Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021 by Loomis Chaffee

Ma g azine

Summer 2021 VOLUME 84 |

NO. 3

loomischaffee.org

K E N T E COLOR S Senior members and faculty advisors of the student organization People Rising in Support of Multiculturalism, or PRISM, gather in Rockefeller Quadrangle on the evening before Commencement with faculty members they chose to receive colorful Kente stoles this year for their support of the organization's goals. Photo: Cassandra Hamer

loomischaffee.org

60 48

ON COVER: Heisen Kong ’21 receives his diploma and congratulations from Head of School Sheila Culbert and Dean of Faculty Andrew Matlack during Commencement on May 22. Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Contents Su m m e r 2 0 21

Volume 84

No. 3 EDITORIAL & DESIGN TEAM

F E AT U R E S

Lynn A. Petrillo ’86 Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing

Days of Celebration

Becky Purdy

Commencement 2021 and the days leading up to it brought a joyful sense of normalcy for the graduating class after a senior year that was anything but ordinary.

Cassandra Hamer Graphic Designer

Makhala Huggins Obituaries Editor

Leadership Roundtable

Jeff Scanlon: Turning the Page

Five leaders in the Class of 2021 discussed their experiences at Loomis Chaffee and their insights about leadership, friendship, and self-discovery.

The 8-year-old who declared, “I’m going to Loomis” more than half a century ago was true to his promise. This summer, after a storied 35-year career as a faculty member, Jeffrey Scanlon ’79 retired, adding faculty emeritus to his deep ties to the school.

D E PA R T M E N T S

4 6 25 26

Managing Editor

From the Head Island News Faculty & Staff News Pelican Sports

64 Object Lesson 66 Development News 70 Obituaries 80 Reflections

WEB EXTRAS Look for this notation throughout the magazine for links to online extras, from podcasts and videos to photo galleries and expanded news coverage.

CONTRIBUTORS

Mary Coleman Forrester John Cunningham Stacy-Ann Rowe ’97 Christine Coyle Makhala Huggins Tim Struthers ’85 Chelsea Stuart Heidi E.V. McCann ’93 Deidre Swords

SUBMISSIONS/STORIES & NEWS

Alumni may contribute items of interest to: Loomis Chaffee Editors The Loomis Chaffee School 4 Batchelder Road Windsor, CT 06095 860.687.6811 magazine@loomis.org

facebook-square facebook.com/loomischaffee twitter-square twitter.com/loomischaffee instagram instagram.com/loomischaffee

Visit Loomis Chaffee online at www.loomischaffee.org for the latest school news, sports scores, and galleries of recent photos. You also will find direct links to all of our social networking communities. For an online version of the magazine, go to www.loomischaffee.org/magazine. Printed at Lane Press, Burlington, VT Printed on 70# Sterling Matte, an SFI Sheet, Sustainable Forestry Initiative

loomischaffee.org

Fr om t he Head

Infrastructure By Sheila Culbert

s the temperatures hit the high 90s here in Windsor, I foolishly decided to go check on various campus building projects that are ongoing this summer. While the heat was unpleasant, the construction was inspiring. With this year’s Summer Program fully online and the number of camps reduced as a result of the pandemic, students and most faculty are off the Island this summer, which has provided our Physical Plant team, working in partnership with off-campus construction firms, an opportunity to do some much-needed maintenance work. First, we have the replacement of the colonnade on the east side of Grubbs Quadrangle

at a cost of $2.2 million. Some of the almost 100-year-old columns and supports were in poor shape, and the railings on the Warham and Taylor second floor balconies no longer met the building code requiring us to restrict access to those popular spaces. We did the west side of the quad colonnade last summer and it looks terrific—indeed, you really cannot tell that it is not original, which was one of our most important goals when we started the project. As I write, the work has progressed to the point that the whole east colonnade has been removed and the bare façades of Warham and Taylor are revealed, which is quite startling to see. This project also includes two tastefully designed ramps to make the quad

more accessible. The second big project is the construction of the John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Center for Theater and Dance for a total budget of almost $15 million. The scope of work involves the complete renovation of the Norris Ely Orchard Theater, which will receive a much larger stage as well as a scene shop, dressing rooms, and new technology, and the addition of a dance studio, black box theater, bathrooms (always a good idea but lacking in the old NEO), and lobby, to better serve our talented dance and theater students. The finished project will also include some landscape enhancements to the Ratté Quadrangle, including the completion of The Way, a pedestrian walkway that winds through campus. Construction on the Nichols Center began in December 2020 and is scheduled for completion in January 2022. We have experienced some supply chain challenges, as many projects across the country have, but to date the project is proceeding as planned. A third, smaller project involves building dugouts for our girls softball team. Infrastructure, it seems, is on everyone’s minds right now. President Joe Biden has proposed a massive national infrastructure bill, while the tragedy of the collapsed condominium in Miami has us all aware of the dire consequences of aging infrastructure. For

Work begins on the reconstruction of the colonnade in front of Taylor Hall this summer. Photo: Michael Howard

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Fr om t he Head

schools like ours, spending on infrastructure is one of our biggest annual expenses along with salaries and benefits and financial aid. Trustees spend a considerable amount of their time trying to balance these three items. This year our operating budget will be close to $60 million with $26.5 million going to salaries and benefits, approximately $11.5 million to financial aid, and just over $4 million allocated to the capital budget, which includes everything from funding construction projects to replacing furniture in dormitory common rooms to buying a new lawnmower for the grounds crew or new uniforms and equipment for athletics. Clearly this latter amount does not cover the cost of the annual infrastructure improvements that are needed.

We cover all new capital projects through fundraising. With the Nichols Center we were very fortunate that John Nichols ’49 remembered his time in the NEO and how formative that experience was for him. He told us that his experience on the NEO stage gave him a confidence before an audience that has served him well over the years. He and his wife, Alexandra, generously gave the lead gift to get that project under way while several other donors, all with their own stories about the NEO or dance, have stepped forward to help with the project as well. We followed essentially the same process with the Scanlan Campus Center, where Patrick and Mary Scanlan ’87 were the lead donors; Cutler Hall, which Sally and Sandy Cutler ’69 funded;

and Richmond Hall, given by the Richmond family—Frank ’71, Larry ’72, Elizabeth ’80, Rob, and Phill—in memory of their father, Howie ’35. One of the lovely aspects of a campus like ours is that we are surrounded by buildings that are named for and by generations of Loomis Chaffee families. This fundraising approach, however, does not work for critical infrastructure projects like the colonnades, the heating plant, or the renovation of the dormitories. While some donors have made provisions for the ongoing maintenance of their dormitory, most have not. After all, our earliest dormitories were named for our first headmaster, Nathaniel H. Batchelder; the first chair of the Board of Trustees, John Metcalf Taylor; and local Windsor dignitaries like minister John Warham. Last year we renovated and expanded both Howe and Batchelder halls, and we will continue with these renovations next summer with Palmer Hall and then Warham and Taylor. We fund these projects through our Plant Fund, a saving mechanism whereby we put aside approximately $3 million each year, as well as any budget surplus, into a savings fund to pay for major infrastructure projects. The fund waxes and wanes each year depending on the projects that need to be covered and currently holds about $15 million. Ultimately the fund will cover the cost of the colonnade replacements as well as the Grubbs Quadrangle dormitory renovations. Infrastructure may not be front and center when you think about the needs of the school, but ensuring that the school buildings meet the needs of our students and faculty is critically important to the excellent educational and residential experience that Loomis provides. To see drone footage of the Nichols Center for Theater and Dance under construction, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine. Top: Aerial view of the Nichols Center construction in July, as seen from the east side of campus. The dark red section is the existing Norris Ely Orchard Theater, which is undergoing renovation. On the far left of the photograph is the Richmond Art Center, and in the background are Hubbard and Chaffee halls. Photo: Michael Howard Bottom: The construction site as seen from with west, with the Meadows in the background. Photo: Michael Howard

loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Students Thrive in I-Tri Program

