Kimball Union Magazine Fall/Winter 2023

Kimball Union

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Contents

Features

KUA Design for Success

New approach optimizes the science of learning and community.

Pictures and Powder

Pre-eminent photographer Jeff Cricco ’92 navigates challenging terrain to capture the passion of skiing.

 Jeff Cricco ’92 took this photo outside a small coastal town, Otaru, Japan, at a ski area called Kokusai.

“Japan has to be one of my favorite spots I’ve worked in. The snow and natural beauty of the mountain terrain is unmatched.”

 JEFF CRICCO ’92

EDITOR

TRICIA MCKEON Director of Marketing and Communications

Kimball Union

EDITORIAL DESIGN

WENDY MCMILLAN ’78, P’09, ’11 McMillan Design

COPY EDITOR

THERESA D’ORSI

PHOTOGRAPHY

Eli Burakian

Courtney Cania

Roy Knight P’10

Dustin Meltzer ’05

CONTRIBUTORS

Theresa D’Orsi, Jes Lessard

Tricia McKeon, Dustin Meltzer ’05

Anna Olson, Jen Smyth

Stacey Summerfield

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

OFFICERS

MOLLY BOURNE STEFFEY ’92, P’20, ’22 Board Chair Hanover, NH

KARLA RADKE P’21 Vice Chair New York, NY

GLENN POGUST, JD P’13 Secretary New London, NH

PETER SCHIEFFELIN ’96 Treasurer Jamestown, RI

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP

DAVID ALLYN ’86, P’17, ’25 Skaneateles, NY

DAVID BARRETTE ’05 Hanover, NH

JENNIFER BORISLOW ’78, P’07, ’10 Methuen, MA

NEERAJ GARG P’25 New York, NY

ROBIN GRONLUND ’81, P’11 Shelburne, VT

VIVA HARDIGG P’21, ’23 Hanover, NH

EDWARD G. HILD, J.D., ’88 Washington, DC

DONALD LOWERY ’73 New York, NY

CLYDE NEVILLE P’20, ’22 Dracut, MA

SETH SHORTLIDGE P’15, ’22, ’25 Delray Beach, FL

JADI TAVERAS ’03 Haverhill, MA

STEPHEN TAYLOR Meriden, NH

CHRISTOPHER P. YOSHIDA ’96 New York, NY

KIMBALL UNION MAGAZINE

Head of School Find Strength and Clarity in Community

Once the great energy of the community sets a school year in motion, there is truth to the sentiment, “The next time we pick up our heads, it will be winter break.” The longer lens and reflections that came together at the end of another calendar year carried a mix of emotions. They also set the stage for the amazing torrent of activity as campus came to life in January.

Last fall, in experiencing all the joys of the start of the school year, we ushered in the largest ninth-grade class in the Academy’s more than 200-year history. The quality and quantity of that class stands as testimony to how KUA has worked to expand our communications, recruitment, external efforts, and, even more significantly, the thoughtful refinement and scope of our educational philosophy, KUA Design. The team and program in place to welcome our youngest students, Nine by Design, starts students’ four-year journey with the foundation and connections to thrive.

Just as Nine by Design has gained more meaningful structure, so too have we seen our co-curricular programs thrive. As fall sports wrapped up with tournament play for the boys’ soccer team, winter sports were diving into holiday tournaments. Early in January, our varsity boys’ and girls’ hockey teams made memories of a lifetime when they jumped on the ice at Fenway Park—a winter classic not to be missed! Up on the Flickinger stage, we ushered in a new era following last year’s retirement of two KUA icons. Our collective jaws dropped at the opening acts for our new theater and dance directors, who introduced us to Bollywood dance and reconnected us with a Shakespearian classic that transformed the stage into a wooded wonderland.

Amid the great energy that defined the fall, we also struggled together through the loss of two

deeply beloved community members. Former faculty member Cynthia Elizabeth Howe H’20, P’06, ’14 and senior Burke Ryder ’23 both spent a huge portion of their lives here on The Hilltop, and selflessly gave so much of themselves—epitomizing the very best of who and what we are here at KUA. The challenge of walking with each of them through their final chapter in life was difficult, but those journeys made even more transparent the love they had for their families and for KUA—a love we returned with equal measure.

When our foundations get rocked, we not only appreciate being together in community, but also find strength and clarity from the people and experiences here at KUA. You will find that in the pages of this magazine. KUA Design will have more meaning as you read it in the words of our teachers and coaches; it is at the heart of the work that so thoughtfully crafts the experiences of our students. The depth of the spiritual connections we make exploring our passions is articulated beautifully through the voices of a few of our current students as they explain the role sport plays in their lives. And we can all be inspired by the lives of purpose and integrity our alumni find, as shared in the profile of a recent graduate exploring unique solutions to a mounting global challenge.

At these moments of reflection, we can step back and be proud of the many ways we are fulfilling our mission. Building on all the authentic relationships we develop, we are truly students of this important work and thorough in our design and delivery of the full community experience. It’s great to be a Wildcat! K

TYLER LEWIS Head of School

“KUA Design … is at the heart of the work that so thoughtfully crafts the experiences of our students.”

Sound Bites from All School Meeting

Twice a week, the entire school gathers in Flickinger Auditorium for All School Meeting. Every gathering offers a time to share, bond, laugh, educate, and master the art of public speaking.

“All School Meeting is one of those rare occasions within our daily life where we as a community are all seated together. It is a fantastic time to appreciate each other’s presence.”

TAKEO ’23

Co-All School President

“I’m really excited to let you all know that the pigs arrived on campus last Saturday. The pigs are a crucial part of our KUA community here and serve a huge sustainability purpose. By having the pigs here, we save seven to 15 tons of carbon dioxide, which is enough to drive all the way around the world.”

BRYNN ’25

“Seventy-five percent of you are probably dehydrated right now. Think about how much water you’ve had today. Its super, super important that you’re adequately hydrated, not just for sports but for life, for class, and for maintaining your focus. So, if you haven’t had any water today—and your coffee with whipped cream and caramel doesn’t count as water—make sure you get some in you.”

MATT UNDERHILL

English teacher, boys varsity hockey assistant coach, varsity softball head coach

“Kindness runs so deep to the core of who we are. KUA’s been around for over 200 years, and inclusivity and embracing diversity has been at the heart of who KUA is since the very first day we were founded. Extending our kindness to others is the key that unlocks that.”

TYLER LEWIS Head of School

“This upcoming Monday we will be climbing Whaleback Mountain as a whole school. We do this as a community to connect with our classmates and peers, to enjoy nature, to experience new things out of our comfort zone, and to spend the day learning outside of the classroom. And most importantly, to have fun. Mountain Day is a tradition here on The Hilltop and we value the beauty of nature that the Upper Valley provides for us.” LULU ’24

“Going into this year, I believe that our ninth-grade class is resilient and lays a great foundation. I’m excited for this year, where we can all grow together, and I’m always here if you want to talk. You can usually find me at the bagel station.”

MO ’23 Co-All School President “What does ‘belonging’ mean? That’s kind of too big of a question for me to answer, but one thing I do know is what the ground of belonging is, what the very foundation of that is, and it’s three things: kindness, respect, and compassion. Those are the ground rules here at KUA. We treat each other with kindness, respect, and compassion.”

TOM KARDEL Assistant Head of School

“As you may have seen, there are some flowers outside the rink and this was to show KUA’s support at the Alzheimer’s Walk, where we had 28 students come out and participate. We also set a modest goal of raising $300, but as of yesterday, we had raised $2,200. We are incredibly thankful to all those who supported.”

AINSLEY ’24 & EVA ’24

“This past July, I engaged in a two-week long program at Oxford University in England as my Cullman Scholarship. I selected psychology and AI studies as my major and molecular medicine as my minor. This program has fueled my curiosity to explore and continue learning. I would like to thank the Cullman family for providing me this experience.”

RYAN ’23

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Annelise Seligmann ’23

What drew you to KUA?

I arrived here as a sophomore after deciding late in the admission process that I wanted to attend independent school. When I took a tour, I completely got a sense I hadn’t gotten at any other school. It was practically a blizzard that day and there was snow all over the place and it was hard to even walk around. But I walked into a rehearsal of the musical The Producers and sat down and watched the entire process. It was the best theater of all the schools I visited, and I liked watching the laughing and enjoyment of all the students rehearsing.

How have you included the arts in your KUA experience?

