Academy Journal, Fall 2016 by Lawrence Academy

The Academy Journal Lawrence Academy/Fall 2016

Visions, Values, and Vernacular by Dan Scheibe

As part of long-range and strategic thinking, peeking over the educational horizon for Lawrence Academy, we have been carefully considering the words that might serve as compass points for this long view and journey. A few words have persistently surfaced, and I share them here both as grounding for fuller articulations later and as a way of appreciating the profiles and articles of this Academy Journal — because our values are embodied in the everyday life of school.

Awareness

Dan Scheibe

Our mission (conveniently highlighted below) is grounded in the idea of a powerful recognition of identity. Awareness is something our faculty practice keenly in working with students, but it is also something we expect our students to develop themselves. We should be aware of this precious quality and condition of life as it develops. We should be aware of the awesome potential and responsibility of the whole enterprise. As a school, our identity is grounded in a particular honesty about our position and purpose.

Lawrence Academy recognizes you for who you are and inspires you to take responsibility for who you want to become.

Inspiration A teacher’s instinct recognizes that some spark, some combustion, some surge of energy gives life to lesson. Sometimes that energy comes from teachers’ skills and brilliance. But the lasting forms of inspiration occur internally in students. Such energy is then shared. The most powerful moments we experience in school communities have this ineffable but essential quality of inspiration. Lawrence Academy produces these moments regularly and generously: they are at the center of the school’s strength and growth.

Action (Or as a phrase, “Action for the Greater Good”): The educational condition is anything but static, and its fundamental movement is outward. Similarly, Lawrence Academy — though avoiding the hectic hysteria of some corners of the educational industry — is incessantly active. As a matter of pedagogy and principle, we want our students to be on their feet and out in the world. The direction is not just college, but a life of purpose in a world needing enlightened action. Our school motto (conveniently highlighted below) describes an education shared and extended — a beacon leading from horizon to horizon.

Omnibus Lucet — “The Light Shines For All”

The stories and pictures in this year’s journal will be worth more than these words here. As you read, though, try to see how it all resonates and begins to form a world of beautiful scope and dimension. It is this world of awareness, inspiration, and action that we will continue to reflect and design as our long-range planning and strategizing unfolds. And if you can make it to campus with any regularity, please come see its most dramatic unfolding as a living, thriving, conscientious collection of aware, inspired, active individuals.

2016–2017 Trustees of Lawrence Academy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Bruce M. MacNeil ’70, President Patrick Cunningham ’91, Vice President David Stone ’76, Treasurer Gordon Sewall ’67, Secretary

FEATURES

Lucy Abisalih ’76 Jay R. Ackerman ’85 Kevin A. Anderson ’85 Ronald M. Ansin Timothy M. Armstrong ’89 Deborah Barnes Barbara Anderson Brammer ’75 Jennifer Shapiro Chisholm ’82 Geoffrey Clear Christopher Davey

Gregory Foster Catherine Frissora Elizabeth Cochary Gross Bradford Hobbs ’82 Douglas Long Nancy Lotane Peter C. Myette David Santeusanio Richard Tyson ’87

Honorary Trustees George A. Chamberlain III Albert B. Gordon ’59 Henry S. Russell Jr. Albert Stone Benjamin D. Williams III

1974–present 1978–present 1978–present 1980–present 1984–present

Service Near and Far

Coach Z’s Many Hats

Coming Home: Michelle Ruby ’98

In Her Own Words: Lisa Li ’16

Mission Exemplified: Andrew Fyffe ’16

Three Farewells

Randy Chamberlain ’79

Dick Pleasants ’65

Robyn Walsh ’98

Easing the Transition to College

AROUND LA

Trustees With 25 or More Years of Service Henry S. Russell Jr. (current honorary) George A. Chamberlain III (current honorary) Albert Stone (current honorary) Ronald M. Ansin Bruce M. MacNeil ’70

2–23

24–42

LA at a Glance

Cum Laude Day

Visual & Performing Arts

The Year in Sports

Spring Social and Fundraiser

Commencement 2016

Welcome to LA

Founders’ Day 2015

Editorial Team

Editorial Council

John Bishop Director of Communications

Susan Hughes Assistant to the Head of School

Allie Goodrich ’13 Communications Intern

Rob Moore Associate Head of School

Angela Zimmer Editorial Consultant

Beverly Rodrigues Communications Publicist, retired

Layout/Design/ Production

Dan Scheibe Head of School

LA OUTREACH

48–50

Dale Cunningham Assistant Director of Communications

Joseph Sheppard College Counselor, retired

Leadership Dinner

Hellie Swartwood Director of Parent Programs

LA Circle Events

Senior Parent Gift

Photography Jon Chase Jonathan Gotlib Rich Media Communications Specialist Beverly Rodrigues

FROM THE ARCHIVES

43–47

Still the Bell Tolls

On Probation

ALUMNI

51–64

Alumni Events

Reunion Weekend

Alumni Notes

In Memoriam

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FEATURE

Service Near and Far “I’d never really done a whole lot of community service or helping other people beforehand, so it was kind of new to me, but it’s something I found interesting,” which is why when he received an email about planning MLK Day, Sam responded. “They asked me if I would be willing to help out with fundraising for a new project they were starting — this happened to be Stop Hunger Now.” Kimberly Poulin and Sam Rosenstein ’17 receive the PIN (Parent’s Independent School Network) Community Service Award.

by Allie Goodrich ’13

When Sam Rosenstein ’17 first got involved in community service at Lawrence Academy, he didn’t expect that he would become the person people would look to as a leader one year later. “I didn’t do a whole lot freshman year other than the required six hours,” Sam recounts, referring to the six hours of community service that students must complete for each year they attend LA. 2 I FALL 2016

Stop Hunger Now is the student-led community service club dedicated to the global non-profit organization of the same name, which has provided over 225 million meals in 73 countries since its founding in 1998. For its own part, the LA club has managed to pack 21,384 meals since it began in 2015. They aim to raise $3,000 each year, which pays for 10,000 meals. Kimberly Poulin, who was director of academic support and community service at the time, now Assistant Dean of Students, told Sam, “If you want to be a club you can be a club, but I want to make sure that, since you’re raising $3,000, whatever you decide to do is a community builder.”

Perhaps what stands out most, as Sam and other students have taken Poulin’s advice to heart, is that community service has become not just an opportunity to volunteer for others, but also a way for the LA community to come together. “I like planning events that get people involved with each other,” says Sam. So far, those events have included not just the Stop Hunger Now meal packaging events, but also a coin war among all four classes, concessions tables at athletic contests, a faculty dunk tank at Field Day, a yard sale, and a bake-off, which Sam said “really brought the community together.” Though the experience has been rewarding in itself, Sam was also awarded a $250 grant from the Parent Independent School Network (PIN). He is quick to point out, however, that it was a group effort: “There’s a whole application where we talked about what we did, the commitment to the community, how it benefited Lawrence Academy and not just the places we’re sending the meals to,” he explains. Though they can’t add the grant to the

As interest and enthusiasm continue to grow, the community service program is already looking ahead to the future, hoping to make even more service opportunities available to LA students, especially in the local area. “I’m trying to keep our radius between 20 and 30 minutes,” says Poulin, who hopes to focus more on programs that are “local and serve the population that’s closest to us.” This expansion could open doors to partnerships with local schools. “I saw in the winter this year that St. Mark’s did the exact same program,” Sam comments. “They had a meal packaging event at their school. I said to Ms. Poulin that maybe next year we should partner with some other independent high schools in the area…Hosting a meal packaging event like that would bring the ISL community together even more.”

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Leadership, both by faculty and by students like Sam, has played a huge role in nurturing that enthusiasm.

$3,000 they raise each year, the money has been helpful for buying supplies; when they were starting out, Sam used his own money to buy food for one of the snack tables at an athletic event.

“Ms. Poulin has done an incredible job providing service options for students,” Margraf adds. “Her energy is infectious, and we are lucky to have her great ideas and commitment.”

Kyla Floresca ’16 and Emily Pratt ’16 at the food sealing station

Regardless of how many events have been hosted or how many meals have been packed, it’s clear that the community service program counts more in impact than in hours — which has been the program’s goal from the start.

“For more and more kids now, community service is becoming less about the six hours that we have to do,” says Sam seriously. “It’s more about actually wanting to help people, as opposed to just asking, ‘Have I got the six hours in?’” It’s hard to imagine a better community builder.

“The community service program was implemented to expose our students to different types of service both on and off campus,” says Assistant Head of School Libby Margraf, who was involved with the effort for years as dean of students. “We hope that students will feel excitement for giving back and engage in service beyond the required hours.”

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Coach Z’s Many Hats A conversation with Paul Zukauskas by John Bishop

There’s a telling moment in the video commemorating the Lawrence Academy varsity football team’s 2014 NEPSAC championship win in the Hugh Caldera Bowl: An emotional Coach Paul Zukauskas, a 6-foot-5 former Boston College and NFL lineman, stands within a circle of near-silent high school players — young men who, just seconds before, had been raucously celebrating their victory over Williston Northampton School — and, his voice cracking, says, “I love you guys.” The circle remains quiet as the players’ own care for their coach reflects back on the man who led the Spartans back to NEPSAC prominence, then explodes as the unassuming faculty member tells the

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student-athletes it’s their time to celebrate. Thankfully for LA, that celebratory mood lasted through this past season, when Spartans football captured a second-straight ISL championship and NEPSAC bowl win, this time at home versus a powerful Suffield Academy squad. And it’s clear that Zukauskas’ love for Lawrence Academy goes beyond his senior players, his team, and even the football field; indeed, those emotions and the connection he professed after that big win are obvious to the entire LA community. It’s also obvious that Zukauskas’ own celebration actually began when he first stepped on campus. “There was a position open to work in admissions and coach football at

Lawrence Academy and, thankfully, I applied and got the job,” recalls Zukauskas, now an associate director of admissions, whose football playing career ended with an injury he sustained while with the San Francisco 49ers. “My mother was a teacher and principal, so I knew that working in education could have an amazing impact on young lives. “Coaching is the same as teaching and educating, where you can impact young people in a very positive way,” Zukauskas adds. “There was also the opportunity to live and work in an amazing community where there was a very nice balance of work and being around my family that you sometimes miss coaching collegiately or professionally.”

“When I arrived at LA, I found an eager group of young men looking to play and learn football, so I think the biggest challenges were my own,” Zukauskas reflects. “I had never been a head coach before, and I hadn’t been around high school football since I graduated high school. There were some steep learning curves for me, but I was inspired by the eagerness of the players that were at LA.”

In particular, Zukauskas — who has seen his fair share of excellent players move on to the NCAA, including Boston College’s Chris Garrison ’15 and Illinois’ Eddy Fish ’16 — remembers Darrien Myers ’13, “who was a player that really played with passion and loved the game of football.” “He was a real strong leader for me for my first two years,” Zukauskas explains, “as well as an outstanding player. He is having an amazing career at Trinity.”

Zukauskas, set to enter BC’s Varsity Club Hall of Fame this fall, also credits his staff and his fellow varsity coaches for their assistance. “It’s nice to come to a campus where you have amazing coaches already here … Donna Mastrangelo, Kim Bohlin, Sean Sheehan, Geoff Harlan, Andrew Healy, Kevin Potter, Kevin Wiercinski, and Chris Margraf were all established

coaches who had a great sense of young adults,” says Zukauskas. “There is no shortage of insightful commentary about coaching high school athletes.”

have absolutely loved the experience,” he continues. “How could you not?” (Since this interview, Coach Z and his wife Claire welcomed their third child, Michael, to the family.)

These colleagues have no doubt also helped Zukauskas with his admissions duties, searching for potential Lawrence Academy students.

Those who have encountered “Z” off the field have relayed those same sentiments about him: A welcoming, big smile and a hearty handshake await prospective families or advisees as they walk into his office in the Schoolhouse; the same grin may be seen in his family’s apartment in the dorm or in the Stone Athletic Center.

“I look for students who are willing to work hard and have balance in their high school experience so that they don’t get caught up in one subject or area of the school,” says Zukauskas. “I want students who are able to take some risk and ultimately add to our academic community in many ways.”

Those traits are most important, and usually deliver the intangibles that put LA students over the top in their work in and outside of the classroom.

“Working with students at LA, I have learned that you should never be surprised at what they can accomplish or become,” says Zukauskas, who also works with the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University. “Our students are capable of inspiring themselves, each other, and faculty here on a daily basis. Providing students with options in different subject areas — projects, sports, arts, and leadership roles — creates a lot of space for growth and inspiration.” And that inspiration also drives Zukauskas each and every day.

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Z “” Since his arrival in 2011, LA football has achieved a level of success that Coach Z credits to his players and fellow faculty.

Despite the ever-changing task list, Zukauskas says it’s easy to maintain a positive attitude at a place like LA.

“Working at a boarding school requires a lot of balance, and you have to wear many hats: talking with a prospective family one minute and working through a struggle with a student the next, coaching in the afternoon and being a parent of your own family and then a parent in the dorm,” says Zukauskas. “These different roles and responsibilities carry their own tough situations, but they also bring amazing moments that you could never experience in other professions. Seeing young people develop in a positive way can bring a sense of joy that is tough to come by.” And with another big smile spreading across his face, Coach Z concludes, “We are grateful to be a part of this wonderful community!”

“LA has been my home for the past five years, and my wife and two daughters

“I look for students who are willing to work hard and have balance in their high school experience so that they don’t get caught up in one subject or area of the school.”

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Coming Home Michelle Ruby ’98

by Susan Hughes

There is “the Swamp,” as the environmental science office is affectionately known. There is the data, a new-growth forest sampling. And there is Michelle Ruby ’98, poring over the specimens. While this could be a scene from Lawrence Academy during the 1990s, when Ruby excelled at her science studies as a student, things have changed: Today, it is her Swamp, it is her class that collected the data, and she is the one judging the work. “I was quite surprised to find myself back at LA,” admits Ruby, a Groton native. “I loved my time here and found my passion for environmental science, but I thought I would end up working outdoors as a park ranger, or in my dream job as a scientist for the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.” However, now 10 years into her role as LA’s environmental science teacher, Ruby readily admits that teaching gives her the best of all worlds: “I am involved with science and new science theories, I get to be outdoors, and I get to share it with others,” she explains. “Teaching gives me the chance to make a difference in someone’s life." Teachers who made a difference figure prominently into Ruby’s reconnection to LA: She credits the “style of teaching,

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enthusiasm, and dedication” of former Lawrence environmental science teacher (and Swamp “founder”) Jim Serach and retired LA science teacher Jerry Wooding as major influences in both her studies post-Lawrence Academy and her job choice. And Serach, currently head of Greens Farms Academy’s Science Department, is still very much in Ruby’s life, and remembers her days as one of his students fondly. “Michelle was one of the brightest and most interesting students I have ever taught. She was one of a number of very special and uniquely talented kids in the late 1990s … It was an extraordinary privilege to teach them,” says Serach. “Michelle was a Swampie from her freshman year, and she wore her love of science and learning on her sleeve all the time. I came to love and appreciate her curiosity and her genuine interest in understanding the world.” She was also, he adds, “a key member of our 1998 Envirothon team that went on to the nationals in Michigan.” After graduation from LA, Ruby kept her interest in environmental science alive at Williams College, where she interned at the Hopkins Memorial Forest near Williamstown. “My dislike for the invasive plant multiflora rose began there. It is so pervasive and so painful to get tangled up in,” she recalls. “I knew then that I would work to eradicate invasive species.”

