2015
Lives of Great Purpose
Lives of Great Purpose In this issue:
also: Cl a s s
Note s
A lu m n i P rof i le s
Class Notes & Alumni Profiles School Has A New Mission A Ne w M i s s ion St ateme nt
In
Every Issue:
features 12 15
4 5 6-7 8 9 10-11 24-25 42 43
Letter from the Head of School By The Numbers Commencement and College Choices From the Archives: The Harley Sale New at Harley: Commons Speaker Series The Year in Sports 1000 Words In Memoriam and Faculty Notes Retirements
Alumni 21
A Mission of Great Purpose by Jonathan Sherwood
My First Sentence Annie Taggart ’15
Lives of Great Purpose
2223
by Alex DeSantis and Karissa Raymond
and we say goodbye to: 45 John F. Skillman 46 Edna Deutsch
Reunion: Be Social. In Person.
26- Class Notes & Photos 41 compiled by Karen Saludo 2015 DIRECTOR of DEVELOPMENT
Debra Weiss Walker ’83 DEVELOPMENT and ALUMNI RELATIONS STAFF
Sara Daly, Karen Saludo, Anne Townsend THE HARLEY SCHOOL HEAD of SCHOOL
Ward J. Ghory, Ed.D. EDITOR
Meredith Keller ART DIRECTOR and DESIGNER
Lisa Osborne Lange ’74 CLASS NOTES LAYOUT
1981 Clover Street Rochester, NY 14618 (585) 442-1770 Becoming Magazine welcomes letters from readers. Please send correspondence to the above address care of Becoming Magazine editor, or to becoming@harleyschool.org. Letters may be edited for publication.
Taylor Holloran ’11
Becoming Magazine is published by The Harley School.
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
E-MAIL QUESTIONS and STORY IDEAS
Walter Colley Design Imaging Studios Jimmy Dolan Rita Adler-Everett Ken Huth Lisa Osborne Lange ’74 Aimee Lewis Karen Saludo
becoming@harleyschool.org ONLINE
www.harleyschool.org/Alumni/Becoming Magazine Printed in U.S.A. by Cohber Press in Rochester, N.Y., a certified FSC supplier. Only operations that have been independently verified for FSC chain-of-custody certification can label their products with the FSC logo.
{ • Cherished Traditions • }
Fundraising then
& now
In 1955 Harley held the first Harley Sale. It was in a corner of the gym, run by seven volunteers, and raised $150 for the School.
In 1999 Harley replaced the Sale with a gala. Today the Harley Blast! raises over $120,000 each year with the help of over 30 volunteers.
Help support The Harley School’s cherished traditions by giving to the 2015 -2016 Harley Fund. Learn more at: www.harleyschool.org/supporting-harley/the-harley-fund To make a gift online: www.harleyschool.org/give
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The Harley School 1981 Clover Street, Rochester, NY 14618
A LETTER FROM
WARD J. GHORY, HEAD OF SCHOOL The heart of Harley’s work this year was to restate our School’s mission—our declaration of purpose and independence. In doing so, we discovered fresh words to live by. The mission now begins, “We are a diverse, inclusive school. We provide a balanced education that prepares our students to face the challenges of tomorrow and lead lives of great purpose.” In this statement, we dedicate ourselves anew to The Harley School’s abiding purpose. We know that the fundamental measure of our success is whether our alumni have the drive, the skills, and the ingenuity to lead purposeful lives by their own lights. In this issue, you will be invited to nominate a classmate or teacher whose life you admire, no matter the size of the circle they influence, by sending an e-mail to whyharley@harleyschool.org. Please do so; you might even push yourself forward! We believe the stories of the Harley community will continue to inspire our work in preparing our students for purposeful lives. These lives are illustrated by beloved Harley symbols and traditions. An example is the Harley Crest, elegant in its simplicity—an acorn next to an oak leaf, a packed seed beside a mature tree’s proud expression. It comes to vivid life in our annual Oak Tree Ceremony. I wish all our readers could sit beside the faculty and parents watching our seniors pass on oak seedlings to hushed kindergarteners, who shyly hand each back an acorn. Even if no words were exchanged, this tradition would clearly speak. Enjoy Becoming Magazine. With best wishes,
4 | B e c o m i n g M a ga z i n e
The year
By The Numbers:
27
seniors worked 1,022 hours in the Hospice program, about which the documentary Beginning with the End aired recently on local public television.
35 3,000
1
award was given to HAC as the ONLY representative in Section V sports to win the Scholar-Athlete School of Distinction, having 100 percent of its varsity teams earn a 90 percent grade point average.
pumpkins were chucked by Middle School students whose science project, which included building a catapult, helped kids understand the physics behind projectile motion.
4.33
cloves of garlic were planted by Grades 3 and 4 in the School’s organic garden. The “Harlic Garlic� was then harvested by summer Horizons students and will be sold during the fall, at bargain prices, to the School community.
is the average Harley student AP score in math and science, compared to the national average of 3.09.
It takes
8
922
Harley alums live in the Rochester area.
hours to mow the beautiful Harley lawns.
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2015
Commencement
regular story text
C
6 | B e c o m i n g M a ga z i n e
OLLEGE
C
HOICES
American University Bard College Bates College Brown University Case Western Reserve University Cleveland Institute of Art Colgate University Cornell University University of Dayton Dickinson College Duquesne University Eckerd College Fordham University George Washington University Goucher College Hamilton College Haverford College Hofstra University Ithaca College Kenyon College Lehigh University Maine College of Art Mercyhurst University Monroe Community College Northeastern University Oberlin College Rochester Institute of Technology University of Rochester Rutgers University – New Brunswick Sarah Lawrence College School of the Art Institute of Chicago St. Lawrence University SUNY Purchase Swarthmore College Tufts University Vassar College Washington University in St. Louis Williams College College of Wooster Worcester Polytechnic Institute Planned Gap Year
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from the
Archives: In 1955, Mrs. E. E. Fairchild, a Harley parent, suggested that selling gently used family treasures could be a successful way to raise funds for the School. The rest, as they say, is history. The first Harley Sale, in November 1955, was held in a corner of the gym also used as the auditorium and cafeteria. There were seven volunteers, and it raised $150. At its height, the Sale had a great reputation in the Rochester community and had become a 10-day extravaganza. There were as many as 200 volunteers, and proceeds contributed as much as $80,000 to the School. The money was used for operating expenses, equipment purchases, and financial aid. We sold clothing, furniture, office and sports equipment, toys, books, cars—even toilets. Our motto was:
The Harley Sale 19 5 5 -19 9 5
“If you don’t know what you want, we have it.” The Harley Sale was held twice a year, in the spring and fall, and was coordinated by Helen Soanes in the beginning; from 1982-1994, either Peggi Godwin or Diane Doniger ran the show. The coordinator would start several months before each sale, sending out mailings (6,000 of them—remember the green flyers?), organizing volunteers, and collecting donations. Running the Sale was like setting up a retail store in the middle of the School while classes were in session: collecting, pricing, and displaying merchandise; hiring and managing staff; trying to sell everything and then getting rid of the remaining items and closing up shop—all done in just 10 days! Despite the disruption to the School, things usually ran smoothly and it was a wonderful chance for the community to come together.
1.
I volunteered at the Sale from 1985-1994 in the donations area, where we sorted items into three categories: sell, toss, and donate. I remember one day when I removed my too-warm sweatshirt while sorting, only to realize later it had disappeared. We found it in the pile of items earmarked to be sent to an impoverished area in Appalachia! Most of all, I remember the people I worked beside—all those parents, past parents, grandparents, and alums. We knew each other’s names and stories, and we looked forward to getting together each fall and spring to sort, stock, and sell those thousands of items that made up the Harley Sale.
2.
Eventually, the donations became less appealing, the profits fell off, and volunteers became ever busier with their lives, so the Sale was discontinued. Our big community event and fundraiser is now the Blast! gala, which has become yet another beloved Harley tradition. I’d love to hear what you remember about the Sale. Just send me an email.
3.
Best, Anne Townsend atownsend@harleyschool.org
1. Blenders, coffee makers, and assorted kitchen equipment await the opening of the Sale. 2. A rainy day line up of eager Sale shoppers. 3. Sale treasures, including coveted typewriters for the college-bound. 8 | B e c o m i n g M a ga z i n e
Newat at Harley New Harley: Comm
rie aker Se e p S s n o
s
Sustainable Architecture
Chris Costanza, architect and primary voice in envisioning the net-zero aspects of the Harley Commons, spoke about sustainable design. He outlined the design-build process undertaken by the architect, the aesthetic designer, and the engineers to best balance and achieve the goals of beauty, energy efficiency, and budget. Chris is also a Harley parent.
Sugar Is the New Oil
Jack Baron, president and COO of Sweetwater Energy, spoke about how his company is engaged in taking waste forest and agricultural biomass and converting it into usable sugars to replace traditional petroleum-based products such as fuels, plastics, and chemicals. Jack’s background is in neurochemistry (U of R), engineering, banking, and telecommunications (PAETEC). He is also a Harley parent and president of the Board of Trustees.
Taking Action with Local Government
Bill Moehle, Brighton town supervisor, spoke on civic engagement, local government, advocacy, and activism. He talked about the role Brighton is taking in green initiatives and supporting diversity.
Taking Action with National Government
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter spoke on “What can one person do?,” including how young people can take a stand on the daunting issues of the day. Representing the 25th Congressional District of New York, Slaughter was first elected to Congress in 1986, and is now serving her 14th term in the House of Representatives. Her daughter attended Harley in the ’80s.
Comfort Zone
Dave Danesh, Sean Donnelly, and Kate Kressman-Kehoe presented their documentary film, Comfort Zone, on local sustainability. The film is about their shared journey to explore what climate change would mean to upstate New York and what they could do to help.
Raising Mindful Children
This presentation began with an overview and introduction to mindfulness by Siobhan LeGros, Lower School art teacher and mindfulness instructor, with several exercises to focus awareness and practice active listening. She was followed by an explanation of the neuroscience of how the brain works and how neural pathways are forged and strengthened, by Cheddy Harvey, Lower and Middle School psychologist. Practical advice and sample activities for parents to pursue with their own children were shared by Patti Northrup, former Harley health teacher and current health instructor.
Untapped Shore: Hydroponics and Clean Water
Elizabeth Schirmer, founder and CEO of Untapped Shores International (USI), shared her global work in hydroponic farming and water sanitation. Her company uses entrepreneurship to help meet the urgent needs of women and children worldwide: sanitation and hygiene, clean water, and disaster relief. Her nonprofit organization equips dedicated business leaders and visitors with life-saving water and sanitation technologies that fit in their luggage, to be dropped off with entrepreneurial women and orphaned children in disaster-hit locations around the world.
Food and Sustainability
Chris Hartman ’93, director of social and environmental sustainability at Harley, Harley parent, and founder and president of Headwater Food Hub, the parent company to the Good Food Collective, shared reflections and offered insights into what has led him to the convergence of food and sustainability and entrepreneurship. His training as an educator has equipped him to be one of the leading players in the food world in and around Rochester.
Silk Road Travels
Val Myntti, former interim head of school, admissions director and teacher in the Lower School, as well as a former Harley parent, shared highlights of her four-month excursion along the Silk Road. Equipped with maps of the region and vivid photographs, she offered compelling stories of her adventure from Istanbul to Mongolia.
Your Next Green Car
John Voelker ’77 is at the cutting edge of innovation and change in his role as editor at High Gear Media’s www.greencarreports.com. John spoke about his research, test drives, and explorations, and shared with the Harley audience his expert opinion on the latest and greatest in hybrid, electric, and hydrogen fuel cell cars.
To celebrate and make full use of the splendid new Commons building,
Harley introduced the Commons Speaker Series to bring passionate and knowledgeable speakers to the Harley community and anyone in the Rochester area interested in lifelong learning and community collaboration. Nearly 500 people attended the 10 programs, to not only learn more about what interested them, but also to make connections with others to foster further discussions about the critical issues that come together in the Commons: sustainability, civic engagement, mindfulness/empathy, and design thinking. 2 01 5 | 9
The Year in Sports Girls’ Tennis Defends Sectional Title Once is nice, but twice is so much better—and that is what the HAC girls’ tennis team experienced as they defended their Section V Class B team championship in this year’s tournament. HAC defeated Pal-Mac 4-1 to capture the program’s 17th team sectional championship overall, the fourth in the last five years. Seeded number three in the tournament, the Lady Wolves got on a roll, defeating both Aquinas and Penn Yan 4-1 in their first two matches en route to the final. Pal-Mac was the number one seed, and on a beautiful day at Fairport High School, HAC captured the team championship.
wow
Girls’ Track and Field Captures Sectional Title
Through 19 events among 17 teams, the HAC girls’ varsity track team emerged as the Class D sectional track and field champions this year, capturing the title for the second time in four years. The Lady Wolves scored 116 total points, 40 more than their nearest competitor. Camille Dixon ’16 earned 20 points individually for HAC, and Eileen Reinhardt ’17 added 14 points for the Wolves over three different events. In all, the HAC girls won three events, finished second three times, and third five times. Earlier, the HAC girls were crowned 2015 Wayne-Finger Lakes Division III Champions for their prowess during the regular season and at the league championship meet.
Girls’ Swimming Dominates in Post-Season The 2014-15 swim season turned out to be a very special one for the HAC girls’ swim team. The girls captured their tenth straight Genesee Region Division II title and finished the year 12-1 overall and 10-0 in the GR league—just one race win away from an undefeated season. The girls also won the 2015 HAC Invitational and placed first at the league meet and first at the 2015 Intersectional Championship, winning the title for the third time in School history. At the GR league championship, the girls won 7 of 12 events and placed second three times en route to 634 points and the team title. During the Intersectional Championships, HAC girls also won 7 events, and finished second and third twice as they amassed 423 points and a 146-point victory.
HAC Scholar Athlete— School of Distinction Award
that is a lot
One award that the athletic department and both Harley and Allendale Columbia are very proud of is The School of Distinction earned when all of a school’s varsity sports programs attain a 90% or higher grade point average (GPA). For the sixth consecutive year, HAC will receive this distinguished award from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. This past year, five HAC programs (boys’ basketball and cross-country, girls’ volleyball, swimming, and tennis) were among the top 50 GPA teams in their respective sport, with the boys’ basketball team finishing fourth in the state. 10 | B e c o m i n g M a ga z i n e
by Peter Mancuso
2014 - 15 We are Proud of our Student-Athletes!
49 22 63
HAC student athletes were named
Benjamin—AGR Selection and Third Place at States
First, Second, or Honorable Mention
we love this
For the fourth year in a row, Jordan Benjamin ’15 was selected as an All-Greater-Rochester All-Star for tennis by the Democrat and Chronicle. Benjamin had a super senior season, finishing third in the New York State Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows. He is attending the University at Dayton on a tennis scholarship.
All-Stars
consecutive years that HAC varsity teams have won at least one Section V team championship
11 different sports over the last 38 years Section V team championships in
Individual Sectional Champs This year 19 HAC student-athletes earned individual sectional championships in their respective sports.
