happen.”
Yet Charles says the Choate experience that best prepared him for being a professional singer and a collaborative artist — in addition to, of course, the football team — was performing in the Maiyeros, Choate’s all-male a cappella group. Charles remembers the 11-member ensemble, young men with diverse interests, coming together every Wednesday night to create music without faculty oversight. While musical training typically involves taking direction, this was an experience of autonomy and responsibility, of students’ taking hold of their own journeys as artists.
Charles attended Vanderbilt University, where he enrolled in the highly competitive vocal performance track while minoring in communications. Because Vanderbilt’s program was only for undergraduates, there were more opportunities to gain stage experience. “Ninety percent of the job is practicing, studying music, auditioning, getting to rehearsal,” Charles says. Then he gets to go on stage and be with the audience, and the hard work pays off. “When you’re in that moment,” he says of performing, “nothing else exists. It’s like the perfect flow state, and it is addictive.” Charles received his master of music from the University of Maryland, where he studied with tenor Gran Wilson, who is still his voice teacher.
When traveling for a gig, Charles balances rigorous rehearsal schedules with hobbies that allow him to explore new places: photography, time outdoors, and checking out local shops and museums. On performance days, he focuses on rest, hydration, and meditation. He is known as a quick study, which means he has been hired to step in last-minute when another performer is pulled away. Between gigs, Charles and his wife live in New York City. With a friend, he runs a grassfed beef shipping business in Vermont. He hopes that someday he and his wife will make Vermont, where his parents now live, their home base.
Charles advises inexperienced operagoers to read a plot summary so they’ll understand the bones of the story. Then, while they’re at the performance, they can focus on the sensory experience of visual media, dance, singing, and music coming together. “It’s not about the plot,” he says. “Opera is about the vehicle of music to express timeless human emotion.” And, he adds, no two performances of a show will be alike. This is one reason that he loves returning to roles he’s played before — the director will always have a new vision. He’s performed in productions of Così fan tutte set in Andy Warhol’s warehouse, in a Spanish village, and on a 1980s soap opera set. When we spoke, he was preparing to play Laurie in Little Women for the Fort Worth Opera. The first time he played this role, at Vanderbilt, he connected with young Laurie; now he’s interested in how Laurie grows.
Charles says that throughout his education there was discussion about the tradeoffs of being a professional performer, with professors encouraging students to consider whether this was the life they wanted. “Some of my classmates from Vanderbilt, they’re doing the nine to five, they’re making a great amount of money,” Charles said. “I’m really rich in that I can have this life I’ve chosen.” His wife’s job is fully remote, and she and their two dogs can often travel with him. “It feels almost selfish,” he continues. “You get to live all of these different lives and stories. I wish everyone could have that experience. I feel very fortunate.”
By Joanna CantoR ’01
Joanna Cantor is a novelist and freelance writer based in New York.
CLASSNOTES | New Beginnings
1 Just married: Shantell Richardson ’99 and Johnny Smith-Diaz
2 On June 8, 2024, Rachel Bloch Mellon ’12 married Nathan Tindall in Manhattan at the Salmagundi Club, followed by a reception at the National Arts Club. Left to right: Molly Mercer ’11, Julia Bloch Mellon ’07, Johann George ’12, Emma Iannini ’12, Nathan, Rachel, Daniel Hickey ’12, Ayaka Yoshida ’12, and Allyn Pasiliao ’12
3 Madeleine McGuire ’13 and Nicholas BonDurant ’10 celebrated their wedding with family and friends in Vullierens, Switzerland on July 27, 2024 after reconnecting after Choate in Boston in fall 2019. Left to right - Quinn Hawkins ’10, Matt Wappler ’12, Sarah Craig ’13, Gracie Tenney ’13, Lydia Di Capua ’13, Nicholas, Madeleine, Hannah Krumholz ’13, Allison Poltash ’13, and Michael McGuire ’14
4 Lauren E. Oakes ’99 with her second child, Arden Hawley Craven
5 Emmalaine Leibman Baker ’12 and Ian Baker ’11 welcomed their first child, Lily Jane Baker, on September 24, 2024.
6 Hunter Malasky ’12 and his wife, Margaux, welcomed their first child, Harlan Harris Malasky, on September 28, 2024.
7 Nicole (Coco) LeFave White ’03 and Chris White welcomed their second daughter, Brooke Richelle, on August 19, 2024. Madison (4) is a proud big sister.
8 Nihal Eisa Cassady ’03 and husband Sam welcomed their first child, Ripley Ryan Cassady, on Mother’s Day this year.
9 Liza Wehrly Andrews ’04 and her husband, Paul, welcomed Milly on July 1 in Brooklyn, NY. George (3) is a proud big brother.
10 Kelsey Craig Birney ’07 and her husband, Daniel, welcomed their daughter, Noa Lea Birney, on August 20, 2024.
11 Ian Grajewski ’05 and his wife, Leslie, announce the birth of their fourth child, Grace. The Grajewski children (left to right): Mary Jane, Daisy, Grace, and Siggy
IN MEMORIAM | Remembering Those We Have Lost
Alumni and Alumnae
’46 C Retired Marine Col. Robert W. Rust, who was instrumental in foiling an assassination attempt on PresidentElect John F. Kennedy (Choate 1935), died September 1, 2024 at his home in Coral Gables, Fla. He was 96.