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Other grads working at LA David Smith ’65, English LA was still an all-male school when I attended, and I thrived in the special camaraderie of my classmates and the encouragement of my teacher-coaches. My English teacher, Peter Horton, and my biology/chemistry teacher, Don Morse, were the men with whom I felt the strongest attachment. I returned because I wanted to be a creative part of the tight community that had stimulated my own intellectual and athletic growth. Michelle and Jim Serach at Reunion 2016

Val Templeton ’89, Admissions But forestry and environmental science positions were not open to Ruby upon graduation from Williams. When she was turned down for a highly sought-after internship in Alaska (ironically “for lack of teaching credentials,” she remembers), Ruby decided that she might have to teach somewhere to get where she wanted to go. But then, after a stint in Peterborough, N.H., teaching an outdoor classroom program, she got a fateful call from her former teacher: Serach, who had kept in touch with Ruby following her graduation, agreed with then-head of school Steve Hahn and assistant head Denny Blodget that it was “a no-brainer” to offer Ruby a position in the science department. ”To be able to move back to my hometown and teach with the people I admired was really a gift,” says Ruby, whose parents still lived in Groton at the time. She also recalls a particularly funny exchange with then-athletic director Ed Greene: “Ed was saying he knew I could coach Outdoors, and he asked if I could coach anything else,” Ruby remembers — and she just smiled and pointed to the 1995 NEPSAC women’s hockey team championship picture behind him. “I said, ‘Well, that’s me, last seat on the second row,’” she continues. “I only played four seconds in that game, but he got his answer about sports!” Ruby spent three years working at LA with Serach, and when it was time for him to move on, he knew that she was right for his replacement. They placed an ad for the position, and Ruby interviewed again. It seems that she was destined for the Swamp.

It was former trustee Ruth White ’76 who saw me at a reunion weekend and encouraged me to join the Alumni Council. I loved being back and involved in the community so much that my goal was to start a career at LA. In 2008, I was hired part-time to run the school store, and I was thrilled to be back on campus and around the kids! Working in admissions was my ultimate career goal, and I am happy to say that this is where I am now.

Sean Sheehan ’87, Director of College Counseling Steve Hahn approached me to come back to LA in 1996. The school needed a football coach, and I was fortunate enough to be asked by Steve to fill the position. I didn’t think at the time that I would spend the next 20-plus years at LA. Working at LA has been great because of the wonderful students and impressive faculty. I have had the opportunity to fulfill many roles at the school, and I have enjoyed all of them.

Michelle, pictured, third from top left, as part of LA’s 1995 hockey team.

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Other grads working at LA, cont.

Sara Davey ’10, Admissions While there are many parts of LA that made me want to come back as a faculty member, I’d say that the driving factor for returning was the emphasis on relationships, community, and character at Lawrence. When I was a student, the school taught me the importance of relationships within a community and allowed me to realize that the relationships you make in school, in work, and throughout various parts of your life are what make life so valuable. I am thrilled to be working in a place that means so much to me and helping other prospective students realize the value of the LA experience.

Robbie Barker ’00, English The three people who had the most influence in my return to LA would without question be Chris Margraf, Sean Sheehan, and Charlie Corey. These gentlemen helped me a great deal in becoming the person I am today. They taught me so much about leadership, ethics, and the creation of a team environment. It was obvious to me that their impact was more than wins and losses and more directed at making each of their players a better person.

Elena Beleno Carney ’97, English My advisor, teachers, coaches, and peers at LA shaped my values and foundation; I am still close to many of them today. I enjoy being here to give my energy and care to the students and the community. When the opportunity arose specifically to work with Laura Moore and the English department, I was thrilled and made the decision to return.

Jarred Gagnon ’03, Math I loved being a member of the LA community as a student. The relationships I had with other students and faculty members were invaluable to my growth as a student and as a person. I couldn’t wait to return as a member of the faculty and help provide similar experiences to current students. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this community is an excellent place to raise a family, and I am grateful that my daughters have a chance to be part of it.

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Ruby with her environmental science class in the woods of Groton

“I could not have found a more fitting replacement to teach APES [AP Environmental Science] when I left LA,” says Serach. “She had grown into an incredibly talented and committed science teacher.” In her years at the helm of LA’s environmental science program, Ruby has designed a curriculum worthy of accolades; in fact, she won the Departmental Chair for Teaching Excellence in 2015 and was recently appointed grade leader for the 12th grade. “Michelle’s breadth of experience from the NGP to AP science, her leadership with new students at our Windsor Mountain program, and her years here as a student all position her to lead our 12th grade,” Head of School Dan Scheibe notes. “She not only has a well-developed internal view, she also has a critical connection to environmental issues outside of our school.” This “outside connection” is Ruby’s key role in the Groton Conservation Trust (GCT), a non-profit land management organization. In her short tenure as a trustee, she has been instrumental in positioning the Trust as an educational group, as well as an environmental one. She leads monthly walks on GCT properties, maintaining a connection with the land; during the summer, she monitors interns, who work to catalog each property. And, in May, she presented a program to the Town of Groton on how the Trust is managing invasive species — including the multiflora rose — on conservation land (“I still hate it,” Ruby says with a frown). Ruby is still connected to hockey as well, although now she plays only with a recreational team of her peers. This time with a smile, she says, “Hockey is my happy place.” But of all her reconnections, Ruby is happiest when she talks about Serach and what he has meant to her. She affectionately calls him “like my second dad” — and Serach, who still works with her closely in the Summer Portals program at the Hotchkiss School, is equally connected. “She was an interesting and bright kid — but Michelle has become an even more interesting and fun-to-be-with adult,” he says. “And she has kept her humility, her kindness, and a child-like sense of wonder about the natural world.” Another thing Ruby has proved: Sometimes you can come home after all!

by Lisa Li ’16

I’m aware that I have the reputation of being a nerd … Well, ironically, I was never a very diligent student in middle school; I would maybe read the textbook once and then just hope for the best. I never hated school — I actually really liked school — but I just thought I had better things to do with my life during my free time. I liked biking around the city with my friends, going to karaoke, walking five kilometers in the park with my mom, chilling with my cat … Sometimes it got frustrating when I wanted to hang out but everyone else wanted to study for exams. I would cry to

my mom, saying, “I don’t get it. What is there to study for?” After all, I was just a happy girl, outgoing, carefree, not worried about the past or the future.

would surely have one day. Well, as you may know, China did lift the one-child policy, but only this year, so while I am an only child, I was raised to be a big sister.

That all changed when I realized my purpose, and ambition took me over. You see, I am an “accidental” only child. I say this because my parents always hoped for more children. I was born under Chairman Mao’s policy of one child per family, and while my parents obeyed, they held out hope that the law would change and I would have siblings. So they raised me with a loving heart, a compassionate spirit, and the capacity to embrace the siblings I

What does “big sister training” do for you when younger siblings do not appear? It urged me to put down everything, come here for school, and start a new life. I don’t think I thought it through too well, but the moment I stepped on an unfamiliar campus in an unfamiliar town around a quad full of strangers, I realized I was alone. It never hit me until then that I had left behind the most important parts of my life: my friends, my family, my home. I was

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In Her Own Words

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all on my own; no one was responsible for solving my problems, for providing me a home, or for making sure I was okay. No offense to anyone, but for some reason, you all looked really scary to me back then. I wanted to reach out, to tell someone how I felt, or at least ask for help. But, under severe shock and fear, I forgot how to talk to people or communicate how I truly felt. Not knowing where to release my stress and sadness, I turned to my books. I began to do my least favorite thing — reading something or doing the math problems over and over again — because only that way could I distract myself from my emotions; only that way I could exhaust myself before going to bed so that I wouldn’t cry myself to sleep. For a long time, I sought comfort in doing work obsessively. Instead of overcoming my fear and making real friends, I made

The group that participated in LA’s IIP program at Stanford, Summer 2015

mechanism. However, what I didn’t realize was that, slowly, I was losing who I was and trapping myself into darkness. At the end of sophomore year, I decided not to live like that anymore. I re-evaluated my life and tried to figure out what made me the happiest. What makes me truly happy is not working non-stop mechanically, nor getting perfect grades. What makes me truly happy is making people smile: making my friends smile, my family, my community, making the ones who are struggling smile. Building a home for the little wanderers, giving girls in the Middle East access to education, bringing water to those who suffer from droughts, letting men and women get paid equally, protecting everyone’s right to get married — being a big sister to them all. My dream is to make the world a more comfortable place for everyone. Only by speaking against injustice and helping those in need can I fill myself with positive energy.

Lisa in Little Shop of Horrors

friends with my schoolwork and textbooks. It felt like, in a world where everything is getting out of control, my work was the only thing that I could keep under control. It seemed to me like an efficient coping

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In my junior year, I began seeing connections in all my subjects about how to make the world a better place. Exploring social issues and movements in my history class, I began to notice the inequalities and injustices portrayed in literature for the past 200 — or even, in my Latin class, 2,000 — years. I developed a genuine interest in all the subjects I took and wanted to take them a few steps further, exploring how to use those subjects to better the world. That is why I

took the opportunity to go to Stanford in 2015 for the IIP [Independent Immersion Program]; there I researched how to help the children who are left alone in the rural areas of China develop healthily and intellectually. Today, I’m a happy person and a happy learner because I’ve found a reason to learn that grants me infinite, positive energy. I no longer study mechanically as my source of comfort; instead, I learn because I can use my knowledge to make others happier. Looking back at my academic journey at LA, I just want to say, “Thank you!” Thank you, Mr. Culley, for reminding me

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Lisa Li

International Festival

to never be satisfied with the status quo and to always strive for the better. Thank you, Mr. Karp, for making me laugh so hard every day in class and for assuring me of the quality of my work with a smile on your face or a firm pat on my shoulder. Thank you, LA IIP, for giving me a chance to go to Stanford, where I made life-long friends who would change the world with me. Thank you to my advisor, Ms. Ruby, for always being there for me for the past four years, not just as my advisor. Thank

you to all my friends, for keeping me company through the hardest times, for making my life and my existence worthwhile. Thank you, my darkest times, for making me a diligent student. Thank you, LA, where I found myself after losing myself, where I found my passion for life, where I grew happily with amazing people. I encourage all of you to find a reason that you learn, your own source of positive energy!

Now, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost time for me to say goodbye. But it is also a chance for me to say hello to a whole new world, as I extend my studies at Bryn Mawr. And to remind you all, your big sister has got your back! From an assembly speech given by Lisa in May 2016, and from a conversation Lisa had with Susan Hughes.

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Andrew Fyﬀe ’16

Mission Exemplified by Susan Hughes

Lawrence’s mission is more than just a mission statement. When fully realized, it can define the experience of a student. So it is with the high school career of Andrew Fyffe ’16. Andrew could have come to LA in 2012 merely as the younger brother of Joshua ’13, however; “I really didn’t want to just follow Josh,” says Andrew. “I applied to other schools but kept coming back to what LA had to offer me.” He could have come to LA as a scholar; his grades were top-notch. But he chose Lawrence because he is a learner, and he felt that LA saw that potential. “Truthfully, the Ninth Grade Program brought me here,” Andrew says. “I always felt I was a good writer creatively, just not analytically. The ninth grade helped me with my organization of thought and purpose. And I must have done well, 12 I FALL 2016

because I received the freshman award that year!” (The award is the Freshman Book Prize in English for Writing, given at the annual Cum Laude Day ceremony.) “Freshman year also let me explore learning outside of the standard classroom model,” he says. “This is appealing to me because I like learning much more than I like being in school.” While grades have never been a problem for Andrew — he was inducted into the Cum Laude Society this past spring as a senior — he does not let them define his experience. “Grades are just letters,” he explains. “I don’t feel an A, B, or D defines what I learned in any subject. If I want to know more or if a subject sends me to another place, that is success.” “Spanish is a good example: I had Spanish classes in younger grades, but when I started Spanish here, I really wanted to

explore the language,” Andrew continues. (He completed Spanish 5 Honors as a senior.) “Math is the same way: I never thought of myself as someone who loves math, but the more I knew, the more I wanted to learn.” Trying to pinpoint why he feels he has done well at LA leads Andrew to personal responsibility; “I take that seriously,” he says. He valued the structure and regular schedules of his class day, which provided a welcome break from the “fake it until you make it” attitude he had before attending Lawrence. “I feel I learned how to handle my studies here and that I can do everything on my own,” Andrew reflects. “For instance, I considered doing an independent study on dance and psychology, two things I love. But when I figured out I would be missing some key elements in my overall learning, I decided against it.”

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“His talents, caring relationships, and spirited contributions to the full range of experience at LA have filled our campus with vitality and character.”

One of the “key elements” Andrew did not want to miss was Brian Feigenbaum’s dance class. Since his freshman year, Andrew has been a steady force in the dance program. Says Feigenbaum, “It was clear from the beginning that dance spoke to Andrew. He had an athlete’s body from his parkour training (a training discipline using movement developed from obstacle courses). He was lean and fierce. At first, his key quality was his fierce openmindedness with respect to trying something physically new, exploring any terrain intellectually, academically, and psychologically. This is all a dancer needs!”

As Andrew continued with dance, Feigenbaum saw him improve on three levels: “I could tell he was taking it on as his responsibility to grow not only as a dancer, but as a communicator of dance,” he explains. “Physically, he began to soften the muscularity in some areas of his body, which allowed for more freedom in his movement. But intellectually, he was improving on the breadth of the creative material. He began to merge ideas with moves to develop a creative vocabulary. Finally, he improved as a performer — became a powerful performer. He is calm and assured on stage. This is where dance becomes more of an art and it becomes home for yourself.” And because Feigenbaum knew that Andrew isn’t one to shrink from emotions or intellectual curiosity, he allowed

Andrew to push that exploration. The result was one of Andrew’s favorite moments at LA: “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace,” a holiday performance his junior year. “I felt like I was Brian’s assistant for the show; it was the best time,” Andrew recalls and Feigenbaum agrees. “Because he was so advanced in the knowledge of the work, he was invaluable. We had a relatively short amount of time to work on it, and a lot of material, and a blank canvas for material. Andrew was able to command the respect of a variety of personalities, which is important and difficult in a high school environment. He became a leader of deep diversity. Having Andrew out front with 30 dancers was a tremendous help.” Feigenbaum awarded the Class of 1965 Prize for Dance to Andrew at the Cum Laude ceremony in April to underscore this achievement.

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FEATURE Feigenbaum hopes Andrew continues to dance in college, “but my main wish for him is that he stays healthy, physically and mentally. We will miss him and miss his leadership, and hopefully we can bring him back as a guest teacher.”

“When I joined my freshman year, Erin [Gifford ’15] and I took on a pretty dead program. We didn’t see many people like us around campus and wanted to make the club more visible and more inviting to people.”

Staying healthy is a personal responsibility Andrew takes seriously. Early in his junior year, he became stressed and anxious. His feeling about this time is mixed.

Dina Mordeno, faculty advisor to the GSA, agrees that Andrew has been vital to the club; “Over the past four years, Andrew has been instrumental in the growing of our GSA. He became a co-president early in his career at LA, generating new ideas and pushing the conversation of LGBTQ+ rights at LA forward,” she says. “He was also essential in creating a safe space to have conversations concerning students at LA. Having regular meetings and posing questions to discuss, or presenting articles and videos to the group, are a way to ignite conversation.”

“You need the time to take care of what is stressing you out,” he says. “Anxiety and depression clearly affect many high school-aged students.” “We need to talk openly about this as we would any physical illness, not shroud it in mystery. The more we can talk comfortably about it, the easier it will be for kids to seek the help they need.” Another area Andrew feels strongly about is the work of the GSA. Renamed as the Gender and Sexuality Alliance during his tenure, the organization has broadened its approach. “I hope we have moved the GSA to be an educational group that helps to gain respect for all identities,” he explains.

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Andrew’s goal is that the club will continue and become a starting point for dialogues about what gender identity means: “I hope the new leaders encourage a space where, if you want to know something about gender or sexuality, you feel safe to ask about it. I want this part of our community to be open to everyone’s

curiosity in a helpful way, so people are not embarrassed by what they don’t know and not embarrassed to find out what they don’t know.” Now a freshman at Skidmore, Andrew is excited about self-directed studies. As a senior at LA, he had already begun reading psychology texts (just ask him about mental health stats and teenagers!). As if to put a final exclamation point on his four years of self-reliance at LA, Andrew was awarded the Head of School Award at graduation. The award, given at the discretion of the head of school, recognized Andrew as someone “who has helped to bring a sense of inclusion, beauty, commitment, and deep community to the Lawrence Academy campus. His talents, caring relationships, and spirited contributions to the full range of experience at LA have filled our campus with vitality and character”— a fitting definition for a young man with a mission accomplished.

FEATURE

Three Farewells by Joseph Sheppard

“I’ve essentially had three careers,” explained physics teacher Barbara Greene shortly before her retirement in June of 2016. “I wanted to be a physicist, so I was a scientist until I was about 35. I quit and raised my kids until the younger one was in the fifth grade, and then I started teaching.

