The Academy Journal LAWRENCE ACADEMY FALL 2023
Recognize • Inspire • Support • Empower Mission RISE-ing
How our renewed mission continues to make the light shine for all.
Senior Sunrise June 2, 2023, 5:32 a.m.
Board of Trustees of Lawrence Academy • 2023 Jason Saghir P’19, President Phyllis Rothschild P’20, Vice President Karen Mitchell Brandvold ’82; P’16, ’17, Secretary David Stone ’76, Treasurer Robert Achtmeyer ’97 Pamela Amusa ’06 Katherine Beede P’16 Melissa Bois P’22 G. Randall Chamberlain ’79 Cyrus Daftary P’25 Brit Dewey P’26 Susanna Gallant P’20, ’24 Hise Gibson P’24 Courtney Cox Harrison ’83 Kiyohiko Hirose ’94; P’22 Bradford Hobbs ’82 Robin Jones P’25 Greg Lauze ’00 Douglas Long P’15, ’18 Bruce MacNeil ’70; P’04 David Mazza ’01 Michael McLaughlin P’23, ’23, ’25 Catie Floyd McMenamin ’97 Peter Myette P’00, ’03 Kana Norimoto P’26 Devin O’Reilly P’24 Taylor Sele ’02 Edward Steinborn P’23 Richard Tyson, Jr. ’87 HONORARY TRUSTEES Lucy Crocker Abisalih ’76 George Chamberlain III P’79, ’81 Albert Gordon, Jr. ’59 Albert Stone P’74, ’76; GP’15
Contents Around LA 1
Lawrence Academy has a renewed mission.
4
Ron Ansin – Trustee, Parent, Benefactor, Friend
8
LA at a Glance
10 Senior Week at a Glance 14 Spring Arts and Athletics 16 Thank you to our Parents, Grandparents, and Special Friends! 18 Sally Hu ’25 (student profile) 20 Andrew Healy (faculty profile) 22 Welcome to LA (new faculty and staff) 25 Welcome, New Lawrence Academy Trustees! 26 LA says farewell to our faculty and staff retirees: Cindy Mercer, Jo-Ann Lovejoy, Alice Farrington, Krista Collins, and Laurie McGowan Alumni 30 Renee Perkins ’16 31 Jamas LaFreniere ’02 32 Reunion 2023 36 Class Notes 44 Obituaries
Alumni Council 2023 Pat Donoghue ’06, Chair Victor Howell, Jr. ’08, Vice-Chair Marianne Crescenzi Balfour ’88 Victoria Wellington Hanna ’97 Christopher Hazzard ’03 Lindsay Latuga Howard ’00 Paul Husted ’64 Ann Steward McGuire ’03 Clare Noone ’14 Ben Stone ’15
Cover photo by Libby Margraf P’24, ’27
Editorial Team Frances Chaves Beth Crutcher, director of advancement Kate Engstrom, faculty – learning coach Caitlin O’Brien P’26, director of advancement communications and special projects Anne O’Connor ’78
Prudence Glover, program manager for alumni advancement Ben Rogers ’02, director of alumni advancement Angela Stefano, editorial consultant
Layout/Design/Production Dale Cunningham P’13, graphic designer
Joseph Sheppard P’93, ’94, retired faculty
Photography
Editorial Council
John Chase
John Bishop, director of communications
Jonathan Gotlib, associate director of communications
Chris Davey P’10, ’16, assistant head of school for institutional strategy and advancement
Bob Perachio
Lawrence Academy has a renewed mission by Dan Scheibe P’23, head of school
Our mission states our reason for being, our day-to-day purpose, and what we hope to deliver to the students, families, and society we serve. The reveal here is not a brand-new mission: rather, it is an extension and refinement. If this were a home renovation, it would be a careful, functional addition with a high degree of finish — not a tear-down.
A school’s mission should be a big, real deal: active, full of meaning and direction. It should not be relegated to an 8x10 frame or the sidebar of a webpage. People are drawn to education — whether as students, parents, patrons, or professionals — because of the sense that something important happens in schools, something fundamental to human nature and human potential. A mission should describe these meaningful things as clearly and concisely as possible. Here is ours:
Our Mission
Our Vision
Lawrence Academy recognizes you for who
A transformative education
you are, inspires you to take responsibility
arises from a just community
for who you want to become, supports you
grounded in diversity, equity,
as you learn, and empowers you to take
inclusion, and belonging.
action for the greater good.
Our Practice RISE expresses our commitment to ... Recognize the distinctive qualities of each student and provide opportunities for growth; Inspire intellectual curiosity, commitment to learning and knowledge, and student leadership; Support students through teaching practices focused on who they are, how they learn, and what they experience socially and emotionally;
Empower students to exercise their strengths, elevate others, and contribute to the world.
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Lawrence Academy faculty, leadership, and trustees put a great deal of thought, work, and care into crafting this language, worth digging into here. Mission: Observers and fans of our previous mission will recognize the initial two clauses as the “short” or “20-word” version of our “old” mission. We still invest deeply in the individual transaction that takes place between school and student. The “new” parts carry equal current value: “support” as a fundamental characteristic of the learning environment at LA and “the greater good” as our ultimate direction and directive. Vision: In not-so-distant times, this language might have been regarded as a “DEI Statement” rather than a complementary vision to the school mission. We now understand the condition of “belonging” as a precondition for education of value. As described later, this sense is a critical part of both our founding and our future. The following point is equally important: diversity, equity, and inclusion are not a collection of ideologies; they are the practical ingredients of both learning and doing in an interconnected, interdependent, just world. Practice: As we have applied our mission over the last decade, we have embraced “recognition” and “inspiration” as active ingredients in the educational process. As we look to the future, we know that “support” and “empowerment” are equally critical components in the active practice of mission. It was a happy accident that these qualities combined into the aspirational, hopeful acronym RISE. It’s a shorthand we use to remember, rehearse, and refresh our mission.
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Mission, Vision, and Practice: Together, these three areas of activity represent the broadest ideals of education that drive us (vision), the particular way that Lawrence Academy applies those ideals (mission), and the day-to-day activities that drive student experience (practice). Together, they place a welcome burden on both school and teacher to manifest mission daily in individual student experience.
Lawrence Academy has an even deeper mission As significant as it is to have new language to help us understand Lawrence Academy’s distinct value and culture, it is even more profound to consider the language on which our strength and community are built. From the vantage of present institutional clarity, it is both gratifying and fortifying to consider the clear foundations on which this school was built. As I have communicated with increasing frequency in this space, the first words written to bring Lawrence Academy into being — put to paper, by hand, on March 14, 1792 — stand out for their currency and potency: “The happiness of community requires the dissemination of knowledge and learning among all the classes of citizens.” Anticipating the school’s motto (circa 1862), these words connected school purpose and value as well as any statement of mission or intention could. Lawrence Academy is built out of a fundamental concern for all. It is built for human flourishing. It identifies education as the essential activity needed for growth and goodness in human affairs. It envisions a warm, welcoming, just community. Before we even understood the powerful roles of culture and belonging
in all the complexity of the modern world, Lawrence Academy announced its intention to connect the act of education with the acts of citizenship.
A final note on our mission I have been in education for more than 30 years, and I am approaching 20 years in one or another leadership position in schools. This is the first time I have been involved in crafting a mission, and the process has been one of the most satisfying and encouraging experiences I have had as an educator. Maybe some of this has to do with the inherent satisfaction (particularly for the humanities inclined) of completing a written assignment. I suspect, however, that there is something about Lawrence Academy in particular that makes the exercise so rich and true.
When, after months of effort, the mission came before the faculty for a vote on May 11, 2023, there was a solemn understanding that the point of the mission was to effect powerful and present change in the lives of students. When, upon the unanimous approval of the faculty, it arrived to the board for a vote the next day, the board understood that it was doing “fiduciary work” of the highest order — putting words to the work of the Academy. And then when, upon the unanimous approval of the board, I presented Lawrence Academy’s renewed mission to the students in assembly on May 15, 2023, it felt like the fulfillment of a promise made way back in 1792. So we still RISE, student by student, to the benefit of all, to the happiness of community.
A short lexicon of key terms at LA Happiness of Community
Omnibus Lucet
Greater Good
Warm and Welcoming
RISE
(1792):
(1862):
(Award initiated 1993):
(past, present, future):
(2022-2023 and onwards):
The words behind the idea that made LA
Our Motto: The Light Shines for All
Not just a prize, but the end goal of mission
How we want to Recognize, Inspire, FALL 2023 LAWRENCE ACADEMY X X meet the world Support, Empower
Ron Ansin Trustee, Parent, Benefactor, Friend by Joseph Sheppard P’93, ’94
As Dan Scheibe wrote to the LA community shortly after Ron Ansin’s passing over the summer, “Ron was a generational force at Lawrence Academy, serving the school as a trustee over five decades, from the 1980s to the 2020s. Ron’s leadership and governance skills were unparalleled, but what set him apart was his ability to connect with and relate to everyone around him from an unshakable base of decency and affection. “Ron claimed all of the available real estate on an LA nametag: P’80, ’83, ’85, ’87; GP’03, ’05, ’14. Fittingly, his manner of care to an institution was as a thoughtful parent or grandparent: He asked, ‘What can we do to ensure the health and happiness of future generations through the things we uphold and create?’ In trying to pinpoint LA’s unique quality, Ron noted, “It’s the very warm, supportive atmosphere that they can see just by looking around the Quad.” Ron carried this quality of
L-R: Chris Margraf P’24, ’27, Ben Williams, and Ron Ansin
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warmth and support with him and shared it generously. Ron Ansin always remembered your name. And once you’d met him, you couldn’t forget the warm smile, the firm handshake, and the kind words with which he greeted you every time you saw each other. Successful in business for many years, Ron became a philanthropist — not because that’s what one does when one has the means to do so, but because it gave him pleasure to give in ways that made things better. It was just in his nature. He saw four children and three grandchildren through Lawrence Academy and was deeply grateful for what the school did for them. “To me, when I give, the major thing that is in my mind is what LA has done for my children,” he said a few years ago. “That’s what really opens the eyes of parents to why Lawrence is a special place.”