In December 1960, just weeks after Kennedy had been elected, a man named Richard Pavlick planned to kill the president-elect by blowing up a Florida church he would attend. Pavlick bought dynamite in New Hampshire and had followed Kennedy across the country before and after the election, meanwhile sending threatening postcards to a New Hampshire postmaster, who alerted federal authorities.
Reasoning that Pavlick would try to harm Kennedy, Robert, then an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Miami, called several hardware stores in New Hampshire until he found one where a clerk remembered that Pavlick had bought dynamite, blasting caps, and a detonator. He then filed a criminal charge against Pavlick, who was being held on a traffic charge in Miami and was just about to be released. In the suspect’s hotel room, Rust found a suicide note confessing the assassination plot. Pavlick was incarcerated in a mental hospital.
Born in Jamaica, N.Y., Robert was at Choate for one year, after having graduated from Manhasset, N.Y., High School. After Choate, he attended St. Lawrence University and then the University of Miami, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree while working as a City of Miami police officer and serving in the Marine Corps Reserve. He then enjoyed a lengthy legal career, in state government, in private practice,
and as a state legislator. He enjoyed skating, boating, and fishing. He leaves two sons, three daughters, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
’48 RH Roberta Bertolf Chapdelaine, 93, an executive of manufacturing firms, died August 4, 2024. Born in Greenwich, Bobby came to Rosemary Hall in 1943; she was in the Kindly and Dramatic clubs. After attending Briarcliff Manor, she was an executive assistant to the presidents of Barnes Engineering and Baldwin Technology Corp., both in Stamford. Bobby loved the outdoors — especially sailing, fishing, water skiing, and swimming. She leaves three sons, nine grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. A sister, Elizabeth Bertolf ’47, also attended Rosemary Hall.
’50 C Malcolm Caplan, 91, an international lawyer, died July 26, 2024 in Siena, Italy. Born in New York City, Malcolm came to Choate in 1946. He was co-captain of varsity cross-country, Associate Editor of The Choate News, in the Cum Laude Society, and he won a School prize for excellence in Spanish. After earning degrees from Yale and Harvard Law, he traveled to Venezuela as a Fulbright Scholar. In 1959, Malcolm joined Baker & McKenzie, opening the firm’s first international office in Caracas. In retirement, he was a mentor to many young lawyers. He leaves his wife, Irene Caplan; six children, including Nicole Caplan ’80 and Jennifer Caplan ’93; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Sherwood G. Pierce, 92, a retired investment banker, died August 31, 2024 in Chevy Chase, Md. Born in Newton, Mass., Woody came to Choate in 1946; he was President of the Model Railroad Club and acted in several School plays. After graduating from Cornell and serving in the Army, he worked for American Express in Pakistan, where he managed the first American commercial banking systems in the country. After returning to the U.S., Woody joined the investment firm of D’Arcy, Pierce, Geddes and Chew. He enjoyed sailing and reading about history. He leaves two children.
Frederick W. VanDuyne III, 92, a physician, died July 15, 2024 in Towaco, N.J. Erick, as he was known at School, came to Choate in 1947; he was Captain of the Campus Cops and Advertising Manager of The Brief. After earning degrees from Cornell and its Medical School, he had a medical practice in Flint, Mich., for more than 50 years. An animal lover, his home was filled with dogs, cats, horses, and a donkey. Erick enjoyed the outdoors and was known to take “polar bear” swims in Lake Michigan. He also had a lifelong love of sailing. He leaves six children; 26 grandchildren; and 26 great-grandchildren.
’52 C Bruce A. Agnew, 89, a retired journalist, died January 1, 2024. Born in New York City, Bruce came to Choate in 1948; he was Managing Editor of The Choate News and The Choate Literary Magazine and was in the Cum Laude Society. After graduating from Yale, he began a 60-year career as a journalist, first in New York and then with United Press International, Businessweek magazine, and other media. He was
in the White House Press Corps from 1962 to 1985 and was a witness to the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy in 1968. He was the Bureau Chief at McGraw-Hill World News and then wrote about science for several publications. A cousin, the late Clark Downey ’51, also attended Choate. Arthur W. McCain Jr., 90, a retired executive of the General Electric Co., died July 1, 2024. Born in New York City, Art came to Choate in 1948. He lettered in squash and tennis, was on the Board of the Literary Magazine, was the leader of the Maiyeros, and was on the Debate Council, winning a School prize in speaking. After graduating from Washington & Lee, he spent six years in the Army artillery, attaining the rank of Captain. Art then spent many years with General Electric, most recently as Comptroller with GE Investment Corp. He enjoyed tennis, playing until he was 89, and music, and was a longtime lay leader of Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield, Conn. He leaves three children, seven grandchildren, and a great-grandson.