At the Class D Boys’ swim sectionals, Jack Gumina ’15 defended his title in the 50 freestyle, and teamed up with Matthew Gelb ’18, Liam Brennan-Burke ’17, and Gil Smolyak ’16 as HAC captured the 200 free relay title for the second year in a row. At the Girls’ Intersectional meet, Emma Tracy ’17 won the 200 and 500 freestyle events, Nicole Gelb ’18 captured the 50 and 100 freestyle races— both in school records—and Sarah Fink ’15 garnered the 100 backstroke title, also a school record. The girls added the 200 free relay (Gelb ’18, Fink ’15, Kit Taylor ’18, Floriana Milazzo ’17) 400 free relay (Lily Kegl ’17, Tracy ’17, Fink ’15, Gelb ’18, a school record) titles as well. On the track at the 2015 Class D championships, two Wolves shined brightest. Camille Dixon ’16 was the top female sprinter, winning both the 100- and 200-meter dashes, while Xavier Francis ’15 was the top male sprinter, winning the 100 and 200 meter races. Both sprinters anchored their respective 4 x 100 meter relay teams to titles as well. Dixon teamed up with Lia Urban-Spillane ’17, Danielle Fuller ’18, and Imani Baker ’18 to take first place for the girls, while Francis and teammates Ben Frenett ’16, Jamarr Paisley ’17, and Xavier Israel ’18 were the top team for the boys.
Ralph S. McKee Trophy The Ralph S. McKee Trophy is presented to one Harley School male and one Harley School female student-athlete who have displayed the greatest amount of dedication, leadership, and ability in athletics. The two recipients of this award are also expected to be positive role models in school life and have achieved academic success during their high school careers. So, when we talk about student-athletes at HAC, we really do mean student-athletes. The annual accomplishments of our young people in the classroom and on the playing field are remarkable—and this year’s two McKee winners are no different. They have earned A grades, they have played a big part in the success of their teams, and they have done so with integrity, confidence, wit, and a great work ethic. Congratulations to this year’s McKee winners: Eric Tolhurst ’15 and Sarah Fink ’15. Tolhurst earned nine varsity letters in soccer, basketball, and baseball for HAC, while Fink earned 10 varsity letters in cross-country, swimming, and track and field for the Wolves.
way to go
Robert Moore Award
The Robert Moore Award is presented to the Harley School or Allendale Columbia school student involved in HAC athletics who best exemplifies a good work ethic and shows a caring attitude and compassion for all.
Josh Frye ’15 was one of the hardest workers, if not the hardest worker, on all the teams he has competed on (cross-country,
swimming, and track and field), and he pushed himself every day in practice and in every meet in which he competed. He did whatever extra he could to improve himself, and people—coaches, teammates, and opponents alike—took notice. The sign of a great leader, Josh acted as he did to inspire the rest of the team to follow suit and meet his standard of commitment, effort, and toughness.
the hard work shows
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{ • Fe a t u r e • }
The Harley School Mission We are a diverse, inclusive school. We provide a balanced education that prepares our students to meet the challenges of tomorrow and lead lives of great purpose. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
We inspire academic excellence. We foster joy in learning in both the arts and sciences. We promote physical and mental fitness. We show how to care for the world and other people. We empower our students to become confident, lifelong learners.
A Mission of Great Purpose
I
B y J o n a th a n S h e r w o o d
n the front rooms of a house on Oxford Street, Harriet Bentley assembled a group of mothers to found “the children’s University School of Rochester.” The mission of this upstart new school was simple: “To interpret and meet the needs of the individual child so that he may fit in with and serve his fellow beings to the height of his power.”
i
Nearly a century has passed, and the “children’s university” has grown up to become one of the most academically successful schools in the Rochester area, consistently at the top of every survey of schools.
12 | B e c o m i n g M a ga z i n e
“It’s been an amazing hundred years,” says Ward Ghory, head of The Harley School, “and now that we’re approaching the centennial, it’s incumbent upon us to prepare the foundation for the next hundred.” To create a robust strategic plan, Ghory knew the School had to outline ways to ensure and enhance the quality of the teaching program, to secure continued enrollment, and to communicate the exceptional achievements of its students and faculty to the community. But it soon became clear that everyone at the School had slightly different ideas of what the goals of the School ought to be.
The faculty, staff, and parents needed a more cohesive sense of self and purpose to guide the School into the future. Harley needed a modern mission statement.
APPROVED
On a Mission
Every organization needs an ultimate authority, a “guiding light” as Ghory calls it, to help shape decisions about which options should be pursued. In some organizations with a strict chain of command, not everyone needs to follow that guiding light for the organization to run well. But in a place like Harley, where the faculty, staff, and students have a voice and appreciate autonomy, everyone needs to understand and believe in the direction the School is heading. “Common direction comes from a shared acknowledgement of the mission,” says Ghory. “We knew the mission couldn’t be an idea shaped by a few people in a closed session and simply dropped on the School. Everyone had to have a hand in shaping this—faculty, parents, trustees, alumni, and staff—every group needed to weigh in.” The Strategic Planning co-chairs, Deborah Schaller Willsea ’73 and Jack Baron, asked trustee Richard Moon, chair of the Enrollment Committee, past parent (Robert ’14) and founder of Moon Brand, an international branding firm, to help guide the process. From the beginning, Moon insisted on one thing:
“A mission statement is about who we are, what we do, and how we do it. If you have
something this important, it has to be instantly
understandable to everyone. It has to be written in plain English, and be concise
enough that you can read and understand it in 30 seconds or less.”
Besides seeking to create a guiding light that could encompass longstanding principles of the School, expecting every constituency to contribute to the mission, and summarizing the purpose in just 75 words or so, Harley also chose to shape its statement by looking beyond its own community. Ian Symmonds, the School’s strategic planning consultant, recommended that Harley’s various committees ask themselves: “What are the greatest challenges facing the School, the community, and the world, and how might Harley address them?” “People wrote pages,” says Baron. “It soon became clear that this mission statement was going to be, literally, a defining text of the School. It wasn’t going to be just a nice group of phrases to print on brochures or post on the Web. This was going to say who we are, and what effect we plan to have on the world.” The endeavor took nearly a year and roughly a hundred meetings with faculty, parents, committees, focus groups, and trustees, drawing on surveys and benchmarking data from similar schools throughout the country. In the process, everyone involved began to have a real sense of the significance of the statement—the new mission statement became a clearer sense of Harley’s self.
Diverse and Inclusive
The first sentence of the new mission statement is “We are a diverse, inclusive school,” and it’s first for a reason. The Harley community has always espoused the principle that exposing children to others of differing backgrounds is key to helping them perceive problems from multiple angles. What came as somewhat of a surprise was just how diverse Harley actually is. The strategic planning firm investigated Harley’s diversity and compared it to similar schools in the community and across the nation. The firm’s report drew on marketing research that distinguishes 66 different social groups based on location, house-
hold income, age, household composition, home ownership, education, employment, ethnicity, and investment assets. The result? Harley has families from 46 of the 66 groups, nearly twice as many as other schools the firm had studied. “The consultant actually went back and had the numbers recalculated because he couldn’t believe it,” says Ghory. One key reason for the diversity is that Harley is a truly metropolitan school, currently drawing families from 35 school districts, with some students commuting from farming communities more than 30 miles away.
Balanced Lives of Great Purpose
“This is the line people hit on in the mission,” says Moon. “This is the one where they stop and say, ‘Yes. That’s it. That’s what I want for my child.’ ” “Great purpose” was brought to the table by Baron, who felt that ultimately this is what Harley is designed to do. The School’s purpose is not primarily to teach a child how to score well on standardized testing or get into a selective college, but to foster the growth of a future adult who will lead a life of great purpose, however that is defined for that student. For some it might be winning the Nobel Prize, while for others it may be tending to the elderly or developing novel medications or studying penguins in the Antarctic. Purpose reflects an internal direction that the School helps a student discover. That discovery requires a balanced education. “We have to expose the student to multiple aspects of life,” says Baron. “Challenging academics and emotional sensitivity. Arts and science. Physical and mental fitness. The context of the world and the perspective of the individual. Balance runs throughout our mission statement because we’re about helping to build great people, not just great students.”
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2
3 4
Academic Excellence
5
“Here is something most people still don’t appreciate,” says Ghory. “Harley is well known for its strengths in the arts and humanities. But when you compare Harley with a benchmark group of similarly sized independent schools across the country, Harley has the second highest percentage of students taking college-level AP Biology, Chemistry, or Physics, and the highest percentage (74%) of students rated well qualified or extremely well qualified for college credit (AP scores 4 or 5). This is excellence. We always talk about how our teaching is customized for the individual and how we use collaborative learning, but what we sometimes forget to stress is that our students test well.” SAT scores back up the claim of academic excellence, with Harley consistently scoring first or second among all local schools.
1
Joy in Arts and Science
A phrase heard often throughout the halls at Harley is “joy in learning,” and this has always been crucial to the Harley way of teaching any subject. Instilling the joy of learning in a child ensures that a subject is learned deeply and a grade is not sought as an end in itself. Students caught up in the romance of learning engage fully, deriving more from a lesson than what might be printed in a book.
Physical and Mental Fitness
“Mental and physical well-being—this is something we knew to be important, so it had to be reflected in our mission,” says Moon. “Harley specializes in sports you will carry with you through your whole life—running, swimming, tennis. HAC sports are not about swinging at a ball harder than anyone else, but about improving yourself.” Baron points out that the concept of mental fitness takes a moment to understand. It becomes clear when you realize that the faculty at Harley prepares its students to be resilient, to have the mental stamina to run down problems, the flexibility to approach issues from different perspectives, and the drive to learn and improve throughout life.
Care for Others
Care for others has always been a trait that sets apart Harley students. From the well-established hospice program to the new Commons and sustainability initiatives, the School has always held that academic achievement isn’t enough. Leadership requires social and emotional strengths that ensure good ideas are realized through group effort.
Lifelong Learning
The last sentence of the mission statement ties the rest together. “This point speaks to what happens after the student graduates,” says Moon. “If we’ve done our job well as a community, then the people who graduate from our school will never stop looking for the next opportunity to grow. If we’ve kept true to our mission, then their whole lives will be filled with that search.”
A New Sense of Self
“I’m not sure I anticipated how much work this would entail when we started,” says Ghory. “But I’m amazed at the result. Our statement gains its power from its simplicity. It will direct our efforts in the coming years.” As Moon puts it, “We want an alumnus to read that statement and say, ‘That’s what I got,’ and for a student to say, ‘That’s what I’m getting,’ and for a prospective family to say, ‘Yes! That’s what we want!’ ” 14 | B e c o m i n g M a ga z i n e
“When we began to work on this, we reviewed old mission statements, including Harriet’s very first words,” says Baron. “It was remarkable to me that so many of the principles remain the same, even though our founders lived in a very different world. Harriet Bentley couldn’t even vote then— yet the core of what Harley has become is still reflected in her original words. My hope is that a hundred years from now, someone will look back on our work and say, ‘Great purpose. Yeah, that’s exactly what the Harley I know is all about.’ ”
PHOTO: WALTER COLLEY
H
istory and literature are full of great purposes and lives that exemplify them. In actual life, “great purposes” are difficult to articulate and harder to define. Our attempts run the risk of becoming prescriptive, doctrinaire, or even limiting. Still, we aspire. We understand that purpose gives life its meaning, and we recognize our purposes are wonderfully unique in each time, each culture, and each individual. The best ones grow unspoken in the natural process of a life. Many of us carry a sense of purpose quietly, even subconsciously; some of us use different words for it: goals, directions, hopes, dreams. Perhaps Emily Dickinson comes close to its fragility when she says in poem 657, “I dwell in Possibility—A fairer House than Prose.” Possibility, of course, is the residing place in our inner lives that holds our lambent and glowing sense of futurity and spirituality, more wonderful for us because there lives a whole range of hopes we have about what we will dare to strive for. In contrast, we spend too much time in the stark black-and-white reality of waking life with its daily chores, duties, assignments, deadlines, responsibilities, demands, and tasks. Thus we also learn from history that lives without great purpose are empty places, arid tracts of space without structure or form. We remember how it goes. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet’s university friends, arrive at Elsinore at the invitation of his stepfather-uncle, King Claudius. Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, genuinely believes, at first, that they have come to help ease, if not alleviate, her son Hamlet’s profound melancholy at the death of his father. She has no idea that Claudius, animated by his guilt, will use them as willing spies who, in their flunkey eagerness, can bring him news of what may be bothering Hamlet and causing his melancholy.
AN OBSERVATION BY
ALEX DESANTIS
HARLEY ENGLISH TEACHER 1971-2009
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T
hese young men are the perfect ones for the job. Although they have been to a great university, Wittenberg, they have come away with nothing. They hope that they will be paid well for their services in coin if not in the currency of court favor; they lack any compassion to help them approach the condition of a suffering friend; they have what seems like proper manners and good vocabulary, but they are actually party boys whose love of puns extends only to the level of risqué burlesque. They are so blinded by their shallowness and ignorance that they pause at the wrong time in Hamlet’s questioning them and reveal why they have been sent for. Of course Hamlet recognizes they already see him as a melancholic madman, and he cleverly confirms them in that stereotype he wishes to enact for his own purposes. He is more subtle than Claudius at psyching out the truth about his adversary. With the greatest use of irony, Hamlet shares with his old friends his exquisite assessment of the nature of humans at their best: “What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, in form and moving how express and admirable; in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god: the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—” At this point Hamlet breaks off. Looking right at his friends, he fires off a challenge: “And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” He is telling them something about themselves that they do not comprehend except as the utterance of a madman whose use of language has slipped into profound nonsense. Confused, and out of their depth, they try, unsuccessfully, to segue into an off-color joke. They have, through their emptiness, negated the elements of earth, water, fire, and air—which, according to Elizabethan physiology, blend to create a fifth essence, a human being. To Hamlet they are no more than inert matter incapable of grace, emotional flexibility, passionate engagement, and spiritual illumination, the best qualities the four elements can fuse to generate a fifth in humans. Educated fools, they are totally devoid of any greatness, and have no great purpose beyond personal aggrandizement and immediate gratification.
I
n its new mission statement, Harley declares its aim of “preparing our students to meet the challenges of tomorrow and lead lives of great purpose.” Since its founding as a progressive school, Harley has not encouraged material, social, or financial outcomes as the goal of a fine, formative education. Nor has it emphasized entrée to prestigious institutions of higher education as a means of embarking on a prestigious career. Rather, the School has defined a good education as an experience of worth, an exploration of a variety of disciplines, each for its own sake, whose fusion in each individual will foster curiosity, independence, self-realization, and self-actualization.
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arley believes that balanced exposure to a creatively varied curriculum in science, mathematics, arts, humanities, athletics, and social service will help students realize what fits their individual natures best. Through this process, we hope that students will discover who they are and work to realize their potential. Of course this is not an easy process that works by any formula or ends at Commencement. Personal growth continues in twists and turns, unique for each person. Turning points give every life its shape. A life of great purpose is spun from complex choices, directions, and pursuits that issue, finally, in careers and professions—a life’s work. It comes as no surprise that Harley graduates make up a varied list: heads of corporations, writers, publishers, artists, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, financiers, psychologists, academics, craftspeople, counselors, fashion designers, graphic artists.
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arley welcomes diversity in all its forms: diversity of thought, of emotional color and intelligence, of disposition, of learning styles, of teaching methods, of varieties of approach within academic disciplines, of economic and social background, of personality, of gender, of sexual orientation, of spirituality, and of personal style. Harley’s own great purpose is to create a maximum of exposure to all the experiences that allow for the maximum of discovery and growth in each student and faculty member. Who knows—perhaps Hamlet’s view of the greatness humans are capable of can be realized at Harley in the ordinary but uncommon lives of those who have had the opportunity to be here. It is a worthy mission: to inspire young people to realize greatness of purpose in their lives.
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the door to man ’93’s offi
Lower School c away loudly and bling intricate pictu Through the door side of Hartman’s sharp whine of a four Upper Schoo cused intently beh gles, on a blue-an rowboat taking a in the center of third wall of th glass, looks out to ing vegetables, pip It’s not a normal sort of the point.