L-R: Ron Ansin, Bill Mees, and George Chamberlain P’79, ’81
Ron Ansin believed in the school and its mission.
Ron joined LA’s Board of Trustees in 1980 and was a regular presence on campus for many years thereafter. He attended shows and concerts, marched in the Graduation procession, and came to parents’ and grandparents’ days. “Shortly after I became a trustee, way back in the early ’80s,” he told the Academy Journal several years ago, “I was walking across campus one night as the sun was setting. It’s a beautiful sight, just gorgeous. 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.’” What Ron did over the years was to transform the face and heart of the campus. The beautiful classroom building that bears his family’s name is witness to his belief in the school and its mission. More broadly, he simply gave Lawrence Academy students space to learn. To all who knew him, Ron’s legacy lives in their hearts. To those who will never have the good fortune to meet him, the Ansin name will be revered in the history of Lawrence Academy — and you’ll hear it often.
“Ron Ansin always remembered your name. And once you’d met him, you couldn’t forget the warm smile, the firm handshake, and the kind words with which he greeted you every time you saw each other.”
Thank you, Ron. We will miss your uplifting presence.
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Many members of the larger Lawrence community — alumni, present and former faculty, and friends — have written notes of condolence on the LA website. We offer a sampling here, leaving the writers anonymous: Graduate: Ron combined personal warmth, creativity, confidence, tremendous strength of character, and a deep concern for the well-being of every student, every faculty member and administrator, every staff member, and every fellow trustee. No one in my memory was more dedicated to Lawrence Academy and more generous in supporting its mission, celebrating its successes, and envisioning its future. He was an amazing and wonderful human being. We were so lucky to have him on our team. Graduate: I had the good fortune to meet Ron Ansin more than 20 years ago when I was visiting the campus. In our short time together, Ron made a profound impression. Even so, I realized that there was much more to this man than met my eye, and I hoped I would see him again sometime soon and get to know him better. That never happened, and I’m sorry for that.
I did, though, have occasion some years later to meet one of Ron’s grandsons, a then-recent graduate. This young man was intelligent and ever so gracious, just like his grandfather. I was happy for this encounter. The Lawrence Academy community has indeed lost a dear and inspirational friend. Parent of Alumni and Trustee: Always a smile, always a greeting by your first name, a bright, beautiful beam of light that will always shine in our hearts and souls. I am grateful to have known him and served with him on the board. And mostly to have learned from this giant of a man. He once told me in regard to philanthropy… “Give until it feels good.” Graduate: I had the pleasure of meeting Ron several times at Lawrence Academy (I worked in the College Office for several years in the 1990s). He was always lovely
and gracious to everyone he met. His grandson, Ryan, an equally lovely young man, was a classmate of our son, Dylan (they graduated together in ’05). Our hearts, prayers, and thoughts are with the Ansin family. Sending them our condolences and strongest hugs. Graduate: So sorry for your loss and thankful for all you and your family have done for LA. An exemplary example of commitment and service. Parent of Alumni: Ron was someone who could talk to everyone and anyone no matter their status in this world. He always had a smile for all. He truly cared for LA. He will be truly missed by an abundance of people from all walks of life, especially the Lawrence Academy family.
View memories and notes of condolence from members of the Lawrence community and share your own at www.lacademy.edu/ronansin.
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L-R: Ryan Ansin ’05, Ken Ansin ’83, Kris Ansin ’03, Ron Ansin P’80, ’83, ’85, ’87; GP ’03, ’05, ’14, and Cherie Ansin
Top 3 Reasons to Give to the LA Fund Each year, gifts to the LA Fund play a role in limiting tuition increases and support the rich programming critical to the LA experience.
1. It’s for our students. By contributing to the operating budget, your gift to the LA Fund supports every student, every day. 2. It’s for the faculty and staff. Your contribution supports the work of our educators, whose tireless devotion impacts students in the classroom, in the art studios, on the playing fields, and beyond.
3. You are the giants on whose shoulders we stand. Every LA founder gave what they could so that education would be available for the entire community. For more than 230 years, giving has been a powerful tradition responsible for the continuity and expansion of LA. Band together and pay it forward!
You make the difference. Please support the LA Fund.
Have other questions about the LA Fund or want to share a story about why you give? Please call Tonya Kalmes, director of development and annual giving, at 978-448-1566, or email at tkalmes@lacademy.edu.
LA at a Glance
March–June 2023
March 6–17
April 21
Winterim
Multinational Fair
During the first two full weeks of March, our students were immersed in Winterim, Lawrence Academy’s longstanding tradition of experiential education. Winterim is a central feature of LA’s educational program, breaking students out of their routines and groups and encouraging them to open their minds, bodies, and hearts to new experiences and relationships. There were more than 20 programs to choose from, including “Master Chef,” “Give Kids the World,” “Quilting is Sew Easy,” “Building an Elegant Canoe,” “Service Learning in the Dominican Republic,” “Leading Men: Championing Healthy Masculinity in the LA Community,” and “Sports Journalism.”
On April 21, LA’s international community welcomed all students, faculty, and staff to learn more about the different cultures and countries represented at the school. MacNeil Lounge was transformed into a world’s fair, with food, music, activities, and celebration.
April 14
April 24
Poetry Walk
Cum Laude Day and Greater Good Award Presentation
On April 14, the Library Squad installed a poetry walk on campus in honor of National Poetry Month. For the remainder of the spring term, the LA community enjoyed a walkthrough of poetry penned by Spartans from all grades.
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On April 24, the entire LA community gathered in the RMPAC for the tradition of Cum Laude Day. The day’s ceremony included student inductions into the Cum Laude Society, along with the presentation of departmental book awards for academic excellence and effort. Additionally, the Greater Good Award was presented to Jazz Reed ’14.
April 28
May 15
Friday Assembly Surprise
National Peace Officers Day
On April 28, not only were our Spartans surprised by the announcement of a Head’s Holiday, but they were also entertained by a fantastic lip-sync battle between our two Tonys (Mr. Karibian and Mr. Hawgood), who performed “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” and Ms. Lawler, who did “Wrecking Ball.” Congrats to Ms. Lawler on her victory!
At assembly on May 15, members of LA’s First Responders Club, Daven Allard ’25 and Brian McLaughlin ’25, gave a presentation about National Peace Officers Day and honored two members of the Groton police force: our former School Resource Officer Omar Connor and K-9 Officer Greg Steward ’07. (They are pictured here with police dog Baine.)
May 9
May 19
Mountain Day, the Spring Version
Passing of the Shield
This year’s Mountain Day, a longstanding LA tradition, was postponed this past fall because of weather challenges. A special spring version of the outing was scheduled for the senior class only, but they kindly invited the rest of the campus community to join!
2023 President CJ Schuster ’23 and cabinet members Jinny Buransombati ’23 and Tommy Whitlock ’23 handed off the Spartan shield to next year’s president, Serena Chang ’24, and her 2023-2024 cabinet Owen Leahy, Izzy Parisian, and Zaiden Huggins.
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Senior Week at a Glance Kickball and Ultimate Frisbee Class Competitions Senior Week kicked off on May 30 with class-based kickball and ultimate frisbee competitions on the turf. With LA seniors serving as the coaching staff, the entire student body had a wonderful time, no matter who won.
Prom The 2023 prom was held just across the street from campus at the Barn at Gibbet Hill. Our seniors and their guests celebrated and danced the night away!
Beach Day, Field Day, and the Yearbook Signing Party While the seniors enjoyed Beach Day in Salisbury, Mass., the ninth, 10th, and 11th grade students set up for Field Day on the Quad. Ice cream, slip-n-slide, lawn games, volleyball, tug-of-war, and a “color throw” created a great way to celebrate the end of the year! Later that evening, the graduating seniors gathered at Park House one final time to sign yearbooks, reminisce, and enjoy a bonfire with s’mores.
Preparing for Graduation Seniors began the day with graduation rehearsal, then signed the official alumni register and dedicated a tree on campus in honor of their class. Right after brunch, the Class of 2023 departed for their senior trip to Kimball Farm, which was followed by a family dinner and Senior Prize Night.
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COMMENCEMENT 2023
Meehan Asks LA Grads to “be on the Right Side of History…” by John Bishop
The speaker didn’t mince words. “Your generation will need to confront the climate crisis, our culture’s addiction to guns and the resulting gun violence, threats to our democracy and human rights, the ongoing cancer of racism, the rise of antisemitism, and the growing economic inequality,” said University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan P’26 to the 115 graduates gathered on the Quad for Commencement on June 2, 2023. “You'll face many situations where you have to decide whose side to take, about whom to stand up for, about when to use your voice, and how to use your power and your privilege.” Building his argument, Meehan spoke about another member of the Lawrence Academy community who used his voice, power, and privilege for good: Amos A. Lawrence, a merchant, philanthropist, and abolitionist. Then, noting the many difficult decisions and stands his colleague in Congress, Sen. John McCain, needed to make over his career, Meehan recalled that the Arizona Republican said he worked to “be on the right side of history.”