“It was my husband, Roland, who kept saying, ‘Why don’t you go teach?’” Greene continued. “And I thought, ‘And deal with all those kids?’” Laughing heartily, Greene recalled a 2004 conversation with Lawrence Academy chemistry teacher Cindy Moseley: “Ryan Moseley ’08 and my son Tom were on the same soccer team. Cindy asked me if I would be interested in covering a sabbatical at Lawrence.” The sabbatical was Bob Campolieto’s; Greene came to LA as his part-time replacement in the fall of 2005, teaching two sections of chemistry for the full year, as well as physics in the spring term. After becoming a full-time faculty member in 2007, Greene initially taught chemistry

and biology; she “wanted to do physics but had to wait for Campy to retire.” Accordingly, when the Campolietos left Groton in 2010, Greene took over the physics labs and began to put her own stamp on the curriculum. With a bachelor’s degree in biophysics and a doctorate in anatomy, Greene was certainly qualified to teach the subject; nonetheless, to keep up to her own high standards, she enrolled in a two-week physics “boot camp” lab course, sponsored in part by the Massachusetts Department of Education. “For two weeks, eight hours a day, all we did was labs. It was all physics teachers in the lab, and we had a blast,” Greene remembered with a smile. “Those materials are the backbone of my class, and it’s a very enjoyable way to teach physics.” More than anything, Greene wanted her students to enjoy physics — “or if you don’t enjoy it,” she’d tell them, “at least

appreciate it.” Continuing the legacy of Jerry Wooding and Jim Serach, she wanted her students to be “in the lab as much as possible, to be hands-on. I love the classroom, I love the kids, I love physics and trying to get them interested in science.” Not surprisingly, Greene has not given up teaching physics since retiring: She and her husband, a chiropractor, live in Ashby, “right down the line” from Fitchburg High School, where she volunteers as a physics tutor. “I know there are kids there who can’t afford tutors,” she explained. “And I’m sure their physics teachers don’t have time to tutor.” As the physics program at Lawrence moves into a new era — it is now a required ninth-grade subject — Greene continues to happily “deal with all those kids” in a new place.

BARBARA GREENE

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FEATURE

Three Farewells, cont.

Holly Steward was a fixture in Lawrence Academy’s counseling office for 27 years, starting out in what was, in 1989, a distinctly part-time position — all of 12 hours per week. Her first office was a small room with a leaky roof in the Gray Building, but she eventually moved to the Health Center and became part of what former Headmaster Steve Hahn called “a formidable team with our school nurses.” Generations of students, faculty, and staff came to respect Steward for her warmth and friendliness and her masterful ability to put others at ease. She was always there to provide counsel and comfort to young people experiencing homesickness, family crises, depression, or any of the myriad other anxieties of adolescence — but Steward also spent a good deal of time with the adults in the LA community who needed support. “There are a lot of sacrifices to working in a boarding school,” she said, “and the healthiest people are the ones who take time to take care of themselves.” Very much in favor of the mindfulness program that is now part of school life, Steward commented, “We’re either dwelling in the past or worrying about the future, but we forget to enjoy the moment. This mindfulness track may help.” For much of her career, Steward’s life at Lawrence was as multifaceted as that of any other faculty member: She had advisees, did dorm duty, led Winterim courses to five countries, and taught physical education (her undergraduate college major) and health classes; the latter, she stated, “really gave me an appreciation for classroom teachers and all that they have to do.” Changing times eventually required Steward to focus entirely on counseling, but she loved the variety and “balance” of the earlier days, when she was able to interact with people outside of a purely clinical setting. One of Steward’s proudest achievements — “a highlight of my career,” she recalled — was developing the Peer Counseling program, long a key feature of life at Lawrence Academy. Over the years, she was responsible for selecting and training “probably 450 or 500” peer counselors, who play key roles at orientation and offer ongoing support for new students, and who are trained to help all their schoolmates with a variety of issues. Steward and her husband Ernie’s four children — Ann Steward McGuire ’03, Matt ’05 and twins Greg and Jon ’07 — all attended LA. Looking back on those years, she noted, “The faculty really appreciated them. They were all very different learners. Never are kids going to be this close to teachers, in any other educational setting.” Summing up her years at Lawrence, Steward added, “I couldn’t think of a more rewarding career than being part of the LA community for so many years and being brought on the ‘teenage journey’ with so many wonderful young people.”

Now a certified nurse’s assistant (CNA), Steward continues to help others, though her focus is no longer on adolescents. “I work with adults in a more acute care setting,” she explained, “and I can work with new babies.” One new baby in particular has Steward’s attention right now — her granddaughter, born in July to Ann and her husband, Brendan McGuire ’01. Smiling, the new grandmother recalled that, as an adviser to the Class of 2001, she crowned Brendan as prom king that spring, never suspecting that she was honoring her future son-in-law.

H OLLY S TEWARD

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FEATURE

J AMIE S HEFF

Jamie Sheff, who retired in June after a career of 40-plus years — 17 of those at Lawrence Academy as a language teacher and college counselor — was born with the boarding school life in her blood. Her brother, Associate Head of School Rob Moore, is a fixture on the LA campus; their dad, Bud Moore, was headmaster of New Hampton School in New Hampshire, where both Sheff and Moore grew up. Their grandmother, too, taught Latin and German at New Hampton, and their mom taught Spanish there as well. And son Dan teaches Spanish at Middlesex, making him the fourth generation of language teachers in the Moore family!

The middle of five children, Sheff was the only one of her siblings to not attend New Hampton, as it was still a boys-only school when she was of high school age. Instead, she went off to Northfield School for Girls (now Northfield Mount Hermon) in Massachusetts, and then to college, graduating from Boston University in 1972.

In the fall of 1973, Sheff and her husband Paul arrived at Kimball Union Academy, where she would spend 25 years. She taught French and Spanish and soon added college counseling to her responsibilities, heading the college counseling office at Kimball Union Academy for five years. Paul taught English and filmmaking for 13 years before moving on to a position at Dartmouth College.

For 16 years, too, Sheff led the popular “Arc of Opportunity” Winterim course, which she originated. Each March, a dozen or so students volunteer at ARC Community Services, a center in Fitchburg, Mass., that provides employment and daily activities for adults with cognitive and physical disabilities. In fact, Jamie earned the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2003.

Sheff brought her deep well of experience to Lawrence in 1999, serving as head of the language department for six years and joining the college counseling staff, where her warmth and wisdom earned her the respect and affection of generations of nervous upperclassmen. She continued to teach Spanish, and occasionally French, until retirement. Walking by her office at almost any time of day, you were as likely to catch a snippet of Spanish as you were a gentle explanation of how to approach a college essay question.

While college counseling is not in Sheff ’s future plans, her foreign language expertise certainly is. Besides traveling with her husband, who has also just retired, she has spoken of volunteering as a translator in local hospitals or at other places where interpreting services might be needed. And she is relishing the extra time she now has to spend with her children (including her daughter Nina Sheff ’02) and grandchildren, and to bring music back into her life through singing and playing the piano. As Sheff noted simply, “I have a lot of things planned.” 17 I FALL 2016

FEATURE

Randy Chamberlain ’79 Randy Chamberlain ’79 is a graduate of Bates College, an avid outdoorsman, and a photographer – “especially astrophotography.” Recently retired from a long career with Apple, he now consults with businesses in the developing world. Randy and Jeannie, his wife of 27 years, divide their time between Morgan Hill, Calif. and Prescott, Ariz. They have three grown children. Here is Randy’s story, in his own words: Thirty-two years after graduating from college, I wrapped up a thirty-one year career in high-technology manufacturing. The missing year was 1987; I rode a bicycle 5,000 miles from Alaska to the Grand Canyon, but that’s another story. The last half of my career — over 15 years — I worked at Apple, with some of the brightest, hardest-working people on the planet. One of the things I loved about Apple was that we didn’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out what others were doing. We generally started with a blank piece of paper and figured out what we thought was the best way of doing things. Of course, this is now all part of the Apple lore. But, at the time, Apple wasn’t on top of the world and what the company was doing was not generally accepted as “best practices” by anyone. Nevertheless, we had the courage of our convictions, and we were always driving for continuous improvement, with a goal of perfection. I credit the success I had in that environment to a ridiculous amount of hard work and an alignment with the Apple culture. I can trace both of these attributes back to Lawrence Academy. I recall the effort required — and given — during my time at LA. In particular, I appreciate the teaching of independent, critical thinking that is so important to analyzing and resolving problems. I look at Lawrence as one of the significant factors in my development, subsequent success, and happiness in life. What a great institution!

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Randy and his wife, Jeannie

FEATURE

Dick Pleasants ’65

Dick at work in the WUMB studios (photo courtesy of WUMB)

by Bev Rodrigues

The Boston area is well known for its thriving folk music community. During the 1960s, it played a huge role in supporting musicians who frequented such iconic clubs as Cambridge’s Club 47 and Boston’s Unicorn Coffeehouse, where youngsters such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez tried out their talents. A native of Groton, Dick Pleasants was inspired by the music going on around him at that time; he was especially intrigued by the wide variety of songwriters and performers who influenced the music. Driven by a lifelong desire to work in the field of radio, he began a career in that field right out of school. After attending Emerson College, Dick worked at several commercial stations on Cape Cod, as well as WBOS in Boston, before creating and, for 25 years, hosting the popular Folk Heritage show on Boston public radio station WGBH.

As he became acquainted with performers from near and far, Dick also began to promote concerts and folk music festivals. He went to work for WUMB at UMass Boston in 1995 and inspired the creation of the week-long Summer Acoustic Music Workshops, which bring together established and striving artists. Health issues have required Dick to step back from his long hours at the radio station, but he continues to serve as a deep resource and inspiration for the thousands who have benefitted from his passion. A sold-out event at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre in 2011 celebrated his 40 years of contributions to the music community with performances by numerous grateful artists, including folk legends Jonathan Edwards and Tom Rush. Dick now supports the folk music world with work that he can do from his home, and he shares his passion by bringing concerts and festivals into his own residential community. 19 I FALL 2016

FEATURE

Robyn Walsh ’98

For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic… Obi-Wan Kenobi

by John Bishop

In generations to come, anthropologists and archeologists might look back on the Star Wars phenomenon — today evidenced in a worldwide gross take of over $2 billion for its latest installment, The Force Awakens — as the genesis of a religion. “Many of today’s major religions began with central figures and stories that people 20 I FALL 2016

found inspiring or otherwise useful,” wrote Dr. Robyn Faith Walsh ’98 in a February 2016 article for the Huffington Post. “From origin stories that offered explanations for the human condition, to the teachings of moral exemplars to help adherents distinguish virtue from vice … Star Wars appears to tick many of the boxes we might identify as part and parcel of a religion. Fast-forward a few hundred

years from now, and who knows whether Luke Skywalker might replace Adam in the pantheon and iconography of popular practice?” As a member of the LA II program (now the Independent Immersion Program), Robyn studied philosophy for two years at Lawrence Academy before matriculating at Wheaton College and Harvard University,

FEATURE

museum’),” says Robyn, who has taught at Wheaton and the College of the Holy Cross. “Because of my involvement in LA II, I was assigned to a classics professor advisor when I got to college. I took some of the classes she offered and found the field so interesting that it pretty much sealed my academic future. With my additional research interests in archaeology, it’s rare that I don’t find myself traveling abroad each year.” As for the question of whether “Jediism” constitutes an actual religion, Robyn says her students’ findings were fascinating. “Most of my posts are related to something that I’m doing in the classroom,” she says. “In one class, I asked the students to define religion. To test their definitions, I passed around random names of organizations, activities, interests, or groups and asked them if their definitions might be too broad or too narrow when applied to something we all agree is not necessarily ‘religious.’” Star Wars ended up being the most contentious example for the class. “Some students were adamant that ‘Jediism’ is a religion,” Robyn continues. “We did some digging and found out that there are people who view ‘Jedi’ as a form of religious practice.”

and earning a Ph.D. at Brown — studies that she now says were integral to her career path. Although she recently gained renown for her popular article, “Is Star Wars a Religion?,” as an assistant professor of the New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Miami, Robyn teaches courses on the study of religion, Greco-Roman literature, and material culture — which means she has a job more akin to the main character in another widely-known Lucasfilm property. “When people ask me what I do for a living, I often joke that I do ‘Indiana Jones stuff ’ (although my husband notes that I’m a lot more like Jones’ colleague Marcus Brody who ‘once got lost in his own

In her Huffington Post piece, Robyn asked, “Not yet convinced? Let’s go back in time to 2001. Several countries discovered during routine census-taking that a portion of their citizenry identified religiously as Jedis or Jedi Knights. In Australia, there have been at least 50,000 members of the Jedi order the last several censuses. New Zealand discovered there were more Jedis than Hindus or Buddhists in their midst.”

‘the Force’: a pervasive and ethereal ‘stuff ’ that binds the cosmos together. I even use a little picture of Yoda on my PowerPoint when I teach about it,” she explains. “The Stoics were a huge influence on Paul the Apostle, and when he talks about what is translated as ‘spirit’ in the New Testament, the word he uses in the original Greek is actually ‘pneuma.’ “So while others who are more versed in these things tell me that traditions like Buddhism may have been more of a reference point for the creators of Star Wars,” Robyn adds, “I think the correlations with ancient Greek texts and early Christianity are pretty interesting.” And while Robyn — who holds a tonguein-cheek ordination certificate from the Church of the Latter-Day Dude (surely a story for another time) — is not a Jedi, she does hold one certain tenet of the Star Wars universe dear. “Because I’m currently writing a book, I’d say Yoda’s tenet to ‘Do. Or do not. There is no try’ is the most applicable to my life!” she admits, adding, as sage advice to current LA students, “The best thing I think you can do is to be fearless and try everything. If something interests you, pursue it, even if you aren’t perfect at it. “You have a lot of freedom right now, especially at a place like LA,” Robyn concludes, “so take advantage of it as much as you can.”

Outside the classroom, the discussion of Star Wars as religion has also produced some surprising connections to Robyn’s own serious academic work. “As someone who studies ancient Greek philosophy, I see a great deal of resonance between Jedi philosophy and the Stoics: The Stoics had some fairly sophisticated ideas about what we would call physics and how the physical world impacts our moral psychology. Their concept of ‘pneuma,’ for example, is very much like

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FEATURE

Easing the Transition to College by Joseph Sheppard

A generation or two ago, if a high school senior mentioned the idea of taking a year off before starting college, parental responses were usually less than enthusiastic: “You want to do WHAT?” “If you drop out of school now, you’ll never go back!” “I haven’t spent all this tuition money just to have you waste a year of your life!” Fortunately for today’s college-bound young people, attitudes have changed, and taking a “gap year” — sometimes called a “bridge year” — is now common; in fact, many colleges encourage it. According to The National Survey of Gap Year Alumni1, published in 2015 by the American Gap Association, high school graduates take a gap year for one of three main reasons: a desire to learn about other cultures, the need to take a break from the academic lockstep, or an eagerness for new experiences that would lead to personal growth. Career exploration, language learning, and volunteer work were also important factors for many “gappers” across the country. For the last 30 years or so, almost every graduating class at Lawrence has included one or more students who delayed college entrance. Once in a while, a senior will opt for a post-graduate year at another prep school, or a hockey player will skate for a junior club in hopes of making a Division I college team. More frequently — say, two years out of three — a student who has been accepted to college will take a gap year, with the college’s blessing, before matriculating. According to the AGA survey, typical “gappers” are bright — almost 80 percent

had grade averages between A and B+ and SAT scores in the high-600 range — and their parents are generally (80 percent) college-educated. Only 14 percent of those surveyed remained in the United States for the year; the rest traveled to 27 different countries, with Ecuador, Israel, and India listed as the most popular. Recent LA students who have taken gap years fit this profile, with one notable exception: While almost two-thirds (63 percent) of survey respondents participated in — and paid for — at least one commercial gap year program, the Lawrence graduates, with help from family members, all designed their own year-long experiences. Sam Feigenbaum ’09 not only designed his year of travel and volunteer work, but paid for some of it by publishing and selling a book of his own poetry. All of the young alumni we contacted for this article did some sort of volunteer or service work during their year off; other than that, their experiences varied widely. For example, Nate Sintros ’14 indulged a lifelong passion for racing open-wheel formula cars while taking college courses at Harvard Extension School “to keep my brain in an academic frame of mind;” in his spare time, he coached inner-city kids from Lawrence, Mass., in squash through SquashBusters, a sports-based after-school enrichment program. Oren Karp ’15, meanwhile, spent time in three different countries — India, Chile, and Israel — volunteering in schools in the first two and at a kibbutz in Israel, where he worked “mainly in the kitchen.” Lauren Chin ’14 volunteered in the Dominican Republic at the Mariposa DR Foundation, a non-profit organization

May be seen at http://www.americangap.org/assets/2015%20NAS%20Report.pdf.