I’m in three out of six ensembles and the upcoming musical will be my sixth show. I’m in the Arts Scholar program. Arts was always part of my life. At 4, I was doing the “grown-up” musicals. It’s always been a draw for me. I’ve also found a lot of other things on campus I’ve wanted to do: I’m a dorm proctor; a diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice proctor; and the president of the QueerStraight Alliance (QSA).

You’ve taken a big role with QSA. Why is this important to you?

I came from a small school where being gay and out wasn’t a thing. When I came here, I wanted to make sure people were educated and not have the close-minded experience I had found elsewhere. KUA has allowed me to speak about who I want to be and allowed me to be who I want to become. We’ve had more students come to KUA who are out and open and they know they can continue to be safe here. A couple years ago, [Assistant Head of School] Mr. Kardel gave a speech that really reflects our continuous progression in building our capacity as a school. I want to help build our capacity to connect with one another.

How do you work to build that capacity?

I’ve had a lot of good conversations with people in the Young Conservatives Club. A lot of people might see the Young Conservatives Club and QSA as “enemies” and that’s just not true. We talk about

what our engagement can look like and how we can work together. I think we want to listen and understand each other’s point of view. It’s our role to be patient and educate those who may not have access to the same information and not push each other away. It only takes a couple of words. I’ve gotten more comfortable with using my voice and talking to people and that’s part of KUA’s continuous push forward. Part of my thing is connecting with people I don’t agree with. This is a mini version of what society looks like, and we’re going to have to be able to talk to each other, talk to adults.

You’ve used your voice as a student representative on Academic Council. How did it feel to have a seat at the table with administrators and department chairs?

On the first day of Academic Council, I saw a different side of teachers. I knew they were listening and taking things in. I’ve always been good at speaking with adults. Being at that table boosted my voice and made me know that I could make change. Academic Council let me take what I saw as the student experience and apply it to our discussions. A teacher can see what’s going on in classrooms, but as representatives, we could share what things meant to a student in their daily lives—what people are talking about in the dorms or over lunch.

How do you hope to use these skills and experiences going forward?

I’ll be attending Occidental College in L.A. and studying theater with a focus on directing as well as art history. My goal with directing is not to produce plays with a strong social purpose. I see the medium of plays as a way to communicate, protest, and have people heard. I also hope to continue my passion in having voices heard through social change groups, through class offerings such as “Comedy for Social Change.” L.A. is such an open community of people. I hope to take and learn from such a large city the ways to connect people and apply it to smaller places when I leave college. K

BRICKS AND MORTAR Going Through a Stage

The Flickinger Auditorium Stage received a facelift, well deserved after three decades of concerts and Flick Gigs, Fall Plays and Winter Musicals, guest speakers, Tower Cup Competitions, All School Meetings, and much more. The original maple floor, splattered with paint and littered with screw holes chronicling the elaborate theater sets of productions past, was replaced during the summer from corner to corner with a new, sprung, Douglas fir floor.

“From an arts perspective, a new, state-of-the-art sprung floor not only greatly enhances our dance and theater students’ ability to learn, rehearse, and perform safely, it also allows us to attract and host higher-caliber guest artists,” says Noah Harrell, director of theater. “The positive impact of the new stage doesn’t stop with the arts: Twice a week, we all gather in Flickinger for All School Meeting. As those meetings serve to build and strengthen our sense of belonging, an investment of this kind is an investment in the heart of KUA.” K

“It’s our role to be patient and educate those who may not have access to the same information and not push each other away.”

—ANNELISE SELIGMANN ’23

At Occidental College, Seligmann plans to pursue theater as a way to communicate and amplify voices.

Faculty participated in professional development through the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning during the summer

Ewes and one ram joined the KUA Farm

Applications submitted by seniors for early decision or early action at 114 colleges and universities

Hilltop

COMMUNITY SERVICE Trees and Seeds

Philanthropic work takes root in the Amazon.

There’s no shortage of stories from Kimball Union students when they return from summer vacation. But a two-week service trip to Peru cultivated a broader perspective and left a lasting impact on four friends.

Classmates Isabel Brozen ’24, Pip Keen ’24, Annabelle Blue ’24, and Henry Trimpi ’24 stayed in a remote lodge on the Amazon River just outside Iquitos as part of a group traveling with the Vermont-based nonprofit Trees and Seeds, which aims to

make a difference in communities around the globe through mission-based trips.

“One of my goals for the summer was to spend some time on my own and get used to being away from my usual environment,” explains Brozen, a day student from Plainfield, N.H. “I did a lot better than I thought I would in a foreign country among so many new people.”

A typical day began with breakfast and a heavy application of sunscreen before the group ventured out to the day’s tasks in the village. Working with a team of agronomists, they cleared ground and plant crops until it was time to return to camp for a siesta.

NEW VIEW Students adopted the more sustainable local—rather than Western—methods of cultivation.

“One of the agronomists on the trip was really enthusiastic and great at explaining how to plant seeds properly and how the crops would help the community,” says Keen. “When we were planting the gardens and trees, we didn’t use traditionally Western methods. We used methods the villagers were accustomed to so that it was easier for them to maintain—methods that are also better for the climate.”

Brozen recalls that one of her most memorable hands-on experiences was supporting a pediatrician who ran a clinic for the villages. The Trees and Seeds group was tasked with entertaining the children as they waited to see the doctor. They kept the little ones busy with crafts, bracelet-making, and origami.

Brozen and Keen leaned on their years of studying Spanish during the trip, and when they didn’t know certain words, they improvised. The village children enjoyed a rousing game of “Duck, Duck, Wolf” when the Spanish word for “goose” escaped them.

“If there’s any advice I could offer, it’s to be ready to discover that your language skills are better than you expected, but still not as good as you would like them to be,” says Brozen. “As long as others can piece together your meaning, you’ll be okay.”

For Keen, the experience created space to consider future career paths.

“I realized that I want a job that lets me travel internationally and impact communities, preferably in engineering because there are so many areas of opportunity,” says Keen. “Some countries offer incentives for engineers to come work there, so that’s on my mind a lot when I think about what’s next.” K

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OBJECT LESSON How to Feel Grand

Kimball Union was an early adopter of senior-class jewelry. Although class rings first appear in popular culture at West Point in 1835, here on The Hilltop class pins came into fashion in 1857. The earliest pin in the archives depicts the senior class motto: “Labor here; Rest above.” The 1897 class pin is etched with a wreath of leaves surrounding an oar and inscribed with the motto, “Rowing not drifting.” By the 1920s, excitement around class rings was well documented in the Concordia Yearbook, with the Class of 1929 exclaiming, “Class rings come—don’t we feel grand!” Rings of the next decade, such as one donated to the archives by Irene Palmer Norell ’33, bear the Academy seal and more closely resemble the class rings alumni and seniors wear today. K

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“I realized that I want a job that lets me travel internationally and impact communities.”

—PIP KEEN ’24

2,200

Dollars raised by students through the Alzheimer’s Walk

Pounds of apples picked by ninth-grade students at Riverview Farm

New windows installed in Dexter-Richards Hall last summer

Hilltop

Record Enrollment

The Class of 2020

Kimball Union saw a banner year in admission and enrollment efforts as it brought in a diverse and vibrant student body for the 2022-23 academic year. For the first time in Kimball Union’s recent history, the Academy was fully enrolled on April 10, with 122 new students committing in the first round of admission decisions. The Academy also saw a 25-percent increase in applications and a nearly 10-percent increase in yield. The incoming ninth-grade class is one of the largest and the most diverse cohort in KUA’s history.

Explore KUA Today

Do you know a student who would benefit from the KUA experience? The Office of Admission invites you to learn more about KUA through a campus visit or upcoming event.

Visit kua.org/admission or email admission@kua.org to learn more.

REMEMBRANCE

Burke Ryder ’23

KUA mourns the loss of a remarkable student.

Kimball Union Academy lost a beloved student and community member this fall. Burke Ryder ’23 passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 10, 2022, at the age of 18 after a battle with cancer.

Ryder was born in Denver, Colorado, on May 24, 2004. At the age of 13, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma after complaining of pain in his leg while training with his alpine ski team. Ryder fearlessly battled the disease for five years, including the amputation of his left leg.

Instead of retreating, he rose to meet his life’s challenges with unrelenting courage, adapting and overcoming them to create an exemplary life. Ryder returned to skiing on a sit-ski, loving every turn and even skiing all five peaks on Breckenridge Mountain in a single day. He tackled those hills as if it would be his last ski day—and it was.