’53 C Charles F. “Brub” Capper, 89, the president of a steel firm, died August 15, 2024. Born in Beaver Falls, Pa., Brub came to Choate in 1949; he played varsity baseball and was in the Band, the Orchestra, and the Golden Blues. After attending Middlebury and Babson colleges, he went on to become President of Damascus Steel Casting Co. in New Brighton, Pa. Brub enjoyed jazz, drumming, golf, and fine dining, He was a former Deacon and Elder of Park Presbyterian Church in Beaver. He leaves his wife, Karen Capper; five children; 12 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
’46
Retired Marine Col. Robert W. Rust was instrumental in foiling an assassination attempt on President-Elect John F. Kennedy (Choate 1935).
Jeffrey “Woody” Laikind ’53, who co-founded Prudential Bache Investment Management and also founded StreetSquash in Harlem, died October 18, 2024 in New York City. He was 89. Woody’s journey to Choate was an unusual one. Born in Tel Aviv in what was then British Palestine, he and his British parents moved back to England just in
’54 C Thomas Jerome Cogswell, 87, the retired president of a rigging company, died July 1, 2024. Born in Evanston, Ill., Jerry came to Choate in 1950; he was Literary Editor of the Literary Magazine and was President of the Orchestra, playing trumpet. After graduating from Brown, Jerry first lived in Lake Forest, Ill., then in Coral Gables, Fla., where he was President of the Dade Rigging Co. He enjoyed music, world travel, boating, and training guide dogs. He leaves his wife, Jane Cogswell; two children; two stepchildren; eight grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Homer Calvin Cook Jr., 88, a retired town planner, died September 30, 2024 in New Bedford, Mass. Born in Steubenville, Ohio, Calvin came to Choate in 1951; he was in the Model Railroad and Western clubs. After earning degrees from Clark University and Yale, he was a town planner for Needham and Dartmouth, Mass. Calvin enjoyed poetry and golf. He leaves his wife, Annette Cook; and three siblings, including Oliver Cook ’56. His father, the late H. Calvin Cook Sr. 1925, also attended Choate.
Woody Laikind REMEMBERED
time for the start of World War II. His father went into the British army and because the war made it difficult for the family to live in London, his mother decided to go with Woody to Canada.
Woody and his mother lived in Canada until she remarried, after his father’s death. “I arrived at Choate in a limousine,” he once said, “but after my third form year, my stepfather had financial reversals, and my mother prepared to remove me from school.” However, with intervention from then Headmaster Seymour St. John and scholarship help from the School, he stayed. He told Choate students years later in Matriculation speeches in 2006 and 2007, “I am not certain I would be the person I am today, had I not been fortunate enough to attend this school.” At Choate, he participated in sports, including cross country and squash, was Business Manager of The Choate News, and was a member of Junior Debate Council.
After earning degrees from Cornell and New York University, he was a chartered financial analyst and spent decades in public and private corporations, including Hanover Direct, Harken Energy, Voya
’55 C Randolph J. Ney, 87, the retired president of a retail chain, died October 15, 2024. Born in Fort Smith, Ark., Randy came to Choate in 1953; he was in the Choral Club, the Glee Club, and the Maiyeros. After Choate, he graduated from Yale, where he was the first Jewish member of the Whiffenpoofs. He joined the family business, Boston Store, which had been founded in 1879, rising to be its President and CEO. In 1987, he was named the National Retailer of the Year.
After selling the last of his stores, Randy opened a travel business in Houston. Active in the community, he served on many boards, including the United Way, the Yale Club, and St. Edward Hospital in Fort Smith. He leaves his wife, Lea Ney; two sons; and several grandchildren.
’59 RH Mary Julia “Judy” Wilson Nessa, 83, active in the community, died August 2, 2024 in New Hope, Pa. Born in Greenville, Miss., Judy came to Rosemary Hall in 1959; she was in the Choir, on the Student Government Committee, and was captain of Riding. After graduating from Bennett College, she married and moved to New Hope. Judy was on the board of the Jericho Valley Community Center. She leaves a son and a daughter.
Investment, Ivy Growth Fund, and American Progressive Insurance. He was active in many charitable organizations.
In 1981 and 1985, Woody competed in the Maccabiah Games, with his team taking the bronze medal. In 1985, he became the squash team captain and was General Chairman of the Maccabiah Games from 1993 to 1997.
In 1997, he founded StreetSquash, which combined squash instruction and athletic tutoring for underserved young people. He was President of the Board of NYC Opera Renaissance, an effort to save the New York City Opera from bankruptcy.
Always grateful for his time at Choate, Woody gave back to the School in numerous ways. He was a Trustee for several years, starting in 2006, the first president of a revived Alumni Association, recipient of the Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 2013, a 2015 Inductee in the Athletics Hall of Fame, a member of the Alumni Advisory Council, and a Head Class Agent.
He leaves his wife, Donna Ressler Laikind; two children; and two grandchildren.