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with a mission “to educate and empower girls to create sustainable solutions to end generational poverty,” before heading to Nepal, where she “hiked, learned Nepali, and lived independently with homestay families.” After completing an outdoor leadership course in the fall of 2012, Will Beck ’12, an avid outdoorsman and skier, taught skiing in Vermont for the winter, then headed to Boston in the spring for an experience he “had not planned in advance”: working on a 1925 Essex fishing schooner, teaching “underserved kids” how to sail. “I worked harder and longer than in any other situation, but I learned more about teamwork during that experience than on any other team,” Will says. Of his reasons for taking a gap year, the Bolton, Mass., native, who is now a senior at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., says, “I needed a transition period to stretch out the elastic that connected our family” before heading far from home for the first time. All these young alumni benefitted significantly from their gap year experiences. Just as the national AGA survey discovered, most of their rewards were personal rather than strictly academic. Lauren noted that, thanks to her experiences during the year, she started her college career on a strong note, “excited to learn and ready to take advantage of all available opportunities and take risks.” “It empowered me to develop the confidence to achieve whatever I wanted,” she explains. “My gap year helped me reflect on my own values, establish goals for how I wanted to conduct myself in

FEATURE

college, mature, and be comfortable following my own path.” Nate “had a new-found love of life” at the end of his gap year. “I felt as though I could go out into the world and conquer any obstacle that came to me,” he says. “My gap year gave me a tremendous amount of knowledge and confidence in life.” Oren, who “went into the year with very few specific expectations” states, “Both in sad and spectacular ways, I did not get what I expected. What I’ve learned, however, is that when the unexpected happens, you learn about yourself, and you get the experience of dealing with a real-life problem, which is something no school can teach you … Things happen. Dealing with them is commonly known as “life,” and that’s an important thing to be good at.” Like Oren, Will learned to be flexible: “The gap year helped me realize that patience and frustration can lead to a new set of goals,” he comments. “Before each experience, I had a set of expectations and goals, but I quickly threw those away once I found myself in the thick of things … I learned how to put aside my desires and specific expectations and adapt. “A gap year will not necessarily lead to happiness,” Will adds, “but the year off, with some organization, will give everyone more life experiences and will make the college transition less of an overwhelming leap.”

Top to Bottom: Lauren Chin ’14, Will Beck ’12, Nate Sintros ’14, and Oren Karp ’15

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AROUND LA

LA at a Glance Mountain Day Another school year begins, and another mighty mass of Lawrence Academy pupils moves (temporarily) to the top of Mount Monadnock. Mountain Day at the local New Hampshire peak is one of LA’s oldest and most beloved traditions — a day that is more than just a day “in nature.” Each year, the whole campus takes a break from the classroom and makes the 3,165-foot trek to the summit. For some, Mountain Day is experienced with friends; for others, it’s a day to meet new people. Some reconnect with an old teacher or get acquainted with a new coach. Beyond the vista at the top (or at various stops along the trail), the beauty of Mountain Day is that everyone climbs separately but ends up together on top.

International Festival Students come to campus from around the world to study, and, luckily, they enjoy sharing the stories and cultural traditions they bring with them from their own countries and heritages. Lawrence Academy’s annual International Festival highlights foods, costumes, and traditions from countries ranging from Canada to Timor-Leste. In the spirit of the evening, Wiriyanat Ployaram ’16 (left) and Nattanan Sajjaboontawee ’16 (right), who both hail from Thailand, dressed for the occasion and offered up some of their country’s delicious cuisine.

Conant Gallery The Conant Gallery again featured both visual and musical artists throughout the year. New Hampshire native Christopher Georgia’s photographic exhibit, entitled Capture the Stars: A Collection of New England’s Night Skies, showed his “great fascination with the night skies in the White Mountains.” Another native of the Granite State, Janet Hulings Bleickman, found connections between Native American stories and biblical and ancient myths in the exhibition Coyote, Turtle, the Ark and the Dove. With musical influences ranging from Afro-pop to Elliot Smith to the Beatles, the Sun Parade, hailing from Northampton, Mass., brought their eclectic rock stylings to a very popular gallery concert. The critically acclaimed Plymouth State University Chamber Singers also shared their repertoire of present-day African-American spirituals, folk songs, musical theatre, and contemporary secular and sacred works in the gallery. Finally, a faculty exhibition featuring the art of Zack Dawson, Laurie McGowan, Dina Mordeno, and Scott Smith rounded out the space’s yearly offerings. 24 I FALL 2016

This year, LA was pleased to host the New England Brass Band in the RMPAC. Drawing the finest players from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine, this exciting 30-piece brass and percussion ensemble brings concerts and educational clinics to communities throughout New England. The New England Brass Band follows the traditional British brass band instrumentation: cornets, flugelhorn, Eb tenor horns, baritones, euphoniums, trombones, tubas, and percussion. The warmth and richness of this group create a unique sound that is full and nimble, sonorous and transparent.

AROUND LA

Brass Band

Winterim Winterim is the annual centerpiece of Lawrence Academy’s commitment to immersive education — learning in the concrete and physical world of activity as a complement to learning the classroom. For the third straight year, student reporters assisted the LA communications staff in covering their classmates’ experiences while gaining some experience of their own with trips to Hockey East headquarters, Lowell’s National Historic Park, and Springfield’s Mass Mutual Center, where they interviewed two former Boston Bruins. Check out their blog, covering all aspects of LA’s Winterim program, at www.lacademy.edu/winterim.

Mees Visiting Scholar Dr. Peter M. Groffman, a professor with the City University of New York, the Advanced Science Research Center, and Brooklyn College Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Studies, was on campus to work with the LA science department and to present The Ecological Homogenization of Urban America to the public in the Richardson-Mees Performing Arts Center. Attendees learned how lawns and other development choices influence biogeochemical cycles, how eco-minded planning can improve the way urban areas process potential pollutants such as nitrogen and carbon, and why Dr. Groffman suggested that, in today’s changing world, we need to tune into “bio-geo-socio-chemistry.”

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AROUND LA

President May Each year, Lawrence Academy’s on-campus community chooses a senior as class president; that student is then given the responsibility of presiding over Friday morning assembly as well as serving as a sounding board for the student body. Taking over for outgoing Class of 2016 president Josh Garber and his cabinet of VP Paige Beede, secretary Tati Suriel, and treasurer Julian Travis are Zach May ’17 and his classmates, VP Seliana Carvalho, secretary Ethan Karp, and treasurer Laura Zavrl. Zach, a familiar face to anyone who has enjoyed a recent theatre production at LA or watched the Winterim News Team’s coverage for the school website, is also a standout on the varsity baseball team. We look forward to seeing his team in action in and around the RMPAC.

LA at Carnegie Hall It takes practice to get to Carnegie Hall, and hours of rehearsal paid off for a group of students who traveled to New York City to grace the stage of one of the world’s most famous musical venues. The arts program at LA emphasizes process over performance, but the hard work put in by Travis Anctil ’17, Shri Balaji ’19, Abby Bostick ’16, Victoria Brandvold ’17, Justin Chen ’19, James Curley ’17, Margaret Davey ’16, Nate Diedrich ’17, Anna Duffy ’18, James Duffy ’16, Tim Fan ’17, James Finneral ’16, Kelli Gifford ’19, Emma Grant ’16, Sophie Hager ’16, Eliza Higgins ’18, Milenna Huang ’18, Anji Lee ’19, Lisa Li ’16, Vivian Liu ’18, Tammy Nguyen ’17, Zackary O’Dell ’17, Dinara Oral ’17, Bella Rielly ’18, Hannah Song ’19, Lucia Stein ’18, Jesse Trainor ’18, Aidan Travis ’18, Jorie Van Nest ’18, Wendy Wang ’18, Angel Xinyan ’17, and Ellen Zho ’19 (who were accompanied by Arts Department Chair Joel Sugerman, Director of Music Jenny Cooper, Lisa Cooper, and Dina Mordeno) was evident as they performed in Manhattan.

Poetry and Slams Ever since the visit of renowned slam poet Taylor Mali in 2013, LA has embraced both the traditional and the modern in poetry, continuing the school’s long-standing junior class Judith French Poetry Recitation Competition and adding a poetry slam to each year’s calendar. Trent Briggs ’17’s recitation of Tyler Ford’s “Too Much” took the top honor in the French recitation, with fellow juniors Erin Antosh, Khloe Hartner, Vanessa Hsiao, Cuinn Lauten, AJ Lorden, Ebie Quinn, Haley Quinn, and Peter Reichheld making the decision a challenge for the judges. Earlier in the year, students in the Senior English Seminar performed original pieces for the community. This year, the third annual SENIOR SLAM featured the Class of 2016’s Evan Bromander, James Finneral, Talman Fortune, Ben Gainsboro, Shae McDonald, Ben Purtell, and Katelyn Reichheld.

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Each year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is an impactful event at Lawrence Academy. In lieu of a day off in observance of Dr. King’s birthday, the LA community uses the holiday to learn more about the man and his legacy. On Monday, Jan. 18, LA students, teachers, and staff facilitated and attended workshops, watched the Academy Award-nominated historical film Selma, and participated in activities designed to better explain the impact of the slain civil rights leader. This year's activities, which actually began with some community members’ participation in a vigil in conjunction with First Parish Church of Groton and Groton School, included a keynote address by musician, author, lecturer, actor, and race relations expert Daryl Davis.

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MLK Jr. Day

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day Grandparents’ Day is both an extremely popular event for grandparents and a favorite of Lawrence’s students, faculty, and staff, who get to enjoy the smiles on the faces of all the day’s visitors. Because Cum Laude Day activities also took place on this day, some guests had the added pleasure of being on hand to witness the acknowledgement of their grandchildren’s academic success. Grandparents heard an address from the head of school, attended classes, and joined their grandchildren for lunch.

What a Hoot! Reminiscent of former faculty member Jerry Wooding’s annual presentations, and with thanks to the science department and Marcia and Mark Wilson from Eyes on Owls, the LA community was treated to an up-close and personal show featuring a selection of birds from around the U.S.

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Cum Laude Day

Cum Laude Day Honors Scholars, Outstanding Citizens On a sparkling morning last April 27, Head of School Dan Scheibe welcomed the school community and guests to an annual event that honors a variety of people in many different ways. Some students were recognized for academic achievement with membership in the Cum Laude Society, while others received the school’s historic endowed book prizes, and a graduate’s commitment to service was honored with the annual spring Greater Good Award. Sharing the day with their students, grandparents and friends were also on campus to enjoy Grandparents’ Day festivities. On behalf of the Cum Laude Society, members Emily Pisacreta ’16 and Hannah Donovan ’16 presented the Greater Good Award to Kevin White ’96. Kevin, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 37, ran the 2014 and 2015 Boston Marathons for charity after being injured in the bombings in 2013. In two years, Kevin raised more than $30,000 for the Greg Hill Foundation, which supported his family and other victims after the bombing; he was training to run in 2016 at the time of his passing. The Foundation has created the Kevin P. White Outstanding Contribution Award to recognize people who have gone above and beyond to raise money and awareness for the nonprofit. Chris Floyd ’95 spoke about how the marathon bombing “did not define Kevin, but it definitely changed the course of his life.” Accepting the award for Kevin were his parents, Mary Jo and Bill White, who were also injured in the bombings. Mr. White

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Chris Floyd ’95, Bill and MaryJo White, Catie Floyd McMenamin ’97, and Mark Deasy ’96

thanked the community for remembering his son, adding that the recognition “opened up the sun for us after so many months of darkness” following Kevin’s death. The Greater Good Award, which recognizes LA citizens who use their education to make the world a better place, is made possible by a grant from the LA Endowment Fund for Service, Social Justice, and Global Awareness, which was created in 2005 by Jay Dunn ’83 and his family.

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The following members of the Class of 2017 were inducted into the Cum Laude Society: Nathaniel Diedrich, Haoyuan (Tim) Fan, Matthew Glassman, Taylor Goodman-Leong, Tram Nguyen, Samuel Rosenstein, and Xinyan (Angel) Xie The following members of the Class of 2016 were inducted into the Society, joining classmates who were inducted as juniors: Amalie Brandvold, Margaret Davey, Taylor Drago, Andrew Fyffe, Emma Grant, Emily Messer, Sara Murphy, Jessica Niemann, Riley Noel, Katelyn Reichheld, An Thi Hong Tran, and Julian Travis

Cum Laude Prize Recipients 2016 The Freshman Book Prize in English for Reading Wyatt Blackshaw ’19 The Freshman Book Prize in English for Writing Kerri Murphy ’19 The Class of 1957 Award Gavin Slattery ’18 The Brown Book Award Elizabeth Quinn ’17 The Mansfield Branigan Memorial Prize Wenxuan (Vivian) Liu ’18 The Harry and Ann Davidson Prize Jorie Van Nest ’18 The Dartmouth College Book Award Samuel Rosenstein ’17 The Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Medal Edwin Ray ’17 The Rensselaer Mathematics and Science Award Xinyan (Angel) Xie ’17 The Eleanor and Cameron Smith Poetry Prize An Thi Hong Tran ’16 The Holmes Prize Philippe Lessard ’16

The Language Prize Jonathan Harlan ’16 (Latin), Ethan Sorkin ’16 (French), and Philippe Lessard ’16 (Spanish) The Thompson English Prize Jorie Van Nest ’18 The Class of 1965 Prize for Art Emily Duffy Denzer ’16 The Class of 1965 Prize for Music Sophia Hager ’16 and Lucy Opalka ’16 The Class of 1965 Prize for Theatre Talman Fortune ’16 and Shae McDonald ’16 The Class of 1965 Prize for Dance Andrew Fyffe ’16 and Emily Pisacreta ’16 The Peter S. Yozell ’41 History and Social Sciences Award Sihan (Lisa) Li ’16 and Lucy Opalka ’16 The May Sarton Poetry Prize Katelyn Reichheld ’16 The Tower Mathematics Prize Emily Pisacreta ’16 The Francis A. Head Award for Excellence in Journalism Renee Perkins ’16 and Ethan Sorkin ’16 The Anne and David Rosenthal Prize for Literary Appreciation Hannah Donovan ’16

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Performing

ARTS

30 I FALL 2016

Visual &

#ArtsatLA

AROUND LA 31 I FALL 2016

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The Year in Sports FALL 2015

WINTER 2015–2016

Girls’ Soccer

Volleyball

Boys’ Hockey

Coach: (head) Kim Healy, (asst.) Kiley Horne, Theresa Ryan

Coach: (head) Steve Engstrom, (asst.) Dina Mordeno

Coach: (head) Robbie Barker ’00, (asst.) Sean Sheehan ’87

• ISL Record: 5–5–2; Overall Record: 8–5–3

• ISL Record: 1–13; Overall Record: 4–15

• ISL Record: 8–6–2; Overall Record: 10–13–4

• All-ISL: Laura Lundblad ’17 (All-State), Emily Pratt ’16

• ISL Honorable Mention: Erin Antosh ‘17

• ISL Honorable Mention: Kristen Parry ’18

Boys’ and Girls’ Cross-Country

• All-ISL: Craig Needham ’17, Austin Magera ’17, Jack Cameron ’18, JJ Harding ‘18

Boys’ Soccer

Coach: (head) Andrew Brescia, (head boys) Nathaniel Cabot, (asst.) Hannah Hallock