ight seniors stepped away from their regular classes and daily schedules this spring to tackle real-world challenges and offer innovative solutions to problems faced by four business and educational leaders in Connecticut. Through Loomis Chaffee’s Innovation Trimester (I-Tri) program, the students seized the opportunity to connect with accomplished professionals and focus on project-based learning. Although they initially questioned how they, as high school students, would have anything to offer their partners, the students learned that, as senior Winston Ware noted after the group’s final project presentation, “there is always a way to innovate, and a way to push things forward and to make things better.” Joining Winston in this year’s I-Tri were fellow seniors Thierno Diallo, Ethan Lavalley, Kariuki Massio, Simone Moales, Max Clemens, Matt Tombaugh, and Tom Zhang. Together they partnered with Eric Shrago, managing director of operations at Connecticut Green Bank; Gratia Lee, director of land management at Loomis Chaffee; Leticia Colon de Mejias, author, founder, and chief executive officer of Energy Efficiencies Solutions, president of Green Eco Warriors, and chair of Latino Affairs for the Connecticut Commission on Equity and Opportunities; and Jay Lewis, a local chef and author. While each of the partners and the challenges they presented were different, all four projects shared the theme of sustainability, a common thread that the students didn’t know when they signed up for the I-Tri in spring term of their junior year. “And that is part of the program,” explains Simone. “We are surprised by our partners, we are surprised by our peers, … and we are surprised by the theme.” According to I-Tri lead teacher Jennine Solomon, dealing with ambiguity is one of the important skills the program helped the students develop as part of a focus on the “8 Design Abilities of Creative Problem Solvers,” a concept

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

This year’s I-Tri group: (back) Director of Innovation Scott MacClintic ’82, intern Taylor Douglas ’19, senior Winston Ware, senior Tom Zhang, senior Ethan Lavalley, lead teacher Jen Solomon, senior Kariuki Massio, and teacher Julia Hinchman; and (front) seniors Max Clemens, Thierno Diallo, Simone Moales, and Matt Tombaugh. Photo: Cassandra Hamer

that originated at Stanford University’s School of Design. Jen, co-teachers Julia Hinchman and Scott MacClintic ’82, and intern Taylor Douglas ’19 also integrated Systems Thinking and Liberatory Design concepts, which focus on issues of equity in design. The emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion was particularly meaningful for many of the students. “A lot of the work that I feel most proud of doing in the I-Tri was making sure that underrepresented communities are represented in our presentations … and our projects,” Tom shares. “My favorite part of the program was meeting partners who look like me,” notes Simone. She explains that working with Ms. Colon de Mejias and Chef Jay, people of color who are change-makers and thrive in their chosen professions, showed her what is possible for students of color. When designing each year’s I-Tri, Jen strives to plan a program that meets the students’ interests, that will be meaningful to them, and through which they will see themselves in the partners and projects. To meet these aims, Jen starts to get to know the students through conversations a year before they begin their program. As a result, the I-Tri is different every year not only because the theme changes, but also because the students and their needs change. “Somewhere in the I-Tri,” Jen explains,

“students see where they can bring their unique skills and abilities to projects in a valuable way, and they also find moments to stretch themselves out of their comfort zones.” In addition to growing their communications, group-work, and design skills with each project, students expanded their understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. Developing this self-awareness is an intentional aspect of the program. After the first project, Jen and Scott met with each student individually and asked, “What do you need to work on? What is your weakness?” For Ethan, self-reflection and finding a way “to develop my weakness into more of a strength,” became an important part of each subsequent project. “[At] a school like this whose mission is always looking out for others, being selfless, doing everything for the common good,” notes Simone, “sometimes you never look inward.” Thierno and Ethan agree, sharing that when the students were asked at the beginning of the term to note on a board what they are good at, what they like, and what they are passionate about, all of the students struggled to name more than one or two things each. “I feel if we did that now,” says Ethan, “I could fill a board.”

Isl and Ne w s

Transgender Athlete Speaks at Convocation “ You’re not alone here,” Mr. Bailar told his Loomis audience. “We’re all doing this together.”

Schuyler Bailar, the first openly transgender NCAA Division I male swimmer, spoke to the school community via live webinar in April about his experiences, struggles, and overall journey as a transgender athlete, Asian American, and mixed-race individual. A 2019 graduate of Harvard who competed for the Crimson men’s swim team for all four years of college, Mr. Bailar talked about his life with what Head of School Sheila Culbert later described as “honesty, humor, openness, and grace.” In a weekly letter to the school community, Sheila wrote that Mr. Bailar was “one of the best speakers to whom I have listened in my time as head.” Mr. Bailar spoke about the interconnection among his identities as a trans man and as both a white man and an Asian man. “That has been something that’s been difficult for me, and I’ve learned how to exist in that in-between and understand that my race and my identity is something for me to proclaim as my own, as opposed to fit this box that other people expect from me,” he said. “And that really helped me better understand my gender identity as well.” Mr. Bailar concluded his talk by sharing his moving story about coming out to his family, including his Korean grandparents. “You’re not alone here,” he told his Loomis audience. “We’re all here together, we’re all doing this together, and there are absolutely Asian

American transgender people. There are Asian transgender people, and there are Korean American transgender people, and their stories need to be told, and so that’s why I share my story as proof.” Responding to questions from students, Mr. Bailar discussed the privilege associated with being a man and the physiological and societal differences between being a trans male athlete and a trans female athlete. This concept turned the discussion toward the legal ramifications affecting trans people in America and the outspoken opposition to trans women and trans girls competing on female sports teams. So far in 2021, more than 100 bills seeking to limit transgender rights have been introduced in state legislatures around the country, and many of the proposed laws relate to sports participation. Immediately after the convocation, Mr. Bailar spoke in break-out groups with athletes; students in Spectrum, the gender-sexuality alliance on campus; and members of the Pan-Asian Student Alliance. Mr. Bailar’s visit was part of the Hubbard Speakers Series, made possible by a gift from Robert P. Hubbard ’47.

loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Reunion 2021: A Virtual Celebration

he COVID-19 pandemic drove Loomis Chaffee’s Reunion celebration online again this year, but true to the school’s motto — ne cede malis — alumni and alumnae from the Loomis, Chaffee, and Loomis Chaffee classes ending in 0s, 5s, 1s, and 6s reconnected in virtual class gatherings and took advantage of a month of programming leading up to the “official” Reunion date of Saturday, June 12. Reunion festivities kicked off on May 12 with “An Unforgettable Year on the Island,” a webinar discussion with faculty and current students about their experiences at school during the pandemic. Deans of Students Jessica Matzkin and Michael Donegan moderated the discussion among panelists Neil Chaudhary ’05, head of the Science Department; Rachel Nisselson, language teacher; senior Elizabeth Chapman; junior Isabela Spina; and sophomore Louis Hernandez. Faculty and student panelists agreed that absence really does make the heart grow fonder; they noted that one of the highlights of the year was simply the return of students and faculty to campus for in-person classes and life in the dormitories. Stephanie Rogers ’85, an award-winning singer, songwriter-producer-author, and actor who founded Story Jam Studio, shared her love of storytelling with fellow alumni in a May 19 Zoom meeting. She led participants through a two-hour workshop on crafting the perfect 99-second personal narrative and invited participants to share their narratives with each other. On June 9, alumni joined Maya Shanbhag Lang ’96 on Zoom to learn more about her

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

work as an author and her 2020 memoir, What We Carry, the story of her experience caring for her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. During her talk Maya shared an excerpt from the book that included the following observation: “Alzheimer’s is devastating because it annihilates one’s story. It vacuums it up. Even the name seems greedy to me. What gets me is the apostrophe, that possessive little hook. It drags your loved one away from you. My mother no longer belongs to me, she belongs to her illness.” On May 24, more than 150 alumni joined former faculty member James “Grim” Wilson on a Zoom call for his presentation “Life Lessons I Tried to Impart as a Teacher, Coach, and Dorm Head.” Grim, who taught and lived at Loomis for 49 years, found that his experiences as a mountain climber provided many of the life lessons he tried to share as an educator. To be successful on a mountain, he said, requires a huge amount of preparation and an understanding that a person cannot succeed alone. Most importantly, he realized that the goal of the enterprise is not to plant a flag on the summit (or get an A on the test or win the championship). The goal is to embrace the experience, the camaraderie, and the process. On June 2, Head of School Sheila Culbert delivered her annual state-of-theschool address via webinar, inviting alumni in attendance “to imagine you’re in the chapel and it is a gorgeous day on campus.” She talked about a year that was framed by the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and racial injustice. Sheila also shared that despite

an admission recruitment cycle that did not allow for campus visits by prospective students, applications to Loomis Chaffee increased by 25 percent, and the school met its total enrollment target, increased the racial and geographic diversity of the incoming class, brought the percentage of girls and boys closer to parity, and offered need-based financial aid to more than one-third of the student body. Reunion’s culminating programming featured Sheila and former heads of school John Ratté and Russ Weigel in a lively discussion about their collective four decades of leadership at Loomis Chaffee. The session, moderated by school archivist and history teacher Karen Parsons, started with each head of school reflecting on an accomplishment of which they

