Gilmour Magazine Fall 2010 by Gilmour Academy

Congratulations to the Class of 2010 Page 24

Staff Editor Kathleen C. Kenny Associate Editor Kathleen McDermott Contributing Writers Nicolene Emerson James C. Farrar ’59 Mary Kate Farrar Vega ’93 Debra Hollander Kathleen C. Kenny Matt Lindley ’89 Kathleen McDermott Bridget McGinty ’02 Kathy Pender Arlene Smith

Unveiling Medieval Mary Garden Page 40 The Physics of Floating Page 37

ON THE COVER . . . Of Generations Past and Present The stone gateway in front of Tudor House that marks the path between the Middle and Upper schools and the Murphy Residence Hall once welcomed guests of Francis Drury, the turn-of-the-century philanthropist who built Tudor House, and his wife Julia. Two alums have committed “their path to the future.” Andrea Pinchak ’02 and Ernie Corvi ’02 chose this magnificent site to capture their wedding day memories. Andrea and Ernie met during freshman year, sharing ice time while both played for Gilmour hockey teams, excelled in college prep classes in Upper School classrooms and competed successfully in track and field. Several Gilmour alumni comprised their wedding party including Anna Pinchak Lillis ’96, Cyril Pinchak ’02, Matt McPherson ’02, David Corvi ’03 and Stephanie Kimery ’09. To learn more about the Drurys and the origins of Tudor House, turn to page 4.

Editorial Assistants Colleen F. Kiely ’96 Matt LaWell Bridget McGinty '02 Laura Ondrake ’02 Arlene Smith Mary Kate Farrar Vega ’93 Holly Yotter Photography John Bashian ’78 Neal Busch Nicolene Emerson James C. Farrar ’59 Ralph Jones, Captured Memories Photography Kyle Lanzer, Sun News Mark Most Jim Olexa, Sun News Kevin Reeves Michael Spear Design/Production Canale Studio, Inc. Printing Oliver Printing Director of Institutional Advancement Colleen F. Kiely ’96 Director of Development James C. Farrar ’59 Director of Annual Fund and Constituent Relations Mary Kate Farrar Vega ’93

Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross Notre Dame, Indiana

Gilmour Magazine

CONTENTS Features

Alumni

If These Walls Could Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Diamond Jubilee for Sister Claudia . . . . A Benchmark for Holy Cross and Gilmour .

.4 .8 .12 .14

AlumNews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Lancer Spotlights . . . .50, 52, 53, 54, 58, 60, 62 On the Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Ondak is Alumni Association President . . . .61 Glen Oak Reunion Brunch . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Lancer Athletics

Commencement Commencement Speaker . . . . . . . . Valedictory Address . . . . . . . . . . . Salutatory Address . . . . . . . . . . . . College Acceptances, Class of 2010

. . . .

.17 .20 .22 .24

The Academy Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Facing Frenzy Head On . . . . . . . . . . . . Top Clinic Poster Prize Goes to Gilmour Middle School Naturalists . . . . . . . . . . . The Physics of Floating . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Canvas that Connects Through Faith . Unveiling Medieval Mary Garden . . . . . Close Encounters of a Girl Kind . . . . . . Netbooks: Spot on for the Classroom . . History Day Redux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathryn Holleran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Jaunting Task for Journalism . . . . . . . Shakespeare Saunters into New Territory Fit as a Fiddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spirited Sojourner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Counseling the College Bound . . . . . . . A Seamless Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.32 .34 .35 .36 .37 .38 .40 .41 .42 .43 .44 .45 .45 .46 .47 .48 .49

Campus

For Track, A Storied Season . . . . . . . . . . . .64 New Volleyball and Softball Coaches . . . . . .65 Kazel Named Girls Lacrosse Coach . . . . . . .65 Boys Prep Hockey Gets Head Coach . . . . .66 Lancers to Play for Colgate . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 GA Girls Tapped for USA Hockey Camps . .67 Go-to Guy for Sportsmanship . . . . . . . . . . .67

Memorial Set in Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Gilmour Extends Sympathy to Families . . . .69

Dear Parents, We send this magazine to college-age graduates at their parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; homes. Please forward this to keep your son or daughter informed about GA.

Featur e

If These Walls Could Talk The History of Tudor House and the Drurys

n a warm summer evening, former Gilmour history teacher Dan Ruminski sits comfortably in one of Tudor House’s leather armchairs, like a grandfather about to spin a bedtime story. Only those gathered to listen are not his grandchildren, but four dozen members of the Gates Mills Historical Society who have come to Gilmour to hear the real-life details of Francis Edson Drury, the turn-of-the-century industrialist who built Tudor House as his country estate. With a penchant for weaving an intricate tale, Ruminski fills in the colorful details that a textbook cannot. The story of Tudor House and the Drury family is one of modest beginnings and fortune, heartbreak and rivalry and, of course, architectural grandeur and opulence. Completed in 1925, Tudor House is actually a replica of Francis E. Drury’s mansion on Millionaires Row. The original mansion was

Julia and Francis Drury at their home in Augusta, Ga.

designed by renowned architects Frank Meade and James Hamilton, who drafted and built dozens of the area’s historic residences. Located on Euclid Avenue near East 86th Street in Cleveland, the mansion took about a year to complete, cost more than $500,000 to build and measured 25,000 square feet. Today, The Cleveland Clinic owns the original mansion, and the lush six acres of gardens across the street that were known as The Oasis are now home to The Cleveland Play House. Drury’s beginnings were modest, completing the equivalent of only a 10th-grade education. But what he lacked in schooling, he made up for in ingenuity. Among other things, he worked in various railroad machine shops and patented a gear to increase lawn mower efficiency. His real fortune came when he teamed up with Standard

Oil’s John D. Rockefeller at the turn of the century. Drury was producing the country’s best kerosene stoves at the time. Kerosene, a byproduct of refined oil, was being dumped into the Cuyahoga River. Realizing that Drury’s stoves created a need for the castoffs of his oil, Rockefeller approached Drury with an integrated business idea: Standard Oil would help Drury market and sell the stoves that Drury made. Together they sold 15 million blue-flame stoves. Drury made between $50 and $100 million and became a billionaire in today’s dollar value. Like others of his time with newfound wealth, Drury desired a rural retirement estate. He was approaching 70 years old when he purchased more than 130 acres from an older farmer at the southwest corner of Gates Mills. Drury and his second wife, Julia, already owned a home in Waite Hill, an apartment on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and a winter home in Augusta, Ga. In deciding to move to the country, Drury contacted the prominent architect, Charles S. Schneider, who duplicated the couple’s Euclid Avenue home, but made it one and a half times bigger. The country estate, built on Cedar Hill Farm, cost between $2 and $3 million to build. While construction was taking place from 1924 to 1925,

Julia Drury, who had a reputation as a difficult and often peculiar person, was in Europe amassing a rare artwork collection that would later be rotated for viewing throughout Tudor House. Expenses were not spared in creating Tudor House and its surroundings. Outside, the property boasted the most impeccable gardens, five acres of greenhouses, an orchard with 350 trees and a state-of-the-art barn. Two marble pillars stood at the entranceway to the pond in the back. Julia Drury’s treasured sunken formal gardens were transferred, stone by stone, from the estate on Euclid Avenue.

Expenses were not spared in creating Tudor House and its surroundings.

Featur e

If These Walls Could Talk (continued)

Approximately 30 staff lived on site to maintain the burgeoning property. The chauffeur’s quarters were attached to a four-car garage, which is where Gilmour’s old chapel was housed. Francis Drury was a large man, weighing in at about 300 pounds, and he required a specially-made bed, as well as his own elevator to the second floor. A player organ used by Mrs. Drury sat at the top of the stairs off the grand hallway that then led to the couple’s living quarters but now houses Gilmour staff offices. All the woodwork and wood paneling original to the house were done in New York, numbered and then assembled on site. Much of the Tudor House flooring is original, as is the intricate plaster molding and artisan ceiling crowns. The Tudor House dining room could host as many as 30 seated guests and still boasts the original wood dining buffet that the Drurys used. To announce their move, the Drurys planned an elaborate white-tie party. Planning took months; staff

served the finest foods and wines; and parking for 400 chauffeured cars was arranged. The cut flowers alone cost $3,000! Much to the Drury’s chagrin, only 40 people showed up to what was supposed to have been an event for several hundred people. Folklore suggests that the Van Sweringen brothers, Shaker Heights developers and social rivals of the Drurys, put the word out not to attend the Drury’s party. The Vans, as they were commonly known, had eyed the land Drury bought for his country estate for their railroad extension – now the RTA – and were miffed by Drury’s acquisition of Cedar Hill Farm. The couple never recovered from the devastation of planning this magnificent “coming out” party and having no one show up. They lived at the estate for only nine more months and then abandoned the property for their

Next Up: A Virtual Millionaires Row

home in Georgia. Francis Drury died there in 1932 at the age of 81 and Julia passed away 11 years later at the age of 84 at her apartment near Shaker Square. Tudor House and its surroundings were maintained by a skeleton crew from 1928 through 1944, when the Brothers of Holy Cross purchased 133 acres of the Drury estate – including Tudor House – and established Gilmour Academy. In gathering his research on Tudor House and the Drurys, Dan Ruminski relied heavily upon Gilmour’s archives, as well as the Western Reserve Historical Society and an online website out of Cleveland State University. Ruminski taught history and economics at Gilmour from 1970 to 1972. He was the head basketball coach at the time – a fitting role for the affable Ruminski, who stands 6-foot-6. Debra Mayers Hollander

t its height of grandeur, Millionaires Row in Cleveland stretched four miles along Euclid Avenue from Public Square. Approximately 250 mansions comprised what was once known as “the most beautiful street in America.” Millionaires Row featured the magnificent homes of Cleveland’s most influential families, many of which are still familiar to us today – Rockefeller, Mather, Wade, Gund, Brush, Severance and Hanna, to name a few. As industrial Cleveland grew, many of these once-stunning mansions fell into disrepair and were destroyed to make room for businesses, Dan Ruminski and wife, Susan, at Tudor House highways and industry. Dan Ruminski is hopeful that Cleveland can reclaim that lost glory by creating a virtual Millionaires Row exhibit and museum to learn about its grand history. Together with his business partner and historical artifacts collector, Steve Erlich, Ruminski is recreating the splendor of 25 of these exceptional mansions. Housed in about 10,000 square feet at Cleveland’s historic Lake View Cemetery, the museum would lead visitors on an audio and visual tour of the homes, complete with “narration” from its original owners. Visitors would learn about the wealthy entrepreneurs and their families who once populated Euclid Avenue. Rooms from the original mansions would be recreated to give museum-goers the opportunity to learn how philanthropists of the time lived. While still in the early planning stages, Ruminski is hopeful that this project will be completed in two years. To learn more about Ruminski’s upcoming speaking engagements or to read additional articles on Cleveland’s history, visit www.clevelandhistorylessons.com. DMH

Featur e

Michael’s Gift J

im and I want to thank those of you who are here today – Michael’s classmates from the Class of 1990

celebrating their 20th reunion – friends who he loved. Jim and Kathy Pender

I want to thank one of Michael’s dedicated doctors, Carl Doershuk, who is here today with his wife. Carl

ups and downs – never knowing what would happen

always stood alongside Michael. Pat Brockway, who

next with his condition: of course, our beloved grand-

was Michael’s advocate, advisor and friend, is here.

children are here. My brother, Lee, and his wife, Tuni,

I so appreciate your devotion to Michael. Our two

are with us, as are our friends, many from a very long

children, Katie and Marc ’83, now are parents and have

time ago, who have continued with us in our journey

children at Gilmour. They had to live through those

through life.

many difficult years when Michael was so ill and adjust to the roller coaster ride we always had with Michael’s

Thank you, Brother Robert, for taking the risk to accept Michael into the Middle School at a time when

A favorite prayer of Kathy Pender’s is the “Prayer of St. Francis.” Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon: where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope where there is darkness, light it seemed risky to have a child in the school with such

and where there is sadness, joy.

a severe medical condition. Michael loved Gilmour

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much

and gained so much and, I believe, Gilmour did also.

seek to be consoled as to console;

Thanks to Paul Neundorfer ’83, who designed the plan

to be understood, as to understand;

for this garden and who constructed the bench and the

to be loved, as to love.

carvings on it many years ago, and it has been moved

For it is in giving that we receive,

here now. Thanks to Lisa Sefcek who has so carefully

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

planted this garden to make it beautiful and who will

and it is in dying that we are born to

continue to nurture it as she has with our gardens at

eternal life.

home. Thanks to an advisor and dedicated teacher and faculty member, Kathy Kenny, who has been a good friend and stood by me throughout these many years. The experiences we have in life we do not always

The “Prayer of St. Francis” tells us that we seek to give, and in doing so, receive blessings that we have

choose and often they are experiences we would give

hope in the dark times, that we strive for peace and we

anything to avoid. These experiences make us different

forgive. It continues letting me know that where there

and often better. Through these times we learn the

is sadness I can find joy, that I can have love when

lesson that one grows through suffering. And that, too,

there is hatred surrounding me. I believe I learned a

was Michael’s lesson and gift to us. He has been my

lot of that from Michael, and in his dying, he has been

inspiration often in life today. When things seem

born to eternal life.

difficult or I do not feel well, I have a visual picture

Michael was always different from a baby on –

of Michael in the mornings that last year struggling to

always curious and always looking at life as an

catch his breath as he would go to take a shower and

adventure and a discovery. He expressed himself in

get dressed. He loved to look his best in spite of how

the most unique ways; sometimes as a child he seemed

he felt. He was ready to face the world and his world

to have the wisdom of an old soul and had such an

had become more and more of a challenge. Michael’s

interesting way of looking at life. Although at 3 I do

spirit, courage and belief in living each day to the

not know that Michael knew he had this wonderful

fullest is with me each day allowing me to live with

sense of humor and unique way of saying things,

the ups and downs, with the sorrows and joys of life.

he always did. Michael was simply who he was.

Featur e

Michael’s Gift Continued Listen to a story he dictated to his preschool teacher when he was about 3 years old to catch this lively spirit. I go to church in Gates Mills.

Have it Your Way There’s a God all over the place.

God lives there. So everybody can get married.

They help everybody be born. He looks like an invisible man.

When they want to get married he helps them.

I know he’s a man.

He’s invisible but he comes to the wedding.

Cause God’s a boy’s name.

It’s boring, but he likes to come. He likes to come to weddings.

He helped me be born. I think it was at Burger King.

My Mom chose(d) me. I’m adopted.

He wears nothing.

I think at Burger King.

Because I can’t see him.

You know.

He’s in this room somewhere.

You choose.

You can talk to him but he doesn’t say anything.

Have it your way (sings).

He helps me with invisible talking.

(Teacher collapses in laughter).

Michael Pender

We have been so blessed to have had two of our children and now four of our grandchildren attend Gilmour. It has been a place that has given children, staff and parents a true sense of what it is to educate the mind and heart. We did not know many years ago that the small garden that we placed in memory of Michael at the old gym would be a place of gathering for students as they waited to be dropped off or picked up at school. We had not expected that the name would soon be the Michael Pender Circle. We feel privileged to establish a new garden and place of gathering at this new and magnificent Athletic Center. Michael loved athletics, even though he could not participate physically. He was at all the games of any kind cheering on the teammates. He loved Gilmour and his friends. He would love to be a part of this gathering. And, I believe, he is with us today in spirit at this special gathering of his classmates and others who were such an important part of his life. Thank you all for being here. Kathy Pender

ichael Pender’s journey at Gilmour Academy is so much more than the lovely garden by the new Athletic Center or the stone bench with his favorite inscription. The real testaments to Michael are the enriched lives of the classmates who graduated with him in 1990. Many came to the garden’s dedication in June during Gilmour’s Annual Reunion, which would have been Michael’s 20 th. These alumni and Michael and friends many others from the Gilmour Family are witnesses to the lives he touched through his courage. Michael Pender died the year after he graduated from Gilmour. For many years he suffered severe physical disabilities from complications from a boating accident when he was a child. He was fragile and required special oxygen. Initially, he was not able to be around other children whose colds and viruses might further impair his immune system and he was tutored at home. Despite these difficulties, Michael valiantly prevailed. His educational years in the Middle and Upper schools were enriched by an academic, athletic and social life that defines the Gilmour experience for all students. Like the inviting entranceway on campus named for him – a portal to a wondrous world – Michael’s struggles and challenges opened the door to opportunities for growth that come with care and concern for others. “Given the proper environment, a student with disabilities can make significant lifelong differences in the lives of those who have not, as yet, been forced to deal with adversity,” says Jim Pender, Michael’s father. “This, of course, is education for the heart and the mind.”

Featur e

A Diamond Jubilee for Sister Claudia

he word from the Greek adames, meaning enduring, seems apropos for Sister Claudia Klyn, O.S.U. She played a pivotal part in the Gilmour/Glen Oak merger. Celebrating 60 years as an Ursuline – a jubilee marked since the time of Queen Victoria with diamonds – Sister Claudia became director of Glen Oak in 1978 and remained with the merged school until 1985, helping to guide the girls’ high school experience through the challenges of transitioning to a new co-ed school. “Sister Claudia added depth and wisdom, which enabled the Glen Oak and Gilmour experiences to mold and enhance programs and extracurriculars for all students,” says Gilmour Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “I am not sure our merged schools could have accomplished so much while being respectful of one another’s traditions without Sister Claudia.