Coach: (head) Colin Igoe, (asst.) Cam Labeck

• ISL Record: Girls’ 0–12–0; Boys’ 0–15–0

Girls’ Hockey

• ISL Record: 11–3–1; Overall Record: 13-4-2

• Overall Record: Girls’ 0–14–0; Boys’ 0–16–0

• NEPSAC Class B Finalist, lost to South Kent School, 2–0

• ISL Honorable Mention: O’Neill Galinson ’19 (girls)

Coach: (head) Kevin Potter, (asst.) Mike Mastrullo, Eliza Foster

• first team All-ISL: Max Breiter ’16 (All-State, All-New England, NEPSSA All-Star), Aiden Perry ’16 (All-State, NEPSSA All-Star), Alex Walter ’16 • second team All-ISL: Coby Goodrich ’16, Augie Martini ’17

Field Hockey Coach: (head) Lauren Chenevert, (asst.) Caroline Heatley, Eliza Foster • ISL Record: 1–10–1; Overall Record: 2–11–2 • All-ISL: Laura Zavrl ’17

Football Coach: (head) Paul Zukauskas, (asst.) Sean Sheehan ’87, Geoff Harlan, Rick Arena, Andrew Healy • ISL Record: 6–1; Overall Record: 8–1 • ISL Champions; NEPSAC Wayne Sanborn Bowl Champions • All-ISL: AJ Dillon ’17 (ISL MVP, All-NEPSAC, NEPSAC Co-Player of the Year), Jake Cassidy ’16 (All-New England), Demitri Jackson ’16, Doug Rodier ’16 (All-New England), Eddy Fish ’16, Jake Byczko ’17, Sherron Dailey-Harris ‘17

• ISL Honorable Mention: Tim Kent ‘18

• ISL Record: 6-6; Overall Record: 13–11–4 • All-ISL: Brittany Colton ’16, Laura Lundblad ’17 • ISL Honorable Mention: Kelsey Ryan ‘17

Boys’ Basketball Coach: (head) Kris Johnson, (asst.) Kevin Wiercinski • ISL Record: 13–2; Overall Record: 17–13 • All-ISL: Joey Luchetti ’18, Maurice Works ‘18 • ISL Honorable Mention: Sherron Dailey-Harris ’17, Martin Mann ‘18

• ISL Honorable Mention: Glenn Smith ’17, Finn Dirstine ’18 (All-New England), Stephen Olive ‘17, Tommy Zaleski ‘17

It was another banner year for LA football as the Spartans capped their Fall 2015 season with back-to-back ISL and NEPSAC Bowl championships. “It takes a lot of people in football to win,” said head coach Paul Zukauskas after LA defeated Suffield Academy 28–7 in the bowl game. “You need everybody on board.” The Spartans’ latest success can be attributed to the strong leadership exhibited by the senior captains and coaches, as well as the hard work put in by every member of the team, which led them to an overall 8–1 record this year.

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#GoLASpartans

Girls’ Basketball

Girls’ Lacrosse

Coach: (head) Donna Mastrangelo, (asst.) Libby Margraf, Joe Bibbo

Coach: (head) Samantha McMahon, (asst.) Eliza Foster

• ISL Record: 9–3; Overall Record: 20–5

• ISL Record: 1–11; Overall Record: 2–12

• All-ISL: Emily Pratt ’16 (NEPSAC Class B All-Star), Gabrielle Reuter ’16 (NEPSAC Class B All-Star), Erin Antosh ’17 (NEPSAC Class B All-Star), Abigail Streeter ’17

• ISL Honorable Mention: Corinne McCool ’18

Baseball

Wrestling

Coach: (head) Chris Margraf, (asst.) Robbie Barker ’00, Jarred Gagnon ’03

Coach: (head) Zachary Bates, (asst.) Kevin Dillion

• ISL Record: 10–5; Overall Record: 14–6

• All-ISL: Julian Travis ’16

• All-ISL: Jack Harlan ’16 (ISL Co-MVP and Boston Globe All-Scholastic Award), Josh Garber ’16, Liam O’Sullivan ’16

• ISL Honorable Mention: Aryan Haghighat ’18

• ISL Honorable Mention: Zach May ’17

Skiing

Softball

Coach: (head) Will Abisalih, Jon Kaiser

Coach: (head) Theresa Ryan, (asst.) Hannah Hallock

• ISL Record: 3–10; Overall Record: 5–13

• All-ISL: Thomas Gross ’16

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Varsity girls’ basketball had two players join the 1,000 club this winter: Seniors Emily Pratt and Gabby Reuter each reached 1,000 points, a milestone preceded only by LA Athletic Hall of Famer Kristi Laggis ’95. In January, Emily brought her total to 1,001 on the floor of the TD Garden in the Hoop Mountain and The Arc of Mass Holiday Challenge, where the team defeated Governor’s 53-41. A month later, it was Gabby’s turn, as she scored the points in the team’s 67-16 win over Cushing Academy. “You can’t really describe it in one word,” Emily said after their game at the Garden. “It’s certainly unbelievable thinking about my first game at LA and scoring one point, and then here today getting to 1,000 points…I couldn’t have done it without any of my teammates, and, of course Donna Mastrangelo and the coaching staff.”

• ISL Record: 5–5; Overall Record: 7–6 • All-ISL: Kaitlyn Rooney ’16, Ade McCullough ‘17

SPRING 2016

• ISL Honorable Mention: Emily Pratt ’16

Boys’ Tennis Coach: (head) Will Abisalih, (asst.) Will Wiseman • ISL Record: 1–15; Overall Record: 3–15

Girls’ Tennis Coach: (head) Kim Healy • ISL Record: 0–11; Overall Record: 0–12

Boys’ and Girls’ Track & Field Coach: (head) Larissa Smith, (asst.) Nathaniel Cabot, Adam Green, Natasha Huggins, Stephen Colby, Erin Lawler • All-ISL: Demitri Jackson ’16 (All-New England, ISTA MVP, Javelin National Qualifier), AJ Dillon ’17 (All New-England), Rama Sisay ’16,

• ISL Honorable Mention: Dariya Apsenbetova ’16

• ISL Honorable Mention: Tate Jordan ‘17

Boys’ Lacrosse

• Post-season: Boys third place finish in New England meet

Coach: (head) Andrew Healy, (asst.) RJ Swift • ISL Record: 1–14; Overall Record: 4–13 • All-ISL: Brian Flanagan ’16 • ISL Honorable Mention: Alex Walter ’16, JJ Harding ‘18

LA track and field has reached new heights, with the boys’ team finishing in third place at the NEPSAC Division III Championships and Demitri Jackson ’16 setting four new school records in field events. This summer, Demitri competed in the javelin event at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in North Carolina, capping what has been a strong run for the Spartans this year.

Golf Coach: (head) Kevin Weircinski • ISL Record: 4–3; Overall Record: 5–4 • All-ISL: Hannah Ghelfi ’16

www.LASpartans.com

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The Annual Spring Social and Fundraiser With over 220 guests in attendance and $40,000 raised for Lawrence Academy’s Annual Fund, “Grounded and Growing,” the 2016 Parents’ Association Annual Spring Social and Fundraiser, was a resounding success. Parents’ Association Chair Sheri Bojanowski (Elise ’16) introduced the evening and Head of School Dan Scheibe, who thanked the Parents’ Association committee members and gathered attendees for a great 2015-16 school year. Much gratitude for the evening's success goes to event chairs Maria Beck (Jacob ’18) and Eileen

Sheri and John Bojanowski (Elise ’16)

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Co-chair Eileen Liang (Ethan ’18, Harrison ’19), Co-chair Maria Beck (Jacob ’18)

Liang (Ethan ’18, Harrison ’19) for their leadership, vision, and hard work. They, along with a dedicated team of parents, came together to present a wonderful affair overlooking the rolling hills of Groton on the tented McDonald Library terrace. As always, LA forwards another sincere “Thank you!” to the entire parent community for its outstanding support of this annual event, which furthers the mission of Lawrence Academy and contributes to the pursuit of excellence in all areas of school life.

Val Templeton (Jack ’16, Michael ’19), Trustee Chris and Kirsta Davey (Sara’10, Margaret ’16)

Lisa McElroy and Richard Blackshaw (Carson ’19, Wyatt ’19), and Sheri Beran (Cam ‘19, Megan ’20)

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grou nde d & grow ing

Jean and David Lizotte (Erika ’19), Lawrence and Lori Murphy (Kerri ’19)

Dan Scheibe, Trustee Lucy Abisalih ‘76, and Trustee David Stone ‘76

LeeEllen Jones (Katie ’13, Charlotte ’14, Tim ’17), Martha Joumas (Kathleen ’09, Will ’10, Meghan ’13, Tim ’15), Tracy Groves (Madeline ’13, Mitchell ’17), Kristine Melvin (Katherine ’13, Connor ’15, Kenzie ’17)

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Moving Through to Move On

COMMENCEMENT 2016 that’s what I was going to do, except for one of my older, wiser teammates finally said one day, ‘You know, you talk an awful lot about that, but you really don’t do anything about it,’” MacMullan recalled. “And she was right, because, once again, I was afraid.”

by Allie Goodrich ’13

The rain held off on Friday, June 3, as the Class of 2016 emerged from the doors of the Schoolhouse and walked the final steps to becoming Lawrence Academy graduates. “As we face this occasion, we do so with clarity and conviction about the singular importance of each graduate of the Class of 2016. This day is for you,” said Headmaster Dan Scheibe in his opening remarks. “I hope you have learned here at Lawrence Academy that solidarity is possible; that the transformed world can be a truly beautiful place for you and for others; that every action is an act of creation.” As a nod to the Broadway smash Hamilton and LA friend Lin-Manuel Miranda, he added, “Class of 2016, you are necessary; do not throw away your shot.”

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Jackie MacMullan

Jackie MacMullan, an accomplished sportswriter for ESPN.com and this year’s guest speaker, discussed how difficult it was for her to take that shot. “I had tons of hopes and dreams,” she explained, “but I was afraid to do any of them. “I wanted to be a professional journalist, and I told everybody who listened that

MacMullan also described her reluctance to join the school newspaper; with the support of her professor, she eventually made it through the door: “He told me he had the same problem when he was my age. He said come on, we’ll walk down to the school paper together. And then we got to the door and he said, I’m out, now get in there.” “So you’re about to take the next step, all of you: to college, to work — and it’s scary. And you’re probably afraid, and I get it,” she admitted. “But if I could tell you one thing, it’s this: Don’t be the kid peeking in the door, be the kid that walks

AROUNFD LA

G R A D U AT I O N AWA R D S The Head of School Award

Andrew Fyffe ’16 Emily Messer ’16 Lyndsey Parry ’16

The Howard W. Glaser ’55 Award

Aiden Perry ’16

The Melvin W. Mann Award

Demitri Jackson ’16

The Faculty Award

Paige Beede ’16

The Proctor Award

Ramatoulie Sisay ’16

The Benjamin Davis Williams Prize

Joshua Garber ’16

The David Thomas Kinsley Prize for Public Speaking

Sihan Li ’16

The Ferguson Prize for Leadership

Margaret Davey ’16

The Tom Park ’29 Memorial Award

The Whitehurst Prize

Benjamin Purtell ’16

Hannah Ghelfi ’16 Jack Harlan ’16

The Mary Elizabeth Chickering Prize Lucy Opalka ’16

The Adrian Chen ’92 Award

An Tran ’16

The Richmond Baker Prize

Emily Pratt ’16

The Harvard Book Prize

Haoyuan Fan ’17

The Raymond A. Ilg, Jr. Award

Liam O’Sullivan ’16

The Carl A. P. Lawrence Award

The Pillsbury Prize for General Improvement in Scholarship and School Duties During the Course

Alden Bishop ’16

Taylor GoodmanLeong ’17

The James E. Baker Prize

Benjamin Munick ’17

Philippe Lessard ’16

The Thomas B. Warner Memorial Prize

Subin Kim ’17

The Treisman Prize for Superior Scholastic Achievement

Coby Goodrich ’16

The David Soren Yeutter Memorial Award

Greg Mitchell ’17

The Pillsbury Prize for Character and Conduct

The Margaret Price White Award

Gavin Slattery ’18

The Grant Award

David Murphy ’16

much pretended that I did know what was going on, but I want him to know that even though three years ago I never would have admitted this, I was just as scared as him that day.” Like Shae, fellow senior Ben Gainsboro also spoke to the themes of finding a sense of belonging and commonality, and the importance of valuing the different ways in which we meet our challenges. Shae McDonald ’16

through the door. If you’re too afraid to find out, you’ll never know.” Overcoming fear was a consistent theme of the day’s speakers. “I walked into a room full of bustling teenagers that were clearly all friends, except for one boy,” recounted senior Shae McDonald of her first audition for her first high school play. “[He] clearly had no idea what was going on, and I very

really special place filled with extremely special people,” Gainsboro finished. “If you truly enjoy someone’s company and want to show them that you care, make a physical or emotional connection with them. It could be a hug, a fist bump, a handshake, sure, but it could also be something as simple as saying, ‘I enjoyed our time together.’”

“The way we saddle up and take on challenges will not, and should not, and should never be, universally recognized as right,” he said. “It’s a feeling you’ll have in your gut. Some choose to surround themselves with as many people as possible; others take it with a partner; some of the true rebels try to take it alone. What we can’t do is say how someone goes about it is the wrong way. “I would like to truly say, from the bottom of my heart, that Lawrence Academy is a

Ben Gainsboro ’16

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C L A S S O F 2 0 1 6 C O L L E G E M AT R I C U L AT I O N University of Colorado at Boulder

Adrian College

Elon University (3)

Robert Morris University

American University (3)

Endicott College

Bates College (2)

Fairfield University

Rochester Institute of Technology (2)

Bentley University (3)

Fordham University (2)

Saint Anselm College (3)

University of Hartford

Boston College

Franklin Pierce University

Saint Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College (4)

Boston University (2)

Gettysburg College

Skidmore College (2)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Brandeis University (4)

St. Lawrence University

University of Maine (2)

Brown University (2)

Hobart and William Smith Colleges (3)

Stonehill College

University of Miami

Bryn Mawr College

Iowa State University

Suffolk University

University of Michigan

Clark University (2)

Lafayette College

Syracuse University (2)

University of New Hampshire

Colby College

Loyola University Maryland

Temple University

University of Rochester

College of Charleston (2)

Merrimack College

The University of Arizona

University of South Carolina

Columbia University

Middlebury College

The University of the Arts

Connecticut College (4)

New York University

Trinity College (3)

University of Southern California

Denison University

Northeastern University (3)

Tufts University

Dickinson College

Pennsylvania State University

Tulane University

Drew University

Providence College (2)

Union College (2)

Eckerd College

University of California, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Berkeley Quinnipiac University

University of Connecticut

University of Vermont (2) Villanova University Wheaton College Williams College Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2) 39 I FALL 2016

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Welcome! New Trustee Douglas E. Long is a senior executive with nearly three decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical and bio-manufacturing sectors. He currently serves as vice president of Integra Companies Inc., a leading provider of bioprocessing technology and high-purity fluid handling solutions. Over the past 25 years, Doug has been highly involved in the startup processes of many successful companies, such as I-4, Mitos Molding, and Allpure. He is a proud member of the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering’s Boston Chapter, and a graduate of Thomas College, where he received a B.A. in business and marketing. Outside of work, Doug and his wife, Eileen, are actively involved in their children’s education (Meredith ’15, Donald ’18) and extracurricular pursuits: Doug coaches youth lacrosse and soccer and acts as assistant scoutmaster for his son’s Boy Scout troop. Doug and his family reside in Littleton, Mass., and they also enjoy spending time together at their home in Vermont.

New Trustee Elizabeth Cochary Gross, Ph.D (Jessica ’15, Thomas ’16 ) brings extensive board experience to LA. She currently is the director of the Mount Holyoke College Trustees and serves as a director for the Tufts University Board of Trustees. She recently stepped down as a director for the Fenn School Board of Trustees. As an adjunct associate professor at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Liz holds post-doctoral fellowships in biochemistry and neuroscience from Harvard University and Boston University. Liz is an avid runner, but has retired from marathons after four in Boston. She enjoys spending time in the summer in Falmouth with her three daughters (Kelly, 24, Anna, 22, and Jess, 20), son (Thomas ’16), and husband (Phill). She sings and plays classical piano and guitar. Her passion for the arts has led her to chair the Capital Campaign for The Umbrella Center for the Arts in Concord. She is looking forward to being an empty nester next fall so she can improve her golf and skiing!