’60 C Christopher T. Gilson, a retired mortgage banker, died September 29, 2024. Born in Cincinnati, Chris came to Choate in 1957; he lettered in lacrosse and was in the Gold Key Society, and the Sixth Form Advisory Committee, and the Glee Club. After earning degrees from Trinity College and the Tuck School at Dartmouth, he was a marketer for General Mills Co. before becoming a mortgage banker in New York. Chris spent years with Citicorp before becoming President of the mortgage department at NCNB (now Bank of America). He also led Capstead Mortgage in Dallas. In retirement, he volunteered widely, including with National Industries for the Blind; he also enjoyed camping and canoeing. He leaves his wife, Kathy Gilson; two daughters; five grandchildren; and a brother.
’61 C Richard H. Jemison, 81, an artist, died July 10, 2024 in Birmingham, Ala. Born in Montgomery, Ala., Dick came to Choate in 1956; he lettered in soccer and golf, was in the Rod & Gun Club, and was on the Dance Committee. He then earned arts degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the
University of Georgia. He painted while running various small businesses, then in the 1970s, he and his wife moved to Santa Fe, which had a thriving art scene. His artworks were displayed in the bestknown galleries in the Southwest. In 1996 he moved back to Birmingham. He leaves a son, a grandson, and three brothers. Another brother, the late John Jemison ’67, also attended Choate.
’64 C Richard A. Pinkham Jr., 79, a sports marketer, died October 19, 2024. Born in Rye, N.Y., Dick came to Choate in 1961; he was President of the Sailing Club, was co-captain of varsity soccer, and was in St. Andrew’s Cabinet. After graduating from the University of Denver, he worked in sports marketing for ABC, CBS, 21st Century, IMG, and ISC. Dick enjoyed sailing and golf, and was a trustee of Rye Country Day School. He leaves his wife, Anne Pinkham; three children; nine grandchildren; and three siblings. His father, the late Richard Pinkham Sr. 1932, also attended Choate.
’64 RH Carey Samuels-Hochberg, 78, a yoga teacher, died of cancer July 1, 2024 in New Rochelle, N.Y. Born in Rochester, N.Y., Carey came to Rosemary Hall in 1961; she was a Marshal; a cheerleader; in Hospites; and in the Camera Club and Dance Committee. After graduating from New York University, Carey earned a yoga-teacher certificate from Kripalu in Lenox, Mass. She taught in various locations to people with a range of capabilities, including those with medical conditions. She leaves her husband, Mark Hochberg; two daughters; two grandchildren; and nine siblings.
’66 C Thomas D. Mead, 76, a retired investment manager, died July 28, 2024 in a boating accident on Lake Winnisquam in New Hampshire. Born in Boston, Tom came to Choate in 1962; he lettered in cross-country and track, and was on the Board of the Brief. After military service in Korea, he earned degrees from Indiana University (Phi Beta Kappa) and Brown. He worked for Allendale Insurance in Rhode Island, Cambridge Associates in Massachusetts, and Axa-Rosenberg in Orinda, Calif. His hobby of coding led him to develop an app, Solarlunar Data, which tracks the lengths of shadows worldwide. Tom was a founding member of the Winnisquam Watershed Network. He leaves his wife, Lenore Mead; two sons; a daughter; four grandchildren; and two brothers, including Judson Mead ’64.
’67 C Thomas R. Ficklin Jr., 75, an alderman and community activist, died October 9, 2024 in New Haven. Born in Pittsburgh, Tom came to Choate in 1964. He lettered in football, basketball (captain), and track; was Vice President of the Athletic Association; and was President of the Orchestra, playing flute. He then earned degrees from Bucknell and Yale Divinity School. Tom was active in the New Haven community, founding a newspaper, The Inner City Advertiser, and serving on the New Haven Board of Aldermen. He recently submitted a proposal that New Haven formally apologize for turning down a proposal to build an African American college
there in 1831. He leaves his wife, Julia Ficklin; a son; two grandsons; and two great-granddaughters.
’69 C Crayton K. Wanders, 73, died September 28, 2024 in Greensboro, N.C. Born in Toledo, Ohio, Crayton came to Choate in 1965; he lettered in soccer and was in the Press Club and St. Andrew’s Cabinet. After graduating from Stamford, Crayton lived in Carrboro, N.C., where for many years he was associated with Club Nova, whose mission is to help those with serious mental illness integrate into the community. He enjoyed music and poetry. He leaves a brother.
’71 C Mark N. Peters, 72, active in the town of Truro, Mass., died July 24, 2024 in Barnstable, Mass. Born in Cincinnati, Mark came to Choate in 1967; he lettered in football, wrestling, and lacrosse. After graduating from Wesleyan, he moved to Truro, where he became a police officer, was elected to the Board of Selectmen, wrote a town history, and taught in an alternative education program. He enjoyed reading, especially about sports and history. He leaves two stepchildren, a granddaughter, and a brother.