To wit, Meehan echoed many lessons LA students garnered over the past year. In this school cycle, the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. continued to be a touchstone for Lawrence Academy. Citing a 1968 MLK speech in Washington, D.C., entitled “A Proper Sense of Priorities,” Meehan quoted Dr. King, saying:
There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right. Finally, noting longstanding traditions at Lawrence Academy and ways of thinking pioneered by abolitionist A. A. Lawrence, and recalling MLK and his friend John McCain, Meehan implored LA’s outgoing students, “When you are confronted with difficult moments — when what you choose to do will be remembered… — I ask that you adhere to the values you developed and honed here at Lawrence Academy and the tradition of Amos Lawrence, Martin Luther King, and Senator McCain. “I ask that you choose to be on the right side of history,” he concluded. FALL 2023 LAWRENCE ACADEMY 11
As always, student speakers’ comments were heartfelt and often moving. Senior Cabinet President CJ Schuster asked his classmates to “take a moment. Look to your left, look to your right. Soak in this moment.” He added, “I promise you this will be worth it; you’re going to remember it forever.”
CJ Schuster
Olivia Ristaino
Tommy Whitlock
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The two senior graduation speakers, Olivia Ristaino and Tommy Whitlock, spoke eloquently of their experiences at Lawrence. Olivia spoke of “my newfound confidence,” which “spread to the other facets of my life. I started painting what I wanted to paint, not what I thought other people wanted to see. I started dressing in the clothes I had always admired but never thought I could pull off. I experimented with colorful makeup because that was what interested me. I started attending school events and sports games because I wanted to become a part of the community, not just a bystander. I started standing up for myself and what I believe in, both in and out of the classroom. And I branched outside of myself, especially this year. I finally grew tired of the constant voice in my head that was telling me I wasn’t enough, and so, I opened up to more people, the people I had been too scared to talk to ... and let me tell you, I don’t regret a second of it.” Tommy summed up his LA years this way: “I now realize how far I have come. This could not have been done without my peers and teachers at LA. What this school has ultimately pushed all of us to do throughout our time here is to go beyond our comfort zone. Social-distance-sophomore-year Tommy would have never guessed he would be where Treasurer-Tommy is today, and I know I’d make him proud .... What I am trying to say is that it is Lawrence Academy’s fault I turned out this way. Pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones is never easy, but it is essentially how I plan on living the rest of my life. And I hope it’s how all of you will live your lives, too, because it’s what LA has taught us to do.” Just before it was time to toss the mortarboards into the air, Head of School Dan Scheibe sent the Class of ’23 on their way: “Beloved Class of 2023, keep loving, keep playing, keep learning, keep singing. Thank you for who you are, and now let’s go get to it.”
Dan Scheibe
G R A D U AT I O N AWA R D S 2 0 2 3
Senior Awards
Underclass Awards
The Adrian Chen ’92 Award (linguistic and cultural fluency): Daichi Seki and Phoebe Wachira
Note: awarded during Cum Laude Day
The Benjamin Davis Williams Prize (leadership and innovation): Alexandra Kelly
The Carl A.P. Lawrence Award (competence and loyalty): Madeline Gibson ’24
Kaitlyn Nhi Nguyen Service Society: Ham Swartwood and Annie Pendleton The David Thomas Kinsley Prize for Public Speaking: Paloma Harker The Faculty Award (conduct and character): Owen Benedict
The Dartmouth College Book Award (intellectual and extracurricular leadership): Joshua White ’24 The David Soren Yeutter Memorial Award (appreciation of natural beauty and LA): Z LeStage ’24 and Kinh Kieu ’24
The Ferguson Prize for Leadership: CJ Schuster The Howard Glaser ’55 Award (school spirit): Tommy Whitlock
The Harry and Ann Davidson Prize (effort to achieve): Mako Muvirimi ’24
The Mary Elizabeth Chickering Prize (academic accomplishments and wholesome attitude): Liv Ristaino
The Harvard Book Prize (scholarship and character): Anthony Coston ’24
The Melvin Mann Award (leadership and respect): Ham Swartwood
The James E. Baker Prize (development in attitude and scholarship): Owen Leahy ’24
The Norman and Catherine Grant Award (sportsmanship): Bryce Thomas The Pillsbury Prize for Character and Conduct: Abigale Moran and Keagan Ryan The Pillsbury Prize for General Improvement: Thais Ruiz The Raymond A. Ilg Jr. Award (achievement in athletics): Taylor Wiercinski The Richmond Baker Prize (athletic leadership): Anya Nichipor and CJ Jahnle
The Margaret Price White Award (motivation and work ethic): Dawit Hawgood ’25 The Thomas B. Warner ’75 Memorial Prize (determination to achieve): Se-Hanna Mars ’24, Aly Beloff ’24, and Madeline Margraf ’24 The Proctor Award (integrity, initiative, and responsibility): Michael Gregoire ’24
The Thomas Park ’29 Memorial Award (loyalty and dedication): Ella Rago The Treisman Prize for Superior Scholastic Achievement: Sergei Leonov The Whitehurst Prize (exceptional growth): Mac Ribner
“Beloved Class of 2023, keep loving, keep playing, keep learning, keep singing. Thank you for who you are, and now let’s go get to it.”
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S P R I N G A RT S
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S P R I N G AT H L E T I C S
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Thank you to our Parents, Grandparents, and Special Friends!
Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day On May 10, the campus was filled with grandparents and special friends who came to LA for this beloved annual tradition. This year’s event was held on the library terrace, and the weather was perfect! Guests were treated to a short program from Head of School Dan Scheibe and two student poets: Peter Scheibe ’23 and Paloma Harker ’23. Afterwards, grandparents and special friends had the opportunity to join their students for a brief class before heading back to the terrace for lunch. Our community was enriched by their presence.
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Spring Social and Fundraiser On May 6, the LA community gathered for the annual Spring Social on the library terrace. This year’s theme was “Happiness of Community” — which was apparent throughout the night. We are happy to report that over $56,000 was raised in support of the LA Fund through both live and silent auction purchases. This longstanding tradition requires dedicated parent leadership. This year’s co-chairs, Sarah Bast (Griffin ’23) and Kristin Gaynor (Will ’25), provided that leadership through their enthusiasm, commitment, and support to help ensure the success of the evening. We are also extremely grateful to our parent volunteers, who worked tirelessly to procure auction items, envision the event décor, and devote their time during the evening. As always, we extend a sincere thank you to the LA parent community for their continued investment in the school and commitment to furthering the Lawrence Academy mission.
Our Parents’ Association After an extremely successful year, we say goodbye to our Lawrence Academy Parents Association president, Amy Kelly (Alex ’23, Addie ’26). Amy was a champion of LA, and her dedication to the school will leave a lasting impact on our community. We are extremely grateful for her leadership this past year.
Lawrence Academy community, and with the individual committee chairs who support all of our efforts on and off campus.
As we look toward the future, we are excited to welcome last year’s vice president, Jeana Colangelo (Alex ’25), as the 2023-2024 Parents Association president. Joining Jeana this year on the LAPA Executive Committee are Vice President Gina Szymanski (Ava Racanelli ’25) and LA Fund Chair Cyndi Abbott (Jake ’25). Jeana, Gina, and Cyndi will play an integral role partnering with the Advancement team to strengthen parent engagement, giving, and participation. We look forward to collaborating with these three outstanding members of the
L-R: Vice President Gina Szymanski (Ava ’25), President Jeana Colangelo (Alex ’25), and LA Fund Chair Cyndi Abbott (Jake ’25)
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Sally Hu ’25 appreciates LA’s supportiveness, close community, and fresh air by Caitlin O’Brien P’26
“D
on’t worry too much. Relax. Be you. Work hard, play hard, and you’ll have so much fun,” is the advice Sally Hu ’25 offers to new international students at Lawrence Academy. Sally, a second-year junior from Beijing, China, has followed her own advice and embraced all that LA has to offer. She takes violin lessons at Groton Hill Music Center and is in their youth orchestra, leading the section two violins. She is an alto in the Lawrencian Chorale, participates in dance, and was in the winter musical, Mean Girls. She is an international Spartan Leader, a Class of 2025 class representative, and a campus tour guide. And she organized a Lunar New Year celebration on campus. Before coming to Lawrence Academy, Sally attended three schools, all in Beijing. Those educational experiences emphasized uniformity and tradition, student integrity, leadership, and academic success, and helped Sally prepare for LA. She easily adjusted to LA’s curriculum and teaching format but notes one significant difference: “LA doesn’t feel like a school at all sometimes. It’s a very well-rounded little community, where teachers and students come together, making LA a great place to both live and study,” Sally says, adding, “LA is very supportive towards every student and listening to the student’s voice.” Because Sally applied to Lawrence Academy during the COVID pandemic, she first stepped on campus when she began school in the fall of 2022. “On my 16th birthday, I stepped on the plane, alone, into a country I’ve never been to, into a school that I didn’t even know in fact existed,” she
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recalls. She arrived at campus around midnight. It was her first experience with New England weather, which she describes as “night breezes … they are sharp and hard like blades, yet so malleable that they can sneak into every little unsealed gap between my clothes and body … enveloping a layer of cold air.” Although the transition to Groton’s climate has been challenging, Sally has grown to love the landscape and the access to fresh air and nature. “Waking up and seeing all that greenery outside, while breathing in that pure and fresh air as I step outside my dorm, feels … great,” she says. In fact, Sally says her dorm room, with its eight windows, “gave me a great advantage on seeing the seasons change and marveling at the wonders of nature. Seeing the trees right at my window turn red, bald, then covered in frosting-looking snow, sprout with little green buds, blossom, and back to the prosperous green tree I met when I was first on campus was so marvelous.” To Sally’s surprise, homesickness hasn’t been an issue. “I think one of the reasons why is because LA purposely keeps the students busy in the beginning of the year to help them experience new things and find their position within the community,” she reasons. “I was also very lucky to be surrounded by a great number of amazing people who really helped me feel very at ease.” Although many of Sally’s favorite experiences at LA so far have been in the performing arts, she looks forward to playing a sport and starting a student club, PandaPals, which will help provide fundamental English education to kindergarteners in Ya’an, a small city in the south of China, best known as the hometown of pandas.