Bob Kramer joins the business office, coming to LA after a successful career in investments. He was most recently the co-founder and global chief investment officer for Cambridge Place Group, operating in the U.S. and London; previously, he worked with Fidelity Investments and Goldman Sachs. Bob learned his way around independent schools as a trustee and treasurer for Nashoba Brooks School. A graduate of the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania, he and his family make their home in Concord, Mass. Bob, who holds the new title of associate director of finance and operations, works with Director of Finance & Operations Linda Deasy. Hongbing Liu will teach two sessions of an exciting new addition to the LA language curriculum: Mandarin Chinese. A graduate of Nankai University in Tianjin, China, Hongbing also holds a

40 I FALL 2016

Master’s of Management from Johnson and Wales University. She has board certification in AP Chinese from Harvard and Chinese Conference Training from Princeton. Hongbing previously taught Chinese at the beginning and advanced levels at the Brunswick School in Connecticut and Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. She lives in Groton and assists as an international student advisor. Maeve Carroll has joined the math department. A graduate of St. Michael’s College, Maeve most recently taught at the Canterbury School in Connecticut. She also recently taught summer math courses at Milton Academy through The Steppingstone Foundation, which prepares rising seventh graders for their next grade. Maeve also coaches volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse, and has assisted with skiing and swimming. A Massachusetts native, Maeve is excited to be closer to her nearby

family. She resides on campus and participates in residential duties. Alfredas “Freddy” Petkus also joins the math department this year. Freddy comes to LA from the New Hampton School in New Hampshire, where he taught in the math department and served as varsity coach for the women’s basketball team. A graduate of the University of Maine, Freddy is originally from Lithuania, and speaks both Russian and Lithuanian. He enjoys sports in his free time, especially basketball, and was a two-time captain of the varsity team while in college. He and his wife live on campus and participate in the residential program. Sean Moyo comes to LA as a history teaching intern. Originally from Zimbabwe, Sean is a recent graduate of Bates College, where his concentration was in psychology and education. He attended Blair Academy before entering Bates. An accomplished

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...to Lawrence Academy soccer player, Sean was a member of two consecutive NCAA Final Four men’s soccer teams. In addition to sports, Sean enjoys outdoor activities. He lives on campus and participates in the residential program. Robert Dorr is the new face in the Health Center, where he serves as director of counseling as well as participates in residential life on campus. A graduate of Kimball Union Academy, Robert holds a psychology degree from the University of Southern Maine and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from the University of Denver. He comes to LA from the STEM Launch, a K-8 school in Colorado, where he served as school counselor. Robert enjoys sports, particularly coaching lacrosse and hockey. He and his wife and two daughters live on campus. Brian McCray is one of two new history teachers. New to independent schools, he spent the last eight years in Boston-area

public high schools, where he taught math, world history, and U.S. history. His most recent placement was at the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston. In addition, Brian has 10 years of coaching experience in basketball, football, and track. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire at Durham and his Master of Arts in Teaching from Emmanuel College. In addition to coaching and teaching, Brian serves as coordinator of diversity initiatives and participates in the residential program. Kira Shaikh, who graduated from Bates College in 2015 with a B.A. in Sociology, is the third new history teacher. She comes to LA after spending the year as educational technician in the ESL program at Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine. Returning to a community-based educational system was important to Kira, as it was a meaningful experience for her

as a high school student at the Watkinson School in Connecticut. Kira also serves as a J.V. softball coach and looks forward to joining student-athletes at Lawrence. She lives on campus and participates in the residential program. Milton Rico joins the English department as an intern. Milton comes from Amherst College, where he earned his B.A. in English this past year. As a member of the varsity soccer team, the 2015 NCAA national champions, he played with recent LA grad Aziz Khan ’14. A native Spanish speaker, Milton is originally from Colombia. In addition to soccer, he plays the drums and formed a Latin rock band called Herostreet with his siblings. He is excited to be at LA. Milton lives in campus housing and participates in the residential program.

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AROUND LA

Founders’ Day 2015 After a welcome to parents, family, and friends by Assistant Head of School Rob Moore, seniors Hannah Donovan and Paige Beede presented the Greater Good Award to Taylor GoodmanLeong ’17, on behalf of the Cum Laude Society. The Greater Good Award, made possible by a fund created in 2005 by Jay Dunn ’83 and his family, is given to students each fall and to members of the alumni body each spring to Rob Moore recognize those who strive to use their education to benefit the greater good of humanity. Taylor was honored for her ongoing dedication to the charity she created, For the Love of Erika, named for an elementary school friend. Earlier in her LA career, Taylor received WHDH’s Class Act award, presented to her during a surprise visit to campus by the TV station’s news team; in addition, she has led a holiday toy drive for Loaves and Fishes, a local shelter.

Paige Beede ’16, Taylor Goodman-Leong ’17, and Hannah Donovan ’16

Carole Figgins and Ramatoulie Sisay ’16

The 2015 Kathy Peabody Memorial Book Award honored Carole Figgins, a member of the Buildings and Grounds team, for her dedication to the Lawrence Academy campus through her work on the grounds. LA proctors and peer counselors present this annual award to a nonteaching employee who helps to create a secure and positive environment in which all members of the Lawrence community may achieve their best. As the chief landscape manager, Figgins is respected for her work to keep the campus beautiful, and the cheerfulness with which she engages every student she sees endears her to all. Recognizing a life achievement of 25 years of service to Lawrence Academy, faculty member John Curran presented Director of IT and math teacher Mark Burkholz with a commemorative clock. After starting at LA in 1991, Burkholz became IT director in 1992. A former New York City public school teacher and software engineer, he has applied his expertise to adapting teaching methods across the curriculum in order to maximize the use of current technology; he is also an early adopter of the mindfulness practice currently enveloping LA, having practiced Zen since the 1970s. Lastly, the day’s namesake award was presented to Richard A. Johnson ’74. Rich started the Tom Warner Fund and the annual Tom Warner ’75 Memorial 5K Walk/Run to enable fellow alumni to celebrate the life of a classmate and dear friend who died too young. Rich was also recently instrumental in establishing the Lawrence Academy Athletic Hall of Fame, to honor outstanding former student-athletes. While introducing the award winner, Head of School Dan Scheibe explained that Rich is a curator at the Sports Museum at Boston’s TD Garden; he began there in 1982, as the museum’s first employee. Rich has also authored more than 20 books. 42 I FALL 2016

John Curran and Mark Burkholz

Dan Scheibe, head of school, and Richard A. Johnson ’74

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Still the Bell Tolls The remains of the second Schoolhouse bell reside in the Waters House barn.

As told by Dick Jeffers to Susan Hughes

It resides in possibly the most iconic spot on campus: high above the Schoolhouse, surrounded by a cupola, crowned in gold. And yet, little is known about the official school bell. LA historian Dick Jeffers helped to clarify some of the mystique: “The bell that is in the Schoolhouse now is the third bell, added when the building was rebuilt for the third time, after a fire in 1957. As best we can tell, the bell came from the Boutwell School (located in Groton and now a kindergarten in the GrotonDunstable Regional School District). In fact, the wreckage of bell #2 (pictured above), which fell in the 1957 schoolhouse fire, is still here on campus. “In the early 1960s, the bell had two main purposes: Varsity teams would ring out their sports victories, and Business Manager Joe Madigan would ring the bell to step off the graduation ceremony. Today, only the graduation tradition remains. Ringing in athletic victories ended sometime early in the 1970s.

“There is a funny story about the bell ringing in Mr. Madigan’s day. One year, seniors placed a bucket full of flour at the top of the bell shaft. When Mr. Madigan rang the bell to begin graduation, the bucket tipped, covering him with flour. No one could see this happening, and Mr. Madigan didn’t miss a ring. But he did come down and sit in the audience covered in flour, being sure to make eye contact with every graduate. “When I was dean of students in the 1970s, I started ringing the bell to announce assemblies. That lasted for several years, and then even that became unnecessary.” As Mr. Jeffers says, the bell is mostly silent now, ringing only at graduation. There have been a few solemn occasions when the bell added its voice to a collective chorus in town, such as the moment of remembrance for the Sandy Hook shooting and the recognition of the motorcade bringing Sgt. William Woitowicz, a casualty of the Iraq war, back to Groton to be laid to rest. In some ways, it is fitting that only the most significant of occasions are recognized from the loftiest spot on campus. 43 I FALL 2016

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Principal Fred C. Gray and his faculty, 1947. Arthur Ferguson, seated at left, taught English and music. Norman Grant is seated second from right.

“...It is necessary for me to place him on Probation.” by Joseph Sheppard

Like every household, Lawrence Academy needs to do a thorough housecleaning now and then. A few months ago, I had the chance to oversee a major one: collecting alumni transcripts from the 1950s through the mid-1990s to be digitized and stored in the Cloud. Working out of a small office in the Alumni Development House, I plowed through the contents of two dozen file cabinets containing over 1,500 folders. Besides saving the transcripts, which came in many sizes and formats, I set aside materials of interest to the Whipple Archives and handed over several filled banker’s boxes to Dick Jeffers and Paul Husted ’64 for their perusal. Having come to Lawrence in 1965 — at the tail end of the “old days”, someone said — I found the project fascinating, nostalgic, and sometimes touching, as the letters and documents provided an intimate look into the life of the Academy and its students, teachers, and leaders in a bygone era. In these pages, you will get a glimpse of the Lawrence Academy of the 1950s and early 1960s. I’m indebted to Dick and Paul, as well as to retired colleague Richmond Baker, and to Carl Anderson’s wonderful Buildings and Grounds crew for

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tirelessly lugging over 100 loaded file drawers up from the basement of the Alumni Development House! One fact became apparent early in the project: Running Lawrence Academy in the mid-twentieth century was largely a one-man job. There were no deans, no faculty committees, and for years, neither a director of studies nor an admissions director. Alumni acquainted with the Academy’s multi-tiered discipline system and the detailed rules and regulations outlined in today’s school handbook, Omnibus Lucet, would be shocked to return to 1955, when everything from discipline to weekend permissions to rule-making or reprimand was handled by the principal (Arthur Ferguson, in 1958, was the first to be called “headmaster”). The Lawrence Academy Christian Association, founded in the 1929–1930 school year, published a pocket-sized student handbook containing everything from the daily schedule to a complete listing of the town of Groton’s fire alarm codes — 2-5 meant Lawrence Academy and vicinity — as well as a few behavioral guidelines. “Very few rules and regulations for the conduct of Lawrence Academy students have ever been posted,” the introduction

FROM THE ARCHIVES

reads. “The following statements may serve to prevent any misunderstanding and are called to the attention of every member of the student body, for the good of all concerned.” A sampling: Shopping at the village stores comes on…Tuesday and Saturday. Permissions will be granted only during the afternoon period after classes. Any master may assign “laps” to a boy for misconduct in the class or about the school or dormitory. “Laps” mean that the boy shall walk around the Academy Building for the length of time assigned. Common sense is expected in the matter of eating candy and such extras. Good and sufficient food is served at each meal. At all times it is expected that Lawrence boys will act like gentlemen. Privileges off-campus depend on this. And, under “Suggestions to New Students”: Smoking. You do not need to smoke to be a prep school student. ’Nuff said. Same applies to swearing, etc. Coats must be worn at all meals in the dining hall. Everyone is expected to be completely dressed, even for breakfast. Do not throw litter or waste about the campus and buildings. Waste baskets are for use and not show. The “Lawrence Academy Gentleman” reigned as the paragon of student conduct through the Ferguson years. The rules published in the 1930 Christian Association booklet were little altered until he retired; if there was a byword of the day, it was “It’s always been that way.”

The velvet glove on the iron hand

At some point, possibly when the school building burned in 1956, “laps” became demerits, and student councilors, as well as faculty, could award them for minor transgressions. Usually handed out in twos and fours, they were translated into some sort of labor, its nature being determined at the Fridaymorning meeting of the Demerit Committee, consisting of a faculty member and, in its latter days, a member of the student council. The malefactor might wash pots in the kitchen, or rake leaves, or simply sit in the study hall on a Saturday morning copying some sentence like “I will endeavor to remember that silence is golden” over and over until he had done his time. The headmaster handled the more serious offenses himself, though the line between minor and major crimes was somewhat fuzzy. If the crime was deemed serious enough to warrant a Letter Home, the threat of dismissal was always lurking in the background, and the parents could be sure that their son’s action would be labeled “intolerable.” Here, for example, is the source of the title of this article (with the original names changed): February 20, 1958 Dear Mr. Melton: It is with regret that I write this letter.

A midterm report card from 1959. (note the letter grades for effort.)

Sometime ago we had a little trouble with William in regard to vulgar language he was using. We tried to straighten it out and make him realize that such conduct wasn’t fitting a gentleman and could not be tolerated here at The Academy. I thought that everything was straightened out and that no further trouble would ensue. However, an unfortunate incident happened in our Dining Room. The profane remark he made to the instructor in charge

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

Arthur W. Ferguson as headmaster, c. 1958 Four years on one card, Burckes-style

seems to indicate that we have failed in making an impression upon him. Of course, we cannot tolerate such misconduct and it is necessary for me to place him on Probation. I have explained the seriousness of the situation to him and he fully realizes that the next infraction will result in dropping him from the school. He is to consider the situation very seriously this weekend and bring back with him a letter in which he expresses sincerely his intentions. I am sure he realizes the seriousness of the situation and the fact that ungentlemanly conduct cannot be overlooked at the Lawrence Academy. I am sure that William will explain the situation to you in detail. Sincerely yours, A. W. Ferguson Headmaster Apparently the threat of dismissal had the desired effect on our potty-mouthed young lad, as the fawning sincerity of his response makes clear: February 22, 1958 Dear Mr. Ferguson, I have explained my trouble to my parents and they are as much ashamed of me as I am of myself. I therefor [sic] am going to make the following promise as to my behavior: I shall to the best of my ability stop all my swearing at all times whether anyone is around to hear or not. I also to the best of my ability shall be more courteous to the masters when I meet them in the corridors and on the campus grounds. Lastly I shall to the best of my ability stop my fooling in the dormitory and in school and save it for the proper time and place.

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I have made these promises in order that I might stay at Lawrence the rest of this year and in years to come for I wish to graduate in about four years. I have come to love Lawrence so much in the short time I have been here that I would hate to lose it all now. Very sincerely yours, William L. Melton Another common sin was the unauthorized consumption of cigarettes, an act sure to elicit punishment and a Letter Home (see preceding page). Disciplinary letters weren’t the only ones sent out over the headmaster’s signature. Until 1961, when the late Bob Shepherd became the first director of admissions, acceptances and rejections went out from the head’s office as well. The Academy’s application form was a bit simpler than today’s multi-page document. It required only bare-bones information, though one line item, “College Candidate wishes to Enter,” might have been a primitive form of subliminal advertising. An “Other Secondary Schools Attended” question was followed by “Did you Graduate?” An odd question to today’s candidates, it reflected the fact that, in those days, many boys came to the Academy for just one year, as seniors or as post-graduates. As the school population grew during his 11-year tenure, Ferguson had to relinquish some responsibilities, although, as anyone who served under him would affirm, he certainly never gave up control. In 1955, he hired Jack Burckes, a remarkable man who became the first director of studies — in addition to teaching five history classes, coaching three sports, running a dorm, and serving as the school’s first college counselor. Ferguson, however, continued to write the seniors’ college recommendations. They usually consisted of one paragraph with wide margins, written in a telegraphic style: “Has the

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Report cards in those days were simple affairs, with students receiving number grades in each subject along with a letter grade for effort. As you can see from the report on page 45, a “D” effort mark was meant to strike terror into its recipient’s heart. Teachers’ comments, written on small slips stapled to the report card and proofread, of course, by the headmaster, tended to be blunt and to the point. Accompanying the termend report was a letter from the headmaster summarizing the boy’s progress, or lack thereof, with appropriate admonishments. The profound social changes brought about by the Vietnam War era spelled the end of the benevolent autocracy of Arthur Ferguson and his predecessors. Even in Ferguson’s last year or two in office, he could no longer fall back on “It’s always been that way!” when a problem needed a solution. The situations were new — students chafing at dress code and anything that smacked of authority and status quo, and with many faculty impatient for change, too — and the old solutions no longer worked. For generations, Lawrence, like her sister schools, had functioned like a family in which the father’s word was law. Few rules were necessary beyond the simple understanding that “a Lawrence Academy gentleman will conduct himself honestly and honorably in all his affairs.” Ungentlemanly behavior was punished to the degree the headmaster deemed appropriate, and his judgement was never questioned (at least in public; faculty room conversations were another matter!). Year-end letter, 1958. College pressure even then!

capacity to do college work.” “Has shown leadership potential.” How much influence they wielded over admissions decisions is questionable. As Director of Studies and Guidance, a position for which he was professionally trained, Burckes was responsible for everything from making up the daily schedule — he designed the first rotating-period class day schedule, a successor of which is still in use — to recommending course placement for new students, placing everyone in the proper class sections, assigning classrooms for faculty and study-hall seats, and so on. It was an immense job, all accomplished, of course, by hand, but he thrived on it and kept meticulous records of each student’s academic career, converting grades and SAT scores to staines, a method of scaling test scores on a nine-point standard scale. Some of his materials survive in the Whipple Archives. To help with assigning students to individual courses, Burckes invented a card table-sized board with raised edges, divided into compartments, one for each section of each course offered. After examining a new boy’s file, he would send home a suggested program of study, usually four courses; a one-page list of “Courses Offered at The Lawrence Academy” was included. Parents would approve or ask for changes, and then he went to work, putting a little tag with the boy’s name into the appropriate compartments on his board. What software can now accomplish in hours took him the entire summer.