’72 C Haigh S. Reiniger, 70, a stockbroker and author, died June 13, 2024 in Greenwood, S.C. Born in New York City, Haigh came to Choate in 1968; he was in the Russian, Spanish, Ecology, and Art clubs. After graduating from Boston University, he attended Suffolk University Law School and then was a stockbroker with Moors & Cabot in Boston. He later worked for Reincorp International and was a published author. He enjoyed sailing, polo, fly fishing, and the Spanish language. He leaves two halfbrothers and several cousins, and was predeceased by a daughter. His father, the late Haigh Reiniger ’38, and two uncles, the late Scott Reiniger ’41 and David Royce ’59, also attended Choate.
’75 RH Mariette Arguimbau Scott , 71, CEO of a food brokerage, died September 10, 2024. Born in Stamford, Conn., Mariette came to Rosemary Hall in 1968; she was Chair of the Entertainment Committee and on the
staff of The Wild Boar newspaper. After graduating from Skidmore, she was a Fulbright scholar and earned a Ph.D. in Romance languages from Johns Hopkins. After teaching at Princeton and New York University, she was the head of VC Arguimbau & Co., a specialty food brokerage. Marietta also founded the Silk Serum skin care line. She enjoyed vintage clothes, knitting, and swimming. She leaves her husband, Edward B. Scott V; three siblings, including Suzanne Arguimbau ’75; and stepchildren.
’81 Philip R. Tolentino, 62, a physician, died July 6, 2024 in Lakeland, Fla. Born in St. Louis, Mo., Phil was at Choate Rosemary Hall for one year. After earning degrees from Colgate and the Chicago Medical School, he trained in obstetrics but transitioned to become a primary care doctor in urgent care facilities. A lover of sports, Phil spent time as a pitcher on a minor league baseball team. He leaves his wife, Karen Hurlburt; two sons; his father; and a brother.
’88 Timothy L. Curtin, 55, a mutual fund broker, died July 23, 2024. Born in Boston, Tim came to Choate in 1984; he was in the Outing Club and the Student Association for Political Awareness. After earning degrees from George Washington University and University College, Dublin, Ireland, he spent his professional career in the mutual fund industry, working at Fidelity Investments, Scudder Kemper Investments, and JP Morgan Chase. Fluent in the Irish language, Tim taught Irish classes in the Boston area. He leaves two sons, his mother, and a sister.
’96 Jesse A. Dwyer, 45, a financial executive and graduate student, died July 16, 2024 of cancer. Born in New Haven, Jesse came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1992; he was in the Outing Club. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees summa cum laude, he was employed by Arthur Anderson, Blumshapiro, and Bourget Associates and accepted into UConn’s doctorate program. He enjoyed playing the guitar. He leaves two children; his stepparents; and two sisters.
’09 Alexandra Goddard Smith, 33, died August 29, 2024. At School, she lettered in lacrosse, was on Choate’s Environmental Action Coalition, and was a volunteer for the Association for Special Populations. After graduating from Babson College with a degree in finance and economics, she worked in private equity and founded a fine jewelry business, Alexandra Philip Design. She enjoyed travel, living in Costa Rica for a time. She leaves her parents and a younger brother.
Faculty
Harriet Hathaway Green Johnson, who taught English at School for seven years, died August 18, 2024. The widow of former Choate teacher A. Burr Johnson, she was 98. Born in New York City, Harriet attended Northfield Mount Hermon and earned degrees from Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa., and Columbia. After marrying in 1954, Harriet and Burr came to Choate in 1957. In addition to teaching at Choate from 1972 to 1979, she taught adult education in Wallingford. She also was the Director of SPHERE (Supplemental Program for Hartford Educational Reinforcement and Enrichment), for low achievers, held on the Choate campus. After retiring, she and Burr moved to Putnam, Conn., where she was an advocate for hearing health, including Self Help for the Hard of Hearing. She leaves four children, including Burr Johnson Jr. ’78, David Johnson ’80, and Rebecca Mahan ’82; and seven grandchildren.
Our sympathy to the friends and family of the following, whose death are reported with sorrow:
Donald F. Haggerty Jr. ’60 September 10, 2024
Alan L. Brown ’64 March 3, 2024
Philip M. Hawes ’65 May 29, 2024
Fall 2024 will be remembered for winning Deerfield Day, as Boys and Girls Soccer and Football came away with victories, but the Wild Boars saw success throughout the 2024 fall season. Varsity teams amassed an overall record of 76 wins, 33 losses, and 5 ties for a .697% win percentage. Impressive showings during the regular season translated to postseason success, as five programs qualified for the NEPSAC Playoffs, with Boys and Girls Varsity Soccer and Girls Varsity Volleyball advancing to the semifinals. With a 40-7 win over Avon Old Farms, Varsity Football clinched the Founders League title and claimed the prestigious NEPSAC Leon Modeste Bowl with a 27-9 victory over Brunswick School.
BOYS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY
Record: 2-5
Captain: Johnny Reilly ’25
Highlights: Earned regular season wins over eventual Founders League champions Loomis Chaffee as well as Trinity-Pawling. At the Founders League Championships, the Wild Boars finished 4th overall.
Highlights: In regular season, earned four total wins over Deerfield, Hotchkiss, and Northfield Mt. Hermon (twice) and at the Founders League Championships finished an impressive Runner-Up and closed out the year with a Top 10 finish at the New England Championships.
VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY
Record: 7-10
Captains: Cawthra Burns ’25, Elisabeth Hargett ’25 Highlights: Victories over Miss Porter’s, Kent, Northfield Mt. Hermon, Hopkins, Ethel Walker, Kingswood-Oxford, and Canterbury.
VARSITY FOOTBALL
Record: 9-0
Captains: Dylan Clifton ’25, Carter Vaughn ’25
Highlights: Secured an undefeated season and New England Championship for second-straight year. Defeated Avon Old Farms to claim Founders League title while defeating Brunswick School to win the coveted Leon Modeste Bowl game.
BOYS VARSITY SOCCER
Record: 14-4-3
Captains: Kam Mohammed ’25, Drew McClay-Ward ’25
Highlights: Qualified for the NEPSAC Playoffs as the #7 seed. Advanced past Berkshire School to compete in the semifinals match. Earned the first crucial varsity victory of Deerfield Day with a 1-0 win.
GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER
Record: 15-2-2
Captains: Mia Bratti ’25, Ellie Stefanowicz ’25 Highlights: Consistently ranked as one of the top programs in New England throughout the fall. Qualified for the NEPSAC Playoffs as the #3 seed and defeated Andover 1-0 at home in the first round to advance to the semifinals match.
GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
Record: 15-4
Captains: Cait Ahn ’25, Fernanda Opazo-Aravena ’25 Highlights: Tallied 15 wins, qualified for the NEPSAC Playoffs as the #5 seed, and upset 4th-seeded Buckingham Browne & Nichols School to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2018.
BOYS VARSITY WATER POLO
Record: 10-5
Captains: Antonio Giraldez Greco ’25, Daneel Polakoff ’25 Highlights: Qualified for the New England Playoffs for the third-straight season. During the regular season, dominated over Deerfield, Loomis Chaffee, Andover, Suffield, and Westminster.
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1 The Varsity Football team claimed its second-straight New England title with another undefeated season. Photo by Schamis Shots.
2 Jocelyn Rivard ’28, Bridget Rivard ’28, Ella McNeill ’26, and Kankan Adekoya ’27 display their medals from the Founders League Championships.
3 Allie McNerney ’27 (#17) takes a shot on goal during Choate’s 4-0 win over Greenwich Academy.
Captain Kameron Mohammed ’25 looks to make a pass downfield.
Ryan Liu ’26 goes up for a shot in the Larry Hart Pool.
Jimmy McCaffrey ’27 sprints ahead during a race on Choate’s home course.
Senior Captain Cait Ahn prepares to deliver an ace against Deerfield.
Annie Forker ’26 locks in against the competition on Deerfield Day.
In this issue, a guide to using music to nurture and enrich a child’s life delights readers with a playful approach; three complex characters wrestle with idealistic commitments made decades earlier as they face life’s obstacles together in a literary novel; and the stories of early trans athletes woven with a history of the creation of the modern Olympics contributes to understanding the contemporary gender wars in sports.
Creative Sound Play for Young Learners
By Hayes Greenfield ’75 | Reviewed by Phil Ventre
During my 50 years as Choate Rosemary Hall’s Director of Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble, I loved every moment of teaching and conducting my gifted and dedicated young virtuosi scholar musicians. Hayes Greenfield was one of the most gifted tenor saxophones during my Choate career and an inspiration to his colleagues, as he worked so conscientiously to achieve his and their highest levels of artistic excellence.
Today, Hayes is one of America’s cherished jazz saxophonists. Performing in NYC’s prominent jazz clubs, he is the creator of Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz, which has enriched the lives of thousands of metropolitan New York children, and he composes music for PBS documentaries.
Hayes’ new book, Creative Sound Play for Young Learners, is truly a wonderful and important book filled with creative ways to help children grow intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically, and to improve their memory by using music and silence. When I was a child, music was an important part of each day in the classroom. This is not happening at this level today worldwide. This is why Hayes’ book and his Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz are important and should be a part of a child’s life.
Here is one of the many creative actions in Creative Sound Play to nurture and enrich a child’s life. Count 1 potato, 2 potato, 3 potato, 4 potato and clap your hands every time you say each number. There are four ways to clap your hands as you use different words, different languages and phrases, using different syllables, lengths of sound, levels of pitch, tempo and using either one or all of your fingers, your hands, your feet, and your legs for all different numbers. Now count out loud in a steady beat 1, 2, 3, 4 or 1, 2, 3, or 1, 2, or 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … etc., in different tempos, clap when saying a number, now count backward out loud and clap when saying a number, count out loud and stamp your left or right foot when saying a repeated number, change the type of sound by adding a different type of clapping on one number and while you are clapping and stamping add animal sounds, a dog bark, a cat’s meow, a cow’s moo, a lion’s roar … And most important, have fun!
I encourage all parents to introduce Hayes’ book to their children. Creative Sound Play for Young Learners will enrich the life and mind of every child.
CREATIVE SOUND PLAY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS
Author: Hayes Greenfield ’75
Publisher: Routledge
About the Reviewer: Phil Ventre is former director of Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble at Choate Rosemary Hall.
