The Galax (Summer 2019 Issue)

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID ATLANTA, GA PERMIT NO. 3259

CHRIST SCHOOL An Episcopal School for Boys

500 Christ School Road Arden, North Carolina 28704-9914

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Summer 2019

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TRADITION

Save the Date

FOR CHRIST SCHOOL’S BIENNIAL

Auction and Gala April 18, 2020 Biltmore Forest Country Club Details Coming Soon

For more information or to make a donation please contact: Betsy Ellis, Director of Advancement bellis@christschool.org (828) 684-6232 ext. 115

TRIED & TRUE

table of contents Summer | 2019 Editor: Donna Wheeler P’21 Design: Steve Parker Design Editorial Contributions: Sarah Baldwin, Mallary Clay, Joe Dalton, Mary Dillon, Marcel Duhaime, Douglas Gibson, Brent Harris, Chris Locke ’06, Bobby Long, Olga Petrovich Mahoney P’20, Joe Massey ’65, Andrew Pearson, Emily Davidson Pulsifer P’15, P’17, Isaac Rankin.

Photographic Contributions: Marshall Baltazar, Steve Brady, Mallary Clay, Beth Duhaime, Marcel Duhaime, Brent Harris, Leigh Harris, Bobby Long, Olga Mahoney, Ross Weathersbee ’10, Antton Wilbanks, Donna Wheeler P’21.

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The magazine’s name, The Galax, honors a traditional school emblem, the galax plant, which is indigenous to our area of Western North Carolina.

The Galax is published two times a year by the Christ School Advancement and Communications Offices: Betsy Ellis, Director of Advancement; Graylyn Loomis ’10, Director of Communications; Isaac Rankin, Associate Director of Advancement; Donna Wheeler, Director of Publications; Kathryn J. Belk, Annual Loyalty Fund Director; Savannah Parrish, Advancement Office Manager; Dan Stevenson ’72 P’15, Director of Alumni Affairs and Major Gift Officer; Andrew Pearson, Digital Content and Communications Specialist; Ross Weathersbee ’10, Digital Media Specialist.

On the Cover: Will Purvis ’22 and Luke Stone ’21

Send submissions to: Galax Editor, Christ School, 500 Christ School Road, Arden, NC 28704 or call 828-684-6232, ext.

104. You can also submit information through our web page at www.christschool.org or to Donna Wheeler at dwheeler@ christschool.org.

Christ School admits boys in grades eight through twelve based on academic ability, personal qualifications, and recommendations, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, or national and ethnic origin.

from the head 4 discover asheville 6 feature story 8 in & around yard a

14 young men of distinction 46 under the lights 50

great outdoors 58 beyond the gate house 60

class notes 73

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Feature Story: New Sounds Fill St. Joseph's Chapel

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ringing true & standing Still Hunter Williams ’20, Jerry AyisahQuaye ’20, and Andrew Hammel ’20 under the wisteria vine on Alumni Plaza.

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from the head

Three years ago, Christ School was approached by our industry leader, The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS). The organization was investigating why over the past 25 years boarding school student populations have remained the same or, in some regions, were actually shrinking.

The guiding question was this: Given the history of boarding schools’ success and valuable transformative missions, why aren’t more parents and adolescents choosing boarding schools for their high school years? TABS decided to invest $20 million in a comprehensive study to discover why enrollment was so fragile.

I, too, wondered. In my 30 years in schools (28 in boarding schools), I have seen many young men grow up and experience transformational outcomes after moving away from home and all that is familiar. Why aren’t more following that path?

I don’t think schools suddenly forgot how to enroll and educate young people, but something is definitely amiss. Schools are not dissimilar to other institutions, companies, or organizations.

We all have felt it, and we all concur that 2019 is nothing like 1999. Schools are part of an industry which is undergoing systemic changes. There are disrupters in the field of education, and they are powerful. How schools choose to respond often determines whether they thrive or wither. Here are but a few of the issues evident in that TABS study and in my experience:

THE CHANGING FACE

by Paul Krieger

of Independent School Education

Schools Struggle to Remain Relevant Schools get hung up on being traditional and prefer to retreat back to methods and rituals from the past. There is a difference between attending a “traditional school” and being a school with traditions. Yes, education is more important than ever, but the delivery of education is the difference. We have learned more about the human brain in the last 20 years than we did in the last 200. So why aren’t schools adjusting their teaching styles to the way people learn and process information? They are either too stubborn, or they don’t know any better. The public has little patience and will not wait until we figure it out.

Too Expensive and Too Ethereal Schools and colleges too often represent some of the worst business models. More staff doing less work does not make a better institution. Putting a priority on hiring the right people, making difficult financial decisions, and maintaining a relevant, interesting, and practical curriculum can never be overestimated.

International Competition Australia and Canada have excellent and far less expensive boarding schools than does the United States. That trend is very real and is putting a dent in US boarding school enrollment, especially with international students.

Public Schools Public schools educate most of America. They do a good job. Granted, some public schools suffer, especially those in areas that lack the resources for materials, quality teachers, and funding.

But competing against “free” can be a daunting challenge for independent boarding schools.

Charter Schools Every charter school is formed around a specific academic focus. This suits those parents who are seeking an area of specialization for their child.

Publicly funded, they represent a very real option.

Home Schooling This is the fastest growing area of education today. Home schooling is a viable option and

has grown from 1.1 million students in 2003 to 2.8 million students in 2018.

Online Education Though often associated with home schooling, this is an option with which we are all contending. Learning online is burgeoning, but it is not without its critics. Success rates are not high, because it is challenging for a teenager to stay on task without a teacher providing the human element to guide, explain, and reason.

And the lack of peers in the classroom further saps incentive.

Proliferation of Day Schools Many day schools have been around for a half century or more, but day school growth in population areas in the South, Midwest, and West has been dramatic. They offer an excellent option.

In the end, a close examination of the issues independent schools face comes down to relevance. These are the salient questions we should all be asking: Does your school teach effectively in the classroom? Does it grow young people outside the classroom? Does it introduce and inculcate sound habits of ethics and character? Does your greater curriculum include emphasis on tolerance, kindness, and resilience, and do you instill these values well enough to help a young person grow into an adult who is productive, employable, and who has the ability to connect and maintain healthy relationships across the spectrum? If your school does not do these things, then it may join the growing list of schools that are closing.

Apparently, parents and students believe that Christ School offers and creates a venue that allows for these things. Christ School has nearly doubled in size since 2003. Boys seek the challenge it offers and possess the ability to see the benefits and relevance it provides. All of that may be true today, but we must remain vigilant.

Every member of our Christ School community must commit to working a little harder and smarter if we are going to continue to do so tomorrow. n

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to go off campus for wilderness adventures elsewhere and join an even tighter-knit group of boys over the course of the journey.

“You can choose that path,” Pharr says, “and you can grow in the adventure.”

V CHOOSE YOUR OWN c ADVENTURE

by Douglas Gibson

Camp Highlander

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA’S SUMMER CAMPS OFFER GROWTH, FRIENDSHIP, AND MORE Self-Discovery and Socialization

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discover asheville HAPPENINGS IN AND AROUND ASHEVILLE

Every summer, thousands of kids flock to western North Carolina to stay at one of the region’s many camps. In fact, there are over a dozen residential summer camps within an hour’s drive of Christ School, and they all offer healthy food, outdoor life, and a chance to learn skills ranging from rock climbing to loom weaving. But the people behind these camps emphasize one benefit over all others: the way a closely-knit residential community can build character for a lifetime.

Falling Creek Camp

Brotherhood and Manhood Nobody knows this better than Annie Pharr, who grew up at Falling Creek, an all-boys camp in Tuxedo, just north of the South Carolina line. The daughter of the camp’s owners, she now does their social media and blogs about camp life.

“Our theme for this summer is intentional community,” Pharr says, but of course the camp aims to build community every summer, in keeping with Falling Creek’s psalm-inspired motto: “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.”

That ideal of brotherhood, though, goes beyond just living together. “Manliness is more than just muscles and being tough,” Pharr explains, and at Falling Creek staff members strive to serve as role models so boys can see beyond stereotypical ideas of masculinity. A camper’s code that emphasizes both “Warrior Spirit” and “Servant’s Heart” among other virtues also encourages the boys to find their own way to manhood.

In keeping with this emphasis on selfdiscovery, Falling Creek offers a highly flexible schedule: boys can choose from a variety of activities on a daily basis, but they can also opt

Camp Highlander offers a more structured approach. According to Melissa Fitzgerald, who co-owns and co-directs this Mills River camp with her husband, Bryan, Highlander focuses on building a tight-knit cabin community where counselors can encourage each camper’s development.

When campers participate in activities, they go as a cabin to learn from trained instructors.

Cabin counselors go also, but, Fitzgerald clarifies, “their priority isn’t about teaching kids a particular skill, but to help the kids see who they are.”

This leads back to Camp Highlander’s central mission, which is to provide campers a place where they’re automatically accepted.

“Our campers speak profoundly of what camp has given them,” Fitzgerald says. “While they were struggling with adolescence, camp was the place where they could really be themselves.”

Again, that self-discovery happens in community – but community includes young women. Younger campers go to activities with sister or brother cabins, and older campers participate in frequent (and fully supervised) mixers. “Kids want to be here,” Fitzgerald says, “because their social needs are being met.”

Confidence and Tradition For families looking for an experience tailored to young women, the region also boasts several girls’ camps. Garrett Graham is coowner and camp director at Glen Arden in Zirconia, having come there after a career spent administering youth camps, including 17 years at Hendersonville’s revered Camp Ton-A-Wandah.

Interestingly, Camp Glen Arden began at Christ School in 1951, but the camp moved to its current location in 1970.

Once again, the emphasis at Glen Arden is on community, as expressed in traditions the camp has kept alive throughout its history.

For example, girls eat their meals at tables where counselors and staff members trained in conversation skills keep the talk flowing.

Girls also get to choose their activities. “They understand it’s okay not to be the best at what you’re doing, but to strive to do your best,” Graham says. “It’s a great place for them to be little girls, and to be away from all of those things, like brands, that give them their identity when they’re not here.”

There are too many camps in Western North Carolina to name, but here’s a sampling of residential boys’, girls’, and coed camps near Christ School: Boys’ Camps Camp Carolina - Brevard Deep Woods Camp - Brevard Camp Mondamin - Tuxedo Falling Creek Camp - Tuxedo Girls’ Camps Camp Glen Arden - Zirconia Camp Merri-Mac - Black Mountain Camp Ton-A-Wandah Hendersonville Co-ed Camps Camp Gwyn Valley - Brevard Camp Cedar Cliff - Asheville Camp Highlander - Mills River Camp Talisman - Zirconia

Camp Glen Arden

A World Apart Ultimately, freedom from the distractions of the outside world may be the biggest benefit of a summer camp experience.

“Camp is a gift for kids,” says Camp Highlander’s Fitzgerald. “To let them disconnect and find true connection and meaningful relationships.” n

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“The new instrument will add even more distinction to the school.

I’m sure other organists will want to travel just to see it and have a chance to play it. The fact that the school was open to adding an instrument such as this really shows the value that Christ School places on music. I’m looking forward to playing it.”

– Jim Cassarino, Director of Music, Organist/Choirmaster

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PULLING OUT

THE STOPS

by Donna Wheeler

Joe Massey ’65 Oversees the Installation and Fine Tuning of New Organ in St. Joseph’s Chapel For Joe Massey ’65, organ music and especially the organ in St. Joseph’s Chapel has a special place in his heart. Although he grew up playing the piano, it wasn’t until he was a ninth grader at Christ School that he began to appreciate the organ. Under the direction of Urquhart Chinn, organist and choirmaster from 1936-1970, Massey sang in the choir and was Chinn’s page turner. That organ, which now resides at the home of Bob Twomey ’73 in Banner Elk, NC, was replaced by the Waters-Chinn Organ in early 2004 by the family of Harcourt Waters ’43 and dedicated to Chinn.

Now, with a new Chaplain, Father John Roberts, and a new organist/choirmaster, Jim Cassarino, it’s an ideal time to bring our organ up to date. Over the past year, Massey has overseen the project, from procuring sufficient funding, establishing the console specifications, to then finding and hiring the right company to bring his vision to life. Zimmer Organ Builders of Denver, NC, arrived in early July to begin installing the new, custom-built, threemanual draw-knob console, including adding digital stops to the existing divisions. Once the hardware was installed, Massey arranged with voicer and tonal finisher Daniel Angerstein of Hendersonville, NC, to oversee the tonal finishing and balancing of the existing pipe work with the new digital stops.

Angerstein, who has balanced and evened out our organ’s tone for the past ten years, pointed out that as the Chapel itself has grown, so too must the size of the sound of the instrument that fills it. The new organ utilizes the existing pipes and expands their repertoire by adding a new choir division. “These additional stops are, in fact, digital sounds which are samples of real pipes, played through

Above: Jim Cassarino; Below: Organist and Choirmaster Urquart Chinn at the console of the organ that now resides at the home of Bob Twomey ’73.

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a speaker digitally,” said Angerstein. Using a voicing program created by Walker Technical Company in Pennsylvania, a recognized leader in digital reproduction of sound and control systems for the music industry, he was able to blend the sound so that it is impossible to tell the difference between what is an actual pipe and what is being reproduced digitally. “Doing this,” said Angerstein, “adds a whole new dimension – a third or fourth dimension – full of glorious and varied levels of sounds.”

Massey said the end result is an organ that can go above and beyond basic Chapel repertoire. “With today’s digital technology, we can put in digital ranks of pipes and give us more instruments,” said Massey, “because today’s modern organ is considered to be a symphonic instrument capable of replicating virtually all the parts of the symphony orchestra.” Where this new range of sounds

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“All too often, what’s broken in this world and in need of God’s healing can keep our gaze away from the tremendous beauty and amazing things happening all around us! My hope is for the Chapel at Christ School to always remain a refuge for our students, staff, and alumni from the hardships in our lives, but I also hope for it to be a place where beauty is created and sent forth to our community.

The work being done on our organ, and the skill and passion of our new Music Director, provides an amazing opportunity for St. Joseph’s Chapel to be set apart as a place of both healing and growth, beauty and goodness. I am so thrilled and thankful to see what God is continuing to do in this place.”

– F ather John Roberts

will be especially noticeable is in the deep bass and trumpet sounds.

Massey credits the exceptional talent of Chinn with sparking his love of organs. “He played lots of wonderful organ literature, so we were exposed as students to the very best in organ music,” said Massey. “Those big closing voluntaries that he did were all major organ works and he played them effortlessly. As a kid, I turned pages for him and was so enthralled that playing the organ became my avocation.”

Massey wants that for today’s Christ School student as well. “It’s important that the students are exposed to this because, while they might not be interested in organ music per se, they will hear some of that music later in life and remember that they heard it at Christ School.”

He also believes that this newer, more powerful organ will encourage more participation during hymns in Chapel as well as in the choir program. “It’s important that the organ support you so that you don’t feel like you are singing alone,” said Massey. “It will also create a sense of esprit de corps with the students, because they will feel that they can not only sing, but also like the way they sound when they sing.” When Massey was a student, out of 160 students, 30 were in the choir.

Most of them couldn’t read music and had to memorize their parts, and so Massey is excited about the instruction current Greenies will receive under new choirmaster Mr. Cassarino.

In Massey’s day, Chapel met five times a week; weeknight services consisted of sung and chanted Evensong. Although much of that music was lost during changes of organists and choirmasters, Massey was able to recreate the Creed from notes he made while still a student and has played it during the Memorial Service during Alumni Weekend. (see page 12) “It’s very touching,” said Massey, “because I’ll have a room full of guys who never thought they’d hear that music ever again – we memorized it, we didn’t have it written out – and they still have it in their heads. They sing it and then come up with tears in their eyes to thank me for it.” n

Right: With a new organ and Choirmaster, Father John Robers and Joe Massey ’65 look forward to the sound and spirit that will fill St. Joseph's Chapel.

if not for

HYMN

by Joe Massey ’65

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Joe Massey ’65 stepped in as organist for the Memorial Service

during the past two Alumni Weekends and played the hymn that, if not for him, might have been lost forever.

The “special” hymn was the victory hymn, “Sing Alleluia Forth in Duteous Praise,” and was originally published in the 1916 Hymnal.

When the 1940 Hymnal was published, the hymn tune was omitted, but the text was assigned a different melody. Since everyone knew the old tune and Urquhart Chinn had it memorized, the school continued to use the old version until Mr. Chinn’s retirement.

New organists didn’t know the familiar piece, so it was forgotten. As a student in the ’60s, I asked Mr. Chinn about the tune and he told me the story. I found a 1916 Hymnal at a book sale and was able to resurrect the original composition for the Memorial Service.

There were three Mass settings that were sung in the ’60s. The first was written by

Bishop Boynton, the second by Urquhart Chinn, and the third was the plainsong “Missa Marialis” which was in the hymnal.

The Boynton Mass was the standard that was done until Lent. The “Missa Marialis” was done during Lent, and the Chinn Mass was done from Easter through the end of the year. However, the Boynton Creed was used, regardless of the Mass setting. In lieu of Evensong, the school had hymn and Mass setting practice on Saturday evenings where the entire school rehearsed the hymns and the Mass music with the Chaplain coaching and conducting. The students had to memorize Mass music by ear, as most could not read music and only the “Missa Marialis” was printed.

The Boynton and Chinn masses were written by hand on manuscript music paper and Mr. Chinn had the only copies which he kept on the organ console. The music notation was more of a sketch than a formal form with every single note detailed. I loved the Creed and remember thinking, at the time, that the text and the heroic spirit of the music was a better “school” song than “St. Patrick’s Breastplate.”

