EHS: The Magazine Spring 2014

Features

15 REDESIGNING THE WASHINGTON PROGRAM

With a great location comes great responsibility.

23 TRAINING FOR THE WORLD

Ed Rackley ’84 recounts his journey from EHS to the Peace Corps and beyond.

27 THE SOUL OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

English teacher Perry Epes ’65 takes the “last jump” into retirement after almost three decades at EHS.

31 A BOBBY STORY

After 22 years of teaching history and life lessons, Bobby Watts retires to Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Departments

2 FROM THE HEADMASTER

4 AROUND CAMPUS

36 CLASS NOTES

76 IN MEMORIAM

Headmaster: Rob Hershey

Director of Institutional Advancement: Christina Holt

Director of Communications: Rebecca Tysk

Senior Editor: Jen Desautels

Associate Director of Communications: Johanna Droubay

Assistant Director of Communications: Christi Wieand

Class Notes Editor: Elizabeth Watts

Photographers: Bill Denison, Joe Rubino, Elizabeth Watts, Audra Wrisley

Archivist: Laura Vetter

Designer: Linda Loughran

Printer: Mount Royal Printing & Communications

Published by Episcopal High School for alumni, students, parents, grandparents, and friends of Episcopal High School.

© 2014 Episcopal High School

Please send address corrections to: Advancement Office Episcopal High School 1200 North Quaker Lane

Alexandria, VA 22302

Or by email to dwr@episcopalhighschool.org

Episcopal High School admits students of any race, gender, color, sexual orientation, and national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students. EHS does not discriminate in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, or other School-administered programs.

From the Headmaster

Whenever two or more boarding school headmasters gather in conversation, the topic quickly moves to the challenge of securing the future of our schools.

So when the executive director of The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) addressed the EHS Board of Trustees last spring, an astute Trustee asked the penetrating question, “What can and should a school do to assure its future vitality?” The response was immediate and succinct: focus on your brand, delineating and accentuating those qualities that make you distinct in the marketplace.

This year, under the leadership of the Board, and with the full participation of the Advisory Council, we have responded to this call by conducting a brand analysis of the School. After considerable investigation and discussion, the Board determined that the true strength of Episcopal High School lies in two realms.

First, our location near the nation’s capital makes us unique among boarding schools. It enables our students and faculty to extend the learning experience beyond the classroom to include engagement in public policy and cultural opportunities in and around Washington, D.C. This regular interaction with the “big” world beyond our gates enhances our students’ educational experience in an inimitable fashion. Second, in contrast to the first, the intimacy of our community provides an ideal environment for mentoring students and character education. One hundred percent of our 435 students and 90 percent of our faculty reside on our 135-acre campus. This almost pastoral setting, steeped in the fundamental values of our honor code and spirituality as a part of daily life, creates a unique “small” experience for our students. It is the dynamic tension between these two concepts that makes EHS a truly distinctive experience of discovery and personal development.

It is heartening that, once again, we are demonstrating increasing strength in

the marketplace, with this year’s admissions applications reaching more than 550, an increase of 20 percent over last year. There is nothing more important in sustaining and strengthening the quality of an educational institution than enrolling capable, motivated students. We will continue to develop EHS around the “big and small,” creating an educational experience distinct from all others.

world that all of our graduates will have to navigate to be successful in the future. Read more about our trip on page 34.

I now better understand the challenges that our international students accept when they choose to attend EHS. And I received a firsthand glimpse of the much larger world that all of our graduates will have to navigate to be successful in the future.

In the immediate, we are expanding the Washington Program, which has now been in place for over 25 years. The fouryear progressive program will be more closely integrated into the traditional curriculum. Students will be exposed to four areas of concentration, which will result in each student developing a unique focus that will culminate in an independent research project and/or an internship in the senior year. Simultaneously, we will sharpen our focus on the student life experience for each student, ensuring that faculty advising and opportunities for character and leadership development are second to none.

Under the heading of “big,” I am delighted to report that I have recently returned from my first international trip to connect with alumni families of current students and others interested in Episcopal. With Director of Institutional Advancement Christina Holt, I visited Hong Kong, China, and South Korea. I have never been more graciously received, and there was a universal chorus of appreciation for EHS throughout our Asian tour. In the gaps of our appointments and events, I had my first opportunity to visit and explore the “bigger” world, and it was an eye-opening experience. I now better understand the challenges that our international students accept when they choose to attend EHS. And I received a firsthand glimpse of the much larger

While previously I have cited the critical importance of the quality of students to the health and vitality of the School, I dare not fail to recognize the other absolutely essential ingredient: the faculty. We have been extraordinarily fortunate to attract and retain capable and devoted teachers. Having worked in four fine educational institutions across 44 years in the world of independent education, I can honestly say I have never worked alongside a faculty so devoted to the mission of a school and the individual well-being of the students. If you ask students what aspect of their EHS experience is most distinguishing, they will quickly talk about student-faculty relationships. This year we are losing to retirement two of the absolute giants of the last several generations of EHS faculty – Perry Epes ’65 and Bobby Watts. Their contributions to the lives of EHS students are immeasurable, and their names genuinely belong alongside Callaway, Ravenel, Phillips, and others who have served as walking symbols of all for which EHS stands. This edition of the magazine includes fitting tributes to each of these remarkable gentlemen. It is now our charge to make sure that we continue to attract and grow venerable faculty of this stature who will continue to shape the lives of future EHS students.

In this 175th anniversary year of EHS, enjoy this magazine knowing that you help EHS to fulfill its unique destiny envisioned by our founders.

Sincerely,

Rob Hershey

Evensong at National Cathedral

On Sunday, Feb. 9, Episcopal’s Chamber Singers and Concert Choir joined singers from six other schools for a service of Evensong at Washington National Cathedral. The combined choir included almost 300 high school singers and the Cathedral Choir of Men and Girls, all led by Canon Michael McCarthy, the Cathedral’s director of music.

“It was a treat to hear the students perform such challenging and thrilling music in such a magnificent space,” said Brandon Straub, Episcopal’s director of choral music. “For many of the singers, it was their first exposure to Evensong – an Anglican tradition that has spawned a rich repertoire of gorgeous choral music over hundreds of years.”

Scholar-in-Residence: Dr. Paul Finkelman

As the Ben Geer Keys Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Paul Finkelman visited U.S. History, Government, Forensics, and Themes in Global History classes on Feb. 10-14. Recently named the ninth most-cited legal historian, Dr. Finkelman specializes in American legal history, with a focus on constitutional law, freedom of religion, and the law of slavery.

“Dr. Finkelman spoke to students about how the study of history for him is not an ivory tower pursuit but a real contest of ideas, with the stakes being a better world in the present and future,” said history teacher Mike Reynolds. Dr. Finkelman challenged our community to think, and that has been terrific for the intellectual culture of Episcopal.”

Fall Semester Student Art Exhibition

In January the Angie Newman Johnson Gallery was home to the vibrant Fall Semester Student Exhibition, curated by art teachers Liz Vorlicek, David Douglas, Frank Phillips, and Nat Duffield. More than 100 students from every grade had artwork on display.

James Barkley ’14

Gigi Dick ’14

Elizabeth Redd ’14

Tom Keaton ’14

Around Campus

1 “Anything Goes” in February on the EHS Mainstage. On stage, front

left: Gracie Burke ’17, Annalee Walton ’14, and Emma Thorp ’17;

row: Kara Clemmenson ’15, Brian Kim ’16, Nathaniel Lambert ’16, and Jozette Moses ’16; third row: Alana Callus ’15, Lizzie Taylor ’15, Leo Weng ’15, Drew Styles ’14, and Augusta Nau ’15; fourth row: Sam Armm ’14, Daniel Edwards ’16, Liz Mao ’15, and Madison Hughes ’15; on steps, from left: Ben Chomsang ’14 and Noah Collins ’17; top level: Maja Olsson ’14, Gaby Cruz ’17, Patrick Byrnes ’14, Brooke Webb ’16, and Dylan Michael ’17.

row, from

second

2 Winter Carnival. Left to right: Madison Hardaway ’15, Allegra Geanuracos ’15, Augusta Nau ’15, Kathleen Leonard ’15, and Leo Weng ’15 in their best “Grease” attire.

3 Senior-Faculty Basketball Game. Spanish teacher Sam Slack drives past Teddy Smith ’14 during the game in February. It was a close one, but the faculty prevailed as this year’s winners.

Theologian-inResidence: Andy Crouch

Esteemed author and editor Andy Crouch visited Episcopal as the School’s Theologian-in-Residence this winter. During his stay, Crouch conversed with students in classes including Biblical Theology, Jesus through the Centuries, Leadership in Literature, Readings in Literature and Philosophy, Advanced Global Energy, and English teacher Alison Poole’s Non-Fiction Writing class.

“When asked about becoming a writer,” said Poole, “Andy was candid about the fact that writing itself can be a painful process, but the results are significant and line up with his calling to love God and to love people. Andy encouraged my senior students to write as a way to work out ideas, and he expounded on the significance of us each finding our own calling – a place where we experience 100-fold suffering (because of the challenge) and 100-fold abundance (because it is where we are gifted).”

Jay Walker Symposium: Coyaba Dance Theater

In January, the community welcomed Coyaba Dance Theater, an African dance and drumming group based in Washington, D.C., for the 2014 Jay Walker Symposium. During their stay, members of Coyaba performed for the students and taught them their technique.

“Having Coyaba for the Jay Walker Symposium this year was fascinating,” said Leo Weng ’15. “They were so kind in teaching us how to drum in orchestra class, and it was quite an experience using such a special and exotic instrument. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience of Coyaba’s visit, as it opened our eyes to a different and amazing culture.”

Around Campus

A Season Highlighted by Records

1 Ivy Houde ’15 The girls’ varsity basketball team enjoyed one of its most successful seasons in recent history, with a record of 19-5 at the conclusion of league play. The Maroon tied for first place in the Independent School League’s (ISL’s) A Division, earning a share of the banner for the first time since the 2002-03 season. The girls entered the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) Tournament ranked seventh in the state. The girls’ JV basketball program also enjoyed one of its best seasons, finishing with an overall record of 8-5.

2 Camille Russell ’14 3 Ose Djan ’15

The girls’ and boys’ indoor track and field teams broke new ground, setting both school and personal records. The girls’ and boys’ program was led by a mix of young and veteran talent, culminating in a fourth and fifth place finish at the State Championship Meet. The girls’ and boys’ teams were respectively led by 10 student-athletes whose performances earned All-State honors.

4 Greg Malinowski ’14 The boys’ varsity basketball team made a spirited run in the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) Tournament after finishing third in the regular-season standings. The team won their semi-final game against cross-town rival St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School 52-50, earning a trip to the IAC Tournament championship game. The team fell to Bullis in the finals. The boys earned a No. 10 state ranking with a record of 17-10 entering the VISAA Tournament.

6 Calvin Lawson ’15 The boys’ varsity wrestling team, although young, also enjoyed success. The wrestlers finished 2-1 in the Alexandria City Tournament; four studentathletes placed in the top eight at the VISAA State Wrestling Tournament; and two student athletes earned IAC championships.

5 Sarah Doss ’16

7 Christian Escalona ’16 The Goodman Squash Center continues to be one of the busiest facilities on campus, as both boys’ and girls’ teams competed with some of the top teams in the Mid-Atlantic region. Both varsity teams competed at the U.S. High School Squash Nationals and returned with a respectable 2-2 record in this prestigious event. The girls’ team earned the distinction of a second-place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Team Championships, and both teams retained their respective rivalry cups, with the girls defeating Madeira for the Hayden-Faunce Trophy and the boys’ squad retaining the coveted Amos-Willett Trophy after two decisive wins over Woodberry Forest. With a combined record of 22-4, the boys’ and girls’ JV teams continue to bring new talent into the program.

COLLEGE COMMITTMENTS The following senior athletes have committed to compete at the intercollegiate level: Cristeen Anyanwu to Georgetown University for track and field; Blake Barefoot to Georgetown University for football; Nigel Beckford to the University of Maine for football; Rennie Harrison to the University of Richmond for basketball; Greg Malinowski to William & Mary for basketball; and Suzelle Thomas to the Naval Academy for lacrosse.

Spotlight on YALP

Seniors encourage their classmates to be active as alumni.

BY YALP CO-CHAIRS BABBIE ANDREWS ’14 AND WILL HENNESSEY ’14

Episcopal’s Young Alumni Leadership Program (YALP) serves to educate the senior class about the importance of staying involved with the School as alumni. Staying involved can mean volunteering as a class correspondent, class chair, or reunion chair, attending events, career networking, or giving to the Roll Call, the School’s annual fund.