“I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Sister Claudia in bringing about this historic accomplishment, which continues to benefit new generations.” At the time Sister Claudia joined Glen Oak, the school had an ecumenical approach to education. Some thought the girls’ high school was too Catholic, others that it was not Catholic enough. Enrollment had trailed to the point that the freshman class had only 15 girls. Still, Sister Claudia came armed with years of academic experience as principal and executive director of Beaumont School, a decade of teaching at St. Ann and Christ the King elementary schools and a period teaching at Ursuline Academy. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from Ursuline College and the University of Notre Dame, respectively. Besides that, she was no stranger to Gilmour; her brother Jack was a 1952 Gilmour graduate. Before the merger in 1982, Gilmour and Glen Oak students swapped classes that they took at each other’s school and were shuttled by bus between the two campuses. Sister Claudia recalls those early years “I am not sure our merged as director being “a time schools could have of growth and fulfillment, accomplished so much but difficult.” Former Upper School while being respectful of English instructor Frank one another’s traditions McCamley waxed poetic in one of his recent blogs without Sister Claudia.” on Gilmour’s website about Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. what it was like to teach a class at Glen Oak back in the days. “For one year, a few other Gilmourians and I savored a taste of what Glen Oak was when some

“It is kind of fun when I walk into the Lower School and see the young children still learning in open classrooms.” Sister Claudia Klyn, O.S.U.

Upper School classes were held down there,” he wrote. “It was an idyllic time, a gentle time, perhaps because of the acoustics of the building’s carpeting, or the airiness of its open-plan classrooms, but more, I imagine, because of Sister Claudia’s presence…” For her part, the director notes that she was heartened by the enthusiasm of some of the men who taught at Gilmour and also taught classes at Glen Oak. “Some of these men told me those were the happiest days of their lives,” she says. “They loved teaching there. I thought this was very encouraging.” During the transition, Sister Claudia worked with the boards of both schools and met with the Glen Oak students during their regular town hall meetings. “One of the goals of Glen Oak was to develop an environment for the students in which they could excel as an independent person,” she explains. “When I met with the girls to tell them what was happening, I said ‘Remember, do not get swallowed up.’ It was hard for some of the girls. The Glen Oak students were very independent. They had ideas that they wanted to be somebody someday and they did that.” After the merger, Sister Claudia served as a guidance counselor and in other various capacities at Gilmour. She continued to live in the Glen Oak convent. “I stayed there for a couple of years when it was just plain empty,” she recalls. “I had to close up at night and I did some of the gardening.” Sister Claudia remained at Gilmour through 1985 and spent five years starting and developing the Ursuline congregation’s development office before working as director of institutional advancement at what later became Oakland Catholic School in Pittsburgh. There, she was able to put her Gilmour/Glen Oak experience to work in the merger of two girls’ schools that were both 75 years old. She

taught part-time at Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh and moved to Columbus to work in development at Bishop Ready High School. A couple of other career sidelines added spice to her varied career. She evaluated schools in Spain for the U.S. Defense Department, earning the rank of colonel, and visited Africa and then Holland, her father’s homeland, where her grandfather was a nurseryman. She is probably one of a select few with a pink rose named after her that came from her father’s test garden for roses. In a sense, Sister Claudia carries on the Klyn family nursery tradition, maintaining the courtyard gardens at the St. Angela Center on the Ursuline campus where she lives. As an honorary Trustee of Gilmour she has had occasion to revisit Glen Oak, now Gilmour’s Lower School, and says, “It is kind of fun when I walk into the Lower School and see the young children still learning in open classrooms.”

Featur e

Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the skies? Lay first the foundation of humility. St. Augustine

t. Augustine must have been prophetic when he wrote these words centuries before Brother André Bessette, C.S.C., was born in 1845. The frail and unassuming little doorkeeper who welcomed all to a Holy Cross School in Montreal built his own tower to “pierce the sky” when he founded a 319-foot-high basilica (more than 30 stories) for his favorite saint. Now millions of pilgrims find their way to St. Joseph’s Oratory each year to honor the patron saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross. When Brother André is canonized by the Vatican on October 17, he will be the first member of the Congregation of Holy Cross to formally become a saint. “In each age the Holy Spirit raises up such humble witnesses of the Gospel, who turn things topsy-turvey,” Pope John Paul II said of Brother André, who is often referred to as the miracle man of Montreal. The “healer and miracle worker,” was said to have used a balm called St. Joseph’s oil that he burned beneath the saint’s statue and rubbed it on those who were sick or injured and counseled them to pray to St. Joseph. “Brother André never saw himself as a healer, but one who directed those who came to him to place their request to St. Joseph,” says Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “He was always welcoming to those who came encouraging them in their faith in God and the intercession of St. Joseph.” To honor Brother André’s commitment to the poor and afflicted, several years ago, Gilmour Academy named its service program the Blessed Brother André Service Program. While Brother André literally opened doors for others, students are encouraged to follow his example and open the door of their hearts to the needs of others and to learn firsthand about those having very limited resources.

“In canonizing Brother André, the Church is acknowledging that the Holy Cross life, mission and charism, is indeed a way to holiness – both individually, as manifested in the life of Brother André and others, and as a community of people,” says Father John Blazek C.S.C. ’58, Campus Minister at Gilmour. “This community embraces not only the religious Brothers and Priests who live the vowed religious life of Holy Cross, but also all of our families, students, benefactors and others whose lives are touched by the Holy Cross charisms and way of life.” With very little education, Blessed Brother André worked as a cobbler and a baker before he joined the Congregation in 1870. In becoming a Brother, he served as a barber, tended to the sick and kept the College Notre-Dame du SacreCoeur warm, welcoming, well lit and tidy. “Brother Andre’s position as receiver of guests gave him the opportunity to welcome all who came with an openness to hear their story and spread their gift of faith in seeking answers to their troubles,” Brother Robert says. “André possessed a gift well worth emulating.” Despite personal suffering and serious health problems, Brother André lived a life of compassion and service. Desperately poor, his parents died when he was 12 years old and he spent his adolescence as

While Brother André literally opened doors for others, students are encouraged to follow his example and open the door of their hearts to the needs of others and to learn firsthand about those having very limited resources.

an orphan living with relatives and heeding his mother’s words to love and depend on St. Joseph, the foster father of Christ. At the college, he often would accompany students on long walks and they found him to be amiable. “The youngsters saw him as a kind and jovial religious hardly ever without a quip or pun, but also able to maintain their respect and discipline,” according to Father Thomas Barrosse, C.S.C., author of “A Moment of Grace: Preparing for the Canonization of Brother André.” A letter from Superior General Father Hugh Cleary, C.S.C., shows the saintly porter’s sense of humor. “When I entered the community,” Brother André remarked, “my superiors showed me the door, and I remained there 40 years without leaving.” During his years at the college, Brother André visited families in distress at their homes and counseled the sick causing consternation among those doctors who accused him of being a quack. Some of the students’ parents feared the risk of their children’s exposure to disease. Eventually, Brother André began working with the sick at a tramway station. When he was 59, he moved to the Oratory and remained there assisting the sick until he died at age 91. “This humble, uneducated man with few discernable ‘useful’ gifts, embodied God’s compassion in his greeting of others,” Father Cleary says. “As time went by, many began to say that the prayerful Brother André embodied God’s healing power.” Following the official ceremony in Rome, a Eucharistic celebration will be held at Olympic Stadium in Montreal on October 30. The Liturgy will be celebrated at Gilmour’s Lower School on October 18 and at the Upper and Middle schools on October 21. Besides the special liturgy, there will be numerous opportunities for students to learn more about Brother André throughout the school year. The time between Founders’ Day in September and the canonization will be focused on preparing for this event.

“The canonization of Brother André and the soon-to-come canonization of Father Moreau is like a ‘signpost’ to us, assuring us that this way of life is truly in accord with the Gospel teachings of Jesus,” Father John says. “It is a way of life that leads to eternal life when it is embraced with our whole mind, heart and soul.”

Commencement

2010

Gilmour Academy Commencement Gilmour Academy Celebrates Its 61 st Commencement Exercise

Gilmour Academy, as accredited by the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges and Independent School Association of the Central States, chartered by the Ohio Department of Education, is vested by the state of Ohio with authority to confer diplomas in recognition of those having satisfied the requirements of a collegepreparatory curriculum. Gilmour Academyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s graduating Class of 2010 is the 61st graduating class of the Academy. 16

Commencement Speaker t o

Brian Stepanek ’89

G i l m o u r

Class of

A c a d e m y ’ s

2010

ilmour’s commencement speaker Brian Stepanek ’89 is a familiar face to many who might recognize him as “Arwin,” from the Disney Channel’s Emmy-nominated “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” The program reached 240 million homes worldwide. Although Stepanek left Cleveland more than two decades ago, he became interested in acting as a Gilmour student and performed in plays and competed in statewide drama competitions. The actor/writer and his brothers William ’76, John ’78, Michael ’79 and Timothy ’82 boosted Gilmour’s enrollment for two decades. A graduate of Syracuse University, Stepanek was with the Second City National Touring Company and went on to appear in “The Drew Carey Show” and “Six Feet Under.” In addition to hosting the Disney Channel Games, he has been in Disney Channel movies. He also created and starred in its silent short series “Brian O’Brian.” Stepanek has leant his voice for animated films such as “Bolt” and has appeared in more than 150 commercials. Brian Stepanek ’89

Up from the Middle School 17

Commencement

Commencement Address 2010 to Gilmour Academy’s Class of

ood morning parents, friends, faculty and most important, the graduating Class of 2010. So I want to thank the graduates for having me today. I was a little confused by your choice. I looked at some of the previous commencement speakers. It was a pretty distinguished group: Steve Skrovan ’75, who created “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Michael Porath ’93, senior vice president of programming at BUZZMEDIA. But you guys, the Class of 2010, you picked this guy. I get the feeling that somebody lost a bet. Quite a bit has changed since my time here at Gilmour. For example, every single building. Two ice rinks? Really? Is it like having an extra set of keys? Well, we built the first rink, and Brother Robert lost it, so then we built the second one, and just as we were finishing it, Brother Robert found the first one between the cushions of the couch. I also noticed the new Athletic Center. Eh. It’s all right if you’re into the whole perfect thing. When I played ball here, we had wicker apple baskets for rims. But you have your new-age glass backboards and metal rims. You know, not to sound old, but ah, my Chuck Taylors were actually signed by Chuck. But let’s get back to the real reason that all of your friends, and family, and faculty are surrounding you today. Me. I am a huge star. Obviously an amazing draw. Women adore me and men want to be me. Dogs want to lick my face. Now you may think that my life is all glamour and excitement, flying from one exotic location to the next, meeting famous people and breaking the heart of supermodel after supermodel, and you’d be right, but I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you how I became this profoundly charismatic, folic-ally challenged Adonis you see before you. To do so, I have to revisit my original question, which is, why me? Why would your class choose me to be a commencement speaker? I mean, let’s face it; I trip over things for a living. But then I thought, well maybe that’s what they want. A good pratfall up to the podium, and I could do that, and it would be mind-blowing. But I thought, maybe they want to find out how I got from where they’re sitting now to being a working actor in TV and film. That maybe there was something specifically I had done that they could apply to their journey forward. As I pondered this question, my mind kept drifting to one or two times in my career that on the face seemed horrific, but with further retrospection were life-changing. So here we go.

Brian Stepanek ’89

My senior year at Syracuse I did a one-man musical, 13 characters, two-hours long, that was picked up by a young upstart theatre producer in Chicago. So I packed my ’89 Corsica, drove west, went through the rehearsal process and thought, this is it! I am going to be huge! I’m going to break into the Chicago theatre scene, and never look back. There was only one problem: no one came. I performed a twohour musical for two people on three separate occasions. It opened on the coldest winter in the history of Chicago. I would sit backstage before the show and at intermission in a down jacket and a knit hat. I couldn’t wait to get out on stage because it was warmer there. And I just want to explain what this was like. One of the characters in the show was a narrator who spoke directly to the audience. And it occurred to me five minutes into one of these performances that I couldn’t look at the empty seats. I actually had to make eye contact with the same two people for two hours! I felt worse for them than for me. I couldn’t imagine sitting in the audience with my program going why’s he still looking at me? I’m just going to read his bio for the 12th time. Ah, there he is. He’s singing me a song . . . I really wish he’d look at that other guy. When I think back on that 22-year-old version of me, sitting backstage fighting off hypothermia, I can’t help but smile, because on all three occasions, those two people stayed. They could have left at intermission. They’d have never seen me again, but they stayed. I gave them the best performance I possibly could. It didn’t matter if there were 300 people or three people, I was taking them with me on that journey, because I loved what I did. And I know it’s an oft repeated theme at commencement speeches, to love what you do, but there’s a reason for that: it’s absolutely true. If you love what you do, then even in the worst times, like

Brian Horgan Jerry Murphy ’64 and Brian Stepanek ’89

performing for two people for two hours, you still love what you do, and it helps you push through to the really great times. A few years ago I did some animation voiceover work for a movie called “Over the Hedge.” In the process of doing that I got to meet an actor by the name of Gene Wilder, who is most fondly remembered for playing Willy Wonka in the original movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” You know, the good one. And we were sitting at lunch one day and I asked him, “How did you land that role?” And he said, “Well, the producers approached me and asked me if I’d play Willy Wonka. And I said, Well let me see the script.” And he took the script home and read it and came back the next day and said, “I’ll take this role on one condition.” He said, “When Willy Wonka first comes out of the factory, I want him to be limping with a cane, and I want him to slowly limp up to the gate in total silence, and at the last minute, I want him to do a somersault and jump up on to his feet and be totally healthy.” And the producer said, “So you won’t do the movie unless you can do that?” And he said, “Right.” And they said, “Well, why?” And he said, “Because from that moment forward, the audience won’t know whether I’m lying or telling the truth.” And when you think about that movie, that’s what made it work. Gene Wilder brought what was uniquely him to the part. He didn’t just show up and read the lines. He became a collaborator in the storytelling process. So a few months later I found myself at an audition, for the role of a dumb, fat hairy guy. And I thought, I’m not fat or hairy. And as I sat there and I looked at these guys, these guys looked like they were auditioning for the role of Hagrid in “Harry Potter.” As I sat there and looked at all these ridiculously full heads of hair, all these negative thoughts started coming into my head. I have no business being here. I’m never going to get this role. I wonder if that guy uses conditioner. And then I thought of Gene Wilder. I thought, well, I can’t do what these guys do, but I can do what I do. I can take what’s me and apply it to the role. So instead of making him dumb and slow, I made him a hyper savant. I put on a pair of goofy glasses, and that’s how I became Arwin. You are a unique product. Every one of you. There is no one like you. There has never been anyone like you. And there will never be anyone like you. Your life experiences and your talents. Embrace it. And use it. That’s your secret weapon.

Now, before I wrap up, I want to talk to your parents for a second, ’cause after all they came to see me today. So, I am the father of three children under the age of six. One of them is 10 weeks old. I am in the deep, deep weeds. About a year ago, my son graduated from preschool, and I bawled like a baby. They had tiny little caps and gowns; you had to be there. I can’t imagine what you’re going through, watching your babies graduate from high school. Graduates, as a father of small children, I would like to take a moment on behalf of your parents to remind you of a few things. They changed your diapers. They gave you midnight feedings. Do you know what it’s like to not sleep for a year!? They cleaned up your boo-boos; they gave you advice, and two years ago, against all of their better judgments, they let you drive their cars. So graduates, I want to give you this opportunity to give your parents 18 years worth of well-deserved applause. Let’s give them a round. Okay, parents, don’t get cocky. And grads, now that they’re buttered up, you might want to hit them up for some spending money after the ceremony. I’m just saying. I can’t tell you how honored I am to have been invited here today. Working for Disney I get to do some pretty cool things, perks of the job, and I have to say that of all the cool things I’ve been able to do, this ranks in the top 150. Thank you. This is really an honor, and I really can’t thank you enough. You guys have been given an incredible gift, coming to this school and having access to this faculty and these facilities. Look at this place! I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know why you want to leave. I’m actually looking into reenrolling, but I think Brother Robert would agree that once was enough. I’ll just do my speech and then I’ll leave. Gilmour has given you a full tank of gas, guys. Do what you love. Pour what is uniquely you into it, and I guarantee you will have a “Suite Life.” Thank you.

Commencement

Valedictorian 2010 Gilmour Academy

ilmour’s valedictorians over the last couple of years have, by way of my observation, had more in common than uncommonly high grade point averages. More in common, in fact, than being polymaths, in the classic Greek sense of being persons of great and varied learning. What has struck me is that those who emerge at the very top of Gilmour’s graduating classes combine intellectual power with intellectual playfulness. There is joy in their learning and joy is evidenced in the work they produce. Olivia is, by nature, a joyful person. She brings enthusiasm to all that she does, whether it is her work on the honor council, as an environmental steward in her role as a leader of the Environmental Club, as a socially conscious member of the student team that brought the Lost Boys of Sudan to campus or as part of the Inter-Religious Task Force on Central America working to support fair trade and fight workplace injustices. Yet, all of this, though impressive, strikes me as too austere to fully capture Olivia’s sense of fun and imagination. During her four years at Gilmour, Olivia could always be counted on to think through and identify a unique perspective on an argument that will deepen and enrich a discussion, to write from a perspective that adds to our mutual understanding of text, or to imagine new connections between disciplines that others don’t pick up on. Olivia was made for a liberal arts education, not because it will serve her well, but because she will serve liberal education well! She will bless Kenyon College with her joyful learning next year and she will arrive with an interest in neuroscience, the ultimate interdisciplinary area of study on campuses these days; however, I will not be surprised if she emerges with a commitment to something completely different and having changed her mind multiple times over her four years of academic exploration. However her journey unfolds, I am most confident that she will enjoy the ride and bring joy to the others who are lucky enough to be travelling with her! Please join me in welcoming to the podium, the Class of 2010 Valedictorian, Olivia Sabik.