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utside Chris Hartfice, a dozen
children chatter excitedly, scribures with crayons. r on the opposite office comes the band saw where ol students are fohind safety gognd-white wooden prominent spot the room. The he office, mostly a forest of hangping, and wires. office. But that’s
hile it is a deeply worthy goal, “living a life of great purpose” is difficult to translate into words. Let’s try, however. It can be unexpected, something one falls into based on a passion or belief. It can be intentional, as when someone embarks on a cause to change, create, or develop something that is both needed and beneficial. Or it can be an evolution, the beginning of which may not be noteworthy or even understood, but the ending of which may change a life. When applied to an individual, to be singled out for “living a life of great purpose” makes many—if not most—people self-conscious and uncomfortable. “Surely you don’t mean me?” they ask. Harley people are not unique in having this modesty; each of us, wherever we come from, has some discomfort with being singled out in any way. And yet, when you look at who Harley students are, and have been, for almost 100 years, one thing is clear: Harley has imbued its students with the idea that they can, and perhaps should, do something big, something grand, something important. Our students almost invariably claim that something they got from their Harley experience lit a spark in them, propelling them forward in ways that surprised even them. For an example, here is a conversation between a recent Harley graduate, now a senior in college, and his mother. He said, “Mom, I realized recently that what’s important to me is not that I make a gazillion dollars—though that would be really great!—but that whatever I do has a lasting impact on someone, or maybe a bunch of someones. They don’t have to know my name—that doesn’t matter—but I want what I do to have a lasting effect.” So forgive our immodesty about our immoderately modest students as we delight in sharing with you these snapshot accounts of five purposeful lives and the difference each is making in our world. [EDITOR] PROFILES BY
Christopher Oddleifson ’76
KARISSA RAYMOND
Community, respect, lifelong learning. These are the building blocks that Christopher Oddleifson ’76 feels are important to creating a successful company. “Each relationship matters—whether it is a customer or colleague,” Oddleifson says. A twelve-year veteran at Rockland Trust as president and CEO, he believes that every good employee begins with being shown respect. It has proven a well-founded requirement, as the company has received several accolades over the years. Respect can be expressed in many forms—engaging, supporting, being present, and trusting, among other ways. All these things, Oddleifson says, can also be tied to lifelong learning, which, he notes, he gained from his time at Harley. “The School instilled a sense of curiosity in me,” he says. “I’m always asking open-ended questions and live with a sense of inquiry.” Engaging with his colleagues and asking for their input or learning about them personally creates appreciation and respect for them, he’s found. In many companies, it’s normal for staff presentations to end with, “Does anyone have any questions?,” but Oddleifson has been known to conclude by asking, “Do you have any answers for me?” Setting the precedent for dialogue and open communication is key to learning about what’s going on with colleagues and employees alike. On occasion, Oddleifson will set up surprise luncheons with colleagues asking for honest feedback—positive and negative. He is also involved in a program at Rockland Trust called Rising Stars, in which they invite new college graduates into a program where they will be placed into jobs that require the degree they went to school for—not the case at many companies. Oddleifson will speak with each participant so they feel a sense of community right off the bat. For Oddleifson, it’s important to engage, whether with an intern or an executive. For him, they are all part of a community, and all can make a difference by bringing their whole self to work—when management encourages them to do so. “Each relationship matters,” he says. “My colleagues are people, not numbers.” 2 01 5
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Harrison Gabel ’97
Being a scientist isn’t always the most lucrative job in the world, but Harrison Gabel ’97 loves what he does so much he wouldn’t choose anything else. As a researcher focusing on the interface of medical research and basic research, he is studying subject matter that will ultimately contribute to creating therapies that promise to improve patient outcomes. “What has kept me in my job is that there is fulfillment in doing something for others,” Gabel says. Gabel fell in love with learning during his high school years. As he conquered a learning disability, he pursued his education, concluding with a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School studying basic molecular mechanisms to understand how neurons in the brain are born during prenatal development and work throughout one’s life. A scientist’s enduring job is to explore and uncover things. Gabel’s work focuses on understanding how a particular gene—MeCP2— works in our neurons, and how mutation of this gene causes Rett syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental autism spectrum disorder. It is deeply rewarding work for him and his colleagues, as they have been able to make discoveries about the basic mechanisms by which the brain develops and functions, contributing to understanding the disorder and providing ideas for how to develop therapies. Gabel believes that showing empathy for others is just as important as learning about a subject matter. He says Harley not only inspired his love of science but also taught him about social awareness—doing good for your community and caring for others. His job as a research scientist combines both—he has the potential to make discoveries that could change people’s lives. “I wouldn’t be in this job if there weren’t a good purpose,” he says. Gabel has received an appointment as a professor at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis starting in September. There, he will be founding his own laboratory, studying the basic mechanisms of neurons in the brain and how disruption of these mechanisms can lead to neurodevelopmental diseases, including autism spectrum disorders.
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Kirsten Allen Reader ’90
For Kirsten Allen Reader ’90, now a Harley middle school English teacher, rigor and high expectations are part of her job. “We need to learn to do hard things, we need to struggle and grow, and we need to do that in a safe environment,” Reader says. She feels strongly about encouraging others to be their best selves, whatever that may be. Her courses at Harley are known to be a bit tough, but she feels that is what makes a person stronger and more confident. In her role as a teacher—a person of the community—she feels a great responsibility to create an environment in which her students can thrive. “As a student, Harley taught me that being a part of the community starts with me. And that starts with being my best self,” Reader says. As a teacher, she is part of a community that both encourages its students and works to develop the whole child so that students can discover where they shine and what makes them happy, whether that might be to become a carpenter, caregiver, artist, techie, traveler, or scientist—and a fellow citizen in all. Now, Reader is teaching what she was taught for years as a Harley student. She strives every day to bring confidence and courage to her classroom through her own experiences, those of her students, and through literature. Reader says that any teacher who really works at the profession attempts to make a mark in the world simply by encouraging positive change in a student. She notes, “We are not preparing children to be smarter children; we are preparing children to be our fellow peers in the world we all live in. We want to arm them with intelligent and critical minds, empathy for each other and our environment, and a deep knowledge of themselves.”
Meredith Ciaccia ’08 Meredith Ciaccia ’08 graduated from Harley planning to study French and communications. But after some time at Hobart and William Smith Colleges she followed her heart and chose a double major in psychology and women’s studies. Shortly after graduating, she took an internship with the Special Olympics to help plan their 2013 World Winter Games in the Republic of Korea. This job not only gave her the chance to see a part of the world she might never otherwise visit, but it also opened the doors to her current job as coordinator for global development and government relations for the Special Olympics. Ciaccia’s two big life choices—her double major and taking a job with the Special Olympics—proved what Harley had taught her: be open to things that are surprising, and don’t turn something down because it might not be what you thought you would be doing. “Harley encouraged me to be myself and showed that it was OK to be myself,” Ciaccia notes. In doing so, she says, the School taught her to overcome fears and seize opportunities. She attributes a great deal of that to Bob Kane, her tenth-grade English teacher. Ciaccia didn’t come into Harley until her sophomore year. She came from a school that taught to write to a test, rather than to become a good writer independently. Kane taught Ciaccia to write as herself, in her own voice. “That moment changed my perspective on life,” she says. “He taught me to be myself, in turn being my best person. That is completely life changing.” Ciaccia continues to live by Kane’s teachings. Her advice to others is that if you find something you like, stay with it, as you will be happier and want to do well with it. “If you feel good about your life and your work,” she says, “you’ll feel good about yourself and you’ll be happy.” Sarah Kemp ’84
We invite yOU to tell us of a classmate or teacher whose life you admire. Please send an e-mail to whyharley@harleyschool.org giving a few sentences about your choice. We will interview these amazing people and share their stories as part of our upcoming Centennial Celebration. Thank you!
“We promote world peace one trade deal at a time,” states Sarah Kemp ’84. As minister counselor for commercial affairs at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, Kemp oversees the Department of Commerce’s trade promotion and trade policy activities in its operations in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Wuhan. She sells U.S. products and services abroad, as well a encouraging Chinese companies to invest in the United States with the goal of creating jobs there. “I believe that countries that trade with each other and are closely entwined economically are less likely to have armed conflict,” Kemp says. She attributes her passion for what she does and the success she has had to Harley. The School fanned her intent to leave her corner of the world a better place. “To live a life of purpose, I think one needs to believe that you can make a difference, a confidence that you can succeed, and an empathy that we are all part of something bigger with a responsibility to care,” she notes. Harley provided that for Kemp, from connection with both the local community and with the larger international world through opportunities like the Scottish Exchange Program and the Cyclo 2000, the work with Kenyan students, or the ecology class at Thacher Ranch. “Harley succeeded in framing the world in a much larger and more interconnected way than I might have otherwise gained,” Kemp says. In her current position, Kemp serves as a key adviser to the ambassador on commercial affairs, and as an experienced interlocutor for the U.S. Department of Commerce with Chinese trade entities. When advising U.S. CEOs—from Fortune 500 companies to SMEs—on China business strategy, she promotes U.S. exports, industry standards, and assisting with anti-subsidy/countervailing duty cases, intellectual property protection, and export controls. “All my life’s experiences,” Kemp says, “from Harley and thereafter, fundamentally shaped who I am and reinforced the idea that we all live lives of purpose, each making our own impact on our own corner of the world.” 2 01 5
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The Sands-Stern Award recognizes an individual or family who has extraordinary Thedemonstrated Sands-Stern recognizes The Diane R. Doniger Award commitment to The Harley School an individual or family Parent Volunteer Service Award who has through the contribution of their The Sands-Stern Award recognizes demonstrated extraordinary was established in 1997 to recognize Diane’s servicetoand passion. an individual orThe family whoSchool has commitment Harley efforts and dedicated years of service to Harley. demonstrated extraordinary through the contribution of their The Harleyan School and She was acommitment Board chair,service Harley Saleto chair and passion. coordinator, active parent through the contribution their volunteer, and successfully chaired Harley’s Yearbook 2000of Capital Campaign. Peter ’72 andthe Deb ’73Diane Willsea The award is presentedservice to the parent2013 who best exemplifies spirit has and passion. 2012 Phyllis community. Bentley ’45 shown in her endless hours of service to the Harley 2011 Joe ’48 and Nancy Briggs 2013 Peter ’72 and Deb ’73 Willsea 2010 Arunas and Pamela Chesonis 2012 Phyllis Bentley ’45 2009 Richard ’69 and Jennifer Sands 2011 ’48 and Nancy ’73 Briggs 2013 Joe Peter Willsea Robert’72 ’76and andDeb Nancy Sands 2010 Arunas and Pamela Chesonis 2012 Phyllis Bentley Andy Stern and’45 Melissa McGrain 2009 ’69 and Jennifer 2011 Richard Joe ’48 and Nancy BriggsSands Robert ’76 and Nancy Sands 2010 Arunas and Pamela Chesonis Andy Stern 2009 Richard ’69and andMelissa JenniferMcGrain Sands
Service with a Smile
Robert ’76 and Nancy Sands
2015 Diane R. Doniger award The award Andy Stern and Melissa McGrain recipient, Lisa Palumbo is presented at theThe School’s annual award This year’s winner is Lisa Palumbo. HarleyisCircle Celebration presented Her fellow parents have this to honoring award at theThe School’s say: annual “Lisa did an amazing job as a its members. presented HarleyisCircle Celebration parent council room rep throughout her years at Harley. Her Scottish at the School’s annual honoring Exchange and graduation events HarleyitsCircle Celebration members. were out of this world. Her legendhonoring ary end-of-the-year parties and its members. ice cream socials included two full
grades, teachers and families. She was a powerhouse on all kinds of things from Lower School sock hops to driving kids everywhere; from Middle School sledding parties to cast parties. She helped solicit class gifts for Blast! and then lent her artistic touch to setting up the event. She also had full-grade birthday parties and always offered her house for all kinds of parent meetings. Lisa is an amazing ambassador for the Harley inclusive community. She is always there in the most positive way!”
Harley’s volunteers are vital to the success of this school, the feel of our community, and the work that we’re able to accomplish. Please volunteer in whatever ways you can. Your importance can not be overstated.
The Harley School Annual The HarleyReport School is online. Annual The HarleyReport School is online. Annual Report is online. www.harleyschool.org/annualreport www.harleyschool.org/annualreport www.harleyschool.org/annualreport
It’s easy It’s easy being It’s easy being green. being green. green.
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Volunteer your time and talents! Opportunities:
Admissions Tour Guide Blast! Fundraiser
be on the committee, solicit sponsors and advertisers, solicit auction items, help plan the event
Annual Fund/ Development Volunteer First Day Flowers Last Day Lemonade Martin Luther King, Jr. “Day-On” Teacher Appreciation Day Class Field Trips Let your class Parent Council representative know if you’re interested in volunteering or contact Karen Saludo at ksaludo@harleyschool.org
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My First Sentence Annie Taggart ’15
In the movie The Hours, Virginia Woolf takes the writing of her novel Mrs. Dalloway very seriously. It is always at the back of her mind, and it seems she is always working on it. She wants very much to get the words right. At one point, she looks up and exclaims, “I think I may have a first sentence.” I am at a point in my life where I have to make decisions and plan my future. Like Woolf, I care about the outcome of my decisions. I don’t feel ready for college, but I want an experience that will help me grow. I want to be able to do my art as a lifestyle, not as a hobby. I want to be able to support myself, to be a good community member and a responsible citizen of the world, and to never forget how to play. That seems like a lot to ask of the rest of my life. My mom keeps telling me not to worry about the whole rest of my life, but to focus on the next step. That’s good advice, but what will my next step be? Where will I go? It seems like a waste of everyone’s time and money to go to college
Pieces
before I know who I am going to be. It also seems like a waste of resources and potential to stay and loaf around my house doing nothing. I need a place where I
from
can be useful while learning about myself and others. I need a first sentence. In the summer of 2015, with a group of other teenagers of Latvian heritage I
Annie Taggart's
took a two-week trip to Latvia, called “Hello, Latvia!,” and was astounded by how much I loved the country. I had suspected that I would love it, but I never expected to have the feeling be so strong.
portfolio
The other participants were always teasing me about my unending praise of the natural settings, handsome buildings, and overall welcoming feeling of the place.
created
One of the stops we made on the trip was to a private orphanage called Zvannieki. (Notice how “Annie” belongs in the middle of ZvANNIEki!) The property was beautiful, with big forest areas, lots
during
of happy, playing children, and frolicking goats and sheep. I spent the afternoon drawing different animals while one of the kids told me the Latvian names for them. It was awesome.
Upper School
So when my mom proposed the idea of a gap year, I knew where I wanted to spend it. I could travel, learn a language, volunteer in a way that really matters, play with kids. I know that not all of my family will be happy that I am not taking the “traditional” college route—at least not yet—but I feel strongly that it is more important to have a rich and meaningful life than simply to have a conventional one. I know it will not always feel like a frolic in the fields, but I also know that I will be much wiser and stronger for having found my first sentence at Zvannieki. 2 01 5
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be .. social n o s r e p In t
Remember to send in your class notes and updates to Karen Saludo ksaludo@harleyschool.org
his year’s Alumni Reunion Weekend was outstanding, including over 100 alumni, faculty, and friends. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to make it such a memorable weekend. Next year’s Alumni Reunion Weekend is June 17 and 18. Reunion 2016 will feature graduating years ending in 6 and 1.