As members of YALP, we have the opportunity to see how the Class of 2014 will help sustain Episcopal for generations. For instance, we had dinner (Chipotle!) with a group of alumni who shared their reasons for volunteering for Episcopal. This fall, we learned about the importance of the Roll Call – did you know it provides 10 percent of the School’s operating budget? After learning about the Roll Call, YALP created a video to help pump up young alumni to donate during the Spirit Week donor

challenge against Woodberry Forest. We also hosted a Spirit Week phonathon, calling EHS alumni to tell them about the challenge.

This spring, we will share with our classmates what we have learned about the Roll Call, the Advancement Office, and all the different ways we can volunteer for EHS after graduation. Similar to the classes before us, we will ask our classmates to make their first gift to Episcopal. Hopefully, 100 percent of our class will give! Our final event is Senior Night, which takes place in late May, just days before graduation. During this event, bricks inscribed with each of our names will be revealed on the Alumni Walk. We will also hear from recent graduates about their college experiences and get our first alumni T-shirt!

YALP highlights one of the best qualities of Episcopal – the high level of alumni involvement – by allowing

current students to learn what they can expect from the School once they become alumni themselves. Campus extends beyond the boundaries of The Holy Hill because our love for Episcopal doesn’t end at graduation.

“I joined YALP to gain a greater understanding of the Roll Call. I want 100 percent of our senior class to give back to Episcopal. This School has immensely impacted our lives! Before joining the committee, I never fully understood the extent to which parent and alumni contributions matter to the success and daily functioning of Episcopal. Learning more about the Roll Call has been interesting and helps me better understand what sacrifices were made by others to enrich my four years at EHS. Many times, students take for granted the daily opportunities that our School provides us, but after joining YALP, I now appreciate every light bulb, every tour day, and every special speaker.”

YALP Co-Chair Babbie Andrews ’14

“Deciding to be a part of YALP was easy. I am a four-year senior and want to leave an impact on the School that has done so much for me. YALP has been a way for me to work for Episcopal, ensuring that future students have the same positive experience that I have had. I have been able to contribute to my community and, most importantly, to connect with alumni by learning about their own EHS experiences.”

YALP Co-Chair Will Hennessy ’14

YALP Co-Chairs Babbie Andrews ’14 and Will Hennessy ’14

Members of YALP are grateful for your support of the Roll Call! These seniors help to educate their classmates about the role of EHS alumni. Front row, from left: Harleigh Bean, Suzelle Thomas, Rachel Vadhan, Co-Chair Babbie Andrews, Callie Nelson, and Emily Hunt; second row: Sam Armm, Addison Ingle, Co-Chair Will Hennessey, and Natnael Kassaw; third row: Khaile Forbes, Brooke McClary, Anabel Winants, Liz Martinelli, and Kristin Aria.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The Spiritual Foundation of Episcopal High School

The School’s archivist sheds light on 175 years of faith.

BY LAURA VETTER

Episcopal High School was founded in 1839 on Christian principles. Although the School has evolved to meet the spiritual needs of a religiously diverse student body, spirituality is still at the core of school life.

Over the years, Episcopal High School’s religious practice has swung from mandatory chapel several days a week, to voluntary chapel, and back to mandatory chapel three times per week. Such changes were always thoughtfully considered. Around 1970, Headmaster A.R. Hoxton, Jr. ’35, 1967-81, appointed a committee of students and faculty, the Worship Planning Committee, to evaluate the School’s religious program. Everything from chapel to Sunday services and Sacred Studies classes was considered. Headmaster Sandy Ainslie ’56, 198198, introduced the Vestry, empowering Episcopal’s students to assume an official leadership role in the religious life of the School.

Over the years, the home of the School’s religious life has moved from a room in the main building behind Hoxton House, to Liggett Hall, to Pendleton Hall, and finally to Callaway Chapel in 1990. While the space and schedule of religious practice may have changed over the years, the spiritual life

of the School has consistently served to nurture and comfort its students. Together, EHS students have found joy and peace in the chapel: through chaplain- and student-led services, through Baccalaureate during Commencement weekend, and through the Theologian-in-Residence program. Chapel, both as a place and time of day, is a welcome respite from the busy life of the School. On the School’s blog (www. episcopalhighschool.org/admissions/the frontdrive), Blake Richardson ’14, senior warden of the vestry, explains that in chapel, “After coping with the stress of classes, I have time to be still and open my heart to God. These times when we listen to God and meditate on the Holy Spirit are rare. But chapel is a regular reminder and place for students to pray, find God, or simply take a deep breath.”

By including religion in the weekly schedule, the School not only communicates the importance of spirituality but also ensures that a spiritual life is in place for those times when the community is tested and most in need. Few losses test a school community as much the death of a student. Sadly, Episcopal High School has several times felt such acute loss.

Although the deaths of Nelson Massie, Class of 1874, and Elizabeth Anderson ’97 were separated by more

than a century, students of each era were able to grieve their loss and comfort each other, prepared for this experience in part by the School’s religious tradition. Both students died overnight, and the sad news of their deaths spread as the community awoke in the morning. In both cases, the grieving process began with the community being called to a chapel service. Voluntary and student-led gatherings followed for students to pray and share their grief. The parents of Nelson Massie and Elizabeth Anderson shared in the community’s grieving process, and their presence on campus was a comfort to the School. Episcopal High School’s religious tradition had laid the groundwork for such student-directed grieving.

Not only does the spiritual life of Episcopal sustain the school community in times of hardship, but it also brings greater fulfillment in times of happiness. Because of this, Callaway Chapel is home to some of the most joyous times in school life, including the Lessons and Carols services before Christmas break. Alumni even return to the chapel for their weddings. In the chapel, Episcopal students find joy and sustenance, which they carry with them long after they sing “On Our Way Rejoicing” for the last time as students.

Students in the Old Chapel, circa 1895.

Episcopal friends and family gathered on the steps of Callaway Chapel after the wedding of Alison Lukes ’95 and Emerson Teer ’95 on Aug. 19, 2006.

Keeping the Faith

A senior makes a place for God away from home.

BY BLAKE RICHARDSON ’14, SENIOR WARDEN OF THE VESTRY

When you say goodbye to your parents on your first day at Episcopal, your life changes forever. Instead of having parents to help you with your homework, take care of you when you’re sick, and make sure you get to your sports practice or music lesson on time, you become fully responsible for yourself. For me, this new responsibility was most pronounced in my faith. On Sundays, I didn’t have my mom there to wake me up for church, and I couldn’t pray every night with my family. For the first time, my faith was all on me. It was daunting, and at first, I did not respond well to the challenge.

Freshman year, I began going to Girls Christian Fellowship. I found it comforting to be around older girls with a similar faith. After having such a positive experience with Girls Christian Fellowship, I wanted to provide the same experience for girls coming into Episcopal in the grades below me. At the end of the year, I applied to the Vestry and became a member.

My spiritual growth that year came from more than just developing new relationships and getting involved in organizations on campus. During the winter of my freshman year, an experience at home served to strengthen my personal relationship with God. At my church back home, the organist, Mrs. Taplin, would ask the congregation to pray for the same thing every Sunday: “I would like to pray for all of the men and women serving in our armed forces, particularly for my future son-in-law, Rico.” I admired how devoted she was to praying for her daughter’s fiancé, and I longed to have a faith as strong as hers. In the winter of my freshman year, I

decided to pray for Rico every night, not just whenever I went to church at home. Every night, I would ask God to protect Rico from physical and mental harm, and I would ask God to let Rico feel His presence near him whenever he was afraid. I found that the more I prayed for Rico, the closer I grew to God.

At the end of the summer before my sophomore year, there was a Sunday I will never forget. My pastor, as usual, went around the congregation and took prayer requests, but Mrs. Taplin did not ask us to pray for Rico. A flood of worries filled my mind. Did he come home? Did he die? “But I prayed for him so much,” I prayed silently from my pew. After the service, I was too timid to ask Mrs. Taplin why, for the first time since I had known her, she had not asked for prayers for her son-in-law. Instead, I turned to my parents, and they told me: Rico was home, alive, and well. I thanked God profusely. I found my faith strengthened by this answered prayer and felt renewed in my call to serve at EHS.

Being part of the Vestry has been a great opportunity, and I have loved being involved. During sophomore year, I was tasked with delivering homemade birthday cards to the entire school community. It was hard work, and while it might seem like a small job at first glance, I found it to be very rewarding. I remember seeing someone open their birthday card and smile, saying, “That’s so nice!” I was able to brighten the day of everyone in the School at least once, even if only for a few seconds.

Everyone on this campus has a positive impact on our School, whether we know it or not. Each student makes the School a better place, whether he or she is

a Monitor, the head of a club, or a loyal friend. The Vestry has been my vehicle for making an impact on the School.

EHS school life can be very busy. Students and teachers are constantly on the go from one class to the next. It is this very busyness that makes me glad I have the opportunity to be on the Vestry. Regardless of a student’s beliefs, chapel is an opportunity for everyone to breathe and see the big picture outside of the EHS “bubble.” It provides a time for students and teachers to reflect on their lives and explore their beliefs, no matter what those beliefs may be. I find Vestry to be rewarding because we offer this time for the community to relax and reflect, and we do our best to help everyone get the most out of those 15 minutes.

I love contributing to the spiritual life at Episcopal. I have met incredible students and teachers through Vestry and Girls Christian Fellowship who have become my role models. I have definitely grown closer to God through Vestry. I have felt Him during Vestry meetings, church services, the Theologian-inResidence and Portrait in Faith programs, Girls Christian Fellowship meetings, and even in my Biblical Theology class. Vestry has helped bring me closer to God, and this is the greatest gift I could ever receive.

The Vestry is a group of students selected by the chaplains and other Vestry members who provide spiritual leadership for the student body and assist with the chapel program. Read more about the history of the Vestry on page 11.

Lighting the Path

An Old Boy reflects on his call to found Theologian-in-Residence.

BY DICK RUTLEDGE ’51

When I attended EHS (194751), there was very little biblical education at a School that bears the name Episcopal High School. Masters each year would drag out acetate overlay foils, which they projected on screens, and teach something resembling biblical studies to largely indifferent students. We were required to attend Sunday services at Immanuel Churchon-the-Hill, where the rector, nicknamed “Lunchbox Larry,” preached lengthy and tedious sermons. At least that is the way we saw it.

Although in this day and age, it seems a bit over the top to say that I was called in 1994 to propose the Theologian-inResidence (TIR) program to then-Headmaster Sandy Ainslie, I felt inspired to

do just that. The vision of this program was to bring, for a week each year, a powerful preacher and teacher who would capture first the attention, and then the heart and soul, of the student and adult community.

Shortly after the founding of the TIR program, Henry Burnett ’44, a close friend of mine and of my parents in Coral Gables, Fla., gave a generous gift to the School, allowing EHS to support a companion program, Portrait in Faith.

In the years since the beginning of these two programs, EHS has brought to campus some of the most prominent Christian speakers in the United States and the United Kingdom. Tim Jaeger, assistant head for student life, said it best when he stated that these programs allow

most EHS students eight opportunities, during their four years, to receive important spiritual messages.

The boarding school experience is a time when students exercise new freedoms and challenge their traditional religious and spiritual beliefs. Seizing this opportunity are Episcopal’s religious studies curriculum, its strong chapel program under Head Chaplain Gideon Pollach, the student Vestry, and the Theologian-in-Residence and Portrait in Faith programs. All of these aim to offer the students a chance to establish a foundation for a faith that will light their path until life’s end. I believe God is seeking those He loves, which includes all of the students, faculty, and staff at Episcopal High School.

BY JOHANNA DROUBAY

Redesigning the Washington Program

DESPITE AN OMINOUS FORECAST PROMISING 5 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW, PETER GOODNOW’S ADVANCED U.S. GOVERNMENT CLASS HAS NO PLANS FOR HUNKERING DOWN. THE CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING, WHERE THEY’LL BE MEETING CONGRESSMAN GEORGE HOLDING (R-N.C.), IS ONLY 15 MINUTES AWAY; THEY’LL BE BACK IN TIME FOR ATHLETICS, WELL BEFORE THE STORM.

About five minutes along Interstate 395, with the Pentagon on the left and the Washington Monument appearing on the horizon, Mr. Goodnow confides, “This is what makes me a total sap. You come over this hill, and it all spreads out for you.” He brushes his hand reverently across the capital’s distinguished skyline. “And after 20 years of living here, I still get a little –” He takes a breath and holds it.

Living and learning minutes from the center of the free world can be a breathtaking experience. EHS faculty and leadership know that exposing students to the cultural and educational riches of the nation’s capital is not just an opportunity but a responsibility – an urgent one.