“LA doesn’t feel like a school at all sometimes. It’s a very well-rounded little community, where teachers and students come together, making LA a great place to both live and study.”
F A C U LT Y P R O F I L E
Andrew Healy: “Way Beyond a Professional Camp Counselor” Andrew Healy (dean of students) with Kimberly Poulin P’18,’ 21 (assistant dean of students, director of community engagement, and learning specialist)
LA’s dean of students is living his dream by Angela Stefano
Before Andrew Healy arrived on the elm tree–shaded hillside nearly a decade and a half ago, he spent a couple of years teaching math at a boarding school in Connecticut. His tenure there was short, but extremely impactful, influencing the ethos that has helped him as Lawrence Academy’s dean of students for the better part of a decade and be a beloved Spanish teacher, coach, advisor, and dorm parent for even longer. Andrew majored in economics and Spanish (and later earned a master’s degree in Spanish) at Vermont’s Middlebury College, but when he opened the textbook he was to teach from that first year in Connecticut, he found that he’d forgotten much of the math he excelled at in high school. The experience, he reflects, “reshaped how I approach
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teaching; it reshaped how I prioritized what the lessons are and what we’re trying to accomplish with the students.” Andrew understood that his students needed to leave his class with a grasp of the material, but he could also show them the importance of the skills you learn while learning: the abilities to solve problems; question, research, and form opinions; communicate; and self-advocate. It’s a mindset that aligns perfectly with LA’s goal to recognize, inspire, support, and empower (RISE) students, setting them up for success when they graduate and move on to new adventures. “I really do believe,” Andrew says, “we’re using our subject matter, we’re using our position, we’re using the opportunities that we have in everything that we do, to instill in the students those soft skills that are going to allow them to achieve success.”
Andrew jokes that, despite never going to summer camp himself, he long considered “professional camp counselor” to be his dream job. “It was this very idealized vision of what a good life would be,” he explains. Being dean of students, he says, is as close to living out that dream as he can get, despite outside perceptions that the role is all about “sex, drugs, rock and roll, and sign-outs” (i.e., discipline). “People very often introduce me or otherwise present the position as one that seems like a really undesirable one,” Andrew admits, “and I think that glosses over the heart of what the position is, which is helping other people and having an impact and hopefully changing for the better the trajectory they’re on.”
“As a community, we’ve done a much better job of identifying the areas where we’re not meeting student needs, and we’ve done a much better job of trying to circle all our resources around all of the students that are here on campus in order to make sure everyone is feeling supported, empowered and recognized,” Andrew adds. “There is so much they have to sift through and sort through … Increasingly, I think that’s where the need is.” Andrew’s goal is to leave LA — both the campus and the community — better than he found it, in part because it’s made him better. LA is where Andrew met his wife, Kimberly Bohlin Healy, now the school’s associate director of college counseling and director of athletic programming. The couple got married on the McDonald Library terrace, and they and their children, Reade and Tate, live on campus.
“An enormous amount of what I cherish most in my life, I attribute
Andrew remembers experiencing some anxiety about assuming the role early on. “I guess if you really wanted to take this view, you could look at every moment and every behavior of every student on campus and say it’s the dean of students’ responsibility to make sure what’s right and not wrong, appropriate and not inappropriate, and within the school’s mission, and that’s a slightly intimidating role to have,” he says. But he’s found that certain basic skills — open and clear communication, consistency, intentionality — make weathering both the highs and the lows of the job easier. Keeping his other on-campus roles has helped, too, especially for someone who describes himself as a natural introvert.
to Lawrence Academy.”
“An enormous amount of what I cherish most in my life, I attribute to Lawrence Academy,” Andrew says. “There aren’t too many people out there who can claim that the school has more positively influenced them than me, and I’m incredibly mindful of that … of the people I’m around and the quality of character that exists in this space … That’s really important because it’s what drives me and what makes the difficult a little bit easier to manage and what makes the easy truly satisfying and gratifying.”
“You form relationships with students, they see you in a different light, when you are working with them on the Spanish alphabet or conversation skits,” Andrew says. “Me telling them to do something because I’m the dean of students and them doing it because they’re the student isn’t going to work, so there needs to be buy-in, and I think you get the best buy-in possible when you have a relationship with the students.” Moving forward, Andrew anticipates that the external pressures on teenagers will continue to increase, meaning his role on campus will remain vital. He is consistently determining how to get better at his job.
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Welcome to LA! Whether they live on or off campus, all faculty participate in Lawrence Academy’s residential life program, either as dorm parents or affiliates. Additionally, all serve as advisors, and most have coaching or extracurricular responsibilities as well.
Kyle Adamian joins the Lawrence Academy staff as an accountant in the Business Office, after spending more than five years as the accounting supervisor for Privatus Care Solutions in Lexington, Mass. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Eastern Michigan University and an M.B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University. Jackson Bilbrey is new to Lawrence Academy’s history department this school year. A 2023 graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. (B.A., English), he spent this past summer working as a Summer Session teacher at Canaan, N.H.’s Cardigan Mountain School and was a nature camp counselor at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Woodstock in Summer 2022. Jackson also has experience as a student instructor with America Reads. Melanie “Mel” Dexter returns to the math department this school year, after previously teaching math and coaching varsity field hockey and varsity girls’ ice hockey at Lawrence Academy in 2014-2016. She arrives back at LA from Connecticut’s Avon Old Farms School, where she taught engineering and computer science; was both a coordinator and instructor for the school’s health, wellness, and DEI program; and coached the varsity swimming and diving, JV tennis, golf, and robotics teams. Melanie received her bachelor’s degree (industrial engineering) from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and her master’s degree (education) from the University of Pennsylvania, and she is working toward a Ph.D. in transformative social change from Saybrook University.
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The Lawrence Academy Spartans have gained Sean Foster, LA’s new assistant athletic trainer. A graduate of Springfield College (B.S., athletic training), he is a certified and licensed athletic trainer with experience in athletic training at his alma mater, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, and Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I. New history teacher Mike Foustoukos joins Lawrence Academy from Littleton Public Schools, where he taught history and social studies since 2013. During his time at Littleton, Mike also coached the boys’ varsity basketball team and served on the school leadership team as a curriculum coordinator and as a club advisor. He holds both a bachelor’s degree (business administration, with a focus in finance) and a master’s degree (education) from Merrimack College in Andover. Anthony Giovino, who previously worked as a fight choreographer and movement director at Lawrence Academy, is now teaching theatre at LA. Anthony graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.F.A. in acting. During his time there, he also studied abroad at Theatre Academy London. He has previously worked as a director at Boston College High School and a music and drama specialist at Camp Three Rivers in Concord, and also as a special education tutor at Concord’s Willard/Alcott Elementary School and an LTS English teacher at Watertown High School.
Lawrence Academy’s new director of human resources is Maggy Godfroy, who arrives on campus from Concord Academy, where she served as director of human resources since 2015. She’s also previously worked at Sasaki Associates, Inc. (director of professional resources, 2013-2015) in Watertown, Mass., and Boston’s Shepley Bulfinch, where she spent 12 years in various roles. Maggie holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., and studied human resources management and personnel administration through Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Heather Hooven has joined Lawrence Academy as a learning specialist. Previously, she was a seventh and eighth grade English teacher and the academic support coordinator at Bancroft School in Worcester. She also has experience as a special education teacher (Monroe Township High School and Montgomery Township Upper Middle School and High School, both in New Jersey) and as the assistant to the head of school at Birches School in Lincoln. She holds a bachelor’s degree in human development (with a minor in elementary education and a specialty in special education) from Boston’s Wheelock College. Sheri Howard is our new accountant. She arrives on campus from Harvard Business School, where she was working as a financial analyst contractor, though she has also previously worked at BNY Mellon (2009-2023) and PNC Bank (2002-2009), both in Westborough. Sheri attended Becker College, where she studied accounting and business management, and Mount Wachusett Community College, where she studied accounting and psychology. Also now at Lawrence Academy as a learning specialist is Anna Jarnyrd, who has been on campus since 2022 as a coach and dorm parent. She is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine (B.S. in sociology with a concentration in medical sociology; minor in art history) and also received a wellness counseling certification from Cornell University. Since 2014, Anna has worked with the Bacaanda Foundation in Oaxaca, Mexico, as a social media strategist and health and wellness educator.