Class of 1965 on a school tour
Ginna Speciale ’00, Len Wilcox, Alex DeSantis, Kate Benesch Housand ’00, Sybil Prince ’00, Dan Yeoman ’00, John Dolan, Jon LaRue ’00 Mark von Bucher Memorial HAC Alumni Soccer Game
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Erik Deutsch ’92 (and son Andrew) and Karin Deutsch Karlekar ’89 speaking at the memorial service for their mother, Edna Deutsch
1965: Marc Smith with wife, Bonnie, Tom White, Lisa Smith Adams, Connez Todd, Alison Dye, Judith Johnstone Smith, Larry Atkins
Kate Barnes ’84, Karin Deutsch Karlekar ’89, Sarah Kemp ’84
Ward Ghory and Sarah Notz Hoefer ’80
1975: Carolyn Green Backus, Mike Frame, Diana Tomb Carter, Don Nielsen, Josh Cohen, David Dunn
Sarah Kramer ’10, Nathan Dobson ’10, Tim Crumley ’09
Tony Kim ’11, Erik Chesonis ’10, Tessa Chesonis ’11
2010: Cat Everett, Jasmine Simmons, Sarah Kramer, Austin Czubara
Wife Kathy and former faculty member Bill Dalton
Mike Sternowski, Meg Malone Sternowski ’06, Marissa Malone ’11
2005: James D’Amanda, Katie McDonald, David O’Brien
Kirsten Allen Reader ’90 celebrating with her students from the classes of 2009, 2010, and 2011
Former trustee Herb Voelcker, Len Wilcox
Deb Weiss Walker ’83, Susan Perry Ertsgaard ’85, Cathy Nielon ’85
2004: Joe Maurici, Liz Marion
Commons Speaker Series speaker, John Voelcker ’77, and classmates, Sarah Lunt and Bob Skuse
Meg Malone Sternowski ’06, Barbara Willard
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regular story text
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PHOTO: RITA ADLER EVERETT
1000 words
regular story text
Malcolm Baldwin ’58 writes: Still enjoying the
raising of sheep for wool (now 30), managing a small vineyard (despite weather and lightning setbacks), holding about 10 weddings a year (five of which I’ve presided over as a “civil celebrant”), and having a small farm and bed and breakfast. So impressed with Harley’s new head!
Alan Staehle ’59 writes: Visited the William Wallace Memorial at Stirling, Scotland, with my sister Sia Morhardt ’61 and spouses last June. Our maternal grandfather was also named William Wallace, and, according to some accounts, Alan may have been the name of the historic William’s father. Due to the historic William’s demise, there is no possible direct connection.
60s
For this issue of Becoming Magazine , we received wonderful—and overwhelming—correspondence for “Class Notes,” especially from our 50-year Reunion class. With apologies, we have had to nip and tuck to fit our allotted space. But thank you so much!
40s Peter Gleason ’43 writes: Greetings to whoever is still alive in the Class of ’43. “Become what thou art”—or is it “I is what I is”?
Nancy Niemeyer Rovin ’56 writes: So many memories flooded over me when I read
Peter Gleason’s reminiscences of my dad, Jack Niemeyer! [see Becoming Magazine 2014]
Dad loved Harley, and kept in touch with many of his students. He passed away in 2004, after a long and productive life as a progressive educator, most recently as president of the Bank Street College of Education in New York City.
Richard Anderson ’49 writes: My wife, Maria,
and I continue to be active, working as docents at the Camillus Erie Canal Park. The park is part of the Erie Canal National Heritage Park and a National Historic Site. We enjoy our two engineer sons’ families and would like to visit Harley this coming year.
50s
Jack Niemeyer in 2003
His great-grandson is flourishing in first grade at the Bank Street School. If you have any memories that you would like to share about Jack, please e-mail me at nrpiano@gmail.com.
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Henry “Nick” Hanson ’60 writes: After leaving
Harley, I attended the University of Tennessee and graduated with a degree in industrial management. My wife, Carolyn, and I were married in 1964. After graduation, I entered the Air Force, and during that four-year term we had two children—son Scot, now a veterinarian with his own equine practice, and daughter Lia, a Ph.D. researcher and married with two children, Celia, 14, and Ryan, 12. I was employed by Eastman Chemical in Information Technology in Kingsport, Tenn., where I worked for 32 years. While in the Air Force, I learned to fly and went on to earn commercial certificates with an instrument rating. Since my retirement in 1999, Carolyn and I moved to her family farm. We renovated the century-old farmhouse and started a small farming operation on the property. Today we raise sheep and have a couple of hives of bees and various farm animals that our grandkids enjoy during their visits. The farm keeps us close to home and very busy.
Sam Havens ’60 notes: I’ve attached photos of myself with my cousin Jim Havens ’60 and classmate Barry Palum ’60. Barry and I were at Harley through eighth grade; we were family and friends that will remain so forever.
In Memoriam
Barbara Briggs Trimble ’39 Caroline Scofield Davis ’45 Barbara Briggs Butler ’51 Robert Lipton ’54
Robert Tescione ’59 Philip Clark ’71 David C. Seldin ’74 Elizabeth Hallenbeck Daly ’77
Reunion. I can only imagine all the time and effort you have put into it—especially Lee Sherwood McDermott, Sarah Snell Singal, and Keely Costello —and missed being able to see everyone again. Thank you, and much joy to everyone there!
Sam Havens ’60 and Barry Palum ’60
Sam Havens ’60 and Jim Havens ’60
Margot Townsend Young ’64 writes: I am very sorry I was unable to join the gang from ’64 for Reunion. Memories of our time together are precious. Reading Joanne O’s tribute again is a reminder of how hard we worked while we were having fun. She says we had the “courage to take intellectual chances . . . and . . . possible risks.” Yes, we were—and are—a great group, but we were supported and encouraged by terrific teachers in an encouraging environment. Remember Mafia Day, when the boys turned the dress code on its ear by wearing dark shirts and light tees?! Best wishes to you all!
Laura Grossman Fukunishi ’63 writes:
Finally, I have news: a first grandchild was born to my younger daughter, Ayano (name meaning complex, many-colored weaving), and husband, Eishi (name meaning flowering, prosperous history), a girl, Mizuki, also with a two-part name. It’s very Harley; please welcome our new little two-leafed twig to the family. Hoping all is well with each and every Harleyite. Best regards to everyone.
Sue (Susanne) Wilson Hershey ’63 writes:
After working for 30 years at the Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh—a school very like Harley—I now manage a national program to educate and certify riding instructors for the U.S. Eventing Association. All these years after those at Harley, I am still riding! I am very lucky that Dale, my husband, enjoys using some of our suburban “farm” acreage for gardening and that both of our now-grown children (Lauren and Alex) became very good riders themselves. That Harley participatory spirit is contagious!
Deborah Powers Berry ’64: Hello, all! I
am very sorry I was unable to join you for the 50th
Keeley Costello ’64 holding the door for Jim Davidson ’64 and Joan Rockwell ’64 in 1964, and again in 2014.
Lisa Smith Adams ’65 writes: Quick
summary—Met on a blind date and lived a 40-year love story life full of adventures and fun with the man of my dreams, Donald Adams. Along the way, I got a B.A., M.S., and M.B.A. and moved into the health
Karen Chapman ’78 Matthew Beach ’00
care ranks of management to operate companies, and then consult. Our Harley training was an incredible foundation for me because of its disciplined way of learning and exposure to the effect of teamwork. In the ’70s, while living in Virginia, my husband and I built a farm from scratch, including barns, fencing, and a house, and where we raised Black Angus cattle. In the ’80s we moved to Melbourne, Fla. We also found we loved Montana so we bought a condo on a mountain there, where we began to live life in three-month segments to take advantage of the best of both Montana and Florida. In August last year, I lost my wonderful, smart, kind, caring, and inspiring husband to pancreatic cancer. I am now learning how to live life as half a person and figuring out how to still find some joy and happiness. And I’m looking forward to reconnecting with all of you in June, back where it all started!
Larry Atkins ’65 writes: To sum it up: I married Cornelia Kennedy a few years after college and have been happily married for 44 years. We have a wonderful son, Andrew, daughter-in-law, Erin, and twin one-year-old granddaughters, Riley and Quinn, who live in Manhattan. What else did I do? During college I went to Beirut, Lebanon, to study ancient history and become an archeologist, but the 1967 “June war” convinced me otherwise. Injustice is viewed from where you sit, and I saw enough from the Arab perspective to want to do something about it in my own backyard. My long career in numerous health care professions has taken me from Boston to Washington, D.C. The joke is that I have now aged into long-term-care policy, running a federal long-term-care commission and now a small nonprofit alliance of long-term-care organizations. So my antidote to aging (which did not seem to work for my career) is triathlon. Inveigled into doing a triathlon in my early fifties, I ended up as head coach of a 125-member triathlon club and training program at our downtown YMCA. Fifteen years with the club has taken me to 85 races. With Cornelia retiring this year after four decades of teaching, we are trying to figure out how to do more of what we love: spending more time at our place in Chatham, Mass., sailing, kayaking, eating seafood, gardening both vegetables and flowers, chasing chubby grandchildren around the yard, and maybe doing a little traveling on the side.
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Lowell Emerson Cardillo ’65 writes:
Summary of 50 years—Yikes! Graduated from Town of Webb schools in Old Forge. (We moved in the middle of junior year, if you don’t remember.) Attended the University of Arizona in Tucson; returned to Rochester and worked at Strong Memorial Hospital until 1974, when my first son, Garrison, was born. Second son, Christopher, was born in 1976. Held secretary and vice president positions at the Gates-Chili Co-Operative Nursery School during the years the boys attended there. Then worked at Delco Products (GM) from 1987 until the closing of the plant in 2008. I now work at Strong Memorial Hospital, doing payroll. I was divorced in 1988; met my current husband (Jack) in 1991, and married him in 2004. We live on the shore of Lake Ontario in Hilton, N.Y. and have two grandchildren, Edison, 12, and Claudia, 8. They’re my older son’s children and live in Saratoga Springs. My younger son lives in Raleigh, N.C., and was just married last May. Next big challenge: Total knee replacement! I’m finally fixing that knee that kept me on crutches off and on during school.
Jana Golan Cavanaugh ’65 writes: After
Harley, I attended Wheelock College in Boston. Lots of fun! I remember Bruce Niven ’65 inviting me to a party at Cornell, so I jumped in my car, drove eight hours, partied, and then drove back to Boston! I graduated on the same day my future husband returned from Vietnam. I supported him but not the war, and participated in a number of antiwar protests. Don and I were married in 1969 (Connez Todd ’65 was my maid of honor); we divorced in 1996. For twenty years I worked for a number of companies in accounting, including a not-for-profit working with ex-offenders, and a nightclub! We lived in various Massachusetts towns before finally settling in Rochester, Mass. My three boys are Matthew, Douglas, and Brian, and each has provided me with wonderful grandchildren. In 1989, I was hired to teach math at our local elementary school, where I’m still teaching and still absolutely love it! Over the years I have worked with hundreds of students, helping them understand and love math. I know, I know—Mr. Laimbeer must be scratching his head. If I’m not teaching, assessing, or taking care of grandkids, I can be found reading. If I’m not reading, I’ll be watching the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, or a local team. I have so many memories of Harley beyond the
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education we received: senior trip, sports, Leo with his hand slipped into the back of his pants, Annie commenting that Biff has girl uncles (ankles) after he shaved for soccer, May Day, graduation night, parties at the Todds’, dissecting a cat with Kathy, study hall . . . the list goes on and on. I’m amazed at my classmates’ accomplishments since Harley. My life seems rather mundane, but I’m happy, healthy, and know I’ve made a difference in many children’s lives. Have fun at Reunion—I’ll be there in spirit.
Roger Dow ’65 writes:
• 1969—B.A., history, Muskingum College in Ohio. • 1969—Married. • 1972—M.A., English education, Ohio State University. • 1974—Daughter Jennifer born. • 1977—Ph.D., psychology and linguistics, also at Ohio State. • 1977—Moved to Maryland and began working at Frostburg State University. • 1977-2012—Director of the Graduate Reading Program and the Reading Clinic at Frostburg. • 1979-1990—Developed literacy programs throughout the Appalachian mountain region. • 1980—Son Andrew born. • 1985—Divorced. • 1990—Bought retirement home on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. • 1991—Married the love of my life, Bette, who has two daughters, Briana and Bridget. • 2012 to present—Associate dean for the College of Education at Frostburg. Sandwiched between the bullets are many loving pets, who have taught us gentility and courage. We have been blessed with friends and family, who continue to support and nurture us in ways unimaginable. We sing, and while we find it increasingly difficult, we dance, eat way too much, and love and laugh daily. We are blessed, and we are thankful.
• 1979—Started private practice in New York City. • Early-mid 1980s—Associate clinical director of alcoholism and drug addiction treatment center in New York City; field instructor, School of Social Work, NYU. • 1982—Met a new partner, an Irish-American woman. • 1983—My daughter Annie was born! • 1987—After several visits to Ireland, the three of us moved there. Oh beautiful life! • From the late ’80s until 2005 I was director of training and a therapist at an alcoholism treatment center in Dublin. • 1989—Won first prize in a short story competition sponsored by a British literary magazine; got a literary agent in London. In the early 1990s I wrote three novels published in London; the first was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award. • 2009—My granddaughter Brooke was born! • 2010-2012—Taught at Fordham University School of Social Work. • 2010-present—I’m in private practice, with a focus on addiction and trauma. • 2012—Met my current partner, Alison (!). We live between her apartment in New York City, my house in Kingston, and her renovated barn in Dutchess County. • 2014—I joined the Stonewall Chorale in New York City, the nation’s oldest gay and lesbian chorus. We do three concerts a year. I used to be an alto at Harley; am now a tenor! (The director says our voices go south as we age.)
mailbox r u o y h c t a W mn i lu a n a f o s w for ne our area! y n i g n i r e h gat
Alison Dye ’65 writes:
• 1969—Graduated from Mount Holyoke College and worked in New York City. • 1975—Graduated from Columbia University School of Social Work. • 1975—Married. • 1975-1979—Social worker at St. Vincent’s Hospital Alcoholism Service. • 1978—Divorced.
Donna Kingsley Fein ’65 writes: Is it really
fifty years plus since: Ward drew a picture in study hall of a pair of hands crawling up over a wall, called it “Monkey Paws,” and handed it to me? I looked down at my legs during soccer practice one frigid afternoon and saw that they were blue with large orange polka dots—or was it orange with blue polka dots? You get the idea. It was cold, even by Rochester
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standards. After a season of basketball with our gym teacher, Mrs. Ray, she invited us to her home and cooked us one of the best meals I had ever had. I tried smoking a pipe with Sail tobacco in the senior room because I had liked the smell of it—and found it to be the foulest tasting stuff I had ever experienced. Paul Snyder ’65 explained to us that our political problems would not come from the USSR in the future, but from China. I went to Skidmore College and received a B.S. in nursing. For varied work and social reasons, I lived in New York City; Providence, R.I.; Rochester; then Westchester County, working primarily in visiting nursing and public health. Through one of those twists of fate, I met and fell in love with a man who was in prison at the time. We lived a rich and full life once Mark was released from “the joint.” We married, had a daughter, Karyn (1979), and twin sons, Ian and Scot (1981). Once I realized that having three almost at once was a full-time commitment, I dedicated myself to child rearing while Mark ran three manufacturing companies. Due to a changing economy as well as health challenges for Mark, we moved to North Carolina and finished raising our kids in Charlotte. Karyn is now a veterinarian who specializes in physical therapy for dogs and cats, Ian is a police officer, and Scot is a neuromuscular massage therapist. I have four grandchildren. My caregiving continued as husband Mark’s health suffered. He died in 2010. Since then I have lived a bit of a gypsy life, staying with my sister in Maine, then in Denver with Karyn. Now I am moving back to Maine for a while, to be with my sister before I decide where to settle. Harley gave me a love of learning. I am not a brilliant intellectual, but I love to read; have played guitar, enjoy yoga and meditation; and pursue— rather slowly—hand quilting. Our participation in team sports gave me the chance to play many sports I probably would not have played in other schools, and it was through these activities that friendships formed. I am still great friends with Kristine Niven ’66, even though we do not get to see each other often. I am not going to be able to get to the Reunion, but have read the bios and am so happy for my fellow alums. You have done well. I am grateful to a small school with big ideas, to have learned to love the process of endeavoring, no matter the challenge. I hope you will all have a great time together, and will toast those, like me, who won’t be there, with humor and fondness. Love and greetings and heartfelt thoughts to you all.