“Living in Washington is equivalent to being on Cape Horn,” says Trustee Halsey Wise ’83, chair of the EHS Branding Task Force that convened this fall to develop a theme that would strengthen Episcopal’s position in an increasingly competitive boarding school market. “You have all the world’s strongest tides and currents colliding right there. Imagine being on Cape Horn and not being a sailor. It would feel quite unfulfilling.”

But how to acquaint students in four short years with a place that is still revealing itself to its most established residents? How to integrate a

metropolis into an already demanding collegepreparatory curriculum in a way that is both broad and deep? Documentation of EHS students’ relationship with D.C. stretches back to the Presidential Inaugurations in the 1870s. Since then, student and faculty enthusiasm for the capital and its surrounding resources has been harnessed and spurred on by formalized programs such as weekly tours, senior internships, artists-in-residence, and speakers series. In the fall of 2014, the School will roll out its most sophisticated version of the Washington Program yet, the pinnacle of 175 years of experiential, place-based education.

History: From Places to People

Experiential education has both an ancient history – dating back to the Confucian teaching, I do and I understand – and a modern calling. In “Rescuing Education: The Rise of Experiential Learning,” the spring 2013 cover story of Independent School magazine, Malcolm McKenzie writes, “We need more experiential

With a great location comes great responsibility.

learning in order to restore a balance to school learning that, perhaps of sad necessity, has become more syllabus-driven and more test-focused. Doing things, often outdoors and in groups, is a vital antidote to childhood and adolescent lifestyles that are increasingly virtual and insular.” McKenzie, former head of The Hotchkiss School, goes on to suggest that the boarding school experience is intrinsically experiential, with life skills and lessons being absorbed around the clock through residential life.

Episcopal’s application of experiential learning goes well beyond the dormitory doors and out to the city streets, the country streams, the museum halls, and the steps of the Capitol building.

“Given our location,” says Goodnow, who has served as director of the Washington Program for more than a decade, “I think we’ve been somewhat of a trailblazer in the area of experiential education for a long time.”

Although transportation advances have certainly made it easier, venturing into the capital has always been part of the Episcopal experience. Students in the School’s early days were perhaps even more inclined to spend their leisure time in the city because there were fewer nearby venues and on-campus activities competing for their attention. School Archivist Laura Vetter says that before students could hop on a shuttle or hire a taxi, people simply thought nothing of walking. “They would walk to what’s now known as Shirlington to catch a bus. They would walk 3 miles to the train line. They’d walk to the river and take a ferry into D.C. on the weekends.”

Weekend fun wasn’t the only reason for navigating the rough and winding country roads that led to the city. At least as far back as President Grant’s inauguration in 1873, attending Presidential Inaugurations was, as it is today, a rite of passage for Episcopal students and not to be missed. Sometimes braving blizzards and knee-deep snow, students and faculty made the perilous journey to Washington to engage in what has become one of the School’s oldest traditions: bearing witness to our democracy’s peaceful transfer of power.

WEDNESDAY TOURS

It wasn’t until 1960 that the School made its long and fond relationship with Washington official by introducing “Tour Day,” the predecessor of today’s Wednesday tours. As noted in Richard Pardee Williams, Jr.’s history of The High School: “Recognizing that the School was not taking full advantage of the opportunities afforded by its location close to Washington, the faculty waives classes for one day a term to escort the boys on tours to places of scientific, historic, religious, literary, and artistic interest. EHS boys have attended Senate committee hearings and Senate sessions, performances of ‘Macbeth,’ ‘Othello,’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ and a lecture at the Folger Shakespeare Library on the Elizabethan Stage. They have visited

offices; they held a private meeting with freshman Congressman Holding. The students presented the congressman with a 21-page report they had compiled comparing his record against textbook norms and analyzing his vote on the Agriculture Act of 2014. They had the opportunity to ask the congressman and his aide questions, and in turn, the aide had questions for the students: Who wrote that Congressman Holding is isolationist? Who wrote that he is obstructionist? The students respectfully defended their analysis in relation to each question, and each time the aide conceded, “Well, I can see how you might come to that conclusion.”

“An interactive tour like this one,” says Goodnow, “takes the kids out of their comfort zones, puts them in a new environment, and forces them to test

the National Gallery, the Smithsonian, the Bureau of Standards, the research laboratory of Fort Belvoir, a Franciscan monastery, the Library of Congress, the Army Medical Museum, the Manassas Battlefield, and the National Cathedral.”

Today’s students visit many of the same destinations frequented by that first class of tourists in 1960, in addition to countless others. Far from mere sightseeing opportunities, today’s tours allow faculty to turn education into a moveable feast. “Teachers can avail themselves of Washington in ways that connect to the curriculum,” says Assistant Head of Academics Mary Fielder. “Our Global Energy course, for instance, just went to a wastewater treatment center to see how waste is dealt with.”

Moreover, says Goodnow, “Students are no longer just going to places; they’re meeting with people. They’re interacting, not just visiting.”

Goodnow’s Advanced U.S. Government students, for instance, who left campus on the eve of a snow storm, did not just tour congressional

what they’ve learned, how smart they are, and how glib they are.”

Wednesday tours allow science teacher Joe Halm’s terrestrial and freshwater ecology classes to explore new environments in a more literal sense. Students test water and soil samples as close to home as Episcopal’s Anderson Pond and as far away as Sperryville, Va.

“In this area, you have great contrasting examples of terrestrial and aquatic sites with varying degrees of human impact,” says Halm. “As in any major metropolitan area, there are the expected effects of urban and suburban development, but you also have some really nice, pristine sites within tour distance.”

Getting out into the field allows students to put the scientific process into action. “You learn different sampling techniques to collect data, and then you analyze and find meaning in the data in relation to hypotheses formed from examining the research of others,” says Halm. “Memorizing science facts is not going to teach that.”

“My internship at the State Department definitely solidified my interest in working to empower women and girls internationally and domestically, specifically using sport as a tool to achieve equality.”

– LALLIE LUKENS ’11

SENIOR SEMINAR

A decade after the School established its first “Tour Day,” then-senior David Kelso ’70 took the initiative to propose another way of engaging with the city across the river: a spring internship program. The program that Kelso envisioned and then-Headmaster Flick Hoxton ’35 helped realize would capture the attention of seniors whose college fates had already been sealed and whose high school careers were, according to Kelso, “cloistered.”

Kelso wrote in the spring 2012 issue of this magazine, “Why not, our thinking went, allow and even encourage seniors to travel off campus for work in a congressman’s office, a medical facility […], or an Alexandria food kitchen?”

This spring, seniors will intern in some of the same congressional offices and hospitals where Kelso’s classmates worked. But the level of participation in what is now known as Senior Seminar has skyrocketed from approximately one-third of the graduating class of 1970 to nearly all of this year’s seniors. The School’s virtual Rolodex of internship contacts has grown to become vast, diverse, and, in some cases, homegrown. Alumni who interned as seniors now sponsor internships in their own offices (see sidebar: “Direct Connection: Interning on Capitol Hill”).

CULTURAL CONNECTIONS

The third aspect of the current Washington Program encompasses all of the many ways in which Episcopal exposes students to the area’s cultural resources – through guest speakers, artists in residence, and performances on and off campus. “This year we almost doubled the budget for our cultural connections program,” says Fielder. “We are now offering students the opportunity to attend twice as many events.”

For many students interested in the arts, the Washington Program’s cultural opportunities are central to their EHS experience. Savannah Lambert ’14 says that Episcopal’s proximity to D.C. was a major factor in her decision to attend. She says, “The time I’ve spent looking at famous paintings in the National Gallery,

studying Shakespeare plays at the Folger Shakespeare Library, and listening to speakers from all parts of the country and world tell their stories has been essential to my growth and development as an individual during my time at EHS.”

Even students who might not consider themselves arts-oriented can develop a deep appreciation of the unique cultural opportunities the School and its surroundings have to offer. Mark Herzog ’11, who is currently studying medical research at Duke University, says he is most appreciative of the exposure he received to theater and music. “Not too many students can say they followed up a reading of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ with a world-class performance starring Cate Blanchett.”

Identity: Big and Small

This past fall, the Board of Trustees established a task force to ponder and answer a simple question: what makes Episcopal distinctive? The task force studied quantitative data from the recent Virginia Association of Independent Schools accreditation process as well as from surveys from the Association of Boarding Schools and other sources. The group also had qualitative discussions with parents, students, alumni, and other constituencies. In a parallel, condensed effort, the EHS Advisory Council engaged in a similar pursuit led by Henry Stoever ’84, chief marketing officer of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

“I think we came to the realization that everyone has their own answer,” says Wise. “Some people remember their Episcopal experience as being very small and personal. Other people remember it as, ‘Holy cow! It was Washington, D.C.’” After much discussion and analysis of the data, the task force arrived at a pleasing paradox: “We have a very small community on the doorstep of the capital of the free world.”

And this is a claim that Episcopal is uniquely qualified to make. As one of

Direct Connection: Interning on Capitol Hill

Congressman Robert Hurt ’87 (R-Va.) came to Episcopal from Chatham, Va., population 1,000. “You can imagine growing up in a little place like that and then coming to a place like Alexandria with all of its history and excitement – being able to go to the Kennedy Center, to a hockey game, to museums, to the Capitol.”

Hurt didn’t just visit the Capitol as a student; he worked there. In May of his senior year, he interned in the office of Dan Daniel, the longtime congressman of Virginia’s Fifth District, the district Congressman Hurt now represents. “It’s kind of amazing!” he says now, although at the time he had no idea that he would make a career of politics.

In its 40-plus years of existence, the Senior Seminar internship experience has imparted lessons and forged connections, many of them unexpected.

Hurt remembers running errands and interacting with Congressman Daniels primarily when bringing him lunch from the Rayburn Cafeteria. “We probably get a lot more out of our interns than they got out of me when I was there,” says Hurt. “But it definitely gave me an appreciation for what our elected representatives do and the issues that they deal with, and most certainly how important it is.”

Almost 30 years later, Wells Patrick ’12 interned in what is now Hurt’s office, and indeed the responsibilities and expectations of a congressional intern seem to have grown exponentially in those decades.

“Going into the internship I had the expectation that I would essentially be a fly on the wall,” says Patrick. “However, the very first day Congressman Hurt sat me down and asked me what I wanted to get out of the experience.”

He must have wanted quite a lot. Over the course of his internship, Patrick organized constituent emails and answered constituent phone calls. He ran documents to and from House and Senate buildings and the Capitol. He sat among journalists and watched Speaker of the House John Boehner deliver a weekly press conference. He became a certified U.S. Capitol tour guide and sat in on committee hearings on topics ranging from the environment to the economy. “Aside from job-related tasks,” says Patrick, “I also really enjoyed grabbing lunch with the other members of his team and hearing their stories and their advice on college and the business world.”

Although Patrick has no plans to pursue a political career, he says his experience working for Congressman Hurt is applicable to the field of business administration, which he is studying at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Undergraduate Business School. “I came to realize how connected the decisions being made on Capitol Hill are to what I want to pursue in business,” he says. “As a result, I now pay much closer attention to politics in our nation and around the world, which has definitely positively affected me in my studies thus far.”

A Rare Experience: Translating the “Nuremberg Chronicle”

Anne Arnold Glenn ’02 fell in love with Latin long before she began her Senior Seminar project in the spring of 2002. But it wasn’t until immersing herself in that project, translating a portion of the “Nuremberg Chronicle,” that she began to understand the depth of her passion for Latin scholarship.

“It was the first time I’d experienced Latin as not just a language for the Romans but as a world language,” she says. “It was the first time I realized that there is so much more to it than translation.”

Glenn remembers her astonishment at being allowed to sit alone in Episcopal’s library with an original copy of the “Nuremberg Chronicle,” leafing through its precious pages with white gloves. And she remembers her sense of importance walking through the doors of the Library of Congress and sitting down to discover how the text she was slowly deciphering figured into the bigger picture of Latin literature.

She didn’t know it then, but she had just taken the first steps on a journey that would lead her to major in Greek and Latin at Wake Forest University and to forge a career as a middle and high school Latin teacher. “I remember talking about it in college. ‘Have you heard of the “Nuremberg Chronicle”? Well, I’ve translated the original.’ It was a very rare experience.”

In the current iteration of Senior Seminar, most students become interns, but some embark on independent projects like Glenn’s. Modern and classical language teacher Jeff Streed, who advised Glenn’s translation more than a decade ago and who regularly introduces students to the region’s exquisite collections of rare books, is enthusiastic about this type of project because it allows motivated students to have an intellectual experience all their own. “The key is personal discovery,” he says. “A lot of kids who are very bright are tired of being told to read this, do this, write that. They’re tired of it. They’ve been doing it too long. They want something that’s theirs.”