Isl and Ne w s

Reunion Awards The Nat Follansbee Award for class participation is presented to the two reunion classes achieving the highest rate of Annual Fund giving participation. 2019–20 Fiscal Year — 0s & 5s 30th–60th Reunion Classes: Chaffee 1960 5th–25th Reunion Classes: Loomis Chaffee 1995 2020–21 Fiscal Year — 1s & 6s 30th–60th Reunion Classes: Chaffee 1971 5th–25th Reunion Classes: Loomis Chaffee 2001 The Daniel Wells ’34 Award for total Annual Fund class giving is presented to the two reunion classes raising the largest Annual Fund class gift. 2019–20 Fiscal Year — 0s & 5s 30th–60th Reunion Classes: Loomis Chaffee 1985 5th–25th Reunion Classes: Loomis Chaffee 1995 2020–21 Fiscal Year — 1s & 6s 30th–60th Reunion Classes: Loomis Chaffee 1976 5th–25th Reunion Classes: Loomis Chaffee 2001 The James and Abigail Chaffee Loomis Award for total overall giving is presented to the two reunion classes raising the largest class gift overall (Annual Fund, capital, and planned gifts). 2019–20 Fiscal Year — 0s & 5s 30th–60th Reunion Classes: Loomis Chaffee 1990 5th–25th Reunion Classes: Loomis Chaffee 2005 2020–21 Fiscal Year — 1s & 6s 30th–60th Reunion Classes: Loomis 1961 5th–25th Reunion Classes: Class of 2001 The Stephen Conland ’35 Award for volunteer effort is presented to the class whose volunteers demonstrate superior commitment, energy, and enthusiasm in their reunion year. 2019–20 Fiscal Year — 0s & 5s Loomis 1970 Loomis Chaffee 1990 2020–21 Fiscal Year — 1s & 6s Chaffee 1971 Loomis 1971

were most proud. John chose the construction of Carter Hall in 1986, noting that the project was the physical expression of a commitment made by the Trustees and faculty in the late 1970s and early 1980s to a “permanent” planning attitude regarding everything about the school, from the curriculum to the expansion of financial aid to the buildings necessary to support the program. Russ noted that leading the school through the Our Best Selves capital campaign, which raised more than $100 million, was an important accomplishment during his tenure and built on the legacy of planning that John had referenced. Sheila agreed that Loomis plans well and noted that in the past few years the school realized the goal set more than 40 years ago to transition from a school with approximately 60 percent day students following the merger of Loomis and Chaffee, back to a boarding school with more than 70 percent boarding students. In addition to the formal Reunion programming hosted by the school, various reunion classes planned their own virtual gatherings, with conversation, trivia contests, presentations by classmates and faculty members, a wine tasting, and many other highlights. The school looks forward to hosting an on-campus Reunion Weekend in June 2022. That celebration will include all classes ending in 2s, 7s, 1s, 6s, 0s, and 5s.

To read more about this year’s individual class gatherings and to check out the Reunion webinar recordings, slideshows, tour of campus with Associate Head of School for External Relations Nat Follansbee, and more, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

For information on the totals achieved by each award-winning class, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Isl and Ne w s

SPELLBOUND Leaf Coneybear (junior Vanessa Magid), William Barfée (junior Ben Radmore), Schwarzy (senior Rosalie Lyons), Marcy Parks (freshman Jessica Luo), Olive Ostrovsky (junior Kate Shymkiv), and Chip Tolentino (freshman Brigham Cooper)

loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Schwarzy (Rosalie Lyons) with Dan Dad (sophomore Arthur Beaugeard) and Chip (junior Aidan Cooper) in the background

A MUSICAL Under the Stars Photos: Cassandra Hamer

Mitch M. Mahoney (senior Tom Zhang) in the spotlight

Olive (Kate Shymkiv) and Rona Lisa Perretti (sophomore Jade Silverstein)

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a long-running Broadway show and popular community theater draw around the country, made its way to the Loomis Chaffee Performing Arts stage this spring, with six shows in April in an open-air venue. With the Norris Ely Orchard Theater under renovation and COVID-19 precautions severely limiting indoor audiences, the Performing Arts Department had to get creative and figure out how to best present the production to the community. An outdoor stage was erected next to Chaffee Hall and equipped with lighting and sound production, and a live instrument section was set up to the side of the stage. Socially-distanced audience seating was arranged in front of the stage, and the outdoor venue could not have been better. “There is something magical about theater under the stars,” says Director David McCamish, a member of the Performing Arts Department faculty, who notes that The Bee was Loomis Chaffee’s first outdoor musical. “In this time of COVID, it is great to have so many talented young storytellers putting their energy into sharing this amazing musical,” he said shortly before opening night. “We are able to do live theater for our Loomis community when many theaters are closed due to COVID.” The Bee sweeps its audience into the world of a middle school spelling bee in Putnam County. Following six main spellers through the course of the competition, the play’s

audience learns background information on each character and grows to understand them. At its heart, the show is about accepting people as they are despite differences and dealing with the pressure of living up to expectations from others and oneself. Two casts of student actors alternated performances, and each night four audience members were called up on stage to be participants in the spelling bee. Behind the scenes, a six-student tech crew helped run the show, supported by faculty members and other theater professionals who contributed their expertise and skill to the production’s success. Three student musicians also played in the pit orchestra alongside professional musicians. “Our student technicians and musicians … poured their energy into helping pull off a remarkable piece of theater,” David says. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, one of the 100 longest-running Broadway shows, features music and lyrics by William Finn, and the book was by Rachel Sheinkin. The show was based on C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, an original improvisational play created by Rebecca Feldman.

To see more photos from the musical, visit

www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

Isl and Ne w s

The contestants (Vanessa Magid, Kate Shymkiv, and Ben Radmore) can dance and spell!

Marcy (Jessica Luo) and Jesus (junior Grace Thompson)

Chip (Brigham Cooper), Schwarzy (Rosalie Lyons), and Leaf Coneybear (Vanessa Magid)

Williamina Barfée (senior Kassie Rivera)

Chip (Brigham Cooper) and Meg M. Mahoney (Grace Thompson)

loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Norton Fellow Collects Oral Histories of Teenage Refugees

With support from a Loomis Chaffee community engagement program, a student helps to give voice to the global refugee crisis and shares the stories of young refugees who resettled in the Hartford area. Junior Jordan Korn recorded interviews with five individuals who, as young teens, emigrated from war-torn countries, and she shared their refugee and settlement stories with local middle school students this spring. The project was part of Jordan’s Norton Fellowship, a community engagement program administered by Loomis Chaffee’s Norton Family Center for the Common Good. Jordan tutors recently resettled kids in math through a community outreach initiative at her place of worship, and the experience inspired her to record the oral histories of teenage refugees. She wanted to find out more about what it was like for her peers to come to a new country, learn a new language, attend a new school, and become part of a new community. She explains that when she heard about the global refugee crisis, she tended to think of refugees as “one giant mass, not as individuals.” Through her project, Jordan hoped to better understand the human side of the refugee experience and share the individual stories of young refugees with others. With the help of local resettlement organizations and her spiritual community, Jordan connected with young immigrants willing to record their experiences for her project. She recorded the personal narratives of five refugees — two from the Democratic Republic of Congo and three from Syria — who had settled with their families in the Hartford area when they were of middle school age. All are now young adults, attending local universities or working,