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Geoff Feltner ’65 writes: I graduated from
McGill University in Montreal, where I learned to speak French fluently, played on the soccer team, and skied for their team. Afterward, I spent five years on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. This was followed by work for a large insurance company, and I lived in several different cities before coming back to Rochester in 1980. I started my own agency and have two locations now, one in Spencerport and one in Canandaigua. I also work as a disaster relief coordinator for the Salvation Army and have been on numerous operations, most noteworthy at the World Trade Center after 9/11, in Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and again in New York City after Hurricane Sandy. I also spend time helping disabled and disenfranchised veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. My wife, Jane, and I have three children: Rebecca, Amy, and Peter, and we now have seven grandchildren. Life has been very good with many blessings. I am excited to see those of you who can make the Reunion, and wish all of you the very best.
Annie Poignant Geoghegan ’65 writes: After
my year at Harley, I went back to France, but was determined to return to the United States. I studied at l’Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, and then, following my dream, came back to the States and taught at Duke University, where I married a classical musician (guitar and the lute). After the birth of my son we settled in the Boston area. I pursued a career teaching at various universities, earned another graduate degree, and then spent a year in Madagascar with the School for International Training. When I returned to the United States, I resumed teaching and continued graduate studies. After I divorced, I entered another relationship, which lasted for 17 years. Throughout all those years, I pursued my artistic interests in sculpture and printing as well as in photography. An avid traveler, I visited many countries in Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, as well as in Latin America. Now, living in Boston, I am a member of the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement. I can immerse myself in fields that I never had the time to explore. I plan to go wherever my interests and studies take me, and to visit my friends wherever they may be. There is still so much to do . . . I wish I could reconnect with you at the Reunion; unfortunately, I will be taking care of family business in France. So I send my regrets and my love to all of you. Happy fiftieth Reunion.
Burt Galbraith ’77, Paula Baker Cawley ’76, John Voelcker ’77
Sunset from rooftop deck of host Nathan Duckles ’04
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New York, NY R e g ion a l Tou r
Rob Williams ’98, Rebecca Rothkopf, Caroline Abbey ’02, Ashley Rice ’01, back: Mark Mayer ’98
Didrik Soderstrom ’08, A.J. Fox ’05
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Ann Randtke Kennedy ’65 writes: After
leaving Harley, I became an undergraduate student at Vassar College and then a graduate student at Harvard University. I received a doctoral degree from Harvard and then remained at Harvard on the faculty until 1988, when I joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania as a professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, where I remain. I met my husband, Sean Kennedy, while he was in medical school at Harvard. We have two wonderful children and four equally wonderful grandchildren. Son Christopher, a medical physicist at Penn, lives with his wife, Karin (and their three children), near us in Media, Pa.; daughter, Sarah, lives with her lawyer husband, John Williamson, and son in Alexandria, Va. It is expected that Sarah will give us our fifth grandchild at about the time of our Harley 50th Reunion. Both Sean and I greatly enjoy spending time with our children and grandchildren. I have started to teach my grandchildren how to play table tennis, and one of them is planning to play this sport competitively soon—as I did during my years at Harley. My current passion is gardening; our two-acre yard has several gardens that keep me busy in my spare time. Sean’s 30-year passion for antique cars continues to the present, and we have three antique cars that are driven frequently.
Ward Kerr ’65 writes: After all those 50 years I am left with a nice sense of appreciation for the friendship and care that you had for me during those really short but difficult times . . . as well as each of those friends in each of their own ways . . . Time has left me with a sense of peacefulness, understanding that we were all actually doing an amazing job of coping and learning, and that time has certainly been a piece of making me who I am today— “Become what thou art.” And who am I today? Hey, it’s 50 years—but it’s still me! What would you expect? I live in India at an ashram/humanitarian community, working closely with a great saint, Amma. I’ve been on and off here for 14 years, but living here now for the last five . . . and I’m truly contented and happy . . . life seems to be quite worthwhile. I work hard and sleep well. But . . . would you want to talk on Skype? I would enjoy that . . . easier than typing . . . Mrs. Poole had me up to 40 words a minute 50 years ago but it’s been downhill ever since . . . Still a favorite is William Blake— “And did those feet in ancient times walk upon England’s mountains
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green, and was the holy lamb of God on England’s pleasant pastures seen?”
Kathy Weld Leahy ’65 writes: I graduated from Vassar, lived in Texas, New Mexico, and Massachusetts, and had south-of-the-border adventures in a VW camper with a 5-year-old. For employment I spent 30 years at Massachusetts Audubon, first as the natural history travel coordinator and then in coastal environmental community outreach here on the North Shore. Three years ago I abandoned a brief retirement to become the executive director of a local land trust. Sadly, a liberal arts/English major probably can’t get jobs like these any more. (Thanks for teaching me to write, Leo [Opdycke].) Married twice, I am still sharing a never dull, invigorating life with Chris after almost 40 years. I’m mom to two sons, one with Down syndrome, and have three grandsons, including identical twins. I’m thankful, every day, to be living in Gloucester, Mass., with its gorgeous land and seascapes; sandy beaches, rocky shores, and salt marshes; economically and socially diverse community; a rich history and artistic heritage; and lots of people who feel similarly lucky with whom to share. Some Harley connections: • My mom stayed for several years as Harley’s “information lady.” • When at Vassar I did some babysitting for Leo and Jeanne Opdycke’s little girls. • Ann Randtke Kennedy was at Vassar too, but she is way smarter and more diligent than I am and she was pre-med, so we didn’t cross paths. • Gabriel was born in northern New Mexico in 1970, where Ward Kerr and his then wife had had their daughter one month earlier at the same medical center. They were tremendously welcoming and generous, and we had a fun summer being New Mexico hippies while nurturing infants. • Larry Atkins’s wonderful uncle and aunt lived in Belmont, Mass., and were great friends and benefactors of Mass Audubon. • Alan Wilson lives the next town over. We’ve connected with some regularity, as he supports conservation and generously shares his expertise. Spare time? Well, I still cook for my husband and son and mostly enjoy it. For 17 years I’ve studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhism and help run a study/ meditation group. I’ve been lucky to do some interesting world travel, and am a voracious reader. Rochester? It is still my “home base” with lots of family there, including my mom, who is 98.
I recognize few landmarks; even the Harley we knew is gone. I’m amazed at the detailed memories many of you have about our time there; I’m not blessed with that level of recall, but I have never regretted my good fortune at being a Harley student.
Betsy Morris ’65 writes: OK, here it is—50 years
in 2.5 lines: Went to WCFW, CU, SCSU; lived in NY, MD, MA, CT, ME; worked as scenic carpenter, truck driver, basketball coach, technology librarian; ruled by two Labradors; retired from a 35-year career in libraries to a log cabin in Maine with my partner of 29 years. Well, that’s what I wrote when I thought Lisa was going to try to get all 28 of our 50-year bios on one page. The above pretty much covers my life since Harley, but here are some additional tidbits: • My college physical education teacher said watching me play basketball was like watching someone dance. • I was told that watching me up and down shift on Bruce’s two-stick twin screw Detroit diesel 14-wheel dump trucks was like watching someone dance. • I can’t dance. • My partner, Karen, can. In fact, a perfect stranger came up to us in a P’town bar, asked me to hold her coat, and whisked Karen onto the dance floor and into a dance contest. • The technical director at the theater where I built scenery commented on how nice it was to have a carpenter smell like Chanel No 5. • I got a GE toaster oven for being on the GE College Bowl team. We lost. • After years of being a lost soul, I realized that working in a library is the perfect place to be a jack of all trades, and reference work is like being paid to play Trivial (and not so trivial) Pursuit all day. • I thank Harley most of all for the PG year they allowed me when I had to stay in Rochester for radiation therapy the fall after we graduated. They “hired” me as a gym teacher assistant, where I got to help with gym classes, wash sweaty laundry, and coach seventh- and eighth-grade girls. Being at
Harley Class Rings are now available for purchase through the Harley Store. Next time you visit Harley,
Harley that year provided balance between the fear of illness with the love of sport. • My love for basketball has remained all these years, and this is the first year in dozens that I haven’t gone to either the Women’s Final Four or the ACC or SEC Women’s Championship Tournaments. But I’ve watched them all on television. Had tickets for the SEC, but snow kept me from getting out of Maine!
Bruce Niven ’65 sends this account:
• Graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in agronomy/farm management. • Operated family farm with 96 milk cows and 900 acres of land in East Bloomfield, where Tom White milked cows for a summer. • Married Patricia Fobian, whom I met junior year at a bar in Cortland. • Operated a farm in Macedon, raising 400 acres of sweet corn, 400 acres of field corn, 300 acres of green and yellow string beans, 30 acres of peas, and 100 acres of wheat. We had trucks that Betsy Morris drove harvesting sweet corn. • Bought our 150-acre farm on Barnes Road, where we presently reside. • Our son, Christian, was born. He is now married to Sara Millville and has two boys, Finnian and Jullien. Christian and Sara both teach school in Maine. • Our daughter, Kaitlin, was born. She graduated from Everest College in Rochester as a medical assistant and is continuing her education to become an R.N. • Received my real estate license and became an associate broker in 1988.
Nick Rowntree ’65 sends this history: I think my course after Harley was decided by growing up American but with English parents who were different in some ways I did not really understand. It was not a problem, but it left me wondering about the differences. • 1965-69—University of Pennsylvania. • 1969-73—University of Michigan Law School, with six months off to decide whether I meant it. Decided I did. Also married Louise Gundlach from Penfield. • 1973-79—Brussels, Belgium. University of Brussels: M.A. in European law in first year, then five years with ITT, at that point a giant telecom company. Worked for them in Eastern Europe and especially Moscow, where I learned that KGB people are the ones in expensive Italian suits. Our son, Adrian, was born in 1975. • 1979-83—Returned to United States to work for
Nixon Hargrave. Our daughter, Suzannah, was born. • 1983—I joined Schlumberger in New York City and we moved to Peekskill. • 1984—We moved to London, where we felt that after four moves in six years, it was time to settle down. • In the 90s, I begin to become involved in UN work. • 2000—Louise and I divorced; my work continued to evolve in UN sorts of directions. • 2005—I accepted a position in Kosovo, where, with one break, I’ve been ever since. There is plenty of legal work, but compared with social, cultural, political and human issues, it is mostly a small part of what is needed to get things done. Life here is not boring. I think democracy can work here, but it is going to take time.
Claire Works Sasser ’65 writes: Become what
thou art! I’ve been working on this since I left Harley! Turns out I am way more than I thought. After years of being told by others the who, what, when, and where—but not the why—I put my foot down and started to search for my “why.” After Vermont College, my family moved to Ridgewood, N.J., and two years later announced they were moving to Spartanburg, S.C. I went with them and am still there. The very best and longest lasting part of my life is Charlie, my southern boy of the last 43 years. We have two beautiful girls. • Clairey is married to Cody and is mother to Tanner, who just turned 3. Unfortunately, they live in Jackson, Wyo., so we see them only a couple of times a year. • Dallas is a teacher’s assistant at a church day care here in Spartanburg. • Daddy died in 1977 and Mom then married Richard Palmer ’42 (Gus). Both parents died in the last several years. I have had many careers . . . all in small businesses and all with friends who said they needed me— hanging art shows in New York City and Atlanta, to helping publish art books, as well as being a business manager, and a buyer in retail. In addition, I have done lots of volunteer work. My one constant from Harley is my own business, Clutterbusters—I am still helping people clean, organize, and declutter! There is sooo much more; I look forward to sitting with all of you, reconnecting with my feet up, a glass of wine in my hand, and great conversations.
Marc C. Smith ’65 writes: One of my gradua-
tion gifts in 1965 was a book titled Markings, by Dag Hammarskjold. A passage from the book struck me
and has stayed with me my whole life: “Never judge the height of a mountain until you have reached its top; then you will know how low it was.” Looking forward from Harley, so much appeared daunting, maybe impossible, some unimaginable. But now, looking back, I can perceive how low my mountains were. A wonderful thing, experience . . . I got an undergraduate degree in economics, a graduate degree in finance, did military service in the Vietnam era, and had a career in banking. Even so, I have had only two employers in my adult life: the U.S. Navy and a Virginia bank named Crestar that now operates as SunTrust. I discovered young that a career in a large organization felt more like team sports than the classroom. It was rebirth! Dick Chapman’s teaching eclipsed Leo Opdyke’s! What could be better? I have been married twice, with a son and daughter from each marriage, and five grandchildren so far. I spent the career and family years in Richmond, Va., and I still spend spring and fall there. Bonnie and I have been married 33 years. Now the kids are up and out, and I am retired. Bonnie and I are in bucket-list territory, and that has taken me out to Steamboat Springs, Colo. I never lost my love of skiing, or of mountain winters. I can’t wait to see you all in June and learn about your low mountains.
Paul Snyder ’65 writes: At Syracuse University, I
changed from a philosophy to history major after infuriating a professor by criticizing Aristotle. I majored in Roman history; and then went to the University of Michigan Law School (with Nick Rowntree). I passed the bar exam and practiced law with my parents until they died. I became a trial lawyer, married and later divorced; I have no children. I wrote Is This Something George Eastman Would Have Done? The Decline and Fall of Eastman Kodak Company (for sale on Amazon.com). I regret being interested in only science and math at Harley, and should have participated in team sports. I started playing tennis at age 36, and still play at least twice weekly. Like everyone, I have faced, and will face, many adversities in life. I am guided by this Epicurean philosopher’s words, affixed to the back of my front door: Nothing to fear in God; Nothing to fear in Death; Good can be attained; Evil can be endured.
Connez Todd ’65 wrote: I began my freshman
year at the University of Denver, where I majored in fine arts. There I met and later married Dick Sillick ’63. After his graduation from Denver, we
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came home to Rochester, where we had two children. Dick and I eventually divorced; he died of pancreatic cancer in 2011. My daughter, Melissa, and her husband have one son and live in Denver. Son Chris and his first wife have two boys. The boys live in Brighton with their mother and extended family. Chris remarried a wonderful woman with a son from her previous marriage; they live in Spencerport. So, I have four grandsons ranging in age from 5 to 17 years. Yikes! What else did I do all these years? Some runway modeling, but eventually primarily photographic work, doing local and national ads, and I appeared in a genuine Kodak Colorama in Times Square. I was not the only model in the family; sometimes my kids got into the act as well. In another incarnation, I was an interior designer largely for private homes and Canandaigua cottages, and, throughout the years I have been an artist. My favorite medium was scratchboard, mostly black and white, ranging from realistic to abstract subject matters. In 1977, I moved into my 1940 “starter” home in Brighton, near Harley, where I have worked diligently on a stone and pebble patio and gardens. I do enjoy the satisfaction and the peace I derive from working outside in nature.