Jen McAleer ’03 is Lawrence Academy’s new assistant dean of academic affairs and director of learning support. She is a graduate of both Colby College (B.A. in religious studies; minor in education) in Waterville, Maine, and Lesley University (M.Ed. in moderate special needs, pre-K-8th grade) in Cambridge, and holds professional licenses in middle school mathematics (5th-8th grades) and special education, moderate disabilities (pre-K-8th grade). Jen comes to LA after 15 years at the Carroll School in Lincoln, where she was head of the middle school math department, a teacher leader, and a seventh and eighth grade math teacher. Jacquie Macdonald, a new English teacher on campus, joins Lawrence Academy from Chapel Hill Chauncy Hall School in Waltham, where she held a variety of roles: English teacher (since 2014), dorm parent (since 2014), head softball and girls’ varsity basketball coach (since 2016), and sophomore class dean (2018-2022). She has also previously worked at Nashoba Brooks School in Concord and Milton Academy. Jacquie earned her bachelor’s degree in English (with a minor in history) from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. Matthew “Max” Marchiony joins the Lawrence Academy math department after graduating from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. with a B.A. in quantitative social science. He has experience as a private geometry tutor and has also worked as a ski instructor trainer for Dartmouth Snow Sports. New to Lawrence Academy’s arts department is Kestrl “Kes” Maro ’18, who will be teaching digital/visual arts. They are a 2022 graduate of Boston’s Massachusetts College of Art and Design (B.F.A., studio for interrelated media), and they were also part of a GrubStreet advanced poetry workshop in the fall of 2022. Kes most recently worked as an illustrator and graphic designer for Trivium Interactive in Boston and as a private writing tutor, but they also have experience as a production assistant and as a muralist. They have had several poems published, and their work has been displayed at the Lockkeeper’s House on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. FALL 2023 LAWRENCE ACADEMY 23
Welcome to LA! (faculty and staff), continued Victoria Mercouris is new to Lawrence Academy’s science department this school year. A graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (B.S., robotics engineering), she comes to LA from Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, La., where she was a high school makerspace instructor, teaching coding, computer science, and related courses. She also coached the school’s competitive robotics team and volunteered with the FIRST robotics community.
Another new math teacher, Annalisa Peterson arrives at Lawrence Academy with more than two decades of experience teaching high school students, most recently at Newton’s Mount Alvernia High School, where she taught math and physics since 2015. She holds a bachelor’s degree (math, music) from Wellesley College and both a master’s degree (mathematics) and a Ph.D. (mathematical logic) from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.
Joel Morton is now a member of Lawrence Academy’s buildings & grounds staff. An experienced carpenter and licensed construction supervisor with more than 15 years of experience in construction, he has owned and operated JSM Construction, which specialized in residential additions and remodels, since 2014.
Emily Pratt ’16 is Lawrence Academy’s new assistant director of athletics. She joins LA from Nebraska’s Hastings College, where she had been an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team since 2020. After graduating from Lawrence — where she was a four-year girls’ basketball starter, a four-time NEPSAC All-Star and ISL All-League honoree, and a Richmond Baker Prize winner — Emily earned her bachelor’s degree (sport management; minor in business administration) and a coaching certification from Endicott College in Beverly, where she was also a four-year women’s basketball starter. She also holds a master’s degree in teaching (physical education) from Hastings College.
Rodolfo “Rudy” Peña, Jr. joins the Lawrence Academy math department. A recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., mathematical economics; minor in statistics), he has experience as a peer advisor at his alma mater, a math tutor with Mathnasium, and a research assistant with Khollaboration with Khan Academy.
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Michael Stoops, now teaching math, has a B.A. in mathematics from Columbia University and a M.A. in secondary mathematics education from Bard University in Annandale, N.Y. He previously taught math at Franklin Academy in East Haddam, Conn., and New York’s East Brooklyn Community High School. He has also worked as a high school and college math tutor.
Welcome, New Lawrence Academy Trustees! Brit and her husband, Phil Tinmouth, are the parents of Erika ’26, a boarding student. She is a member of the LA Parents’ Association, and she and Phil serve as the Class of 2026 Annual Fund Chairs. Brit received a B.A. with honors in history from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Brit Dewey P ’26 Business School (HBS). She worked at Bain & Company and Goldman Sachs & Co. before returning to HBS, where she has held senior management positions for more than 25 years: as director, MBA programs; managing director, MBA Admissions and financial aid; and director of MBA joint degree programs. Today, she is managing director, special projects in the HBS Dean’s Office. Brit volunteers with Belmont Day School and the Thacher School Annual Fund. She and her husband live in Belmont, Mass., with their two children and their chocolate lab, Cutter.
After graduating from LA, Greg received a B.S. in business at Boston College (2005) and an M.B.A. from Cornell University (2013). He served on LA’s Campaign Committee before joining the board. In 2014, Greg co-founded NorthBridge Partners, where he is managing partner and chief investment officer. The private equity fund manages over $2 Greg Lauze ’00 billion of real estate assets. Prior to NorthBridge, he was a director at Colony Capital and an associate at The Blackstone Group. Greg co-founded Coffee Connectors, which connects firstgeneration college graduates with business executives. He is on the United Way of Massachusetts Bay board of directors and formerly served as co-chair of the United Way North Shore Regional Board and on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Mass DOT Real Estate Appraisal Review Board (appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker). Greg and his wife, Kristen, live in Hamilton, Mass., with their children, Anna, 9, and Ben, 6. They enjoy staying active through swimming, going to the beach, golf, skiing, hockey, and more!
While at LA, Catie was on the varsity soccer and lacrosse teams and participated in the theatre program. She served on the LA Alumni Council from 2006 to 2020 and as its president from 2016 to 2018. Catie is director of marketing at C. E. Floyd Company. She’s been with the commercial construction Catie (Floyd) management company for over McMenamin ’97 20 years and sits on their DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) committee, and is a member of SMPS (Society for Marketing Professional Services) and the AGC MA (Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts) Communications Advisory Committee — and organizes the company’s team volunteer days and charitable drives! Catie works with young people to encourage interest in commercial construction industry careers and contributes to Building Futures: Insight & News, an industry newsletter for Massachusetts educators, parents, and students. In 2001, Catie completed a B.S. in advertising and public relations at Ithaca College. She coaches her kids’ soccer teams and volunteers at their elementary school and stays active (and sane) by running, skiing, playing soccer, and reading.
Kana Norimoto P ’26
Kana and her husband, Takeshi Koyama, are the parents of Nanae ’26, a boarding student. Since becoming a part of the LA Community, Kana has been an active participant in on-campus events and participated in the Head's Advisory Council last spring. She participates actively in on-campus events and the Head’s Advisory Council. She will serve on the board’s Investment Committee and Budget Committee.
While pursuing a B.A. in government at Smith College (1994), Kana studied abroad at the Université de Genève, Switzerland. She completed a M.A. in political science at Columbia University (1996), then joined Salomon Brothers as a fixed income, sell-side research analyst. Her financial services career took her to Nikko Salomon Smith Barney in Tokyo and Citigroup London. In 2008, she joined Fidelity, first in the UK, then in the U.S., as a fixed income macro-strategist focused on Chinese and Japanese monetary policy and, more recently, analyzing the direction of U.S., Chinese, and Japanese economies, and monetary policies, and articulating market calls on rates positioning, credit, and FX (Forex). Born in the U.S., Kana lived in different countries around the world before settling in Lexington, Mass., with her husband and two daughters. FALL 2023 LAWRENCE ACADEMY 25
LA says farewell to our faculty and staff retirees
C I N D I M E RC E R by Caitlin O’Brien P’26
In 2006, Cindi Mercer was working as the after-school program director at the Groton Country Day School (purchased by Lawrence Academy in 2018 and now called “LA South”). Tanya Clark, who works at Lawrence Academy and whose children attended Country Day, encouraged Cindi to apply for a part-time position in admissions at LA. Cindi worked at both schools for the next seven years, balancing two part-time jobs. In 2013, she began full-time employment as a gift processor in LA’s Advancement Office and has worked there ever since. Cindi found a home at Lawrence Academy over her 16-year career. She learned new skills and grew professionally, all while building relationships across campus. Her impact has been felt throughout the Tanya Clark and Cindi Mercer entire student cycle, from assisting in the admissions process, to proctoring exams and supervising study hall, to ensuring alumni donations are entered correctly and thanked appropriately. Cindi’s favorite LA moments? Seeing her daughters Rebecca Bostick ’11 and Abby Bostick ’16 graduate from LA! We will miss Cindi’s infectious laugh, her willingness to help — no matter the task — and hearing about her love for her family, pets, music, and motorcycles. Although it will be hard for Cindi to say goodbye to her many friends in the faculty and staff of Lawrence Academy, she has big plans that include sunny skies, long rides, and a happy, healthy retirement.
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J O - A N N L OV E J OY by Anne O’Connor ’78
Jo-Ann Lovejoy, P ’06, ’08, ’10 retires from the Alumni Office as chief advancement officer. When she joined the development team at the end of 2019, she was wellversed in Lawrence Academy’s tight-knit community, both among students and between parents. She spent eight years as an LA parent, bringing the professional skills she gained at competing schools to volunteer fundraising leadership roles. Just as Jo-Ann was getting settled LA alumni with Jo-Ann Lovejoy P’06, ’08, ’10 at Reunion in June 2023. in her new job, COVID emptied LA’s campus and forced the world to communicate, work, and live remotely. However, she was determined to rebuild the alumni program and remained undaunted. “There was a wonderful embrace we were able to do,” Jo-Ann said: Alumni began meeting regularly online, reconnecting and reforging bonds. Those connections became so strong that half of the Class of 1973, the first class with four-year women, returned in 2023 for their 50th reunion. LA’s biggest capital campaign flourished under Jo-Ann’s guidance: At the time of her retirement, more than $30 million had been raised for a new dining hall and the endowment fund. Jo-Ann credits that success to strong teamwork and the leadership of Chris Davey, assistant head of school for institutional strategy and advancement. “We’re better together,” she said. Jo-Ann looks back at her time at LA as both a parent and staff member with joy. “It’s been fun,” she said. “It’s been really, really fun.”