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

and all have mastered the English language. Working with Eric LaForest, Keller Family Director of the Norton Center, and Sara Markman, science teacher and coordinator of religious programs at Loomis, Jordan developed a lesson plan about the young refugee experience for a middle school-age audience. She used the recorded personal narratives to emphasize the human experience of making a home in a new country. In March, Jordan presented the lesson to students in a religious education class taught by Sara at Congregation Kol Haverim in Glastonbury, Connecticut. A handful of adults from the congregation also watched the lesson, which took place over Zoom because of COVID-19 safety precautions. After first describing some of the reasons people make the difficult choice to leave their homes and seek refuge in a foreign country, Jordan shared statistics from the United Nations Refugee Agency about the global refugee crisis. According to the U.N. figures, 82.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes around the world, and 26 million of these displaced people are refugees. “Many of these refugees are under the age of 16. As a teenager myself, I can’t imagine what it is like to go through that kind of trauma,” Jordan told the class. She presented an overview of the kinds of situations her interviewees fled in their home countries as well as some of the governmental policies and procedures that the United States has established to deal with large and growing numbers of refugees. Without identifying the individuals, except for their countries of origin and current statuses as students or employees, Jordan played the recordings for her audience. The interviewees spoke of experiencing distrust, mistreatment, and racism in refugee camps in countries bordering their homelands. They expressed their reluctance to start over, again and again, while moving from place to place as well as their families’ frustrations at trying to navigate the government bureaucracy associated with refugee resettlement. Two of the women spoke of experiencing Islamophobia in the United States, including being interrogated on

Isl and Ne w s

the job and in public about their wearing hijabs as required by their Muslim faith. One of the Muslim women was assaulted in her 10thgrade class and didn’t speak enough English at the time to tell anyone. The interviewees said they often felt resented, were looked upon as strange, were ostracized in their new homes, and were isolated and fearful at first. One of the interviewees said it had been much harder for his parents and older siblings to be away from their home, to learn a new language, and to adjust to their new home’s culture. Jordan told the class that many of the young refugees eventually found solace and friendship among other immigrant groups that they discovered through soccer games and English language classes. And they gradually began to embrace their new lives. After the presentation, Jordan and Sara asked the students for their reactions to the stories, and the class discussed the experience of being a new kid at a school and what they could do to make a new student feel welcome. The presentation and discussion were part of a larger unit about “acts of loving kindness” in the religious education class, according to Sara, and her students planned to focus on refugees in a community engagement project. For Jordan, the project helped put a human face on the refugee crisis, from which she previously had felt removed. “Talking to people with real experiences puts things in perspective,” she says. “Jordan excelled as a Norton Fellow because she understands the power of storytelling both in opening doors for her activism and in making intractable problems seem more personal and therefore solvable,” Eric says, adding that Jordan embraces the idea of being an engaged citizen.

“Many of these refugees are under the age of 16. As a teenager myself, I can't imagine what it is like to go through that kind of trauma.” — Jordan Korn

New Norton Fellows Begin Work This Summer

This summer, seven new Norton Fellows are involved in community engagement projects in their hometowns. They are: Rising junior Anika Ahilan, who is partnering with two Windsor organizations to create “victory gardens” at the Wilson branch of the Windsor Public Library. Rising junior Inari Barrett, who is, in her words, “us[ing] drumming to foster community and connect young people to ancestry through learning African rhythms” in Boston. Rising senior Joice Odongo, who is serving “informal schools” in the Nairobi slum of Kibera by distributing school supplies and period products and by sharing resources and information. Rising senior Karishma Lawrence, who is combining her interests in climate action, women’s empowerment, and athletics to partner with the St. Martin schools and government and a number of non-governmental organizations to build summer programming for young girls. Rising junior Maeve Dowd, who is partnering with organizations in the North End of Hartford to address food insecurity, primarily by relaunching the Mobile Market. Rising senior Reid McMillan, who is combining his interests in playing guitar and working with young people with intellectual disabilities by offering free lessons through an organization in West Hartford. Rising junior Samantha Tishler, who is capitalizing on the chess craze by teaching the game to young girls in Glastonbury and through the YMCA in Hartford. The students are engaged in their endeavors this summer with guidance from Eric LaForest, who is the outgoing Keller Family Director of the Norton Family Center for the Common Good. In the fall, Eric will move into the role of head of the school’s History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies Department. After a national search, the school has appointed Matthew Kammrath as the new Keller Family Director of the center.

To read about the new director and to learn more about Norton Fellowship projects, visit www.loomischaffee. org/magazine.

loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Campus Engages in Earth Month Activities Loomis Chaffee celebrated Earth Month in April with a program of activities and events ranging from forums and debates to syrup-tasting and trail work. The school’s Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies organized the events in collaboration with the Norton Family Center for the Common Good, Project Green, Loomis Chaffee Climate Action, the Loomis Chaffee Pancake Society, the Loomis Chaffee Debate Society, the Performing Arts Department, the Pearse Hub for Innovation (PHI), the student organization People Rising in Support of Multiculturalism (PRISM), and the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. “Earth Month was a huge collaborative effort,” says Marley Matlack, the Christopher H. Lutz Director of the Alvord Center. “This work is everywhere, it affects everything on campus, and to make a difference in environmental sustainability, we have to work together.”

Top: Juniors Rachel Cranston and Evelyn Tang display their teacup plantings. Middle: Sophomore Sofia Mansilla and junior Lillie Szemraj paint an Earth Day mural. Left: A garden in a cup. Photos: Marley Matlack and Mary Forrester

ACTIVITIES INCLUDED: •

A climate and environment town hall with U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, led by six Loomis student leaders. The virtual conversation drew more than 200 students, teachers, and other guests from high schools and middle schools across Connecticut.

•

A breakfast hosted by the Loomis Chaffee Pancake Society featuring pancakes doused in LC maple syrup made in a student maple sugaring project on campus.

•

An outdoor “Make Your Own Bookmark” event using paper made from recycled cardboard. Project Green hosted the event during a community free period.

•

A Grand Parliamentary Debate during which members of the Debate Society discussed the Green New Deal and its effectiveness in mitigating the nation’s use of fossil fuels.

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

•

An outdoor installment of the “Fun in the PHI” activity series. Gathering on Rockefeller Quad, students created teacup gardens from upcycled coffee mugs and teacups, which will be used as planters in the Pearse Hub for Innovation.

•

An Earth-themed Open Mic night that included a performance by the A Cappelicans, a tuba variation of the theme song from The Godfather, and more.

•

An open conversation on the topic “What is Environmental Justice?” Hosted by the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and PRISM, the discussion explored the impact of environmental racism and society’s collective social responsibility.

•

A “Meatless Monday” in the dining hall, with plant-based protein options at lunch to raise awareness of the carbon emissions produced by animal agriculture.

•

An afternoon work session helping to create a woodchip trail near the school’s Solar Energy Field.

•

A webinar about climate change science webinar that informed participants about the impact of climate change through the lens of underwater cave exploring. The webinar featured environmental anthropologist Kenny Broad, who has participated in scientific and filmmaking expeditions on every continent to gather information and samples that help shed light on little-known environmental and cultural subjects.

•

A climate justice and environmental education panel presented by Innovation Trimester (I-Tri) students, who were spending the term outside of their regular classes identifying and solving local problems around the theme of sustainability. As part of their collaboration with local entrepreneur and activist Leticia

Isl Isl and andNe Ne ww ss

Colon de Mejias, the I-Tri panel focused on ensuring student access to inclusive and diverse climate change education that would spark interest and action related to environmental conservation. •

Celebration of Earth Day with green as the favored clothing color, the unveiling of a student-designed Earth Month mural, a locally sourced meal in the dining hall, and signing of the Alvord Center’s Earth Day Pledge.

•

A riverbank cleanup by student volunteers along the Farmington and Connecticut rivers.

•

An Eco-Food Truck and Mountainfilm Festival. The documentary film festival showcased stories about environmental, cultural, climbing, political, and social justice issues.