Lesley Urquhart ’65 writes: Didn’t we once
have a writing assignment that involved a letter from a future self, written to our present self ? I’ve been thinking about this particular assignment for a while now, fondly remembering Harley—and all of you—but also recognizing my resistance in going back there, even in memory! There are so many good memories, and I think we all have been grateful for the stunning educations we received. So I’ll fill you in on what I’ve also been doing along the way: • I started at Duke, moved to New York and NYU, and almost finished my M.P.H. at the University of New Mexico. • I moved to New Mexico with my then-boyfriend, then-husband, then-ex-husband. I had opportunities to travel, and have seen a bit of the big world, but I always return here. • Work: Boyfriend/husband and I ran a TV repair shop when we first came to New Mexico. Then I was an air traffic controller, and yes, I was fired by the president of the United States. You wouldn’t think those skills would be easily transferable, but I discovered that health care did very nicely, especially health care risk management. Over the
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next 25 years I developed and oversaw the risk management program at a Santa Fe hospital, and then moved to the same function on a bigger scale at a large health system in Albuquerque. Next, I accepted a position with the New Mexico state Medicaid program. (I’ve never worked so hard in my life, and at my age!) • Daughter Maya was born in 1976. She and her husband, Da-ka-xeen, are at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, where she teaches film and he teaches native arts. Their son, Keet, is 6. Son Luke was born in 1978, married his high-school sweetheart, Liz, and they live in Santa Fe. Their son, Liam, is 14 months old—and adores his grandmother. I’m so often struck by the “coincidences” that underscore connections with our fellow travelers, and the parallel paths—with surprising intersections—that we share. As an example, some of you might remember our fourth-grade teacher, a petite woman called Mrs. Pearlman (I learned recently that her first name was Tilda). My New Mexico daughter-in-law’s maiden name is Pearlman, and I’ve known her and her family for 20 years. I learned earlier this year that Tilda was her grandmother! I’m so looking forward to seeing you all in June—on the other side of our lives, so to speak—to compare notes!
Tom White ’65 writes: Wow . . . where did five decades go? As I’ve journeyed, I’ve been deeply grateful for both the life ethos and quality education imparted at Harley; a capacity to think deeply and broadly, stimulated by the highest caliber of instruction/mentoring from teachers like Opdyke, Lobdell, and Winholtz, and learning to work as a team under Coach Chapman. For me, my preeminent takeaways from Harley were envisioning/ outlining a topic, and the skills of word-crafting. Honestly, though, I was mostly “checked out” my senior year and began Hobart College in an existential daze, wrestling with ultimate questions, coming up short on answers. I clawed through until my junior year, when I checked out to be a bona fide philosophical seeker. I lived for short periods in Greenwich Village, at a Buddhist retreat in Vermont, in Cambridge Square, Kennebunkport. . . dabbling in spiritism, astrology, and assorted metaphysical craziness. In 1969, in Victoria, B.C., I met a prison minister filled with the authentic, compelling life of Jesus. I fully yielded my life to Christ, and it’s been a wild ride ever since.
Remember: send in your notes and updates to Karen Saludo ksaludo@ harleyschool.org
In 1973 I completed a B.A. in sociology, with a minor in religious studies, at San Diego State University, married my wife, Terri, and began studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky. Coming out of seminary, I started small businesses in painting (thanks, Coach Chapman!) and home building in South Dakota, then moved to Corvallis, Ore., where I served as an executive pastor of Northwest Hills Community Church. I then launched Frontline Ministries, a nonprofit, and began traveling internationally, teaching on subjects of discernment, spiritual warfare, prayer, and spiritual formation. My first book, The Believer’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare, is still in print. I then published a second book, Breaking Strongholds: How Spiritual Warfare Sets Captives Free. I also began facilitating interdenominational prayer retreats for Christian leaders, and I have facilitated over 700 of these gatherings in numerous cities across North America, India, Indonesia, China, the Middle East, and Europe. In October 2001 I published Citywide Prayer Movements: One Church, Many Congregations, and then in 2014, The Practitioner’s Guide: Building City Gospel Movements. I now coordinate the Global Cities Leadership Community, a network of leaders working toward societal transformation. Terri and I have two children. Our son, Joshua, is an expert on Pakistani politics and nuclear deterrence issues between India and Pakistan. Our daughter, Melissa, is currently in northeast India, at the foothills of the Himalayas, helping rural village people engage in sustainable livelihoods. As I said, gang . . . this has been a ride! Looking forward to reading your synopses!
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Elizabeth Vick ’66 writes: During our shared
junior year at Harley, I became ill with Crohn’s disease (which I still have). The result of missing months of school was that I had to repeat junior year. This was an option I fought, but in the end it worked out fine—an early lesson in being given lemons and making lemonade. In 1966 I went off to Bennington College, spent my junior year at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, and then spent a year in a master’s degree teacher training program affiliated with Prospect School, a small progressive school in Vermont. After that I started teaching and the following year married my first husband, Michael Ranall, in Wilmington, Vt. We had a son, Max Vick Ranall. Michael and I divorced in 1980 and, sadly, he later died of pancreatic cancer. Max is now a microbiologist, snowboarder, diver, and bicyclist. When Max was young, I switched careers for eight years to the field of elderly nutrition and worked for the Vermont regional Agency on Aging, where I met my second husband, Craig Hammond, who brought three uniquely wonderful daughters to the family—Laura, Chelsea, and Miranda. We have two grandsons (Jackson, 9, and Lincoln, 6) in Laura’s family in London, UK, and two granddaughters (Sarah, 12, and Annabelle, 9) in Chelsea’s family in Brookfield, Vt. Most of my working life was spent in early childhood education programs as a teacher and/or administrator. After Miranda graduated from high school, Craig and I rented out our house in Marlboro, Vt., and moved to Portland, Ore. We found good jobs in our fields, but eventually started a business renovating houses and building decorative fences, garden cottages, and garden structures. We returned to Marlboro in 2005.
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In my adult years, my main connection to Rochester was my parents, and after my mom’s death in 1995 and my dad’s in 2000, there was no longer a reason to go there. I miss that old stomping ground, though, so it brings me huge pleasure to reconnect with my “old” class at Harley! I can’t wait to see you in June!
70s
J. Merrill ’73, Barbara Poole von Schilcher ’58, Sam Hampton ’77
William Baker ’70 writes: Forty-five years in 45
words (with apologies to Mr. Lasser): Nine years of exploration that solidified interests in social polity and competitive rowing, followed by two amazing children and 36 professionally fulfilling years as a hospital administrator. All thanks to an unexpected summer romance that began 45 years ago (1970 was a very good year).
Mary Sullivan ’70 writes: Apparently I was
especially bad at timing our offspring as we had yet another graduation to attend on the same weekend as the Reunion. Our youngest, Nathan Duletzke, graduated from the University of Oregon with honors in history and French (I totally credit Madame Windholtz for the French). We have one salaryearning kid, Shannon, a labor and delivery nurse in Glens Falls. The oldest, Nick, is in medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University. I am still working part time at the Parkway Veterinary Hospital in Lake Oswego, Ore. and usually enjoying it. My husband is a civil engineer and is very busy working, as well. I will miss seeing everyone, but I will aim for the next five-year offering!
Karen Saludo, Meredith Ciaccia ’08
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Our hosts, Katie Wilson and Steve May ’49, speaking with Ashley Stone ’01
If you have something to donate to
Blast! contact
Elizabeth Vick ’66 and her husband Craig Hammond
atownsend@harleyschool.org
Ward Ghory, Paul Sisson ’88
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Per Petersen ’74 writes: It would have been
fun to be at the Reunion; hope you have a night full of memories. I have so many wonderful memories from Harley—all the people I met and the dedicated teachers. I learned a lot about other people, but most of all a lot about myself. What have I been up to the last forty years? I went back to Sweden, where I finished my studies, including the 12th-grade exam. After a year of military service, I went to the University of Chalmers in Gothenburg to study chemistry. It was not my cup of tea, so I quit and worked in a hospital for a year. In 1978 I started out in medical school in Gothenburg and took my exam in 1983. During my studies I met Ann, and together we moved to a midsize city east of Gothenburg; eventually we married and have now brought up three wonderful boys— Jakob, Erik, and Arvid. They are all grown up and Arvid moved out of the house five years ago.
Ted Serrell ’74 and Per Petersen ’74
I specialized in intensive care and have been head of the department for 10 years. Nowadays, I’m more into teaching and trying to educate the next generation of intensivists. We left inland Sweden five years ago and moved to a small community by the ocean on the Swedish west coast. Summers I spend swimming, sailing, and kayaking; winters I try to ski as much as possible when we do have snow, but that’s less common today. Have a wonderful night! I hope to get an invitation for the next Reunion, and if I’m still alive and fit, I’ll come. Love, Per
Jim Alsina ’74 sent us this thoughtful remembrance of his classmate:
David C. Seldin, M.D., Ph.D. ’74 David died peacefully at his home on June 27, surrounded by his wife, Libby, and three daughters,
34 | B e c o m i n g M a ga z i n e
Stephanie, Maggie, and Diana. He had courageously fought a rare form of cancer for three years. He was 58. Over 300 former patients, colleagues, students, physicians, friends, and family gathered recently in Boston to pay tribute to an extraordinary man. David devoted his career to the research and treatment of amyloidosis, a lethal disease resulting from the accumulation of David C. Seldin ’74 improperly folded proteins, usually in the kidney or heart. He founded and headed a center of excellence at Boston University, the Amyloidosis Center, and was also chief of section of Hematology-Oncology at Boston. He was the first director of the graduate program in molecular medicine in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences, and established graduate courses in cancer biology and in diseases of protein misfolding. He was also recognized in a variety of “Best Doctors” lists. Dave remained a great believer in Harley over the years. He came to Harley in 10th grade as our Distinguished Scholar for 1971. He and I had many of the same classes, and quickly became friends. We developed a passion for climbing in the Adirondacks, both in summer and winter. At Harley, Mr. Wilcox designed independent study programs for us in math. And at Monsieur Doat’s suggestion, we took French at Nazareth College in the spring of senior year. Our classmates there were 18 young women, and we had a lot of laughs. Dave did his undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate studies at Harvard and MIT. He was an avid traveler, music lover, wine connoisseur, techie, skier and scuba diver. It has always amazed me that a person so intellectually gifted could also be so unpretentious, compassionate, and appreciative of others. As one of his research colleagues so beautifully expressed, “Dave was that very rare individual with both brilliance and kindness. We are lucky to know even one in a lifetime.”
Hugh Butler ’75 writes: Melinda and I have been married for 31 years this August, and have three grown children and now twin grandchildren (our boys are also twins). We met in New Hampshire after college, and moved to Florida in 1993. Melinda is an attorney working for the State of Florida, having gone to law school after a twentyfive-year career as an economist. Hugh Butler ’75 and I have been in the his wife, Melinda printing business in one capacity or another since graduating from the University of New Hampshire. Our three kids are: Meredith (married to Nathan Nuttall), new mom; Ben (married to Laura), a chef in Asheville, N.C.; and Drew, a third-year law student at Florida State.
Diana Tomb Carter ’75 writes: I’ve spent the last 34 years as a newspaper reporter, with 27 of them at the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. I survived numerous rounds of layoffs there as the newspaper business struggled to maintain readership, but I got caught in the latest round. Now I’m looking for a way to take many years of writing and reporting and transform those skills into a new, satisfying, meaningful line of work. After college at Alfred University and graduate school at American University, I landed my first job at a small newspaper in Holyoke, Mass. I loved living in the Pioneer Valley and return there as often as possible. Not too long after I returned to Rochester, my brother, Michael E. Tomb ’72, introduced me to a co-worker who had similar interests to mine, namely juggling and bicycling. Jim Carter and I became great friends and got married in 1994. Our daughter, Amelia, was born in 1996, and her twin brothers, Peter and Brian, followed. We live in the Rochester city and, because our children attend city schools, I spend a great deal of time volunteering and trying to help the schools improve. Amelia is now a freshman at SUNY Purchase. Our family spends time each year on Lake Winnipesaukee, where Jim inherited a lakeside camp from his late
parents. It’s a long drive, but the setting is so idyllic that I feel restored whenever I visit. I’m looking forward to learning how everyone else has fared for the last 40 years.
Joshua Cohen ’75 writes: After graduating
from Haverford, I stayed in the Philadelphia area before moving to Boston for graduate school in 1982. After a grad school term of biblical length, I got my doctorate in English. I married Rachel in 1995, and our children are now 11 and 14. We also have a dog, a hypoallergenic breed, which I think we got before President Obama got his. I have been teaching literature at Massachusetts College of Art since 1990, and extension and summer courses at Boston University. I am passionate about tales of King Arthur, opera, fantasy worlds, the myth of masculinity, and graphic novels. About ten years ago I had a Harley graduate in one of my classes, whom I mention now because she was a terrific fan of Alex DeSantis. The bad news is that I can’t remember her name, but she was a very good student, as she would have had to be with her background. What I value most about my education at Harley is that all of the teachers there— Alex DeSantis, Mike Lasser, Bill Dalton, Dave McDowell, John Dealy, Maggie Schneider, Guy Brown, and all of the others—taught us as if they believed we would be doing this for the rest of our lives.
Cynthia Hallenbeck ’75 writes: After many
years in the financial world, I am now the CFO of the Environmental Defense Fund. The best story is that when in seventh grade at Harley, the summer reading was Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, a book about the effects on the environment from the use of pesticides. The Environmental Defense Fund was the group that ended the use of DDT—so I feel that not only have I come full circle, but also it was all because of Harley that I currently have the most amazing job ever! I have two daughters: the older a nurse at Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua and the younger a consultant with McKinsey in Dubai (after doing a research Fulbright there last year).
Don Nielsen ’75 writes: After 13 years at Harley
(K-12), I made my way to Hamilton College and then to the University of Virginia for an M.A. in American history. In Charlottesville I met my wife, Tricia, at a graduate school happy hour (25-cent beer). We moved to Boston, where I claimed a degree in historical administration from Northeastern University and was editorial assistant for The New England Quarterly.
I then worked for the New England Historic Genealogical Society. In 1987, with a 2-year-old son and a baby on the way, we were still young and crazy enough to quit our jobs and move to North Carolina so I could earn another degree, a J.D. from Duke. There, our daughter entered the world exuding southern charm. Law school with two small children had its challenges, but also great flexibility. Duke transformed the children and me into passionate basketball fans and we are lucky enough to attend a few games each season. In 1990 I joined a large firm in Winston-Salem, focusing on environmental and land use law. In 2002, I moved to Bell, Davis & Pitt, where I am a director. I’ve been very involved in the community. Both of my children are married with children of their own. Son Nick is a Presbyterian minister with two daughters in Calypso, N.C. Daughter Catherine is a Spanish teacher in Texas, with a daughter and another child due in July. Nothing beats being a grandfather, and, though I know perfectly well how to do it, rarely am I required to change a diaper. In recent years I’ve enjoyed traveling to Europe, including visiting ancestral homes and distant relatives in Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and France. I love history and enjoy meeting “regular” folks in Europe with whom I have some connection. Thirteen years at Harley shaped who I am, with many wonderful (and some painful) experiences. Harley was also a family experience, so let me pass on that my mother, Eloise Nielsen, who taught at Harley for many years, is doing well in Sacramento. My sister Fay Nielsen ’73, also in California, is associate dean at Fresno Pacific University. We would be delighted to hear from folks. And for my brother Chris Nielsen ’76, who died in 1988 and touched many Harley hearts, allow me to extend belated appreciation to Harley friends for thoughts and prayers so many years ago.
Christopher Ritchie ’75 writes: I graduated with a history degree from the University of Rochester in 1982. For the past 32 years I have been in the door and hardware business, selling and project managing commercial construction projects in the Boston area, where I have lived for the last 22 years (Hingham). I enjoy living in New England, and I still do a lot of bicycling every week. Almost 30 years ago, while still living in Rochester, I began sailing on Lake Ontario and it has become quite a passion for me. Nowadays I spend my summers sailing up and down the coast of New England out
of the Hingham harbor. I particularly enjoy certain parts of the Maine coast, such as Penobscot Bay and of course the Cape and islands closer to home.