American Sycamore
By Charles Kenney ’76 | Reviewed by D. Gam Bepko
In their youth, Rob and Julia Barrow, along with their best friend/next door neighbor Ray Witter, had dreams of changing America for the better. Five decades of hard work in their respective fields of law, journalism, and medicine brought them into prominent positions within their chosen professions — Rob is a Constitutional scholar at Harvard, Julia is a Ph.D. in American history and an acclaimed journalist, and Ray is dean of the medical school. During that time frame, many changes swept through the land; some for the betterment of the country, and others not so much. Their work and their lives were but some of the subjects of conversation that were held in the Barrows’ backyard terrace, near a 350-year-old American sycamore that was, according to Rob, “a stubborn old fellow who did not easily yield its leaves.” This was their retreat, a safe space to talk, drink, laugh, grieve, celebrate, and plan for the future. It is here where Rob gently breaks some life-changing news to his wife and best friend, turning their lives upside down and dredging up old memories.
For most of the general populace, September 16, 2021 was just another day in their lives — a quiet, unspectacular Tuesday. For Rob Barrow — the main character in American Sycamore, the latest novel from Charles Kenney ’76 — not only did he turn seventy years old, but he spent his birthday in the hospital for a radical prostatectomy after a recent biopsy confirmed that he had cancer.
The diagnosis itself was a devastating blow, but there were many aftershocks. Despite Rob having the best surgeon available to handle his procedure, there are still some post-surgical issues that pop up partially due to age. Complicating matters further were a phone call and an introductory law class that left him looking like his beloved sycamore —
stubborn, old, unwilling to yield. Ray, who had been a physician during the Vietnam War, learns about a scathing report that could mar the reputation of the hospital he devoted his life to and must decide if he’s ready to take on the fight, even if the consequences hurt the ones he loves.
This novel is about friendship and facing obstacles together, but there’s more to it — it’s also about change. As we age, our bodies begin to betray us. Societal thought changes over time and not everyone gets on board right away, if ever at all. One may think they’re on top of everything, but the smallest setback can suddenly put a person in reverse while the rest of the world moves forward. Though this novel is written from the points of view of baby boomers, this particular quote hit pretty hard twofold, for watching and caring for my aging parents, as well as my increasing number of doctor visits:
“This is what it had come to — this was where the generation gathered now. No longer in parks for free concerts, love-ins, demonstrations for civil rights, for peace. No. Now the assemblies happened in hospitals and physician offices throughout the land; in rehabilitation facilities where patients were taught to walk after insertion of a new knee or hip; in rehab beds where others engaged in the arduous process of recovering from a stroke, learning for the second time in their lives how to speak or form a coherent thought.”
I found American Sycamore to be a very engaging, easy read. I was drawn into these characters’ lives and wanted to read more.
AMERICAN SYCAMORE
Author: Charles Kenney ’76
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
About the Reviewer: D. Gam Bepko works in the Financial Office at Choate Rosemary Hall.
THE OTHER OLYMPIANS: FASCISM, QUEERNESS, AND THE MAKING OF MODERN SPORTS
Author: Michael Waters ’16
Publisher: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux
About the Reviewer: Kate L. Henricks is an English teacher at Choate Rosemary Hall.
The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports
By Michael Waters ’16 | Reviewed by Kate L. Henricks
In one of my earliest, formative memories as a queer person, I am 19 years old and chlorine damp in front of my laptop. I was barely out of the closet to myself (let alone anyone else), but at that moment, my most pressing concern was, “Have there ever been any gay Olympic swimmers?” In my memory, my Google search comes up mostly empty. At that time, the United States was still a few years out from passing Marriage Equality, Caitlyn Jenner was still living as Bruce, and I would have to wait nearly a decade before knowing what it felt like to see an out lesbian (Erica Sullivan) on a poolside medal podium.
In The Other Olympians by Michael Waters ’16, the reader is taken back even further. Against the backdrop of “Hitler’s Olympics” in 1936, Waters introduces us to the story of Zdenděk Koubek, a Czech track and field athlete who broke world records and won medals in several international competitions, including the 1934 Women’s World Games (the premier international athletic competition for women between 1922 and 1934, when women were not yet allowed to compete in the modern Olympics) before undergoing gender affirmation surgery and living publicly as a man until his death in 1986. Through the lens of Koubek’s and others’ stories, Waters walks us through the creation of the modern Olympics and its long and deeply engrained history of sex testing and gender surveillance, which persists today.
Throughout the book, Waters’ prose is lush and romantic, but he is careful never to romanticize the stories of Zdenděk Koubek, Mark Weston, and others. Instead, each chapter and point is grounded
in deep research and analysis of all key players. From the formation of the IOC to the development of the field of sports medicine, Waters is unimpeachably thorough in his reporting. Those who recently devoured coverage of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris are likely, as I did, to see parallels between Waters’ description of this 1920s/1930s era moral panic and more recent scandals. In many ways, The Other Olympians asks the question: How far have we come, really, from the prejudice and intolerance that marred those games?
