Alumni Events (Summer/Fall 2021 & Winter 2022

DEI SUMMER SERIES July 27: A Space to Listen Aug. 3: A Space to Share Aug. 10: A Space to Plan Lawrence Academy’s DEI Summer Series was created as space for our broader alumni community and aims to support participants in giving voice to their diverse experiences while at LA and as alumni. It is also intended to provide an opportunity for participants to Raquel Majeski, assistant obtain greater awareness of LA’s diversity head for equity and community life initiatives and commitments and encourage participants to leverage the power, connections, and insight established during the series to propel forward LA’s commitment to diversity.

The Summer Series is but one piece of LA’s broader effort to center the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion into our daily operations and sense of community, and to more fully energize LA’s commitment to recognize you for who you are and inspire you to take responsibility for who you want to become. DEI FALL SERIES

As a part of the ongoing growth, education, and commitment around DEI at Lawrence Academy, we offered the following opportunities to all adult community members:

Oct. 7: DEI at LA – A Strategic View Dan Scheibe, head of school, and Raquel Majeski, assistant head for equity and community life, discussed LA’s strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The evening concluded with Meghan Smith, coordinator of DEI professional growth and practice, who led participants in a mindfulness practice.

Oct. 14: Fireside Chat with Irshad Manji Irshad Manji, author of Don’t Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times and the 2018 J. William Mees Visiting Scholar, addressed the importance of having moral courage and navigating courageous conversations.

LA FALL CAREER PANEL: CAREERS IN SPORTS, PART TWO Nov. 30

LA held its fourth virtual LA Career Panel, which featured a continuation of the profound sports career insights from LA alumni: Ben Lord ’57, Scott Brewitt ’82, Greg Rybarczyk ’86, and Julia Tesoro ’12. Alumni Council member Lindsay Howard ’00 moderated the discussion and posed a series of questions for the panelists.

Panelists offered insights on building a solid network, willingness to be flexible and adaptable, thinking creatively, and working collaboratively. The panelists connected back to their LA education to emphasize their public speaking, presentation, research, and collaboration skills while working on labs, projects, athletic teams, or Winterim groups. Developing strong relationships and communication with their key constituents was another point of emphasis.

Being able to analyze and make inferences from the available data are essential skills in advancing one’s career in the field of sports. The expertise shared by each of our panelists was sage advice for anyone interested in pursuing a career in the sports arena.

Lindsay Howard ’00 Ben Lord ’57, principal at Lord Advisory Group, LLC

Greg Rybarczyk ’86, director, education and process analysis at the Boston Red Sox Scott Brewitt ’82, vice president of digital partnerships at NESN

Julia Tesoro ’12, activation specialist for the Chicago Cubs

BOSTON-AREA COMMUNITY GATHERING Nov. 18 – Liberty Hotel

On Nov. 18, LA hosted its annual Boston Community gathering at the Liberty Hotel. Alumni, parents, parents of alumni, current and former faculty and staff, grandparents, and friends attended the event. The evening was filled with fun, nostalgia, and a few current updates on happenings at LA, delivered by Head of School Dan Scheibe.

It was a great night of community building and celebrating. We are already looking forward to next year’s Boston gathering. Be on the lookout for a date.

LA SPEAKER SERIES: A CONVERSATION WITH SAM ROWSE ’65; P’92, ’94, GP’24

Dec. 6

Sam Rowse ’65 shared the fascinating story of his life and how he eventually became a farmer in Mason, N.H.

Before he enrolled at Lawrence Academy, Sam’s only educational experience was in a one-room schoolhouse in a small, rural New Sam Rowse ’65

Hampshire town. Lawrence was a whole new world for him, with dormitories, a dining hall, a study hall, master teachers, athletics, a debate team, and theatrical productions. After graduating from college, Sam returned home to learn the family apple juice business. His experiential education was of great benefit to him in developing the single-serve juice container that eventually propelled Veryfine, the family business, to a position of leadership in the beverage industry.

Starting with Horned Dorsets, a heritage breed of sheep known both for exceptionally desirable wool and outstanding food quality, Sam and his fiancée, Diana Templeton, now maintain a flock of sheep in addition to Berkshire pigs, Narragansett turkeys, and Wagyu cattle. Heritage breeds store a wealth of genetic resources vital to both our future and that of our agricultural food system.

LA HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

Dec. 16 – Reception at Publick House

On Dec. 16, the annual LA holiday hockey tournament took place in Grant Rink, which was packed with alumni and friends of LA. After the LA/Cushing hockey game, a reception took place at the Publick House in Groton, where alumni, faculty, staff, and friends gathered for community cheer. Even though the boys’ varsity hockey team lost to Cushing, the night was still a blast!