Ryder joined the KUA community fresh off his surgery with a light spirit and an ever-present smile. He never spoke about his struggles, focusing instead on the people around him. Ryder was an integral part of the Theater Tech Program and oversaw the lighting for theater performances in Flickinger Art Center. He was accepted into KUA’s STEM Scholar Program during his junior year and earned the Cyrus Richard Award, “the highest award for integrity and valor at Kimball Union Academy.”

Ryder fully embraced KUA, never taking one minute for granted. KUA, in turn, fully embraced Burke, never taking him or his contributions for granted. He began his senior year living on campus and then chose to live out his final days surrounded by family and his faithful dog, Hootie, just up the road from KUA’s campus at a farmhouse affectionately dubbed “Ryder Dorm.”

Ryder is survived by his parents, Lee and Kristin Ryder of Breckenridge, Colo., and his younger brother, Teo.

The Burke Ryder ’23 Scholarship Fund at Kimball Union Academy has been established in his name to support future students who, like Ryder, are passionate members of the KUA community. K

“He was a true bright light, a wonderful, kind-hearted person who knew how to make those around him smile.” —CASEY ALLEN ’21

Students evaluate changes in land across one, two, and three years.

SCHOLAR A fund in Ryder’s name will support future students.

Hilltop

CAMPUS LIFE

The Things They Carry

Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, is a staple of the curriculum in Senior Honors English. Upon completion of the book, students are assigned an essay in which they are asked to reflect upon the tangible and intangible items they carry during their final year as KUA students on The Hilltop.

1. “I wear my necklace everyday as a reminder of how I overcame a period of my life when I was really struggling.”

—Claire Dalton ’23

2. “As a senior at Kimball Union Academy, I now carry a college commitment, and all the stress and anxiety that I have been holding in evaporates in my gigantic exhale. My backpack feels lighter and my brain feels much more relaxed as the anxiety and anticipation of trying to be a college basketball player is now finally coming to fruition.” —Miles Burton ’23

3. “I carry my two bags, my gym bag and my school backpack, one on each shoulder.” —Mo McBride ’23

5. “My backpack for school is quite possibly the worst backpack in the world. In fact, it’s not even a backpack, it’s a glorified tote bag. It’s too small, does not have any pockets, and is not made for carrying textbooks and computers. Still, in my opinion, the bag looks nice. With a chicken, an alien spaceship, and the word ‘funkalicious’ on it, my backpack adds an enigmatic aura to me.” —Anna Flaherty ’23

6 “I like to keep my notebooks on me, about four and a half pounds in total, filled with many days of diligent or sloppy notes, depending on how I was feeling.”

—Caden Hutchinson ’23

7. “A dark-blue Toyota Rav-4, approximately 5,000 pounds, named Rebecca. The name of the car started as a joke between friends, but is now known as ‘Rebecca, Jesse’s car.’ ”

—Michael Sullo ’23

4. “I always carry four family photos— high-gloss, color prints measuring 4-by-6 inches apiece. These may just seem like ink on a page, but to me they mean everything.”

—Jesse Nunan ’23 1

“In the left pocket I carry my cell phone, a cold device that can make my day as quickly as it can ruin it.”

—LUCAS VEST ’23

Hilltop

Pucks In the Park Boys and girls hockey teams scrimmage in Fenway.

The boys and girls hockey teams took to the ice on January 10 in an unlikely venue—Boston’s Fenway Park. On a crisp but sunny afternoon, the two teams faced off against Governor’s Academy in scrimmages.

“Playing at Fenway was an unreal experience,” says Kate French ’23, a captain of the team. “The atmosphere was amazing, and it was crazy to be playing in the same place as professional athletes. Stepping on the ice for warmups and looking around for the first time is something I will never forget, and I am so grateful we were given this opportunity.”

KUA hosted a gathering in the State Street Pavilion overlooking the field, giving fans a chance to enjoy the game in the company of friends. More than 350 alumni, family, and friends were on hand for the memorable event and more than 100 students and faculty took the trip down I-89 to join in the fun.

It was the Wildcats’ second showing at Fenway. The boys hockey team took on Governor’s Academy back in 2014.

“We feel really fortunate to have this opportunity. It’s not often a hockey player can say they played in Fenway Park, got dressed in the dugout, and walked out onto the field in front of family and friends. We owe a huge thanks to our event sponsors and to Phil Morse ’60 who connected us with Fenway for this experience and in 2014,” says Tim Whitehead P’18 ’20, boys varsity hockey coach. Longtime supporters of KUA boys and girls hockey Bob Fitzgerald ’82 and Woodie Haskins ’69 dropped the puck before the boys’ game, and Ray Jacques ’81 dropped the puck before the girls’ game.

While the boys tied the scrimmage, 3-3, the girls defeated Govs 4-0. It was an exciting day for two ninth-graders—Evvy Finch ’26 and Ella Erickson ’26—who scored their first career goals.

“I was really proud of how our team played,” says French. “I think we were able to let loose and play for fun, which resulted in a lot of success. Everyone was enjoying being together in such a special moment.” K

Matt Egan ’18 and Hugo Turcotte ’18 have embarked on pro hockey careers in France. Turcotte has seen time with the Diables Rouges de Briançon of Ligue Magnus, the top division of French men’s ice hockey, while Egan plays for Coqs de Courbevoie of Fédération Française de Hockey sur Glace.

FRENCH ICE

FORWARD PLAY

Stonehill College women’s ice hockey forward Lucie Turcotte ’22 represented France on its national team in the Four-Nations Tournament in December. Turcotte and the French National Team competed against Denmark, Hungary, and Japan in the four-day tournament.

HONORED The boys and girls hockey teams were honored by the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey at its annual induction banquet in October.

On January 10 the girls hockey team faced off against Governor’s Academy in a scrimmage at Boston’s Fenway Park.

REGIONAL CHAMPS

The boys soccer team won the 2022 Lakes Region League Championship November 12. Krists Putans ’23 and Cabot McLaren ’24 each scored in the 2-1 final home game against undefeated Vermont Academy.

FAST

The cross-country team had a strong showing this season, with Eliza Connors ’24 making All-Lakes Region with her top-10 finish at the Lakes Region Championship. At the NEPSTA Championship, Connors placed in the top 30 and Marek Girard ’26 placed in the top 100.

BACK FOR THE BRUINS A.J. Greer ’15 inked a contract with the Boston Bruins during the summer’s free agency market. The forward returns to Boston having played with Boston University men’s hockey after KUA.

“We feel really fortunate to have this opportunity.”

—TIM WHITEHEAD, BOYS VARSITY HOCKEY COACH

FROZEN FENWAY

FINISH

Hilltop

THE ARTS Diversity in Dance

New teacher focuses on the stories told through choreography.

Dance students are often taught to compare and contrast—their posture in a mirror, their alignment with an ensemble, and even different types of choreography. Yabei Chen, who joined Kimball Union this fall as the new director of dance, is wary of this tendency. She aims to broaden her students’ perspectives through an inclusive approach that celebrates the diversity found across the dance floor.

Chen shared this message with instructors at the annual National Dance Education Organization Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in November. Her presentation, “An Introduction to Chinese Minority Dance Through Concept-Driven Learning,” focused on the peacock dance, the most famous dance rooted in the Dai ethnic minority in China. She shared a series of steps and hand movements with attendees and facilitated conversations around the role of global perspectives in the dance studio.

“Traditionally, regardless of whether you’re teaching in an academic class or in an after-school activity, instructors will do a world dance unit,” explains Chen, who most recently taught at Western Academy of Beijing. “It’s common in the dance world to put all non-Western dance styles into one bucket, which creates a sense of ‘otherness’ about it.”

diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ). Whether students have taken 10 years of ballet or only recently started learning hip-hop, each student experiences the vulnerability and excitement of tackling something entirely new. As a result, dancers tend to devote less energy comparing themselves to others and more to the story being told through choreography.

“The conference affirmed what I believed in and gave me so much to think about in terms of my own curriculum and pedagogy here at KUA, the trajectory of the dance program, and where I hope it will go,” she says. “I took part in several amazing DEIJ-focused workshops, including a session on implicit bias in dance and how that appears in a classroom. I appreciate having a space where dance instructors can discuss how to create a sense of belonging among students.”

Upon her return to The Hilltop, Chen felt renewed excitement for the future of the dance program. With her first season of winter performances behind her, she’s thrilled to prepare a special addition to the spring lineup: a KUA chapter of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts.