Under the new Washington Program design, which incorporates a longer term senior project that might include an internship but also other forms of intellectual or creative output and investigation, more students may have a greater opportunity to connect with their subject matter on a deep and personal level. “As an educator,” says Glenn, “I think giving the Washington Program more context would be fabulous. My project worked really well for me. It had to do with something I was interested in that turned out to be my career path. It would be great if more students had a more authentic experience like that.”

only four 100-percent boarding schools in the country, and the only one of those four in a metropolitan area, “We can outsmall the big and out-big the small, so to speak,” says Wise. “A lot of people don’t want to be in a rural location for school, especially when you consider all the cultural, athletic, civic, and other advantages Washington has over any other city. But Episcopal is at the same time a small, safe, personal environment. Parents have the peace of mind that their child is safe, is known, is not forgotten.”

With that in mind, the task force recommended bolstering the Washington Program and leveraging it to the fullest possible extent. At the same time, the

year provides a broad foundation of knowledge on which later years are built. Sophomore year, students explore four concentration areas before choosing one of the four to explore in greater depth during junior year. Finally, at the top of the pyramid rests the senior year capstone project: a yearlong independent study in one’s chosen concentration.

In addition to a new design, the Washington Program will have a new weekly participation goal: 100 percent. Currently, about 60 percent of students participate in tours on any given Wednesday. This new goal will require increased commitment from faculty and from students, who enjoy having some

Curriculum Design and Innovative Teaching (CDIT) Committee, a standing committee of faculty members, had already undertaken a Washington Program redesign.

Design: Prongs to Pyramid

With the Washington Program’s long history and wide array of tours, internships, and cultural offerings already established, what untapped potential remains? The answer seems to lie in develop a meaningful connection among what have come to be described as the program’s three “prongs”: the tours, the internships, and the cultural offerings.

“You do your tours, and you pick your Senior Seminar, but they’re not connected in any way,” says Fielder, who heads up the CDIT Committee. “We wanted the Senior Seminar to become the culmination of the Washington Program.”

The new design resembles, in a very basic sense, a pyramid: Freshman

Wednesday afternoons free to catch up on school work or attend a doctor’s appointment.

But the program’s designers think it will be worth it. Jeremy Goldstein, who was hired in January as the new director of the Washington Program, says, “Yes, it will build skills for college, but more importantly, it’s going to make students very mature in their approach to new opportunities.”

FRESHMAN YEAR: LEARN THE CITY

Because of Episcopal’s prime location inside the beltway, the old joke, “I don’t read the news; I go to boarding school,” holds less truth here than elsewhere. Still, any boarding school needs to take an active approach to breaking out of the boarding bubble.

Starting next year, the Washington Program’s freshman year course of study will not simply take students to important sites around the city. “We’ll develop tours that not only take you to the Washington Monument,” says Fielder, “but that put it in the context of the various facets of the city: the public

“I couldn’t believe that as a high schooler I had found my way into one of the country’s leading cancer research centers. Understanding that, as an Episcopal student, I was already prepared to start down the research path bolstered my confidence and motivated me to continue seeking out research opportunities at Duke.”

– MARK HERZOG ’11

works, the monuments, the cultural sites, the political structure.”

The idea is to give freshmen a view of the city as a whole, from its geographical layout to the depth and scope of its resources.

Modern and classical language teacher and CDIT Committee member Jeff Streed says, “Having had sons here myself (Eric ’09, Sam ’11, and Jack ’17), I’ve always disliked the fact that they graduated not knowing much about the area where they lived for four years,” –a common complaint about boarding schools and small colleges everywhere.

most is the second half of junior year,” says Streed, “because it’s almost college admissions time. As part of their application, they will have this well-defined project underway. It’s something that is different and of their own making. That’s gold, and they know it. If you wait until the spring of their senior year, it’s too late.”

Director of Academic Support and CDIT Committee member Anita Doyle agrees, “The academic leaders of the School appear to be the juniors and not the seniors, who are running out of steam. How do we switch that around?

“Without a doubt, Episcopal’s proximity to D.C. was extremely impactful. Looking back, I find it incredible that arguably the world’s finest collection of museums and historical archives was integrated into my high school education.”

– CHRIS CINDRICH

“In this new approach, we build a foundation of knowledge and experience, not for the sake of ticking off boxes, but so that students can use that as a foundation for personal exploration.”

SOPHOMORE AND JUNIOR YEARS: EXPLORE CONCENTRATIONS

Sophomore year, students will begin to understand tours, visiting speakers, artists-in-residence, and performances not only in relation to the curriculum but also in relation to four concentration areas: public policy, entrepreneurship, cultural awareness, and sustainability.

“We picked these four concentrations because they reflect what’s going on in Washington,” says Fielder, “but they are also broad enough that they can really tie in any classroom tour.”

Students will reflect on their experiences and collect those reflections in a portfolio, which will begin to reveal where each student’s strengths and interests lie, so that by junior year they are ready to choose one concentration for deeper study.

In May of their junior year, students will select a topic in their chosen concentration for their senior project. “The time when you have students’ attention the

One of the ways to do that is to try to get them involved in something that’s meaningful to them.”

SENIOR YEAR: TACKLE A PROJECT

What exactly would a senior project look like? English teacher and CDIT Committee member Molly Pugh dreamed up the following example: A student interested in urban renewal might identify an underutilized space in the city, say an abandoned lot. During her Wednesday tour time, she might interview neighborhood residents to learn about their needs and concerns. She might talk to urban planners about how spaces can be revitalized and come up with a plan for turning her space into a playground or community garden. She might connect with a nonprofit fund-raising organization to understand the logistics of raising money. She might even attend city council meetings to learn about the permitting process for turning this idea into a reality. In May, when seniors will still spend several weeks off campus as they do today, she might be interning with a related organization, or – who knows? – she might be planting a new community garden.

“The idea is to give them the tools and support to explore on their own,” says Streed.

Future: D.C. and Beyond

The new program will roll out in the fall of 2014 for freshmen and sophomores. Next year’s juniors and seniors will continue on with the tours and Senior Seminar internships that are already in place.

New Washington Program Director Jeremy Goldstein will begin preparing for the fall when he moves to campus this summer with his wife, Lucy Whittle Goldstein ’97, who will join the faculty as an English teacher. The Goldsteins leave behind their posts at St. George’s School, a boarding school in Middletown, R.I., where Jeremy serves as director of global programs. “The way I look at it, Washington is global. It’s the epicenter of national administration, but it’s also the center of so many other things that are going on worldwide. One of the things I’ve noticed in my four years of working internationally is that somehow, somewhere, all roads lead back to D.C.”

’13

BY ED RACKLEY ’84

Training for the World

MY COLLEAGUES ARE OFTEN SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT I WENT TO A BOARDING SCHOOL. OUR WORK IN INTERNATIONAL AID IS GRITTY, DRAINING, UNRECOGNIZED, AND DANGEROUS; THERE’S NOTHING “ELITE” ABOUT IT. AT 40 YEARS OLD, I HAD WORKED AND LIVED IN MORE THAN 50 COUNTRIES, 28 OF THEM WAR ZONES. I SPOKE FIVE LANGUAGES FLUENTLY, YET WAS NOWHERE NEAR EVEN HAVING A GIRLFRIEND. WHEN THE SCHOOL ASKED ME TO REFLECT ON HOW EPISCOPAL INFLUENCED MY CHOICE OF CAREER, I DREW A BLANK. THEN I BEGAN TO REMEMBER.

I started my career in the Peace Corps, serving three years in the Republic of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. I trained in tropical agriculture, beekeeping, and reforestation, and how to use these to reduce poverty and improve resilience in the country’s poorest region. And people were poor – dirt poor like this Alabama boy had never seen. They survived through age-old, hunter-gatherer practices and thread-bare, subsistence-level crops.

To welcome my arrival in the village, I was feted with a bowl of fresh caterpillars and fufu (cassava bread). We typically ate once a day, though calabashes of palm wine and cola nuts were always around. I recall once, after a full day’s work in the forest, four of us shared a single boiled egg for our evening meal. Other days it was monkey, rats, cats, dogs, or bats.

Despite their material destitution, a bareness they were aware of but not embarrassed by, villagers were amazingly resilient and generally

happy. And to be honest, the direness of their poverty didn’t bother me at all. It was a liberating life lesson: “You, too, can survive on air!” Ultimately, I learned far more from my village than I was able to impart. What drew me there was a desire for adventure and an interest in the unknown as a source of personal growth and knowledge. When I arrived in 1988, Zaire was a recently independent country, still content with its freedom from colonial Belgium. And as a 20-year-old just out of college, I knew of few places on Earth as alien as rural Zaire. The Peace Corps and Zaire seemed like a godsend, perfectly designed for someone like me. I’m still amazed it exists, and I’m delighted our taxes fund it.

The country’s politics were a mess, and when Zaire blew up in 1991, we were evacuated by Belgian paratroopers. I hesitated at the thought of returning to the familiarity of the United States. It reminded me of visiting home for

An alumnus recounts his journey from EHS to the Peace Corps and beyond.

Rackley in Mikay, a village in the province of Bandundu, Western Zaire (DR Congo), during his time in the Peace Corps.

the first time after my first semester at Episcopal. I enjoyed connecting with family and friends, but the distance I now had from the familiar made everything seem small and confined. When the Peace Corps withdrew from Zaire, I knew that returning to the States would feel the same way.

Plus the Peace Corps had shown me that volunteerism could land me far more interesting jobs with much greater opportunity for growth than any entry-level, paid position at home. Still, I couldn’t conceive of anything surpassing my three years in rural Zaire, where chronic under-development and geographic isolation had conspired to preserve a people’s ancient belief system, its rituals, and modes of exchange and survival. Its destitution was the reason for my presence, but the absence of

Funding International Travel and Service

THE VINCENT STAFFORD HODGE, JR. ’89 FUND was established in 2013 by Ms. Telly Tai Chi and Mr. Eugene Chow, parents of Eric Chow ’13, in honor of Vincent Hodge ’89. In 1989, Hodge graduated from Episcopal as chair of the Honor Committee and a Senior Monitor. In 1996, he returned to EHS as a history teacher. He now serves as director of financial aid, assistant director of admissions, and international student advisor.

“Episcopal granted me unforeseen opportunities while I was a student,” he says. “I relish the chance to help shape the lives of young people and to give back to an institution that has granted me so much.”

Income from the endowed fund will support student international travel and service opportunities. To contribute to the Hodge Fund, contact Director of Institutional Advancement Christina Holt at 703-933-4028 or cmh@episcopalhighschool.org.

In 1999, we won the Nobel Peace Prize, a moment of popular recognition that validated the uniquely un-pacifist spirit of our mission.

In places of such violent upheaval, regular interaction with invading armies, local paramilitaries and armed drug cartels, Somali pirates, and rebel groups composed entirely of children is the obligatory routine. Through it, I’ve come

“War is the only opportunity men have in society to love each other unconditionally, to die for each other. Intimations of this type of bonding were felt during my Episcopal experience.”

any trappings of modernity made it an endlessly fascinating adventure, a genuine privilege that no “extreme tourism” could ever replicate.

In other African capitals, political change was also afoot. The Cold War had ended, and African despots long supported by Washington and Moscow were being chased out by domestic insurgencies. Coup d’état was the mot du jour. Africa is huge, I thought, and I was already there. It was the best place to chance another enormous payout by starting over and diving into another unknown. So I went to war.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) offered me a spot on its first mission in Somalia as war and famine raged. I stayed from 1991 through the American invasion; the “Black Hawk Down” era, an under-reported disaster. I learned that what soldiers say about war also applies to aid workers: “The hard part is not going to war but coming back home.” I went on to work with other aid agencies in many different conflicts across Africa and later in Asia, Latin America, and the Balkans, but I stayed true to MSF.

to understand why young men are drawn to the combat experience, and I see the same attraction among aid workers. War is the only opportunity men have in society to love each other unconditionally, to die for each other. Intimations of this type of bonding were felt during my Episcopal experience, where as freshmen, we arrived uprooted, disoriented, and somewhat intimidated. Adapting to these uncertainties required new, strong relationships. Our friends from boarding school are inevitably the dearest of our lives.

Now 25 years after the Peace Corps, I still do this kind of work. Many poor countries have progressed and no longer need foreign assistance programs or people like me. This is the goal – to work myself out of a job. But other places remain trapped in cycles of violence and cynical inept governance that make them chronically unstable. Congo, Somalia, Haiti, and Afghanistan are some wellknown cases. But there are far fewer than there were 25 years ago, when the end of the Cold War set off what seemed like a thousand micro wars. While there is

no science to state-building, we believe our training and assistance programs for governments and communities in developing countries help secure these positive outcomes. We are there on the ground; we see the results.