In my spare time, I went over to the Chapel and made my own manuscript sketch copy of the Creed. I don’t know why I did it other than I just wanted to have it, and now I firmly believe that God inspired me to do this. I filed it in my music cabinet where it sat untouched for 56 years. When I learned that the School had lost the music during the changing of organists many years ago, I recalled that I had the Creed sketch. I immediately thought that I could resurrect the Creed using my sketch and memory.

It took me about 120 hours to resurrect it and put it in printed/formal notation format.

I included the organ stop settings that Mr. Chinn had used in the notation and played it for the alumni after the Memorial Service.

The alumni all remembered it and sang it very robustly as in the old days. My most treasured comment was the one Lucy McCullough said to me after singing it. She said, “Joe, the organ sounded the same way Urq Chinn made it sound. How did you do that?” To which I responded, “Good memory.” n

Tracing Footsteps

Jersey Brothers Author, Sally Mott Freeman,

Traces Uncle Barton Cross’s Footsteps from Joyous Years at Christ School to the Perils of World War II

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in & around yard a NEWS FROM AROUND CAMPUS

by Emily Pulsifer

In 2011, author Sally Mott Freeman visited Christ School. This March, she returned to campus for two days, eager to share her work, talk with students, and celebrate the cherished values that have fortified Greenies for generations.

Sally Mott Freeman’s book begins with a mystery, the kind many of us find in the fog of childhood memory. On a summer night in the mid-1960s, young Sally Mott and her extended family gathered at her grandmother’s home in Eatontown, New Jersey. As the children wacked badminton birdies and dodged bats, the adults sat on the estate’s front porch, enjoying cocktails. Suddenly, the children heard adult voices swell, a glass shatter, and Aunt Rosemary burst into tears. What sparked this flare of emotion was not clear, but Freeman and her cousins felt certain it had something to do with Uncle Barton.

So, what happened to Barton Cross, beloved son, half-brother, and long-lost uncle?

Throughout her childhood, Freeman learned fragments of his story from her father, Bill, and uncle, Benny. A naval ensign stationed in the Philippines, Barton was captured when Manila fell to the Japanese in December 1941. For the remainder of the war, Bill, a naval intelligence officer who assisted President Roosevelt in

Above: Freeman tours campus with Coles Manning ’19.

the White House Map Room, and Benny, an officer on the storied USS Enterprise, did everything in their power to track and liberate their younger half-brother as he was shuffled between POW camps. Tragically, and the source of chronic family tension, the older brothers failed. In 2007, Freeman set out to learn the truth of her uncle’s fate. A decade later, Freeman was able to share her uncle’s complete story in The Jersey Brothers: A Missing Naval Officer in the Pacific and His Family’s Quest to Bring Him Home.

“Extensive” is an anemic description of Freeman’s astonishing research. She gathered countless documents from public and private sources and lined the walls of her small office with timelines. She found and interviewed POWs who knew Barton and naval officers who served with her father and uncle. She pored over maps, tracked correspondence, and monitored entries in the Veterans History Project database. In 2005, she traveled to the Philippines where she examined documents from Sternberg Hospital, the site of Barton’s capture, and toured the camps where Barton and countless others languished. In the end, she pieced together the full, heart-rending story of her uncle’s experience. “It took longer than

I had planned,” Freeman wrote in the book’s afterword, “but it was worth the wait.”

Christ School appears early in Freeman’s account. In 1932, Barton was a spoiled, impudent “little scamp.” Exasperated, his parents turned to an old friend, Headmaster David Page Harris, who welcomed fourteenyear-old Barton to Christ School’s Class of 1934. As Freeman describes it, Barton embraced the structure and high expectations he found on campus. He made close friends, thrived in his classes, and discovered his love for baseball and physical labor. Sure, he was spirited – he wrestled more stumps than any of his classmates – but he listened intently to the daily homilies delivered in St. Joseph’s Chapel.

These lessons about self-worth, collaboration, and the strength hiding in adversity became fundamental parts of Barton’s character and sustained him – and his fellow captives – during his years as a POW. Helen Cross, Barton’s mother, never forgot the way Christ School helped her son find his way. In the years following the war, until her death in 1967, she attended Christ School graduations to present the Barton Cross Memorial Scholarship to a junior who demonstrated “character, citizenship, and leadership.” Barton developed these attributes at Christ School, she explained, and his love for the place was on his mind as he prepared to depart for the Philippines in 1941. If he did not return from the war, he told his mother, he hoped a cross bearing his name would

be erected near St. Joseph’s Chapel. Today, Barton’s name is included on Christ School’s granite war memorial outside the chapel and on a plaque in Mebane Field House, but Greenies like Ross Oakley ’19 are determined to honor Barton’s specific wish in the near future.

As Freeman spoke in chapel and met with students and faculty during her March visit, it was clear she feels a deep connection to Christ School. The farm chores, giant coal furnace, and bowler hats of the 1930s may be gone, but the essential pieces of her uncle’s Greenie education remain the same. Standing near Yard A, the setting for the only known photograph of all three brothers, Freeman greeted students as they passed between classes. She wanted to know the boys’ names, their hometowns, and what brought them to Christ School.

Then, as the last student hustled though Wetmore Hall’s front door, she made a sweeping gesture that took in the school buildings, the blossoming trees, and the granite memorial bearing Barton’s name.

“I’m still learning so much about him,” she said. “These boys bring Barton to life.” n

Above, Right: Freeman shares details of her research during a Q & A session moderated by Jackson Bewley ’20 and History Department Chair Ben Dowling.

As Freeman spoke in chapel and met with students and faculty during her March visit, it was clear she feels a deep connection to Christ School.

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Space 16

in & around yard a NEWS FROM AROUND CAMPUS

to learn

I started teaching at Christ School two years ago, motivated in part by a quote attributed to Albert Einstein: “Education is what is left after you forget everything you learned in school.” With the world’s scientific facts accessible from our fingertips at any moment, we are allowed to forget a lot. What, then, are we to teach? Perhaps the enduring pursuit is in scientific training. We should teach students how to be scientists, how to use the tools of science for enhancing their senses, particularly a sense of wonder – something that is hard to forget.

It is, perhaps, better not to describe science as the pursuit of truth. The narrative of science is one of fierce dispute, reluctant agreement, and eventually comfortable acceptance of ever more encompassing understanding(s) of how to read The Book of Nature: without and within, the infinitesimally small and the infinitely vast.

Science works because, although there is a seemingly rigid experimental method for reading it, we assume the book is open. I think there is a feeling that we, as a world, have stopped reading the first chapter we historically ever

by Brent Harris

opened – the chapter of astronomy, our first wonder, our first frontier for evolving scientific models. In fact, there are no state education standards for astronomy courses. It is not in the Greenie science curriculum, per se, but Christ School built it into the bones of the Mebane Science Center. Every day, students climb a steel staircase imbedded with constellations of our Milky Way Galaxy and are flanked at their shoulders by a two-story Hubble Telescope mural on their way up to the observation deck that crowns the science wing. It was no surprise, but certainly my delight, when the Greenies asked for a telescope and an Astronomy Club.

On a crisp, clear day of Spring 2019, we christened Christ School’s new, state-of-the-art telescope. The students stopped by between classes to investigate sun spots and, after evening study hall, to check out the surface details of the moon. But, before that, we spent many hours learning how to set up the telescope, align it, and record important observing parameters like weather and coordinates in the Astronomy

17 Logbook. With such advanced optical equipment, it takes patience and problem solving to generate the striking images that show up in our Instagram feeds.

Anyone that sets up, operates, or walks up to the telescope is a member of the Astronomy Club, but there are other experiences we create for the student body, too. In the 2017-18 school year, we took a day trip to the PARI Learning Center (a radio telescope facility in Pisgah National Forest and former NASA tracking station) and spent a weekend at the 100-meter Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia where the students operated a 12-meter radio telescope to study galactic hydrogen emission.

For 2019-2020, we will be traveling with our telescope to mountain-top observatories and pitching a trip to Cape Canaveral, FL – the NASA space vehicle launch site. With all of this activity, the Astronomy Club has quickly turned into much more than an afterschool discussion group. It is practically the burgeoning of a space sciences program.

Space science may seem an extravagance to some. Yet, even with a measurable return on investment in terms of technology, it is also self-evident that, sanctioned or not, people admire space exploration like they do art, and they will invest in it. Christ School tells the boys to get out, embrace challenges, and take risks. What better describes space exploration?

After well over a decade of lost development on the Constellation Program that was supposed to be launching space vehicles by now, NASA just released its plan to establish a base on the moon by 2024. Maybe, just maybe, some clear night five years from now, when the Astronomy Club is on the observation deck of the Mebane Science Center, the Greenies will have developed the skill to align the telescope towards a full moon, and they will track, filter, magnify and focus to catch a glimpse of a telescope looking right back at them – a wonder they would not soon forget. n

Above: Robert Dong ’21, Luke Stone ’21, Sanford Gardner ’22, and Ian Adams ’21 on the top of the Mebane Science Center observation deck looking at sun spots through the telescope.

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Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Comes Alive In May, Pingree Theater hosted Christ School Theater’s production of the William Shakespeare’s storied tragedy Hamlet. The show was the culmination of three months of tremendous work from the talented cast and crew, and it featured Kobi Selby ’19 in the title role.

The play, which can be four hours long when performed in full, was cut to fit the demands of high school theater and accommodate a 15-minute intermission, but this did not affect the impact of Prince Hamlet's quest for revenge.

Director Joe Dalton set the play in the medieval period and used a striking minimalist set envisioned by Technical Director Mr. Wilbanks.

The set’s spare white drapes and red banners complemented Shakespeare’s text by allowing the audience to focus fully on the actors’

powerful performances and the deft work of the stage crew. With sword fights, poison, intense jealousy, passionate embraces and even a few moments of levity, this performance was a hit!

Christ School students involved in Theater this spring were: George Janvier ’19 (King Claudius), James Lopez ’19, Kobi Selby ’19 (Hamlet), Hance Zhang ’19 (Barnardo), Thomas Bolick ’20, Connor Booher ’20 (Rosencrantz), Max Field ’20 (The Ghost), Lux Haney-Jardine ’20 (Laertes), Max Masiello ’20, Max Redic ’20 (Polonius), Joseph Visconti ’20, Max Brodeur ’21, Eli Dowler ’21 (Guildenstern), Tom Tang ’21 (Marcellus), Tony Hao ’22 (Francisco), Parker Stiles ’22 (Horatio), and Triston Mowry ’23, with female actors, Alyi McLoughlin (Queen Gertrude) and Savannah Stone (Ophelia). n

CHRIST SCHOOL FIELD GUIDE A sampling of significant and historic landmarks, trees, and plantings that grace Christ School’s beautiful 500 acres

Illustration by Sarah Baldwin

The Lake Built in 1953 by Camp Glen Arden (a girls’ camp that used our campus every summer) this two-acre lake is a great place for canoeing, fishing, and the annual Regatta, where dorms race across the lake in cardboard boats.

Wetmore Oak One of largest oak trees in Western North Carolina, the massive white oak tree stands on the grounds of the original Struan Plantation atop Wetmore Hill. The 1855 ancestral home of Susan Wetmore was part of the land deeded to the Rev. and Mrs. Thomas Wetmore to found Christ School in 1900.

Galax (throughout woods) Galax aphylla Native to our region and plentiful along our forest trails, the galax, which has become a school emblem, is known to be brightest and most beautiful during the hardest time of the year, when the winter snows and frosts beat upon it.

Wisteria Vine (outside Hamner) A gift of the Class of 1989 and dedicated to Mr. & Mrs. A. T. Reese in honor of their 20 years of service, the wisteria’s April blossoms are a tribute to the beautiful flowerbed that the Reeses always maintained around their campus home.

Japanese Maple Hidden in the foliage in front of Pingree Theater until the newly renovated Alumni Plaza revealed this treasure, the tree’s shade and surrounding wall make it a comfortable place for students to sit while waiting for a ride off campus.

Buckeye Mr. Dave, Headmaster from 1928 to 1968, brought these trees home from a fishing trip in the 40’s or 50’s and planted them around campus.

They, along with a Basswood Tree, provide much-needed shade on Yard A during Commencement each May.

Chocolate Pond This manmade lake was constructed in 1936 and known as “The Swimming Pond.” More recently, it has been called "Chocolate Pond," because the water is often the color of a classic Hershey's chocolate bar.

Lady Slippers Cypripedium reginae Found throughout the campus trails, this very rare, terrestrial, temperate orchid native blooms in early May.

The Meeting Oak (near dining hall) In September 2004, Hurricane Ivan felled the original oak tree that had always been a meeting spot for faculty and students. A newer oak replaces it outside Stolz Hall.

Greatest THE Students and Fathers Honor

GENERATION Europe

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Summer Trip

by Olga Mahoney

Two years of planning and preparation went into making Christ School’s Father/Son D-Day 75th Anniversary Trip an unforgettable and transformative experience.

Father/son travelers included: Nathaniel ’20 and Benjamin Carson, Garrett ’21 and Justin Clapsaddle, Tommy ’22 and Tom Ferguson, Larry ’20 and Noel Johnson, Connor ’21 and Richard Jones, Weller ’19 and Fritz Kreimer, Michael ’20 and Kevin Mahoney, Thomas ’20 and Greg McIntosh, Chapin ’23 and Mike Mohney, Henderson ’21 and Charles Reynolds, Spencer ’22 and Peter Strickland, Charles ’19 and David Thompson, Porter ’20 and Christopher Thompson, Johnny ’21 and Joe Wehner. Other students included: Thomas Bolick ’20, Max Brodeur ’21, Jim Huang ’20, Kevin Masson ’20, John Thomas ’21 and Wesley Thomas ’22, and Peter Zhou ’19. Christ School faculty members Olga Mahoney, Leigh Harris, and Mike Mohney led the trip. Dale Sparacino, who had expressed her wish to visit Normandy someday, joined the trip roster after a group of devoted students and parents conspired to fund her trip.

The nine-day adventure included stops in Amsterdam, Dunkirk, Le Havre, and London.

The following account of the group’s experiences in Normandy comes from trip leader Olga Mahoney.

June 5

Our group arrived in the town of Sainte Mère Eglise which was liberated by the United States 82nd Airborne. The Nazi resistance was strong there, and the American force took many casualties before securing victory. One paratrooper’s parachute was famously caught on the spire of the church as depicted in the film The Longest Day. In the town center, we found a large outdoor festival with 82nd Airborne alumni everywhere.

Our next stop was a private reception for several D-Day veterans who had been flown to the Normandy battlefield and commemoration ceremonies by the Greatest Generation Foundation. After Foundation CEO Tim David learned of our students’ interest in meeting D-Day veterans, we were invited to the reception at his home where we met many veterans, the oldest of whom was 100 years old.

In preparation for this special meeting, we had obtained war biographies of each veteran, and we wrote personalized notes to each man. We arrived at the house just before the veterans, many of whom were unsteady on their feet. Our fathers

and boys jumped into action and escorted each veteran into the house, where we had the privilege of shaking hands with these heroes, expressing our gratitude, and honoring them.

On our way to our hotel, we watched legions of paratroopers drop from planes and sail through the clear evening sky.

June 6

The day we had all been waiting for started at 3 a.m., when we embarked on our journey to the American Cemetery in Normandy. We arrived early enough to secure seats for the ceremony, before taking a contemplative walk through the rows and rows of crosses and stars that stretch to a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. We couldn’t help but imagine how different this tranquil, sunny place was exactly 75 years before.

The number of selfless service members resting in the cemetery is simply overwhelming. Walking slowly among the grave markers, students discovered that many of the fallen were just a few years older than they. It was moving to watch Christ School fathers and sons navigate these graves, this moment, and their emotions together.

At the cemetery, the students completed a project for the D-Day Memorial at Bedford, VA. For two years, students have researched the

biographies of North Carolinians who died on D-Day. This work has helped build a complete database of the 4,413 Allied soldiers who died on June 6, 1944. As they toured the cemetery, students found the crosses of the soldiers our school has researched and took pictures for the database.

During the formal ceremony, we heard President Trump and French President Macron give speeches lauding the heroism of our fallen heroes, but the highlight was the tributes each leader paid the living D-Day veterans. “We are gathered here on freedom’s altar,” President Trump said. “On these shores, on these bluffs, on this day 75 years ago, 10,000 men shed their blood, and thousands sacrificed their lives for their brothers, for their countries, and for the survival of liberty. Today we remember those who fell here, and we honor all who fought right here in Normandy. They won back this ground for civilization.”

At the end the ceremony, there were multiple USAF flyovers, as well as the firing of a 21-gun salute over the ocean.

After the ceremony, our group made its way down to Omaha Beach where we spent several moments absorbing the enormity of what occurred there 75 years before. n

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Above: Charles Thompson ’20 thanks a D-Day veteran for his service and sacrifice.

Above: An itinerary addition was a stop in Sainte Mère Eglise, where the 82nd Airborne had taken over the town for the commemoration.

This group of students, fathers, and faculty toured the church where an American parachutist was caught on the spire on D-Day.

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Faith, Respect, and Honor

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Left to right: The Normandy American Cemetery above Omaha Beach covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of more than 9,380 Americans, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations; Mrs. Mahoney talks with a 100-year-old WWII veteran.

Clockwise from top left: Greenies and dads relish the opportunity to hear directly from D-Day veterans; Joe Wehner P’21 embraces a WWII veteran who survived Pearl Harbor; Stopping for gas, the group caught the 82nd Airborne’s commemorative jump – a breathtaking sight; D-Day veteran Steve Melnikoff; Spencer Strickland ’22 at the Canadian Cemetery in Normandy; a red, white and blue flyover.