“It’s essential we recognize our exceptional dancers for the work they do here,” she points out. “I’m looking forward to highlighting them at Commencement!” K ON STAGE

Instead, Chen believes in introducing different cultural dances throughout the curriculum that incorporate values of

The J Chen Project, a contemporary dance company based in New York City, visited campus for a performance and workshop with the Arts Scholar Program.

Students participated on stage or behind the scenes of the Theater Department presentation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as this year’s Fall Play.

Chen brings a more inclusive approach to the dance floor.

MUSIC FOR A CAUSE

In November, the Rock and Jazz Ensembles performed in their annual benefit concert, KUAid, raising more than $200 for the Cold Case Foundation.

NEW RELEASE Singer and songwriter Will Sheff ’94 of Okkervill River released Nothing Special, the first record under his own name.

ON EXHIBIT Taylor Gallery hosted two exhibits this fall, featuring photographers Coco McCabe and Gail Samuelson and painter Megan Burns. The work of Potters of Miranda Thomas Studio is on display through the end of February.

STAGECRAFT

“It’s essential we recognize our exceptional dancers for the work they do here.”

—YABEI CHEN

Former coach of the Zimbabwe National Team finds greater achievement on KUA fields.

COMMUNITY VOICES

Hilltop Charles Muhlauri

Charles Muhlauri P’14, ’17, ’23, ’24 sat in his office in Whittemore Athletic Center one December afternoon just a stone’s throw from the ice where two kids were shooting pucks between classes. The FIFA World Cup was heading into the semifinals, and Muhlauri, the KUA boys varsity soccer head coach and athletic assistant, was enthralled by the match unfolding on the television. His friend, a coach with the Moroccan team, was on the sidelines of a big game against France while Muhlauri was surrounded by jerseys and equipment. He was right where he wanted to be.

Until 2007, it was Muhlauri on the sidelines of those international matches. He traveled the world and found both success and joy in the sport as coach of the Zimbabwe National Team. Muhlauri led the team to win the 2015 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations Cup. The following year, the team made it to the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt and the World Cup qualifier games. At the time, he was the youngest coach in southern Africa.

“One of my friends is now at the World Cup coaching and I’m here,” says Muhlauri. “But when I look back, my kids benefitted more from me coming here than if I stayed in Zimbabwe. This is a great achievement in the bigger scheme of things. I derive most of my satisfaction from seeing my kids succeed. That’s why I sacrificed my own career. You have to balance what’s good for you and what’s good for your family.”

Muhlauri’s focus on kids—his five sons as well as KUA’s student-athletes—is at the heart of his work.

Growing up in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Muhlauri was immersed in the sport from the time he could walk. He played with clubs and his university team, worked a stint in banking, and turned semi-pro before breaking his ankle and reassessing his direction. He turned to coaching, ultimately leading Zimbabwean team CAPS United Football Club to a 2004 championship and securing the top coaching position with the Zimbabwe National Team. He has coached and produced some of the top players in the English Premier League.

Muhlauri was eventually lured to the United States by a friend eager to have his help running collegiate soccer camps including at nearby Dartmouth College. He grew fond of the Upper Valley and chose to settle in the area, working as director of coaching for the

local youth program, Lightning Soccer Club.

Today, Muhlauri works full-time at Kimball Union. In his second year as the boys head coach he has led the team to a second-consecutive Lakes Region Championship and qualified for the NEPSAC tournament. In addition to coaching, he manages the Academy’s rink and athletic equipment and maintains the ice. “I may be the only guy from Zimbabwe to drive a Zamboni,” he laughs. When the ice melts, he runs CM International, a youth sports camp held on campus.

“I talk of all my players being able first and foremost to enjoy being part of the group,” he says. “I emphasize teamwork so they can work together. It’s the responsibility of everyone on the team to make it a success, and we work together to meet our objectives. Can we compete from the first second to the last second together as a team?”

That ethos is drawn from Muhlauri’s African upbringing, where family plays a central role in society. “We as Africans are big families and we stay together and everyone who is in the group has a responsibility to look after the other members.”

Two of his sons—Charlton ’14 and Kuda ’17—played at KUA and beyond. Sons Tinashe ’23 and Andile ’24 currently play for their father, while 5-year-old Simba is a frequent fan on the Pope Field sidelines.

Family members in Zimbabwe are also ever-present in his mind. Muhlauri is the managing director of Benabour, a poultry business in Zimbabwe with 30,000 laying hens. From his Vermont home he oversees the on-site management team for a company that provides income for 14 disadvantaged Zimbabwean families.

“Zimbabwe is going through a difficult economic situation,” says Muhlauri, who has been back once in the past 13 years. “It was my only way to try to salvage and help my folks out. You sometimes just need a simple idea, not a sophisticated one. This is looking after chickens, not rocket science, but it’s a big help.”

Muhlauri’s hopes for his players are not unlike the path he’s led in life—one in which contributions are made on and off the pitch. “I think the goal is different for our school. I want my players to graduate as the best student-athletes. I want to see them being good citizens after they leave here and be able to go back and play leading roles in their communities.” K

“I talk of all my players being able first and foremost to enjoy being part of the group.” —COACH CHARLES MUHLAURI

TEAM SPIRIT

Muhlauri stresses each player’s responsibility to look after other members.

“

WE TOOK JOY IN THE MESSY ACT OF REMEMBERING— NOT NECESSARILY IN THE ACCURACY.”

—JENNY BLUE P’24, ’26

KUA DESIGN FOR SUCCESS

Drawing on decades of personal insight into teenagers—and prompted by the various issues impacting them in ways previous generations never imagined— Kimball Union Academy took a deep dive into the abundance of research on strategies that support teachers and students across their professional or educational careers.

The result is KUA Design, the Academy’s approach to learning. By implementing research-informed teaching and learning strategies into the curriculum and faculty professional development, KUA can now best deliver an experience that will support students in their educational, social, and emotional lives.

“Our goal is to unlock joy and develop a sense of agency so students can discover a love of learning in their life experiences at KUA and beyond,” says Head of School Tyler Lewis.

Based on the foundation of positive relationships, KUA Design leverages the science of how the brain works and learns to create intentionally designed experiences and challenges so all students feel motivated, engaged, and supported. The approach guides every aspect of student life—how they find academic success, navigate social experiences, and work as a team on the playing fields. “At the heart of KUA Design is a respect for the neuroplasticity of the

brain—especially the teenage brain—and our deep-seated human need for belonging,” says Anne Peterson, director of studies and academic support.

Peterson, who oversees KUA’s Gosselin Center for Teaching and Learning, convened a group of teachers during the summer to examine the research and create a framework for KUA Design. Faculty are now using that framework to help students optimize their learning, achievement, and sense of community. Additionally, 17 faculty members participated in professional development through St. Andrew’s Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning to understand how to put these research-informed teaching and learning strategies into practice.

“With KUA Design, we are well-positioned to meet the needs of today’s students,” says Lewis. “Building on a long tradition of knowing our students and refining exceptional instincts and practices, we have also forged a leadership position in the understanding and implementation of the science of teaching and learning. It’s a difference you can feel in everything we do.”

Here, two faculty members share how KUA Design influences their teaching, coaching, and mentoring so students can find joy and success in their educational experiences.

NEW APPROACH OPTIMIZES THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND COMMUNITY.

MEMORY MATTERS: LEARNING TO REMEMBER

BY JENNY BLUE P’24, ’26

WWhen I was just out of college, a friend and I invented a game that would later bear a striking similarity to my current profession. The game did not cost a cent and had no material objective; its ingredients included books and memory and a touch of nostalgia. The rules were simple: A player would name a book title, the more distant in her past the better, and the other would respond with the first details that came to mind.

“Lord of the Flies,” I would say. My friend Maggie would reply, “An island. Glasses. Lots of boys. And a parachute?”

“How about Jane Eyre?” she would ask, and I would throw out, “A moor. A governess, rich people behaving badly. And a crazy person in an attic!” For 1984: “Rats in cages, eyes watching, thwarted love.”

We delighted in the variability of our memories. What could we dredge up about these dusty novels? Would we remember the same things about a shared book? Why did she remember Piggy’s crushed glasses but forget the conch?

Why could I remember the barren moors in such detail while all she could recall was Mr. Rochester nearly getting burned alive?