Looking back, I realize now that Episcopal was precedent-setting for the rest of my life; it established a “stimulus-response” pattern that I unconsciously seek in everything I do. Episcopal showed me that launching myself into the radically alien, leaving behind everything comfortable and familiar, could yield immeasurable dividends in personal growth and greater understanding. And the Peace Corps taught me that poverty reduction is not humble, irrelevant, or undignified work. It is the stuff of epic adventure.

Rackley was in Southern Sudan in 1993 during the war and famine. He stands next to an unexploded bomb in a village called Nasir. Rackley was there working for the UN World Food Program.

Rackley in Kikwit in August 1991, his final year with the Peace Corps. This was taken about a month before they had to evacuate the country.

BY WHIT MORGAN • ENGLISH TEACHER

The Soul of the English Department

English teacher Perry Epes ’65 takes the “last jump” into retirement after almost three decades at EHS.

WHEN FACED WITH THE DAUNTING TASK OF WRITING A TRIBUTE TO MY FRIEND AND LONG-TIME COLLEAGUE PERRY EPES ’ 65, I SOLICITED A FEW COMMENTS FROM OTHER TEACHERS, AND SEVERAL RECURRENT MOTIFS EMERGED: PERRY’S TRADEMARK TWEED JACKET, INEVITABLY FLECKED WITH DOG HAIR; HIS OTHERWORLDLY KNOWLEDGE OF ALL THINGS

literary or historical; his craftsmanship and sensitivity as a poet; his gentleness, at least until his laptop or the copy machine begins acting up; his deep concern for equality and inclusion; his humility; his beautiful, exemplary relationship with Gail. It’s hard to know where to start. In a word, Perry has been the soul of our department for decades, and in his own quiet way, he has left an indelible mark on The High School.

In the classroom, Perry is a master. He has an amazing knack for extracting blood from turnips, or rather quality prose and poetry from professed non-writers. This particular skill, I think, derives from Perry’s own painstaking work as a poet and novelist. Many of us give passable advice to our young charges regarding the craft of writing, but very few can claim Perry’s “beenthere-done-that” sense of authority. Still, despite his years as an active wordsmith, Perry never lords his superior experience over his students; rather, he makes clear to all around him that good writing, whether creative, analytical, or expository, is a noble, crucial undertaking. He’s just there to help. And help he has. Given his work with The Chronicle, Daemon, and The English Bays, it’s staggering to think how much student writing Perry has guided all the way to

publication. He has given so many young people the skills and confidence to trust their own voices, and those voices have left The Holy Hill to be heard and lauded in the world beyond. Among his peers, Perry is just as supportive. One colleague recounts a story in which Perry returned a borrowed book. As he handed the novel back, Perry asked, “Do you ever read another’s annotations in a text and find yourself blown away by how that person saw things so important, yet they are things you have never seen?” This is just the sort of powerful validation Perry has provided for all of us for so many years, the kind of sustaining pat on the back that, frankly, helps us all get out of bed and face the new day. In the colleague’s words, “It was one of the greatest compliments I will ever receive as a teacher.” I wonder how many moments like this Perry has shared during his EHS tenure – too many to count, no doubt. Additionally, of course, he has always been our go-to man for virtually any literary or historical question. “Just ask Perry” has been such a common refrain over his time here that I fear we will find ourselves wandering the halls in search of him even after Perry has left us. What an amazing mind!

Perhaps the greatest proof of that amazing mind, though, is Perry’s brilliant choice of a mate. Gail Epes has been a transformative force in her own right during her tenure here, first as a chaplain and then, after her retirement, as a thoughtful, gentle presence on our campus. As a chaplain, her homilies were resonant and affecting, intruding on your thoughts long after you’d walked out of chapel. Gail has a way of making her faith seem personal and real, as she lets everyone in on her struggles and doubts. I don’t recall a single homily she gave that felt perfunctory. Perry and Gail form a quietly powerful pair, and I think the beauty of their loving, considerate relationship may well be their most lasting legacy here. As another colleague put it, “I love to look out a window and see Perry and Gail jogging together across the fields with Jerry galloping joyfully along. To me this act encapsulates their essence as a couple: healthy, for they are, after all, running; modest, for they never brag of their times or miles; intelligent, for their conversations are never dull; patient and committed, for they repeat the practice time and again; romantic, for they run in the early morning when a rosy glow sets the dew ashimmer; devoted, for they do it together.” These are the images that will stay with us long after Perry and Gail

have packed up their boxes and boxes and boxes of books and headed off into the Virginia hinterlands.

And here I go again, turning to Perry for help in a moment of difficulty. How can we let them go? How can we know we’ll be okay without them or that they’ll be okay without us? Well, I guess I’ll just have to lean on Perry’s own lines, with a couple of minor edits, from the closing of his poem “Americans Hit the Beaches”: They’re up, radiant in height. What’s left but prayer?

the last resort of dads. They jump, arms locked and all for one, with nothing fancy –[Perry] on the left, and [Gail] on the right. My burden melts to a thick joy you could cut with a knife for sharing round. Even before the double splash

I believe in their last jump; one more just for me so I can learn to bear these pangs for the length of each plunge in the wine-dark sea.

Perry and Gail have believed in us for so long. We owe it to them to believe in their last jump, so that we, too, “can learn to bear these pangs.” Let’s just hope they swim back our way on occasion.

In college, I came across the quote, “Great genius is often mistaken for true kindness.” It was a familiar idea to me because I had had the privilege of being taught by Perry Epes. Perry infuses his lessons with tireless and thorough preparation, an unmatched passion for the written word, and a compassion for each soul in the room. It is his compassion that makes him exceptional at an institution rich with talented and highly educated teachers. While I was at Episcopal, Perry was my champion; he treated my fledgling interest in poetry with dignity and encouraged me to not only apply myself to writing, but to enter work into contests that led to participation in some amazing opportunities at the Folger Library and the Joaquin Miller Cabin reading series. Perry is the reason I applied and was accepted into the undergraduate writing program at the University of Virginia and the M.F.A. program at Indiana University. Perry has a strong faith in his students, and he brings joy and energy to discussions and material that could otherwise be stale. Ultimately though, Perry’s legacy to me has been that as I teach, I aim to approach my students and their work with the same gentle manner as he did with me. Brevity is not one of my strengths, but it is so hard to explain in a few sentences how influential both Perry and Gail have been in my life. Or perhaps, it is not so difficult after all: in four words, Perry is my hero.

– Pilar Andrus ’00

Mr. Epes taught me that life is a continual process of learning and reflection, about oneself and the world. I didn’t truly understand this notion until recently, when over Christmas break, Mr. Epes gave me several books from his personal library, and in return, only asked that I discuss them with him. As Emerson once said, “All life is an experiment; the more experiments you make, the better.”

– Morgan Hensley ’10

I admired Mr. Epes immensely. I saw him as someone genuinely serious, and not in a way that suggests a dry intellect – quite the contrary. He regarded the world with an earnest interest that enlivened things, made things seem newly worthy of reflection. This attitude awakened me to a way of reading and to a way of living in the world as a poet. He was a tireless, generous mentor – a true guide to young writers. He read student work attentively and recognized the poetry in it, as only a poet can. It’s probably no coincidence that I find myself in the same role with young writers today. He treated my ideas and words with genuine interest and unstinting insight, and I hope to do the same for my students. So much happened in the classroom. He taught brilliant, unforgettable lessons. I still vividly remember the first day of senior English class. He wrote the Middle English lyric poem “O Western Wind” on the board and began simply by reading it. Very few people have such an intimate, electric connection to poems that they can elucidate them merely by reading them aloud – but Perry Epes is one of those people. I have held onto that poem, in his reading, for 15 years, as well as countless other early epiphanies about language and literature. It is incredible to me, looking back, that I could learn so much from a single person in so short a time.

– Michelle Gil-Montero ’98

Perry and Mariah, photo courtesy of John Herrington ’99

BY MASON NEW • ENGLISH TEACHER

A Bobby Story

After 22 years of teaching history and life lessons, Bobby Watts retires to Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

WHEN I FIRST MET BOBBY WATTS, IT WAS 100 DEGREES, I WAS STANDING IN EHS ATHLETIC GEAR READY TO WATCH EARLY FOOTBALL PRACTICE, AND HE SAID TO A FELLOW COACH, “WELL, IF MASON PROVES TO BE WORTH ANYTHING, WE CAN TAKE HIM TO BURGER DELIGHT.” REMINISCENT OF A MARINE CORPS DRILL INSTRUCTOR, BOBBY WAS A MAN OF PRINCIPLES, AND HE WAS UNCOMPROMISING ON THEM. I HAD TO PROVE THAT I COULD MEASURE UP.

As my time continued at EHS, I came to know Bobby for his candor. In my first year, after he met the woman who was then my girlfriend, he asked the question, “So when are you going to get married? You can’t do any better in life.” Two months later, I was engaged, and Melissa is now my wife. On the athletic field, his wit and frankness collided in one of those aphorisms that we can’t reprint here in these pages. And there were other times when he and I retreated downstairs in his home to the world’s greatest basement to watch sports and talk about the challenges of education. In those moments, I came to know what EHS students have always known: here is a man who cares deeply about me. At every professional and personal juncture, he could offer advice. At every moment when I missed the larger, more important point, he could correct me. I was a student of a sage.

I also began to understand what it means to live a good life and be a good man. I often visited his home and witnessed countless interactions between Bobby and his wife, Elizabeth – “Biz”as he playfully calls her. There was affection and understanding conveyed in every eye roll, giggle, or exhaled, “Oh, Bobby!” when he’d launched out one of his outrageous opinions. Bobby frequently replied with a chuckle, “Often wrong, but seldom in doubt!” Together,

they showed me what it means to have a real marriage filled with trust, humor, and love. There were also the moments with his children, Betsy and Rob. Bobby indirectly taught me how to raise kids, to give them their own opportunities, to try not to manage outcomes, and to enjoy each other’s company. Again the sage, when I was exhausted from the toddler and infant I had at home, he said, “Enjoy it, even when they cry.”

Bobby is a curious and energetic teacher. He organized Civil War road trips with a group of interested friends to understand where and what the Civil War was. We drove from Virginia to Illinois to Georgia, and we went to hear him speak of what and who and why. Once, we visited Shiloh at dusk, the time when young men were dying in the thousands 150 years before, and in the golden and purple sunlight, Bobby turned and said, “Good God. Can you believe it?” Another time, he and I stood in sweltering June heat at nearby Chancellorsville, and, when looking at a map of regimental positions, we discovered that our great-great-grandfathers had been standing about 100 yards from where we were, and they had been standing nearly together. Or the time when he took students and me to Gettysburg on a cold Saturday in March, and every one of

those students thanked him when we left the bus after the tour.

Bobby loves sports. The competitive fire burns bright and hot within him, but more importantly, sport is the arena for teaching the best lessons. As a coach, he prepared vigorously for practices and games. As an educator, he always sought to draw out the lesson most important to the players. Whether we won or lost, there was usually a reason found somewhere in the soul of the team, and Bobby was better than anyone at exposing those reasons, for showing young boys how to grow through adversity. There was a lot of “tough love” in those days, but there was just as much love as there was tough.

Bobby is a friend to many. I have been in Lynchburg and rural Bath County and downtown Newport News, and I have often heard, “I know Bobby Watts.” Anyone who knows him has a “Bobby story,” and those stories always contain a lot of laughter. But, those stories also revolve around a man who has given his time unequivocally and faithfully to his friends. Who else could take such delight in beating Woodberry Forest, yet have one of its distinguished alumni, Tommy Johnson, donate a locker room and scholarship at Episcopal to honor Bobby and Elizabeth?

Perhaps it is the stout torso or the wry smile or the pace of a man who is in a hurry to get on with the plan of the day. Perhaps it is the adherence to personal honor and discipline. Whatever it is, Bobby has the old-school gravitas, that spirit that makes him irresistible, respected, and loved. He now retires to the tranquility of the Eastern Shore of Virginia with “Biz” and his books, and he finally earns some much deserved rest.

Although some would consider Mr. Watts’ philosophy and mannerisms to be oldfashioned, he challenged us to think critically about history and politics. He taught us not only to be scholars but also “gentlemen” – not in the quaint sense of the word but in the sense that conveys honor and loyalty.

– Baobao Zhang ’09

I rank my respect for Bobby Watts right up there with the respect I have for my own father. He and Mrs. Watts were truly stand-in parents. He was a mentor, teacher, and coach who was first to congratulate you on an accomplishment in the classroom or on the athletic field, but he also did not hesitate to hold you accountable if you strayed off the right path.

In my opinion Coach Watts would have been a leader in any career choice, but I am so thankful he chose to be a teacher. To this day, I still benefit from the discussions we had about serving in a leadership role and learning to do what is necessary not what is simply easier for oneself.