That unquestioning trust in authority was shattered by the Vietnam War: People demanded transparency, consistency, and a voice in decisions — changes that affected LA just as they did every other school in the country. Rules of conduct were codified, as were punishments. While the headmaster retains the final word to this day, every student receives due process. The rigidly prescribed academic program gradually gave way to a combination of electives and year-long courses. And students no longer have to wait for days to buy their groceries; they can go downtown every day of the week. One wonders how today’s students would fare at the Lawrence Academy of 1955!

A straightforward teachers comment from 1959

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LA OUTREACH

Leadership Dinner

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OCTOBER 2015

L AWRENCE ACADEMY

BOSTON – NOVEMBER 2015 • WASHINGTON, D.C. – APRIL 2016 • NEW YORK CITY – APRIL 2016

LA OUTREACH

LA Circle Events Washington D.C. Boston

Washington D.C.

New York City

Boston

New York City

Boston Boston

New York City

Boston 49 I FALL 2016

LA OUTREACH

2016

Senior Parent Gift

This year, as part of the Senior Parent Gift (SPG), parents of

students in the Class of 2016 had the opportunity to support the New Entryway Project, which, in the bigger master planning picture, is the initiation of a carefully planned, multi-year effort to shape and enhance LA’s campus. Under the leadership of co-chairs Kirsta and trustee Chris Davey (Sara ’10, Margaret ’16) and trustee Liz and Phill Gross (Jessica ’15, Thomas ’16), the class raised $493,000 to support both the Annual Fund and the school’s new entrance from Route 119. Of the monies raised, $250,000 went to the Annual Fund, and $243,000 has been designated for the project. Thomas '16, Jess '15, Anna, Phill and Trustee Liz Gross, and Pat Cochary (Liz’s mom)

The Entryway Project — supported by senior parents from the Classes of 2015 and 2016 — involves reconstructing the actual entry and arrival to campus, which will allow more direct and appealing access from Groton's Main Street to the heart of campus. Later steps of the design will redirect parking and traffic away from the Quad and campus core, to reinforce both the central academic and residential identity of the school while improving safety and circulation.

The Davey family, L–R: Walker, Kirsta, Margaret ’16, Chris (trustee), and Sara ’10

As a precursor to the Campus Master Plan, these leading improvements to campus landscape architecture will bring practical and aesthetic enhancements that will have powerful effects on Lawrence Academy’s identity for generations to come.

Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day Each February, parents provide those who work to support the LA community, both faculty and staff, with an outstanding luncheon in the MacNeil Lounge — an event eagerly anticipated by all. Providing this year’s delicious spread were: Front row, L–R: Jennifer Messer (Emily ’16), Maria Beck (Jacob ’18), Sue Barron (Thomas ’14, Anne ’17), Eileen Long (Meredith ’15, Donald ’18), and Bo Murphy (Tanner ’14, David ’16, William ’17); Back row, L–R: Jennifer Johnson (Jack ’18), Lori Healy (Liam ’18, Olivia ’20), Sheri Bojanowski (Elise ’16), Tracy Groves (Madeline ’13, Mitchell ’17), Amy Cerel (Ben ’13, Andrew ’17), Jill Adie (Billy ’16), Sue Bishop (Alden ’16), Kirsta Davey (Sara ’10, Margaret ’16), and Tina Duggan (TJ ’18, Jack’19) 50 I FALL 2016

Welcome Liz Harvey (Lilly ’18, Jake ’20) as the 2016–2017 PA Chair Boston

ALUMNI

Why I Give by Ron Ansin

Shortly after I became a trustee — way back in the early ’80s — I was walking across campus one night as the sun was setting. It’s a beautiful sight, just gorgeous. And I looked at the buildings and the grounds and the way the school was laid out, and I thought, “Gee, a lot of people have worked very hard over a period of about 200 years, at that time, to make this school what it is today.” Then I said to myself, “Now it’s my generation’s turn to see what we can do.” Since then, thanks in large part to philanthropy, the whole eastern side of the campus has been added. The vision which trustees and administrators have brought to this endeavor has been truly outstanding. Today, you just drive up on the Lawrence Academy campus, and it’s like, “Wow, this could be a spectacular college campus!” Ever since my daughter enrolled in 1977, I’ve come to love the school and do whatever I could to help LA: I’ve been on the Board of Trustees now for, gosh, over 30 years and been on just about every committee and have taken every opportunity to help both in terms of work and financial support. But recently, I’ve begun to consider what I might do in years to come. It occurred to me that what I’d really like to do, more than anything, is to continue my annual gift indefinitely. Annual giving is so important to the school — to any school —

and the way I could do that would be to make a gift to the endowment as a bequest that would then enable the school to take the same amount as my annual gift now — in perpetuity. You see, LA is great because it is able financially to undertake projects that go beyond the basic budget expenses. So, I think I’m fortunate to be in a position where I am able to give to the Annual Fund, and I’m happy to do so; I am also happy to see come to fruition so many things that we couldn’t do if we did not have sources of income beyond the basics. To me, when I give, the major thing that is in my mind is what LA has done for my children and now my grandchildren. I see it every day; it’s been virtually a continuous stream of children and grandchildren going to LA, and there’s more to come. And I enjoy very, very much watching them grow and succeed on campus and beyond. That’s what really opens the eyes of parents to why Lawrence is a special place. It’s not like the other schools they visited, and beyond the strong academics, arts, and athletics, it’s the very warm, supportive atmosphere that they can see just by looking around the Quad. And if they hear about things like the Advisor Program and Winterim, they see what’s so special about Lawrence Academy. Now, I can’t tell you that the decisions of trustees in years to come will be exactly the same as what I would do. However, I do know that if we continue to attract the best faculty and staff members — who then, in turn, attract the best students — that the odds are excellent that the school will continue to prosper and do very well.

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ALUMNI

Alumni Events 2015/16

FOOTBALL FOOD TRUCK – NOVEMBER 2015 • FLORIDA WINE TASTING 2016

Upcoming Events! 2 0 16 / 2 0 17 A LU M N I E V E N T S LA Circle Events: LA Circle Boston LA Circle New York City LA Circle Washington, D.C.

College Dinners and Young Alumni Happy Hours: Boston Others TBD

Social Events: Naples, Fla. Miami, Fla. Palm Beach, Fla. San Francisco, Calif. Los Angeles, Calif. Seattle, Wash.

New This Year: Career networking events in New York City and Boston Young Alumni Happy Hours College Dinners

Save the Date: Saturday, May 13, 2017 Day of Giving and Community Outreach, Greater Boston Friday, June 9, 2017 Class of 1967 50th Reunion Dinner Saturday, June 10, 2017 Reunion for classes ending in 2 or 7 Contact Betsy Cote director of development (bcote@lacademy.edu), if you’d like to help in planning.

www.lacademy.edu/alumniRSVP 52 I FALL 2016

ALUMNI

Alumni Association Hi, everyone!

ademy Alumni o-year stint as Lawrence Ac tw my in beg d an f sel my e Barron ’86, for I’m excited to introduce ut” to my predecessor, Su t-o ou “sh ick qu a e giv to the Alumni Council president. I want lcome the Class of 2016 to we to nt wa o als I rs. yea o i Council will be her leadership the past tw ase of your lives, the Alumn ph xt ne the to on ve mo Association. While you th Lawrence Academy. nected to and involved wi con u yo p kee to rd ha ng worki support ties graduates who foster and ted ica ded of up gro all sm fice to plan The Alumni Council is a with the Development Of y sel clo rk wo We i. mn between the school and alu events planned tiatives. We have exciting ini ’s LA rt po sup d an i, ton, D.C., as events, reach out to alumn w York City, and Washing Ne n, sto Bo in ts en Ev e rcl g out this year for this year, including Ci initiatives we will be rollin w ne o Tw y. ntr cou the oss the spring. well as social activities acr n, and a Day of Service in sto Bo d an rk Yo w Ne in include networking events ool events. bringing my family to sch d rte sta ve ha d an s pu cam g around on I always enjoy returning to under the lights and runnin e gam ll tba foo the ing tch y game. I’m Last year, my kids loved wa ging to see another hocke beg is son d -ol ear r-y fou my as I am, I hope the field at halftime, and en. If you’re not as lucky oft urn ret to s pu cam to gh fortunate to be close enou Event near you! you’ll join LA at a Circle nt contact information. be sure we have your curre so ed, nn pla r yea g itin director We have an exc te (bcote@lacademy.edu), Co tsy Be to t ou ch rea ase , so ple We’d love to hear from you of development, or me. Event near you soon! on campus or at a Circle I hope to see you all back Catie McMenamin ’97 t Alumni Council Presiden .com catie.mcmenamin@gmail

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ALUMNI

Strength From the Inside Out: Reunion 2016 54 I FALL 2016

ALUMNI

by Allie Goodrich ’13

In his State of the School address at Reunion 2016, Headmaster Dan Scheibe spoke of moments “worth celebrating and remembering.” For the alumni who returned to Groton take part in the annual event, those moments ranged from the memories evoked by simply being back on campus, to an emotional celebration of the latest class of inductees into the Lawrence Academy Athletic Hall of Fame, to a memorable dinner on the Quad. After a 50th Reunion Cocktail Reception and Dinner for members of the Class of 1966 at Park House on Friday night, Saturday morning kicked off with the Seventh Annual Tom Warner ’75 Memorial 5K Walk/Run. Under an overcast sky, with the cows on the slopes of Gibbet Hill grazing in the background, the race’s participants could be seen

rounding Murbach Field to climb the paths leading back to the finish line, marking the beginning of a full day ahead. Alumni then moved to the recital hall for Head of School Scheibe’s State of the School address and a meeting of the Alumni Association. “At the end of the day, this is already a beautiful environment,” Mr. Scheibe remarked as he outlined projects such as the turf field, the new entrance, and Lawrence House’s renovations — the most recent improvements prescribed in the campus Master Plan, and developments that will only enhance the beauty and utility of the campus. “I think of the whole educational program as a landscape: It takes place in a landscape, it takes place in a setting, which really should inspire people.

“The most important work we do is person to person, but there is something powerful about the landscape that you do the work in, and we want to make sure that we put effort into that,” he explained. As Lawrence Academy looks to continue those efforts, Mr. Scheibe also pointed to a projected map of the campus to highlight how, “if you turn the projects into a triangle and connect them together, what happens is that we’re really starting to focus our attention on the campus core.” Beyond a strong physical infrastructure, an institution’s core strength comes from a place of internal effort and depth that has the capacity to extend beyond itself and act as a catalyst for transformation — a sentiment expressed by former LA science teacher Jim Serach as he accepted the Faculty Appreciation Award.

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ALUMNI

Jim Serach — 2016 Faculty Appreciation Award “This is an amazing place,” said Serach. “I started my private school teaching career here…I was here for 20 years, and really, it was the formative part of my teaching career. Sometimes you need to be away from a place to see what the place looks like.” Perspective was a theme also addressed at the “A Road Less Travelled” Alumni Panel — a career-themed panel that featured Paul “Lefty” Wennick ’56 (music industry), Dan Giovacchini ’11 (startups), and Robyn Glaser ’86 (media and professional sports) — later that morning. As the three discussed their vocational passions and the skills they’ve found most necessary to success, Robyn emphasized the importance of emotional connection, explaining, “You have to operate as much from the heart as you do from the head.” “The skill that comes to my mind is empathy — how to relate with people, how to read people, how to work with people, how to learn from people, how to inspire them,” added Giovacchini. “Those are, 100 percent, things that I attribute to experiences like Winterim and [my time] on sports teams. Learning how to deal with loss, how to deal with failure — those are things that require a new set of skills and a new framework for thinking about learning and education and the world we now live in.”

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Following a lunchtime barbeque, former Spartans, friends, and family gathered in the Richardson-Mees Performing Arts Center (RMPAC), where LA’s head of school began the Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, this year honoring Guillermo Cantu ’86, Jonathan Edwards ’91, Kristen Laggis Pedroli ’95, Patricia MacDougall White ’92, and the 1955 Varsity Football Team. “The combination of affection and intelligence is what makes all of our educational work great,” said Mr. Scheibe, connecting the education garnered inside and outside the classroom. “We think of curating as something that has to do with putting objects in a place to commemorate something, but really what it’s about, I think, is exercising your love for something and sharing it with other people so they can love it.” Curating graduates’ collective love for LA is always a main theme during Reunion, and as the day wound down, alumni gathered under the tent on the Quad for cocktails, a New England-style clambake, and conversation — a fitting end to a day celebrating the connections fostered between a place and the people who come together there.

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2016 INDUCTEES GUILLERMO “MEMO” CANTÚ CLASS OF 1986 JONATHAN EDWARDS CLASS OF 1991 PATRICIA MACDOUGALL WHITE CLASS OF 1993 KRISTEN LAGGIS PEDROLI CLASS OF 1995 FOOTBALL TEAM 1955

Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony at LA

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Alumni Notes 1951 Don Wallace and his wife are “still living and breathing in the great town of Ayer, Mass.” He has been retired from New England Telephone for 30 years and has enjoyed retirement since then. Don writes, “Still married (60 years). We have seven children, 11 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, with two more on the way. Life is great.” He sends greetings to all his old LA classmates.

1956 Class agent Jay Beades received a note recently from classmate Art Tsigas, who wrote that he is “in general good health,” still doing his own yard work and running the snowblower in winter. Art is still a

member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, though these days, he says, “I pretty much limit myself to performing commercial fishing vessel exams for the Coast Guard.” He adds, “I’d like to get back to the [LA] campus one of these days and have someone give me a tour.” Another Coast Guard story comes from Ben Hallowell, who wrote about the recent Disney film The Finest Hours. In 1952, as a boy of 14, Ben witnessed the heroic rescue of the crew of the Pendleton, an oil tanker that had split in half off the coast of Cape Cod during a brutal nor’easter. Boatswain’s Mate First Class Bernie Webber, coxswain of the 36-foot Coast Guard motor lifeboat CG 36500, navigated a raging sea to rescue the 32 survivors of the disaster. Ben writes, “I have circumnavigated the entire coast of Cape Cod in that vessel, but never under

REUNION WEEKEND 2016 58 I FALL 2016

the circumstances that he faced. It’s hard to believe he got the survivors back to Chatham Fish Pier safely…I don’t think there was ever a more capable coxswain than Bernard C. Webber.”