Both avid readers, we were intrigued by memory’s entanglements, the way one story we read decades ago could be drawn out intact while another emerged in flawed pieces. We took joy in the messy act of remembering—not necessarily in the accuracy.

I have come to learn that teaching literature is teaching not so much what but how to remember. With my students, I preface so many of my questions with, “Do you remember when…?” My students lament, “I

know it happened, but I can’t find it on the page.” So, we open the book to find it—or we try to imagine the story unfolding in our mind’s eye. I have found that some students have an incredible memory for certain texts but not for others. Some are able recall sentences word for word while others struggle to remember the names of the main characters. Those who can retrieve the salient details are more able to participate in discussions and to write more fluent essays. Memory matters.

FAILURE TO REMEMBER IS NOT A FAILURE TO READ

Since adopting the KUA Design framework, I have rediscovered the sense of play that is inherent to remembering. Prior to adopting KUA Design, remembering in my classroom was a zero-sum game: Either you could remember the answer to the question on the quiz or you could not. If you did well on the quiz, you had read the assignment. If you did you poorly, then you hadn’t read. Forgetting the game that had delighted Maggie and me all those years ago, I equated reading with perfect recall. I lost sight of the joy in making sense of the mess.

Now, informed by the principles of KUA Design, I give “memory checks” to ninth-graders rather than reading quizzes. I understand that failure to remember does not necessarily mean a failure to read; rather, long-term memory can be built through retrieval practice. Poor results open a door to a conversation about improvement. We discuss, as a class, why we would like to remember what we read. Then we discuss strategies to build recollection of our

reading. Does annotating help us retrieve information? What happens when we try visualizing a scene? What happens when we read at a desk rather than in a bed? The student who seems to remember everything may have the prior knowledge necessary to navigate the world of that text.

I may have remembered those moors in Jane Eyre because I had seen them on a trip to England; perhaps Maggie remembered Piggy’s broken glasses from Lord of the Flies because she herself was near-sighted. Thanks to KUA Design, if a student answers a question in an unexpected way, I approach the results with the same curiosity with which I approach my own capacity to remember a book from my past. I am able to appreciate the diversity of how we remember rather than expecting us all to remember the same thing in the same way.

I like to think that someday, years from now, my current students will return to a reunion on The Hilltop and seek me out. Likely, I will remember their faces but not their names. Likely, remembering my own favorite game, I will ask what they recall about the books in ninth-grade English. I hope they will respond to the question with curiosity and delight—what do I remember, why do I remember it, and how can I remember more? I hope I can walk away while they are still playing the game, comparing details that have been stored away for just such an occasion. Perhaps the science of learning and the science of relationships are one in the same. K

THE SCIENCE OF COACHING: TRUST, FEEDBACK, AND PURPOSE

BY TUCKER PRUDDEN

OOn any given weekend you can find teams dotting playing fields across America—from the small-town baseball diamond to the high school lacrosse field to the high-stakes action of an NFL stadium. All teams experience highs and lows, but one thing can really make a difference in a player’s growth: coaching.

Here at Kimball Union, we use KUA Design to inform our coaching practice. It’s an approach to learning that’s built upon positive relationships and uses brain science to design intentional challenges so students can grow and learn. It’s a model that has and will refine my coaching practice with the lacrosse team just as it does my role as a learning specialist in the Gosselin Center for Teaching and Learning.

So, what is good coaching? And can good coaches, like good teachers, be more intentional in designing these opportunities? Many already employ so many healthy educational strategies, but can they be named more clearly, cited specifically at critical moments, or verbalized when describing a drill. After all, we want our students to not just know what to do, but also why it will help them.

GENERATING TRUST

Whether it is the high-five celebrating the shared success of a goal scored or an arm around a disappointed teammate after a loss, the relationship between members is critical to the growth of a team. A good coach will intentionally build relationships by the care they show student-athletes beyond the boundaries of the playing field. It’s those moments that build trust and, as a result, create an optimal learning environment.

We start by putting incredible effort

into connecting with students. After all, good relationships require effort to build and effort to maintain, particularly when that connection can be challenged through emotionally charged moments. In the dorm, I congratulate a student on a grade; I publicly applaud acts of community citizenship on the field; and I ask my daughter to say hello to students on the Quad. These connections make it easier to ask them to remove a hat in the dining hall or take on a difficult matchup on the field. Instructional design coach Zaretta Hammond calls these practices “trust generators.” Let me tell you: They work.

OFFERING FEEDBACK

Brain science tells us that good feedback is critical to growth. Sport is inherently a place where feedback is plentiful! It’s my role to use feedback in a timely, specific, and supportive way to make them stick. My goal is twofold, to show students there is a way for them to improve and that they can improve.

Research tells us this approach increases feelings of control and self-efficacy, which are the foundation of learning motivation. Social psychologist Carol Dweck says that “constantly practicing and modeling a growth mindset is paramount to this model and the encouragement of progress over product allows for reflection and improvement.” Revisiting skills and drills in practice serves as a more obvious example of interleaving, and we introduce schemes through multiple modalities such as a whiteboard, film, walk-through, and then live practice. My conversations promote resilience. At the end of a drill, I know I have achieved these goals when I blow the whistle and hear players say: “One more rep, Coach!”

PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE

My planning often starts by identifying skillbased growth opportunities—where to improve and what strengths to leverage. I then scaffold the use of those skills throughout a practice and during the course of a season. I encourage a student-athlete to use skills they are less proficient in when the stakes are low and offer additional suggestions to consider when they reach developmental thresholds.

Sport’s purpose, in our holistic educational model, is a place where students can experience lessons on the field that promote lessons for life. If we believe the experiences in sports serve to validate social-emotional, cognitive, and physical growth, then KUA Design is the ideal model for this work. K

“

WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO NOT JUST KNOW WHAT TO DO, BUT ALSO WHY IT WILL HELP THEM.”

—COACH TUCKER PRUDDEN

PICTURES AND POWDER

PRE-EMINENT PHOTOGRAPHER JEFF CRICCO ’92

NAVIGATES CHALLENGING TERRAIN TO CAPTURE THE PASSION OF SKIING.

 Pro skier and Olympic medalist Colby Stevenson was photographed on the Valdez Glacier in Valdez, Alaska.

 This image of Vail Pass on a very cold crisp sunrise was the cover of Powder Magazine’s Photo Annual. “Probably one of my favorite photos I’ve shot,” says Cricco. “A ski bum photographer’s coup de grâce!”

 Cricco captured the late evening light on a run called the “Curtain” in Haines, Alaska.

Don’t expect to find Jeff Cricco ’92 on a blue-bird day. When ski conditions are at their prime, he’s deep in powder getting gravity-defying shots and capturing some of the most skilled athletes in the most remarkable places on earth.

For Cricco, one of the ski industry’s leading photographers, weather reports, avalanche warnings, and maps set the day’s agenda. “It is definitely a dream job, and it takes me all over the place,” says Cricco, who’s based just outside of Durango, Colorado. “I don’t get jobs more than two weeks in advance because you can’t plan. With ski photography, 99 percent of it is conditions and conditions where athletes can perform.”

Growing up just south of KUA’s campus, Cricco learned to ski at local mountains Arrowhead, Ascutney, and Sunapee. He raced for the alpine ski team under Coach Georg Feichtinger and recalls training with Teton Gravity Research (TGR) founder Todd Jones ’89, who, like Cricco, discovered his life’s work in the mountains. They still team up professionally, albeit in more far-flung places than the Upper Valley.

As a senior at KUA he enjoyed a class on black-and-white photography. After one term of college, he moved west to Vail, Colorado, picking up perennial ski-bum gigs as a lift operator and cook. When the Vail Daily had to quickly fill a photographer’s spot, Cricco joined the paper and changed his course.

Today, Cricco’s work appears in magazines such as Ski, Powder, Freeskier, and Backcountry. He also works with companies in the industry such as North Face and Arc’teryx, cherry picking the best days and shooting the top athletes for catalogs and marketing materials. Other days, he’s working with film companies such as TGR, shooting stills over the shoulder of a cinematographer.

“If you put your time into and direct your passion, you just stick with it,” he says. “I just kept going and it was never an easy job.”

Like the subjects of his work, Cricco is working on skis loaded down by camera gear and often perched on precarious terrain or working from a helicopter. “I took an EMT course and was a ski guide in Alaska just to help me be safer and to manage the risk

that comes with the job. When you’re shooting photos, you’re pretty much a guide—you’re accessing the slope first, you’re cutting the slope, and with backcountry you’re trying to mitigate risk. Some of the riskiest work is here in Colorado, because we have the most dangerous snowpack in the country.”