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Dear Christ School, Thank you for giving me that wonderful card at Colleville Cemetery on June 6, 2019. It was a pleasure to meet and chat with you on such a historic day! I am but one of many. As a retired paratrooper from the world famous 82nd Airborne Division, I served my country with pride in every situation.

Thank you for all your faith, your respect, and your honor.

REMEMBERING ­

— Warm Regards, Roger Vickers, U.S. Army (retired)

Spring Trip

Galapagos

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Above: The Galapagos crew experiences biodiversity firsthand.

by Mallary Clay

More than 800 miles from Ecuador’s coast, there’s a place that defies imagination.

For my entire life as an evolutionary and molecular biologist, this place merely existed in my mind as pictures from a science text book, excerpts from Darwin’s Origin of Species, and an imaginary world similar to C. S. Lewis’s Narnia. On March 2, 2019, this perception changed. Accompanied by the adventurous Mr. Ramsey and 10 curious students, I traveled beyond the gates of Christ School and into another world.

Although the journey to our home base in Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz was treacherous and the temperatures were scalding, Ted Peterson ’19, Hunter Embler ’19, Doug Bland ’19, Tommy Schleusner ’20,

McCauley Hardison ’21, Alex Lontz ’21, Cade Rodriquez ’21, Luke Stone ’21, Johnny Wehner ’21, and Parker Stiles ’22 immediately recognized we had landed in an extraordinary place. The days ran together as we filled each with too much action and adventure to list.

Hiking to secret beaches, snorkeling around several islands only accessible via boat, and exploring the Darwin Center would’ve been enough to satisfy my expectations for a trip, but the animals were unlike anything I had ever seen: yellow iguanas, iguanas with spikes, and iguanas that sneezed salt water; conversational sea lions sunning on the beaches; penguin populations so dense they looked like black torpedoes circling our boat; sea turtles eating algae inches from our faces; blue footed boobies standing on rocks that probably hosted more biodiversity than whole cities; tortoises that seemed as large as cars; and, much to my surprise, a rarely seen sea snake slithering across the bottom of one of our snorkeling sites. And the best part of it all, the animals were not afraid of humans.

The trip was unforgettable, and I’m sure it will be on the schedule again soon! n

Student Founder of The Stump Preserves the Past – and Future – of Christ School Publications

by Mary Dillon The student founder of The Stump, Coles Manning ’19, wrote his last story for the school newspaper in May. The piece’s topic was bittersweet but appropriate for the moment: the history of Christ School publications by students, faculty, and alumni. With material from the CS Archives, the story covered print publications such as “The Galax Leaf,” Susan Wetmore’s 1900 newsletter, the award-winning literary magazine, Struan, and The Galax, the biannual magazine published by the Communications Office, as well as the recent addition of broadcast journalism in the form of Christ School Broadcasting Network (CSBN) led

by Ross Weathersbee ’10. This comprehensive piece was a fitting capstone for Coles’ illustrious career as an innovative editor and journalist.

When Coles first proposed the idea of reviving a student newspaper during his sophomore year, he argued that a paper would act as an important archival record of school life. His previous school in Fort Worth had a paper, and he felt Christ School should have one, too. What got me on board was the title he proposed: The Stump. When I asked my Honors World Literature students if they were willing to work on stories for the new endeavor, they were enthusiastic, developing stories on a wide variety of topics. With strong leadership from Coles, we published the first edition of The Stump in the spring of 2017.

Due to the newspaper’s success, this past fall I offered a semester-long journalism class, allowing students to learn the basics of journalism and publishing, while serving as writers and editors of The Stump. In the spring, with an additional class, The Stump staff had grown to 14 students.

As managing editor, Coles guided the paper from initial brainstorming sessions, to copy editing and layout, and finally through publication and distribution. Over the years, he wrote many different types of articles as well, including a history of the African-American students at Christ School, a review of the WWI documentary They Will Not Grow Old, and a series of reflections from Father Kirk Brown. He was also the lead satirist for the popular “Look Alikes” feature.

Three years later, with the ninth edition published in May 2019, The Stump is well established, and the entire school community eagerly anticipates each new edition. With in-depth features, interviews, editorials, reviews, and humor, the paper certainly archives the activities and ideas of the collective Christ School community.

Even though Coles has passed his editorship to Jack Adams ’20, his legacy as the founder of The Stump will go down in that same CS history he so appropriately wished to chronicle.

In Coles’ words: “The Stump continues to uphold a nearly century-long tradition of student publications dating all the way back to 1929.

Publications at Christ School, thanks to Susan Wetmore, date back even further. Due to the deliberate work of students, faculty, and alumni, Christ School’s several publications seem poised to continue the rich tradition of journalistic, artistic, and literary success.”* n *From “Christ School Publications: 119 Years of Tradition,” The Stump, May 16, 2019.

Above: Coles Manning ’19 scoured the archives for old issues of The Christ School News.

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M 2019

Mother/ Sо Weekend

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Christ School was honored to have 160 Greenie Moms join us for our fourth Mother/Son Weekend, April 5-7.

Two days of events kicked off with Friday’s welcome reception in the Patrick Beaver Student Center hosted by Beth Krieger. After a morning service in the new Outdoor Chapel led by Father Kirk Brown, everyone enjoyed near-perfect spring weather Saturday for the first-ever “Amazing Race” competition, organized by Principal Ron Ramsey, in which teams of mothers and sons completed an array of challenges scattered throughout the woods and meadows of our 500acre campus. As Bethany Duggins P’20 said, “The Amazing Race took moms and boys out of our normal routines and allowed us to build deeper relationships with each other, and to play, laugh, and not take ourselves too seriously.”

Mothers attended athletic events in baseball, lacrosse, and tennis on Friday and Saturday afternoon, and dined with their sons and their classmates at form dinners held off campus on Saturday evening. Mothers and sons also had free time Friday and Saturday to explore Asheville together.

Many thanks to the volunteers who made the weekend so successful: Event Chair Karyn Kearney P ’20; Form Chairs Lynn Williams P’23, Janson Sexton P’22, Liz Gardner P’22, Elizabeth Brazas P’22, Gwen Meguiar P’21, Susan Groh P’20, Misty Masiello P’20, Helen Castleman P’20, and Michele Murphy P’19.

Mother/Son Weekend is held every two years and alternates with Father/Son Weekend, which will be held this fall, September 6-7.

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S MOM N 2019

Mother/ Sо Weekend

Above: Above: Kojack Thompson ’19 and mother Denise; Charles Redhead ’19 and mother Day Johnson.

Above: (clockwise): Grant ’21, Tyler ’19, and mother Amy Haldeman; a mother/son team solves a puzzle in the Amazing Race; Katie Kelley P’22, Erin Campbell P’21, Carson Campbell ’21, Nate Kelley ’22, Fox Smith ’21 and mother Robin Jacobs, Ollie Searle ’21 and mother Denise.

by Andrew Pearson

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in & around yard a NEWS FROM AROUND CAMPUS

Mac Gortney ’19 Wins Gold Key in National Writing Competition

by Andrew Pearson

Mac Gortney ’19 wrote about what he knows.

The work is not glamorous, but every summer, Mac finds meaning in the sweat and toil he puts into Asheville’s Green Hills Cemetery, which has been family-run since Mac’s great grandfather, George Pennell, opened the cemetery in 1901.

This labor was the inspiration for “Gravedigger,” a personal essay which has earned the Christ School senior a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards national competition.

As a Gold Key winner, Mac and his family were invited to New York City for the June awards ceremony. English teacher Emily Pulsifer said that Mac is the first Christ School writer to win this top

prize in her 10 years with the faculty.

“It’s pretty cool to be recognized,” Mac explained after learning about his award. “That job has taught me a bunch of lessons. I really only wrote the paper for college admissions. Writing has never really been my thing, like I feel it is for a bunch of other kids. Mrs. Pulsifer was the one who saw the potential and told me it’d be a good idea to submit it – and I ended up getting the award.”

In the fall, Mac will attend Sewanee: The University of the South and be part of the Tigers’ baseball program. This past spring, Mac was named the co-Cy Young Award winner at the Florida League High School Invitational in Sanford, FL. Outside of sports, Mac was the senior liaison to Christ School’s Admissions Office and a member of the Honor Council. He is also a leader with the local chapter of Young Life.

Following is the text of Mac's award-winning essay:

I am a gravedigger.

Once my dad gets the call, we go find the plot and begin to dig. It takes two things to dig the hole: a spade for the shape and a red-handled shovel for the depth. I’ve dug enough graves at this point that I know the dimensions without a frame –

approximately 12 inches by 12 inches. We first cut out the sod, so we can keep it to put back on top.

The initial stick with the spade tells us a lot about how long it will take us to complete the hole. On 80 acres of rolling hills in the Blue Ridge Mountains, you can get many different types of dirt. Down by the pond, the dirt is softer and more fertile, which translates to 15 or 20 minutes. If we're in the section we call “The Upper 40” where the soil is dry and compacted, it'll take us around 30 or 40 minutes. The dirt up here isn't as soft because the rain doesn’t soak in as quickly. Digging isn’t always straightforward. Sometimes the dirt is hard, or there are rocks we have to remove, or we are near a tree and we have to cut past roots. Removing these obstacles, we have to keep the shape of the hole – that’s the spade’s second job. To see if I’m done, I step in the hole. If I am knee deep, I am done digging. I then pull the dirt mat out of the family’s view for when they have their service. Finally, I place a wooden box over the hole and drape a turf mat over the box so it looks natural. Then I step away.

For the past six summers, I have worked in my family’s cemetery. Over 23,000 people have been laid to rest since my great-grandfather founded the cemetery in the early 1900s. My job seems pretty simple: I mow, weed-eat, and dig graves. Ashes go in these holes – just pulverized bone fragments – but they’re also the remnants of a life. To their loved ones, these ashes tell a story of a life once lived. A life full of possible success, or sickness, or joy, or depression, or an ending that came too soon. The story that lies within the urn is one I may never know, but I feel the responsibility of helping it conclude with grace.

I am not eager to talk about myself, but I’m ready to do a dirty job. It’s a quiet job, too. One that takes time, but it needs to be done right. So, I do it carefully. The details matter, not because anyone’s watching, but because the grave I dig will hold somebody’s loved one. Helping others makes me happy and doing so when people are in a vulnerable state makes it more rewarding.

When the family is gone, I step back into the hole to make sure no dirt has fallen in. I then rest the urn in the hole and begin to cover until it is no longer in sight. I cover the grave.

I tamp the sod, throw the spade and shovel on my shoulders, and walk back to the shed.

Everyone needs a gravedigger. n

William David ’21 Presented Congressional Award Gold Medal Initiative, Achievement, and Service are inscribed on every Congressional Award Gold Medal. Those three words could not sum up William David ’21 much better.

The rising junior from Christ School was one of 538 youth across 42 states and territories to receive a Congressional Award Gold Medal on June 20 in Washington, D.C. “It was both an honor and a privilege to attend the Gold Medal events and to get to interact with the members of Congress. It was also wonderful to meet the other Medalists,” William said.

“I am very grateful to Mr. Mike Mohney, who is my Christ School advisor as well as my Congressional Award advisor, and to my other supervisors for the award. I highly recommend other students consider participating in the Congressional Award program at any of the six award levels. The program allows you to earn the lower level awards, then you can decide to make a larger commitment to the next level. You also have until age 23 to complete the program.”

The Congressional Award Gold Medal is the highest honor a member of Congress may bestow upon a youth civilian.

For a minimum of two years, each Gold Medalist has logged at least 800 hours across four program areas: Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration.

William was one of only three Gold Medalists to be selected for, and given a scholarship to attend, the 2019 Global Youth Forum. It is an annual event, sponsored in part by People to People International, and was held this year July 21-25 at the Menaul School in Albuquerque, NM. While in Washington, William’s work in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education for disadvantaged students was also recognized with a STEM Star Award that the Greenie received during an event in the Kennedy Caucus Room. n

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LEAVING IT ALL ON THE FIELD

When I first stepped onto a lacrosse field during my freshman year, the lacrosse program was in its first real year and it resembled a medieval skirmish or gladiator battle in the Coliseum. Scoring a goal was not only a rare luxury but was met with Titan force. We were simply figuring out a sport that we had no clue about, but we were eager to learn, while Coach Miles did his best to teach us to catch the ball instead of hit each other with our sticks.

Although we lost every single game that first year, we did score our first goal. During the second year of the program, when we finally won our first game, it was like winning the Super Bowl. We threw our gear in the air, and that was when we realized there were special things to come. Flash forward 16 years and Christ School has won its third consecutive State Championship.

I met Jeff Miles the summer before I came to Christ School when he introduced himself as my advisor. He, too, was starting at CS – as a Learning Resource teacher and the head lacrosse coach. At 23, Jeff Miles accepted a job to build the first-ever lacrosse program in

A Tribute to Jeff Miles

by Chris Locke ’06

Headmaster Paul Krieger likes to tell the story about the time in the early 2000s when a prospective parent asked if Christ School had a lacrosse program. He said “yes,” and then set the proverbial lacrosse ball in motion by hiring Jeff Miles in 2002 to lead the program.

In those early years, Miles’s team members describe themselves as “football players with sticks.” Over the next 17 years, while rising through the ranks from classroom teacher to Assistant Headmaster, Miles developed one of the most successful lacrosse programs in the Southeast and led his team to three back-to-back state titles. As Miles embarks on a new adventure as Headmaster of Rabun Gap School, Chris Locke ’06, an advisee and early lacrosse player, pays tribute to the coach who became a role model.

Western North Carolina. On Tuesdays, when he would take all of us advisees out for lunch, we would discuss how life was going. Yes, we both were figuring Christ School out together, but more importantly, we were figuring out how to adapt to each other. Both of us learned patience not only in the classroom, but also on the lacrosse field. I always knew Coach Miles would be my coach on the field, but what I did not know is that he would be my coach throughout life.

I was a team captain in my senior year, playing in not only my first-ever playoff game but Christ School’s first playoff game. The culmination of our blood, sweat, and tears over the past four years had led us to the defending state champs, Charlotte Latin. To say we were underdogs would be an understatement; they had beaten us handedly earlier in the year.

During the pregame speech, Coach Miles told us to “play for each other and make sure that you leave it all on the field.” Coach Miles led us onto the field with something to prove, and that is exactly what we did. The game was a heavyweight boxing match with back and forth

goals the entire game. The last whistle blew from the fourth quarter and we were heading into overtime. With a bounce shot and a dream we had won our first-ever playoff game and Coach Miles won Coach of the Year.

The growth of Jeff Miles continued in the classroom, where he taught Humanities, Psychology, and Learning Resources, and then later throughout the school as he took on a larger administrative role as Director of Student Life. In 2009, he set down roots and started a family, marrying Kiana and having two daughters, Lia and Ali. While expanding the lacrosse program to include a junior varsity team and a premiere summer camp, Revolution Lacrosse Camp, he worked toward earning a master’s in Education Leadership from Michigan State. He then became Assistant Headmaster, a role in which he helped build Christ School into the outstanding school it is today.

The story of Coach Jeff Miles is not one just of lacrosse but also leadership and growth.

Always seeking to be better is one quality that Jeff Miles instilled in me and countless other students at Christ School. For example, Coach Miles started the lacrosse program with a team that lost every game and transformed it into a powerhouse program capable of winning three consecutive state championships. He also began his career as a Learning Resources teacher and is now a Headmaster. Over the years, he has taught me, even as a teenager, to work hard for what I want and to never give up on my goals. This is something that I will continue to take with me throughout my life. I know that I – along with Christ School – will forever be better from the impact that he has made on us, both on and off the lacrosse field. n

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Thank you, Coach Jeff Miles!

Rah! Rah! Rah!

Above: 2005-06 Lacrosse Team; Chris Locke ’06 is #21 in the back row, second from the right.

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END of an era the

Mary Jane Morrison P’96, P’99, P’04 and Leigh Harris Retire In their combined 60 years at Christ School, these master teachers have witnessed the school grow from a small boarding school that gathered every night for family-style dinners to the expansive community and top-tier independent school we are today.

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To eighth graders, Mrs. Morrison was the warm, smiling guide who taught them the foundations of literature and writing.

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For ninth and tenth graders, Mr. Harris was the imposing grizzly bear they encountered in Honors Geometry, the course in which they learned to not “be sorry” but instead “be responsible,” and from which they emerged challenged and triumphant.

The impact of these two on our school and community is so far-reaching, it defies quantification. One of two female teachers when she joined the faculty in 1990, Morrison developed the scope and sequence of our English curriculum and founded the Honor

Council. Harris, while always teaching mathematics, grew our Outdoor Program from a single building with a few tents and kayaks, to the four buildings and extensive inventory of equipment we have today.

In her three decades here, Morrison served as Director of Student Life, chaired the English and Learning Resources departments, advised the senior class, led the Honor Council, ran a dorm, coached Little Greenies basketball, helped countless advisees, and all while following her true passion for teaching English.

Showing many students how to write their first paragraphs as eighth graders and then supporting them through college essays during their senior year, students often describe her as a “second mother” and the “sweetest person on the planet.”

In his 30 years, Harris coached football and wrestling, ran three dorms, served as AOD (Administrator on Duty), led the Honor Council, expanded the Outdoor Program, advised the senior class, shepherded students on Westward, Ho! summer camping adventures, and won the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award for his 50 years of dedication to the sport. Infamous for his loud voice and stern way of enforcing rules, Harris eventually endeared himself to every student when they recognized that beneath his gruff manner and mountain man beard is a kind father figure. Countless graduates thank him for the valuable life skills he taught them as they trekked along wilderness trails or completed their comprehensive Life Project in his statistics class.