In the final author’s note of The Other Olympians, Waters writes, “this book is less a history of sex testing in sports than it is a story of queer possibilities.” As a college freshman swimming D3 in central Arkansas, I had no delusions of grandeur. The last time I’d even dreamed of being an Olympian was more than a decade behind me, but for reasons I couldn’t yet articulate, it felt vital at that vulnerable time to know if somewhere, at some time, in the long arc of history, a girl in a swimsuit had had a heart like mine. To continue to be alive and queer in a world hell-bent on preventing it, sometimes the only way forward, the only way to imagine a possible future for yourself, is to hope that you don’t have to be the first one to do it. By bringing to light Koubek’s story, Waters reminds readers that trans and intersex people have always existed; that there is a way forward; just look behind you, someone has been paving the way; the future is queer and gold and bright because the past was too; survival is possible. It’s all been done before.
Author: Abdi Nazemian ’94
Publisher: HarperCollins
HEREAFTER
Author: Alan Felsenthal ’99
Publisher: The Song Cave
MEDUSA: THE MYTH OF MONSTERS
Author: Katherine Marsh ’92
Publisher: Clarion Books
Author: Sheila Gerami ’87
Publisher: University of Tennessee Press
Author: Rebecca K. Jones ’04
Publisher: Bella Books
THE TREEKEEPERS: THE RACE FOR A FORESTED FUTURE
Author: Lauren E. Oakes ’99
Publisher: Basic Books
DESERT ECHOES
STAYING THE COURSE
THE HALL OF FAME FOR GREAT AMERICANS: A BIOGRAPHY OF STANFORD WHITE’S FORGOTTEN MEMORIAL
100 Years a Cornerstone and a Bridge
When I first stepped into the Seymour St. John Chapel to sign my name at Matriculation, it felt more like stepping into the Choate community than simply entering a school building. The gentle creak of the wooden pews, the sunlight filtering through the windows, and the quiet weight of Choate’s history all whispered a story in my ears that reached far beyond the walls of Choate Rosemary Hall. These past months, curating an exhibit to celebrate the Chapel’s centennial, I’ve come to appreciate this space and its deep connection to our school community.
Each week, my advisory gathers on the Chapel steps for our meetings. Sitting on the stone with my peers, I am reminded of the countless groups of students who have done the same over the past century. In those quiet moments, the Chapel feels less like a building and more like a bridge, connecting me to generations of Choate students.
My research began as an exploration of dates, documents, and photographs. I studied archived letters, early plans, and the recollections of those who saw the Chapel evolve from an idea to a cornerstone of campus life. One of the most surreal moments of this work was handling original materials, tracing my fingertips across the same paper touched a century ago.
The blueprints were especially striking. Meticulously drawn, they reflect a time when craftsmanship demanded patience and precision. Their imperfections have a certain beauty, a humanity that shines through every pencil stroke. In an era dominated by technology, these blueprints stand as a testament to the enduring value of work done with care and by hand — a theme that remains ever-relevant today as we balance innovation with tradition.
Built 100 years ago this spring, the Chapel has witnessed generations of students gathering for moments of joy, introspection, and solace. From holiday concerts and weekly services, it has been a constant in a world that often feels anything but. Yet, its importance goes beyond ceremony. The Chapel is a space where the individual and collective meet — one can feel the weight of tradition and the freedom to reflect.
Its continuity strikes me as we celebrate the Chapel’s centennial. It’s humbling to think that 50 years from now, another student might stumble across this exhibit — or create their own — and find meaning in this space as I have.
To our school archivist, Stephanie Gold, thank you for helping me uncover all the stories the Archives hold and the stories that have shaped Choate. To the alums reading this, thank you for making the Chapel what it is today in your ways. Your legacy continues to resonate, and I hope my work honors the one you’ve built.
By LuCy Domingo ’26
Lucy Domingo ’26 began volunteering in the school Archives in November 2023, organizing faculty photographs in the Photograph Collection. After a summer interning and volunteering at the New York Historical Society and Sotheby’s, Lucy returned to the school Archives this fall to create an on-site exhibit to be launched in Spring term, highlighting the centennial of Seymour St. John Chapel. Her reflection draws from that experience.
why WE INVEST
The 1890 Society honors Choate Rosemary Hall’s most loyal and generous investors. Through annual gifts of $2,500 or more, members help make possible the innovative programs and experiences that define a Choate Rosemary Hall education.
For more information and to join the 1890 Society, visit:
“As an alum, I am honored to give back to the school that opened up an entire world to me. Choate taught me to think critically, to engage in meaningful conversation, and to appreciate nuance and difference. As parents of a Choate student, we are equally honored to give so that the next generation of students can experience the promise and privilege of a Choate education.”
– HEIDIE JOO BURWELL ’89, P ’26 AND STEVEN BURWELL P ’26
Change Service Requested
Audiences were taken to hell and back with the fall term student
production of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice. Staged at the William T. Little ’49 and Frances A. Little Theater and directed by Kate Doak, the play retells the myth of Orpheus from the perspective of his wife.