J. Brian Horgan Director of the Upper School

Olivia Sabik Valedictory Address May 30, 2010

espite being your valedictorian, I have a bizarre aversion to dictionaries. They are unwieldy and large and make me feel bad about myself because I am a horrendous speller. So when I happen to come across a word I don’t know I do two things. First, I whine, saying, “Mom, what does expergefacient mean?” Olivia Sabik ’10 But if, perchance, she is not around, I usually rely on a guesstimation of sorts, a type of Grejtakian solution. What roots might this word and my limited knowledge of roots have in common? Usually it’s not even that complex. I just wonder what I feel like the word might mean. When I hit the word valedictorian, though, this method was a ghastly failure. Attempt number one: -dict, dictator? Not likely – although I can be a little bossy, I guess. Attempt number two: dictation? Maybe. It has to do with words. Attempt number three: vale? Valet parking? A dictating, valet-seeking dictator? He just wants to park his car! NOW! This was clearly getting me nowhere until it hit me. “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning!” In AP Literature this year we read 17th-century poet John Donne’s “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning” and I can recall Megan Ruff reading the definition of each word in the title in her one-of-a-kind, matter-of-fact definition recitation voice. A valediction is a farewell oration, and mourning is the state of sorrow following great loss. So I figure that I’m here to say goodbye to our class, to the faculty, to this school where we have all spent at least one year, if not 15 like Sam Klonaris, Ashleii Kono, and Leigh Richards, but as John Donne conveys in his title, sorrow should be the last thing on our minds. We have all experienced moments of doubt in our love for this place, moments or whole chunks of time maybe in the month of February, maybe the week before spring break started, but I don’t think that any one of us can deny that this place is unique and has served us all well in ushering us toward the next stage in our lives.

This school has given us gifts: confidence, courage, creativity. You need to be quite the complex thinker and creative problem solver to smuggle seven cookies out of the commons, past Mr. Teisl, who has the eyes of a starved hawk. We developed the ability to articulate, communicate, and as much as possible not procrastinate, but any graduate here will attest to the fact that it was not easy to develop these skills, and we had quite a bit of help throughout. Mr. McCamley introduced us to second chances our freshman year with unlimited rewrites, allowing us to grow from the five-paragraph doldrums to the high tide of vivid verbs. Mr. Beach – and only heard this secondhand – danced across tabletops to techno beats, and had his classes engrossed in his stories, employing his own unique brand of subliminal education. Señor Monaco and Señora Candau helped us to navigate through multiple verb conjugations and the perfect storm of the subjunctive mood, commonly known as the bad mood. These teachers have been more than just means of dispensing information; They have been mentors, confidants, friends. Teachers aside, our peers are what have made this particular class unique. We proudly acknowledge Jane Kaufmann, scheduled to enter basic training at the Air Force Academy this summer. We will cheer on our classmates including Rickey Layton, Bekka Simko, Taylor Volpe, Rachel Noall, Grace Brennan and Nate Fiala as they triumph in the athletic arena in college. We will scan the newspaper for names like Helen Zoller, as she commands the runways of Europe, Matt Stouffer as he continues to dedicate his life to the service of others and Pat Fagan, perhaps Gilmour’s next Arwin or Gilmour’s first Gregor Mendel. After today we will be forever apart, but as Donne says, like the twin legs of a compass are two, connected

despite their independent movement. You know how we all wondered how Mrs. DiCillo’s geometry class would serve us in the future? Well the answer is in 17th-century poetry. Here, in his compass conceit, Donne is referring Olivia Sabik with to a geometric compass – Brother Robert Lavelle C.S.C. and Brian Stepanek ’89 used to make circles. We, like this compass’ two legs, have a common hinge, and that is Gilmour. So despite the fact that we will be leaving this place, our parting is not a severing of ties, but, as Donne says, “an expansion.” We will not be in this place, but this place will always be in us. Not to have overdone Donne, but in his “Meditation XVII” he states, “No man is an island. Entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main . . . any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Now the bell tolls for us, not to signal the end of a life, but the end of an era, and as Donne regards his connection to all mankind, so should we savor our connection to one another, now and in the future, because as a part of the Gilmour Community, each one of us can always find comfort, friendship and a familiar face here at the Academy. So in closing, we’re done. Done with sprints to convocation, done with breakfast for lunch, done with hiding our hoodies beneath bulky blazers, done with John Donne. It is my honor, my privilege, to say to the Class of 2010, well done.

Residence Hall Students

Commencement

Salutatorian 2010 Gilmour Academy

ost, if not all, in the Gilmour Community are aware of Lexi’s phenomenal academic record. From the time she enrolled as a promising fifth grader, Lexi has impressed her teachers with both her intellectual talent and uncompromising work ethic – and both have served her well, attested by her appearance before you today. But what has impressed me most about Lexi is that she has actually transcended the rarefied air she occupies as a truly gifted and accomplished scholar. What impresses me is that the mother of a struggling freshman this fall thought that one way to buoy her daughter’s spirits and provide her daughter with inspiration would be to have her mentored by Lexi, who had already reached out to her daughter during early camp and made her feel special and welcomed; that her AP calculus teacher chose to write more in her college letter of recommendation for Lexi about Lexi’s engagement of others, particularly the underclassmen during after school extra help sessions, than of her considerable math skills. I am impressed that in whatever she does, Lexi finds her way to the top, whether it is in a leading role in the spring musical, on the volleyball court for the state championship game or in Speech and Debate where she placed fifth nationally in her specialty, Student Congress. As an AB Duke Scholar, one of 15 students from around the world recognized for academic promise and awarded full tuition plus room and board for four years along with six weeks of summer study at Oxford University in England, Lexi will have a chance to test her talents at one of the leading universities in the nation. As an aside, but one that this proud Upper School director cannot let go by, Lexi will join fellow AB Duke scholar-recipient Beth Beam, a member of Gilmour’s graduating Class of 2009, as representatives from Gilmour, the only secondary school in the world to have an AB Duke Scholar named in each of the last two years. Please join me in welcoming Lexi to the podium to deliver the salutatory address.

J. Brian Horgan Director of the Upper School

Alexis Antunez Salutatory Address May 30, 2010

ill we be remembered? As I welcome all of you, parents, teachers, grandparents, friends, extended family and, most importantly, the Class of 2010, I have to wonder, what makes our class a memorable one? After time has passed, the chairs are put back into storage, the ice refreezes, diplomas are put onto shelves and Gilmour prepares for another senior class to take our place, who, besides those Alexis Antunez ’10 of us onstage and our mothers, will look back and reminisce about how special today was? Well, I can proudly say that the people we will be remembered by, those who will share our nostalgia, are the people we have inspired. I have grown up with them over my years here, and from the stories they have told me about my classmates, the look in their eyes when one of us has taken the time to care, and the friendships that have been a part of our daily lives, I am certain we will not be forgotten. We have not made this impression because of our achievements, although we have numerous accomplishments. Instead, our legacy is in our attitudes, our passion and our dedication to all the things we have done here. The Gilmour Academy Class of 2010 will never again gather in its entirety, so today is a day of celebration, to express the joy of what we are leaving behind. On such a significant occasion, we look back at what has brought us here, and look forward to many exciting unknowns, and in the future when someone asks us about our high school experience, we will definitely remember today. But our time at Gilmour is not limited to this day, or to any single day, or event or moment during the past four years. I would love to be able to describe exactly what the Gilmour experience is, but I also wonder whether that’s even possible. One skill that is uniquely Gilmour that I will never forget is the use of anecdotes in stories. Last spring, my family and I went to the Elton John and Billy Joel concert,

and it was amazing. Besides laughing at the old people who would stand up and dance, we loved seeing two brilliant artists coming together, fusing their distinctive styles and making something new and even more exciting from this combination. I don’t share this story just to mention my loving, supportive and outstanding family, or to give all of you an idea of my musical taste, but rather, I talk about this “coming together” of diverse music because it mirrors what we have done as a class. Our time here has been a crazy mix of the strange and wonderful, and our class can be described in the same way. This characteristic is a large part of how we as a group have inspired others. We have been brave enough to venture outside the spheres of our individual talents, and when we have explored the worlds that our peers inhabit, we have come to admire the skills and enthusiasm found there. We have shown people that blurring these lines is a hallmark of the best artists. I think Billy Joel stated it best when he said, “When I look at great works of art or listen to inspired music, I sense intimate portraits of the specific times in which they were created.” Looking at our class completely assembled here today, I see nothing less than an inspired work of art. We are an incredibly unique and varied group that somehow has found identity in our differences. Sports games are just as well attended as concerts by our class; we volunteer with as much enthusiasm as we socialize and the list goes on. We are a mosaic, with each small part playing a different and vital role in the stunning complete piece. I have been inspired by every one of my classmates at some point during my time here. Just look at what we have done.

Lifers

We have run through rain and snow to make it to convo on time. We have grown together in stimulating and memorable classes and we have taken naps together in the not-so-memorable ones. We have painted each others’ faces and cheered until we lost our voices while our friends competed on fields, on courts and in arenas too numerous to count. We have suffered through late nights of stressful studying and danced through even later nights of great parties. We have stolen each other’s gum, borrowed notes and sweatshirts, shared Pop-Tarts and worries and fought through the freshman hallway on a daily basis. Who can say which one of these memories encompassed our Gilmour experience? I don’t think any of us can say that there is a distinct time when Gilmour suddenly became meaningful. It is because of this that our time here cannot be defined and it cannot be contained. Gilmour itself is forever changed because of the impression we have left. But also, Gilmour has woven itself into nearly every aspect of our lives and we will carry it with us in an infinite number of ways. So, in the words of Billy Joel, let’s celebrate this specific time, during which we have created our memories, forged our characters and discovered the wonders in each other. I have no doubt that every single member of the Class of 2010 will continue to inspire the multitude of people in their lives, whatever path each one of us takes. So what I charge all of us to do, so that we will shape our lives into memorable masterpieces, is to go out and be inspired.

Sarah Siedlak and Bekka Simko

Commencement

Congratulations to the Class of

2010

College Acceptances, Selections and Scholarships

Brett ’08, Eric ’22, Brian ’10 and Paige ’14 Anton

BRIAN ANTON

EDWARD ASHER

JULIA BORDEN

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY

Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton Fairfield University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Loyola University, Maryland Miami University, Oxford St. Lawrence University

Additional Acceptances: Xavier University

Additional Acceptances: Belmont Abbey College Coastal Carolina University Lynn University Western Carolina University

ALEXIS ANTUNEZ DUKE UNIVERSITY Alexis ’10 and Spencer ’12 Antunez

Robert ’07, Joseph ’14, Daniel ’10 and Thomas ’05 Armagno

Additional Acceptances: Boston College Brown University Johns Hopkins University Miami University, Oxford University of Pennsylvania Princeton University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute University of Virginia

DANIEL ARMAGNO KENT STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE Additional Acceptances: Bowling Green State University University of Cincinnati John Carroll University

Thomas ’02, Michelle ’10 and Erika ’04 Blair

BREANNA BELL LYNN UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: Arizona State University Defiance College Lake Erie College Mount Union College Notre Dame College of Ohio

GRACE BRENNAN

MICHELLE BLAIR

Additional Acceptances: John Carroll University Miami University, Oxford The Ohio State University, Mansfield

BOSTON COLLEGE Additional Acceptances: Loyola University, Chicago University of Richmond University of Rochester Skidmore College University of South Carolina Villanova University

GRAHAM BODUSZEK UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Additional Acceptances: Baldwin-Wallace College Canisius College John Carroll University Miami University, Oxford Washington and Jefferson College

BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY

MATTHEW BRIGEMAN PURDUE UNIVERSITY

ZACHARY BUEHNER OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton Defiance College John Carroll University Washington and Jefferson College Xavier University

RACHEL BURGER

KATRINA CARABOOLAD

MADELINE DeFINO

STETSON UNIVERSITY

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

WAGNER COLLEGE

Additional Acceptances: Purdue University University of South Carolina

Additional Acceptances: Miami University, Oxford Providence College

Additional Acceptances: University of Central Florida

HANNAH BURKE

BAILEY CLARK

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Additional Acceptances: Bucknell University University of Dayton Denison University DePaul University Loyola University, Maryland Providence College Quinnipiac University

NATHANIEL BURKE THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Additional Acceptances: Bowling Green State University Trine University Wittenberg University

DANIEL CACCAVELLA

ROSALIE CANDAU CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

CASTLETON STATE COLLEGE Additional Acceptances: Minnesota State University, Mankato University of North Dakota

ANDREW COOPER

RYAN DRAKE

OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

MIAMI UNIVERSITY, OXFORD

Additional Acceptances: Allegheny College University of Dayton Marietta College Otterbein College Washington and Jefferson College Xavier University

Additional Acceptances: The Ohio State University, Wooster Syracuse University

Kristine ’95 and Julie ’10 Borden

MARSHALL DREW PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Courtney ’04, Grace ’10 and Brian ’07 Brennan

KATHRYN DREW DEPAUW UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

TARRANEH DADGAR ST. NORBERT COLLEGE

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE Additional Acceptances: Clarkson University University of Massachusetts, Lowell Merrimack College University of New Hampshire St. Lawrence University Union College University of Vermont Worcester Polytechnic Institute

KIMBERLY DICKERSON

Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton Florida Atlantic University

MEGAN CURRAN

Graham ’10 and Jocelyn ’13 Boduszek

Additional Acceptances: East Carolina University North Carolina State University SUNY Oswego

WILLIAM DAVIS UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, MADISON Additional Acceptances: Butler University Loyola University, Chicago Miami University, Oxford Purdue University

Additional Acceptances: Loyola University, Chicago Miami University, Oxford Ohio Wesleyan University Syracuse University

ANDREW DUVAL

Alyssa ’09, Matthew ’10 and Scott ’07 Brigeman

PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY PARK Additional Acceptances: Colorado State University University of Denver

PATRICK FAGAN UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Paul ’16, Rachel ’10 and Jennifer ’06 Burger

Additional Acceptances: Denison University Drew University Muhlenberg College

Additional Acceptances: Saint Mary’s College Hannah ’10 and Nathaniel ’10 Burke

Commencement

Ryan ’08, Katrina ’10 and Nicole ’05 Caraboolad

KATELYN FERRARA

MARK FORLANI

ALLISON HERBE

JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

Additional Acceptances: The University of Akron Bowling Green State University University of Dayton Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

Additional Acceptances: Bowling Green State University John Carroll University Mount Union College Ohio University Ohio Wesleyan University Xavier University

Additional Acceptances: Bowling Green State University Ohio University

NATHAN FIALA Benny ’14, Abigail ’11, Bailey ’10 and Ryan ’08 Clark

RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE Additional Acceptances: Capital University Miami University, Oxford The College of Wooster

WILLIAM FISHER Gregory ’74, Andrew ’10 and Patrick ’13 Cooper

Megan ’10 and Carolyn ’12 Curran

MERCYHURST COLLEGE

Lyndsay ’13 and Ryan ’10 Drake

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Additional Acceptances: Lehigh University Mercyhurst College Ohio Northern University University of Rochester

DANA GLUBIAK SAINT MICHAELS COLLEGE

Additional Acceptances: Baldwin-Wallace College Gannon University Hiram College John Carroll University Mount Union College Muskingum University Ohio University Pennsylvania State University, Erie: The Behrend College Trine University Washington and Jefferson College

JENNIFER FITZGERALD Leonard ’09, Madeline ’10 and Duncan ’12 DeFino

SHELBY GERL

Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton

EVAN HALVERSTADT OHIO UNIVERSITY

JAMES HURLEY UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH Additional Acceptances: Case Western Reserve University Elon University University of South Carolina Syracuse University Xavier University

BRIAN HYLAND MERCYHURST COLLEGE Additional Acceptances: Ashland University Ohio Wesleyan University Otterbein College Xavier University

ZARI IVEY ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Additional Acceptances: University of Cincinnati Miami University, Oxford

JOSEPH HEBDA JUNIOR A HOCKEY Additional Acceptances: Michigan State University

SUNY COLLEGE AT CORTLAND

RYAN HEPHNER

Additional Acceptances: Arizona State University Northern Arizona University

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Additional Acceptances: The Ohio State University, Mansfield Miami University, Oxford

Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton Mount Union College Saint Louis University

ALEC JANDA THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY Honors Additional Acceptances: Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Hillsdale College Miami University, Oxford

BROOKE MARIE JARVIS

MAUREEN KENNY

PATRICIA KING

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY, CHICAGO

MIAMI UNIVERSITY, OXFORD

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

Additional Acceptances: The Catholic University of America Dominican University of California Drew University George Mason University Goucher College High Point University John Carroll University Loyola University, New Orleans Regis University

Additional Acceptances: The Catholic University of America University of Dayton John Carroll University Loyola University, Chicago Providence College Saint Louis University Saint Mary’s College

Additional Acceptances: Miami University, Oxford

JANE KAUFMANN UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY Additional Acceptances: Case Western Reserve University Hamilton College, New York Pennsylvania State University, University Park Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

J. ALEX KEENE

PAIGE KEPICH PURDUE UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: University of Colorado at Boulder DePaul University Pennsylvania State University, Beaver

DO HAN KIM

SAMANTHA KLONARIS CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: Bucknell University Lehigh University Syracuse University Villanova University Washington University in St. Louis

ALBION COLLEGE Additional Acceptances: Eastern Michigan University John Carroll University Western Michigan University

ASHLEII KONO

Additional Acceptances: Case Western Reserve University

ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: Boston College University of California at Berkeley University of California at Los Angeles Carnegie Mellon University Cornell University University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Michigan New York University University of Notre Dame

Katelyn ’10 and Joseph ’13 Ferrara

MARY KRAMER THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY Honors

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: Case Western Reserve University DePaul University Drexel University Fordham University Gettysburg College Xavier University

Christopher ’08, Patrick ’10 and Molly ’13 Fagan

GEOFFREY KNIGHT

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

JEONG HOON KIM

Marshall ’10 and Kathryn ’10 Drew

Emily ’04, Nathan ’10 and Robert ’71 Fiala

Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton John Carroll University Marquette University Miami University, Oxford University of Miami

Stephen ’06 and Mark ’10 Forlani

Jeffrey ’73 and Shelby ’10 Gerl

Commencement

Melissa ’97, Allison ’10 and Donald ’96 Herbe

Connor ’13, Jake ’10 and Peter ’14 Hurley

TREVOR LANDGRAF

BRENDAN McHUGH

PETER NEUNDORFER

JUNIOR A HOCKEY

MIAMI UNIVERSITY, OXFORD

UNDECIDED

Additional Acceptances: Bowling Green State University Canisius College Clarkson University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Mercyhurst College Rochester Institute of Technology SUNY College at Fredonia

Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton Ohio University

Additional Acceptances: The University of Akron Ashland University Bowling Green State University

RICKEY LAYTON, JR.