This dynamic duo has helped to raise thousands of students as their own sons.

They have helped them to develop integrity, appreciate consistency and fairness, and reach their full potential as students, leaders, and men. In honor of all they have done for Christ School through the years, The Class of 2019 dedicated the Angelus to them, and Headmaster Paul Krieger presented them with the Headmaster’s Award.

This spring they sat down and reflected on their tenure at Christ School

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On Coming to Christ School LH: The reason I was hired was because I was trespassing on CS property and I ran into the headmaster, Peter Conway. He and I started talking, and he said “we are looking for a teacher that can just teach one class,” so I came and taught Algebra I in the spring of 1990 and then became one of the teachers/wilderness people in the summer school program. I moved onto campus, and my first full year started in the fall of 1990.

I was an assistant to the wilderness program under Craig Richardson. It was a program and a sport. When he left, I became the Outdoor Program Director and I was director until Ron Ramsey took over. I’ve been Mathematics Chair, houseparent in 30 Dorm, 38 Dorm, Harris House, Boyd, and Cuningham, an AOD, football coach, wrestling coach, the faculty advisor to the Honor Council, and senior class advisor.

MJM: In 1988, I moved to the Asheville area.

The second year that I was here, I got a call from Peter Conway. He had met someone that told him I could teach English, so he invited me to come over and look around. At the time I thought I was going to teach at UNCA, but after I walked around the campus and met people, I was really very interested. So, I started teaching English in the fall of 1989. After I had been here about a week, Peter called me in and asked me to teach ESL, and I moved on campus in the fall of 1992. I’ve taught all five levels of English during my time here. My primary activity was writing and publishing the CS News, which preceded the very professional Galax. It was simply a 4-page glossy that we wrote and published – and that was my “coaching.” I published the Struan for many years, and I was the assistant basketball coach to Drew Hyche for Little Greenies. Recently, my activities have primarily been teaching and the Writing Center.

When Paul Krieger became headmaster, I became Director of Student Life. At that time, the student life office oversaw the daily running of the school, residential life, student activities,

and advisors. I’ve lived off campus, on campus, and in the dorm. I have been English Department Chair. Peter Conway did a lot to develop our academic program. He started the AP (Advanced Placement) program, but he also saw the need for LR, what we called “English Lab” and “Math Lab.” I taught in English Lab and Leigh taught in Math Lab, and they were classes like we have today. So, for three years I was chair of the English Department and chair of what is today Learning Resources.

On Different Headmasters For Different Times MJM: I think each headmaster responded to the school they found when they arrived. I think that’s one of the reasons CS has been so successful and has such longevity. When Peter Conway came in, he was a young, energetic man who saw the need for AP and Learning Resources Programs; he also saw that the younger boys needed something unique to them so he developed our 8th Grade Program.

He was followed by Russ Ingersoll who was also an Episcopal priest, and I believe he served as our Chaplain in his first year as headmaster.

He was confronted with a school that for many years had operated in the red and had an incredible amount of deferred maintenance. I think his task was probably very overwhelming, but he certainly met the challenge. He could speak and raise money – it was really a talent and a gift that he had – and so during his time he built Bishop Noland House, West (Young), Cuningham, South Carolina, Pingree, The Hamner Center (Headmaster’s Office and Admissions) a new library, and the Patrick Beaver Student Center. He also did renovations to the gym. He did all of this without incurring debt, and he was also ultimately able to balance the budget.

Our current headmaster, Paul Krieger, has a particular talent in attracting a more academic, well-rounded student, so I think our student body has been enhanced. I think he has done a lot in terms of faculty housing, and certainly our new athletic center and the science wing are important additions to campus.

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On a Changing Campus and Student Body

On Faculty as Part of the Community

MJM: We’ve seen a lot of changes in the physical campus as well as in the student body.

We’ve grown so much! When we first came here, we were a boarding school only; we didn't have day students.

I think we are a reflection of society, so as society has evolved, we have, too. I always did try, from day one, to make the boys aware of what was appropriate and what was not. I think having women here is key to what the boys need to learn about and model in their lives as they move forward, because the reality is that most of them will work for and with women, so it's very important that they learn how to be with women in professional roles.

MJM: Probably the biggest draw of Christ School for me was the idea of community, because it very quickly evolved into a way of life. I moved on campus in my third year and reveled in this whole idea of community. My four children grew up here, and they had other faculty kids who were their friends and with whom they played every day. There was also community in the dining hall since we all ate dinner together every night at seated meals.

LH: When we first got here, the students were more rough and ready. To have a student go to Chapel Hill or NC State was a rarity. Over the period of time between Russ (Ingersoll) and Paul (Krieger), the entire academic structure changed and the caliber of student changed as well. Now we send five or six graduates to Chapel Hill – and to even higher caliber colleges than that.

So, the students themselves have become a different kind of student; they are more respectful, and they want to do well. We had a lot of students back in the day who were sent here because this was the next step before military school. In those times, a person with my personality did very well with that kind of student. Russ got rid of hazing and changed the campus dynamic so faculty not only taught, but also serve as advisors, which helped to bring morals and values to the students.

“When we first got here, the students were more rough and ready. To have a student go to Chapel Hill or NC State was a rarity. Over the period of time between Russ (Ingersoll) and Paul (Krieger), the entire academic structure changed and the caliber of student changed as well.”

– Leigh Harris

LH: I moved to North Carolina for the location.

I had been working summer camps here since 1965, so I knew where I wanted to live and why I wanted to live here. Ever since I began teaching in 1975, I wanted to teach at a school with an active outdoor program. So, when I got the opportunity here, I couldn’t believe I was going to get paid to play. I was in heaven. I still look forward to playing every day.

On A Unique Education For Boys MJM: Having only sons myself, the longer I was here, the more I really understood how valuable single-gender education is. I think that, coupled with the community, is what kept me here. I agree with Leigh that our students have changed over time, and yet, even back to what he referred to as the “rough and ready kids,” there has always been something endearing to me about the Christ School student. They are always a little more ready when they left us – and maybe a little less rough. There's just something special about the CS student and that has not changed. For a school of our size, we have always had a very strong alumni base; the alumni are incredibly loyal and incredibly generous, as are our trustees.

LH: I tell parents, when your son leaves here he will have everything he needs to perform well in college. If he doesn’t succeed at first, it’s because of his choice not to – but he will succeed when he decides to. We give them all the tools they need to do well, but whether

“Having only sons myself, the longer I was here, the more I really understood how valuable single-gender education is. I think that, coupled with the community, is what kept me here. I agree with Leigh that our students have changed over time, and yet, even back to what he referred to as the ‘rough and ready kids,’ there has always been something endearing to me about the Christ School student.”

– Mary Jane Morrison

they decide to use them in the first four years [after Christ School] or in their late 20’s, that will be in their own time frame.

MJM: The other thing is that once you are here for a few years, so many of our alums come back and they are always so happy to see you.

They say, “Look at me. I’m all grown up, and what do you think?” It’s wonderful for us the way they come back.

On Memorable Moments MJM: There were many times when we have had to pull together as a community. That would certainly have been in the Blizzard of ’93, when we did not have power on campus for a week. We were literally snowed-in because of the drifts, and there was a below-zero wind chill for five or six days. I had canned goods in my kitchen that froze solid. That was a very trying time. It was during a period that we called “Interim” which was the week preceding Spring Break. During Interim, we offered trips all over the world, as well as local cooking and off-campus trips. Some of the trips got out, some eventually got out, but for those of us left here, it was very challenging. There was a small generator in the dining hall that just ran

the refrigerator and freezer. Eventually we were down to making peanut butter and jelly every day because there were no food deliveries.

For all of us, 9-11 would stand out in our minds, and Hurricane Ivan in the fall of 2004, when we lost the Oak Tree.

LH: There was that time when the power went out and was going to be out for several days, and when Paul Krieger put the word out to local parents, they all rose to the occasion and hosted students and faculty families with young children. We’ve had the community step up several times to do that kind of stuff.

I think that all people have the ability to gather together in times of strife to help each other, but at Christ School, when something happens, everybody gets on board. Look when it snows and there are paths shoveled all over the place – the guys just do that.

MJM: I think the cement to that human inclination is the relationships we already have with one another and the boys, because they know us as their advisors, their house parents, their coaches, their teachers – they know us in so many roles. That connection cements the human inclination to rise to the occasion together.

in & around yard a NEWS FROM AROUND CAMPUS

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o 2 19

Commencement

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Christ School holds

COLLEGE

Commencement

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Will DuBose ’19 knows it is one thing to be a mature, fully-formed high school student and another to be a newcomer to college. The Class of 2019 should embrace the change on the near horizon, he told his classmates.

Why? Because of the values instilled in the 69 seniors by Christ School – loyalty, compassion, and courage. Will called these the “enduring characteristics” of a Greenie as he provided the Senior Class Address for Christ School’s 119th Commencement.

“Everyone here in attendance has helped someone who will walk across this stage in a few minutes,” Will said to the crowd in Yard A. “Our gratitude is long overdue.”

Father Kirk Brown, who is retiring after 24 years as Chaplain, followed with the Commencement Address before handing out Bibles to graduates one final time.

“Christ School has given me permission to keep learning and I am so thankful for that,” said Father Brown, who also talked about the richness of the school community and the value of wisdom. Sunday’s Commencement was the 19th for Headmaster Paul Krieger who reminded the seniors in the closing of his remarks to “Be wary of the comfortable life, for it will teach you nothing.”

The Class of 2019 is headed to college in 21 different states in addition to Washington, D.C. – Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.

The Appalachian Brass Quintet provided music for the ceremony. Prior to the procession, the Angelus bell was rung 119 times, one toll for each year of Christ School’s history. Yard A, which is situated between Stolz Dining Hall and Wetmore Hall, is the site of the original school building. Tradition at Christ School deems that other than at graduation, no one is allowed to walk on Yard A except workers and those who raise and lower the flags. n

Bound Congratulations, Class of 2019!

“Christ School has given me permission to keep learning and I am so thankful for that” ­— Father Kirk Brown

Trey Austin University of Miami

Will DuBose UNC-Chapel Hill

TJ Bell UNC-Chapel Hill

Spencer Dyer North Greenville University

Marcus Berger UNC-Chapel Hill

Logan Easler Wofford College

Doug Bland Louisiana State University

Hunter Embler Western Carolina University

Christian Blanks Utah State University

Hutson Ford Clemson University

Hagan Brooks Queens University of Charlotte

Wyatt Gildea Duke University

Gordon Brown North Carolina State University

Mac Gortney Sewanee: The University of the South

Hale Caffery Furman University Will Clarke George Washington University Keyvaun Cobb Wofford College Hase Cooper Montana State University, Bozeman Nick Dee Belmont University William Dodenhoff University of Alabama

Above: Keyvaun Cobb ’19 receives his diploma and a handshake from former Dean of Academics and Curriculum Brooke Depelteau. Below: Father Brown celebrates the richness of the Christ School community in his Commencement Address.

Jacob Dowler UNC-Chapel Hill

Zack Grella Savannah College of Art and Design Zack Grinde Virginia Military Institute Tyler Haldeman University of South Carolina Brad Halvorsen University of Tennessee, Knoxville Jack Harrison Lafayette College Evan Hoyle Texas Christian University George Janvier University of Mississippi

Andrew King University of South Carolina

Ross Oakley Wofford University

Andy Su Bates College

Weller Kreimer Sewanee: The University of the South

Drake Oliver Belmont University

Peyton Surface Sewanee: The University of the South

Corey Lavinder Belmont University Max LeCroy Lenoir-Rhyne University James Lilly Southwestern University James Lopez UNC-Chapel Hill Ben Lowry North Carolina State University Hunter Macomber Appalachian State University Coles Manning University of Oklahoma Thomas May North Carolina State University Thomas McCarthy University of Alabama Will McNichols University of Utah James Murphy University of Mississippi Sean Murphy Louisiana State University

Pierce Parker James Madison University Ted Peterson Duke University Hank Pritchard Clemson University Charles Redhead College of Charleston Kaedin Robinson ASA College - Brooklyn Campus Borden Sasnett Georgia College Clay Schoettelkotte Wofford College Kobi Selby Columbia College Chicago Eddy Sherman Ohio Wesleyan University West Shuler University of Tennessee, Knoxville Thomas Smoots UNC-Chapel Hill Kevin Snyder University of Miami

Hunter Tarves University of Colorado at Boulder Otto Thom Auburn University Charles Thompson University of Mississippi Kojack Thompson Roanoke College Chad Treadway Georgia State University Cameron Von Strolley Florida Atlantic University Michael Wang Emory University Alex Xu Vanderbilt University Hance Zhang Tufts University Eric Zhou Boston College Peter Zhou University of Washington

awards

Leadership Awards Valedictorian........................................................................................................................................... Hance Zhang ’19 The Headmaster's Cup.............................................................................Evan J. Hoyle ’19, Robert A. H. King III ’19 The Big Brother Award............................................................................................................. Charles H. Redhead ’19 The Philip Tilghman Memorial.............................................................................................................Ty A. Besses ’22 The PH Broyhill Award.........................................................................................................................Evan J. Hoyle ’19 The Class of 1941 Award........................................................................................................... Charles H. Redhead ’19 The Moltke-Hansen School Spirit Trophy................................................................................. William R. Oakley ’19

Scholarship Awards James Gibbon Merrimon Scholastic Prize........................................................................................... Hance Zhang ’19 David T. Dodge Scholarship.......................................................................................................... Miles B. Gardner ’20 David L.M. Taylor Award & Scholarship.................................................................................Tony A. Murphy, Jr. ’23

Academic Awards Dartmouth Club Book Award...................................................................................................Richard A. Lytle III ’20 Harvard Club Book Award.....................................................................................................Michael M. Mahoney ’20 Randolph College Award............................................................................................................ Richard C. Booher ’20 Sewanee Award for Excellence............................................................................................................Patrick T. Shea ’20 Yale Club Book Award..................................................................................................................Justice U. Ajogbor ’20

Departmental Awards

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in & around yard a NEWS FROM AROUND CAMPUS

Robert McWhorter Creative Writing..............................................................................................Maxie O. Redic ’20 Redwood Senior English Prize..................................................................................................William M. DuBose ’19 Edward E. Ford Foundation Award.......................................................................................Lux A. Haney-Jardine ’20 Pen & Plate Award............................................................................................................................. Drake B. Oliver ’19 Robinson Journalism Award..................................................................George H. Janvier ’19, Jackson L. Bewley ’20 Angelus Award (Yearbook)............................................................................................................Chad L. Treadway ’19 Grayson Cole Mathematics Award....................................................................................................Haoyang Zhou ’19 Biology Award................................................................................................................................Hunter D. Embler ’19 Chemistry Award..........................................................................................................................Michael W. Gildea ’19 Physics Award......................................................................................................................................... Hance Zhang ’19 Engineering Award............................................................................................................................Pierce D. Parker ’19 Environmental Science Award ..........................................................................................................Patrick T. Shea ’20 Sacred Studies Award.......................................................................................................................... Thomas J. Bell ’19 Technology Programming Award......................................................................................................Zicheng Huang ’20 Technology Service Award............................................................................................................. Zachary A. Grella ’19 NC Council Social Studies Award..................................................... Owen C. Manning ’19, William R. Oakley ’19 History Department Award.......................................................................................................William M. DuBose ’19 Global History Awareness Award.....................................................................................................Colin M. Brazas ’22 International Studies Award ....................................................................................................Wyatt M. A. Wilson ’20 Arabic Award..................................................................................................................................Justice U. Ajogbor ’20 Mandarin Award.....................................................................................................................................Jun Yeob Lee ’21 Spanish Award................................................................................... Cameron M. Akers ’20, Thomas C. Smoots ’19 Art Award....................................................................................................................................Sumner L. Gardner ’22 Weil Award...........................................................................................................................................Luke W. Stone ’21 Sumner Pingree Theatre Award................................................................George H. Janvier ’19, Kobina A. Selby ’19 Theatre Technical Award...................................................................................................................James C. Lopez ’19 Lawton Ingle Music Award............................................................................................................... Drake B. Oliver ’19 Service Learning Award..................................................................................................................Jackson L. Bewley ’20 Servant Leadership Award.............................................................................................................William A. David ’21

Left: Headmaster Commendation Award winners, Grant Haldeman ’21, Avery Kessler ’23, Sawyer Breiter ’22, and Parker Davis ’22.

Form Book Prizes Second Form Award..........................................................................................................................Phillip A. Lopez ’23 Third Form Award...............................................................................................................................Parker B. Stiles ’22 Fourth Form Award.....................................................................................................................Albert M. Hardison ’21 Fifth Form Award.............................................................................................................................Richard A. Lytle ’20 Sixth Form Award.................................................................................................................................. Hance Zhang ’19

Headmaster Commendations Yvenski Y. Alcime ’20 Sawyer L. Breiter ’22 Parker S. Davis ’22 Grant G. Haldeman ’21 Asher R. Hamrick ’21 Avery A. Kessler, Jr. ’23 Henderson J. Reynolds ’21 Sid H. Shah ’22 Jingyao Tang ’21

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The Successus Fidelitate Award The Second Form Prize...........................................................................................................Matthew W. Hammel ’23 The Third Form Prize.................................................................................................................... Frank B. Howden ’22 The Fourth Form Prize.............................................................................................................. Grant G. Haldeman ’21 The Fifth Form Prize......................................................................................................................Jackson L. Bewley ’20 Form Citizenship Awards The Second Form Award ............................................................................................................Chapin P. Mohney ’23 The Third Form Award.........................................................................................................Matthew J. Henderson ’22 The Fourth Form Award...............................................................................................................Jackson C. Fender ’21 The Fifth Form Award................................................................................................................ Richard C. Booher ’20 The Sixth Form Award............................................................................................................McCourry P. Gortney ’19 Special Recognition.................................................................................................................Theodore C. Peterson ’19 Athletic Awards Harris Outdoor Award....................................................................................Pierce D. Parker ’19, Patrick T. Shea ’20 Bill Sewell Hustle Award.......................................................................................................................Sean W. Dow ’21 Pat James Award...............................................................................................................................Davis H. Lindsey ’20 Knighton Sportsmanship Award................................................................................................Zachary H. Grinde ’19 Senior Athletic Cup........................................................................................................................Keyvaun R. Cobb ’19 Jeff Miles Resilience Award..................................................................................................................Steven S. Dyer ’19

Above: Justice Ajogbor ’20 accepts the Arabic Award; Harris House Prefect Kobi Selby poses with Mr. Miles; Andrew King ’19 and Evan Hoyle ’19 receive the Headmaster's Cup.