This care and concern appear to spring from a healthy respect for the natural environment. “It’s so magical being up in the mountains at sunrise and at sunset in pristine conditions. It gives me renewed passion for my job.” He points to a trip to Argentina as opening his eyes to what the world offers. “The wind and the sun are nothing I had ever experienced,” he says. “That place really opened me up to traveling to more remote places and looking for extreme environments that show me how powerful the earth is.”

But Cricco has watched the industry—and the communities they’re based in—evolve as climate change, a resurgence in backcountry skiing, and the advent of social media collide.

“There has been a real change in being in the outdoors. It used to be a ski-bum culture. It’s become so trendy and accessible instead of a bunch of quirky people. It’s something that everyone should experience, but it’s also something that’s serious and more dangerous than a lot of people realize,” he says, advocating for all skiers to rely on his tools of the trade: weather reports and maps.

“Of course, I’m the one who promotes it and sells it—pictures and powder—and that’s challenging.” K

“THERE HAS BEEN A REAL CHANGE IN BEING IN THE OUTDOORS.”

—JEFF CRICCO ’92

 This photo in Cooke City, Montana, was the cover of Freeskier Magazine. It later went viral with a photoshopped version of Bernie Sanders.

Connect

NEWS FROM ALUMNI

COMING HOME

One Day. One KUA

April 27, 2023

Join us on campus, online, and at special regional events for KUA’s annual Day of Giving and help support the KUA Fund.

Grandparents Day

April 29, 2023

Grandparents are invited to join their student for a special day on campus. Attend classes and games, meet KUA faculty, and learn more about your grandchild’s experience.

Reunion 2023

June 9-11, 2023

Reconnect with classmates, friends, and faculty. All are welcome, with special celebrations for classes ending in 3 and 8.

Top: Ellie Copeland-Clarke ’22, Julia Walton ’22, and Lily Wennik ’22 connect at Frozen Fenway.

Middle Left: Former Boys Varsity Hockey players Arlo Merritt ’19, Ben Tardiff ’19, and Ben Caron, with Head Coach Tim Whitehead P’18, ’20 at Frozen Fenway.

Middle Right: Jono Newton ’02 and his children at the Upper Valley Holiday Party.

Bottom Left: Peter Mans ’98, Katie Mans ’98, Brandi Chilton ’98, Abby Harrington ’99, Anna Hood ’01, Erin Klocek ’98 at the Upper Valley Holiday Party.

Bottom Right: Amy Munro ’11, Amanda Greenlee, Jonathan Munro ’13, Marc Maggiore ’14 at the Boston Holiday Party.

Top: Tyler and Renee Lewis connect with KUA families, alumni, and former faculty at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

Bottom Left: Trustees Jennifer Borislow ’78, P’07, ’10, Molly Bourne Steffey ’92, P’20, ’22, Clyde Neville P’20, 22, and Peter Schiefflin ’96 at the Boston Holiday Party.

Middle top: Izzy Gordon ’21, Dean of Students Eric Russman P’20, ’24, Josie Morton ’08, and Max Gesner ’21 at the Boston Holiday Party.

Middle bottom: Hank Withington ’21, Jingbang Zhu ’21, and Riley Werner ’21 at the Boston Holiday Party.

“The biggest news for the class of ’53 is our upcoming 70th reunion in June. Nearly one-quarter of our class is still active, a significant milestone.” Stanford B. Vincent ’53

New Star in the Sky

Mack McElroy ’01 aims to make space accessible and sustainable.

addresses which kinds of things are most important for us to do and what we should prioritize in space,” he says. “It takes a philosophical look at value, what kinds of things are important to people, and what kinds of things space may be able to help with the most. Governments, charities, and nonprofits do a lot of important work, but if you have a choice between all that work happening or all of it happening and then some because the work is motivated by profit, then it’s better to have more than to have less.”

The commercial space industry is one of the newer stars in the sky. An increase in venture capital investment and an uptick in the number of startups working in space have resulted in a wealth of opportunity for engineers such as Mark “Mack” McElroy ’01.

McElroy served as an assistant chief engineer at NASA for nine years and earned its Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal in 2021 for his innovative leadership in developing solutions for Artemis moon missions. He recently took on the role of technical program manager with Benchmark Space Systems, a Burlington, Vermont-based company working to make space more accessible with sustainable propulsion products.

This fall he released a book on the rapidly expanding field—The Space Industry of the Future: Capitalism and Sustainability in Outer Space. “Given the incredible potential of the commercial space industry, my book

Through the book, McElroy weaves themes of sustainability, a high priority within his most recent designs for nontoxic satellite propulsion systems. Compared to the fuels that powered satellites and rockets in the past, his solutions aim to achieve similar levels of performance while increasing safety and decreasing expense. He’s currently working on a satellite propulsion project for a spacecraft that can drop off other satellites at various locations.

While he suspects the excitement and potential around space exploration are what attract people to the field, he has also found individual success in the industry often comes down to the decision to specialize.

“You don’t necessarily need to be a mathematician or genius scientist to do well in the space industry, but you do have to apply yourself,” says McElroy, who after KUA earned a B.S. and an M.S. in civil engineering from Lehigh University and a Ph.D. in aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering at North Carolina State. “Although STEM is a huge part of this field, there are all kinds of roles in project management, business, and logistics. There are many different career paths in space that all share a need for persistence—and the most direct way to go down that road is to start with good grades.” K

Rx Redux

Eliza Sternlicht ’18 cofounds a drug redistribution company to connect patients with prescriptions.

Treatment plans for cancer are so frequently adjusted that more than 40 percent of patients will have unfinished prescriptions during or following treatment, creating nearly $5.9 billion in wasted medication. Eliza Sternlicht ’18 learned about the volume of waste occurring in cancer care and knew she had to address the issue.

As a student at Brown University, Sternlicht and classmate Jack Schaeffer founded MediCircle, a drug redistribution company that connects cancer patients with unused medications. Today she serves as the company’s chief operating officer.

“We collect medications directly from patients whose treatment plans were adjusted due to things such as adverse reactions or disease progression, then recertify those medications using our three-step patented process,” she explains. “We then redistribute the medications to patients who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it for a flat dispensing fee of $20.”

This is hardly Sternlicht’s first effort to create equity in medicine. As a student at Kimball Union, she used the school’s 3-D printers to produce prosthetic hands for children.

“Prosthetics can cost thousands, and because children grow quickly that means they often are forced to go without limbs because they would have to replace them so frequently,” Sternlicht recalls. “It baffled me how something as indispensable as a limb could be something people can’t access. KUA was a huge supporter in helping me have the resources and funding to pursue that project, and that’s how I became interested in biomedical engineering.

MediCircle took shape during Sternlicht’s sophomore year as a biomedical engineering student at Brown; she surveyed numerous healthcare facilities about their practices and found that wasted medication is a pervasive problem. She began drafting and patenting a medication-recertification process.

Recertification has been legalized in 41 states, including Texas, where MediCircle is based and where Sternlicht was involved in amending regulations through the Texas State Board of Pharmacy to allow the process. Additionally, Texas has the highest rates of uninsured people in the nation, according to U.S. census data. “By starting in Texas, we’re able to maximize how many people we can help within a single state before we start expanding,” she says.

“About 63 percent of cancer patients I spoke with reported cost as a barrier to care,” Sternlicht adds. “Some of the medications we distribute have an average retail price of $10,000 to $15,000. The patients we help are able to focus on getting better rather than on the expense of treatment, and when I hear their stories, it inspires me to put in long hours and make it happen.” K

“The patients we help are able to focus on getting better rather than on the expense of treatment.” —ELIZA STERNLICHT ’18 .

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Class Notes

DISPATCHES NEWS FROM ALUMNI

1955

Richard Shriner reports he is doing well after turning 100 last December 21, 2021, and he is living in Falmouth, Mass. He fondly recalls playing hockey at Kimball Union, where his nickname was “Mouse.”

1953

Stanford B. Vincent (508) 457-6473 • stan@vincentcurtis.com

The biggest news for the class of ’53 is our upcoming 70th reunion in June. Nearly one-quarter of our class is still active, a significant milestone. Who among us will make it back to The Hilltop next spring remains a question, but I’m sure all will join in celebrating the occasion. Full details about our reunion will follow.