80s
Peter Brown ’80 writes: I moved to Philadelphia
after graduating from architecture school and lived there from 1986-2003. I practiced architecture, worked in city government, and then went back to grad school twice—as a mid-career or “non-traditional” (old) student—for government administration and city and regional planning; I was interested in how cities really get built and rebuilt. My wife and I met in Philadelphia and were in grad school together, and when she finished her degree in business she received a job offer in Minneapolis. We moved at the end of 2003 and have been here ever since. We live in a converted warehouse loft about three blocks from the Mississippi River and have two Minnesotans for children. I do a lot of work for the city of Minneapolis related to downtown public-realm projects, and I also work for private developers and property owners. I have written two books, one about waterfront redevelopment and the other about how real estate developers think, which was published this past April. About six months ago I started taking beginner piano lessons (I have a long way to go). All told, I and my family are well and having a good time.
Joanne Holiday Masterson ’80 writes:
My husband, Doug, and I enjoy raising our two daughters, Jessica and Naomi, who both attend West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Va. Outside of school, Jessica plays viola with the American Youth Philharmonic, where I volunteer as a music librarian. Naomi plays softball with the local athletic association, and Doug volunteers as scorekeeper. Doug also swims with the Alexandria Masters and enjoys hiking and gardening. I’ve taken up horseback riding as an adult. Two years ago I got Dusty the horse, and show him at local horse shows with Jessica, who has taken to show jumping. We live about 10 miles from D.C. It’s great to be able to go to places like the Kennedy Center, Shakespeare
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Theater, and Smithsonian museums, which Doug and I try to do as much as we can when we’re not driving kids places or working.
Marie Remington Rossborough ’80 writes: I’ve been enjoying my life as a piano instructor and mother to two. It’s been a journey that has moved me through various phases of my own small business, including Kindermusic classes for young ones, employing Eastman grad students to work on travel routes, and maintaining a full piano studio of about 28-30 students on a regular basis. In addition to using basic music education principles in teaching, I love to incorporate what I learned in music therapy to reach students challenged in their learning style or in other ways. I find it a blessing to be able to work with people to reach their potential and do so with lessons, local festivals, and recitals. Life is good!
J
Syd Samuel ’80 writes: I obtained a bachelor of chemical engineering while working full/part time at a steel works just south of Sydney. After that, I moved into the software industry, eventually specializing in systems programming and Unix system administration. I did a lot of contracting work in the ’90s, and during this time met my wife, Rowena. We’ve been married since November 1999. For a while we owned and rode horses and have traveled all over the world (we haven’t finished yet). We moved to Canada for 12 months in 2000—and are now in the 15th year of that 12-month stay. :) Rowena and I also came down for the 30th Reunion in 2010 and caught up with a few die-hard Class of ’80 friends. We haven’t made plans for the 35th yet, but we’ll do our best to come down; it’s not really that far any more.
Minnie Cho ’85 writes: I haven’t been to Rochester since my parents moved to San Francisco six years ago, when they followed in the footsteps of my brothers. Henry Cho ’87 moved to Silicon Valley and works as a software engineer for Oracle. Kerry Cho ’88 is a nephrologist at the University of California–San Francisco and has two young sons with his wife, Cindy. Almost as soon as I arrived at Williams College, I discovered art—or I discovered an overwhelming need to pursue art as a way of expressing myself—so I shed my chemistry major and eventually shifted gears entirely. After graduation, I somehow negotiated my fine arts degree into advertising, then graphic design, and worked at small studios in Boston for five years. Then I moved to New York, where I’ve been
p
OIN
Harley’s newest philanthropic society, The Harley Star, recognizing distinction in giving.
Y
OUR
The Harley School five-year pledge
generosity will be recognized in our Annual Report, and at our annual event honoring our members.
Harley’s newest Be a
Be a a Harley Harley
Star 36 | B e c o m i n g M a ga z i n e
Star
To join, contact Debra Weiss Walker ’83, Director of Development, (585) 277-1116, dwalker@harleyschool.org or visit www.harleyschool.org/give
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Boston, MA R e g ion a l Tou r
working independently for the past 20 years, minus a year in Paris when I was married to a French architect (amicably divorced, no children). Now, as a creative director, I practice the art of visually communicating ideas, messages, identities, and stories for our clients. More recently I’ve also become a songwriter, teaching myself to play the guitar and sing, collaborating and performing with my own band, and recording and releasing two albums, which have received some nice reviews and college radio airplay. I’ve found that writing words with music is an effective medium of self-expression for me. I’m happy to lead a very independent creative life, manage my own business, live/work in a loft in Tribeca, and have the opportunity to travel and visit friends around the world. Recently, I visited Berlin during the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. Staying with a friend in the old East Berlin neighborhood of Friedrichshain, we enjoyed exploring the city by bicycle and witnessing the Lichtgrenze ceremony. Watching 8,000 light balloons positioned along the path of the Wall being released into the night was beautiful and moving, another kind of “thinking made visual.”
graduates from high school; then I’m going to move back to Rochester and stay there until the winters force me to move to Sarasota!
90s
M AY
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back: Lee Gartlely ’82, Len Remia front: Peter Watkins, Mollie Johnstone Watkins ’91, Aimee Guthinger ’92, A.J. Hopeman ’82, Deb Ginsburg Hoff ’83, Laurie MacKenzie Kennedy ’76, Chris Ritchie ’75, Ward Ghory, Debra Weiss Walker ’83, Susie Mees Longfield ’82 missing from photo: Tiffany Hickok ’85
daughter, Sonya, just began kindergarten and enjoys entertaining her father with face-making and pratfalls as well as with songs from her favorite movie, Singin’ in the Rain. My sister Johannah Racz ’92 is living in Fort Collins, Colo., working as a technical writer and has two fantastic boys.
Laura Gluckman Wayth ’90 writes: I teach
Gabe Racz ’90 writes: How to summarize 25 years? Kind of tough to do! I’m practicing water law and water-quality law, and am a partner in a law firm in Boulder, Colo. I’m on the board of directors of the Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra, a Boulderbased professional orchestra. I’m still as active in music and arts as I was back in high school, including photography and playing piano. My wife, Melanie, is a librarian at the University of Denver and my
acting at San Francisco State University— contemporary work and Shakespeare. I love it! I’ve been teaching in universities for 10 years now, and this is finally the job where I want to stay. I was an English lit major in college, I think in no small part due to Mr. DeSantis’ and Mr. Lasser ’s inspiration. I made the switch over to theater in my grad work, but it is really the same skill set that I use, I think. Our teachers make such a difference. I think having had such great teachers at Harley (and a few great ones in my undergrad work) made me realize that everything I say to these kids matters. Thank you for all that you taught me.
Tiffany Hickok ’85 writes: I attended the
College of Boca Raton for one and a half years, then transferred to Nazareth. I studied abroad in Rennes, France, and graduated from Nazareth in 1990, majoring in French with a concentration in business management. I have lived in the Boston area since 1993. My brother, Page Hickok ’83, died in 1996. I have been doing the “Mom thing” since 1999. My daughter, Carin, is 15 and in the 10th grade. She’s very creative and dramatic, much like her Uncle Page had been. She and I have two cats, Kevin and Niki. Kevin is as neurotic as Niki is friendly and outgoing. I’ve stayed friends with Ellie Grinols since 1985 and caught up with other classmates through Facebook. I see Laura Smith whenever we go out to Colorado to visit my brother John, who also spent some time at Harley. We’ve lived in Beverly, Mass., for over a year. It’s a small suburb north of Boston. We plan on staying in this area for another couple of years until Carin
Left to right: Darcy Kimmet Koreen ’92 and daughter Tessa; Jennifer Rubenstein ’92, daughter Zora Rubenstein Furia, and Jennifer’s husband, Pete Furia; Ryan Kimmet ’95, son Trainor, wife, Leah, and new daughter Posy; born last November, Heather Rubenstein Collins ’95, husband, Brendan, and twins Sam and Everett. 2 01 5
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there ever since. I recently got engaged, and will be married sometime in 2015; we don’t have a date yet. In Atlanta, I enjoy going out to eat, going to concerts, sporting events, playing soccer, and biking.
Lucas Jordan ’95 writes: After graduating from
Hobart, I moved to Ithaca to be irresponsible for a few years. That didn’t work out as well as planned; I got mixed up working for a woodworking company writing software. This started my professional career as a developer. I always loved and played with computers—I even studied computer science in college—but for some reason never considered it a career. Anyway, that got me started down that path. In Ithaca, I married Debra. We knew each other at Hobart, but did not date until after we both graduated. We eventually moved from Ithaca to Boston, so I could work at Children’s Hospital. Then we moved to Rochester, again following my career, to work for a startup company. We lived in the South Wedge, just a few blocks from where I grew up; it was amazing to watch that neighborhood. I would continue to visit Ithaca and the friends we left there—all the time checking out houses in the area. This last spring, Deb got pregnant, so we got serious about finding a new house. We got lucky and found a place right around the corner from Jake Hallagan ’95 and a few miles west of Ithaca. Ithaca is a good fit for us: we are both foodies and like the music in the area. We are also excited about raising Theia here; there are so many great opportunities for her.
Paul Burgo ’97 was elected a partner at the firm Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP, where he practices general and commercial litigation and intellectual property law.
Ted ’98 and Jenn Townsend welcomed Henry
Anastassios Townsend on May 22, 2014. The new family is doing great. Henry particularly loves spending time with his grandparents Jim Townsend ’61 and Anne Townsend, and his “Aunt Sassy,” Sarah Townsend ’01. On her way to her new home in Fairfax, Vt., Caroline Marshall ’98 visited with Ted ’98, Jenn, and Henry Townsend.
Matt Sayre ’95 writes: Since graduating from Harley, I’ve been, among other things, a political staffer, a telephone operator, a Medicare contract rep, and a stay-at-home dad. I picked up my master’s of public administration at the University of Maine, and have been a trailing spouse following my wife’s academic career. Eleanor and I have lived in Maine, Ohio, Indiana, and now Kansas, where she is a professor of physics at Kansas State University, and I’m currently working at the KSU College of Business. We have two lovely children, Alathea (Lea), 8, and Arthur, 3. Lea loves art and hangs the Harley calendar in her room every year.
Ramanan Somaskanda ’95 writes: Since graduation, I went to Cornell for both undergraduate and graduate degrees in industrial engineering. After that I lived in Miami for about four and a half years before moving to Atlanta in 2005, and I’ve been living 38 | B e c o m i n g M a ga z i n e
2016
March 12, 2016
Temple B’rith Kodesh 2131 Elmwood Avenue Rochester, NY 14618 6-11 pm
00s Nicole Corea ’00 writes: I participated in a
Baha’i studies graduate course last summer. The course, which was on social development, included topics such as human rights and the equality of men and women. Through this course I met members of the Baha’i NGO at the United Nations. They were in need of someone to help redesign their website, which led me to a freelance job. Shortly after this I was asked to serve in the Office of Public Discourse at the Baha’i World Center in Haifa, where I have been living for the past three months. At first I was a bit nervous and torn about leaving behind my career in art, design, and teaching for something unknown, but I felt it would provide me with a centering experience that is sometimes so necessary, especially when it is easy to get caught up in what society teaches us are signs of success (working for big corporations, having highpaying jobs, living in big cities that create a corporateladder climb . . .). So far, my experience in Haifa has been incredible, and although I am far away, I feel the closest I have ever felt to what I am meant to be doing at this time.
Pete Hopkins ’00 writes: I got a Sc.B. and Sc.M.
in computer science from Brown University, which is where I met my wife, Caitlin. From there I moved to California to work for Google on Blogger.com, then moved to Cambridge, Mass., when Cait got into a Ph.D. program in American civilization. For the past five years, I’ve worked remotely for Twitter as a software engineer. Cait and I have two kids: Amalia, 4, and Samaritan, 1. In my free time I play a lot of board games.
Jonathan LaRue ’00 and his wife, Kali, welcomed Charlotte Mae LaRue, born February 3, 2015, at 8 lbs.,12 oz., and 21½ inches long.
Ross Messing ’00 writes: Sukanya is an immigration economist I met while we were both getting our Ph.D.s at the University of Rochester. Since we left school, in 2009, Sukanya has been teaching at Vassar, while I’ve been telecommuting for a computer vision startup. My schedule gives me a lot of flexibility and freedom, but I miss the human dynamics of a workplace; our dog, Tomato, often has to serve as both pet and a lab assistant. We come up to Rochester pretty frequently (probably four or five times a year), but we don’t see many people from Harley anymore; I get Facebook updates, but that’s about it. Stephanie Thaler ’00 writes: I am living in Israel, so it’s a bit far for me to get to the Reunion! A gypsy traveler since I finished college in 2004, in ten years of traveling around the world I’ve learned and taught a lot in each place. I’ve seen more than 60 countries, and now have a small business called the ImagiNation, where I bring the frequencies of visual art and musical art together for people to paint to live music. I have another small business called Soulistic Yoga and Well Being, where I teach yoga and give healings. I do a lot of other random things, including healing with cacao, a medicine I learned to use to open hearts under a cacao shaman in Guatemala.
attended Harley in Middle School. I included a subtle tribute to Harley in the ceremony. During one of the readings, my mother read a certain verse from Isaiah about going forth in joy: “. . . and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” After the wedding, Mike and I traveled around the East Coast and were thrilled to spend some time with Catherine Carithers ’01 and Greg Shear ’01, and, though I didn’t stop by Harley itself, I enjoyed catching up with Jay Stetzer over breakfast and running into Margaret Tolhurst in a Wegmans parking lot! I’ll also pass on that my sister Katie has started residency in ob-gyn at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago in May.
Hannah Maher Murphy ’01: Eamon Murphy
was born on May 7, 2015, at 11 lbs., 13 oz., and 24½ inches. He joins brothers Declan, 5, and Cormac, 3.
Elizabeth McDonald ’01 writes: On July 26, I
Remember! Send your notes and updates to Karen Saludo
married Mike Rotondo in San Francisco. My sister,
Katie McDonald ’05, was both my maid of honor
and got ordained online so she could legally marry us. (The ceremony itself didn’t have an officiant, but Katie signed papers like a pro!) My Harley ’01 classmates Daniel Effron and Mark Begenesich were among the guests, as was Amy Brisson , who
Rob Richardson ’01 married Bethany Jones last
August. As a surprise wedding gift, Bethany helped arrange for an unexpected surprise guest to attend— Rob’s Scot from the Scottish exchange program, Gareth Sorley! It was a wonderful surprise and celebration.
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Jim Townsend ’61 and daughter Sarah Townsend ’01 completed the 90 Miler in August
as The Century Entry. There were 275 entries for the race, which lasted three days and went from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. Participants paddled through all kinds of weather and achieved their goal—to finish the race, still talking!
Hudson Maddox Stuhmer, son of Lauren Rosenberg Stuhmer ’02.
Douglas Balkin ’05 writes: Since leaving Harley,
Henrik Soderstrom ’03 writes: I just moved to
Emily Widger ’02 married Scott Maurer, a pharmacist from Knoxville, Tenn., on July 26, 2014, at the Genesee Valley Club in Rochester. They live in Baltimore, where Emily is a special education teacher.
Left to right: Andrea Durfee ’02, Lindsay Agor ’02, Liz Peters ’02, Allie D’Amanda Sacks ’03 (matron of honor), Emily, Caroline Abbey ’02, Lindsay Worner ’02, and Jeremy Heartberg ’02.
Emily and Scott in front of the Genesee Valley Club.
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Auburn, Ala., with my wife, Dottie, who is finishing her Ph.D. coursework. I have been given a temporary leave of absence from teaching and gallery-curating at a university in Indiana, and have been designing sets for music groups through the East Alabama Arts Association this fall. I have also had a really exciting opportunity to start a series of new paintings for a couple of gallery shows this spring. It has been an amazing year so far—Alabama is extremely interesting! I miss being around the Harley community, and hope to get back to Rochester soon to view the new greenhouse (which looks gorgeous!) and see everyone.