Above: Mr. Krieger presents a Special Recognition Award to Ted Peterson ’19.

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JUSTICE AJOGBOR ’20 46

Each and every Greenie is distinctive and noteworthy, and here follows a continuation of our series profiling a few of the fine young men we get to teach, coach, mentor, and learn from each day.

For Justice Ajogbor, his family is as far-reaching as his expansive wingspan. Born and raised in Nigeria, Justice, whose parents died when he was eight, has two brothers and three sisters. His family expanded when he moved to the U.S. to live with Gina and Greg Bridgford P’15, P’18, and their sons, Jack and Finn, and to attend Christ School.

He first heard about CS while attending a basketball camp run by Access2Success (a Nigeriabased organization founded by former Davidson player Andrew Lovedale). “[Andrew] asked if I would be interested in an opportunity to go to school in the U.S.,” says Justice. “I didn’t know what to think when I first heard about it, but eventually I began to wrap my head around it.”

The following year he met the Bridgefords when they volunteered at his basketball camp. “They really embraced me; it was overwhelming at first.”

Justice has returned to Nigeria every summer to work at the same basketball camp that led him here. On his most recent trip, he spent time working in a Benin City camp for people who have been displaced by insurgencies in eastern Nigeria. “People from their region do not travel

a lot,” Justice explains, “so I know it is tough for them. It helps me to go there and talk to them – and I like to think it helps them also.”

Basketball has done more for Justice than open doors. “Growing up, I had difficulty talking and engaging with people; basketball created a level playing field where I could be whomever I wanted to be, and the more I worked, the better I got.”

According to former Assistant Athletic Director Bobby Long, “For as great a basketball player as Justice is, he is an even better human being. If you told me 10 years from now that Justice was in the NBA, I would believe you, and if you told me he was saving the world, I would believe that, too.”

The winner of the Arabic Award, the Yale Book Award, and a member of the National Honor Society, Justice enjoys the diversity of the classes he has taken at CS. At the end of his freshman year, he received The Philip Tilghman Memorial Award presented to the student who had the greatest positive impact on the school in his first year, and this spring he was tapped to be a Cuningham Prefect, a leadership position he embraces. “I’m definitely looking forward to telling my stories and offering comfort to the kids who come through Cuningham next year.”

Justice would like to pursue International Relations in college so he can effect real change in people’s lives. “I think of myself as a human first, rather than Nigerian or American,” Justice explains.

“A lot of people lose their identity when they choose to be identified with smaller groups, but in the long run, it limits the way we view others.”

Justice’s optimistic world view is deeply rooted in his faith. “I am strongly religious,” he says, “and I believe God has a plan for me. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have setbacks, but it’s so much easier to fight a battle when you believe that victory is already assured.” Justice is partial to country music and especially Johnny Cash. “I’ve been in a lot of classes when I see everyone looking at me and realize that I was singing for the past 20 minutes.

You need those points when you focus on you and your goals and I think music gets me there.”

What has surprised Justice most since he left Nigeria to study at Christ School? The opportunity he has had to shape his own story.

“At Christ School you have the opportunity to write your own narrative, and I think that has been the most interesting thing for me – the freedom to be Justice.” n

As the Commencement Speaker chosen by his classmates, Will DuBose urged his classmates not to resist change. “You won’t lose who you were.

Trust that the values Christ School brought out in you – loyalty, courage, compassion – will stay with you no matter what.” Will has lived those words since his freshman year when his family moved from Atlanta so his father could direct the Montreat Conference Center.

Fashioning himself a basketball player due to his height and success in middle school, Will soon learned to think of himself in new ways. “I realized that my perception of my own height was really skewed,” Will says. He stepped on the court expecting to play JV for a year and then be a shoe-in for varsity. “I was not only not tall enough, but also not good enough.” Surprised but not defeated, Will reveled in the humility that this realization afforded him. “There was a bit of an adjustment, which was awesome.” After playing for Little Greenies and JV, he took the opportunity to try new things.

“I decided to do the Outdoor Program, which is one of the best decisions I ever made,” says Will.

“I found out how much I like experiencing the outdoors, which had never been an option for me in Atlanta. I learned that I love to mountain bike, rock climb, and kayak – and then sometimes do Spartan [adventure] races. I’m not very good at any of those things, but I enjoy doing them.”

Heading to UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall, Will plans to major in history. While most people study history as it relates to a certain time or region, Will prefers to think about the big picture. “What I find interesting about history is how it all fits together. For instance, when Thomas Jefferson was president, nothing was really going on in America, but then there’s Napoleon, and all hell’s breaking loose in Europe.” He credits CS with this new global perspective. “The world is so big and so much is happening; it was only when I got to CS that I started to make the connections.”

In fact, Will credits Christ School with turning him on to learning in general. “I wasn’t an academic before I came to CS. I did fine, but I wasn’t really trying hard. When I got to CS, I was in these classes where you had to really try to get a good grade.” The effort has paid off.

Not only is Will a member of National Honor Society, he has won several academic awards: the International Studies Award in his sophomore year, the Sewanee Award for Excellence as a

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WILL DUBOSE ’19 47 junior, the Redwood Senior English Prize, and History Department Award this past May. “CS has pushed me into discovering that doing well in school has become part of my identity and something that I want to continue.”

In addition to choosing Will as their Commencement Speaker, his classmates voted him “Most Likely to be a Politician.” Will doesn’t discourage this perception. “I gesture a lot when I talk.” He really likes to discuss politics and is an extrovert, a quality he says he inherited from his mother, who runs a spiritual guidance practice.

“I take after her in that people give me energy.”

Will took it upon himself to give some of that energy back to CS. As a Day Student Proctor, he helped plan and execute the creation of the new Day Student Lounge in Wetmore. He was also a key part of the school’s talented Quiz Bowl Team, competing in the national competition in Chicago this spring. Will shines with people and activity, but when he has down time, he enjoys watching movies with his father. “Friday night is movie night with my dad; it has been that way since I was really young.” n

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In his essay published in the recent Struan, “Catch a Sunrise: Why I Go to Summer Camp,” Richard Lytle writes, “[W]hat humans need is time to be human: time to find their identities, make mistakes, and find people whom they can trust.”

Richard found that time at summer camp and at Christ School. Richard chose Christ School in ninth grade for its “commitment to academics, the student-teacher relationships, and the community and brotherhood.”

Having kayaked since seventh grade, Lytle is a Red Hat leader in the Outdoor Program. This past fall, he mastered “The Gorilla,” a particularly challenging Class 5 rapid on the Green River.

“You’ve got this very narrow notch and it has a lot of weird currents at the bottom,” Richard explains. “And right after that is a big left turn into a 20-foot waterfall, so getting through that was a big confidence booster.”

Outdoor leader Mr. Mohney has high praise for this accomplished paddler. “Richard is the best whitewater kayaker Christ School has ever seen. He is humble, and yet possesses just the right amount of confidence to be extremely effective in all that he does. His knowledge of whitewater

RICHARD LYTLE ’20

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and his judgment are well beyond his years. The younger boys can’t wait to be around Richard; they admire him for what he has accomplished and are drawn to him because of his passion and humble approachability.”

In the summer, Richard works at Green River Adventures, a kayaking center, and is a counselor at Camp Chosatonga near Brevard, NC. After playing lacrosse his freshman and sophomore years, he settled on track this past spring after a friend suggested he try pole vaulting. “I think it helps that I’m used to going over waterfalls – being upside down doesn’t really make me that nervous.”

His PR for the 2019 season was 10 feet.

For the fall semester of his sophomore year, Richard attended Idaho’s Alzar School. “The big focuses there are outdoor education and leadership development which is what drew me there,” says Richard. In addition to the academic curriculum and a cultural exchange in Chile, he got to kayak a variety of rivers, backpack in the Andes Mountains, and explore such areas as the Cochamo Valley and Patagonia National Park. “There was a thing called Leader of the Day, where you had to plan out the school day. To be able to take charge within your friend group has helped me step up to the plate here and will continue to do so in my future.”

Richard will have plenty of opportunities to step up this year as Verger in the Chapel.

Richard’s time in Chile sparked an interest in Latin American Studies and history. He has also enjoyed English and physics classes. His love of writing led him to work on the CS literary magazine, the Struan, and this coming year he will be one of the publication’s senior editors. “My favorite type of writing is personal narrative. I like to get to the point and tell a story.” In addition to the fiction and nonfiction pieces he has published in the Struan, Richard’s article, “Safety at the Green Race,” appeared in the Winter 2017 edition of American Whitewater.

Faith is important to Richard, something fostered at camp as well as at St. Eugene’s in North Asheville where he is an altar server. His outdoor adventures on land and rivers has complemented his faith. “Going to all these beautiful places, it’s important to be able to appreciate them,” Richard says. “When I’m kayaking, I think that it should be a balance of adrenalin and pushing myself, but also of enjoying creation and where I am; I think all that together is the perfect match.” n

Read Sunn has learned to adapt to change and make anywhere feel like home. Born in Colorado and with family roots in the Midwest, Read grew up in Wasilla, AK. He first heard about CS from his football coach, Tommy Langford, at IMG Academy, which he attended freshman year. At the time, Langford was moving to North Carolina to head our varsity football program.

Coach Langford says, “As a student-athlete, it is hard to find a better version than Read. He gets great grades, studies hard for tests, and in turn is a dominating football player that can change games for us. I have never been around a kid that absolutely doesn’t waver from his goals or passion.”

Playing football at CS was a welcome change for Read who got very little playing time at IMG. Furthermore, at CS he felt like part of a group of guys who have been building the program together. “We’ve all been together for quite a while, playing three years together.” Although they lost in the semifinals in Read’s first two years, he has a lot of faith in this year’s team.

“This year we have a huge group of guys who are going to be seniors,” says Read. “I’m definitely a lot more confident in our team than I have been either of the two years I’ve been here.”

Read began as a boarder, but his family has since moved to the Asheville area so now he is experiencing the school as a day student. “It was kind of cool because I got to see the other side – the seven-day boarder where you are here all the time – and then I got the day student side of it where you’re not on campus as much.”

Whether he’s living in a dorm or at home, Read appreciates the way Christ School stretches to offer exciting activities. “You can go to major college football games, NFL games, or NBA, or go on trips all over the place and it doesn’t cost you any money.” Since moving off campus, however, he has made it a point to treat his classmates to smaller impromptu excursions. “If I’m ever going out to eat, I try to bring some boarders with me, or if it’s a boarder’s birthday, I take them with some buddies out to eat and get off campus.”

Read didn’t take the easy path during his junior year; he sought out AP Calculus and AP Physics. “I knew that going to college for football, it probably wouldn’t be that necessary for me to load up on AP courses, but I just wanted a challenge this year.” According to his advisor,

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READ SUNN ’20 49 Mr. Duhaime, “Read constantly challenges himself to do more, to learn more, and to be more.” This past spring got even busier when he added a part-time job at a local Ingles. “It has been busy, but it has helped me with time management.” And although customer service can present challenges, Read approaches it with a positive attitude. “You have to be nice, even if they’re having a bad day.”

Petroleum Engineering tops Read’s list of potential college majors, something he hopes will set him up for a career in the oil fields of Alaska.

He recently toured some impressive schools in the Northeast like West Point, Harvard, and Columbia, as well as schools in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. “I don’t want to go to a school in the city. So, it’s trying to find that balance of a big school but not in a big town.”

No matter where Read ends up, he will make it work. “I know that wherever I’m going to be, I can make the best of it. I’m not going to stress over things I can’t control, but with the things I can control, I’m definitely going to put my best foot forward.” n

Coaches: Jeff Depelteau Tiger Norman Isaac Rankin Matt Cioce ’13 Captains: Kojack Thompson ’19 Brad Halvorsen ’19 Trey Austin ’19 Most Improved Player: DeAnte Green ’22 All-Conference: Brad Halvorsen ’19 Kojack Thompson ’19 Most Valuable Player: Justice Ajogbor ’20

A Strong Finish and a Bright Future

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under the lights BASKETBALL

The 2018-19 Varsity Basketball Team entered the season with high hopes coming off a Carolinas Athletic Association Championship and NC Independent Schools Athletic Association Final Four appearance in 2018. That success, combined with the return of seniors Trey Austin ’19, Brad Halvorsen ’19, and Kojack Thompson ’19, juniors Justice Ajogbor ’20 and Norance Berry ’20, and sophomore Gabe Wiznitzer ’21, set a high bar for this team. In addition to the returners, senior Cameron Von Strolley ’19, junior Adam Keever ’20, sophomore Drew Redmond ’21, and freshman De’Ante Green ’22 all made the jump from highly successful JV seasons. New additions to the roster didn’t stop with the players, as Coach Rankin and Coach Cioce ’13 joined the coaching staff.

For the second consecutive season, the Greenies played one of the toughest schedules in the state.

While the team hung tough early, Christ School fell to some truly elite competition and headed into

Christmas Break with a 3-7 record. Despite the lowly record, attitude and effort never wavered.

The boys returned from break eager to head to New Orleans to begin their 2019 slate, where they knocked off the defending Louisiana State Champions, Riverside Academy, and one of the top teams in the state of Florida, Lakewood Ranch, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic. The trip was an exciting one for the team, not just because of the basketball, but because they got to explore New Orleans as well as connect with Greenie alumni, parents, students, and prospective students.

The Greenies carried the momentum from the New Orleans trip back to Arden as they opened 2019 by winning eight of their final 13 regular season games. The postseason, however, is where Christ School leapt to new heights. In the season’s final weeks, the team won the CAA Tournament by knocking off Asheville Christian Academy on the road and then beating Rabun Gap (GA) in the opening round of the state tournament.

Cinderella’s slipper seemed to fit as the No. 8 Greenies faced No. 1 Charlotte Christian in the state quarterfinals. The Knights had handled the Greenies in December by 20 points, but this was a different story. The Greenies dominated the Knights, led by Justice Ajogbor ’20, who finished the game with 12 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.

As a result, the Greenies advanced to their second consecutive state final four.

In the state semifinals, the Greenies were matched up with No. 4 Charlotte Latin. This would be a back-and-forth game until the fourth quarter, when the Greenies went on an 11-0 run to seal the game and punch their ticket to the statechampionship game. In the finals, the Greenies were matched with No. 2 Greensboro Day, winners of the previous two state championships.

Out of the gates, the Greenies made plays and took a slight lead, but the Bengals battled back to tie the game with 5:31 remaining. In the final minutes, Greensboro Day made a few more plays and hit their free throws to end the Greenies’ historic run.

This year’s players had nothing to hang their heads about. The state runner-up finish was the second in school history, and this was only the eighth time the Greenies advanced to the state finals. The seniors showed nice leadership, and with so much talent returning, Christ School basketball’s future is bright. n

Top: Kojack Thompson ’19 goes up for a layup in a CAA Conference matchup with Asheville Christian Academy.

Greenies Make a Splash Christ School Swimming had a great season filled with good individual results and team wins, including the program’s first victory over Asheville School since 2003.

The Greenies started the season with a second place at Asheville School on November 14. Then they came in third at the Tuscola Invitational, an improvement of five spots from the previous year. Christ School was led in this meet by Frank Howden ’22, who won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:06.20 and achieved a four-second personal record (PR) in the 200 individual medley for second-place (2:13.22). Daniel Du ’22 had a strong start to the season with a fourth-place swim in the 100 freestyle (58.80), followed by second in the 100 backstroke (1:06.22) and fourth in the 100 freestyle (58.80). Grayson Scott ’21 finished fourth in a tight100 backstroke field and took fifth in the 100 butterfly, with Sam Jarrett ’22 close behind in sixth. Sam was also fifth in the 500 freestyle.

The Greenies earned their first team victory on January 15, defeating Asheville Christian Academy (ACA) and Carolina Day. Frank swam a PR by four seconds in the 200 individual medley to place second, and he won the 100 breaststroke. He also anchored the first-place medley relay and 400 freestyle relay. Daniel had a great meet with a firstplace swim in the 100 backstroke and second-place showing in the 50 freestyle. Also, Grayson found another gear with big PRs in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.

Later in January, Christ School’s win over Asheville School came in the Blues’ pool and in a meet that also included ACA, Owen, and Avery County. Frank and Grayson went 1-2, respectively, in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle.

Sam was also second in the 100 butterfly. Daniel and Bo Cowden-Garofalo ’22 stepped up on the relays, and Daniel was first in the 100 freestyle and third in the 50 freestyle. As a team, the Greenies showed their depth and the strength gained over the winter. Of note individually, first-year swimmer and ASSIST student Kilian Mittermeier ’21 made a huge improvement in the 200 freestyle (2:31.52).