A L I C E FA R R I N G TO N by Kate Engstrom
After eight years of service, Alice Farrington is retiring from her second career as a night nurse at Lawrence Academy. She previously retired after 40 years at Nashoba Valley Medical Center, where she served as director of emergency services, but after hearing about the job at LA from her daughter-in-law, Lindsay (Murdock) Farrington ’02, Alice decided to return to work. She was up for a new challenge and found she really enjoyed the students. “The kids were a hoot,” Alice shares. “You got to know them well. There is always drama, of course, but it was a lot of fun.” There were challenging situations, such as allergic reactions and injuries, but overall, Alice appreciated working with the kids and hearing their stories. She will miss her time working with the health team in Dana House, but she is looking forward to visiting her house on the Cape, working on house projects, and, most importantly, spending more time with her grandchildren.
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K R I S TA C O L L I N S
Krista Collins Retires from the Math Department by Joe Sheppard P’93, ’94
Krista Stearns came to Lawrence Academy in 1992, fresh from a master’s degree program at Northeastern University, where she taught math to adults who were returning to college and had to take algebra. “That was probably the class of the most tears I’ve ever had in my entire career,” she says with a laugh. Like all new boarding-school teachers, Krista quickly found herself in the thick of school life, coaching cross-country, volleyball, and tennis; serving on various committees; and, after a couple of years, finding the time to marry Michael Collins. (The couple now has three children, all LA graduates: Sean ’14, Emma ’16, and Danny ’19.) Krista’s greatest accomplishments, however, were in LA’s math department, which she chaired for many of her 31 years on campus. “We’ve always been very innovative, very
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cutting-edge, very ahead of the curve,” Krista says, a note of pride in her voice. “Sometime before 2010, we decided to write our own textbooks. We organized the whole thing, and we spent summers writing. And that’s when we did the whole ‘flipped’ classroom, too. For homework, kids would watch videos we made, and the textbooks we wrote had embedded links to them. This way we could spend more one-on-one time working with the kids in class.” Now living at their lake house in New Hampshire, the Collinses are building a “winter home” in Vermont, on land owned by their son Sean and his wife, Franchesca (Kiesling) ’14. Krista “doesn’t have any big plans for retirement yet,” but she and Michael do hope to spend “a good chunk of the winter” in Hawaii, where their son Danny is in graduate school. However far away she may be, the LA community will feel the impact of Krista’s good work for a long time.
L AU R I E M C G OWA N
Photography Beyond the Classroom by Kate Engstrom
After nearly two decades at Lawrence Academy as a teacher, advisor, and Winterim leader, Laurie McGowan is retiring. She began teaching photography on campus in 2006, after running Winterim trips while her husband, Paul Schlotman, taught at Photo student Tavian Fendersen ’24 LA. She brought an takes a parting shot on Laurie’s last day. expertise in freelance photography and had previously taught the art form in a variety of settings in New York and New England. At Lawrence, Laurie designed a multimedia course to add to the art department’s offerings and coordinated the school’s yearbook for 15 years. She often took her classes off campus to give her students access to fresh subject matter for their assignments. “I always tried to break down those walls to see what is going on out in the world in the arts,” she says. For the last two years, Laurie’s honors students participated in artist Geloy Concepcion’s Instagram project “Things You Wanted to Say But Never Did” by using his prompt to inspire their own photos and text. She believes “the class saw it as a way to use the power of photography to express what is actually going on in their lives.”
Weekly photo field trips during class were part of Laurie's curriculum.
Some of Laurie's favorite moments at LA are from her time spent as a Winterim leader. The trips she led were “so eye-opening for students — taking away their phones, seeing them interact … laughing, learning, having fun in a brand-new environment.” A trip to Morocco, in particular, stands out because it helped the students realize “the world is a smaller place now.” Laurie will not be far from Lawrence Academy’s art community in her retirement, as she will continue to serve as director of the Conant Gallery. In addition, she will continue to exhibit her own work in many galleries, as well as in places such as the Fitchburg Art Museum and on the Monadnock Art Tour this fall. She will also launch the La Collina Artist Residency (lacollinaart.net) in Tuscany in March and be working toward Irish citizenship to honor her family’s ancestry.
Photo by Sarina Roy ’23
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LA ALUMNI PROFILE
Growing Businesses at Home and Beyond RENEE PERKINS ’16
by Anne O’Connor ’78
What was a new business school graduate to do when a global pandemic threw a monkey wrench in her employment plans? Well, start a business of her own and grow it into a company expecting close to $1 million in annual revenue three years later, of course! Scrambling to afford the lease for her Cambridge apartment, Renee Perkins ’16 moved home to Nantucket to think about how she could make money in a poor job market. The 2020 Bentley University graduate had interviews, but hiring freezes due to COVID meant no immediate offers. However, with the help of mentors, she soon realized that she had both a unique opportunity and the skill set to promote local island businesses and help them succeed in a changing world. Growing up, Renee helped her parents with their Nantucket whale-watching business, first as a crew member and then with marketing, so she combined her creativity with her love of helping businesses grow to develop Nantucket Island Marketing. She used $10,000 in savings for seed money and went door-to-door pitching a core set of marketing services. A handful of local businesses, including restaurants and a top real estate firm, signed on. Then, those first customers referred others, who in turn referred more.
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Renee, a former soccer and ice hockey player, understood the importance of having a good team from the get-go. “I knew I wasn’t going to be the expert on all things marketing,” she said, so she hired a fellow LA alumna Sara Murphy ’16, as a graphic designer. The agency now has two full-time employees, one part-time employee, and numerous freelancers. Nantucket Island Marketing is a fully remote operation, which allows Renee and her crew to work with businesses both on Nantucket and in the Boston area, where Renee now lives. However, it also means they have invested heavily in technology. Task management keeps the team on the same page, so each step gets done every time, and a robust analytics reporting platform allows the agency to show clients their return on investment. “I’m always thinking five years down the line: How is someone going to know how to do this?” Renee said, adding, “Sports are all about solving problems to get to the finish line.” The business community has taken note of Nantucket Island Marketing, too. The Boston Business Journal featured Renee as one of 25 under-25 business and entrepreneurial leaders in 2022.
LA ALUMNI PROFILE
SOPHIE’S HOPE F O U N D AT I O N
Building Hope J A M A S L A F R E N I E R E ’02
by Anne O’Connor ’78
Life threw a curveball at the LaFreniere family in 2019. Their nearly two-year-old daughter, Sophie, was not well. Jamas ’02, who works in high-tech sales, and his wife, Margot, a registered nurse at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, pressed doctors for a diagnosis — and then they received an unimaginable one. Sophie has glycogen storage disease type 1b (GSD1b), an ultra-rare, inherited metabolic disease also known as von Gierke disease. Her body lacks the enzyme glucose6-phosphate translocase, which means it has trouble breaking down glycogen, a stored form of sugar, into glucose, so she struggles to maintain a normal blood-sugar level. The LaFrenieres help her manage the disease via her diet and one special substance: corn starch. Every three hours during the day and every four hours at night, Sophie must drink a cornstarch slurry to prevent her blood sugar from spiking, then plummeting, which could cause seizures and permanent neurological harm. And because the disease affects her immune system, any infection is dangerous. “Mentally and developmentally, she’s a perfect five-year-old,” Jamas said. “We don’t want her to miss out on things that other kids get to do, but it’s difficult to allow Sophie to be away from home for long periods of time.” A continuous glucose monitor will, the family hopes, help keep her safe when she enters kindergarten in the fall.
Margot and Jamas with daughters Sophie and Ali
At the time of Sophie’s diagnosis, the LaFreniere family faced a lack of research into GSD1b and a cure for it. They also had little outside support and learned that there were only a handful of doctors in the country treating the disease; in fact, until the late 1980s or early ’90s, GSD1b was fatal. So, they began fundraising. They formed a nonprofit, Sophie’s Hope Foundation (sophieshopefoundation.org and cureGSD1b.org) in May 2022 and have raised more than $800,000 for research, services for families affected by GSD1b, and outreach efforts. The foundation now also has one employee to work with people recently diagnosed with the disease. Both Jamas and Margot have run the Boston Marathon to raise awareness, scoring bibs from among those reserved for Hopkinton residents. Their annual golf tournaments raise the most money: $203,000 in 2022. Most importantly, the LaFrenieres have developed a supportive community that includes Sophie’s “amazing” big sister, seven-year-old Ali, and fellow LA alumni, who have played in the golf tournaments and been important contributors. “By us doing this, we’re changing the trajectory of this disease,” Jamas said. “There is definitely hope.”
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Reunion 2023
200 Alumni Gather for Reunion by Joseph Sheppard P’93, ’94
J
une 9 and 10 saw a large crowd of alumni return to campus for Reunion. This was the year for classes ending in 3 and 8, but a great many graduates from other years came back to enjoy the festivities and renew old friendships. On Friday evening, members of the Class of 1973, along with many other Golden Alumni and their guests (some 65 in all), enjoyed refreshments, food, and fellowship under the big tent on the Quad, the event having been moved from its traditional Park House location because of the threat of rain. It was wonderful to see Ron Winslow ’43, one of Lawrence’s oldest living alumni,
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join the festivities! Younger alumni continued a Friday-night tradition of pizza, beer, and fun at Peabody House, the home of Donna and Frank Mastrangelo P’15, ’18. It was a great kickoff to the weekend, and most of the Golden Alumni stayed for the usual Saturday events: the Tom Warner ’75 Memorial Walk/Run, campus tours, presentations by Head of School Dan Scheibe and others, and the annual Alumni Lunch, where the Alumni Faculty Appreciation Award, the Amos Lawrence Award, and the Reunion Challenge Awards are announced.