Additional Acceptances: Appalachian State University Duquesne University Northland College University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point

RACHEL NOALL UNION COLLEGE

ROBERT O’BRIEN SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Additional Acceptances: Connecticut College University of Connecticut University of Vermont

Additional Acceptances: American University Fordham University Indiana University at Bloomington Loyola University, Maryland Marquette University Miami University, Oxford Tulane University

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

ALLISON MURRAY

Additional Acceptances: The University of Akron The Ohio State University, Mansfield

DENISON UNIVERSITY

DANIEL O’MALEY

ALEX MOSS

Additional Acceptances: Baldwin-Wallace College Hillsdale College Xavier University

BOSTON UNIVERSITY

KELLEN LEACH

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Additional Acceptances: Bucknell University Miami University, Oxford Ohio Wesleyan University The College of Wooster

SUNG BIN LEE

PHILLIP NASCA

UNDECIDED

JUNIOR A HOCKEY

CARLI PAPPAS

MONICA NEFF

OHIO UNIVERSITY

MIAMI UNIVERSITY, OXFORD

KELLEN PATRICK

Additional Acceptances: Ohio Wesleyan University The College of Wooster

JUNIOR A HOCKEY

GYU-TAK LEE

Additional Acceptances: Loyola University, Chicago William Navarre ’02, Maureen ’10, Mary ’07 and Michaela ’05 Kenny

BREVARD COLLEGE

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY

Sean ’04 and Brian ’10 Hyland

Jessica ’07, Alec ’10 and Scott ’80 Janda

BART MERKEL

ERIK MAY OHIO UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton

SARAH OSBORNE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA Additional Acceptances: Stetson University

NICOLAS PILLA CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton Drexel University Fordham University Northeastern University

Peter ’09 and Paige ’10 Kepich

GREGORY PITTMAN

LINDSAY REESING

JULIANA SCHILLING

WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

BOSTON UNIVERSITY

Additional Acceptances: University of California at Los Angeles University of Dayton The Ohio State University Honors University of Vermont

Additional Acceptances: American University University of Connecticut Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey at New Brunswick Syracuse University

LEIGH RICHARDS

TAYLOR SEAY

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER

Additional Acceptances: Indiana University at Bloomington Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Additional Acceptances: Elon University Miami University, Oxford Rhodes College

MEGAN RUFF

POST GRAD YEAR

Additional Acceptances: Central Washington University

JACQUELINE PORTER LOYOLA UNIVERSITY MARYLAND Additional Acceptances: University of Dayton John Carroll University Loyola University, Chicago University of Michigan Northeastern University Xavier University

LINDSAY POWELSON UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

DALLAS PROVOST LAKELAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

STEVEN PRYATEL ASHLAND UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: The University of Akron Bluffton University Hiram College John Carroll University Kent State University Tiffin University

EDWARD RAPP FORDHAM UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: University of Connecticut Loyola University, Chicago Miami University, Oxford New York University Pennsylvania State University, University Park

JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: American University The George Washington University University of Mississippi Tulane University

OLIVIA SABIK KENYON COLLEGE

John ’09 and Patricia ’10 King

George ’17, Samantha ’10 and Diana ’12 Klonaris

AUSTIN SEVERSON MORGAN SHEPARD JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY

Heather ’01 and Ashleii ’10 Kono

LEO SIDERAS INDIANA UNIVERSITY AT BLOOMINGTON Additional Acceptances: Ball State University Capital University

Additional Acceptances: Duke University Emory University University of Michigan The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Oberlin College University of Virginia

SARAH SIEDLAK

SARA SALIBA OBERLIN COLLEGE

PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY PARK

CODY SARMIENTO

TYLER SMITH

JUNIOR A HOCKEY

MOUNT UNION COLLEGE

Additional Acceptances: Michigan State University

Additional Acceptances: The University of Akron Muskingum University

Lawrence ’08, Mary ’10 and Meghan ’11 Kramer

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI Additional Acceptances: Case Western Reserve University Clemson University

REBEKKA SIMKO

Rickey ’10 and Brittany ’11 Layton

Michaela ’14 and Kellen ’10 Leach

Commencement

Gyu-Tack ’10 and Hyun-Young ’07 Lee

Jane and Allison ’10 Murray

JACK SOUKENIK

TAYLOR VOLPE

LYNCHBURG COLLEGE

COLGATE UNIVERSITY

Additional Acceptances: Bowling Green State University College of Mount St. Joseph The Ohio State University, Mansfield Trine University

MATTHEW WARREN

MATTHEW STOUFFER

MOLLY WILLIAMS

THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER

ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY

Additional Acceptances: Butler University Ohio Wesleyan University Transylvania University Wittenberg University

VALERIE YAX

ALYSSA TREBILCOCK

XAVIER UNIVERSITY Additional Acceptances: Butler University High Point University Wittenberg University

Additional Acceptances: The University of Akron Baldwin-Wallace College

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

JOHN YOUNG

Additional Acceptances: Drexel University Eckerd College Old Dominion University University of Rhode Island Salve Regina University Washington College

Additional Acceptances: Ashland University John Carroll University

ANNE VENZOR

Additional Acceptances: Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, MADISON

Michael ’13 and Daniel ’10 O’Maley

JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

Mark ’06 and Phillip ’10 Nasca

Tiffany ’05 and Monica ’10 Neff

Ann Chiarucci G.O. ’76, Robert ’10 and Kathleen ’11 O’Brien

Julia ’14, Nicolas ’10 and Alexandria ’09 Pilla

HELEN ZOLLER UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS LONDON William ’84, Jacqueline ’10 and Nicole ’12 Porter

Additional Acceptances: Loyola University, Chicago Michigan State University Purdue University Eric ’09, Peter ’10 and Paul ’83 Neundorfer

Rachel ’10 and Weston ’14 Noall

Michael ’08, Meghan ’13, Steven ’10 and Steven ’78 Pryatel

Holly ’12 and Drew ’10 Rapp

Class of College Placement Statistics John ’07 and Leigh ’10 Richards

Matthew ’08, Tyler ’10 and Alec ’13 Smith

Fast Facts on Gilmour Academy’s Class of 2010 (106 graduates) Number of graduates reporting scholarship assistance: 66 Tania ’13, Danny ’22 and Sara ’10 Saliba

Joseph ’80, Anna ’12 and Jack ’10 Soukenik

Total amount of scholarship assistance reported: $7,044,862 Number of National Merit Finalists: 1

Cameron ’08, Courtney ’14 and Austin ’10 Severson

Number of graduates signed to play Division I athletics: 6

Grace ’08, James ’15, Anne ’10 and Alexandra ’11 Venzor

Number of graduates committed to play Division II and III athletics: 12 Ted ’07 and Molly ’10 Williams Ryan ’11 and Morgan ’10 Shepard

John ’80, John ’10 and Charles ’07 Young

Katherine ’11 and Leo ’10 Sideras

Eddie Asher, Hannah and Nathaniel Burke, Brian Anton Sarah ’10 and Dennis ’08 Siedlak

Adrian ’06 and Helen ’10 Zoller

Campus On/Or About

CUM LAUDE SOCIETY Dr. Elizabeth Fesler, consultant and former director of the Upper School, was the featured speaker during the 2010 Cum Laude Society’s ceremony. Rosalie Candau, Katrina Caraboolad, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Shelby Gerl, Jane Kaufmann, Patricia King,

“ Academy Awards ” The

Congratulations to those students in the Class of 2010 who were honored at the 2010 Senior Awards program. The following students were recognized with special awards and commendations:

Mary Kramer, Allison Murray, Nicolas Pilla, Edward Rapp and Lindsay Reesing were inducted joining classmates Alexis Antunez, Michelle Blair, Patrick Fagan, Alec Janda, Jeong Hoon Kim, Samantha Klonaris, Jacqueline Porter, Megan Ruff, Olivia Sabik and Sarah Siedlak. Inducted as juniors were Mackenzie Alexander, Kathleen Bloom, Caitlin Brett, Megan Covington, Hyeun-Seung Hong, Jenna Klein, Brittany Layton, James Miller, John Mohorcic, Michael Phillips and Laura Wasnick.

VALEDICTORIAN Olivia Sabik SALUTATORIAN Alexis Antunez 2009-2010 NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FINALIST Alexis Antunez COMMENDED STUDENTS Jane Kaufmann Nicolas Pilla NATIONAL HISPANIC RECOGNITION PROGRAM Alexis Antunez

GILMOUR TROPHIES Nicolas Pilla Jacqueline Porter

THE DIRECTOR OF THE UPPER SCHOOL AWARD Katrina Caraboolad Alex Keene Peter Neundorfer Rachel Noall Juliana Schilling Sarah Siedlak Tyler Smith

BR. THEOPHANE SCHMITT TROPHIES Bailey Clark Katelyn Ferrara

THE DENIS HOYNES ’51 AWARD James Hurley Mary Kramer

APPOINTMENT TO THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY Jane Kaufmann

THE CHARLES A. MOONEY ’52 TROPHIES Zachary Buehner Rebekka Simko

PHI BETA KAPPA RECOGNITION Patrick Fagan

Jane Kaufmann and Nicolas Pilla

2010 GRADUATING SENIORS WHO MAINTAINED 4.0 GRADE POINT AVERAGE FOR FOUR YEARS Alexis Antunez Michelle Blair Patrick Fagan Jennifer Fitzgerald Alec Janda Jeong Hoon Kim Samantha Klonaris Jacqueline Porter Megan Ruff Olivia Sabik Sarah Siedlak

Sister Mary Ann Mehling, Julie Borden and Leo Sideras

THE CHARLES MURRAY ’60 STUDENT HUMANITARIAN AWARD Matthew Stouffer THE BR. DAVID BALTRINIC AWARD Rosalie Candau THE ROBERT B. TOMARO ’67 HONOR AWARD Edward Rapp THE THOMAS P. MULLIGAN AWARD Brooke Marie Jarvis Taylor Seay THE BR. JAMES O’DONNELL CAMPUS RESIDENCY AWARD Alex Moss Cody Sarmiento

Arin Tait and Matthew Stouffer

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN AP BIOLOGY Patrick Fagan Alec Janda THE PAUL PRIMEAU SCIENCE AWARD Jeong Hoon Kim OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE Rosalie Candau Sara Saliba THE WILLIAM G. MOORE II ’51 ENGLISH AWARD Megan Ruff THE JOHN GALE ENGLISH AWARD Olivia Sabik

THE BASIL MOREAU AWARD Rosalie Candau Leo Sideras

2010 HOLY CROSS LITERATURE AWARD Michelle Blair Jane Kaufmann

THE BR. ROBERT KELLY OUTSTANDING STUDENT SERVICE AWARD Matthew Warren

JOURNALISM/YEARBOOK AWARD James Hurley Jacqueline Porter

Mary Kramer and James Hurley

JOURNALISM/LANCE AWARD Carli Pappas THE WINSTON CHURCHILL AP MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY AWARD Alec Janda Alex Keene Rachel Noall THE THOMAS JEFFERSON AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AWARD Alexis Antunez Alec Janda Edward Rapp DISTINGUISHED MUSICIAN AWARD Alec Janda DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN ART AWARD Ashleii Kono Rachel Noall Helen Zoller

THE BLESSED BR. ANDRÉ AWARD Julia Borden Leo Sideras THE CHAPLAIN’S AWARD Daniel Armagno Hannah Burke Maureen Kenny Paige Kepich Allison Murray Monica Neff Robert O’Brien Steven Pryatel

Sara Saliba, Cindy Candau and Rosalie Candau

EDUCATING THE HEART:

AG MORAL C OMPASS A S S ILMOUR CADEMY PEAKER ERIES

FACING FRENZY HEAD ON C

accidents and errors and rudeness – all things that being

and crazy is a route

overly busy can cause – and how they prevent people

many harried

from controlling their lives. The speaker will offer some

parents travel daily.

solutions and show parents how to create their own

Crowding too much

solutions to this endemic problem. He also will explore

into everyday life

ways to create a positive emotional environment and to

has almost become

find one’s own rhythm.

rossing the line

between busy

a sacrosanct part

The author of 14 books, Hallowell has been featured

of our frantic

in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times and USA Today

schedules.

and has appeared on “60 Minutes,” “Today” and “Oprah.”

Psychiatrist and

His talk is part of a series of family workshops and

New York Times

lectures called Educating the Heart: A Moral Compass,

bestselling author,

supported by the family of Michael Pender, a 1990

Edward “Ned”

alumnus who died the following year. The Pender

Hallowell, will tackle

family established the speaker series in his memory.

this issue when he addresses parents at noon Monday, October 18, in the Residence Hall’s Community Room at Gilmour Academy at a box lunch lecture. Hallowell has been in practice for more than 25 years and is the founder of the Hallowell Centers in New York and Boston. He is nationally known for his expertise on ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and mental health and well being. He is the author of “CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and about to Snap!: Strategies for Handling Your Fast-Paced Life.”

He will talk to Gilmour parents about stress, illness,

For reservations, please contact Arlene Smith at (440) 473-8057 or by email at smitha@gilmour.org.

Rosalind Strickland, Ali Althans ’11, Matthew Pender ’11 and Dr. Deanne Nowak

Top Clinic Poster Prize Goes to Gilmour ive Gilmour Academy students were honored

the PowerPoint presentation and their poster was

May 27 by the Cleveland Clinic for their poster

displayed for one week in the Lerner Research Institute

and PowerPoint presentation analyzing the ethical use

skyway.

of a prescreening tool for high-risk breast and ovarian

The Gilmour project was part of Nowak’s elective

cancers. Graduating seniors Julia Borden, Brooke

class Controversial Issues in Science where students

Marie Jarvis and Patricia King and Alison Althans ’11

use controversies to hone critical thinking skills by articulating arguments, questioning

and Matthew Pender ’11 won the Cleveland Clinic’s Bioethics Distance Learning Program’s first Research Day Poster and PowerPoint Competition. “The students assumed the

“The students assumed the duties of an internal review board

premises, identifying assumptions, seeking explicit definitions and demanding evidence.

In their

meant to protect the rights of

analysis of the Pedigree Assessment

human subjects in research.”

Tool (PAT), a patient survey of the

duties of an internal review board

history of breast and ovarian cancers

meant to protect the rights of human subjects

within families, the students expressed concerns about

in research,” says Dr. Deanne Nowak, dean

nonmaleficence, which means “First, do no harm,”

of institutional and curriculum research at Gilmour.

autonomy and justice. The tool uses points to assess

They identified and analyzed potential ethical issues

incidences of cancer indicating increased risk, says

associated with a project carried out last summer by

Nowak. The concerns stem from poor societal

Randi Michel, a student intern at Hillcrest Hospital.

understanding of genetics, insufficient resources for

At the Cleveland Clinic’s Bioethics Research Day last spring, the students showcased their work through

follow-up care and disparities among ethnic groups in seeking cancer prescreening.

MIDDLE SCHOOL NATURALISTS T

he Orange Village Community Board was more than attentive in June when seventh graders from Gilmour Academyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Middle School presented a PowerPoint presentation about the findings of their second annual BioBlitz bio-survey. In the spring, 36 students, four Middle School teachers and a freelance naturalist from the Cleveland Botanical Society and Museum scoured the woods in the community park studying plants, animals, flowers, trees and fungi, and recorded their observations. They also used biology books to identify insects and other creatures found in the woods and boosted their statistical analysis by blocking off sections of the woods in a grid to count all the plants and animals and create a database.

Jim Olexa, Sun News

Megan Porter, James Venzor, Ryan Seibert and Max Hanson talked to the board about what they learned doing the bio-survey and the challenges they faced gathering, coordinating and culling the information from the entire seventh-grade class. The board directed questions to the students about the differences they found in the park ecology from last year. The students prepared two posters about the various types of trees found in the park and a comparison of leaves and bark, which will be posted on kiosks in the park. Prior to visiting the park, the students took preparatory trips to the Gates Mills Land Conservancy to raise their acuity as naturalists, according to Jennifer Ault, Middle School science instructor. This is the second year the students participated in the BioBlitz. Previously, the students suggested places to add trail signs and ways to properly identify the plants by their scientific names noting those that might be invasive to the woods.