Daniel, Bo, Grayson, and Frank swam a season-

best time of 1:40.06 in the 200 freestyle relay to beat Asheville School by 10 seconds.

The Greenies defeated Rabun Gap (GA) and Carolina Day in a January 26 meet at UNCAsheville before a runner-up finish in the Carolinas Athletic Association meet on January 30. The highlight of the CAA meet was Frank winning the 100 breaststroke by .15 seconds. Charlie Thomas ’21 has a great meet with big PRs in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle.

Finally, the season concluded at the NC Independent Schools Athletic Association state meet on February 11 in Greensboro. Individual results for the Greenies were impressive: Frank (5th 200 individual medley 2:08.27 and 5th 100 breaststroke 1:03.95), Aidan Galpin ’21 (26th 200 freestyle 2:13.73 and 27th 100 breaststroke 1:16.26), Colin Brazas ’22 (15th 200 individual medley 2:37.64 and 41st 100 backstroke 1:11.81), Bo (15th 50 freestyle 24.35 and 14th 100 freestyle 55.60), Charlie (39th 50 freestyle 26.68), Grayson (20th 100 butterfly 1:03.58 and 11th 100 breaststroke 1:06.89), Sam Jarrett ’22 (23rd 100 butterfly 1:04.63 and 13th 500 freestyle 5:37.26), and Daniel (23rd 100 freestyle 57.64 and 20th 100 backstroke 1:05.89). n

Top: Grayson Scott ’21 cruises through one of many strong 200 IMs finishes.

SWIMMING

Coaches: Kevin Lisska Brent Harris Captain: T.J. Bell ’19 Most Improved Swimmer: Colin Brazas ’22 Most Valuable Swimmer: Frank Howden ’22

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Coaches: Cody Geyer Kale Ledbetter Mike Andress

GOLF

Captains: Chad Treadway ’19 Mac Gortney ’19 Max LeCroy ’19 All-Conference: Max LeCroy ’19 Hunter Macomber ’19 Chad Treadway ’19 Jack Sutton ’20 Jack Galbraith ’20 Isaiah Lowe ’22 Mickey Meguiar ’21

Coaches: Eric Thorp ’01 Graylyn Loomis ’10 Captains: Hank Pritchard ’19 Drake Oliver ’19 Most Improved Players: Connor Jones ’21 Drake Oliver ’19

All-State: Max LeCroy ’19 Chad Treadway ’19

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under the lights

BASEBALL

Conference Champs

Legacy of Success

Varsity Baseball enjoyed a great spring, playing a handful of new opponents and programs known for being powerhouses. Christ School wrapped up the season with a 19-5 overall record and an undefeated mark in the Carolinas Athletic Association to bring home another Conference Championship. When the regular season came to an end, the Greenies were the No. 3 seed in the NC Independent Schools Athletic Association 4-A playoffs, earning themselves a first-round bye. The Greenies faced off against Covenant Day in the second round, cruising to a 9-1 victory and ended up losing in the bottom of the seventh inning to Charlotte Christian in the semifinals. The team had seven All-Conference players, as well as two All-State players, and will be returning a great core group next year. n

This year’s Varsity Golf Team continued its legacy of success and finished with hardware to show for it. The Greenies did not lose a Carolinas Athletic Association match or a head-to-head match this season. The consistent practice they put in during the season led to a successful finish to the year with yet another CAA Conference Championship, five players on the all-conference team, and Steve Papakonstantinou ’20 playing his way to the CAA Conference Player of the Year honors.

Cameron Akers ’20, Andrew Graham ’21, Henry Muller ’20, Drake Oliver ’19, Steve Papakonstantinou ’20, and Hank Pritchard ’19 represented the Greenies at the NC Independent Schools Athletic Association 4-A State Tournament, while Connor Jones ’21 qualified as an individual. The team battled a very deep and talented 4-A division and came away with a secondplace finish behind the back-to-back defending champion, Cannon School. Cameron Akers ’20 and Steve Papakonstantinou ’20 finished in the

Top: Max LeCroy ’19, Isaiah Lowe ’22, and Andrew Grande ’21 celebrate another Greenie victory. Below: Jack Sutton ’20 in the batter's box.

Most Valuable Players: Cameron Akers ’20 Steve Papakonstantinou ’20 All-Conference: Steve Papakonstantinou ’20 Andrew Graham ’21 Drake Oliver ’19 Cameron Akers ’20 Henry Muller ’20 Conference Player of the Year: Steve Papakonstantinou ’20 All State: Cameron Akers ’20 Steve Papakonstantinou ’20

top nine, earning spots on the all-state team. A core group of very talented Greenies will return for the 2020 season – and another run for the state title. n

Top: Connor Jones ’21 lines up a putt during a match at Biltmore Forest Country Club. Below: Cameron Akers ’20 finds another fairway off the tee.

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Coaches: Jeff Miles Robert Roth Mike Donecho Robert lorio Ryan Herrmann

TENNIS

Captains: Zack Grinde ’19 Jack Harrison ’19 Will McNichols ’19 Coles Manning ’19

Coaches: Cameron Hillier Jameel Brenneman Captain: William Saye ’20

All-State: Davis Lindsey ’20 Sean Dow ’21 Jack Harrison ’19 Beau Hecimovich ’20 Will McNichols ’19 All-American: Davis Lindsey ’20

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Most Improved Player: Sam Bassett ’22 Most Valuable Player: Sean Dow ’21 Beau Hecimovich ’20

LACROSSE

All Conference: Sid Shah ’22 Xander Barber ’23

On the Rise

State Champs 3-Peat For the third consecutive year, Christ School lacrosse won the NCISAA Division I State Championship at home on Commencement Weekend. The Greenies finished the season with a record of 21-2 and a No. 27 national ranking from MaxPreps.com. This was the final season for coach Jeff Miles, who was the first coach in school history. “The past 18 years have been quite a journey,” Coach Miles said after the win. “Having the chance to coach so many fine young men has been a pleasure, and finishing my career with this special group of players and coaches winning a state championship is just icing on the cake.”

Christ School was led by four senior team captains: Zack Grinde ’19, Jack Harrison ’19, Will McNichols ’19, and Coles Manning ’19. The team set a school record for goals in a season with 337, with an offense led by all-state and all-American attackman Davis Lindsey ’20, along with all-state teammate Jack Harrison ’19 and Sam Bassett ’22,

who finished second on the team in goals. Jack Fitch ’20, Coles Manning ’19, and Parker Byrd ’21 also played important roles on the offensive end.

All-state goalie Beau Hecimovich ’20 anchored a solid core of veteran defensemen. All-state defenseman Will McNichols ’19, along with Spencer Dyer ’19, Kevin Masson ’20, James Lilly ’19, Hagan Brooks ’19, Marcus Berger ’19, and Andrew King ’19 were all instrumental to the team’s success. Finally, sophomore Sean Dow ’21 had an incredible season, breaking the North Carolina state record for face-offs in a season, boasting an 82.5% ratio. As a result, he was selected all-state and team Co-MVP (sharing the award with Beau). The future continues to look bright for next year, with the program returning three all-state players and six of 10 starters. n

Top: The team celebrates their third state title. Below: Jack Harrison ’20 on the attack.

Christ School Tennis wrapped up another great season by winning the Carolinas Athletic Association Championship over second-place Asheville School and making a strong run into the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

The team finished 9-4 overall on the season, defeating four NC Independent Schools Athletic Association 4-A opponents. Although the Greenies graduated four seniors last year, this young group worked tirelessly to improve and show that Christ School tennis is undoubtedly on the rise. Eighth grader Xander Barber was undefeated in singles, the CAA Player of the Year, and an NCISAA all-state selection. Sid Shah ’22 only lost once in singles. Five of the six starting players will be returning next year, and under the leadership of captain William Saye ’20, Christ School can expect another great season in 2020. n

Top: Kevin Zheng ’21 with a backhand return. Below: Xander Barber ’23 sets up his serve.

Conference Player of the Year: Xander Barber ’23 All State: Xander Barber ’23 Most Valuable Player: Xander Barber ’23 Most Improved Player: Ben Mitchell ’21

under the lights

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On the Mountain The Greenies Ski and Snowboard Team headed up Cataloochee Mountain seven times this year to compete against teams from around western North Carolina. Christ School had its best season in school history, finishing with a team score good for third place overall in the Cataloochee High School Racing Program.

Individually, Eli Dowler ’21 scored the second-most points (872) of any Cataloochee snowboarder and Alex Lontz ’21 (864) came in fourth place. Jack Slattery ’20 (829) finished as the ninth-best skier overall.

Other top snowboarders for the Greenies were:

Coaches: Randy Ashley Demesh Cobb Bobby Long Emily Pulsifer All-Conference: Keyvaun Cobb ’19 Miles Gardner ’20 Andrew Hammel ’20 Cade Mintz ’21 Kevin Snyder ’19 All-State: Keyvaun Cobb ’19 Kevin Snyder ’19 Aydan White ’20

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under the lights

TRACK & FIELD

Richard Zantzinger ’20 (12th place, 688 points), Max Masiello ’20 (13th place, 681 points), Triston Mowry ’23 (17th place, 535 points), and Conner Rowe ’22 (28th place, 405 points).

Other top skiers for the Greenies were: Weston McGrath ’21 (11th place, 772 points), Sawyer Breiter ’22 (13th place, 765 points), Thomas Doss ’20 (18th place, 746 points), Trent Cooper ’20 (35th place, 683 points), Joseph Coladonato ’20 (36th place, 662 points), John Wehner ’21 (45th place, 441 points), Matthew Henderson ’22 (47th place, 434 points), and Marshall Carter ’21 (57th place, 242 points). n

SKI & SNOWBOARDING Coaches: Michael Amato Les Thornbury Most Improved Player: Sawyer Breiter ’22 Most Valuable Player: Eli Dowler ’21

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Record-Setting Teamwork From its first chilly practices in February to the steamy state meet over graduation weekend, Christ School’s Varsity Track program had a remarkable 2019 season. Led by a talented, committed group of seniors and strengthened by a burgeoning pack of underclassmen, the Greenies put forth a concerted team effort to win the Buncombe County Championship at AC Reynolds High School in April and the CAA Championship hosted by Asheville School in early May. Stellar performances from individuals and record-setting teamwork from relays made these triumphs possible. When it came time for the NCISAA State Championship at Cannon School on May 17 and 18, the team continued to demonstrate its strength and character.

Underdogs by 50 points heading into the meet, every qualifier gave his best effort to help the team win the meet by eight points.

Greenie Track will miss captains Keyvaun Cobb ’19 and Trey Austin ’19, as well as stars Eddy Sherman ’19 and Kevin Snyder ’19, but the future is bright for the many returning runners, jumpers, and throwers. n

Top: A flawless exchange for Drew Redmond ’21 and Kevin Snyder ’19 in the 4 x 100 meter relay. Below: Trey Austin ’19 soars in the long jump.

Top: The team is ready to race on Cataloochee Mountain.

There are four essential rules for 21st Century learning: 1. Instruction should be student-centered.

2. Education should be collaborative.

3. Learning should have context.

4. Schools should be integrated with society.

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A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW

by Marcel Duhaime

Christ School’s Bluebird Trail

In early January, I was presented with a unique opportunity to develop a project for my students that would integrate these rules into their curriculum. Our Environmental Science and Principles of Engineering classes would work together to create the first-ever Christ School Bluebird Trail.

Prior to the 1930s, the Eastern Bluebird was one of North Carolina’s most common songbirds. By 1979, bluebirds were declared rare and uncommon by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Human activity and severe winters resulted in a 90% decline in our bluebird

population. The continuing loss of natural nesting sites and other problems faced by bluebirds indicate that this beloved bird will always need help from people to survive.

Environmental Science teacher Mr. Flinders approached me to see if my engineering students would be willing and able to design and make some bluebird nest boxes for a proposed Bluebird Trail here on campus.

He and I attended a workshop at the North Carolina Arboretum to connect with the North Carolina Bluebird Society and to learn about the challenges bluebirds face in Western North Carolina. At this workshop, we were encouraged to get students involved in mitigating the decline of the bluebird population in our area.

Armed with data and a clearly defined problem statement, we immediately passed this project to our students. Engineering students determined the criteria and constraints needed to build a nest box specifically for bluebirds, while the science students set out to learn all they could about what makes good bluebird habitat and exactly where our Bluebird Trail should be located on campus. Students also documented the process by creating an interactive map using geographic information system software to showcase the entire project.

Students worked together to build and install a total of eight bluebird nest boxes. When we checked in May, all of the boxes installed along our Bluebird Trail had active nests for either Eastern Bluebirds or North Carolina Chickadees, another species that needs nesting help. Our first brood of hatchlings were expected to fledge with the potential for two additional broods during the summer.

Creating a Bluebird Trail on campus was a great opportunity for students to work together to solve a real-world problem. Once aware of the bluebirds’ plight, students were the driving force behind this project’s success. No one asked, “When am I ever going to use this?” because they understood the goal throughout the project. With any luck, the nest boxes along Christ School’s Bluebird Trail will be used every year. Nothing is more beautiful than a bluebird family thriving in your backyard.

To see the interactive map developed during this project, go to http://arcg.is/1Dz0XT n

Above: Ferrell Lail ’20 and Larry Johnson ’20 install a bluebird box below Pingree Theater.

the great outdoors THE OUTDOOR PROGRAM

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A RECORD TURNOUT FOR ALUMNI WEEKEND 2019

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beyond the gate house FROM THE ADVANCEMENT OFFICE

Alumni Weekend brought together Greenies from classes representing more than 70 years of Christ School history. Record attendance of more than 300 alumni and the celebration of several retiring faculty highlighted the strong bonds that make Christ School a special community.

By Isaac Rankin The weekend kicked off with the annual golf outing Friday afternoon, followed by the Headmaster’s Reception in the Patrick Beaver Student Center. Many alumni returned early on Friday to attend assembly, dine with students in Stolz Hall, and enjoy a beautiful May afternoon on campus.

On Saturday morning, Father Kirk Brown, Father John Roberts, and Joe Massey ’65 led the Alumni Memorial Eucharist. The service featured Massey playing the organ, a passion that emerged and developed during his years as a student.

Alumni then gathered in Pingree Theater to learn more about Christ School and honor their classmates with awards. After Headmaster Krieger’s “Christ School Now” presentation and a student panel, five Greenies were inducted into the Christ School Athletics Hall of Fame: Malik Cooke ’07 (basketball), Jamie Locke ’07 (lacrosse), Rett English ’08 (cross country and track), Miles Plumlee ’08 (basketball), and Sam Redmond ’08 (soccer).

Mr. Krieger presented awards to alumni and faculty: Nat Hyde ’74 (Distinguished Alumni Award), Shannon Allison ’79, P’10, P’15 (Alumni Achievement Award), and Mary Jane Morrison P’96, P’99, P’04 and Leigh Harris (Headmaster’s Award).

Many alumni returned to honor retiring and departing faculty, Mary Jane Morrison, Leigh Harris, Jeff Miles, and Father Kirk Brown. In honor of their more than 100 years of combined service, Christ School honored their legacy through a giving initiative: 100 gifts for 100 years of service. By the end of the campaign, Christ School raised more than $32,000 through 115 gifts.

Alumni Council President Richard Haake ’87 started a new tradition of an all-night pig roast that culminated with serving delicious BBQ to alumni for lunch on Saturday. Alumni and students joined Richard on Friday evening and some stayed up all night to prepare the feast for the next day. We will be sure to continue this tradition next year!

On Saturday evening, more than 125 alumni, faculty, and families gathered at Blue Ghost Brewing, where members of the lacrosse program honored Jeff Miles for his nearly 20 years of service to Christ School. Coach Miles launched the varsity lacrosse program and built it into a national powerhouse that won its third-straight state championship a few weeks after Alumni Weekend.

Alumni Weekend concluded Sunday morning with the dedication of the Father Kirk Brown Outdoor Chapel in honor of Kirk Brown’s 24 years of service to the school as Chaplain. The outdoor chapel was recently renovated so the entire student body and faculty can worship with the beautiful backdrop of our 500-acre campus.

Alumni Weekend 2019 was a transformative experience for all involved. We want to extend a special thanks to those alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the school who made this weekend possible. Most importantly, thank you to the more than 300 alumni who made the trip back to campus to celebrate their classmates, teachers, and Christ School! n

Right: 1969 Classmates Cameron Vaught, Nace Few, and Albert Morgan walk toward Friday’s reception.

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alumni weekend 2019

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Photos (clockwise from top left): Father Brown embraces an alumnus and then joins his family to be honored at the dedication of The Father Kirk Brown Outdoor Chapel; Pat Patterson ’47 samples the pulled pork with granddaughter Cora Landis; Father Roberts reads the Gospel at Sunday's chapel service.

Photos (clockwise from top left): Shannon Allison ’79 and his wife, Suzanne Allison P’10, P’15, enjoy the Headmaster's Reception; a future Greenie peers over Saturday's luncheon; Nace Few ’69 and Katherine Mueller arrive for the Memorial Service; James Warmbrod ’94, Manuel Garcia ’94, Brandon Lawery ’94, Jim Murphree ’97, and Robert Milner ’97 reminisce at Blue Ghost Brewing.

AW

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Photos (clockwise from top left): Mrs. Mahoney reconnects with David Shainberg ’17, The Class of 1994 celebrates 25 years; Leigh Harris and Walter Carson ’94; Thomas Hutto ’99 and Dan Reeves ’99; Bob Washburn ’70 greets a former classmate before the Memorial Service; HOF Inductees Miles Plumlee ’08, Jamie Locke ’07, Rett English ’08, and Sam Redmond ’08; Mr. Krieger listens to Father Brown's remarks at Sunday's service; Sarah Beard P’17, Sam Redmond ’08, Quenton Nesbitt ’08, and Rett English ’08 at Blue Ghost Brewing.