1959 Joe Motta has transitioned to Family Private Investment at State Street Boston after a 25-year stint as managing director of Structured Finance and Investments. Previously, he was CEO and owner of Eastern Drug Company, divested to A. Nattermann & Cie GmbH in 1980. A graduate of Colgate University, the MIT Sloan School of Business, and the Stanford University Business School, Joe also lectures at the Boston University graduate school business entrepreneurship course

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and serves as a senior judge of business plans at Boston College Carroll Graduate School of Business.

1971 After 42 years with Samson Rope Technologies, Inc., Tony Bon has stepped down as CEO and will be retiring at the end of 2016. Starting in 1974 on the manufacturing floor in Samson’s Massachusetts facility, Tony advanced through the company in various positions until being named president in 2007 and CEO in 2013.

1972 Craig Graham is living in Amherst, N.H. Following a long and successful military career, he is working as regional manager and independent associate for LegalShield, a pre-paid legal service for individuals, families, and businesses.

1974 Cam (Smith) Leonard was in the area in June to visit family. A graduate of Cornell and UC Berkeley law school, he has been an attorney in Fairbanks, Alaska, for many years. He recently retired from the state’s Attorney General’s office, where he practiced environmental law, and now works part-time for a national firm called Perkins Coie, doing the same sort of work, but for project developers.

1975 Jay Gray has retired from 30-plus years in the high technology sector and IBM Federal Systems, and is living in Conway, N.H.

REUNION WEEKEND 2016 Eric “Harry” Reisman writes, “I’ve finished up my 26th year of teaching; all 26 have been as a high school special education teacher, a fact I am proud of. For the past 16 years, I have taught in Columbia, Md. My wife and I are enjoying being empty-nesters for the first time, as our 19-year-old baby is a freshman at Towson University, and our oldest is finishing up her second year of working at Ithaca College’s Hillel House (the Jewish organization on campus). My wife Sheryl is still a professor at Towson University, head of the Deaf Studies and Sign Language program. I am grateful to have such beautiful women in my life and grateful for all of the wonderful moments in my life.”

1980 Jim Wooster recently took over as Executive Director of Club Passim in Cambridge, Mass. Passim has been in Harvard Square for almost 60 years, featuring the best in folk and acoustic music. Jim writes, “We also run a small school of music and present several free concert series during the summer months. If you’re interested in hearing some fantastic music, please come by and say hi! You can reach me at jim@passim.org.”

1986 Noelle Desjarlais Slattery is living in San Diego with her husband and four of their six children. She writes: “Our oldest daughter, Lucy, moved back to Boston and is an interior designer. Our oldest son, Cade, is in STOMP, the off-Broadway percussion and movement show. The other children range in age from three to 15 — two boys and two girls. I am a trial attorney, and my husband is a director at a biotech company. We enjoy San Diego but consider Boston our home. I make it to the East Coast about four or five times a year, two weeks at the Cape in the summer with the kids. I keep in touch with Rebecca Keller, Ginny Morrison, and Brooke Hodess ’85, who lives out here in Los Angeles.” Alex (Barron) Dunser stopped by for a visit in January. He and his wife, Chrysa Balas ’87, who live in the Tampa area, were visiting New England on a business trip.

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#AlwaysASpartan 59 I FALL 2016

ALUMNI

Defense attorney Polly Phillips, of Concord, Mass., spoke at an April 19 Parents’ Association meeting in the Media Conference Center. The session was entitled “Take responsibility for who you would like to become: School Life Choices and Decisions.”

Elisabeth Neville ’86 was married to David Ambler

Elisabeth Neville was married to David Ambler in the garden of the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Mass., on Sept. 19, 2015. The bridesmaid to David’s left is Jennifer Riemer Rosado ’88. LA Trustee Jay Ackerman is the founder and CEO of AttaTeam!, a software-based product designed to help young athletes and their coaches maximize each individual’s potential. Classmate Jeff Serowik, founder of Pro Ambitions Hockey and a former NHL defenseman, chose AttaTeam! as their partners to deliver age-specific workouts to their players throughout the calendar year.

Renny DiLorenzo and his wife, Barbara, are owners of the Twelve Farms Restaurant in Hightstown, N.J. (Go to 12farms.com to see the restaurant.) Retired faculty member Jerry Wooding and family members stopped by there on a recent vacation and sent this picture (to the right).

Standing: Hilary Wooding Gregoire ’90, Renny DiLorenzo ’87, Barbara DiLorenzo, Jerry Wooding Seated: Sharon Wooding, Stephen Wooding ’88

1998

1993

Amanda Doyle Bouvier has been appointed Director of Development and Marketing for Junior Achievement of Northern New England.

Dr. Stephanie Clark, owner of Back To Life Chiropractic & Alternative Services in Hancock, N.H., has published a new book, A.L.I.V.E.: How to Transform Your Cells and Yourself from Disease to Wellness. The program, which Stephanie designed, “helps patients regain control of their

Alexis Wagner Waggoner and her husband Bryan welcomed Christian Robert Waggoner on March 7, 2016. “Baby Wags” weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Alexis is head women’s lacrosse coach at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va., and Bryan is the men’s soccer coach.

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health through education, purification, and health and wellness coaching.”

Tyler Avery-Miller and Ashley Alexander were married in September 2015.

ALUMNI

2004 Adrian Chapman and Rawan Missouri were were married in April 2015.

2006 Hayley Didriksen and Jon Janelle were married on Sept. 12, 2015. Anah Greenwood received her Ph.D. in linguistics on June 10, 2016.

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1999

2001

Brady Scott Richard was born to Melissa Baum Richard and husband John on March 12, 2016. Brady weighed in at a healthy 8 pounds, 13 ounces. John’s son, Brady Scott Richard Jordan Richard, is a member of Lawrence’s Class of 2020.

Jon Abrams is in his first year as director of choral music at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N.H. In addition to directing three different choral groups, he is teaching music history and AP Music Theory. He also continues to perform on the side as a piano and vocal artist.

Kevin Hill, a financial advisor with Centinel Financial Group, LLC in Needham Heights, Mass., was named a 2016 Five Star Wealth Manager from an independent survey conducted by Five Star Professional. The award recognizes a select group of wealth managers in the Boston area who excel in quality service and client retention. Kevin’s selection was announced in the February 2016 issue of Boston Magazine.

2000 Filmmaker Robbie Wildes’ feature film debut, Poor Boy, a story about two misfit brothers, premiered at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival last spring. The cast includes Michael Shannon of Boardwalk Empire. “I made a mini-movie junior year,” Robbie comments. “If it weren’t for Lawrence, I wouldn’t be a filmmaker.”

2002 Emily Rand, a producer for CBS News in New York, has been honored with the George Polk Award for Television Reporting for an investigative series on compounding pharmacy fraud. With co-producer Andrew Bast, she also shared an Emmy for the best report in a news magazine. The winning piece, on 60 Minutes, was “The Case of Alex Rodriguez.”

Amy (Hollstein) Wissman and husband Justin welcomed Declan Robert into the world on Dec. 28, 2015. She writes, “Hope all is well with you and everyone at the Academy!”

Declan Robert Wissman

2007 Proud parents Nina Serach Lauer and husband Jeff announce the birth of Adelaide Jeanette Lauer, born March 23, 2016. Adelaide entered the world at a healthy 7 pounds, 12 ounces.

Adelaide Jeanette Lauer

2003 Melissa Levine-Piro was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers for 2015. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in Massachusetts are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Melissa was also named a “10 Best” Attorney in the state for 2015 by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys.

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ALUMNI

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2008

2012

Faculty

Lynne Hartwell has been working for the past two years at DreamWorks Animation Television in Los Angeles, as a production coordinator for the new show Voltron: Legendary Defender. The show premiered on Netflix on June 10. Says Lynne, “It’s awesome!” Lynne is living in North Hollywood, Calif.

Nate Fritz and Sean Foster were both elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Colgate University upon their graduation last spring. Sean was the salutatorian of his class. LA classmate Renee Wysopal, who graduated from Trinity College in Connecticut, made “Phi Bate” as well!

Veteran faculty member Ned Mitchell and his wife Mary have spent their last summer as managers of Echo Lake Camp on Maine’s Mount Desert Island. The Mitchells ran the camp for 35 years, making the difficult decision to retire before the start of the 2016 season. Incoming managers Scott and Elly Preston describe the Mitchells’ legacy as “truly immeasurable.” “Ned and Mary made everyone feel special,” they add. “Whether you were a first-time camper or a veteran, Mary welcomed each person like a long-lost relative.”

2009/2010

Former Spartans

Sara Davey ’10 and Logan Gillis ’09 were married at the Wentworth by the Sea Country Club in Rye, N.H., on Aug. 6. Sara is in her second year in the admissions office at LA; Logan has started his own small business and is also the head coach of the Nashua North varsity baseball team. The couple is living in Nashua.

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Jaci Gordon, a 2016 graduate of James Madison University in Virginia, and tri-captain of JMU’s championship women’s lacrosse team last season, was named Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Player of the Year. As a junior, she recorded 40 goals and 22 assists for 62 total points to earn First Team All-CAA accolades. Jaci led the Dukes with a .727 shot percentage on 55 shots (48 on goal). She was also the league leader in freeposition goals (14).

Amadu Kunateh ’15, a midfielder for Dartmouth men’s soccer, was named Co-Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-Ivy. Amadu, a standout for LA during boys’ soccer’s run to the 2014 ISL and NEPSAC titles, started 12 of the 18 games the Big Green played his freshman year and scored four game-winning goals. Twice named Ivy League Rookie of the Week, the former Spartan standout tied for a team-high four goals, recorded 10 points, and took 27 shots.

Aziz Khan ’13, a sophomore forward for Amherst College men’s soccer, saw action in 16 games, scored three goals and six points off 21 shots, as his club went 18-1-2 overall and captured the program's first National Title (NCAA Division III) with a 2-1 win over Loras. Khan was a key component to Spartan boys’ soccer’s 2013 ISL championship.

Emily Field ’12, a recent grad of Boston College (where she amassed 138 points in four seasons with the women’s ice hockey Eagles) and a member of the National Women’s Hockey League’s Boston Pride, helped her team to the Isobel Cup as champions of the NWHL and appeared in the league’s first-ever all-star game. Field, who earned ISL honors while playing field hockey and girl’s ice hockey for LA, also played in the Outdoor Women’s Classic held at Gillette Stadium.

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Lawrence Academy Recognition Awards 2015–2016 Each year, Lawrence Academy recognizes outstanding students, alumni, faculty, and staff for their contributions to the school and to society. This year, these awards were proudly presented to the following recipients:

Founders’ Day Award For extraordinary service to Lawrence Academy, given on Founders’ Day Richard A. Johnson ’74

Greater Good Award For service to humanity, given on Founders’ Day to a student and on Cum Laude Day to a graduate Fall 2015: Taylor Goodman-Leong ’17 Spring 2016: Kevin White ’96

Kathy Peabody Book Award For service to Lawrence Academy students, given on Founders’ Day Carole Figgins, Building and Grounds

Alumni Faculty Appreciation Award Voted by alumni, given at Reunion Jim Serach: former science teacher

Departmental Chair for Excellence in Teaching Awarded annually for excellence in teaching, with the expectation of a presentation to the community by the end of the year in which the Chair is held 2016: John Curran

Award for 25 Years of Service Given to any employee who has achieved 25 years of service to Lawrence Academy Mark Burkholz

Robert W. Darling Faculty Chair Awarded every five years for excellence in teaching, appointed by the head of school 2011–2016: Cindy Moseley

Have a note to share in the 2017 Academy Journal? Forward info and pictures to alumni@lacademy.edu.

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In Memoriam Former LA Trusteee Bob White ’40 died Aug. 3, 2015. His connection with Lawrence Academy began as a teenager in the 1940s and grew into many different roles and expressions over the decades. An attorney with Sherburne, Powers, and Needham (now Holland and Knight), Bob was the school’s lawyer for many years. As an alumnus, Bob deeply loved LA. When he spoke in a board meeting, everyone listened. He had a strong presence, intelligent and articulate, and he knew the school inside and out. Bob had many memorable and influential moments during his tenure as a trustee. He was a Founders’ Day Award winner; he endowed the Margaret Price White Graduation Award in memory of his wife; and he provided for LA with planned giving. Bob was down-to-earth, and very easy to connect with. Very much a gentleman, he was thoughtful towards and interested in whomever he was speaking with. Harry E. Van Tuyl, Jr. ’48, died on Feb. 24, 2016. He was a loyal alumnus and always spoke of Lawrence Academy fondly. Graduating from the University of Kansas in 1952, he worked for Army Intelligence in Tokyo for two years. In 1954, he capped his travel experiences by sailing from Yokohama to Rotterdam on a Dutch freighter before returning to the United States and doing graduate work in geography at Clark University. Harry’s career was with the Central Intelligence Agency, where he worked for some 35 years. He married Alice Hawkins in 1958, and was a proud and loving father of two daughters. A voracious reader, he particularly enjoyed military history, biography, and the history of the Western Plains. He also loved traveling throughout the United States and Canada. In 1987, Harry and Alice retired from Arlington, Va., to Addison, Vt. They tremendously enjoyed their life in the Vermont countryside, their friends, and the many trips they made here and abroad. In addition to his wife, Harry is survived by daughters, Sarah Ray and Elizabeth Van Soltis, and by two grandchildren, Emily and James Ray. Bob McCarthy ’54 passed away in June of 2014. A graduate of Notre Dame, he attended officer candidate school at Quantico, Va., and served in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he became a helicopter pilot and attained the rank of colonel. A distinguished career as high school teacher-coach and college football coach followed his military service. Bob is survived by his wife, Jean R. Dodd, two daughters, two sons, three step-children, and many grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

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Harold “Jackie” Jackson ’57 passed away peacefully in Feb. 2016 at his home in Milwaukee, Wis. His family was with him as his long battle with a brain tumor came to an end. An outstanding basketball player at LA, he was also a member of the 1955 football team that was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in June. John Fraser ’60 passed away on Oct. 23, 2015, after a long battle with cancer. He leaves behind his wife Betsy, their three children, and five grandchildren. Bob Serino ’60 passed away peacefully on April 13, 2016. A graduate of Tufts University and Suffolk Law School, he served as a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserves and as a Blue and Gold Officer for the Naval Academy. He entered the honors program at the U.S. Justice Department in 1969; two years later, he became director of enforcement for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency at the U.S. Treasury Department. After retiring as deputy chief counsel at the OCC in 2000, he served Of Counsel at Buckley Sandler LLP and as senior advisor at Watkins Consulting. In addition to his wife, Marilyn, he leaves two daughters, four grandchildren, a sister, and a brother, as well as many nieces and nephews. Jonathan Wye ’72 died of a heart attack in Scituate, Mass., on Sept. 12, 2015, at the age of 61. He leaves a daughter, Barbara, a brother, Jeremy, and his loving companion, Debra Connolly of Scituate. Kevin White ’96 passed away in 2015 at the age of 37. After being injured in the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, he ran the 2014 and 2015 races for charity. In two years, Kevin raised more than $30,000 for the Greg Hill Foundation, which supported his family and other victims after the bombing; he was training to run in 2016 at the time of his death. The Foundation has created the Kevin P. White Outstanding Contribution Award to recognize people who have gone above and beyond to raise money and awareness for the nonprofit. Kevin was honored posthumously with the Greater Good Award at Cum Laude Day last April 27 (see article on page 28). Jonathan Schultz ’08 died on April 10, 2016, shortly after his 28th birthday. In lieu of flowers, Jonathan’s family has requested that donations be made to the Jonathan Schultz Memorial Fund, created by family friend Susan Lutz.

Community obituaries may be forwarded to alumni@lacademy.edu.

Advancing LA Since Lawrence Academy’s founding in 1793, the school has relied on and benefitted from generations of philanthropic support to advance its mission and provide the critical financial support of the Annual Fund, which directly impacts all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the school. Everything that makes Lawrence Academy an exceptional school – the students, the faculty, the academic programs, arts, athletics, and community life – is enhanced and enriched by gifts to the Annual Fund. Please consider making Lawrence Academy one of your top philanthropic priorities by making a gift to the Annual Fund today. Your gift provides a measurable impact on advancing the mission of the school and improving the quality of the educational experience each and every LA student receives. Please enclose your gift in the attached remittance envelope, or visit the following link to make an online gift now: www.lacademy.edu/onlinegifts