Under the very sad circumstances of the death of Elizabeth Anderson ’97 in February 1995, the first arm around my shoulder as I exited the chapel that snowy morning belonged to Bobby Watts. He shepherded me to his house, where Mrs. Watts was waiting as well. They looked after me as if I was their own. My parents always took a great deal of comfort in knowing that Bobby and Elizabeth Watts were right there to look after me.

– Tad McLeod ’97

I saw Bobby as a father-like figure while I was a student and even to this day. If I ever had any problems with anything, he was always just a phone call away. Over the past 10 years, Bobby has become my best friend and will continue to be regardless of our extreme distance. I wish the best of luck to Bobby and thank him for all that he has done for EHS!

– Lewis Clark ’05

Bobby Watts had a profound impact on my experience at Episcopal, and I am glad to call him my friend. His passion for United States history, for shaping the lives of the students who pass through the gates of The High School, and (yes) for football is without equal. I have been fortunate to be welcomed into the Watts’ extended family, and I know the Episcopal community will miss their presence dearly.

– John Seale ’96

Mr. Watts was like a second father to me. When I was feeling homesick, I remember calling my father and crying all night about wanting to go home. My father contacted Mr. Watts, and the next day, Mr. Watts gave me a pep talk that changed my entire outlook. He told me that I needed to think about my future and my family and how staying at EHS would provide me with a better opportunity for success. He knew the struggles I had growing up in Pilot Mountain, N.C., as one of the few AfricanAmerican students in a very rural town. Any time I needed someone to talk to, I knew I could talk to him or Mrs. Watts. They made me feel as if I was one of their own children, and they always encouraged me to do my best. There were many times I cried on his shoulder, and his kind words and ability to make me smile helped me to get through some very tough times.

– Crystal Taylor ’96

Bobby and Elizabeth Watts with granddaughter Laney.

The High School Goes to Asia

Headmaster Rob Hershey and Director of Institutional Advancement Christina Holt traveled to Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Seoul following the Lunar New Year in February. In addition to meeting many EHS alumni and current parents at special dinners and receptions, they had the opportunity to tour the cities with those same alumni and parents as their personal tour guides. They explored street markets; visited Tai O, a fishing village on Lantau Island; went to the top of Namsan Tower in Seoul; and toured the Bund, a waterfront historic district in Shanghai along the Huangpu River.

Christina

1 Twenty-five alumni, representing EHS classes from 1991 to 2005, attended an alumni event at the Dugahun 640 restaurant in Seoul.

2 Director of Institutional Advancement

Holt, Headmaster Rob Hershey, and Audrey Chu (Claudia ’16) visited the Central Business District in Hong Kong.

3 Parents and alumni gathered at the American Club in Hong Kong. From left: Lillian and Stuart McCarthy (Sean ’16), Christina Holt, Winfield Sickles ’95, Sally Baldwin Sickles ’94, Catherine Coley ’07, Sabrina May Chu Lee (Ike Killis ’14), Graham Salzer ’02, Rob Hershey, and Audrey Chu (Claudia ’16).

4 Rob Hershey and Christina Holt visited the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul with Jae Woon Kim (left) and Kyang Ran Hong (Jack ’16).

5 Rob Hershey and Ken Chu (Claudia ’16) at Mission Hills Golf Resort in Shenzhen.

6 Local fare and specialties were served at the Tang Dynasty restaurant during the Shanghai parent event.

In Memoriam

Rye Burrus Page, Jr. ’40 of Miami, Fla., died March 10, 2013.

At Episcopal, Mr. Page was a Monitor and the manager of the track and field and football teams. He was a member of the Blackford Literary Society, the Missionary Society, and Egypt.

Mr. Page matriculated at the University of Georgia. During his sophomore year, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve Corps. He served four years during World War II and was discharged with the rank of first sergeant. After leaving the Army, Mr. Page returned to the University of

Georgia and graduated with a degree in journalism. He went to work for his father in the family newspaper business and completed apprenticeships in all departments of the newspaper. He purchased the business after his father’s death in 1955 and continued to work with the paper until 1972, when he sold it to The New York Times, retired, and moved to Miami, Fla.

He is survived by a dear friend, Angela; a son; a grandson; a niece; and four great nieces.

William Allan Perkins, Jr. ’43 of Deltaville, Va., died Jan. 14, 2014.

On the Hill, Mr. Perkins was a Monitor. He was a member of the Fairfax Literary Society, the varsity football team, and the “Whispers” board.

Following his graduation from Duke University, Mr. Perkins was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. After serving in the Marines, he graduated from the

University of Virginia Law School. He practiced law with McGuireWoods in Charlottesville, Va., where he was a partner until he retired in 1987.

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; a daughter; a son; and four grandchildren. His son, Willian A. Perkins III ’73, predeceased him.

At EHS, Mr. Waxter was a Monitor and the recipient of the Squash Cup. He was a member of the varsity baseball team and the Blackford Literary Society. Mr. Waxter and his brother, Bill Waxter ’43, established the William Deal Waxter, Jr. Award for boys’ squash at EHS in memory of their father. He also endowed the Arthur Waxter Family Award for excellence in visual arts.

After Episcopal, Mr. Waxter served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946 and January 1952

to 1953. He attended University of Dubuque, Northwestern University, and Yale University. He graduated in 1948 with degrees in international relations and political science. He worked at General Elevator Co., Inc.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy; a son; and a daughter. He was predeceased by his brother, William Deal Waxter III ’43 and EHS relatives uncle, Levin G. Shreve ’28, and cousin, Edward R. Willcox, Jr. ’46

At The High School, Mr. Grant was a Monitor and cheerleader. He was a member of the “Whispers” board and the varsity football and baseball teams. He was the president of the Fairfax Literary Society and the vice president of the Missionary Society.

Mr. Grant attended Emory University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in finance. After graduation, he worked for several years for

SunTrust Bank and served two years in the U.S. Army. He worked in real estate, developing his family’s land around the Cherokee Town Club and looking after his family’s farm, Wildfair, in Albany, Ga. He was active for many years in the brokerage and management of commercial real estate in downtown Atlanta.

Mr. Grant is survived by two daughters and four grandchildren.

Arthur Lee Shreve Waxter ’44 of Easton, Md., died Dec. 2, 2013.

John William Grant III ’45 of Atlanta, Ga., died Dec. 31, 2013.

Joseph Barrow Chambliss ’47 of Greenville, N.C., died Dec. 9, 2013.

At Episcopal, Mr. Chambliss was a member of the varsity baseball team, Choir, the Missionary Society, and the “Whispers” board.

After graduation, Mr. Chambliss attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After serving as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force in Anchorage, Alaska, Mr. Chambliss

William Neill

Schaller ’47 of

returned to North Carolina, where he obtained his law degree from UNC in 1959. He moved to Clinton, N.C., and established his law practice as a trial attorney.

He is survived by his wife, Kathye; two brothers; a son; a daughter; and five grandchildren.

Alexandria, Va., died Oct. 30, 2013.

At The High School, Mr. Schaller was a Monitor and recipient of the Johns and Whittle prizes. He was a member of the Fairfax Literary Society, the Missionary Society, The Chronicle board, the Glee Club, and the winter and spring varsity track and field teams.

After graduation, Mr. Schaller attended Princeton University. He joined the U.S. Army and conducted background investigations of Army personnel needing security clearance until he was released from active duty in 1953. He

obtained a doctorate degree in economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1962. A longtime resident of Alexandria, he retired in 1990 from the Department of Agriculture, where he worked as an agriculture economist. During his career, he was also the associate director of the Farm Foundation in Chicago, and later the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture in Greenbelt, Md.

Mr. Schaller is survived by his wife, Karen; a brother; a son; two daughters; and a grandson.

On the Hill, Mr. Thornton was a Monitor, the vice president of E-Club, and the president of the Athletic Association and Glee Club. He was co-captain of the wrestling team and was a member of the football team.

After graduation, Mr. Thornton attended the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. He graduated in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Mr. Thornton served in the 82nd Airborne Division of the U. S. Army,

after which he returned to Athens and joined the family business, Thornton Brothers Paper Company, Inc., founded by his father, uncle, and grandfather in 1939. Mr. Thornton was owner and president of Thornton Brothers for many years before retiring in 2003.

Mr. Thornton is survived by his wife, Lyn; his two daughters; three grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. EHS relatives include son-in-law William B. Inabet III ’83

Cornelius Decatur Scully III ’53 of Washington, D.C.,

At EHS, Mr. Scully was a member of the Fairfax Literary Society and The Chronicle board. He was the recipient of the Johns and Latin prizes.

Mr. Scully graduated from the University of Virginia in 1957 with a history degree, and in 1972, he earned his law degree from George Washington University. Mr. Scully served a three-year term in the U.S. Navy and taught

died Nov. 30, 2013.

history at Granby High School in Norfolk, Va., before starting a long career with the U.S. Department of State. He rose to be director of the Office of Legislation, Regulations, and Advisory Assistance.

He is survived by his wife, Muffie; two sons; a step-daughter; two brothers; four grandchildren; and numerous nephews and nieces.

James F. Thornton, Jr. ’51 of Athens, Ga., died Nov. 10, 2013.

In Memoriam

Joshua P. Darden Jr., ’54 of Virginia Beach, Va., died Jan. 22, 2014.

At Episcopal, Mr. Darden was a waiter and a member of the Chapel Committee, the E-Club, and the “Whispers” board. He was a member of the undefeated 1953 varsity football team that was inducted into the EHS Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. He was also on the track and field team. Later he served on the Board of Trustees from 1991 to 1993 and established the Joshua P. Darden, Jr. Scholarship (1986) and the Joshua B. and Elizabeth D. Darden Foundation Scholarship (2012).

After graduation, Mr. Darden attended the University of Virginia. After serving for a year as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army, Darden returned to Norfolk in 1959 and joined his father’s auto business, Colonial Chevrolet. In 1968, he became president. After buying the business from his father, he expanded it to 10 dealerships as Colonial Auto Group. In 1986, he received the National Quality Dealer award as the Automobile Dealer of the Year by Time magazine. Darden sold the business in 1994 and began spending more time on civic activities.

Mr. Darden was chairman of the board of the Norfolk Foundation from 1999 to 2009 and helped guide its merger with the Virginia Beach Foundation to become the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Mr. Darden created the ACCESS College Foundation in 1988 to help low-income students from the region find aid for college. He was rector of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia from 1987 to 1990 and chaired the $1 billion Campaign for the University from 1993 to 1997. He chaired the Governor’s Commission on Transportation for the 21st Century from 1984 to 1986 and the Norfolk Academy Board of Trustees for three years in the early 1980s, and he was founding president of the Tidewater Scholarship Foundation.

He is survived by his wife, Betty; a sister; two daughters; and four grandchildren, including Joshua E. Szymczak ’16. Other EHS relatives include cousins James H. Kabler ’39, Harvey L. Lindsay ’47, and Reginald E. Rutledge ’51 and son-in-law Lauren A. Parrott ’84

John Dudley McLanahan ’56 of Athens, Ga., died Oct. 13, 2013.

At Episcopal, Mr. McLanahan was a Monitor, and a member of the E-Club, Glee Club, “Whispers” board, Blackford Literary Society, and the varsity football and basketball teams. After graduation, Mr. McLanahan attended Yale University. He received his law degrees from Emory University in Athens, Ga. While serving as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Mr. McLanahan was stationed in Korea. After

his military service, he practiced law for 40 years with the firm Troutman Sanders in Atlanta. He is survived by wife, Penny; three sisters; two daughters; two sons, including C. Rhodes McLanahan ’89; and 11 grandchildren. EHS relatives include uncle Frank C. Dudley ’25, cousin Edward G. Dudley ’57, and nephew John L. Watson IV ’83.

Michael Sevareid ’58 of Mount Joy, Pa., died Aug. 4, 2013.

At Episcopal, Mr. Sevareid was a Monitor and a member of the Blackford Literary Society, Missionary Society, Glee Club, choir, and track and field team.

After EHS, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College in 1966 and a master’s from Central Missouri State University in 1992. He also studied drama in London and received an A.B.T from the University of Minnesota in 1968.

Mr. Sevareid had a lifetime of accomplishments in the entertainment industry. He acted in Hollywood and on Broadway, and in 1971, he played Cpl. Bill Wembley in “Raid on Rommel,” a film that starred Welsh actor Richard Burton. As a screenwriter, Mr. Sevareid contributed to episodes of the 1980s television series “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Fantasy Island,” and he produced the 1983 film “Happy Endings.” He worked for CBS from 1970 to 1979 as a program executive for notable shows

such as “All in the Family,” and later as director of miniseries. From 1979 to 1981, he served as the vice president of production for MGM Films, Inc.