AW

Isaac Rankin Named Associate Director of Advancement Isaac Rankin joins the Advancement Office as Associate Director after eight years serving in a number of roles at Christ School. As a member of the Advancement team, Rankin will focus on alumni relations, planned giving, donor research and relations, stewardship, student philanthropy, and other initiatives. Isaac values staying connected to other areas of the school, and he will continue to serve in his roles as advisor to the Habitat Student Build, assistant coach with varsity basketball, and student advisor.

He is excited to join the office in a new phase of tremendous opportunity for the school. “The Strength from Within Campaign positioned Christ School to serve its mission in 2019 and beyond,” Rankin says. “We have exciting possibilities in front of us, from engaging young alumni who will make their first gift as graduates to partnering with alumni who are willing to commit to planned giving more than 50 years after they left Christ School.” After teaching in the History Department and serving as Director of Residential Life, Rankin looks forward to sharing his experiences and passion for Christ School with alumni, parents, and other friends of our community.

beyond the gate house FROM THE ADVANCEMENT OFFICE

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The Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to Nat Hyde ’74. This award is the highest honor bestowed upon a Christ School alumnus. It recognizes significant professional and personal accomplishments and contributions to society in general and Christ School in particular.

ALUMNI AND CONTRIBUTOR AWARDS

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Nat has served on the Board of Trustees since 2007 and was the Board President from 2009 – 2015, during which time the most recent capital campaign was developed and launched. He served as the Campaign Co-Chair and was an important part of its $26.7 million success. During his tenure as president, $11.4 million was spent on capital improvements to the campus.

Having served on many boards in the past, he currently serves on the boards of the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine Foundation, the Novant Health Foundation, and The Campbell University Trust Education Foundation.

Nat is a Managing Director at The Bank of America Private Bank and just celebrated his 40th anniversary with the firm. He holds the Private Bank’s highest award, the David Brady Award for leadership, service, and business results. He and his wife, Renee, have a daughter, Elizabeth, who is a veterinarian focused on avian and exotic animals.

Nat exemplifies what it means to be a Greenie through his service and dedication to Christ School and its constituents.

Above: Nat Hyde ’74 and Shannon Allison ’79, P10, P’15

Shannon Allison ’79, P’10, P’15, was the recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, which is given in recognition of attainment of noteworthy accomplishments in professional and personal activities.

Shannon Allison ’79, P’10, P’15 is a dentist from Mandeville, LA, where he is in private practice. He has a family with four children. He graduated from LSU School of Dentistry in 1988 and joined the US Army as a dentist. Upon getting to Fort Bragg, he graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course and became the 3rd Special Forces dentist and participated in Operation Desert Storm. After leaving active duty, he continued to work with the JFK Special Warfare Center as an instructor to train Special Forces Medics in field dentistry.

In 2013, Dr. Allison became the 2nd Battalion Dental Surgeon for the 20th Special Forces Group until June 2017, when he retired from the military.

His military decorations include: Special Forces Tab, Combat Medic Badge, Expert Field Medical Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Meritorious Service Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters), and Southwest Asia Service Medal (Desert Storm).

Dr. Allison continues to do mission work, mostly with the Free Burma Rangers, around the world to include Burma, Sudan, Iraq and Syria.

Other areas associated with various churches include: Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. A large portion of his mission work is spent training indigenous medics to treat their own people, diagnosing and completing extractions, and leaving enough equipment and supplies to treat 100 patients.

Dr. Allison’s most recent trips include a humanitarian aid trip to Burma in January 2019 to provide dental care to the displaced peoples located in the eastern portion of Burma. Treatments included fillings and extractions to over 200 patients in a three-week period. During a follow-up humanitarian aid trip to Syria in February 2019, he treated the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) and the surrendering ISIS families and fighters out of the town of Baghouz, providing dental care to the SDF and humanitarian aid to ISIS which included food, water, blankets, and medical aid to the wounded prior their placement in internment camps.

This year’s Headmaster’s Award was presented to Mary Jane Morrison P’96, P’99, P’04 and Leigh Harris. This award was given as a means of expressing appreciation and honor to individuals who have greatly supported Christ School but did not attend the school.

Mary Jane came to Christ School in 1989 and taught English, ESL, and English Lab, a precursor to the Learning Resource Department. Mary Jane has chaired the English Department, taught English courses at every level, and worked in the Writing Center.

Other roles include Director of Student Life, Chair of Learning Resource, Head of House in Cuningham House, Faculty Representative to the Honor Council and Judiciary, advisor of the Christ School News and Struan, even assistant coach for Little Greenie Basketball. Mary Jane has received the Brevard Mentor Teacher Award, the Christ School Teacher of the Year Award, and the PH Broyhill Mentor Teacher Award.

Mary Jane received her BA in English and Secondary Education from Spalding College, Louisville, KY, attended Exeter College, Oxford University, England, and earned her M.Ed. and Reading Specialist from the University of Louisville. Prior to Christ School, Mary Jane taught at Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk, VA, the Adult Basic Education program in Louisville, KY, and the University of Louisville.

Leigh Harris has been teaching math for 44 years. He received his BS in Mathematics from Western Carolina University. He joined the faculty of Christ School in 1990, where he began as a math teacher and Outdoor Program Assistant. Mr. Harris has been an active member of the faculty, holding many roles including: House Parent, math teacher, physics teacher, Faculty Advisor to the Honor Council, Math Department Chairman, Mentor Teacher, Summer School Director, Outdoor Program Assistant and Outdoor Program Director, Head Wrestling Coach and Administrator on Duty (AOD). He has received the Brevard Mentor Teacher award five times, the school’s Teacher of the Year Award, and the Wal-Mart Teacher

of the Year Award. On May 19, 2018, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his 50 years of service to the sport of wrestling. Up to that time, he had either been a participant, coach, or official, or a combination of the three for the past 50 years. He is also responsible for the growth of the thriving CS Outdoor Program. He started the summer Westward, Ho! trip program in which he takes students on road trips out west and to the Northeast to visit national parks, hike, climb, mountain bike, and white-water raft. These trips last from two to four weeks, and over the past 27 years he has visited most of the major national parks, mountain bike single-track areas, and all of the top-10 downhill mountain bike resorts areas in the West, East, and parts of Canada.

Mary Jane and husband Leigh Harris have six children­– five sons and one daughter.

Three of their sons are Christ School alumni.

They celebrated the arrival of their thirteenth grandchild in July. In retirement, Mary Jane and Leigh plan to travel, hike, bike, read, and spend time with their children, grandchildren and siblings.

Above: Mary Jane Morrison P’96, P’99, P’04 and Leigh Harris

beyond the gate house FROM THE ADVANCEMENT OFFICE

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Judson Eley ’06 Puts Artistry to Use for Gaming Giant

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“Red Dead Redemption 2” was nothing short of a cultural phenomenon when it was released in October 2018. The western-themed video game generated $725 million in worldwide sales the first three days it was out. As of May, more than 24 million copies have been shipped, and along with commercial success, critics have showered the game with praise for its story, characters such as gun-toting outlaws Arthur Morgan and John Marston, its open world, and impressive detail. Look closely in the credits for “Red Dead Redemption 2” and you will find a Greenie. Christ School alumnus Judson Eley ’06 has been an Environment Artist for Rockstar Games for the past five years. Naturally, he considers working on “Red Dead Redemption 2” as “a defining moment of my career.” Eley lives and works out of Toronto.

Q: Looking back, what made you want to get into computer animation?

A: I had done a lot of drawing my whole life.

I always really liked science fiction and fantasy.

I drew a lot of dinosaurs when I was young, doodled on everything, and liked gaming a lot.

I played my first games in middle school and liked that you could interact with these stories.

Some of the games I was playing were really ahead of their time in terms of storytelling.

Then in high school, I kind of knew I wanted

to do something art-related. At the time, I thought I wanted to go into graphic design.

After I did some research, computer animation was much more in line with what I wanted to do, and then specialized in 3D and digital art.

I was lucky, a lot of kids are not sure what they want to do. I was lucky enough to find my path thanks to help from some really great teachers at Christ School like Laura Hope-Gill, Mary Dillon, and Betty Weil. They let me doodle constantly in their classes. They knew I was still paying attention. (laughs)

Q: I’m sure a lot of the students know about Rockstar, and especially the success the company has enjoyed recently. What advice do you have for any of them who might want to get into the business?

A: I think the big one is keep drawing and

keep being creative. Really dive into learning the programs that will be used as early as you can. That way, when you get to college, you’ll already know the basics and can start really creating stuff that is really impactful out of the gate, and focus more on art fundamentals like composition and negative space without the technical side of things interrupting the creative process as much. Other advice I would have is that I learned in college that a lot of

students start out comparing themselves to only their direct peers in terms of art and game design or only kids who are in the same year. About halfway through school, I got an internship with Warner Brothers and I was working on Lord of the Rings games. I realized I shouldn’t be comparing myself only to my peers, but the industry as a whole. Ultimately when you get out of school and pursue this at a higher level, it’s important to have that drive to really push boundaries and stand out. I would also add that you need to learn to take critiques in a graceful way. Especially as an artist, when you’re in school and learning, you need to listen to that feedback, really think about it, and try and figure out a way to address that problem. If you disagree, look at your work with a critical eye. Don’t get attached to your stuff. You can’t. You have to be very open and be willing to let go of things you worked hard on so that you can iterate and make it even better.

Q: For the uninitiated, can you describe

what your role is an Environment Artist for Rockstar?

A: I just had my five years with Rockstar.

During that time, I’ve worked on “Red Dead Redemption 2” which is definitely a defining moment of my career. On that project, I’m part of a massive team effort, it’s not just me. We sculpt the terrain and world with 3D programs like ZBrush, and use others to help simulate natural processes such as erosion and where water would gather on terrain. We try to come up with a world that is believable – thinking about things like where water collects, vegetation growth and how it is affected by what is going on in the area and climate around it. A lot of planning and research goes into it, and we always try to make sure it has that hand crafted love and attention. My family jokes that I’m more of a botanist at times (laughs). It’s a huge undertaking. What’s funny is that a week before I graduated college, the original “Red Dead Redemption I” came out.

After our senior projects were finished, myself and a friend played it nonstop until we got up on stage to graduate. I was blown away by the environment, it’s detail, and it’s characters.

When I got the job at Rockstar five years ago, I was reminded that I graduated college playing that game. I think if I went back in time and told myself in high school that I’d working for a company like Rockstar, I’d be blown away.

Q: What do you like to do outside of work in Toronto?

A:

One thing I’ve really gotten into lately is photography. I like to take my camera around and see what I can find. In particular, I enjoy low-light photography, shooting at night. Other than that, I like going on hikes, taking my dog out, and staying active. I spend my time at work looking at screens helping to create a digital world, so it's good to have a nice balance.

Q: Lastly, what are your memories of your time at Christ School and how did it prepare you for the future?

A:

I’m excited about this question. I’ve been thinking about it since my first day of college.

When I was at Christ School, I will admit I was very frustrated. I was very angsty and mad at the world, which is probably typical of boys that age. I was constantly frustrated that I didn’t have as much free time as I wanted.

I couldn’t play video games, I had to go to dinner, chapel, and mandatory sports. It drove me nuts at the time. It took me a while to realize it, but when I got to college and my first night on campus by myself, it sunk in. I heard kids crying in their dorm rooms because they were homesick and wondering what to do. I distinctly remember saying, “I’ve got this.” I was able to take on that environment because of all the things they make you do at Christ School. It can be tough when all you want to do is buck the system and rebel. But it will give you some skills that are lifelong. I think one of the big reasons I am fortunate enough to work at Rockstar Games today is because of the work ethic and lessons I learned at Christ School.

That drive and passion is definitely something I carry with me every day! n

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employees to be efficient, effective, and focused on customer relations. I’m a very peopleoriented person. I think I make people feel comfortable. I’ve already hosted many town hall meetings with employees. I think I’m approachable, I make people feel at ease, and I connect with the employees.

Q: What challenges do you face in this new role?

THE PATH LESS TRAVELED

A: The challenge is the diversity of the

Former Christ School Board Member Rick Toomey ’73 Draws Upon Years of Healthcare Management Experience in New Role as Director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC)

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According to Rick Toomey ’73, one of the reasons he became a candidate for the executive director position of DHEC was that he failed at retirement, which began in 2016, when he stepped down from being CEO of Beaufort (SC) Memorial Hospital.

Before that, he worked in healthcare administration, primarily in eastern North Carolina. During his short-lived retirement, Toomey was serving on the SC Board of Health and Environmental Control after being appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster.

Seven months later, when the search began for a new director, he threw his name in the hat. Despite the fact that South Carolina conducted a nationwide search, in the end the state chose one of its own – Toomey grew up in Greenville. He was nominated in January and confirmed in February.

It takes a certain kind of person to oversee such an all-encompassing workforce. DHEC’s responsibilities

include issuing birth certificates, providing vital health care services, licensing healthcare facilities, and issuing and enforcing environmental permits, as well as monitoring air and water quality.

mission. We have challenges occasionally with TB and mumps outbreaks, and we have to focus on the public health aspect of that to do the surveillance and make sure that isolation protocols are in place to make sure infectious diseases do not spread. The other challenge is just part of state government. We depend upon the House and the Senate for our budget. We have a great reputation with the Senate and the House, and part of that is we have a great legislative team that provides them information. We enforce or carry out the regulations and the laws. We do not make recommendations, so we are an agency that follows the direction as defined for us by the state.

Q: What was it about this position that pulled you out of retirement?

Q: How do you balance your goals for DHEC with its environmental mission?

A: I looked at it as an opportunity to make

A: Our vision is healthy people living in

a difference in my own state. I was already acquainted with DHEC from the healthcare side as our hospital applied for certificates for projects, and I certainly saw them when it was time to inspect our radiology equipment or our food services. And then, when I served on DHEC’s board, I saw another side of the agency and it just intrigued me.

Q: In what ways has your previous experience prepared you for this new role?

A: In one sense, we, just like hospitals,

have to trust our experts, our staff who have the expertise in the different areas. I think management skills translate and transfer from one industry to the other. It’s managing people, it’s setting a vision, and encouraging

healthy communities. We are one of three states that combine public health and the environmental regulatory aspects. And there’s synergy in that; being able to help people involves their public health, but the environment also impacts people’s healthy lifestyles and healthy communities. Public health certainly has an impact on that, as well as the environmental aspects and regulation.

We have an ability to address global concerns.

The other part of the balancing act is when you think of recruitment of new businesses to the state. There is a need to recruit businesses to provide jobs and opportunities for the citizens, but there’s also an issue of making sure that the environment is protected as you do that recruitment, so that’s all within our mission. As we process permits for new companies coming

in, we make sure that we are not just looking at the industry as a means in itself. The industry has to also be good stewards of the environment.

That’s part of the reason that so many people want to come to South Carolina. It’s not just because of the location and the workforce, but it’s because of the environment, and it’s a wonderful balancing act that the agency has to do as we continue to grow.

Q: What memories do you have of Christ School, and how did it impact your career?

A: Christ School was such a great experience.

I was there for five years. My earliest memories are of traveling from Greenville up to Christ School to watch my brother, Bob ’64, play football and soccer. When my time came around, there was no doubt where I was going to go. A couple of key memories include Coach Sewell and baseball and the fun that we had, well, in all sports, and the friendships that we developed, all of which are some of the really unique things.

One last story: I was dead set to go to UNCChapel Hill – that was where most people went from CS in those days – or Sewanee.

My History teacher, Mr. Bird, and my English teacher, Tex Woods, sat down with me and said you really should look at Duke. I really hadn’t thought about that, but I trusted them and applied to Duke on their recommendation.

I didn’t even visit Duke but decided to go there instead of Chapel Hill. I was offered a couple of baseball scholarships elsewhere, but I walked on at Duke and it was phenomenal. I still enjoy going over to Chapel Hill to this day – my wife went to medical school, residency, and fellowship at UNC and two daughters are Chapel Hill graduates – and I root for both schools, but I have, without a doubt, a dark blue aura around me. It was like Robert Frost’s “path less traveled,” I took a different path and I think that has made a difference in my life. n

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KIT WHITE ’69

AND

INFORMS INSPIRES 72

alumni NEWS FROM ALUMNI

Like the world at large, much has changed at Christ School in 50 years.

During his February visit, students and faculty listened with rapt attention as Kit White ’69 described his experience as a Greenie. White is a New York artist and retired college professor who taught in Brooklyn for 21 years.

“Back then, the road from Christ School to Asheville was a two-lane road with nothing on it. It took a half-hour on a school bus to get into town,” White recalled during his lunchtime talk.

“The school very much depended on student labor for everything. We had morning and afternoon job periods with jobs like running the furnace. Some of us would drive a dump truck to a nearby railroad to fill it with coal. I worked in laundry for three years. Physical labor was very much a part of our lives. The Vietnam War was all we thought about. Several students ahead of me here were drafted and died in Vietnam.

The things going on in Washington were not abstract – they were very real.”

White came to Christ School from Union, WV, and like every other Greenie at the time, lived in a dorm. There were no day students or female faculty members. Seniors were “the enforcers” who policed the dorms and often administered discipline.

After graduation, White studied art at Harvard University where he received his college degree in 1973. He began showing his work in 1977 and authored 101 Things to Learn in Art School in 2011. Many of White’s works were reproduced in a 200-page, fully-illustrated monograph by Carter Ratcliff, Kit White: Line Into Form, published in 2016.