Alumni Faculty Appreciation Award: Holly Steward Faculty member Laura Moore and Ann Steward McGuire ’03 presented the Alumni Faculty Appreciation Award to Annie’s mom, Holly Steward, who was LA’s counselor for 27 years. Noting in her speech that Holly “gave us her all and then some,” Laura continued: “If you take into account that Holly was the only counselor the school had from 1989 until 2016, tending to the social and emotional needs of, depending on which year you are tracking, 325-400 students and 40-60 adults who were also supporting them, that she was also able to involve herself so fully into the life of the school is not only unusual, it’s extraordinary … From 1998 until 2009, Holly and I collaborated and commiserated to make sure our own kids got through high school, despite the possibility that their mom might be around every corner. Holly navigated the mine field of being both parent and professional with typical grace and humor, particularly because Holly blended the two so elegantly. “As she did with her own children, Holly treated every student with loving respect and measured expectations. And students respected her right back. What is more, they loved her. The number of alums who attribute their success at LA to Holly can be measured in the recognition she is receiving today, even if success for some of them simply meant getting through each day and finally getting a diploma … In her years at LA, from 1989 until 2016, Holly was instrumental in our school’s acceptance, elevation, and current singular focusing of health and wellbeing as central to learning at LA and anywhere — an innovation that has come to define who we are and how we work with kids.”
L-R: Chase McGuire (4 years old), Brendan McGuire ’01, Annie McGuire ’03, Holly Steward P’03, ’05, ’07, Ernest Steward P’03, ’05, ’07, Katie Steward, and Jon Steward ’07.
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Reunion 2023, continued After Dan Scheibe’s traditional “State of the School” address and a remembrance ceremony in the Garden, many gathered on the edge of Murbach Field for a simple, moving ceremony in memory of former Headmaster Ben Williams, who died last spring. Among the speakers was Ben’s youngest son, Joe Williams ’84, himself a head of school. Reunion Dinner under the tent (actually, under two tents on opposite sides of the sidewalk) capped a busy weekend. Mercifully, the rains held off, until the exact moment when dinner was to be served — in the small tent 100 feet from the main one! If clothing was dampened, spirits certainly were not, and the party went on well into the evening. Then, tired, but happy, perhaps a little wet, they winded their way home.
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Amos Lawrence Award: Steve White ’73 The Amos Lawrence Award, established in 2004 to acknowledge and honor alumni for their outstanding volunteer service to Lawrence Academy, was presented to Steve White ’73, “in recognition of his amazing work keeping his class connected and bringing together one of the largest 50th reunions in recent history.” Including Steve, 39 members of the Class of ’73 gathered to be a class once more and to smile at slides of their (hirsute) teenage selves!
Congratulations to the Class of 1983, celebrating their 40th, who won the Reunion Giving Cup.
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Alumni Class Notes 1945
1965
Theodore Madfis ’45 wrote: “Just celebrated my 96th birthday.” Congratulations from all of us!
Andy Durham ’65 writes: “After retiring from 50 years of coaching tennis, and wanting to give back to the tennis community, I developed an app for tennis parents, players, and coaches called RacketStats. A common theme of tennis players is Andy Durham ’65 a lack of understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, due to the lack of simple analytics. Other sports have access to apps that quantify level and ability and can track incremental improvement, allowing the athlete to absorb much of the responsibility for their growth; not tennis. Our free version is specifically designed for families worldwide that do not have access to professional help in hopes that it will assist parents in guiding their children through this tough sport. Used by beginners, tournament, college, and ITF players and coaches, it is available for IOS and Android smartphones worldwide. And in partnership with MatchTennisApp and CrossCourtConsulting, we are reaching over 50,000 tennis families to make a difference.”
1956
Paul “Lefty” Wennick ’56
Paul “Lefty” Wennik ’56 has served Beyond Soccer in Lawrence, Mass., for the past 12 years as leader and chief fundraiser. The organization provides healthful athletic, nutrition, and academic training to low-income children in Lawrence, who are able to attend Beyond Soccer’s summer camp at a special affordable price, thanks to the generosity of a great many foundations and private donors.
1958 Bob Soltz ’58 and Bob Ravich ’58 made their own reunion on July 20, 2023, when they met with their wives for dinner at the Legal Seafood restaurant in Peabody, Mass. They write: “Even with email contact every now and then, the actual meeting 65 years after graduating Bob Soltz ’58 from Lawrence dominated the dinner conversation. We enjoyed fond memories of past instructors, fellow students, and campus experiences. Thank you, Lawrence, for giving us the opportunity to learn and value our years at the Academy and for creating our friendship. Lawrence, here’s to thee ...”
1970 Tony Andresen ’70 and varsity cross-country captain 1969, reports that there’s still some gas left in the tank. This past June he tackled (and completed) the Garmin UNBOUND Gravel 100-mile cycling race in the Flint Hills of Kansas. UNBOUND Tony Andresen ’70 Gravel, known as the “World’s Premier Gravel Grinder,” is the top gravel endurance cycling race in the world. The Flint Hills ecoregion is designated a distinct region because it is the densest coverage of intact tallgrass prairie in North America and represents the last expanse of intact tallgrass prairie in the nation. “I’ve really got to credit all those afternoons at Lawrence for instilling in me a life-long need to get outdoors and exercise.” Coming up in August is another classic, the 79-mile Copper Triangle ride in Colorado that crests three Colorado mountain passes with climbs over 10,000 feet and a total elevation gain of 6,500 feet. No sweat!
Have a note to share in the Spring 2024 Academy Journal? Forward info and pictures to pglover@lacademy.edu. 3 6 LAWRENCE ACADEMY FALL 2023
1973
1974
From Bill Curry ’73: “I have just published a book about fly fishing and conservation titled Tight Lines. Centered mainly in Nova Scotia, where my dad’s family is from and where we moved and I had to leave to go to Lawrence Academy, the book looks at how things like acid rain and climate change are impacting brook trout, and takes the reader, in journal form, from my beginnings as an angler in the late 1950s and early 1960s to today, ending with a look at my hopes for the future of our planet as I contemplate life for my grandson. The book is available at many bookstores and at online sites like the publishers, Moose House Publication, or from booksellers like Barnes and Noble. It contains many full-color images, which support what I am doing professionally: I am a conservation photographer and writer, living in Port Maitland, Nova Scotia, at the province’s southern end.
Richard Johnson ’74 writes, “Our family greeted our first grandchild, Miriam, born this April. I also co-authored the Boston Bruins’ official Rich Johnson ’74 is still organizing the Tom centennial history, Blood, Warner run at Reuinon Sweat, and 100 Years, slated for publication this November. Hosted a winter dinner with cross-country teammates Gregory Halsey (Cope), Eric Reisman, Tom Fahey, Tony Sampas, and Tom Warner’s brother, Patrick ’80. Looking forward to seeing my classmates at next year’s 50th reunion.”
“I missed the 50th reunion for the Class of 1973 because that was the date of the book launch!” Barbara (Pallian) Peacock ’73 will be heading to Heidelberg, Germany, in September for the printing of her book American Bedroom, an anthropological study of human nature that will have 90 color photographs of people in their bedrooms across the country. It took Barbara seven years of travel to photograph in every state. Once, in Atlanta, she photographed a woman (Lucinda Bunnen) and found out years later that she was the mother of a classmate from Lawrence, Rob Bunnen! The book is available directly from Barbara at www.americanbedroomseries.com
1975 Eric “Harry” Reisman ’75 sends “greetings from Saba (the Hebrew word for Grandpa).” He continues: “I have two beautiful granddaughters, ages three and 21 months. They have been great fun, especially in my retirement. I retired two years ago, after a 34-year career as a high school special educator. I have spent the past six years writing a book about my father’s group of friends that grew up together in the Bronx in the 1930s and ’40s. They started when they were 10 years old as an athletic club playing stickball and remained friends until their dying days. I’m hoping to publish it before the end of the year. The tentative title is The Trojan Brothers from the Bronx! A Lifetime of Friendship. You’ll know when it comes out because I’ll be screaming from the rooftops!”
1973 (50th Reunion)
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Alumni Class Notes
1978 Wilson (Gary) Converse ’78 sent us this note: “I have been freelance video editing since December 2013, when DJM Films closed in NYC. Life is good! Having traveled much of the world back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, I am now living in New Wilson (Gary) Converse ’78 Canaan, Conn. I have worked on all kinds of videos, from great music videos to documentaries, commercials, and tons of web content. Gotta get back to a reunion soon!”
Former and current Challenge Cup winners (Classes ’82 and ’83) press upon the Class of ’84 to keep the tradition of ’80s champions alive for next year’s 40th Reunion. (L-R: Fred Williams ’82, Sam Pelham ’83, and Joe Williams ’84)
1983 Sam Pelham ’83 sent these photos (to the right) in honor of his class’s 40th reunion this past June.
Breakfast of Champions! Vickie Coleman ’83 wasn’t able to attend the 40th Reunion, so the cup came to her in Orange, Calif.
In celebration of the win, The Challenge Cup ascended Mount Monadnock with “the” Class of 1983 flag.
1983 (40th Reunion)
Have a note to share in the Spring 2024 Academy Journal? Forward info and pictures to pglover@lacademy.edu.
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1985
1988
Naomi Schatz ’85 is living in Washington, D.C. She says, “I’m fortunate to see ’85 classmates KC Gagné, Pam Goodell, and Tom McCuin. Looking forward to seeing a couple more classmates over Labor Day weekend up in New Hampshire. Bonus: Safari trip to Africa finally checked off the bucket list!”