Students Lead Environment Forum with Senator Blumenthal Photo: The Office of Senator Richard Blumenthal

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal answered questions about climate and environmental issues posed by Loomis Chaffee students during a Youth Climate and Environment Virtual Town Hall hosted by the school this spring. More than 200 students, teachers, and other guests from high schools and middle schools across Connecticut attended the town hall, which was jointly organized by Loomis Chaffee Climate Action, the Norton Family Center for the Common Good, the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies, and Citizens’ Climate Lobby. In his opening remarks, Sen. Blumenthal thanked students for their hands-on work to enact change. He said citizen activism and advocacy, not only environmental laws and their enforcement, are needed to meet climate and environmental challenges. Asked about the government’s role in addressing climate and environmental crises, Sen. Blumenthal responded, “I think the government has a moral responsibility. … We

are talking about saving our planet … and the people who inhabit it.” He emphasized that the government has an obligation to all people regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, or socioeconomic status. That ideal, he explained, is the motivating force behind the Environmental Justice Act for All under consideration in Congress. Among its initiatives, the legislation would provide funding for communities in transition from energy sources that create greenhouse gases to those that do not and would enable residents to sue entities that use federal funds and engage in environmental discrimination. The senator discussed the challenge of building consensus in the United States about climate change. But he said consensus and bipartisanship on this issue are possible, as demonstrated in Connecticut and other states where both Republicans and Democrats support environmental activism to combat climate change. Sen. Blumenthal also addressed questions

about environmental racism; the economic model of energy grids; and the power of climate emergency declarations on the local, state, and federal levels. Responding to a question about the food industry’s impact on the environment, Sen. Blumenthal noted that meat, milk, and egg production alone account for 14.5 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. He encouraged students to focus “very, very intently on these food issues,” because young people not only control what they eat, but also can influence what their parents buy. He also put responsibility on the government to redirect its agricultural investment to environmentally friendly and healthy agriculture. Six Loomis students involved in a wide range of leadership roles on campus led the question-and-answer session.

loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Dancing Moon WITH THE

Photos: Cassandra Hamer

The Loomis Chaffee Dance Company performs to "Cell Block Tango" from the musical Chicago. The piece was choreographed by dance teacher Kate Loughlin.

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

In a fun, fast-paced, and diverse show that audiences loved, the 2021 Spring Dance Revue braved Mother Nature’s challenges on an outdoor stage this spring. Solos, duets, trios, and larger groups performed 17 pieces in a variety of dance styles, including contemporary, jazz, tap, and ballroom. Students choreographed 10 of the pieces, and seven others were created collaboratively in Loomis Chaffee dance courses or groups under the direction of dance teacher Kate Loughlin. The outdoor venue, on a stage erected next to Chaffee Hall, allowed social distancing and avoided pandemic-related capacity limits of indoor spaces. The weather presented some challenges, but even so, the dancers were grateful for the opportunity to perform on stage for in-person audiences.

Isl and Ne w s

1 Senior Clara Chen dances a solo number that she choreographed to the song "She Used To Be Mine" by Sara Bareilles. 2 Members of the Loomis Chaffee Dance Company performs a contemporary piece, choreographed by dance teacher Kate Loughlin and the dancers, to "Cringe" by Matt Maeson. 3 Junior Mizuho Amada, sophomore Madison Oh, and sophomore Kinsey Kranjcec perform "The Game," which they also choreographed.

To see more photos from the Spring Dance Revue, visit www.loomischaffee.org.

loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Exploring the Physics Universe Discovering exoplanets, measuring molecular particles, and contributing to NASA projects are all in a day’s work for two physicist guest speakers. Josh Winn Students interested in physics gained a sense of how they might some day use science in their professional lives when they met guest speakers for two Evenings of Science hosted by the Loomis Chaffee Physics Club this spring. In March, physicist Jason LaForest spoke about his work developing instruments to measure and analyze molecular particles and shared practical uses for the instruments, and in April, Princeton University astrophysics professor Josh Winn discussed exoplanets, how they are detected and studied, and why scientists find them fascinating. Both events, spearheaded by Physics Clubs president junior Lillie Szemraj, were held as Zoom videoconferences in keeping with COVID-19 protocols in place at the time. During his presentation, Mr. LaForest, an instrument systems engineer at Mobilion Systems in Pennsylvania, gave a detailed explanation of devices used to measure and analyze properties of particles found in various kinds of matter. The 35 community members in attendance were invited to take a deep dive into some of the instrumentation’s methodology, which Mr. LaForest illustrated with graphics. The devices’ many applications include developing consumer products like cat litter and medication capsules, improving industrial metal equipment design with less waste, and examining moon dust for NASA, he said. Mr. LaForest also described molecular instrumentation that was being used to study the spike proteins on the coronavirus. Mr. LaForest holds a U.S. patent on a combination laser diffraction and dynamic image analysis instrument. After his presentation he answered questions from students about the device, a typical day at work for him, and ways to determine accuracy when dealing with microscopic particles. Mr. LaForest is the brother of Loomis faculty member Eric LaForest. Later in the spring, Professor Winn, an astrophysicist, discussed exoplanets with the 20 inquisitive students who attended his talk. Exoplanets, he explained, are planets in solar systems other than our own, and astronomers so far have detected about 4,500 of them. We cannot see exoplanets even when using the most advanced telescope technology because the planets are so far from Earth and so much dimmer than the stars around which they orbit. But scientists have developed other, physics-based methods for detecting these distant planets, and Professor Winn described the methods and their formulaic bases in detail. Using these methods, scientists can detect an exoplanet’s orbit path and measure its density, its orbital wave, and even the tilt of the planet on its axis, he noted. For large exoplanets, experts can identify what

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Jason LaForest substances are in their atmospheres, and they hope eventually to be able to do so for planets as small as the Earth. In addition to revealing more about the universe, the discovery of exoplanets and detection of their properties and movement help scientists to better understand our own solar system, Professor Winn said. An ongoing NASA project called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite will be the source of most exoplanet discoveries in the next few years, he said, and all of the data from the project is publicly available, enabling anyone to use the data to look for celestial bodies. “It really is a frontier mission,” he said. Professor Winn is a co-investigator for the NASA project and was a participating scientist in the NASA Kepler mission. He joined the Princeton faculty as a professor of astrophysical sciences in 2016 after 10 years on the physics faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The discovery of exoplanets and detection of their properties and movement help scientists to better understand our own solar system, Professor Winn said.

Isl and Ne w s

Trustee News

Bonchun “Brian” Koo

Three Trustees rotated off the Loomis Chaffee Board of Trustees in June, and two new members were elected to begin service on July 1. As the school’s first international Trustee, past parent Bonchun “Brian” Koo, father of Dylan ’20, served on the Board for one four-year term. As a Trustee, Brian was a member of the Admission, Financial Aid & College Guidance Committee; the Buildings & Grounds Committee; and the Committee on Mission & Program. He and his wife, Lee, were helpful volunteers in Seoul, Korea, serving as the chairs of the Korean Parents Association. Pauline Chen ’82, parent of Natalie ’20 and Isabelle ’20, had completed 13 years of service on the Board. She co-chaired the Committee on Mission & Program and served on the Salaries & Benefits Committee; the Committee on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and the Admission, Financial Aid & College Guidance Committee. Previously, she had chaired the 2012 Diversity Task Force. Pauline has been a frequent guest speaker on campus and served as this year’s Commencement Speaker. Completing 20 years of service, Michael Dubilier ’73 also stepped off the Board. As cochair of the Investment Committee, he helped to grow the school’s endowment beyond $240 million. He also served as vice chair of the Committee on Trustees and as a member of the Salaries & Benefits Committee.