White and his wife, nationally-known author and journalist Andrea Barnet, not only spoke during a Wednesday lunch in the Bradshaw Room, but spent time in classrooms with Christ School’s art and journalism students.

Responding to students’ questions about the lessons he’s learned as an artist and teacher, White encouraged all Greenies to be alert and thoughtful about the world’s social and political realities.

“There were three television networks when we were your age,” White said. “We all listened to the same music. You are the time that you live in. As things change around you, they change you. You may think of yourself as an island of individuality, but you’re not. The changes in technology, and the speed with which information moves now, means that you have to work twice as hard. The important thing is that every time something comes your way, be conscious of how you react. Walk through the world awake. Your time is your time.” n

1948

1970

Bill Kennedy ’48 and his wife, Nancy, boarded the Orient Express for a 5-day trip to Scotland's west coast and back. They later joined Atlanta friends in Dublin for a three-week trip through southern Ireland.

Polk Van Zandt ’70 and Cary Porter ’98 were attending the same wedding in Montana when they bumped into one another and discovered their shared connection to Christ School.

1958

Rick Toomey ’73 became the new director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control earlier this year. (see page 70). Rick recently took his fourth trip to Africa, enjoying all the wildlife of Botswana with his wife, Linda, and daughter, Katie.

class notes

1974

Ted deSaussure ’74 is enjoying his recent retirement. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Mooresville, NC, at Lake Norman and have two children, Edward and Caroline. Caroline is getting a graduate degree.

In March, two members of Christ School’s Class of 1958 – Phil Patrick and Chuck Darsie – met for lunch with their wives, Sandra and Gaile, in Raleigh, NC. The Darsies had just returned from a trip to New Zealand.

Nat Hyde ’74 was elected to the CS Board as an Emeritus member in January 2019 and received the Distinguished Alumni Award during Alumni Weekend. Nat is a Managing Director at The Bank of America Private Bank and just celebrated his 40th anniversary with the firm.

1962

1980

Michael Holt ’62 and his wife are enjoying retirement and spending time with their nine grandchildren. Michael is firearms instructor for Scouts, NC, and teaches archery.

Wes Stone ’80 was confirmed as President and CEO of Superior Bulk Logistics, replacing the recently retired Leonard Fletcher. Currently a resident of Louisville, KY, he will soon establish a new home in the Chicago area close to corporate offices in Oak Brook, IL. He and his wife, Sheryl, have two teenage sons.

NEWS FROM ALUMNI

Ted deSaussure '74

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1981

Tom Curtis ’81 started out as just another pizza delivery driver in search of tips. Domino’s Pizza announced in July that Curtis was its new Executive Vice President of Team USA. At the time, that move placed him in charge of 396 company-owned stores across the country. Tom also oversees Domino’s operations innovation and global store training teams.

1994

2006

James Bailey ’06 started a new career as a commercial real estate broker in Raleigh with Lee & Associates. His focus is on tenant representation and generally helping clients with their real estate needs. James plans to keep his law license active, which allows him to advise clients from a legal perspective.

Chris Locke ’06 and his wife Melissa welcomed their first child, Tucker William Locke, on June 28th.

Drew Thorp ’04, Sam Redmond ’08, Josh Burke ’05, George Sewell ’93, Bill Sewell ’80, and Thomas Coley ’05.

2004

Tom Curtis ’81

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Curtis’s father, Thomas Sr., was known to Greenies as “Doc Curtis” and formerly taught World Languages and English here. He visited campus in July.

David Wilson ’94, Drew Hyche ’94, James Warmbrod ’94, and Will Willimon ’94 reenacted an old photo to represent their 25 years of friendship during this Alumni Weekend at Christ School.

2000

1986 Taylor Gammill ’04 married Marly Gammil in December 2017. Since then, Taylor started working at Helena National Bank, where he is starting up the Credit Analysis Department.

Congratulations to Christ School alumnus Charles E. Allen IV ’86 for being named to the “Silicon Bayou 100” in January. Charles’s inclusion on the list means he is regarded as one of Louisiana’s most influential people in tech and entrepreneurship.

In 1998, he founded Riptide Investments, a greater New Orleans area-based corporate strategy, strategic business development, investment management advisory, and consulting firm.

Tucker William Locke

Coach Campbell ’00 was pleased to watch one of his former Christ School soccer players in action in March. Young Perry ’16 and Wofford College were in town to play UNC Asheville in a spring game.

2001

Greenie alumni were loud and proud Feb. 22 during Christ School Varsity Basketball’s 55-46 win over Charlotte Latin in the NCISAA 4-A state semifinals. Athletic Director Eric Thorp ’01 was joined in Raleigh by Jack Bridgeford ’15,

Joe Wheeless ’04 was accepted to the Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at William & Mary. He has been working in Fraternity and Sorority Life at William & Mary since 2013.

His research will focus on the development of LGBTQ+ students in fraternities and the impact of state funded tuition discounting. The upcoming year will also be a busy one for Joe. He will serve as the staff liaison to the William & Mary Board of Visitors and President of the Professional Faculty Assembly. Joe is loving life in Williamsburg, VA.

Jordan Treakle ’06 (above) is returning to the United States and the nation's capital, in fact, after six and a half years of living in Rome, Italy, where he was working for the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

In Washington, D.C., Jordan will be joining the National Family Farm Coalition as their new Policy Director. The NFFC, founded in 1986, has a stated mission of “providing a voice for grassroots groups on farms, food, trade, and rural economic issues to ensure fair prices for family farmers and fishers, safe and healthy food, and vibrant, economically-sound rural communities here and around the world.” In this new role with NFFC, Jordan will work to link small-scale family farmers’ policy needs to the federal government in advocating for a more sustainable food and agriculture system in the U.S.

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2008

Grover Maxwell ’08 married Kathryn Dunnan on May 18, 2019. The couple met at the College of Charleston and recently purchased a home in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

Palermo Prints, launched in July with the goal of providing subtle, printed shirts for adults. “We wanted to bridge the gap between the boring, plain button-ups and the overlydesigned, loud, and obnoxious patterned shirts that are starting to pop up more and more frequently,” Volatile said. Palermo Prints is now taking orders through Instagram.

Michael Williamson ’09 has accepted an offer to serve with Peace Corps Ukraine starting in August. Williamson’s commitment in Eastern Europe will last two years. At the moment, there are 342 Peace Corps volunteers serving in Ukraine, working on projects in education, community economic development, and youth development.

2010

2009

Ali Knowles ’09 launched “Caribbean Sluggers” in February 2018. Ali fills orders for custom-made bats out of his garage. Looking to the future, he aspires to not only increase production, but expand into gloves, and then be able to provide all the equipment to players he represents as an agent. Ali now lives about a half-hour outside of Birmingham with his wife, Carmen, and their two daughters, Paisley and Amelia.

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2012

Brandon Allison ’10 recently joined his father, Shannon Allison ’79, in his dental practice.

Brandon is a recent graduate from the LSU School of Dentistry. He was awarded the Comprehensive Dentistry and Prosthodontic Dentistry Awards for the Dental Class of 2019.

2011 Alston Lanier '12 and wife, Kelsey

Ryan Volatile ’09 (above) has been living in Buenos Aires the past six years after graduating from the University of North Carolina in 2013. The Christ School alumnus left his job at J.P. Morgan in April to focus full-time on two fashion startups that Volatile has either founded or co-founded. One of those startups,

David Shaw ’11, Jonny Mennell ’22, Guy Campbell ’00, and Daniel Shaw ’13 were all smiles after the Asheville City Soccer Club’s 2-1 home win over the Tri-Cities (TN) FC Otters in April. Coach Campbell, Jonny, and Daniel Shaw suited up for the Blue Ridge Classic friendly game.

Damarcus Harrison ’11 wrapped up a strong professional season in Estonia in May. Next up for the 6-foot-4 guard is playing for a Clemson University alumni team in The Basketball Tournament scheduled for August 1-6 in Chicago. Damarcus was part of Greenie statechampionship runs as a junior and senior.

Alston Lanier ’11 and his wife, Kelsey, recently celebrated one year of marriage. They live in Atlanta, GA, where Kelsey teaches first grade and Alston works in Commercial Real Estate.

Thomas Beard ’12 is literally a “Rising Star” as a brokerage associate at Colliers International in Columbia, SC. The Christ School alumnus was recently named the winner of the annual Rising Star Award, given out by Collier and its project management partner, LCK. The Rising Star Award recognizes a Colliers South Carolina brokerage associate with less than three years’ experience in commercial real estate who has demonstrated significant success in sales and leasing transactions, is pursuing a professional designation, is active in industry and civic groups in the community, and demonstrates their commitment to Colliers’ core values.

Thomas, who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2016, specializes in the leasing and sales of industrial properties. He has collaborated on the lease and sale transactions totaling approximately 4.7 million square feet of space and valued at over $62 million. Thomas is a candidate for his Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation.

Patrick Lanier ’12, Alston Lanier ’11, Eddie Dalrymple ’14, Worth Lynn ’12, and Tripp Mann ’11 joined Associate Director of Advancement Isaac Rankin at Sweetwater Brewing in Atlanta in July. Thomas Lynch ’14 joined them a little later.

Stuart Mason ’12 is a San Francisco artist and CEO, and the founder of the ARTandVR Festival. As a senior at Christ School, he won an American Voices & Vision Medal for creating a fully-functional, fretless guitar using 16 different types of wood. Along with woodworking, Stuart has made art through drawing, photography, painting, and sculpture. He not only satisfies his own creative process, but also has a passion for teaching and sharing the art of others. The latest undertaking for Stuart is Art Project Bali, an initiative to support and showcase artists from the island in Indonesia.

Miller Robinson ’12 and Grant Robinson ’16 ran into Greenies on the D-Day anniversary trip (see page 88) in front of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

Thomas Beard '12

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2013

2014

Charles Beale ’13 has gone from making the big plays to calling them. He wrapped up his football career for Tabor College in 2017 before transitioning into “The Voice of Tabor” as the play-by-play announcer for all Bluejays sports.

He also does interviews and podcasts for the university in Hillsboro, KS. Charles earned two BA degrees from Tabor (History and Secondary Education) and is now an Educational Consultant in its master’s program.

Charles Beale '13

Matt Cioce ’13 was named Christ School's Head Varsity Basketball Coach. Matt most recently served as assistant coach for the Greenies during the 2018-2019 season, helping lead the team to a Carolinas Athletic Association Tournament championship and an appearance in the NCISAA 4-A state championship game.

2015

junior year abroad; instead, he opted to spend this summer in Berlin, Germany. His varied interests have sent him to all parts of Duke’s campus, including playing the euphonium in the marching band at Blue Devil football and basketball games and doing education research for the Computer Science Department. His choices of major (Computer Science) and minor (German and Philosophy) speak to his vast interests. Although seemingly unrelated, Liam says the subjects complement each other in their emphasis on the importance of symbolism and logic.

2016 Cam Opp ’14 was the winning pitcher in the Army West Point vs. Navy baseball game in Annapolis, MD. Cam came on in relief, throwing three innings and scattering one earned run, three hits, and a walk, to go along with three strikeouts.

Connor Allison ’15 wrote in April: “There was an impromptu CS gathering at my brother's wedding in September! From left to right, Conner Allison ’15, Lynch Allison ’81, Marshall Plumlee ’11, Brandon Allison ’10, Daniel Murchison ’11, Graylyn Loomis ’10, Tony Allison ’83, and Shannon Allison ’79.

Christ School alumni Henry de St. Aubin ’15, Jones Hussey ’14, Connell Maloney ’14, and Miller Robinson ’12 met up in Washington, D.C. in June.

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High Garst ’16 recently began a summer internship with The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations in Washington, D.C. Trevor Murrah ’16 fulfilled a dream by spending his summer on Capitol Hill! He accepted an internship with Senator Richard Burr and Congressman Mark Walker. Trevor is currently a junior at Elon University who is studying Political Science and International Studies. He is Chairman of the Elon College Republicans.

2017

English Department Chair Emily Pulsifer P’15, P’17 with son Liam Pulsifer ’15

class notes NEWS FROM ALUMNI

Jake Froelich ’13, Craig Kiley ’13, Harrison Tye ’13, Robert Stolz Sr. ’81, Robert Stolz Jr. ’13, and De de St. Aubin ’13 recently enjoyed an ocean sunset off the coast of Miami.

Alec Wnuk '14

Robert Stolz ’13 is coming up on his two-year work anniversary with First Care Clinics.

Robert is Marketing and Development Coordinator for the company, which has 18 urgent care and walk-in clinics throughout Kentucky and Indiana.

Matt Seely ’14 is currently an investment banking analyst for Simmons Energy in Houston, part of a two-year program. Simmons specializes in the energy industry, offering mergers and acquisitions advising, capital markets execution, and investment research. Matt has already accepted a job offer to transition into private equity in the summer of 2020.

Alec Wnuk ’14 began pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree at Appalachian State with a concentration in Business Analytics. In the meantime, Alec has also launched his own company, LockBox, which is named for a digital platform that focuses on student wellness and development.

Greenies reunited in Colorado! In April, Jack Fleming ’15 and his teammates from UNC Wilmington competed in the CrossFit Collegiate Championship at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Morgan MacDonald ’17 is a sophomore at Air Force. Fleming founded the UNCW CrossFit Club in 2017.

Liam Pulsifer ’15 has been so engrossed with the offerings and opportunities at Duke University that he couldn’t bear to be away for the traditional

William Fleming ’17 was named to the All-ACC Baseball Academic Team. He just completed his sophomore season for Wake Forest University. Will had nine saves as a relief pitcher, one of the 10 highest totals in school history for the Demon Deacons. Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade-point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career.

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Jake Johnson ’17 saw a problem with the monotony of college weekends – staying out late, sleeping in, and the inevitable procrastination over assignments. And like any engineer worth his salt, Jake came up with a solution. The Christ School alumnus helped conceptualize the YouTube channel Nxt Adventure, which debuted in August and has been a vessel for Jake and his friends to put their own twist on the college experience.

Make an Impact!

Three members of Christ School's Class of 2018 reunited during a February weekend in Atlanta: Jonathan Gooch, David Shainberg, and Adam Pollard. Gooch (Georgia Tech) and Shainberg (Emory) both attend Atlanta colleges, while Pollard is a freshman at Auburn.

On another note, Jake was on the mic for the Feb. 9 ESPN+ broadcast of the ice hockey game between his college, Dartmouth, and Union (NY) in Hanover, NH. It was the first college TV game for Jake, a former commentator for the Christ School Broadcast Network.

80

Vance Stiles ’17 is a student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and interning this summer for the Memphis Youth Mission.

Aldo Mell ’18 is wasting no time in taking on leadership positions at the University of Arizona.

Aldo was recently named Treasurer for Arizona’s chapter of A Moment of Magic, a nonprofit organization that allows college-age students to volunteer at children’s hospitals and schools dressed as fictional characters such as superheroes or princesses. The Christ School alumnus is also Hall Council President for the Arizona-Sonora dorm, as well as Student Entrepreneurship Association Secretary and Treasurer.

2019

2018

Coleman Davis '18

Coleman Davis ’18 is a rising sophomore at Duke University and working this summer as an Emergency Medical Technician in his home county of North Carolina, Hyde, both on the mainland and on Ocracoke. Coleman became certified as a state EMT shortly after his graduation from Christ School, and in February he was selected to serve on the allvolunteer Duke EMS. The Smoots family began the summer by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania!

Pictured here at the summit are Todd P’16, P’18, and P’19, Katherine P’16, P’18, and P’19, Harris ’16, Will ’18, and Thomas ’19.

The Christ School Fund is our annual giving program and our highest funding priority because it directly supports our greatest assets – our students and teachers. By making a gift of any size, you are supporting our mission of developing well-rounded your men who are ready to succeed in college and beyond.

Your investment makes the Christ School experience exceptional.

For more information or to make a gift, please visit www.christschool.org/giving/christ-school-fund or contact Betsy Ellis, Director of Advancement, at bellis@christschool.org.

In Memory Mike “Coach” Knighton P’87

It is with much sadness that Christ School reports that a beloved member of our community, Mike Knighton, passed away on July 4th, 2019. Known as “Coach,” Mike worked at Christ School from 1981 to 2008. During his tenure, he served as Varsity Football Coach, Dean of Students, Director of Admissions, Athletic Director, English teacher, and Director of Alumni Relations. Mike’s family has also been part of the Christ School community. His wife, Shirley, worked at the school Bookstore and his children, Matt ’87 and Elizabeth grew up on the school campus. Matt is currently the school’s Director of Grounds.

Mike’s profound impact and legacy at Christ School came from his warmth, humor, and generous heart. Famous for entertaining adults and children with his storytelling, he made everyone he met feel special and valued. The Class of 2006 dedicated the 2006 Angelus, Christ School’s yearbook, to Mike, calling Coach Knighton “a beloved ‘Ripple Maker’ in our midst.”

Mike’s own words capture his extraordinary spirit: “For me, what transcends the emotion of winning and losing is that spirit of competition that prevails between these two great institutions (Christ School and Asheville School) and how that competition has helped to shape the character of so many men throughout the years. For a coach, the final score doesn’t read so many points for my team, so many points for theirs. Instead, it reads: so many men out of so many boys. And this is a score that is never published. And this is the score he reads to himself and in which he finds real joy when the last game is over.”

A Celebration of Life service honoring Coach Knighton will take place on Sunday, October 27, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. in Pingree Theater. It will be followed by a light reception in the Bradshaw Room.

Please RSVP to sparrish@christschool.org.