Jim Olexa, Sun News

THE PHYSICS OF FLOATING E

ighth graders in Gilmour’s Middle School mastered physics with boats they designed, tested and raced in Gilmour’s new natatorium. Michael Mallak and Agnes Mirando won the grand prize – a rubber duck trophy – in the fifth annual Boat Float. Awards were presented for the fastest, densest and least dense boats and for shipbuilding engineering. The Boat Float is an integrated art-science project where students design scale models in art class and build full-size boats in science class, then race them in the pool as they explore experimental design, density and buoyancy. This year’s theme for the art class was based on the seven Holy Cross charisms so each boat was required to represent a charism – zeal, hope, inclusiveness, the Cross, forgiveness, hospitality and option for the poor. Matthew Vanek, art instructor for the Middle and Upper schools, and his class focused on concept development, design and scale model building. The students’ mission was to design cardboard boats, held together with duct tape that would carry student teams from one end of Gilmour’s pool to the other. The participants had to huff and puff a little harder this year since the new natatorium is almost

double the size of the original. More than a few boats flipped over dousing their crews. With the “density-based science project,” students were asked to calculate the density of their boats when they were building them to make sure that the boats’ density would be less than the water’s. The engineering design investigation of density and buoyancy helped students understand these influences on how a boat is designed, modeled, tested and built, notes Jennifer Ault, Middle School science instructor. As part of the science class, students investigated stewardship of water resources and water’s chemical properties: surface tension, capillary action and water as a solvent. Jim Olexa, Sun News

Campus On/Or About

A Canvas that Connects Through Faith T

he first Friday of the school year found eager young faces from Gilmour Academy’s Lower School staring up at a Dr. Monica Veto and the Zai family symbolic new interfaith mural in the International Exhibition Hall. Just below the ceiling, the 40-foot-wide mural exhibits the children’s connection through faith, yet also celebrates and recognizes the children’s four faiths. Entitled “The Search for Truth,” the mural is a gift from the Zai family who commissioned artist Todd Volkmer to create the work. It is a combination of acrylic and latex paint on canvas and visually displays the faces and hands of people who are brown, white, yellow and red symbolizing inclusiveness through words from the Bible, Torah, Koran and Bagavadgita. “Our Holy Cross mission calls us to cross borders of every sort by understanding different beliefs

and respecting diversity,” says Dr. Monica Veto, director of the Lower School and Montessori Preschool Program. The mural, which sets off the hall like graphic crown molding, is designed “to inspire a better understanding of peoples of all faiths,” says Gilmour parent Eddy Zai. Even though the four holy books are written in different languages – Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and Sanscript – the words feature a similar belief. “The message of all these holy books has one common thread, expressing one language of God and centered on one commandment: to love one another,” says Campus Minister Father John Blazek ’58, C.S.C. The message is written in each religion’s native script. “The mural represents all of the religions of our Lower School families,” Veto noted at the mural’s dedication August 27. At the blessing and dedication, Father John made reference to the vision of Blessed Father Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, who believed that the Congregation’s ministry was to allow every person to come to know God better and to worship God with his or her whole heart and soul. Gilmour’s Middle and Upper schools also reflect this vision through a display of carved wooden plaques in the Frantz Atrium. They portray the inclusion of the

“It is part of our Holy Cross mission to make ourselves at home among all the different cultures of the world.” Dr. Monica M. Veto

“The Search for Truth” Artist’s Statement “Throughout history, religion has had a powerful effect on mankind. Religion can motivate us in such powerful ways, it can draw people

Holy Cross mission and the ministry of its priests, brothers and sisters. In educating people in the Catholic faith, it is important to understand and appreciate the similarities and differences among all different cultures of the world. “It is part of our Holy Cross mission to make ourselves at home among all the different cultures of the world,” Veto says. The hope is that Lower School families will continue their children’s education at home, Veto says, through meaningful discussions about the similarities between faiths and appreciate the differences. The mural speaks to the core values of Holy Cross – inclusivity, hospitality, forgiveness and hope – that “binds us together in the life-giving commandments of God, which call us to love,” Father John adds. During the mural’s dedication, the exhibition area was renamed the International Exhibition Hall to reflect the heritage of the Gilmour families in the Lower School. The hall displays 34 flags representing the students’ countries of origin.

together just as easily as drive us apart. The interesting thing is that, when one takes the time to research the various religions, we begin to see some striking commonalities. For me it is proof that all religions are centered around one central truth, that all religions emanate from a singular source, and somewhere in all that writing, the truth that men seek can be found. It is my hope that when we all find it we can find true peace and a complete relationship with God.” Todd Volkmer, June 2010

Campus On/Or About

Unveiling Medieval Mary Garden

is a time when

their mothers planted spring flowers in a Mary Garden

children are very

at the Lower School. The medieval custom of honoring

attached to their

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, started in Europe and spread

mothers, and the

around the world. The Mary Garden typically features

mother-child

a statue of the Madonna along with flowers and herb

relationship

plants that symbolize her virtues. The children planted

expressed by

daffodils, ox-eye daisies, tulips, geraniums, grape

Jesus and Mary

hyacinth and mint, then sang for their mothers and

is reminiscent of

participated in a short prayer service. The Lower School

the Kindergarteners’ relationships with their own

Parents Organization donated funds for the project.

mothers,” says Eileen Pryatel, a long-term substitute

rmed with their trowels, eight children in Gilmour

Academy’s Traditional Kindergarten program and

“Kindergarten

teacher at the Lower School. Pryatel worked with Montessori Directress Mary Beth Hayes-Zatko in designing the garden and with Miklus Florist, which provided a significant discount, in selecting plants that would be suitable for the climate in Northeast Ohio. The students studied Mary and her life and virtues in their religion class. They learned gestures to accompany the Hail Mary prayer and wrote prayers and petitions to Mary, says religion instructor Edie Joyce, who helped identify Marian flowers for the project. In science, the students explored roots, buds, flower parts, pollination and the differences between annuals and perennials plants.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF A GIRL KIND

irls and compatibility – this pretty much describes what the Gilmour Girls for Girls project is all about. Fifth and sixth graders in the Lower School are getting a healthy dose of how to form and sustain healthy relationships with each other at this critical juncture in their lives when they often derive self-esteem from their friends. The Gilmour program builds on activities and concepts developed through the Ophelia Project called Creating a Safe Social Climate in Our Schools. The program has been modified to fit the needs of Gilmour students. Pat Brubaker, dean of student development, and Susan Goldberg, Lower School counselor during the 2009-2010 school year, have trained six Upper School mentors to work with the older Lower School girls through sessions to help them navigate the rough waters of preadolescence often marked by tentative and challenging girl-to-girl relationships. The girls are learning to find their voice in socially challenging situations in a school environment that is supportive and accepting of all girls.

“Susan and I began talking about developing a program that brought Upper and Lower school girls together in a mentoring/role modeling program with a goal to build healthy relationships,” Brubaker says. “We worked with the Upper School students on understanding the nature of peer aggression and the use of problem solving in dealing with peer aggression.” Three sessions in the pilot project last spring focused on storytelling, role-playing, structured activities and discussion circles to help the younger girls become engaged. “Girl-to-girl relationships can be great but also confusing,” Goldberg says. “We want them to understand that we all face similar challenges that we can learn from and help each other.” The Lower School students also are discovering a new vocabulary to discern between relational, verbal and physical aggression; bullying and overt and covert aggression. The Lower School is expanding the program adding sessions and participants. Parents play a crucial role in the success of this effort because they are the most influential people in their children’s lives. Whether they have sons or daughters, parents should take their children’s concerns to heart and avoid minimizing their challenges as they learn The girls are learning to to negotiate conflicts in find their voice in socially healthier ways. They should emphasize family challenging situations in a time and limit their school environment that is children’s exposure to the media and its possible supportive and accepting impact on behavior. of all girls. The counselors advise that parents get to know the parents of their children’s friends and encourage their own children to have friends and activities beyond Gilmour. At the same time, parents should not stress popularity as a family value or push children into the social scene too early.

Campus On/Or About

Netbooks: Spot on for the Classroom

Laurie Gajda and Theresa Stark

e prepared for third graders to come home eager and more excited about the new school year. The Lower School is about to launch them into the world of netbooks, a mini laptop computer that will expand their learning landscape. “Gilmour has purchased an HP Mini Netbook for every third-grade student,” says Dr. Monica Veto, director of the Lower School and Montessori Preschool Program. “Classmates will be better able to collaborate on projects and communicate with their counterparts around the world as this initiative sparks their sense of wonder and discovery and spurs their creative spirit,” she says. The addition of netbooks also reinforces learning as a social and experimental process. The netbooks operate with Windows 7 and weigh less than three pounds. They have a long battery life and can be easily transported from class to class. Consistent digital access will allow students to collect

data for analysis, evaluate real-world content, apply critical thinking skills to writing and oral presentations and find solutions to actual problems as they become independent learners. What might a third grader’s day be like using a netbook? Students could start the day writing an online journal, then check the weather and news online. Math and science instructor Laurie Gajda and humanities instructor Theresa Stark will send assignments on the netbook. Students will complete them online and several examples will be discussed using the SMART board. They also will take notes online. If an interdisciplinary project is assigned, they will gather information from a class web page where the teachers post links to pre-approved websites. The students will download images and collaboratively write a group narrative on their computers. They will “Classmates will be better graph data comparing able to collaborate on dimensions, post maps and prepare detailed projects and communicate reports that include with their counterparts digital photos and around the world as this history. initiative sparks their sense “In a 21st-century learning environment, of wonder and discovery and the tools and activities spurs their creative spirit.” should be consistent Dr. Monica Veto with those used outside of school,” says Cathleen White, director of instructional technology. Instead of just teacher-directed questions, activities and assessments, the third graders will use their netbooks to assess and evaluate information, develop notes, create electronic concept maps for analysis and develop critical thinking skills that will be applied to writing articles, email exchanges and web publications. Information can be continuously updated and text size

“Young people need to know how to use and choose their tools well and we can help them with that, whether the tool is a pencil or a netbook.” Cathleen White

History Day Redux

welve sixth graders advanced to National History Day in Ohio after qualifying at the district

competition at Case Western Reserve University in the spring. Their exhibits, documentary and performance and reading level can be adapted for each student. “For most people, learning to use a new tool does not mean abandoning other ones (except when others become obsolete),” says White. “Young people need to know how to use and choose their tools well and we can help them with that, whether the tool is a pencil or a netbook.” Gajda and Stark plan to create and design innovative lessons and are confident that even though students have different computer skills, they will be able to get them to a consistent comfort level with netbook tasks and applications. The instructors will be better able to teach to students’ varying learning styles and enhance learning through multisensory activities that empower students to achieve their potential. “We also will provide students with realworld experiences and skills that will enrich learning and increase their engagement in learning,” the two teachers say. Students will be able to communicate with the teacher electronically and will be continuously engaged because they are not sharing a computer with other students. Those who complete an assignment before their classmates can visit a Moodle site that has activities to boost their skills in language, science, math and social studies. Parents also will be beneficiaries of the new program. Teachers can share student work immediately with them and communicate on curriculum matters regarding student work and achievement. “A 21st-century skill,” Veto says, “is the ability to recognize technology’s potential to transform the learning environment.”

entries ranged from polio vaccines and the Prohibition to recycling and X-rays. The students’ enterprising works focused on the theme “Innovation in History: Impact and Change” and were entered in the junior category for fifth- and sixth-grade students. The 12 Gilmour students who advanced to the state competition are the following:

•

Nicole Kastelic – The X-Ray: The Mistake That Changes the World

•

Annalise Minello and Caroline Ursu – Passage to Freedom: An Innovative Network

•

Adam and Zach Asher – Prohibition: “The Noble Experiment”

•

Berkley Kruschke and Theresa Egan – Recycling: An Innovative Solution

•

Chelsea Christian, Kelly Davis, Brooke Wurzburger and Christian Borkey – The Beginning of the End: Polio Vaccines

•

Tim O’Neill – The Cleveland Clinic Group Practice Model: An Innovation in Medical Care

During National History Day, students examine pivotal people, places and events in world history through documentaries, exhibits and performances. According to the event’s organizers, the program provides “an opportunity for students to push past the antiquated view of history as mere facts and dates and to drill down into historical content to develop perspective and understanding.”

Campus On/Or About

Kathryn Holleran ’14 Speech on Friday, June 4, 2010 Every day students are at Gilmour they each learn ello, my name is Kathryn Holleran. so much. We learn basic and advanced skills. When we are in class we aren’t just sitting there watching the I am a sixth-grade teachers write notes on a board. We are applying the student and president skills through fun projects, math and science activities, of the Lower School and research or creative writing. Student Leadership Mrs. Fantelli, or Fan, who is one of my teachers, Council. always says to read between the lines. What Mrs. This is a sad and Fantelli means by “reading between the lines” is happy day for most of us. Happy, because that we are not just reading the words, or reading on the lines, but we think deeper to make personal it’s summer! But sad, connections, connections that are meaningful for because some of us are moving on. The thoughts that I am sharing with you are mine, but I’m sure all the other understanding life or basically anything you do. Here at Gilmour, that is what we do. We learn sixth graders are feeling the same kinds of things too. I started here at Gilmour when I was in Montessori, how to do things and actually use our minds. We truly read between the lines, because it’s not as much about one month after I turned three, that’s 10 years ago! So, the answer as much as it is about HOW you got the yes I’m a “lifer.” I’ve enjoyed my years answer. at Gilmour a lot, so much that I Here at Gilmour, that is what Over the course of my years at wanted to tell everyone, including my Gilmour I have grown into who I am parents, brother, teachers, classmates we do. We truly read between today, something that I couldn’t have and all the Lower School students done without Gilmour. I just wish the lines, because it’s not as how I felt. everything would slow down, because What Gilmour has done for me much about the answer as these last few days have gone by too is made me a good person. With quickly. But, eventually, everything Gilmour’s help I have become a wellmuch as it is about HOW must come to an end, and this is it rounded, intelligent person. Every day you got the answer. for me and my classmates. We will when I walk into the school, I am be exploring the Middle School here happy and ready for the new day at Gilmour or, for a few, exploring new adventures ahead of me. I feel excited to learn and ready to have at other schools. No matter where the summer’s end fun. I know that each of us students has a place in Dr. Veto’s heart, all the teachers’ hearts, and the staff’s hearts, takes you, I would like to thank you all. I would also like to thank the Gilmour staff, even I hold a place in my heart for everyone here. After teachers, aftercare, the parent board, and maintenance all, Gilmour does educate the mind and the heart. and housekeeping. I would also like to thank my At Gilmour you don’t walk the halls wondering who friends. You were always there for me when I needed anyone is, because you know most everyone by name! you most. I would also like to thank Harriet and You feel safe and secure so even if you need help, you Tom Holleran, otherwise known as Mom and Dad, know you have friends and teachers by your side for sending me to this wonderful school full of people everywhere and you can go to any adult in the building. that I can trust and care for. Because of the smaller-sized classes you really get So, this is it. The last few moments of calling to know the teachers and they can help each student myself a sixth grader. It’s all come to an end too soon, individually. You always leave a classroom feeling like but life will go on. I will miss the Lower School next you learned something valuable. Because the teachers can help each student one-on-one, this brings our work year, but I will visit as much as possible. Thank you, Gilmour Lower School. to its highest ability.

A Jaunting Task for Journalism H

ow can schools adapt their journalism programs when the prospects for print journalism are uncertain? Gilmour Academy English instructor John Overman addressed this issue at the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Convention March 17-19 at Columbia University. Rather than teach to the industry, Overman says, teach to the power of journalism. He believes the skills journalists develop – balance, objectivity, clarity, credibility, precision and accuracy – will benefit students pursuing any career. Overman suggests schools might want to consider producing a news video instead of a newspaper. This will help students adapt to a digital medium, an approach he used last year when his students produced a televised tour of Gilmour’s new Athletic Center. “Digital media may replace print media, but quality news will always be in demand,” he says.

Overman also teaches print journalism and video production at the Academy and is the adviser for Gilmour’s student paper, The Lance, and for The Prep yearbook. He joined the Gilmour faculty in 2004, after receiving his bachelor’s degree in John Overman English and a master’s degree in education from John Carroll University and teaching in the Baltimore City School System. Last year, Overman worked with students in his audiovisual production class on interviewing skills, filming and editing as they learned what it takes to become an entrepreneur. In a pilot program, the students interviewed six entrepreneurs, including A. Malachi Mixon, board chair and CEO of Invacare Corporation. Ashland University features the film series on its website.

Shakespeare Saunters into New Territory C

an Shakespeare compete with Facebook and Twitter in the literacy arena? Gilmour Academy English instructors Elizabeth Edmondson and Coreen Gorbett Schaefer ’02 make a case that they can. Research suggests that students today feel a disconnect between the types of literacy activities they participate in during their free time and those that educators use in teaching in the classroom, Edmondson says. Although the task to rectify the two can be daunting, Edmondson and Schaefer shared their insights in March at the Ohio Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts Conference in Worthington, Ohio. They examined their findings in their presentation “Shakespeare Meet Wiki: Creating Relevance in the 21st Century Classroom.” “Teenagers are known to favor real-life literacy such as blogging, social networking and digital media over formal classroom reading assignments,” Edmondson says. Studies show they want choices in what they read and the ability to multitask, interact

and get immediate feedback. The Gilmour teachers talked to the educators about practical classroom-ready Elizabeth Edmondson lessons on the topics of independent reading and student-selected texts, media literacy and digital applications for traditional reading assignments. They also discussed their own Digital Learning Communities project in which their students work in small clusters reading a classic novel and building a wiki – a website they can co-construct and edit similar to Wikipedia. The project bridges the interest gap and demonstrates the students’ understanding and analysis of the books they select. “The students begin to discern their own preferences in literature,” Edmondson says, “and develop a lifelong love of reading.”