LA CAREER PANEL: CAREERS IN LAW

March 1

On March 1, Lawrence Academy held its fifth LA Career Panel featuring three LA alumnae lawyers – Amy Slade ’84, Polly Phillips Gilbert ’87, and Kristen Salvaggio ’01 – and two current LA parent lawyers, Dan and Lisa Haines P ’23. The panel was moderated by LA Alumni Council members Lindsay Howard ’00 and Clare Noone ’14. Lindsay and Clare asked the lawyers to respond to a series of questions about their respective law careers and invited them to share stories on how each of them determined which field of law they choose to pursue. Each panelist shared insightful experiences and information about their law careers. The event was another highly informative career-related discussion in the field of law. Stay tuned for information on the next career panel, coming in the spring.

LA SPEAKER SERIES: LAWRENCE ACADEMY OLYMPIANS

February 3

With the 2022 Winter Olympics occurring in Beijing, China, Lawrence Academy held an LA Speaker Series the evening before the opening ceremony to recognize and honor the seven LA alumni who have participated in the Olympics or on a national team. The program was moderated by Phil Hersh ’64, an internationally recognized expert in the field who spent 28 years as an Olympic sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune and has gone on to write about the Olympics and figure skating for Ice Network and NBC Olympics. He has covered 20 Olympics – 12 winter and eight summer – seven soccer World Cups (four men, three women), 35 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 20 World Figure Skating Championships, 12 World Track and Field Championships, two Pan-American Games, and more than two dozen other national championships in Olympic sports.

LA’s esteemed panelists – David Jensen ’84 (hockey), Cindy Ryder Matthes ’84 (rowing), Steve Heinze ’88 (hockey), Ted Crowley ’89 (hockey), Jonathan Edwards ’91 (luge), Laurie Baker McLaughlin ’95 (hockey), and Craig MacDonald ’95 (hockey) – offered reflections and shared stories about their respective Olympic experiences. With his vast knowledge of each Olympics, Phil masterfully moderated the event and provided a truly memorable and inspirational evening for everyone.

Check out Phil’s story “From Spartans to Olympians” on page 32.

Phil Hersh ’64, moderator

Ted Crowley ’89

Steve Heinze ’88

Craig MacDonald ’95 Laurie Baker McLaughlin ’95

David Jensen ’84

Cindy Ryder Matthes ’84

Jonathan Edwards ’91

Connect with LA

LAWRENCE ACADEMY ALUMNI OPPORTUNITIES

Leaving the elm tree-shaded hillside doesn’t mean leaving the Lawrence Academy family. Spartans are Spartans for life: part of a network of nearly 6,000 alumni living all across the globe. Lawrence Academy hopes its alumni will remain active, engaged members of the school community throughout their lives at LA alumni events; by participating in our online alumni networking platform; by volunteering as Alumni Council members, Reunion Weekend organizers, and Class Agents; and by becoming LA Fund donors.

GATHER

Stay connected with fellow alumni and the Lawrence Academy community by joining us for virtual or in-person events. Throughout the year, we host a variety of opportunities to keep our community connected and informed about all of the exciting things happening at LA. From generational- and geography-based gatherings to online career panels and speaker series, there are LA alumni events for every type of graduate.

MENTOR AND NETWORK

Lawrence Academy’s alumni community is accomplished, diverse, and vibrant. Regardless of when you graduated, we want you to feel connected to each other and the school. Network and interact with fellow Lawrence Academy alumni through LA Connect. Available on your desktop and mobile device, our community platform features easy registry with LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, or your email; search tools to find peers by name, class year, college, or industry; opportunities to find or become a mentor; upcoming event information; alumni job boards; and exclusive content found only on this platform. Sign up at www.lacademyconnect.com

SHARE YOUR PASSION

At Lawrence Academy, our alumni are an important part of the community no matter how long ago they left campus or how far away they’ve gone. After graduation, we invite you to share your passion for LA by becoming a volunteer. Alumni Council members facilitate activities and relationships among LA alumni and the greater school community while encouraging participation in functions, projects, networking, and philanthropy. Class Agents write letters, make phone calls, and send emails to their classmates to help support the LA Fund, and Reunion Ambassadors keep classmates connected and inspire their annual support of LA.

SUPPORT

Lawrence Academy’s donors are the driving force behind many of the advancements being made in our classrooms, on our playing fields, and at the school at large. Our alumni, families, and friends make campus better — and make the LA community stronger — through their philanthropic efforts. Through our online giving program, you can support the school via credit card, bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal! You can also plan a legacy gift at www.lacademy.planningyourlegacy.org.