Pauline Chen ’82

Newly elected to the Board are Fridolf Hanson ’85, parent of Charles ’17, Tarquin ’19, and rising sophomore Campbell; and Kendra Nichols Wallace ’91, parent of rising sophomore Mandarin. Fridolf, who lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Colorado and a master’s in business administration from Wake Forest. He is a managing director at White Oak Commercial Finance, a global financial products and services company providing credit facilities to middle-market businesses and corporations. His brothers William ’87 and Stillman ’90 are also graduates of the school, as are his nephew William ’15 and his niece Isabelle ’16. His nephew Davis is a rising senior at Loomis Chaffee. Kendra, of Winnetka, Illinois, holds a bachelor’s degree and a master of education degree from Harvard University. She is director of instruction for TrueNorth Educational Cooperative 804, as well as principal of North Shore Academy and director of social emotional learning. She serves on the board of Teach for America and Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Illinois. Her father, John D. Nichols ’49, served as a Loomis Chaffee Trustee from 1985 to 1997, and her brother John ’94 is also a graduate of the school.

Michael Dubilier ’73

Fridolf Hanson ’85

Kendra Nichols Wallace ’91

loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Pelican Tea, Anyone? From cultivating herbs to creating trail signs, student projects in environmental sustainability made a difference on the Island. Care for some Pelican Tea? It comes from the campus herb gardens, where the chamomile is thriving, the lemon balm is flourishing, and the lavender is blooming. Or how about a stroll along the Joffray Trail, where you can learn from posted signs about floodplain ecology, native species, and an elm-tree restoration project? Or perhaps you’d rather stop by the Solar Energy Field, where native plants, flowers, and trees are making a comeback after years of invasive plant dominance. These lasting contributions to the Loomis Chaffee landscape are among seven environmental sustainability projects conducted by students this year. With funding from Gilchrist Environmental Fellowships, the students designed and engaged in the projects through the Science Department’s Guided Research Projects in Environmental Sustainability course or as independent projects with faculty mentors. TEA GARDENS Juniors Lillie Szemraj and Ellen Olender are cultivating the herb gardens near the school’s Greenhouse, with plans to dehydrate the herbs and blend them into Pelican Tea. They are harvesting and dehydrating most of the herbs this summer and are trying out various flavor combinations to find the ideal herbal tea blend. Using custom packaging that they designed together, Lillie and Ellen hope to share the Pelican Tea with the community in the fall. NATIVE MEADOW PLANTS Junior Khushi Mahajan reintroduced native meadow plants in an area near the Solar Energy Field where invasive species had previously

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Isl and Ne w s

crowded out native plants, which are more beneficial to local wildlife and bees and help retain the soil. Khushi chose a variety of plants, including rose swamp mallow, New England aster, and Canada lily, among many others, because they bloom at different times during spring, summer, and fall. She also made signs for the plants with repurposed slate shingles that had been removed from the roofs of campus buildings. Her goal is to expand the project and plant more in the fall.

CARBON FOOTPRINT

BIODIVERSITY

MAPLE SUGARING

Also near the Solar Energy Field, senior Biani Ebie adopted a project started last year by Clare Wilbraske ’20. She continued the work of planting trees and shrubs consistent with local native biodiversity. Biani also began constructing a scale model of the solar energy field, spending her final days as a Loomis senior training the underclassmen who will continue to build the model next year.

As highlighted in the Spring 2021 issue of Loomis Chaffee Magazine, a maple sugaring project yielded enough maple syrup to allow seniors Alejandro Rincón and Thierno Diallo to host a Pancake Society breakfast this spring and to share bottled syrup with faculty, staff, and classmates.

JOFFRAY TRAIL SIGNS Senior Carter Pavlonnis constructed interpretive trail signs and mounted them on the Joffray Trial, which borders the Connecticut River on campus. The signs provide information on river-floodplain ecology and the types of species, plants, and trees that are native to the area. In collaboration with the Nature Conservancy, Carter also created signs promoting the restoration of elm trees and their importance to local floodplains. Head of School Sheila Culbert lent her birding expertise to his final sign by sharing photos she took of bald eagles, great blue herons, and other birds near the trail. COMPOSTING Senior Charlie Morrison filmed and edited The Trash Documentary, a short film on food waste in the dining hall and composting programs on campus. Through his research, Charlie found that composted food waste from Loomis eventually becomes clean energy that powers 700 homes in Southington, Connecticut. Charlie hopes that his documentary will bring the school community’s attention to the importance of sorting food into the correct bins after meals.

Junior Ryan Fortani and senior Pedro Arellano teamed up to continue a carbon footprint analysis of the campus that was begun last year. With the help of the University of New Hampshire’s Sustainability Indicator Management and Analysis Platform online tool, the pair expanded the analysis of Loomis’ carbon footprint to include information on campus dining services. As a senior in the fall, Ryan plans to promote the carbon footprint report.

Gilchrist Environmental Fellowships provide funding for projects that “build upon the initial successes of the Sustainability Committee and discover new opportunities for education and action in the philosophy of environmental stewardship and sustainability,” according to the program’s mission statement. Administered by the school’s Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies, the fellowships have been granted every year since 2012 and are available to students, faculty, and staff. The Guided Research Projects in Environmental Sustainability course, in which Biani, Carter, Ryan, Pedro, and Charlie were enrolled this year, helps students to advance efforts to solve previously identified environmental concerns on campus or tackle new issues. “This is a unique course that we offer,” says Jeffrey Dyreson, who teaches the course and is an associate director of the Alvord Center. “It allows students to leave the classroom and venture out into the professional realm of working, and all of them were up to the task.” With an increase in student interest, the school hopes to expand the course to two sections for a total of six to eight environmentally-minded students. Top: Seniors Cooper Abbate and Biani Ebie plant shrubs near the Solar Energy Field. Middle: Senior Carter Pavlonnis displays a trail sign showing birds photographed near campus. Bottom: Junior Khushi Mahajan pauses while planting native species in an area previously overrun by invasive plants. Photos: Marley Matlack

Photos: Marley Matlack loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

THAT’S ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! FLASH FICTION

AUTHOR MEET-AND-GREET

MAJOR LEAGUE SPEAKER

Judges of the fourth annual Katharine Brush Flash Fiction Contest selected 15 student stories for special commendation this spring. For this year’s contest, submissions had to include a line of dialogue based on prompts from the notes of Katharine Brush, a popular early 20th-century novelist whose writing notebooks are held in the Loomis Chaffee Archives and for whom the library is named. The judges — author and poet Joyce Sidman ’74, former Director of Writing Initiatives Sally Knight, and former faculty member Ronald Marchetti — awarded Gold Medals to junior Aidan Cooper, sophomore Serena Kim, and senior Stephanie Zhang and Silver Medals, Bronze Medals, and Honorable Mentions to 12 additional student writers.

A group of faculty and students attended the Connecticut Forum’s virtual event “Favorite Authors” on March 25, featuring a moderated conversation with Colson Whitehead, Jacqueline Woodson, and Lauren Groff. All Loomis Chaffee freshmen read Red at the Bone by Ms. Woodson, and students have read both The Nickel Boys and Underground Railroad by Mr. Whitehead in English classes. Seniors Hannah Adler, Julie Chung, Cooper Raposo, and Janus Yuen and English teacher Fiona Mills attended the event and a pre-Forum virtual meet-andgreet with Mr. Whitehead and about 30 other invited guests.

Former Major League Baseball player Xavier Scruggs spoke with students in May about his life journey and his current job as diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant for the St. Louis Cardinals. During the discussion over Zoom, Mr. Scruggs talked about growing up as a young Black male and having dreams of playing a sport dominated by white and Hispanic athletes. “I wanted to do everything I could to learn from these white folks and Hispanic folks who dominated the game, but my Blackness made me nervous to interact with them and learn from them,” he said. After being drafted and making the roster with the Cardinals, Scruggs said he felt he needed to use his platform as a professional athlete to inspire and do more good work for the baseball community. He discussed the importance of using social media in an appropriate manner and ways to confront difficult conversations in the locker room and classroom as well as online and on social media. After his remarks, he answered questions from students and spoke more about his current role with the Cardinals. Mr. Scruggs, who grew up in California, played little league baseball with Donnie McKillop, who is head baseball coach and assistant athletic director at Loomis.

CHANGEMAKER For her ongoing efforts to improve her local community, sophomore Inari Barrett received a Changemaker Challenge award in June from Students Rebuild, a Bezos Family Foundation program that encourages young people to take action to address global concerns. To help resolve inequities in healthcare for women of color, Inari organized a series of conversations with and among Black women about their challenging experiences in seeking health care and attention to their needs from medical providers. Inari partnered with the Women of Color Health Equity Collective in her hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts, for the project, and she continues to work with the collective to promote wellness for women of color.