Campus On/Or About

Fit as a Fiddle N

ancy Janasek ’85 really thought she started off on the wrong foot with Barbara Vaughn the first time her freshman class went to the Gilmour natatorium for swimming. “Do you know your brother Dave ’71 picked me up and threw me in the pool in front of my entire class?” Vaughn asked her. “I thought I just started four years of hell,” Janasek says. Today she remembers Vaughn “as one of the most dedicated teachers and coaches who always played by the rules. She was kind, fair, honest and human.” After more than 40 years on the faculty of Glen Oak School and Gilmour Academy, Vaughn retired in June. “Barb has had a great influence on many students and colleagues through her dedication and commitment,” says Gilmour Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. Barb Vaughn was in the vanguard of physical fitness for children long before it was a cause célèbre. “Barb has always found the balance for attending to students who excel at sports as well as those who are just finding how to hone their coordination skills,” says Dr. Monica Veto, director of the Lower School and Montessori Preschool Program. “She always researched alternate activities to meet students’ varying abilities, interests and needs and promoted teamwork and problem solving and helped them accept their mistakes.” As a physical education instructor at the Lower School, Vaughn pioneered changes to the curriculum that incorporated exercise into recess and 30-minute pull-out sessions from classes for exercise and team games. She also introduced separate quartersemester concentrations in swimming, ice skating, team sports and strengthening and conditioning. “The Lower School’s physical education program provides opportunities for all students to develop an appreciation for the enjoyment of movement,” Vaughn says. “They participate in a wide range of activities that develop their motor skills, improve flexibility and increase fitness levels.” She is a proponent of teaching in a supportive and non-threatening atmosphere in which every student can be successful. One of the founding faculty at Glen Oak,

Vaughn joined the school in 1969 after earning a bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame College. She liked the idea of teaching health and physical education and the concept of the open classroom appealed to her. Her idea of a good physical education program is one that “enables all students to enhance their quality of life through active learning.” After Glen Oak merged with Gilmour in 1982, which Vaughn believes turned out to be the best thing for both schools, she continued teaching physical education and health in the Upper School and coached tennis and girls basketball. Going from teaching girls to teaching coed classes took a while to get used to, she recalls. “It actually helped to get some of the girls to work harder,” she says, “so they wouldn’t be shown up by the boys.” After pinch-hitting for a Lower School teacher in 1996, Vaughn found that she really enjoyed the younger students and asked to stay on. She has been there ever since. Laurie Gajda, Lower School math and science instructor, believes that Vaughn changed physical education in the Lower School with her innovations. “She emphasized the need for children to stay fit and active,” Gajda says, “and successfully used engaging and challenging games to reinforce skills and promote physical movement and exercise.” Now that she has retired, Vaughn spends her time traveling, playing tennis and enjoying her hobby, photography. Some of her prints are on display in the front hall of the Lower School. Frank McCamley, former longtime English instructor, noted on his blog that he was “truly sad” when he opened an email that Barb Vaughn was retiring. “Quite apart from her having taught my children, her having a glowing friendliness and her having an amazingly placid disposition, she is one of the titans of the school, a female Grejtak or Teisl, and I will miss her,” he says. “She leaves Gay Janis as the Last of the GO-hicians, the final thread to times and places past.”

Spirited Sojourner G

ilmour Academy just won’t be the same anymore now that Brother Robert Kelley, C.S.C., has retired. “I know I am going to miss Gilmour. You can’t be somewhere for 30 years and not miss it,” Brother Robert says. “Being at Gilmour and St. Ed’s have been the two biggest things in my religious life.” In early August, Brother Robert, a Campus Ministry associate, moved to Columba Hall on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. “I just cannot get around like I used to anymore so I know it’s time to retire,” he says. He has been a Holy Cross Brother for 56 years and celebrated his 50th Jubilee in 2004 at Gilmour. Brother began at Gilmour in 1980 as a guidance counselor. Back then, Gilmour was an all boys’ school with an enrollment of 350. Over his three decades here he also served as spiritual moderator of the Men’s Club, Superior of the local religious community and helped start the school’s community service program with Campus Minister Father John Blazek, C.S.C. ’58. “Having an opportunity to engage many different age groups in conversation while acknowledging the importance of our mission as a Holy Cross school was a wonderful gift Brother Robert Kelly shared during his many years at Gilmour,” says Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. “He is adept at being light hearted and yet serious at appropriate times with students one-on-one and in larger groups such as morning convocation. His gift of hearty engagement also was shared at the Men’s Club meetings and other gatherings. He enjoyed being with others and they appreciated him as well.” Always a favorite of the students, Brother Robert worked tirelessly with them on the Thanksgiving Food Drive, the

Cleveland Food Bank and volunteer efforts at St. Augustine and St. Malachi Churches on Brother Robert Kelley, C.S.C. Cleveland’s West Side. and Jamie Kazel Gilmour named a service award in honor of him for his 50th Jubilee. Practicing what he preaches about staying active, Brother Robert’s parting advice to students is to study, work hard and participate in extracurricular activities. “Taking care of prayer life and religion are also important,” he adds. After earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dayton, Brother Robert taught fifth graders at Holy Family School in Dayton. At St. Edward’s High School in Lakewood, he taught English, religion and marriage and the family, was a counselor and was director of student activities and alumni affairs. During his years as a Holy Cross Brother, he served his congregation as school counselor, assistant superior and vocation director in Ohio and part of Michigan working from Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron. Brother Robert also pursued graduate studies in guidance and counseling at John Carroll University. The mirthful man with the distinctive laugh says that he plans to remain active and read, go out to dinner and attend plays and performances – but his memories of Lancer games, Drama Club events and Gilmour parties go with him. “I just love the people at Gilmour – the students, teachers, parents, alumni and staff,” he says. Brother Robert hopes that Gilmour people will visit him when they are at Notre Dame and he looks forward to seeing students during the annual freshman retreat and alums who are now Notre Dame students. “We will miss Brother Robert’s presence and his great sense of humor at many varied campus activities,” the Headmaster says. “His dedication and spiritual depth is evident. Brother Robert touches lives in significant ways and always appreciates engaging in good conversation.”

Brother Robert and Erin and Sal Caruso with Sam 47

Counseling the College Bound F

or the last 23 years, Michele Klaus has been an ardent advocate for Gilmour Academy students on the brink of attending college. As director of college placement, her commitment to gaining the knowledge needed to advise and prepare students for the most critical juncture in their education – the college selection process – has been crucial for their success. “Mrs. Klaus played a vital role in my attending Loyola University of Chicago” says Molly Wheeler ’06. “She contacted Loyola many times and made sure that I was always on track and doing the next thing necessary for acceptance.” Student exuberance, though, can be an occupational hazard for Klaus from what Wheeler says. Mrs. Klaus pulled her out of class one day, and when Wheeler got to her office, Klaus handed her the phone and said, “Loyola wants to talk to you.” Wheeler discovered she had been accepted. “I was so happy I scared Mrs. Klaus with my scream and big hug,” she says. For her part, Klaus admires Gilmour students for being “energetic and involved” and sees them as “giving and forgiving.” She also finds their focus on the needs of the community and the world “awesome,” noting that “their goals inspire me.” No novice herself to the college selection process, Klaus earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from The Ohio State University and a Master of Arts from there as well. Her degree is in student personnel in higher education with a minor in guidance and counseling. Prior to joining Gilmour in 1987 as director of college counseling, she had been an academic advisor at Lakeland Community College and at Cuyahoga Community College’s Western Campus. She worked in residence halls at Ohio State and Binghamton University in upstate New York and was a counselor at Beachwood High School. At one point, she was a first-grade teacher. At Gilmour, Klaus was senior class counselor and college counselor for most of the class. She oversaw counseling and the college selection process for seniors with the help of other counselors. In other capacities at Gilmour, she served as guidance counselor for one year and headed the Admissions Office on an interim basis. “Michele has been a model of dedication in challenging students to widen their horizons in considering college choices and helping them, in concert 48

with their families, find the best fit,” says Gilmour Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C. Over the years, Klaus says, “Gilmour students have become more sophisticated with the subtle nuances of the college admission process, and have stepped up their high school curriculum choices to put them in contention for admission to very selective colleges and universities.” The students are also more “tech savvy” she says, “a skill demanded by the college application process.” Klaus contends that the mounting cost and selectivity of colleges combined with the economy has influenced the search process and accessibility. The ease of filing applications electronically has boosted the number of applicants driving colleges and universities to become more selective. To help counter these challenges, she was determined that each of her students received her best care and counseling skills and a work ethic that supported their personal and academic needs. Gilmour Trustee and parent Ann Chiarucci O’Brien ’76 says Klaus’s strong suit is that she makes the college application process manageable – more like a process of discovery rather than acceptance of rejection. She also credits Klaus for telling parents and students as early as freshman year the message that with each class students take and each interest they pursue, they are painting a picture for colleges of who they are. “What makes Michele so good at this process is that she develops relationships with admissions staff at colleges and universities across the country and with each student she counsels,” O’Brien says. “As a parent I appreciated her focus on what Bobby ’10 and Kathleen ’11 are about, not necessarily what I thought they wanted, but what they were able to convey to her. She guides students and gives them options to consider and the tools to find the colleges where they can grow, develop and be successful.” Now that Klaus has retired, she has already travelled to China with the Cleveland Hiking Club. She plans to spend time with her three daughters and volunteer at an inner-city high school, helping students study for the ACT and “define their post-secondary education plans,” she says. She will return to her hobby of gourmet cooking, work in the yard and ride her John Deere mower, which she picked up at a Gilmour’s Gold Ticket raffle.

A Seamless Switch Prior to her high ilmour Upper School students started off the school school counseling and year learning to unravel the workings of the college college admissions admissions process with the Academy’s new director of experience, Stockard college placement, Tracy Stockard. She joins Gilmour worked at Carnegie from Hawken School where she was associate director Mellon University as a of college counseling. career counselor for “Tracy impressed all on the search team,” says the school’s Graduate Gilmour Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C., School in Industrial “with her energy, poise and professionalism, her deep Administration and as understanding of the increasing complexity of the college an industry consultant. search process, and the emotional challenges that this She earned her phase of student growth places on students and families.” bachelor’s degree At Gilmour, Stockard will work closely with juniors, from Allegheny seniors and their families toward a successful college College and a master’s placement experience. She will guide new programming degree in student initiatives and publications and meet with college affairs in higher admissions representatives who visit Gilmour. education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. “I love the fact that every student Before Stockard assumed her Gilmour comes to the college process with different “Just seeing students duties July 1, she collaborated with Michele needs and interests,” Stockard says. fall in love with the Klaus, her predecessor in the position whom When she was senior associate director of admissions at the College of Wooster, colleges they select at she has known for 10 years, on a strategy to assure students and families a seamless Stockard was an expert on just one school, the end of the process transition. she says. At Gilmour, she will search a Stockard believes that among the key is so rewarding.” wide variety of colleges with students. strengths she brings to the position are her six “I think this makes it fun and keeps it years of experience on the admissions side of refreshing,” she says. “Just seeing students the desk in college admissions. “I know what colleges are fall in love with the colleges they select at the end of the looking for when they read applications and essays,” she process is so rewarding.” says. “I can help students navigate through the challenges Lancer fans will probably run into Stockard at softball and market themselves, so they put their best foot forward games, a sport she played at Cuyahoga Heights High when they make an application.” School when she faced off against Gilmour. Her friend,

Jennifer Russo Lowery ’93, was on the Lancer team. “She raves about Gilmour and growing up in the area and I felt it would be a great community to join,” Stockard says.

1950s Lancer Spotlight “Spotlight? I spent a significant part of my professional life staying out of the spotlight,” says Raymond Muench ’53 when asked to be a Lancer Spotlight for Gilmour Magazine. Talk about working undercover – he flew night missions from runways without lights and worked in covert communications and special operations. When Muench transferred to Gilmour in 1949, he was 5-foot-4 and weighed about 100 pounds. By the time he graduated he was a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier. After graduating from Villanova University with a bachelor’s degree in physics, Muench wanted “to build dams and power plants in the jungles of South America.” He even had an engineering job lined up. Instead he was drafted to serve in Vietnam. “Wrong jungle!” he jokes. “That isn’t in the plan.” After completing Navy Flight School, Muench was sent to Japan in 1964 and lived 20 miles from Hiroshima flying intelligence missions over the South China Sea and the Sea of Japan. He searched for survivors and wreckage after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident that led to greater U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. While stationed in Saigon, Muench witnessed a Vietnamese military coup. During his 21 years with the Navy, he was a test pilot for the Collision Avoidance system and worked for four years doing research on aviation and communications systems for the Naval Laboratories. He retired from the Navy as program manager for Airborne Strategic Communications overseeing work that allows the president to launch nuclear missiles. While in the Navy, he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, a master’s degree in systems engineering from the University

Raymond Muench ’53

of Florida and did postgraduate work in information theory at George Washington University. Gilmour’s aerospace adventurer went to work for Booz Allen & Hamilton in 1981 and was director for avionics systems developing Star Wars and was part of a team that produced the Space Station. When the Berlin Wall came down, Muench witnessed the event and keeps a piece of the wall on his desk. “Gilmour’s meager, but strong, introduction to ‘arts’ subjects served as the foundation to build a somewhat well-rounded individual,” he says, “who was required to discuss current events with scientific and management leaders from the United States and foreign countries.” During his career, Muench also was principal scientist for EG&G, a U.S. national defense contractor, before retiring in 1995. After living all over the world in places such as Japan, Spain and Sicily, Muench and his wife, Joyce, have settled in Vienna, Va. They have four children and several grandchildren. Over the years he says, “I learned that life is similar to being a pinball; bouncing from one unexpected bump by the machine of life to another; adjusting continuously for surprise encounters.”

A l u m n i

N e w s

1960s

Lancer Spotlight

Tom Ashley ’60

om Ashley ’60 knows what “Mad Men” was all about. During the 1960s and 70s, he lived the life of a New York ad men. After earning a degree from Georgetown University in foreign management, he did audience research for CBS, sold advertising for ABC and teamed up with Ted Turner to run CNN’s advertising sales department when the network was getting off the ground. Ashley, who lives in New York City, formed his own production company, Total Video Inc. For most of the 90s he lived in London and worked all over Europe. Somewhere in between Ashley worked for Academy Award-winning costume designer Edith Head and created three short television series focusing on this day in history, sports and Hollywood. Earlier this year, he completed a documentary on the Empire State Building.

He has rubbed elbows with the likes of John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Bobby and Teddy Kennedy, Muhammad Ali and a few presidents. Ashley’s famous father-in-law was St. Louis Cardinal’s legend and baseball Hall-of-Famer Stan “The Man” Musial. Destiny put him in the right place when Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., made his “I have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., and when Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby. He watched the Twin Towers topple from his Greenwich Village apartment on 9/11. “Trying to comment on that would read like a cliché,” Ashley says, adding that it awakened him to the idea that safety is far from a given. “Over the years, I‘ve often thought about the people who have had the most positive impact on my life,” Ashley says. Vern Weber and Brother Ivo Regan, C.S.C., always make the list. As a student he had attention-deficit disorder and recalls that his teachers were very patient. “I’ve lived in 10 different cities over my 68 years, but I’d have a hard time thinking of any better two years than those spent in Gates Mills at the corner of Cedar and SOM Center roads,” he says. “I loved Gilmour.” Today, Ashley is the father of three children – Tommy, Christopher and Camille – and the grandfather of three, and is enrolled at New School University where he takes non-credit classes taught by “older” students. Like his 93-year-old mother who drives around in a baby blue Jaguar, Ashley shows no signs of slowing down despite double bypass surgery accompanied by a staph infection six years ago. The experience made him realize he had a lot to be grateful for and to never take anything for granted. When Ashley returned to Gilmour in June for his 50th reunion, he took his traditional lap around the track. “It’s great to see old classmates; it’s like coming home.”

A l u m n i

N e w s

1970s

Lancer Spotlight Barbara Knuth ’76

cholar-researcher Barbara Knuth ’76, who studies natural resource management, was recently named vice provost of Cornell University and dean of the Cornell Graduate School. Knuth, who graduated from Glen Oak School, which merged with Gilmour Academy in 1982, is professor of natural resource policy and management at Cornell. “My back-up plan if I did not receive tenure at Cornell was to move to the Adirondacks and open a bake shop,” she quips, an attitude that serves her well in being open to new possibilities. “The open education philosophy at Glen Oak suited me extremely well,” Knuth recalls. It positioned her to thrive in an alternative academic program at Miami University and for her master’s work in environmental sciences, which was multidisciplinary as well. “This open, welcoming and supportive approach to education and a cross-disciplinary, integrative approach to learning had its foundation for me through my experience at Glen Oak,” the educator says. Knuth holds two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in engineering, all from Miami. She earned a doctorate in philosophy from Virginia Tech. “To this day, I derive the most satisfaction and believe I have the most impact when I am working on complex, challenging societal issues that cross disciplinary boundaries,” she says. At Cornell, Knuth also is senior associate dean in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and associate director of the Human Dimensions Research Unit in the Natural Resource Department. Her research focuses on human attitudes and behaviors toward the environment. Knuth also is

on the National Academies’ Ocean Studies Board, which advises the federal government on ocean science, engineering and policy. As a teacher and administrator, Knuth advocates “listening to all sides of an issue, gathering information, and making a decision that is reasoned and fair for those involved and affected, whether family, friends, colleagues or employer.” She advises students and others to keep a to-do list for small and large goals. “Work on your list daily, but always be ready to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves or that you can create – in other words, actively manage your to-do-list and your goals.” The close relationships Glen Oak fostered between students and teachers where everyone was on a first-name basis also served her well at Miami and Cornell, she believes. Thirty years later, she still keeps in touch with some of her Glen Oak teachers. “As a professor at Cornell, I, too, have lived with my family on campus in a student residential setting, and continue to be on a first-name basis with my students,” Knuth says. She is married to Kurt Jirka and they have two daughters: Caroline, who will be a junior at Cornell, and Kelly, who will be a senior at Ithaca High School. Mery (deHaas) Tomsick ’77 is godmother for Knuth’s daughters. Knuth also keeps in touch with Susan Pogany ’77, a freelance art designer in New York. Knuth likes to read, bake and travel. She also enjoys canoeing, kayaking and backpacking with her family. She developed her interest in backpacking during her mini-week experiences at Gen Oak. “Keep your priorities straight,” she says. “For me this means family first.”