Suzanne (Schiller) Loonie ’88 sent us this note: “After four years as the parent relations manager at a smallindependent school, I left my full-time office job to follow my dream of becoming a fashion influencer, creator, and blogger on social media platforms. I celebrated my one-year anniversary of my new business A Tall Drink of Style in March 2023 with many exciting accomplishments and many more to look forward to. You are never too old to follow your dreams!”
1986 Erik Baker ’86 tells us, “I retired from the Maine State Police as a lieutenant after 26 1/2 years in February of 2022. I am now employed as chief of police for the Sabattus Police Department in Maine. I enjoy working in a small community where everyone knows each other! Over the last year I have met up with Neil Menard ’85, Robert Hargraves and Steve Janes, both ’86.” Tracie Payne-Ferreira ’86 is the chairwoman of the UMass Dartmouth Bioengineering Department. She was recently awarded a $1.49 million NSF grant to support students seeking an accelerated master’s degree, which provides $10,000 scholarships annually.
Suzanne (Schiller) Loonie ’88
Have a note to share in the Spring 2024 Academy Journal? Forward info and pictures to pglover@lacademy.edu. Tracie Payne-Ferreira ’86
1993 (30th Reunion)
1998 (25th Reunion)
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Alumni Class Notes
LA alumni and community members supporting their classmate Jamas LaFreniere and his family as they attend his yearly golf outing in support of Sophie, all while raising money for Glycogen Storage Disease Type 1b (GSD1b). L-R: Ben Rogers ’02, Cam Finch ’02, Kevin Wiercinski (current faculty), Jamas LaFreniere ’02, Mark Pandolfo ’02, Sean Sheehan ’87 (current faculty), and Adam Geragosian ’02.
1999
2003
Kate (Deasy) Vizen ’99 sent this update: “In November of 2021, I left LA and became the director of auxiliary programs at Inly School in Scituate, Mass. — where I get to see alumna Hallie Smith ’88 regularly, as her daughter attends Inly! October of 2022 I received SPARC's (Summer Programs and Auxiliary Revenue Collaborative) 2022 Excellence in Auxiliary Programming Award at their national conference in Kate (Deasy) Vizen ’99 and faculty member Chris Margraf Scottsdale, Ariz. I love that for the past two summers I’ve had the honor to team up with LA Faculty member Chris Margraf for a couple weeks as he brings his summer role as co-founder of New England Fishing Academy to Inly Summer Camps. Love working alongside Chris as he teaches Inly campers all about fishing and sharing his passions with our campers. Excited to be on campus and celebrate our 25th reunion this spring!”
Kate (Walker) Hernandez ’03 tells us, “This fall marks the beginning of my ninth year at Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, N.H.), where I have taught biology and chemistry, served as dorm head of two different girls’ dormitories, and worked on various committees. While I will continue to serve as dorm head and teach 1/4 time, the balance Kate (Walker) Hernandez ’03 of my time will be spent in a new role: associate dean of residential life. I’m excited for this new work in a community I love!”
Congratulations to Inly’s director of auxiliary programs, Kate Vizen ’99. 2022 recipient of SPARC’s Excellence in Auxilliary Award.
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2005 Veronica Barila ’05 sent this happy news: “In October of 2022, my husband, Tim Kowalczyk, and I welcomed our son, Nathaniel Walsh Kowalczyk. He joins his big brother; Cameron, making us a very happy family of four. In the fall, I will Veronica Barila ’05 begin my eighth year working at St. Mark’s as a school counselor.”
2003 (20th Reunion)
2008 (15th Reunion)
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Alumni Class Notes
2009 Shannon (Muscatello) Atkeson ’09 writes, “I just gave birth to my daughter, Noelle, in July! We are both healthy and doing well. I am also moving to Vermont in the fall to be closer to family and start a new career as a mental health counselor. My husband and I are excited for this new chapter of our lives!” Mia Brinkman ’08
Leigha MacNeill ’08’s baby. Casey
2008 Mia Brinkman ’08 and her husband welcomed their first child on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Theo weighed seven pounds, 2.2 ounces, and was 19 inches long. Leigha MacNeill ’08 and her husband, Ricky, report that baby Casey is doing well and sporting LA colors!
Shannon (Muscatello) Atkeson ’09 and Noelle
2010 Angelica (Bishop) English ’10 and her husband, Mike, are the proud parents of Natalie Rose, named after Angelica’s two grandmothers. She was born on June 22.
Angelica (Bishop) English ’10, Mike, and Natalie
Have a note to share in the Spring 2024 Academy Journal? Forward info and pictures to pglover@lacademy.edu.
2013 (10th Reunion)
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2014
2020
Sheligha Wall Spilsbury ’14 shared a picture from her wedding last August .
Zach Clark ’20 writes, “I got engaged to Angelita Munoz on Saturday, May 13, 2023, on the campus of Baylor University, following the completion of our junior year.”
L-R: Jack McMahon ’17, Kendra Surette ’14, Cyrus Hamer ’12, Aleigh Wall ’25, Hailey Burnham (Wall) ’12, Sheighla Spilsbury (Wall) ’14, Maggie Santinelli ’14, Daniella McCormmick ’14, Ellie Wildman ’14, and Victoria Stabile ’12
2016 Gavi Zahavi ’16 graduated magna cum laude from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the unfortunate year of 2020 and had a remote graduation. But despite the adversity, he was able to secure a great job working at IBM as a backend software developer, working with IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software.
Miela “Mimi” Zahavi ’20 is currently a junior at the University of Michigan, majoring in biology. She was just honored with the James B. Angell Zach Clark ’20 with fiancee Scholarship for three terms. Angelita Munoz This award honors students who receive all As; recipients are recognized during the Honors Convocation, which took place last March. Mimi is also starting to prepare to take the dental school entrance exams (DAT), hoping to go into orthodontics. With her limited free time, she is a part of the archery team at the University of Michigan and enjoys rock wall climbing. Mimi fondly remembers her time at Lawrence Academy and is grateful to the wonderful base it gave her to study the rigorous curriculum at the University of Michigan. Go Blue!
2018 (5th Reunion)
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Obituaries arren H. Reich ’58 died in his home in Swampscott, Mass., on Nov. 22, 2022. Warren graduated from Norwich University in 1962, after which he served in the US Military for six years. Following his honorable discharge, he had a long and distinguished career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He is survived by six immediate cousins, extended family and innumerable friends and colleagues. The family would welcome contact by any surviving classmates with memories and photos of Warren to be directed to Brian Daley at BCDaley@Yahoo.com.
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ormer LA faculty member James P. Holmes died in Laconia, N.H., on March 14. He was 83. He has been described as “the perfect teacher,” one who went above and beyond expectations. Unfailingly supportive, sharp as a tack, intuitive about student personalities, an early adopter of computer science, as well as a cross-country coach who ran the course daily, Jim was 100 percent dedicated to his students. In the long history of Lawrence Academy, there may well be equals to Jim, but few teachers throughout LA history have provided more individual extra help, during and after school hours, than Mr. Holmes.
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Arriving at Lawrence in the fall of 1967, Mr. Holmes taught at LA for 14 years: algebra, trigonometry, calculus, computer science as well as some related advanced courses, until 1981.
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He then moved on to teach for nine years at St. Paul’s School in Concord, N.H., followed by four years at the White Mountain School in Littleton, N.H. From that point on, he lived in Jefferson, N.H., in the foothills of Mt. Washington, working a few odd jobs, including one at a restaurant. On June 11, 2022, Jim ventured back to LA for Reunion 2022, where he was awarded the annual Alumni Faculty Appreciation Award. For Jim, the day was a near perfect confluence of Coviddelayed 50th reunion classes from 1970, ’71 and ’72, which allowed Jim to see many more of his former students than a typical reunion could have provided. At age 82, Jim thoroughly enjoyed chatting with his students and amazed many by recalling particular details and memories he had of each of them. It was as heartwarming an experience as one could have hoped for Jim and his former students. Students fortunate enough to have been taught by Jim Holmes can look back upon him forever with appreciation — and a smile.(Our thanks to Andy Black ’70 for this tribute. — Ed.)
A Mark That Cannot be Erased
A wise person said, “Legacy is not what I did for myself. It’s what I’m doing for the next generation.” Making a legacy gift to Lawrence Academy ties your name to the institution of learning that nurtured you or someone you love and will nurture generations to come. Your generosity supports the environment that builds students who are confident, articulate champions for themselves and others. In a world of uncertainty, this you can count on. There are many different ways to include LA in your estate planning. Probably cash and appreciated securities come to mind first — and these are always treasured! However, there are a variety of planned gifts that may better serve your estate planning needs. It’s important to make legacy gifts that work for you. Some people choose to give a piece of property. There are ways to retain the right to use it during your lifetime if you
wish. Later, the school can decide whether to keep or sell the property. Other kinds of tangible personal property are given, such as antiques, art, and collections. Some people choose to include LA as a beneficiary on retirement plans, IRAs, donor plan advised funds, and life insurance policies. You can feel confident that your legacy gift will be a support system that LA can depend on into the future and that your name will live on through your gift. It won’t affect your current finances and your responsibility for caring for your loved ones today. It will embody the importance of the Academy to you. As Maya Angelou said, “If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” We would be honored to discuss how your kindness can become your legacy. Please contact Beth Crutcher at 978-448-1566 or bcrutcher@lacademy.edu.
NON-PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #??? NASHUA, NH
“Always a smile, always a greeting by your first name, a bright, beautiful beam of light that will always shine in our hearts and souls.” Remembering Ron Ansin March 28, 1934-June 28, 2023 See pages 4-6 for a tribute to Ron.
Trustee Gordon Sewall ’67, Ben Williams, and Ron Ansin