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

SYMPOSIUM Students led an on-campus symposium on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in May. Attended by more than 55 Loomis Chaffee students and faculty members, the symposium featured five workshops and a presentation of informative posters. The event aimed to educate community members about current issues faced by people of color. All of the workshops were facilitated by students, including leaders of the student organization People Rising in Support of Multiculturalism (PRISM) and student interns with the Loomis Chaffee Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Workshop topics included the evolution of words and terminology used to describe identity, the hypersexualization and adultification of Black women in the larger community, the intersectionality in the Black and LGBTQ+ communities, gentrification in Black communities, and the impact of environmental racism.

Isl and Ne w s

FACU LTY & STA FF NE WS The school’s annual Community Honors event in June celebrated the collective and individual dedication of Loomis Chaffee faculty and staff, and a number of prizes and honors were announced: Chemistry teacher, swimming coach, and Associate Director of Studies Robert DeConinck was awarded the Lena M. Chen M.D. ’87 Faculty Prize for Mentoring. Created in 2020 by her family in loving memory of Lena, the annual award honors a faculty member who excels as a mentor to students. English teacher Will Eggers was presented with the Distinguished Teaching Award in Honor of Dom Failla. Named for Dom, a former longtime philosophy teacher, the award recognizes an outstanding teacher with more than 10 years of service to the school. Three teachers received the Austin Wicke Prize, which was established in memory of Austin by his parents and is awarded to faculty members of less than 10 years of service who have demonstrated dedication to the discipline of teaching and commitment to fostering the growth and development of young people. This year’s recipients were Spanish teacher and dorm head Lillian Corman, economics teacher Mat DeNunzio, and English teacher and LOG advisor Jessica Hsieh ’08. Art teacher and graphic designer Stacy-Ann “Ro” Rowe ’97 was awarded a Palmer Fellowship, a multi-year grant that will help fund Ro’s continuing pursuit of curricular and professional development. The Keller and MacLean families established the Palmer Fellowships in honor of former faculty members Ann and Keith Palmer to recognize superb teaching at Loomis Chaffee, with the specific goal of fostering innovative pedagogy. Several faculty members were named to instructorships. The Allan Lundie Wise Instructorship in English went to Stephen Colgate, head of the English Department. The Clark Foundation Instructorship in Science went to chemistry teacher George “Koby” Osei-Mensah. The Francis D. Nichols Instructorship in Art went to Mark Zunino, who teaches painting, drawing, printmaking, and College-Level Art and is an accomplished working artist. The Ralph W. Erickson Instructorship in Physical Education went to Adrian Stewart ’90, who coaches football, basketball, and track and is the head of physical therapy. The Francis O. Grubbs Instructorship in Languages went to Rachel Nisselson, a French and Spanish teacher, the former head of the Modern and Classical Languages Department, and a faculty member in the Kravis Center for Excellence in Teaching. The Krauss Instructorship in Theater went to theater teacher and director David McCamish.

Twelve employees received Service to the School Awards for their contributions to the success of the last two academic years. The awards spanned two years because the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the presentation of awards last spring. Award recipients were Associate Director of Alumni & Parent Relations Paige Abrams, Human Resources Generalist Krystal Anderson, Groundskeeper Kevin Curley, Dean of Students Elliott Dial, Housekeeper Elizabeth Janosi, Academic Technology Coordinator Matthew Johnson, Groundskeeping foreman Jesse Lambe, Director of Studies Timothy Lawrence, COVID-19 Coordinator Mary Liscinsky, Associate Director of Admission Alison Murphy, Associate Dean of Faculty Adnan Rubai, and Director of the Health Center Kendra Wiesel.

Sculptures by Jennifer McCandless, head of the Visual Arts Department, were featured in two exhibitions this spring. “Haunted by Heroes — Divided by Mondrian” was selected for a group exhibition at A.I.R. Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, May 29–June 27. The exhibition, Fractal Nature, featured the work of 19 artists who comprise the A.I.R. National Artists Program. Two of Jen’s pieces were included in the exhibition Paint 2021 at the Silvermine Gallery in New Canaan, Connecticut, May 8–June 30, which highlighted artists who innovate with paint. These two pieces included “Sweat,” a portrait of a teenager that Jen says was inspired by teaching via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. To see Jen’s pieces in the online Paint 2021 exhibition, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine. Faculty members who left the school at the end of the academic year for new ventures included Spanish and French teacher Maribel Blas-Rangel; Director of Student Activities Andris Briga; Associate Director of Admission and Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Ahmad Cantrell ’07; mathematics teacher Isabelle Fitzpatrick; science teacher Emily Garvin; science teacher Erica Gerace; Director of Human Resources Kelly Hasenbalg; English teacher and assistant head of the English Department Jessica Hsieh ’08; French teacher Sterling Khouri; Associate Director of Admission and head boys lacrosse coach Bill Lee; science teacher and Sustainable Agriculture Program coordinator Gratia Lee; science teacher Jen Legendre; science teacher Sara Markman; Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Elizabeth Parada, who also taught Spanish during her 22 years at Loomis; math teacher Annie Sher; history teacher and head of the History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies Department Harrison Shure; and Director of the Health Center Kendra Wiesel. In addition to these departures, longtime English teacher Jeffrey Scanlon ’79 retired this summer. (Read more about Jeff on page 60.) loomischaffee.org

Isl and Ne w s

Photos: Stan Godlewski

PE L ICA N SP O RT S

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Isl and Ne w s 5

4 Opposite page: Girls Lacrosse: Senior Teagan Williams 1 2 3 4 5 6

Boys Lacrosse: Senior Griffin Marx Girls Track & Field: Junior Ellen Olender and senior Emma Kane Baseball: Senior Dawson Logie Girls Water Polo: Junior Eleanor Zhou Girls Tennis: Junior Lana Sheng Boys Golf: Senior Max Clemens

loomischaffee.org

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Boys lacrosse huddle Baseball: Senior Chris Avallone, freshman Louis Hernandez, junior Matt Como, and sophomore Aidan Healy Boys Track & Field: Senior Azaan Malik Girls Golf: Freshman Hannah Lund Boys Tennis: Senior Langston Hughes Softball: Senior Sophia Testa Boys Track & Field: Senior Kariuki Massio Softball: Pitcher sophomore Josephine Foley and infielder junior Karishma Lawrence Girls Track & Field: Juniors Willa Hock and A'jah Canty

8 11

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

7 9

14 15

loomischaffee.org

Seniors Jake Lotreck, Sophie Rodner, and Kai Sheng Tham enjoy photos with friends before the Commencement processional in Grubbs Quadrangle.

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Days of Celebration for the Class of 2021

By Becky Purdy Photographs by Cassandra Hamer & Jessica Ravenelle

urrounded by family and faculty in the traditional, sundappled location between the Loomis Homestead and the Head of School’s House, the Loomis Chaffee Class of 2021 celebrated Commencement on May 22, taking special delight in the familiar after a senior year of uncertainty. “What a fantastic day, and what a wonderful moment for the graduates and the families of the Class of 2021,” declared Duncan A.L. MacLean ’90, chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, as he opened the ceremony and acknowledged the shared joy of holding a Commencement ceremony on campus for the first time in two pandemic-troubled years. What was perhaps most special about the event this year was its relative normalcy. Nearly all of the 205 members of the Class of 2021 were able to attend the ceremony in person though they missed the presence of about a dozen classmates who celebrated remotely from their homes around the world. Family members and guests — four per graduate — swelled the festive atmosphere with their proud cheers and broad smiles. All of the pomp seemed to carry extra meaning this year: the arrangement of the seniors on risers in Grubbs Quadrangle for the class photograph before the ceremony; the traditional procession down the Senior Path; the prelude from the Commencement Orchestra; the presentation of prizes in shiny gift boxes; the collective hush as speakers delivered words of wisdom, memory, and humor; and the handshake with Head of School Sheila Culbert as each class member received a diploma and strode across the stage to the cheers of classmates, parents, teachers, staff members, advisors, and coaches. Each senior handed Sheila a miniature origami paper crane, the token chosen by the class as its symbolic gift, in keeping with Commencement tradition. “You have each worked incredibly hard to be here at this moment through what has been a ridiculously difficult year,” Sheila told the class. “Well done!”