A l u m n i

N e w s

1980s

Lancer Spotlight A

s a Gilmour student, Paul Neundorfer ’83 says he learned respect, empathy and dignity from many individuals who demonstrated and nurtured these values. Today, Neundorfer applies them in his work as a landscape architect and in his efforts to resettle refugees from Burma and Southeast Asia who have moved to Cleveland. Neundorfer is founder, principal and president of Aristotle Enterprises Inc., a landscape design and land-planning firm. He was on hand at Gilmour’s Alumni Reunion last June when Gilmour Trustee Jim Pender and his wife, Kathy, dedicated the new Michael Pender ’90 Garden outside the new Athletic Center. It is named for their son, Michael ’90, who died in 1991. Neundorfer designed the plan for the garden and built the carved bench in it. He worked with the Penders and architects David Holzheimer ’64 and Peter Bolek on the project. The alum also is an executive director of The Refugee Response, which empowers refugees to become self-sufficient and contributing members of their new communities. Neundorfer and David Wallis started the nonprofit last year after assisting refugees in Northeast Ohio for several years. Recently, The Refugee Response worked with other community groups to develop a six-acre garden in Ohio City to provide fresh food for low-income residents in the neighborhood and to generate revenue for immigrant farmers. Great Lakes Brewing Company plans to use the produce in its restaurant and ultimately the produce might be used to make salsas and salad dressings for commercial use.

Paul Neundorfer ’83 and Lisa Sefcek with Kathy and Jim Pender in the Michael Pender ’90 Garden

He believes that a person’s capacity for success is framed by his or her values, character, motives, habits, traits, style, behavior and skills. “Success is created through extraordinary performance whether on the playing field; designing and creating a unique, beautiful space or teaching a refugee child the alphabet,” he says. After graduating from Gilmour, Neundorfer earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He was a landscape architect in Boston and Cleveland before starting Aristotle Enterprises. He is currently working on an irrigation system in Kenya. His travels also have taken him to Nepal, Thailand, Africa and Hong Kong. In 1988, Neundorfer was inducted into the Gilmour Athletic Hall of Fame and he received several fellowships for independent study as a Harvard student. He runs marathons and bicycles recreationally, recently participating in the 320-mile Pan Ohio Hope Ride to support the American Cancer Society. Every winter, he is a visiting lecturer and senior thesis studio critic in landscape architecture at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Each spring, he and his family and friends make 50 to 100 gallons of maple syrup on the family property in Chardon where he was raised. Last May, Neundorfer proudly sat watching his nephew, Peter, graduate during Gilmour’s 61st Commencement – while sitting with his other nephew, Eric, who graduated from the Academy the previous year. “Gilmour was a great experience,” Neundorfer says, “and prepared them well for college and for life.”

Alumni News

Christine Porath ’91 and Susan Napier ’00 in California

Cheryl Potenziani, Cyrena Potenziani Brenneis ’01 with Jonathan David in California

On the Road I

n Gilmour’s quest to stay in touch with alumni, graduates from across the country reconnected with classmates, teachers and friends through outreach events in Florida, California and Illinois last spring. Board Chair Jerry Murphy ’64 and Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C., welcomed 40 people to the Naples, Fla., home of Molly and Tony Musca, former Gilmour parents. The couple joined Bob and Lisa Forino, also parents of an alum, Cheryl Forino Wahl ’87 in hosting the March event. About 20 from the California alumni contingent caught up with English instructor Kathy Kenny in March at the Pink Taco, a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. The Oliver D’Silva ’97, Deepika Pereira and windy city was the venue in May William Navarre ’02 in Chicago when 20 Gilmour alums gathered for a reception in the Chicago office of Guy Maras ’82. Keep an eye out for an outreach event near you: New York City, October 13, Boston, October 14 and Washington, D.C., October 28.

Kathy Kenny and Rick Schenkelberg ’02 in St. Louis 56

Courtney Lemister, Jay Crotty ’97, Mimi and John Crotty and Jim Farrar ’59 in Florida

Lisa Forino, Kathy Kenny, Jerry Murphy ’64, John DiCillo, Molly Musca and Brother Robert Lavelle in Florida

Lisa Forino, Kurt Leidli ’87 and Kathy Kenny in Florida

Don and Donna Pirc and Vince Campanella in Florida

Wendy Steinhoff Baldikoski ’88 and Susan Napier ’00 in California

Brian Herbe ’05, Rina Restaino ’05 and Michaela Kenny ’05 in California

Chris Yonan ’02, Shahzad Khan ’02, Kathy Kenny, Dylan Tanous ’04 and Pete Yonan ’02 in California 57

A l u m n i

N e w s

1990s

Lancer Spotlight

alim Zayat ’97 embodies every kid’s childhood dream of becoming a real Game Boy. He is senior programmer at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where he develops online games to therapeutically help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). “People with ASD have difficulties in face recognition, both recognizing individual identities and their emotions,” Zayat says. “The games we create use face matching as a key game mechanic,” he explains, “making the experience both fun and helpful.” He also works as a web developer. Even as a Gilmour student Salim, or “Zimo” as he was known across campus, was interested in art and communication. He confesses that the best gift he received from Gilmour was the ability to write. He wrote so many papers that “the five-paragraph structure became second nature,” he says. “You wean yourself from such crutches as passive voice and ambiguous references, thus leaving your intentions and ideas clearer. You are able to quickly organize your thoughts and express them well, which are skills that can be used anywhere in life, whether it be in application essays for grad school or in your daily conversations.” It would be hard to imagine what Zayat would have done with his life if computers had not been invented. Technology has played such a key role for him. Still he remembers advice from Gilmour teacher and coach Vern Weber who told students, “Get a liberal arts degree. It makes you a wellrounded person.”

Salim Zayat ’97

After graduating as salutatorian from Gilmour, Zayat earned a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in entertainment technology from Carnegie Mellon University. In graduate school, he was a tools developer at Vanguard Animation in London. Zayat worked as a software intern at Pixar before becoming a software engineer at Shaba Games. “I spent almost four years there working on a variety of video games including “Spiderman: Web of Shadows” and “Shrek the Third,” he says. Last year, Zayat married Bridget Hill, an attorney he met at the University of Pennsylvania. Classmate Oliver D’Silva was a groomsman along with Phil Prusa ’98. The couple lives in Haddonfield, N.J., and has a new son, Colin Bruce Zayat, who was born June 21. The Gilmour graduate believes that “one should do what he or she loves,” adding that, “I look forward to work every day and I am sad when I punch out at night.”

A l u m n i

N e w s

2000s

Lancer Spotlight W

ild mountain goats and sheep might not excite everyone, but Julia Novak ’03 finds them pretty interesting. Novak went head to head with a few on an expedition in Outer Mongolia run by her employer Earthwatch Institute. Based just outside of Boston, Earthwatch conducts global field research on the sustainability of the environment in terms of rainforests, wildlife conservation, marine science and archaeology. “I am thankful for all the fantastic teachers I had at Gilmour,” Novak says, “for helping me build the basis for successfully pursuing a path that I love.” As a corporate engagement coordinator, Novak oversees 125 participants in the Climate Partnership Fellowship Program each year who volunteer for field programs, and she is involved in their recruitment, training and post-program work. The Gilmour graduate has a bachelor of arts degree in environmental studies from the University of San Diego where she earned the school’s Student Leadership Award in 2005. In February 2009, she also trained Earthwatch staff in India about health, safety and risk management protocols for the India Regional Climate Center, which researches the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems with the Indian Institute of Sciences. Novak also has participated in similar research at the North America Regional Climate Center housed at the Smithsonian Environmental Research campus in Maryland. “My experience with Earthwatch has given me many learning opportunities and ultimately helped me to narrow my research interests,”

Julie Novak ’03

Novak says. She plans to study for her doctorate in fisheries and wildlife at the University of Michigan in the fall after completing a fellowship to study Hindu. Prior to her work with Earthwatch, Novak was a park ranger for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Novak believes the study and time management skills she learned at Gilmour have benefitted her career as well as the importance of building solid working relationships. “The professors at Gilmour were fantastic role models who had a huge impact on my preparedness for both undergraduate studies and the beginning of my career,” she says. When Novak is not on the job, the Boston resident enjoys white water and sea kayaking, international travel, backcountry camping and backpacking. When she is back in Cleveland during the holidays, Novak gets together with Gilmour classmates Meredith Batcheller and Jacob Boeshans in the Coventry area. Her offbeat career has factored into her philosophy of life and she says, “Always keep an open mind and expose yourself to as many new experiences as possible.”

A l u m n i

N e w s

Ondak Is New Alumni Association President

he Gilmour Academy Alumni Association has a new man at the helm. Attorney Robert Ondak, Jr. ’91 is the organization’s new president and plans to create opportunities for alumni to interact with each other and with Gilmour. A partner with Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Arnoff LLP, Ondak represents developers, property owners, landlords, tenants and financiers in commercial real estate transactions for office buildings, shopping centers and industrial parks. In accepting this role with the alumni association, he says he was “looking for an opportunity to reconnect with Gilmour and make a meaningful contribution.” Listed in “The Best Lawyers in America 2009-2010,” Ondak cites the lifelong friends he made at Gilmour and the education he received both inside and outside the classroom. “They have had a profound impact on my life,” he says. To this day, Ondak maintains friendships with classmates Chris Maynard ’91, Bill Mattis ’91 and Brian Franco ’90. Ondak began at Gilmour in seventh grade after attending the school’s day camp and sports camp. His parents were impressed by the Academy’s small class sizes and reputation. He believes that Gilmour taught him to be a critical thinker, a benefit strengthened by his participation on the Speech and Debate Team, Student Congress and Mock Trial. His Gilmour education has proven to be an asset for his work as a group leader representing retail, office and industrial landlords and tenants across the nation. Other aspects of his job involve counseling parties in negotiating purchase and sale agreements and working with lenders and borrowers in financing transactions. A member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Ondak chairs legislative affairs for the Northern Ohio Chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. He also is a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and the Ohio Bar Association. Following his graduation from Gilmour, Ondak earned a bachelor’s degree and graduated cum laude from Fairfield University in 1995. Three years later he received his Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law. Prior to his current position, the alumnus was a partner with Hurtuk & Daroff Company. Ondak and his wife, Meredith, a social worker at Louis Agassiz Elementary School, have two children, Mia and Lyla. 61

A l u m n i

N e w s

2010s

Lancer Spotlight S

itting regally astride her Arabian horse, Phoebe Afire, Gilmour alumna Brooke Marie Jarvis ’10 looks like she was meant to ride into championship history. And she did in Albuquerque, N.M., in July at the U.S. Youth National for Arabians and Half-Arabian Horses. Not only did Jarvis win nationals in the Arabian English Pleasure category – where, she says, “horses trot high and are beautiful in the bridle” – but she also won in the Arabian English Pleasure Junior Owner to Ride and the Arabian English Pleasure Junior to Ride competitions with her horse Lady Ava Isabella, a Half-Arabian. It is rare to win nationals in both of those events because more horses are entered and the equestrians do not need to own the horse they ride in the latter event. All three judges voted for Jarvis. Even more important than winning three championships to Jarvis was that she surpassed trainers at a regional competition this past year. Amateurs, juniors and trainers showed horses around the ring to exhibit three gaits: the walk, the trot and the cantor. It was the first time a junior equestrian beat trainers that were showing national champion horses. “That meant more than a national championship ever could,” Jarvis says. The college freshman, who now attends Loyola University Chicago, has even competed in the International Arabian Horse Show in the United Arab Emirates. “Being an equestrian is my biggest passion,” she says. Jarvis, who plans to study international relations and hopes to be a diplomat in the Middle East, comes by her interest in horses naturally. Her mother owns

Brooke Marie Jarvis ’10 and Phoebe Afire

an insurance agency that specializes in equine and exotic animals and her father breeds horses. Although she began riding when she was 2 years old, Jarvis did not start out on ponies. Instead she rode a horse that was 15 hands high, more than five feet tall. “I don’t think that I was frightened because I was at the barn all of the time,” she recalls. By the time she started as a first grader at Gilmour, Jarvis was an old pro and really knew her way around horses. She understands the importance of using body language and emotions to connect to horses and explains that they can pick up information just from intonation. “Horses are extremely smart and sensitive,” she says. Riding is all about balance and she believes the various kinds of dancing lessons she has taken have been beneficial. “Determination is the biggest thing I apply to both dance and horses,” Jarvis notes. “With dance it is all about being one step better than you were before and trying new things and it is the same thing with horses.” During her senior year, Jarvis felt fortunate that her schedule at Gilmour allowed her to spend more time with her horses at their barn in Mantua. Juggling her work as an equestrian with academics and extracurricular activities was no small feat. Jarvis competed on the Speech and Debate Team for four years advancing to nationals two years and to state four years. She also was on the Girls Varsity Lacrosse team and was a cheerleader. Going off to college will be bittersweet for Jarvis, who rides every day. She plans to return home frequently to work with Phoebe Afire because her trainer does not ride the horse and Jarvis plans to resume competition next summer adding, “I am leaving part of my heart here.”

Lancer Athletics

For Track, a Storied Season W

ith distance runner Bekka Simko ’10 and sprint star Candace Longino-Thomas ’11 leading the way, Gilmour’s Girls Varsity Track team looked poised to repeat as state champions. In the end, the Lancers took second place at the Division III state meet in June. Early season results looked promising. However, the injury bug bit, felling LonginoThomas. Many teams would have shrunk from the resulting challenge. The Lancers are cut from a different cloth and – rallying Bekka Simko ’10 receives around Simko and baton from Alexis Anton ’13 (Kyle Lanzer, Sun News) graduating seniors Grace Brennan, Kathyrn Drew and Jackie Porter – Gilmour demonstrated its true character. Winning the Independent School Conference championship and the district title were satisfying ways to begin the postseason. At the regional championship, the Lancers secured the team title behind Simko’s wins in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs. Meghan Pryatel ’13 also qualified for state by finishing fourth in the 1,600. Porter scored valuable points with a sixth-place finish in the 300 hurdles. The Lancers also swept the 3,200 relay (Simko, Brennan, Pryatel and Alexis Anton ’13) and the 1,600 relay (Simko, Brennan, Drew and Anton). The following week in Columbus, the odds against a Gilmour victory were long, but the girls stepped up to the challenge. The 3,200 relay cruised to the gold medal on the first day, and on the final day, Simko led the charge with a victory in the 800 and silver in the

1,600, then anchored the 1,600 relay to a second-place finish. Pryatel finished 10th in the 1,600 as well. Gilmour secured enough points to take the team runner-up trophy back to Gates Mills. In the last six years, four team titles and two runner-up titles make Gilmour one of the more successful teams in Ohio. With her notable performance this season, Simko finished her prep career with the second-most gold medals – 10 in four years – in the history of the state track meet, regardless of gender or school size. She also has her name on three all-time state records and nine Gilmour school records. With her graduation, along with the other seniors, this will leave a gap to fill. But knowing the history of this team, it’s a safe bet that it will be filled. The 2010 season also showed the Boys Varsity Track team’s true mettle in many ways. The Lancers faced the prospect of entering the season with many veteran All-Ohioans having graduated the previous year. Many teams would have been content to quietly rebuild, but the Lancers endured one of the tougher schedules, competing week in and week out with top programs from around the state, including many Division I and II teams. Captain Bart Merkel ’10 rightly earned praise from opponents throughout the year, as he led the team with many outstanding performances in the distance races. Merkel ran personal bests in all of his events, including 4:26 in the 1,600 and 9:25 in the 3,200, an event in which he won both the district and regional championships and finished fifth at the state meet in a tough field. On a young team, having a top performing veteran like Merkel made a substantial difference to the many sophomores and freshmen who relied on his guidance and followed his example in both daily practices and meets. The team had other strong performances from Rickey Layton ’10, who advanced to regionals in both the shot put and discus, and solid relays that relied on Steven Pryatel ’10, Kevin Vargo ’11, James Miller ’11, Justyn Greene ’12, Ben Radcliffe ’12 and Rob Zeller ’13. With so many young athletes gaining valuable experience, the 2011 Lancers look to an even greater season. Matthew Lindley ’89

New Volleyball and Softball Coaches Onboard

ilmour Academy recently named Martin “Kelly” Coughlin, as its new varsity volleyball coach and Jim Galloway, a Gilmour assistant softball coach, as its new head softball coach. Coughlin, who was an assistant volleyball coach at Cleveland State University, succeeds Jeff Grzybowski, who resigned in February after coaching at the Academy for four years. Coughlin assumes leadership of a Gilmour team that has a 100-13 record, and was the 2008 runner-up Martin ‘Kelly’ Coughlin and 2007 state semifinalist. The Lancers have also advanced to the regional finals for the last four years. Coughlin has been coaching 19 years. He was an assistant volleyball coach at Olmsted Falls High School from 2004 to 2008 and before that he was the junior varsity coach there. Coughlin coached boys’ and girls’ volleyball at Brunswick High School from 1991 to 2000 and previously was club director of the PC Flyers/P.O.P. Volleyball. He was a provisional referee for the Ohio

Valley Region for Junior Olympic volleyball tournaments and has a bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State. Tom Bryan, Gilmour’s athletic director, says “Kelly not only had tremendous experience, but he really set himself apart with his charisma and strong work ethic.” Galloway has been assistant coach of the Lancers for the last four years. “Jim understands the Gilmour philosophy having been involved as a coach here since 2005,” says Tom Bryan. “His familiarity with the softball program made him a logical choice to fill the head coaching position.” Galloway was an assitant coach at Eastlake North High School prior to coaching at Gilmour. His undergraduate degree Jim Galloway is from Bowling Green State University. Galloway’s daughter, Erin, graduated from Gilmour in 2007 and son, Joseph, is a sophomore at Gilmour.