In 1990, Mr. Sevareid became a professor at Elizabethtown College, which he described as his most gratifying work. During his tenure, he taught in the communications and theater departments, where he spearheaded a theater minor in 1993, followed by a theater major in 2002. Mr. Sevareid also served as artistic director at the Ephrata Performing Arts Center. Following his retirement as associate professor of theater in 2007, he performed locally at Gretna Theater, Hershey Area Playhouse, Theater of the Seventh Sister, and Ephrata Performing Arts Center.

He is survived by his twin brother, Peter Sevareid ’58; a half-sister; two daughters; three sons; three grandchildren; and his companion, Julie Strickland.

John Frampton Maybank ’63 of Charleston,

While at EHS, Mr. Maybank was a member of the varsity football and winter track and field teams.

After The High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and then served in the U.S. Army with the 8th Special Forces Group (Airborne), known as the Green Berets. After his military service, he launched his career in financial services. He earned a master’s degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, then became a certified public accountant and joined Arthur

S.C., died Oct. 31, 2013.

Andersen. Mr. Maybank later joined the firm of Schleeter Munson & DeBacker as an accountant. He later started his own accounting practice and became an assistant professor at The Citadel School of Business. In 1981, he began his work with the Robinson Humphrey Company investment firm. At the time of his retirement in 2012, the firm had become part of Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Maybank is survived by his wife, Kay; a daughter; a sister; a brother; and seven nephews and their families.

In Memoriam

Peter Carrington Williams ’64 of Alexandria, Va., died Feb. 13, 2014.

At The High School, Mr. Williams was a bookstore keeper and a member of the Missionary Society, Blackford Literary Society, Glee Club, Wilmer Society, and the varsity football, wrestling, and lacrosse teams.

After graduation, Mr. Williams attended the University of Virginia, where he received a degree in history. He received his law degree from Georgetown University and his master’s of law from University College in London, England. Mr. Williams worked with the

Export-Import Bank of the United States. In 1980, he joined the law firm of Kurrus and Dyer in Washington, D.C., as an attorney specializing in maritime and international finance law.

He is survived by fiancé, Katy Fike, and many loving family members, including former brother-in-law John C. H. Hooff, Jr. ’67 EHS relatives include his father, J. Peter Williams III ’31, and cousins William S. Williams ’42 and Edward C. Suhling ’42.

Charles Hansell Watt III ’66 of Houston, Texas, died Nov. 29, 2013.

At Episcopal, Mr. Watt was a Monitor, waiter, chairman of the Hop Committee, president of the Missionary Society, vice president of the Blackford Literary Society, and co-alternate captain of the varsity football team. He was a member of E-Club, Chapel Committee, and the varsity basketball and track and field teams. He received the Jack Buchanan Award for Football. After graduation, Mr. Watt attended Sewanee: The University of the South, where he majored in English. He obtained his law degree from The Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in Macon, Ga., in 1973. He

was a member the State Bar of Georgia and the Florida Bar, practicing law with Alexander & Vann in Thomasville, Ga., for more than 32 years before moving to Houston in 2005.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia; a brother; a son, Charles Hansell Watt IV ’96; a daughter; two stepsons, including John M. Seale ’96; three grandsons; one granddaughter; two nephews; and many cousins. Additional EHS relatives include cousins Katherine D. Baker ’03 and William L. Zimmer III ’31, father-in-law John Harris Meyers ’34, and uncle Robert G. Watt ’40.

G.

Moffett Cochran ’69

of New Canaan, Conn., died Nov. 18, 2013.

On the Hill, Mr. Cochran was a Monitor and a member of the Fairfax Literary Society, E-Club, “Whispers,” the staff of The Chronicle, the editorial board of Daemon, and the varsity track and field and soccer teams. He served on the EHS Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1995 and 1998 to 2000. Mr. Cochran was a member of the 1969 track and field team that was inducted into the EHS Athletics Hall of Fame in November 2013.

After The High School, Mr. Cochran received both a bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Virginia. After law school, he began his career in New York City with J.P. Morgan, followed by Bessemer Trust, where he was a member of the Management and Executive Committees. Mr. Cochran became chairman and CEO of Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette Asset Management Group and then president of Credit Suisse Asset Management after Credit Suisse’s acquisition of DLJ. Mr.

MacDonald

Cochran was founder, chairman, and CEO of Silvercrest Asset Management Group. He founded Silvercrest in 2002 and built it into a substantial investment management company that was taken public in June 2013.

He was chairman of the board of directors of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation and a trustee of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and he served on the board of managers of the University of Virginia Alumni Association and the board of trustees of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. He was also a member of the College of Charleston Foundation board of directors.

He is survived by his wife, DuPre; two daughters; his brother; and multiple nieces and nephews, including H. Carter S. Cochran, Jr. ’99 and W. Alexander R. Cochran ’01 Other EHS relatives include his father, the Hon. George Moffett Cochran ’30, and his father-inlaw, MacFarlane L. Cates, Jr. ’45.

of Earlysville, Va., died Jan. 14, 2014.

Coach Mac was a member of the Episcopal community from 1973 to 1989. While at Episcopal, he taught Spanish; coached the lacrosse, wrestling, and football teams; and served as an athletic trainer, technical director for the theater department, and advisor to “Whispers.” Mr. MacDonald graduated from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., and spent the next 42 years of his life teaching and coaching at three schools, Eaglebrook in Deerfield, Mass., EHS, and St. Anne’s Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va. Mr.

MacDonald’s commitment to helping people went beyond the classroom and fields. During his life, he served as an EMT in Washington, D.C., as a member of the Scottsville Volunteer Squad, and taught motorcycle rider safety classes for Albermarle County. He possessed a beautiful singing voice and was the lead singer in a band during his college years.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce; his mother; and his sister.

Jim “Coach Mac”

Memorial and Honor Gifts

Many donors choose to make memorial or honor gifts to Episcopal High School as a way to pay tribute to friends and loved ones. We are grateful to these donors who contributed to EHS from Nov. 1, 2013, to Feb. 19, 2014.

MEMORIAL GIFTS

In Memory of Miss Caroline Elizabeth Anderson ’97

Mr. Joshua S. Glazer ’95

Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Gookin

Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie M. Robbins, Jr.

In Memory of

Mr. David Jeter Blalock ’86

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Goodrum, Jr. ’86

Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Robinson ’85

In Memory of Mrs. Nancy Peete Blankenship

Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. Blankenship ’75

In Memory of

Mr. George P. Brown ’80

Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Brown III ’72

In Memory of Mr. Patrick Henry Callaway

The Rev. and Mrs. Fielder Israel, Jr. ’56

Mr. and Mrs. William A. Parker, Jr. ’75

In Memory of

Ms. Martha Locke Cammack ’09

Ms. Kathleen Elizabeth Hullinger ’09

Ms. Carly Rebekka Linthicum ’09

Ms. Elizabeth Benton Motley ’09

Ms. Virginia James Oates ’09

Ms. Caroline Talbott Roberts ’10

Ms. Elizabeth Speed Ward ’09

In Memory of

Mr. Edward Codrington Carrington, Jr. ’63

Mr. and Mrs. Eric A. Heinsohn

In Memory of

Mr. Hunsdon Cary, Jr. ’24

Mrs. Hunsdon Cary, Jr.

In Memory of Dr. Robert Spann Cathcart III ’57

Mr. and Mrs. Paul H. Cathcart ’60

Mrs. Robert S. Cathcart III

In Memory of

Mr. Joe Barrow Chambliss ’47

Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Stuart Gilchrist ’47

In Memory of

Mr. Stuart Grattan Christian, Jr. ’39

Mr. A. Stuart Ryan ’03

In Memory of

Mr. G. Moffett Cochran ’69

Mr. and Mrs. John S. Cathcart ’69

Mr. Marty Martin ’69

Mr. William McLeod Sullivan ’69

Mr. and Mrs. T. Ladson Webb, Jr. ’69

Mr. Robert M. Willett

In Memory of

Mr. John Jay Corson IV ’53

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Hamilton IV ’52

In Memory of

Mr. George Carruthers Covington ’71

Mr. Walter A. Holt, Jr. ’71

In Memory of

Mr. Joshua Pretlow Darden, Jr. ’54

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Finney

In Memory of

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Cooper Dawson, Jr. ’27

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel C. Dawson III ’66

Mrs. Marion Dawson Robinette

In Memory of

Mr. Robert A. Douglas

Mrs. Robert A. Douglas

In Memory of

Mr. Charles Wills DuBose ’54

Mrs. Charles Wills DuBose

In Memory of

Dr. Edward Ryant Dyer, Jr. ’35

Mrs. Edward Ryant Dyer, Jr.

In Memory of

Mr. Lloyd William Edgerly

Mrs. Marie Edgerly

In Memory of

Mr. John Chauncey Everhart ’08

Ms. Leah DuVal Andress ’08

Mr. and Mrs. R. Daniel Brady

Mr. William Luther Hand IV ’08

In Memory of

Mr. Robert Wiatt Farrar ’07

Mrs. Linda Koonts Farrar

Mrs. Katharine Hutchison Merritt ’02 and Mr. Spencer Merritt

In Memory of

Mr. Stedman English Gage ’09

Ms. Kathleen Elizabeth Hullinger ’09

Ms. Virginia James Oates ’09

Mr. and Mrs. William A. Raney, Jr. ’65

Mr. Wiley Anderson Wasden IV ’09

Mr. and Mrs. Wiley A. Wasden III

In Memory of

Mr. William Weems Gates ’93

Mrs. Catharine Slater Crawford ’93 and Mr. Penn Crawford

Mr. Samir Z. Nakhleh ’95

In Memory of

Mr. Lucien Minor Geer

Mrs. Catharine Slater Crawford ’93 and Mr. Penn Crawford

Mr. Dylan Cobern Glenn ’87

Mr. Alexander Y. Liu ’76

Mr. Michael K. Osborn ’81

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Whitehill Robinson ’85

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey C. Thomas ’76

Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Tylander

In Memory of

Mr. John William Grant III ’45

Mr. and Mrs. Norris A. Broyles, Jr. ’48

Mr. and Mrs. W. Barrett Howell, Sr.

Mr. William Anderson Parker, Jr. ’45

In Memory of

Mr. Arthur Powell Gray IV ’64

Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Vranian

In Memory of

Mr. William Ogier Hanahan, Jr. ’49

Mr. and Mrs. William H. deButts, Jr. ’47

In Memory of

Dr. William Evans Hannum II

Mr. Philippe McCook Dujardin ’09

Mrs. Katherine Webb Easterling ’95 and Dr. Bruce M. Easterling

Mrs. Lucy Whittle Goldstein ’97 and Mr. Jeremy Goldstein

Mr. James Riley McNab III ’00

In Memory of

Mr. William Klipstein Harryman, Jr. ’38

Dr. and Mrs. William K. Harryman III ’66

In Memory of

Mr. Ernest Helfenstein III ’50

Mr. and Mrs. J. E. G. Craig, Jr.

In Memory of

Mr. L. Herrick Higgins, Jr. ’75

Mr. and Mrs. J. Melville Broughton III ’75

In Memory of

Mr. Charles Rapley Hooff, Jr. ’31

Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Hooff III ’58

In Memory of Mr. Charles Rapley Hooff, Sr. 1902

Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Hooff III ’58

In Memory of

Mr. Robert Saunier Hornsby, Jr. ’99

Mr. Channing M. Hall III

In Memory of

Mr. Ben Irving Johns

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan S. Beane ’88

Mr. Robert J. Cheek ’78

In Memory of

Mr. Jason Scott Korsower ’94

Mrs. Catharine Slater Crawford ’93 and Mr. Penn Crawford

In Memory of

Mr. Zachary James Lea ’88

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin R. Tarbutton ’87

In Memory of

Mr. Collier Cobb Lilly ’85

Mr. and Mrs. James L. Allen, Jr. ’85

Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Robinson ’85

In Memory of

Mr. James Robert MacDonald

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan S. Beane ’88

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Goodrum, Jr. ’86

Mr. Evan James Male, Jr. ’64

In Memory of

Mr. John K. Mannix

Ms. Lisa C. Colgate

In Memory of

Mr. James Pleasants Massie, Jr. ’49

Mr. and Mrs. William H. deButts, Jr. ’47

Mr. Douglass S. Mackall III ’49

Mrs. James P. Massie, Jr.

In Memory of

Mr. John Frampton Maybank ’63

Dr. and Mrs. James M. Stallworth, Jr. ’63

In Memory of

Mr. Peter Kingsley McKee ’52

Mr. and Mrs. John C. Allen

In Memory of Mr. John Dudley McLanahan ’56

Mr. and Mrs. Peyton S. Hawes, Jr. ’56

In Memory of Mr. William Allan Perkins, Jr. ’43

Mr. William P. Moore, Jr.