In addition to the reunion itself, plans are already in place to publish and share a brief bio of current members of our class. They include Allan Bell, Illinois; Pete Bowser, California; Tony Brockelman, Florida; Roger Brown, Colorado; Joe Fay, Connecticut; Tom Fay, California; Paul Haczela, Florida; Charlie Harriman, Florida; Charles Lawrence, Vermont; Pete Meleney, Massachusetts; Peter Morse, South Dakota; Jerry Pringle, Oregon; Ralph Rose, Pennsylvania; Paul Russo, Massachusetts; and Pete Whiteside, Florida.

Classmates looking for contact info of our other classmates are welcome to call or drop me a line.

I’m sad to report that our friend Sam Cummings passed away last fall. A graduate of the University of Vermont (UVM), Sam worked almost 30 years in Vermont for IBM in various financing positions. His passions included scuba diving and spending summers at his camp in the Northeast Kingdom with his family. He leaves his wife, Joy, two

children, and four grandchildren. Sam recently remembered his days at KUA saying, “The best teachers were Coach Carver and Ed Spaulding, math and science. We did get a good college prep education! I often felt my first year at UVM was made a lot easier.” Best wishes for the new year!

1955

Warren Huse (603) 524-6593 • warrenhuse1@gmail.com

This column will be a joint effort between George Place, Howie Goldberg, and me. To begin, however, I regret to report the death September 22, 2022, of Byron Koh’s wife, Mary Frances Wall. Fran was 84 and had a long career as a clinical social worker, including her own counseling practice.

George managed to reach a number of classmates in early January, including Howie, with whom he has lunch a couple times a month; Ron Harrison, still teaching watercolor art in the Salem, Mass., area; Joe Dickinson (planning lunch with Joe in February); Vin Godleski, who “appears to be doing very well as he had just returned from ice skating with a group of friends; Walter Phelps (see below); and Dick Rose, “on daily dialysis, which cuts way down on his flexibility and mobility, but he is coping as best he can.” George also reports Tom Eggert has “some health issues but like all of us octogenarians is dealing with everything as needed. He reported his area of New York had received two major snowstorms.” Pete Smith is “in good spirits as he was working on his estate plan and bemoaning his lawyer’s legalese. He promised to keep his political leanings to himself and particularly from Warren so they would not be subject to publication.” Tony Crovo is fine and is off to Fort Myers, Fla., shortly. He has been going there for many winters,

long before it became fashionable. “As for me,” George adds, “I just finished the six-day protocol for Covid, just in time to go to Antigua with my daughter later in January. My other daughter and her husband have a boat at the island and that will be our base. The boat was in the Bermuda race last spring and came in just after the leader in his class.

In 2021, I visited Pearl Harbor on the 80th anniversary of the attack and, despite the rain, had a very historical, educational, and emotional visit. Last year I bought a condo on spec in Pinehills, Mass., with a distant view of Cape Cod Bay. It’s for rent and classmates can get a good deal.” George adds, “I recently visited Bill Bullen ’50 at Brooksby Village and he is in a memory unit at the facility. He is 91 and was in good spirits, although I wasn’t sure he remembered that I was in the great class of ’55. I saw Stan Vincent ’53 last fall at a get-together at the house of Jim Grey ’60 in Falmouth. We see Deborah Bullen, widow of Jed ’52, quite often for lunch.”

From Howie: “Sheila and I got a unique 63rd anniversary present. I was diagnosed with B cell lymphoma. At our first meeting with my oncologist, he said, fortunately, it was totally curable and that I would lose my hair, but it would grow back. We started on a six-month campaign of chemo and radiation treatments at the Mass General satellite cancer center at the Newton Wellesley Hospital. This allowed me to have all my appointments about five minutes from our apartment. I finished December 16 and was declared all clear. Sheila was an unbelievable rock during the whole process. I also am very grateful for the support of George Place during that period. Obviously, our social life was quite curtailed. We did finally get down to New York and New Jersey during the Christmas holiday to visit two of our daughters and their children (our grandchildren). That was

our first trip there since before Covid. Our grandson, who is now working and living in the Boston area, gave us a ride back and forth.”

Walt Phelps turned 86 in early January. Walt suggests investments in energy: “No guarantees, but this is the world we now live in.”

I (Warren) am still writing the weekly local history pages for the newspaper and am looking forward to passing the torch as treasurer of the historical society shortly, after 36 years. I had an email exchange with Dan Anderson ’54 back in September: “We live about 60 miles from downtown Houston but no longer drive in—big cities have gotten much too dangerous and the drivers have gotten crazier. The little town we live in is the county seat. A few years ago, I’d go to all the county council meetings and sometimes talk. It felt good to live in a place where the connection between average citizens and local government was so close. I was never interested in any involvement in state or national politics—it will be up to the next two generations to fix anything.”

1960

Arthur Greene of Bedford, N.H., writes:

“After all these years of following the lives of many of my classmates in the Class Notes, I am long overdue in sharing some information. Last December I retired after a 55-year career as a trial lawyer, law firm managing partner, and more recently a business consultant to law firms. During that time, I was active in the American Bar Association, making presentations and authoring several books on the business aspects of running a law firm. I now look forward to retirement years with my wife, Ellen, splitting our time between Bedford and Scottsdale, Ariz., where our daughter lives with her family, including two granddaughters.”

1967

Bob Jamback (508) 561-1013 • bobjamback@yahoo.com

I attended a couple of varsity hockey games in mid-December and plan to see more. This year’s team, while young, skates well, moves the puck well, and plays well together. I look forward to the rest of the season.

1969

Malcolm Cooper (802) 867-2528 • tractormalc@gmail.com

Covid still keeps us from much travel and contact. I was going on a bike trip with Bill Barney ’70 but cancelled. Saw a great article in the October 31 New Yorker about Will Sheff ’94. KUA is mentioned in the first paragraph.

1989

Melissa Longacre (603) 675-9974 • mlongacre@myfairpoint.net

I’m writing my column from The Hilltop this year. I have finally left the demands of retail and am working as the administrative assistant in the Student Life Office at KUA. We should all be proud of the work being done at the school and the quality education KUA faculty continues to provide. We currently have three classmates who have students here: Andrea Bueno Keen, Ray Mann, and Dhamey Norgay. I love seeing their names come up on caller ID! Candi Osgood Strickland has moved to Orlando, Fla. She says if you are visiting Mickey and want to catch up, let her know!

Jim and P.J. Jonas have had a busy year! They are now grandparents to three, with their first granddaughter arriving this summer. One child was

married this summer and two more are engaged, so they are looking forward to two weddings in the next six months! They also received a visit from Andrea Bueno Keen.

I had a great visit with the Bishops this summer, when they were house sit ting next door for a few weeks. It was fun to catch up.

If you have any questions about the school or want to stop by and see the campus, let me know. I would be happy to give you a tour! The spring musical is Little Shop of Horrors—funny how things come around again! Hope to hear from you soon.

1996

Steve Lieberman reports: “During Covid, my family and I moved from California back to the East Coast and bought a home in North Stonington, Conn. We opened a second location for our brewery, Surfridge Brewing Co., in Centerbrook, Conn., next to the Essex Steam Train. It is great to be back on the East Coast, and my 10-year-old son has taken after his father and picked up lacrosse. Our brewery and restaurant hits 1-year-old on December 17, 2022, and we hope to have an alumni gathering there soon.”

Katy and Jon Romero live in Garden City, N.Y., with Jack, 4, and Emma, 2. Jon enjoys remaining in touch with a handful of KUA classmates and is thinking of bringing his family for a visit to The Hilltop this spring.

Jon shares this from Tim Knox H’96: “Donal [Knox] will be coming from Bali with his wife and three kids for an extended stay during Christmas. He is now basing his international telecom business there for the time being. He will be at his house in New Jersey for a week before coming up to us in New Hampshire. Liz joins me in sending Christmas wishes to you all.”

“We opened a second location for our brewery, Surfridge Brewing Co., in Centerbrook, Conn.”

STEVE LIEBERMAN ’96

1. Cousins Hunter Conway ’16 Conway ’20 graduation from KUA in May 2022.

2. Peter Hodgen ’69 Susan and Eileen and Campbell ’60 KUA vs. Kent hockey game at the Exeter Invitational Tournament in December. The Wildcats defeated the Lions 2-1.

2. Erin Frisch Newton ’05 husband Peter welcomed son Lovell on September 6, 2022.

Class Notes

still loving single mom life with my two daughters. I’m doing a bunch of community theater and am grateful for the humbling experience of Theater Activity while at KUA. It prepared me well.”