Kazel Named Girls Lacrosse Coach

ilmour’s new head coach for the Girls Varsity Lacrosse team knows his stick work. Jamie Kazel launched the Boys Varsity Lacrosse team in 2000 and coached it for five seasons. Since then, he has assisted with lacrosse operations developing Varsity and Junior Varsity lacrosse teams for the girls and Junior Varsity and Middle School lacrosse teams for the boys. “Jamie has an exceptional understanding of the student-athlete here at Gilmour,” says Tom Bryan, Gilmour athletic director. “This, along with his enthusiasm, should result in great things for the girls’ lacrosse program.”

Kazel’s players made the Ohio Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association AllDistrict First Team, Second Team and one received honorable mention. “Next year, we will put our coaches’ observations into action,” Kazel says. “We will increase the team’s stamina and endurance, fortify the defense, ignite teamwork, accelerate leadership and put a bucket more of balls in the goal.”

Jamie Kazel

Lancer Athletics

Boys Prep Hockey Gets Head Coach S

cott Stirling, formerly an assistant coach at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) and a professional hockey player for eight years, will be Gilmour’s Boys Prep Hockey head coach. Stirling replaces Mike McNeill who stepped down after six seasons to be Gilmour’s arena operations manager, a full-time position. Scott Stirling “Hiring Scott is a strong indication of how far our program has come and where it’s headed,” says John Malloy, director of ice programs at Gilmour and head coach of the Boys Varsity Hockey team. “Coach Stirling’s tremendous hockey background and experience is just the tip of the iceberg in what he brings to Gilmour. As a mentor, I believe the great things he will bring to the team on the ice and off will foster each player’s personal growth.” Stirling most recently served as the assistant men’s hockey coach at BGSU, an NCAA Division I school and program. This past season he focused on forwards and goaltenders, helping improve the team’s goalie save percentage from .840 to .896. Stirling also spent a year as an assistant for his alma mater, Brown University, where he coached the team’s starting goalie to a .933 save percentage.

“The opportunity to be a head coach was extremely intriguing,” says Stirling about his move from the collegiate arena to the high school level. “The Gilmour program has received much exposure and there is the ability to help the players move on to the next level.” Playing at the next level is something quite familiar to Stirling. As a player at Brown, he was named SecondTeam All-Ivy in both 1999 and 2000, and was also a twotime Academic All-Ivy honoree, earning Academic AllECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) as a senior in 2000. Today, he remains in the top 10 among statistical leaders in several goaltending categories at the season and career levels, having amassed 1,958 saves with three shutouts and a .906 save percentage in his college career. After graduating from Brown with a degree in economics and organizational behavior and management, Stirling began his professional hockey career with the Trenton Titans in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). In his rookie season, he was named ECHL Goalie of the Year, Rookie of the Year and First-Team All-ECHL. He went on to play for the ECHL’s Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies and Fresno Falcons, the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Worcester Ice Cats, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Portland Pirates and San Antonio Rampage, and the United Hockey League’s Danbury Thrashers. He earned such honors as ECHL Most Valuable Player, as well as additional ECHL Goalie of the Year and FirstTeam All-ECHL accolades. He concluded his professional career in the Norwegian Elite Hockey League with the Valerenga Ice Hockey Club during the 2007-08 season.

Lancer to Play for Colgate G

ilmour Academy graduating senior Taylor Volpe will play hockey for NCAA Division I Colgate University. For two seasons, she played on Gilmour’s Girls Prep Hockey team, serving as captain this past season and assistant captain the previous year. The Lancer was selected for Cushing Academy’s All Tournament team last December and Northwood School’s All-Tournament team in Lake Placed, N.Y., in January. Girls Prep Hockey Coach Rick Filighera says

Volpe is a consistent point producer and believes her ability to score will be an asset to Colgate. She led the team with 39 goals and 23 assists in 60 games. “Taylor is a very determined person and is able to apply what she is taught to her game,” Filighera says. “Her size sets her apart from other players given that she is tall with a long reach. She has a great shot and can take the puck off the wall quickly and get it to the net. She’s a natural goal scorer and a penalty kicker.”

Sarah Geisinger ’12

Jayme Castillo ’12

Ally Ross ’11

GA Girls Tapped for USA Hockey National Camps G

ilmour Academy juniors Sarah Geisinger and Jayme Castillo, and senior Ally Ross, all members of the Girls Prep Hockey team, were selected for the USA Hockey’s Select Player Development Camps, which ran from June 25 to July 1 in St. Cloud, Minn. The camps identify, train, educate and assess the best female hockey players in the country. Geisinger qualified as a forward, Castillo for defense and Ross as a goaltender. Throughout the week, players selected for the National Camp received outstanding coaching while professional

scouts and college recruiters evaluated their performance. According to Rick Filighera, head coach of Gilmour’s Girls Prep Hockey team, the studentathletes qualified as the best in their age group in their district. Geisinger was selected by the Mid-Am District; Castillo, the Southeast District and Ross, the Atlantic District. Gilmour has the only girls prep hockey high school team in Ohio. The team finished its regular season earlier this year with a 16-9 record.

Go-to Guy for Sportsmanship W

hen it comes to sportsmanship, John Malloy doesn’t have to take a backseat to anyone. Sportsmanship is not just some lofty thought for Malloy, director of Ice Programs at Gilmour and head coach of the Varsity A Hockey team. He takes it to heart and he makes sure his hockey players do too both on and off the ice. Malloy received the Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award from the Ohio High School Athletic Association. He was honored last March in Columbus at the state championship game. One of the many reasons Malloy was honored with the award is that he believes that competition provides a great platform to use the Golden Rule with teammates, opponents, referees and spectators. Over the 12 years that he has coached at Gilmour, Malloy has set the bar high for his players, his staff and himself. He says he wants to extend Gilmour’s mission statement into the everyday experiences of being a member of the hockey program and believes sportsmanship will be a natural outcome. He says that two teams can go at it but still respect the game

and show that respect through sportsmanship. Malloy told a reporter from The Sun News, “You play hard for a common cause. At the end, you congratulate the winners.” Malloy joined Gilmour as arena and hockey director. He also coached Boys Prep Hockey too and was assistant coach for the Lancers Varsity Golf team for two years. Prior to that, he coached at Cleveland Heights High, Rocky River High School and the Miami Club hockey team after earning his Bachelor of Science and Master of Education from Miami University. In his current position, he oversees all aspects of Gilmour’s Ice Arena and its programs, and assists in admissions and development as well as coaching hockey. Last season, the Lancers’ record was 27-16-1. Malloy is committed to being a good role model and to pushing his players to being the best they can be in all aspects of their lives. “We live in a society where the results on the scoreboard play too large a role in defining players and programs,” he says. “Instead, we should be defined by how we treat each other.”

M e m o r i a l

Set in Stone B

ob Spisak left his imprint all over Gilmour Academy. Now his indelible mark will be seen by everyone in the Gilmour Community. One rainy day last April, his family, friends, colleagues and students remembered him at the dedication of a stone placed over a time capsule near the entrance of the new Athletic Center. The time capsule houses items documenting Gilmour’s history for more than 50 years. Spisak, Gilmour’s maintenance technician, joined the Academy in 1984 and remained an employee until his death last year. Gilmour Headmaster Brother Robert Lavelle, C.S.C., recalled that “Bob was always steadfast and calm despite any problem on campus,” and that “he was an integral part of the Gilmour Community and was essential to our journey.” Bob Spisak was able to repair any lock and navigate the intricacies of telephone systems, computers, equipment and just about any mechanism on campus. He also was a liaison with the outside contractors who erected the new Leah Spisak and buildings at Gilmour over the last quarter century. Br. Richard Keller, C.S.C.

Father John Blazek ’58, C.S.C. blessing the stone

“I asked Brother Robert about dedicating the time capsule in Bob’s memory shortly after Bob passed away,” says Dan Kohn, Gilmour maintenance director. “As a long-time member of the Gilmour Family, I thought it was appropriate to have a lasting reminder of his presence.” The 28-inch diameter stone is made of thick green granite to match the paving stones by the Athletic Center. The polished stone is offset with engraved letters dedicating the stone in memory of Robert A. Spisak. Those words stand out against a frosted natural background with a matte finish. The stone also features the phrase: “The man who walks with God always gets to his destination,” a verse on a marble plaque Spisak kept on his desk at work and that his wife, Leah, had on hand at his funeral. During the blessing, Campus Minister Father John Blazek ’58, C.S.C., noted that “Even though Bob was a behind-the-scenes person, he always walked with us.”

M e m o r i a l

MEMORIAL

SERENA BONA, great aunt of Margot Reid ’17

ADRIAN F. deKROM, father of Adrian ’77

Gilmour Academy expresses sympathy to the families of the following:

HELEN BONACCI, mother-in-law of Florence Bonacci, Lower School instructor

MELODIE DICKERSON, sister of Kimberly ’10

RICHARD C. BOUCEK ’64 THOMAS E. BRAIDECH ’58

GEORGE BRANTON, grandfather of Craig Frey ’04

CARMELA DiFRANCO, grandmother of Remo DiFranco ’86 and Tony DelPrete ’95

BETTY CALEBICH, great aunt of Ronald Ryavec ’16

EMIL R. DODERO, grandfather of Corinne ’02

JEREMY BRAYTON CALLAHAN, stepmother of Kevin ’75 Gilmour Trustee; step grandmother of Kevin ’11 and Mary Kathleen ’12

CHARLES DRIGGS, grandfather of Charity ’13

S. ROGER COX ’64 JOHN P. DICKEY ’56 ROBERT F. PRUNER, JR. ’56 RAYMOND E. ZANGLIN ’76

Our sympathy also is extended to the alumni and families of the following: ELAINE M. AMBROSE, mother of Michael ’75; grandmother of Kaitlyn ’11 and Connor ’17 GEORGE ANDREWS, husband of Lucille Andrews, retired administrative assistant to the Upper School director VIRGINIA ANSON, great aunt of James ’76 and Timothy ’78 Haffey HELEN ARMAGNO, grandmother of Thomas ’05, Robert ’07, Daniel ’10 and Joseph ’14 BETTY ANN AUGUSTA, mother of James ’80 HASINA BAIG, grandmother of Shahzad Khan ’02

NICHOLAS CAPUTO, father of Christopher ’85; uncle of Jeffrey ’83 CARMEN CARBONE, grandfather of Jason ’92 NANCY CARBONE, grandmother of Michael ’75 and Barbara ’87 Fisco MARGARET CASTRIGANO, daughter of James ’76; niece of Michael ’68, Vincent ’70, Timothy ’77, Christopher ’81 and Gregory ’81; cousin of Matthew Knight ’90, Heather Knight Ahearn ’92 and Anne Ashdown Rossi ’94 KATHERINE CEFARATTI, grandmother-in-law of Christi Lucas Cefaratti ’88 ANNA E. CHENIN, mother of Avery ’81 JAMES P. CONWAY, great uncle of Bridget McGinty ’02, Gilmour Institutional Advancement officer

HARRY BAKER, father-in-law of Anthony Geraci ’88

JOSEPH COTTON, brother-in-law of Gloria Cotton, assistant dean of Residential Life

RALPH J. BERNOTAS, father of Robert ’72, Raymond ’74 and Ronald ’77

TERRENCE DAGG, uncle of Kevin ’11 and Matthew ’13

DON DUFF, grandfather of Brandon ’08 and Jacqueline ’13 Schmidt BARBARA GAJDA, mother of Laurie Gajda, Lower School instructor THOMAS M. HAUSERMAN, brother of William Hauserman, Gilmour Academy honorary Trustee; uncle of Terry Hauserman GO ’74, Cynthia Hauserman Little GO ’75 and Patricia Hauserman Winder GO ’76 TED HOLCOMB, grandfather of Caitlin Farley ’11 MARIE L. HOLZHEIMER, grandmother of Nathan ’13 and Brendan ’14 Coyne; mother-in-law of Richard Coyne ’82 RUTH CAROLINE HOLZHEIMER, mother of Robert ’63, David ’64 and Martha Holzheimer Dempsey GO ’73; grandmother of Benjamin ’94 and John ’04 WILLIAM A. HURT, father of William ’73, Jeffrey ’76 and James ’79 (deceased); grandfather of Julia ’12 and Jeffrey ’13 CLARA JERZERSKI, grandmother-in-law of James Kazel, guidance counselor and girls lacrosse head coach

M e m o r i a l

HENRY JOSEPH KIMBOROWICZ, SR., grandfather of Katherine ’01

MICHELE MINO, sister of John ’77; aunt of Anne ’18

JOHN KRISTOF, uncle of Patricia Szaniszlo, Our Lady Chapel administrative assistant

FRANK A. MOHORCIC, JR., uncle of John ’11 and Patrick ’14

GLORIA C. LAWAS, mother of Frank ’92 ARTHUR A. LAWRENCE, SR., grandfather of Irenna Lawrence Taylor ’95

PRISCILLA NIGHMAN, grandmother of Jeffrey ’00, Christine ’02, Michelle ’06 and Patrick ’08 Embleton

RICKY S. LONDRICO, father of Alyssa (deceased)

MARY U. O’BRIEN, wife of Robert ’72

MARY LUCAS, great aunt of Madeline ’16, Michael ’18 and Charles ’24 Shade

JANICE OCCHIONERO, mother of Matthew ’93, Michael ’96 and Daniel ’00

JAMES R. STOVER, former Gilmour Trustee

TERRANCE MacDONALD, grandfather of Jennifer ’08, Chelsea ’09 and Kristina ’11 Snyder

ANGELA MARIE PADULA, grandmother of Craig ’97

ANNIE THOMPSON, grandmother of Glenda Davis ’13

RAYMOND PASQUALE, father of Adrian ’85 and Russell ’87

ALLEN STANLEY WEST III, son of Allen S. West, Jr. ’83

MOLLIE PLUSH, mother of Beckie Korn, Business Office associate

DAVID MORGAN WHITE, father of Cathleen White, director of Instructional Technology

HELEN RICHARDS, grandmother of Jared ’07 and Leigh ’10

DR. ROBERT J. WHITE, former Gilmour Academy Trustee

DAVID MADISON, grandfather of Brian Sharnsky ’09 FRANCES MARANUK, mother of Allison ’04 JOHN E. MARRIE, brother of Thomas Marrie, Gilmour Trustee; uncle of Kevin ’81 and Sean ’85 Marrie and Megan Marrie Schlickmann ’90 RON MASON, uncle of Lawrence ’08, Mary ’10 and Meghan ’11 Kramer MAUREEN MAY, aunt of Gabrielle DeFrancesco ’11 JEFF FRANCIS McDONALD, father of Mark ’09 HERMAN MENGES, grandfather of Kyle ’12 JOHN J. MILLS, SR., grandfather of Morgan ’11

PATRICIA R. MOSLEY, mother of Kevin Connors, assistant director of Information Technology

MARY SHAIA, grandmother of Anthony ’84 and James ’88 Asher, and Kristi Fistek Bedingfield ’91 and Kara ’92 and Thomas ’95 Fistek; great-grandmother of Riley ’08, Edward ’10, Madison ’13, Adam ’16, Zachary ’16 and Michael ’18 Asher; and mother-in-law of Anthony Asher, Gilmour Trustee

JULIAN RIFFLE, cousin of Eric ’04, Nicole ’05, Ryan ’08 and Katrina ’10 Caraboolad CATHERINE RUSH, grandmother of Michael ’01, Rickey ’10 and Brittany ’11 Layton MARY JANE SAMMON, stepmother of Timothy ’56 JACK G. SCHMOLLINGER, father of Mark ’75 SANDY SCHMOLLINGER, wife of Mark ’75

DUDLEY P. SHEFFLER, former Gilmour Trustee, father of Henry ’85, James ’87 and John ’92 JAMES R. STAFFORD, grandfather of Gianna ’18 and Vincent ’22

WILLIAM WILKINSON, grandfather of Kevin Sonnhalter ’13 ROSEMARY YERT, mother of Bradley ’99 DANIEL ZAVARELLA, grandfather of Gino ’86 ANGELINE ZELENAK, great aunt of Alexander ’05, Vincent ’07, Nicholas ’09 and Zachary ’15 Hostoffer ROBERT A. ZOBER, grandfather of Aaron ’96

(sitting) Barb Vaughn, Sr. Claudia Klyn O.S.U., Dorothy Coerdt, Lisa Forino (standing) Karen Snyder and Gay Janis

Glen Oak Reunion Brunch

Gina Chiarucci O’Brien ’74 and Barb Vaughn

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Sitting: Barb Vaughn, Gay Janis, Sr. Claudia Klyn First Row: Joyce Barmen, Nancy Benjamin, Gail Senior, Lisa Waxman, Ann Chiarucci, Elissa Weizman, Shelly Thompson, Gina Chiarucci, Lauren Kriessler, Beth Chiarucci Second Row: Pippa Henderson, Lori Gallo, Lisa Svec, Louise Gilbert, Anne Corrigan, Patty Morgan, Berti Guarino, Patty O’ Neill Back Row: Lisa Forino, Dorothy Coerdt, Susan Silverberg, Donna Deioma, Jill Gassaway, Colleen Stoll, Mary Lu Burkhart, Karen Snyder Not Shown: Renee Stoll and Dawn Campbell

Patty O’Neill ’79 and Dorothy Coerdt

Lisa Forino and Susan Silverberg ’80

Gay Janis, Ann Chiarucci O’Brien ’76, Barb Vaughn and Donna Deioma Singerman ’82

Gilmour Academy 34001 Cedar Road Gates Mills, Ohio 44040-9356

Non-profit org. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Cleveland, Ohio Permit No. 1