In Memory of

Mr. Allen Carleton Phillips, Jr.

Mrs. Catharine Slater Crawford ’93 and Mr. Penn Crawford

The Rev. and Mrs. Fielder Israel, Jr. ’56

Mr. and Mrs. T. Ladson Webb, Jr. ’69

In Memory of Mrs. Yvonne Tomanelli Pinckney

Mr. St. George Bryan Pinckney ’65

In Memory of Mr. John B. Pinder, Jr.

The Rev. and Mrs. John B. Pinder III ’66

In Memory of Mr. Marlon S. Poitier

Mr. Juan A. Hickman and Mrs. Sonja Poitier-Hickman

In Memory of Mr. William Bee Ravenel III

Mr. and Mrs. T. Ladson Webb, Jr. ’69

In Memory of Mr. Matthew Thompson Scott ’82

Mr. and Mrs. Attison L. Barnes III ’82

In Memory of Mr. John Gibson Semmes ’41

Ms. Victoria Arnold

Mr. Lael Campbell

Lawyer’s Club of Washington

Mr. and Mrs. David H. Semmes ’45

Ms. Lucia L. Uihlein and Family

In Memory of Ms. Riley Alison Sims ’93

Mrs. Catharine Slater Crawford ’93 and Mr. Penn Crawford

Memorial and Honor Gifts

In Memory of Capt. Allen Smith III ’50

Mrs. Allen Smith III

In Memory of

Mr. William Elmore Spruill ’85

Mr. and Mrs. Brooks E. Nelson ’83

In Memory of

Mr. James Duff Steptoe ’69

Mr. and Mrs. John A. Zapf II ’69

In Memory of

Mr. John Philip Strubing ’93

Mrs. Catharine Slater Crawford ’93 and Mr. Penn Crawford

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Lamond ’93

Mr. and Mrs. Victor H. Maddu ’93

In Memory of

Mr. James Francis Thornton, Jr. ’51

Mr. and Mrs. William B. Inabnet III ’83

In Memory of

Mr. McLane Tilton

Mr. McLane Tilton, Jr. ’56

HONOR GIFTS

In Honor of Episcopal High School Faculty and Staff Brig. Gen. and Mrs. John A. Hurley

In Honor of Episcopal High School’s Military Veterans

Mr. and Mrs. T. Ladson Webb, Jr. ’69

In Honor of The Undefeated 1969 EHS Track and Field Team

Mr. James McKay Morton ’69

Col. and Mrs. James E. Newman, Jr. ’70

In Honor of Mr. Jack Ronald Bates III ’15

Mr. and Mrs. William Larry Coon

In Memory of

Mr. Burton G. Tremaine, Jr.

Mrs. Catherine B. Tremaine

In Memory of

Rev. Roger Atkinson Walke, Jr. ’32

Mr. Thomas Mabley III ’52

In Memory of

Mr. John Luther Walker ’54

Mrs. Jane W. Kerewich

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Walker III ’79

In Memory of

Mr. Charles Hansell Watt III ’66

Mr. and Mrs. Sydney A. Gervin III ’66

Mr. and Mrs. George W. Henderson III ’66

Mr. John Meyers Seale ’96

Mr. James M. Seidule

Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Watt IV ’96

Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Watts III

In Memory of

Mr. Arthur Lee Shreve Waxter ’44

Mrs. Meta P. Barton

In Memory of Mr. William Deal Waxter III ’43

Mrs. Meta P. Barton

In Memory of Dr. David Kerndt Wiecking ’50

Mr. and Mrs. Benton T. Boogher, Jr. ’50

In Memory of Mr. Mason Wiley, Jr. ’73

Mr. Frank Douglas Rambo II ’74

In Memory of The Hon. Clifton Alexander Woodrum III ’57

Mr. and Mrs. Shepard B. Ansley ’57

Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Frantz, Sr.

In Honor of Mrs. Madison Murray Carlos ’05

Mr. and Mrs. William G. Murray, Jr.

In Honor of Mr. Mark Carter

Mr. Benjamin Thom Strawsburg ’12

In Honor of

Mr. Elwood Brogden Coley, Jr. ’73

Mr. and Mrs. David W. Carr, Jr. ’73

In Honor of Mr. William Riley Deeble III

Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Jackson ’81

In Honor of Mrs. Anita B. Doyle

Ms. Cameron Wright Griffith Hawkins ’10

Mr. Richard Thomas Horan III ’13

In Honor of Mr. and Mrs. William Perry Epes III ’65

Ms. Leah Holt Dodson ’10

Ms. Helen Woolworth

In Honor of Mr. William Perry Epes III ’65

Ms. Mary Cameron Baker ’11

Mr. Kirkland Tucker Clarkson ’08

Mr. Whittington Whiteside Clement, Jr. ’10

Mr. Peter Joseph Dunbar ’06

Ms. Lillian Maxwell Bellamy Haywood ’04

Ms. Madison Elizabeth Hopkins ’13

Mr. Rutledge Osborne Long ’06

Mr. Wiley Anderson Wasden IV ’09

Mrs. Julia Rowe Wise ’06 and Mr. Clarke R. Wise

Mr. Jack Alexander Yeh ’99

In Honor of Ms. Katharine Dawson Farrar ’07

Mrs. Linda Koonts Farrar

In Honor of Mr. Lyle Hamilton Farrar ’04

Mrs. Linda Koonts Farrar

In Honor of Mrs. Rachel A. Flores

Ms. Taylor Marie Kelly ’12

In Honor of Mrs. Catherine B. Gomez-Goodnow

Ms. Laura Michelle Hollister ’12

In Honor of Ms. Betsy Goodwin

Mr. and Mrs. William S. Peebles ’73

In Honor of Ms. Caroline Callaway Hague ’15

Mr. and Mrs. James Codell III

In Honor of Mr. David Madison Hardaway ’15

Mrs. Jerome L. Crawley

In Honor of Mr. and Mrs. David L. Hathaway

Mr. David D. Keaton

In Honor of

Mr. Henry Muhler Hay IV ’16

Mr. and Mrs. Henry M. Hay, Jr.

In Honor of

Mr. F. Robertson Hershey

Mr. Rutledge Osborne Long ’06

Mrs. Perrin Dent Patterson ’01 and Mr. James Patterson

In Honor of Mr. Joel Hurt Jones ’78

Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Arrington, Jr.

In Honor of Ms. Maura Lee Kitchens ’16

Mr. and Mrs. Craig Jumper

In Honor of Mr. Robert Elijah Mason IV ’77

Mr. Dickinson M. Lupo

In Honor of Dr. Angus Murdoch McBryde, Jr. ’55

Mr. and Mrs. Henry VonHoff Stoever IV ’84

In Honor of Mr. William Gray Murray III ’03

Mr. and Mrs. William G. Murray, Jr.

In Honor of Mr. J. Mason New

Ms. Amanda Marie Acquaire ’11

Mrs. Molly W. Pugh and Mr. William Pugh

In Honor of Dr. Kimberly G. Olsen

Mr. Lester A. Batiste ’09

In Honor of Mrs. Scout Douglas Osborne ’06 Mrs. Virginia Mittauer

In Honor of Mr. William Smith Peebles IV ’73

Mr. and Mrs. David W. Carr, Jr. ’73

In Honor of Mrs. Dana Winters Rengers

Mr. and Mrs. William S. Peebles IV ’73

In Honor of Mr. Edward Adams Rice

Mr. and Mrs. Abney S. Boxley III ’76

In Honor of Mr. Marshall Frazier Richard ’13

Dr. and Mrs. Stephen R. Richard, Sr.

In Honor of Ms. Claire Kathleen Schmitt ’07

Mr. and Mrs. Louis A. Schmitt

In Honor of Mr. Louis Allan Schmitt ’02

Mr. and Mrs. Louis A. Schmitt

In Honor of Mr. Joseph Badger Shelor ’52

Mr. and Mrs. J. Caulley Deringer ’82

In Honor of Mr. Stewart McLeod Spurry ’16

Mrs. Ethel V. Layton

In Honor of Mr. Jeffrey A. Streed

Mr. Benjamin Thom Strawsburg ’12

In Honor of Ms. Mary Helen McNatt Tarbutton ’15

Mr. and Mrs. Hugh M. Tarbutton

In Honor of Ms. Miranda Elizabeth Kaylor Thompson ’00

Mr. and Mrs. William S. Peebles IV ’73

In Honor of Mr. Damian C. Walsh

Ms. Sophie Read McNichols ’13

In Honor of Mrs. Elizabeth Andrews Watts

Mr. and Mrs. William S. Peebles IV ’73

In Honor of

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Crenshaw Watts III

Mr. and Mrs. Douglas B. Neagli

Memorial and Honor Gifts

In Honor of

Mr. Robert Crenshaw Watts III

Ms. Leah DuVal Andress ’08

Mr. Kirkland Tucker Clarkson ’08

Mr. Whittington Whiteside Clement, Jr. ’10

Mr. Miller Gwynn Cornelson ’06

Mr. William Whiting Davy ’12

Mr. and Mrs. John Henry Duer III ’53

Mr. Peter Joseph Dunbar ’06

Ms. Victoria Miranda Friedman ’07

Dr. and Mrs. Charles Pierson Gilchrist III ’67 and Family

Ms. Lillian Maxwell Bellamy Haywood ’04

Ms. Madison Elizabeth Hopkins ’13

Mr. Christopher Elkins Joseph ’03

Mr. Rutledge Osborne Long ’06

Mr. Kwang Hyun Maeng ’07

Mr. Blake Winslow Murphey ’04

Mr. Austin Robert Parker ’10

Mr. Saranapob Thavapatikom ’10

Mr. Jackson Lewis Tucker ’06

Mr. Wiley Anderson Wasden IV ’09

Mrs. Julia Rowe Wise ’06 and Mr. Clarke W. Wise

Mr. Thomas Tabb Wyllie ’05

In Honor of Mr. Frederick J. Wilcox IV

Mr. and Mrs. William S. Peebles IV ’73

In Honor of Mrs. Stacie G. Williams

Dr. and Mrs. Richard W. Hawkins

In Honor of Ms. Wyndham Josephine Williamson ’16

Mr. and Mrs. Zack H. Bacon, Jr.

The Last Word

On the field, Rick Wilcox is the head varsity boys’ soccer coach; in the Advancement Office, he is director of alumni and parent programs and senior gifts officer. This fall, he will add to his long list of titles, “father of an incoming EHS freshman.” Before he gets swept up in parenting a high schooler, we decided to give Wilcox the last word.

Tell us about the different hats you’ve worn in your 19 years at EHS.

I fell into my life at EHS and really lucked out! I started as a development assistant and later served as director of annual giving, major gifts officer, and currently director of alumni and parent programs.

Outside the office, I have always cherished the opportunity to be involved in the lives of our students. My wife, Emily, and I were married in Callaway Chapel and then lived for 10 years on Berkeley Dorm. I serve as an advisor, and I am very passionate about coaching boys’ soccer. And – next year I will become an EHS parent of a ninth grader, too!

You became director of alumni and parent programs in January. What changes can alumni and parents expect to see?

We’re developing a webinar series that will be led by alumni and parents who are experts in their fields. We’re working closely with the deans to make Parents Weekends even better. The plans to strengthen and revamp the Washington Program will present opportunities to connect students with alumni mentors.

Episcopal has set ambitious goals for the Roll Call this year. What is the key to its success?

To meet the budgeted needs of the School, we must increase Roll Call giving by 6 percent this year. This is a tall order, but I have learned over the years just how important this School is to alumni and parents. To be successful, we need broad support in the form of large and small gifts from alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends. We have made great strides this year, especially with high-level leadership gifts. I’m particularly impressed by the fact that nine current parents have already committed or given Roll Call gifts of $20,000 or more. Hopefully, others will join before June 30.

Episcopal just completed an $87 million capital campaign. What possible difference can small gifts make?

Every alumnus whom I have ever met can remember the EHS teacher who inspired him or her. Every time someone makes a gift – of any size – to the Roll Call, it helps to support the magical connections that happen here daily. A $100 gift might help a student-athlete don a Maroon jersey and put forward a special performance inspired by an unforgettable coach.

What motivates you in your role at Episcopal?

Watching the students grow up before my eyes! By the time they graduate, they have each learned so much about themselves and developed the knowledge, passion, confidence, and moral foundation to go on to do great things.

What is the outlook for the 2014 boys’ soccer team?

It’s too early to tell [at publication time], but I always get excited thinking about the possibilities. Regardless of whether we win 20 games or two (I’ve experienced both), each season is a special journey and an opportunity to work with great kids to try to create something special together.