2004

Jessica Macleod ’05 and Bryant Harris were married in August in Negril, Jamaica. Harris teaches and coaches at KUA and the newlyweds reside in Annie Duncan House.

2005

1999

Natalie Philpot (802) 681-6376 • nataliephilpot@hotmail.com

Kevin Stoney reports that life is good.

Scott Kaplan writes: “After working in film sales for more than a decade, I’m excited to have started a documentary production company called CoverStory (www.cvrstory.com). Our next film, Queenmaker, will be premiering on Hulu in early 2023.”

Katie (Taylor) Pierce writes: “Hello, fellow classmates, from sunny Canton, Mass. This past year has been an amazing and joyful and difficult year between saying goodbye to working full time (which has been my identity since I was 22) and deciding to put my family and me first and being a stay-at-home mom. It was one of the most difficult decisions in my life (so far), but my mental wellness has never been better! Coming from someone whose nickname has always been ’Smiley,’ postpartum was a hard pill to swallow. Benjamin is now 19 months old, and Mike and I can’t remember what life was like before he entered our lives. If any of you are passing through the Boston area, please don’t hesitate to reach out and connect (smileykatie03@yahoo.com).

As for me (Natalie), things are great in southern Vermont. I am doing well and

Erin Frisch Newton of Boston writes: “My husband, Peter, and I welcomed our first child, son Lovell Ryan Newton, born on September 6, 2022.”

2008

Tai Nixa Peterson (603) 731-4055 • nixatai@gmail.com

On the sunny afternoon of June 25, 2022, Sophie Bodnar married Tim Halteman in Huntington, Vt. It was an absolute joy to share the ceremony and festivities with beloved KUA friends Julia MacDonald, Kalin Gregory-Davis, Liv Fauver ’09, Liv Townsend ’07, and Rachel Stern ’09 Juliet Taylor relocated to the Woodley Park neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., from Southie in Boston at the start of September with her dog Bronn. She is volunteering at community theaters and historical associations in her spare time.

I’ve had the incredible opportunity to dance a lot over the past year. In August 2022, I performed several shows as an ensemble member in The Quarry Project. I also performed in Farm to Ballet and other pop-up shows throughout Vermont. My daughter, Verona, just turned 1 in November and is keeping me busy. Besides that, I am still working for Ballet Vermont and serve on the board of the Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier, Vt. I look forward to seeing everyone at our 15-year reunion in 2023.

1. Jessica Macleod ’05 and Bryant Harris ’04 were married in August in Negril, Jamaica.

2. Sophie Bodnar ’08 married Tim Halteman in Huntington, Vt.

3. Richard Shriner ’39 sails with sons Mark and Steve.

Obituaries

relationships with her students, families, and colleagues. With a trademark splash of purple, she carried the well-being of the full community in her consciousness and throughout her efforts.

Cynthia Elizabeth Howe H’20, P’06, ’14

Long-serving and beloved faculty member Cynthia Elizabeth Howe died peacefully on September 18, 2022, at her Grantham, N.H., home. She was 65. Passionate and present in her life, she gracefully lived her last five-plus years with ovarian cancer.

Howe was a 32-year veteran of KUA when she and her husband, Murray Dewdney H’20 P’06 ’14, retired in 2020. She arrived at the Academy in 1988, when Dewdney was named director of building and grounds. Howe served as dorm parent of Bryant Hall before taking on many official capacities, including dean of faculty and head of college counseling. Prior to her retirement, she taught in the Gosselin Center for Teaching and Learning, which she established and led for more than a decade, supporting so many students on their journey. Howe and Dewdney raised their children, Tyler ’06 and Morgan ’14, in Frost House.

In every role she carried out, Howe redefined thoroughness and excellence. On a simpler level, all her roles seemed to be opportunities to build deep and authentic

As KUA has embraced a deep sense of belonging for all as a definitive characteristic of our community, many who were fortunate to have passed through The Hilltop since 1988 point to Howe as their source of that safety, comfort, acceptance, joy, and whole-hearted connection. Her legacy at KUA lies in the positive and lasting impact she had on so many individuals and her influence in forging the deep and caring soul of the institution.

James Wright, Former Trustee

A proud U.S. Marine Corps veteran who spent four decades as a distinguished history professor and scholar, James Wright served as 16th president of Dartmouth College and helped thousands of military veterans earn their college degrees. He died peacefully at his Hanover, N.H., home on October 10, 2022, with his wife, Susan, at his side. He was 83 and had been undergoing treatment for cancer.

Wright served as a member of the Kimball Union Academy Board of Trustees from 1990 to 1994 while he worked as dean of faculty at Dartmouth. He brought a strong historical perspective and administrative experience to the Academy.

Known for his sonorous voice and ability to remember former students even decades later, Wright grew up in the working-class

community of Galena, Ill. He enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 17 and deployed to Japan during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1958. Following his service, he returned to Galena in hopes of becoming a high school history teacher and enrolled in the nearby University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he became the first in his family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Working his way through college with various jobs, including as janitor, night watchman, bartender, factory worker, and powderman in the local zinc and lead mines, he went on to earn a graduate fellowship to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied the political history of the American West and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on populist movements in Colorado. Upon finishing his doctoral degree in 1969, he joined the history department at Dartmouth, where he spent the next 40 years teaching and leading the institution he came to love.

A highly prolific scholar, Wright was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Social Science Research Council Grant, and a Charles Warren Fellowship at Harvard. Wright was elected president of Dartmouth in 1998 and served in that leadership capacity through 2009. He encouraged and empowered students and colleagues alike to make a positive difference in the world around them.

He also shined the brightest of lights on those who served in America’s wars, authoring several books on the subject, including Those Who Have Borne the Battle: A

History of America’s Wars and Those Who Fought Them (2012), Enduring Vietnam: An American Generation and Its War (2017), and War and American Life: Reflections on Those Who Serve and Sacrifice (2022).

Wright’s efforts on behalf of veterans were recognized nationally with the Semper Fidelis Award from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, a commendation from Marine Corps Gen. James Conway, the Commander-in-Chief’s Gold Medal of Merit Award and Citation at the 2009 convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Eleanor M. McMahon Award for Lifetime Achievement from the New England Board of Higher Education, and the Secretary of the Army Public Service Award.

Wright is survived by Susan; son Jimmy and his wife, Carreen; daughter Ann and her husband, Tom; son Michael and his wife, Sally; and grandchildren Zack, Meredith, Gus, Andrew, Patrick, and Mia. He was predeceased by grandson Adam.

Deaths

Richard Aitson ’73

Ashton Chandler Macdougall Ballou ’88

Harry J. Berwick ’46

Samuel Cummings ’53

Leonard L. Giles ’54

Fielding Holmes ’63

Robert “Bob” Arthur Lovett ’50

Richard McCrudden ’41

Roger Merryman Jr. ’42

David W. Quimby ’72

Irving Sherwood ’50

“I’m doing a bunch of community theater and am grateful for the humbling experience of Theater Activity.”

—KATIE (TAYLOR) PIERCE ’99

Last Word

Frozen In Time

Kimball Union has a long tradition of taking advantage of a cold climate. Between the boys and girls varsity hockey teams, KUA has clocked close to 125 competitive, interscholastic seasons of hockey since the sport’s arrival on The Hilltop in 1935. By then, skating on Chellis Pond had already been a longstanding winter activity. The first hockey rink with sideboards was constructed atop Chellis Pond for the inaugural hockey season by faculty member Wayland Porter, who used lumber recovered from the old Bird Village Inn. Today, that ice is still used for skating, Winter Carnival, and the polar plunge.

In 1944, the school built an outdoor rink toward the top of the hill, nestled along the northwest side of Alumni Gymnasium’s

current site, before moving it for the 1950-51 season to a field adjacent to Chellis Dormitory. This was KUA hockey’s home for the next 38 years, except for the 1962 season, when the construction of a Quonset-style metal roof funded by Annie Duncan was underway. The outdoor rink was officially named Duncan Rink (and unofficially, “the Quonset Hut”). Hockey moved indoors in 1988 with the dedication of Akerstrom Arena. An outdoor rink remains busy just a puck’s toss away from the original location of Duncan Rink. Known to current students as the “ODR,” it’s where on any winter afternoon you can find groups of students skating, shooting pucks, curling frozen milk jugs, or just sliding around on ice. K