I have spent a lot of time in school for voice performance. I graduated from Oberlin Conservatory in ’09 and finished my master’s in music from the University of Illinois in 2012. I’ve had the good fortune to sing in houses all over the world, and now I sing primarily in the Chicago area.
Max Carithers ’05 writes: I am working as a contractor/grants management specialist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters office here in Virginia (D.C. metro area), and have been here for about two and a half years. I’m not married, but I recently proposed to my girlfriend (now fiancée; she said yes!). James D’Amanda ’05 is engaged to Kathryn Hannula.
Andrew Rea ’05 writes: Over the past 10 years,
I graduated from Hofstra, moved to New York City, worked in a kitchen, interned until I was able to get a position in VFX, and have worked my way up from there. I now create visual effects for nationwide commercials for clients like MasterCard, Smirnoff, and the NFL. (Go to http://vimeo.com/112082488 if you want to see some of my work.) I got married back in May to my high school sweetheart, and we’re now living in Queens. Lauren Spade ’05 married Ryan Cominsky in August 2014, at the John Joseph Inn and Elizabeth Restaurant in Ithaca, N.Y.
Left to right: Griffin Anderson ’12, Katie Hoeger ’12, Carrie Adams ’04, Ben Schultz ’07.
Carrie Adams ’04 reports: I’ve just been hired on as Congresswoman Louise Slaughter’s digital director and speechwriter. To my delight, I have another Harley alumni colleague, Ben Schultz ’07, and, this semester, three alumni: Griffin Anderson ’12, Katie Hoeger ’12, and April Lenhard ’09 part time.
Luke Lennox ’06 completed medical school in
May of 2014. He finished his internship at Sister of Charity Hospitals in Buffalo, and has begun a dermatology fellowship at Case Medical Center in Cleveland. His wife, Maria Lennox, is in her second year of a pediatric residency at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, also in Cleveland.
Nena Vandebroek ’06 writes: I got a Fulbright grant to study flood management at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where I’m working with researchers to study beaches south of Amsterdam and learning about how the Netherlands protects itself from flooding. Even though the weather is terrible, everything is close together and everyone bikes/takes trains—I hardly know anyone who owns a car! It’s great! Sam Willsea ’06 writes: I led a trip to Cuba in October 2014 to explore sustainable food systems with the Schumacher Center for New Economics, where I am director of college operations.
10s
Jasmine Simmons ’10 writes: I graduated from
Marist in May, and am currently living in the Big Apple. Upon graduation, I began working for Weitz & Luxenburg, a law firm in Soho, as a litigation paralegal. It was super fast paced and I loved it, but I took some time off to focus all my energies on taking the LSAT in December. I scored well enough to apply for law school, so I am currently finishing up my law school applications. I anticipate beginning law school in August.
Daphne Topel-Samek ’10 writes: Since
I graduated from Harley, I spent four years at Fordham studying finance and marketing. I studied abroad in London, spent a long time interning at Vogue, and received an offer of a full-time position at Glamour upon graduation in May of 2014.
Class of 2012, from an August 2014 gathering: Front row: Lily Frye, Brendan Whitfield, Richard Munson, and Maria Sykes. Back row: Dave Holroyd, Griffin Anderson, John Burgdorf, Ben Kurchin, Morgan Lehman, Helana Shumway, and Katie Hoeger.
Rebecca Cinquino ’10 writes: I graduated from
The College of Wooster this past spring with a major in sociology and a minor in psychology. I am currently in New Canaan, Conn., working as a teaching apprentice (think assistant teacher) with first graders at New Canaan Country School.
Marcus Henry ’10 writes: I graduated from Ithaca College in May 2014 with a B.S. in integrated marketing communications and then hung around Rochester, picking up odd jobs and applying at advertising agencies and entertainment media companies in New York City and Los Angeles for a bit. Last month I got a job at Yelp managing local accounts in Phoenix, and have loved every second of it. Tyler Laurito ’10 writes: I am finishing up my
master’s degree and working in the vascular research department at the University of Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital to complete my design project—one that will benefit dialysis patients and also have some future positive impact on atherosclerosis patients. I’ll be publishing a couple of scientific papers and, I hope, be receiving a patent for the data the lab has collected so far. I am currently applying for jobs and possibly Ph.D. programs for my postgraduate pursuits.
Miranda Little-Moore ’10 graduated with honors from Cornell with a degree in development sociology and is pursuing her M.S.W, with an interest in social policy, at the University of Buffalo. She is also working as a suicide prevention counselor for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Members of the Class of 2011 got together over the holiday. Left to right: In the very back: Ulrik Soderstrom and Jeff Einhaus; main row: Conroy Campbell, Olivia Costich, Maggie Lloyd, Indiadora Nicholson, Marissa Malone, Jahna Humphrey, Ryan Atkinson, Jaziel Ortiz, and Ben Tolhurst ’12, front row: Naysha Betances, Chloe Monson.
Four Class of 2012 alumni in France: Ben Kurchin, Katie Hoeger, and Maria Sykes visited Lily Frye, who was taking a semester abroad in France.
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In Memoriam Edna Deutsch, Mathematics, Scottish Exchange, Development Office 1978-2004 Mary Ann Henderson, Librarian 1969-1987 Alice Ritter, Librarian 1967-1987 Jack Skillman, Headmaster 1982-1988 Marcia Spillane, Assistant to Upper and Middle School Head 1998-2010
School Spirit! Find a new cap at the Harley Store. Charles Gedge, Head of the Upper School
1981-1986: I am still supervising student teachers for West Chester University part time; next semester will be my last. My wife, Karin, is still a full-time professor of history at the university. My kids, Erick Gedge ’92 and Charles Gedge ’97, live nearby. Erick’s three daughters keep things busy. We have planned a trip to spend time with friends and family in Portland, Ore., then head up to Vancouver to meet other friends and spend four nights riding east to Toronto.
Gilbert True, History Teacher, 1958-1959:
After 55 years, I still remember with fondness the students I had at Harley. They taught me so much, starting me on a career in education, teaching, administration, and curriculum development. I taught at both secondary and college levels, and I still thank the Harley students and staff for giving me a good start (and encouraging me to continue my education).
G
Remember: send in your notes and updates to Karen Saludo ksaludo@ harleyschool.org
ifts to the School directly impact student experiences,
faculty development, and the strength of the programs we offer.
Your financial support will ensure the School’s mission of providing a balanced education that prepares our students to meet the challenges of tomorrow and lead lives of great purpose.
P
Membership in
The Harley Circle
is granted to supporters
who make a five-year commitment to The Harley Fund with an annual gift of $1,000 or greater.
lease support The Harley Fund by joining The Harley Circle today.
To join, contact Debra Weiss Walker ’83 Director of Development (585) 277-1116, dwalker@harleyschool.org or visit www.harleyschool.org/harleyfund
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Thank you for your service.
Dean Kindig Pam Kindig
Dean Kindig, an adored and esteemed member of the Lower School community, began working at Harley as a learning specialist in 1985. His unique, energetic, passionate approach to reaching children’s potential has affected generations of students and families. As is his nature, Dean has been found throughout the Lower School, videotaping lessons, cutting up cardboard for Focus Week scenery, hiding Mr. Nose It’s noses, and generally keeping life lively with his witty and appealing brand of humor. Dean has published books for educators about prescriptive, fun games and techniques for reaching learners and helping them find success, and his blog is a treasure trove of ideas and approaches for any classroom setting. He recently wrote, “Mr. Nose It is going on a ’round the world adventure, and will send in videos from various places. I plan on continuing my SSP blog and YouTube channel. Pam and I have enjoyed being a part of your lives, and we don’t plan on becoming strangers.” Dean Kindig received the prestigious WXXI Teacher of the Year award in 1998.
Joy Moss
Joy Moss, beloved and wise literature teacher, began her career at Harley in 1969, where she served as librarian and literature instructor. Concurrently, she served as an adjunct associate professor at the Warner Graduate School of Education at the University of Rochester. Joy has published five books on literature and literacy, which echo her and Harley’s commitment to a literature-based reading program. Over the past thirty years, Joy has explored literature with children, with graduate students who plan to become teachers, and with experienced teachers who want to learn more about literacy and literature. In a letter to the Harley faculty, she wrote, “I have had the good fortune to observe the growth of so many young people over the years and to watch the growth of Harley as we faced the challenges of the twentyfirst century, and, in the process, managed to inaugurate ambitious plans and initiatives. It has been a pleasure to witness the changes that have made Harley the strong educational institution that it has “become” and will continue to “become” in future years.”
Pam Kindig is joining her husband in retirement. Pam has worked in our Extended Day program for the past eight years, supporting our Lower School students during nap time, after school, and during vacation camp. Her caring nature, artistic approach to life, and gentle spirit have added greatly to our Extended Day program.
We wish you well …
“Schifty”
Jerry “Schifty” Schiffhauer, a member of Harley’s maintenance staff for 15 years, said farewell to his Harley friends last winter. He was the director of the maintenance department for most of his tenure. Before his work at Harley, he worked at Bausch and Lomb for 25 years, built houses, and served as an air policeman in the U.S. Air Force. Schifty was the pitcher for Harley’s faculty and staff softball team during the annual Faculty vs. Senior class game on May Day for over a decade. In 2013 he was inducted into the Rochester Softball Hall of Fame, which he said, “… was a great honor. It felt good to be recognized by my fellow softball players.” His induction joins the esteemed 2013-14 Appreciation Award he received from the New York State Athletic Administrators Association, for which he was nominated by Harley athletic director Peter Mancuso. When asked about his plans after Harley, Schifty said he has a long “honey-do list” affectionately given to him by his wife, Sue. He also spends a lot of his time playing softball and traveling with his teams. In the winter he will spend his time working on his model trains and playing indoor softball.
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Lama Tenzin once again joined the Harley community for two weeks last winter to build the sand Mandala of Compassion. On the final day, there was a mandala-dismantling ceremony, where students, faculty, and staff help Tenzin gather the sand and release it into Allens Creek.
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John F. Skillman, Jr. Head of School 1982 – 1988
a life well lived
The Rev. Scott R. Reisinger, head of Trevor Day School, delivered this funeral homily at Jack Skillman’s memorial service at Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut.
A Tribute
On December 15, 2014, John F. Skillman, Jr., headmaster of The Harley School from 1982 to 1988, died of cancer. He was 81 years old. Simply put, “Jack” Skillman was the most significant male influence in my life, other than my own father. He was an educator of commitment and compassion who believed in the redemptive power of education. He was also a builder who improved everything he touched—whether his schools in Brooklyn and Rochester or his blueberry farm in Palermo, Maine. Jack’s commitment and compassion, and his faith in children and their education, predated his coming to Harley. As an English teacher, tennis and squash coach, admissions director, headmaster of Packer Collegiate Institute from 1968 to 1982, and father of three talented
children, Jack Skillman believed in the essential equality of all people, and in giving everyone, no matter their race, creed, or socio-economic background, an equal chance at life. And he believed that independent schools should lead the way in reforming education. He always wanted Harley to be a “good school,” one committed to each child in its care. And he worked hard to promote academic excellence and greater diversity. He was also an extraordinary mentor, to me and so many others. As Jack’s first administrative appointment at Harley, I was brought from the history classroom to become the director of admissions and financial aid and served with him for five years. During those challenging times of changing demographics—the Upper School was growing smaller and the Lower School was growing larger—Jack kept his eye on the ball. He was a great experimenter, encouraging a more aggressive approach to recruiting a greater diversity of students, and leaving Harley better than he found it. His encouragement for trying new programs and new approaches was at his core. And there was to be only one focus for a school: the children. Jack’s passion for that one goal, his love for what he did, and his always cheery, encouraging disposition raised my self-confidence at a time it was needed.
Many others at his burial in April spoke of the same experience. For, in the end, Jack Skillman believed in people, their goodness, and their capacity to change their world. He did so with love for those with whom he worked, and for his family, whom he adored. In his years after Harley, Jack ran Tobey’s General Store in Maine—he loved the social aspect of meeting folks and sharing opinions— and he gained state-wide recognition for establishing pre-apprenticeship programs to place working-class kids in the trades that would be their future economic salvation. He also occasionally served on boards of independent schools, and kept in close touch with his dear friends from the past. I was proud to be one of them. At Jack’s memorial service on April 18, the congregation sang a song well known at Harley: “Jerusalem.” And how appropriate are Blake’s words: “I will not cease from mental fight/Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand/Till we have built Jerusalem/In England’s green and pleasant land.” Metaphorically, this encapsulated Jack Skillman—a life well lived.
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Edna Deutsch Upper School Math Teacher 1978 – 2004
Math Department Chair 1982 – 2004
Scottish Exchange Organizer 1980 – 2010 an incredible woman with 75 extraordinary and lively, years.
Karin Deutsch Karlekar ’89 provided this loving description about her mother to friends and family
Edna was born in Edinburgh, Scotland,
on April 22, 1939, to teachers William and Ada Robertson. After completing her education at the University of Edinburgh, Edna pursued a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at Oxford University, where she met her husband, John. He caught her eye as a fellow graduate student laughing and spinning on his lab stool, and he introduced her to opera on their first date, a passion that continued throughout their lives together. She and John also loved food, wine, traveling and experiencing new cultures. They visited over 50 countries on six of the seven continents—most often with their children Karin and Erik, even as infants—and spent extended periods of time in Stockholm, Sweden, and Oxford, UK, during John’s periodic sabbaticals.
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Edna started her teaching career at SUNY Geneseo before taking a position as a math teacher at Harley, where she stayed for over 30 years. Not just a math teacher, Edna was a strong advocate, counselor, and mentor for her students. She was beloved because of her warm and compassionate nature, and she received the yearbook dedication, among a teacher’s highest honors, several times during her tenure at Harley. Edna also established the Scottish Exchange, an immensely popular program that brought Harley students to George Watson’s College, her alma mater, in Edinburgh every spring while the Watson’s students visited Harley in the fall. Scottish Exchange continued even after Edna's retirement from teaching while she served in Harley’s Alumni & Development office, which allowed her to connect with alumni, many of whom are her former students. After retiring from Harley, she and Karin completed her lifelong travel wish list (Bali, Tibet, Egypt, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia) on a series of incredible adventures, and she also managed to see pretty much every single opera in the Metropolitan Opera’s repertory (some several times each!). She stepped into her last and favorite position, grandmother, in 2012, and was able to enjoy time cuddling her grandchildren in the past two years.
Deutsch
Memorial Scholarship Following the death of Edna Deutsch, her children wanted to raise funds for a Harley School scholarship in honor of their mother and her love of travel. The goal was to raise $25,000 to fund an endowment that would give $1,000 annually to a student in need of educational travel support. Over $26,000 was raised and this scholarship opportunity will now be offered to Harley seniors to fund travel that will enhance their education. Students will be asked to write an essay that will be submitted to a small committee of teachers and members of the Deutsch family, who will decide the winner. Thank you to everyone who participated in this special endeavor to honor one of Harley’s finest!
{ • Harriet Bentley Society • }
Leaving your Legacy through the Harriet Bentley Society M
any of us choose to give something back to the individuals and organizations
that helped to define who we are today. Planned Giving is one way you can share the rewards of what you have been given and achieved. Your planned gift to The Harley School can give you the personal satisfaction of ensuring that a Harley education will be possible for generations to come. Planned Giving allows you to make the most of your charitable donations and maximize your tax and personal benefits. The best estate plan is one that satisfies all of your wishes.
Please contact Debra Weiss Walker ’83 Director of Development (585) 277-1116 dwalker@harleyschool.org
Visit www.harleyschool.org/ supporting-harley/ planned-giving
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Alumni Reunion
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8, 2016