loomischaffee.org

CELEBRATION of the Class of 2021 spread across several days in May, beginning with Prom. Students gathered in all their finery on Grubbs Quadrangle for photographs followed by dinner and dancing under a festively decorated tent. 1 Andy Cao, Charlie Morrison, and Brett Donshik 2 Anna Li, Langston Woody, and Olivia Looram 3 Hannah Adler and Mitali Vedula 4 Priya Rajaram, Adele Sales, Coco Wicks, Prairwaa Madden, Audrey Zhang, and Debi Chakrabortti

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

5 Kai Sheng Tham and Kariuki Massio 6 Sophie Zhang and Lily Bahrehmand

loomischaffee.org

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

7 Friends since middle school Eamon Moylan, Julia Manafort, Sam Scherer, Kyle Becker, Grace Murphy, Emma Kane, Declan Coyle, Lucas Patricelli-Norrdin, Nicole Ramenda, and Ethan Lavalley 8 Aidan Gillies and Tom Zhang 9 Grace Caligiuri and Luke Steele 10 Max Therrien and Miriam Bussel-Alonso

loomischaffee.org

SENIOR NIGHT on the evening before Commencement featured a more casual reception on Grubbs Quad and a celebratory program in the Olcott Center, where music and memories mingled with the presentation of Sellers Faculty Prizes and fond remarks from Class Dean Jessica Matzkin and Head of School Sheila Culbert. 11 Stephanie Zhang and Kelly Xue on the quad before the formal Senior Night program 12 Cal McCandless and Valentin Da Silva

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

13 14 15 16

Pedro Arellano celebrates receiving a Sellers Faculty Prize, presented by Head of School Sheila Culbert. Eva Millay Evans leads the Chamber Singers performing "Long Live" by Taylor Swift. Cell phones light up the audience during a musical number. Senior class officers Max Rosenberg, Anna Li, and Simone Moales greet their classmates on Senior Night. Fellow class officer Matthew Weng opened the night's program with a recorded message from Beijing.

loomischaffee.org

COMMENCEMENT DAY dawned sunny and warm, capping a beautiful week on the Island.

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

17 Biani Ebie greets the long-anticipated day with a beaming smile. 18 Bouquets and boutonnieres await the seniors in Founders Chapel before the ceremony. 19 Jake Lotreck and photo-bombing friends offer thumbs up. 20 The processional along the Senior Path is led by Commencement Speaker Pauline Chen ’82 and Head of School Sheila Culbert. 21 Spanish teacher Lillian Corman congratulates Max Rosenberg after the ceremony. 22 Grace Caligiuri and Elinor Keene pose for a photo in front of Founders Hall. 23 Each senior handed an origami crane to the head of school during the presentation of diplomas. 24 Krystal McKinney and Jaqueline Anderson show their pride for newly minted graduate Kennedy Anderson.

21 22 24

loomischaffee.org

25 SHARED EXPERIENCE was a theme in the reflections offered by both Commencement Speaker Pauline Chen ’82 and Class Speaker John Howley. Pauline, a surgeon, writer, and Loomis Chaffee Trustee, spoke of the year’s global hardships in her address to the class. Weaving her message around a Japanese folk tale that her father told her when she was a child, Pauline emphasized the importance of a shared narrative in overcoming societal crisis. John recalled with humor the Class of 2021’s muddy orientation adventures on the Ropes Course, which he described as “an obstacle course that looked like something from The Blair Witch Project.” Despite the challenges and discomforts of the day in the woods, John realized, looking back, that the most important things he and his classmates would learn at Loomis were all there on that day four years ago in the Ropes Course: balance, teamwork, and perseverance. “If I could say anything to freshman-year-John as he leaves the Meadows, returning slightly disheartened from his first day of orientation,” he said, “I would tell him that, even though you may sometimes feel confused, anxious, and nervous for the future, your time here at Loomis Chaffee and the people you will encounter will challenge you, inspire you, and transform you.”

25 Alejandro Rincón is awarded the Ammidon Prize by Head of School Sheila Culbert and Trustee John Bussel ’87. 26 Class Speaker John Howley delivers his address. 27 Clara Chen receives the Loomis Family Prize for the first scholar in the graduating class. 28 John's speech has his classmates laughing out loud.

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

29 Eva Millay Evans and Emma Kane lead the gathering in "America the Beautiful." 30 Student Council President Aidan Gillies and classmates sing along. 31 Commencement Speaker Pauline Chen ’82 addresses the Class of 2021 as Chairman of the Board of Trustees Duncan A.L. MacLean ’90 listens. 32 Thierno Diallo shares a celebratory moment with a classmate after receiving his diploma.

loomischaffee.org

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Legacies

33 Noah Quinn and Jon Murphy 34 Kyle Becker and Kenta Kato congratulate each other after the ceremony. 35 Trustee John Bussel ’87 presents a diploma to his daughter, Miriam Bussel-Alonso.

Members of the Class of 2021 with alumni parents, grandparents, and/or great-grandparents: Carter Alvord Joel Alvord ’56, grandparent Nicholas Bellak Susan Bain Bellak ’85 Marcia Moore Bain ’48, grandparent, deceased Lana Breheney Francesa Santorelli Breheney ’91, parent Miriam Bussel-Alonso John M. Bussel ’87, parent Lauren Castleman Michael S. Castleman ’85, parent Brett Donshik Karen Robbins Donshik ’89, parent Daniel M. Donshik ’89, parent Loren Jones Dorothy D. Jones ’88, parent Ethan Lavalley Polly Pearse Lavalley ’85, parent John D. Pearse ’58, grandparent Sally Crowther Pearse ’58, grandparent Talio Mayo Andrew F. Mayo ’86, parent Lucas Patricelli Norrdin Alison Patricelli ’86, parent Robert E. Patricelli ’57, grandparent Evan Petkis Lisa Carmon Petkis ’94 Nan Christensen Carmon ’39, great-grandparent Cooper Raposo Nicholas A. Raposo ’86, parent Kendall Rice Helen Healey Rice ’83, parent Sophie Rodner Craig M. Rodner ’92, parent Samuel Scherer Anthony E. Scherer ’85, parent Henry S. Scherer Jr. ’49, grandparent H.A. Vance Jr. ’61, grandparent

Luke Struthers Timothy G. Struthers ’85, parent Harvey J. Struthers Jr. ’60, grandparent

loomischaffee.org

Commencement dignitaries and prize recipients: (back) faculty member Kasumu Usman, Director of Studies Timothy Lawrence, Trustee Reginald Paige Sr., Commencement Speaker and Trustee Pauline Chen ’82, Head of School Sheila Culbert, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Duncan A.L. MacLean ’90, Trustee John Bussel ’87, Trustee Harvey Struthers Jr. ’60, and Dean of Faculty Andrew Matlack; and (front) Olivia Zoga, Alejandro Rincón, Pedro Arellano, Sophie Rodner, Brett Donshik, Clara Chen, Emma Kane, Aidan Gillies, and Simone Moales.

To see list of prizes and recipients, visit www.loomischaffee.org

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Top: Leah Paige and her father, Trustee Reginald Paige Sr. Bottom: Luke Struthers with his grandfather, Trustee Harvey Struthers Jr. ’60, and his dad, Director of Development Timothy Struthers ’85

loomischaffee.org

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

loomischaffee.org

Leadership ROUNDTABLE

By Becky Purdy | Design by Cassandra Hamer

Simone MOALES

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Tom

ZHANG

Victoria CHE

ays before they graduated from Loomis Chaffee, we gathered five leaders in the Class of 2021 for a roundtable discussion about their experiences at the school and their insights about leadership.

VICTORIA: My name is Victoria Che. I’m from China. I’m a four-year senior. At Loomis, I’m the debate captain, Model U.N. head delegate, and editor-in-chief of The Log. SOPHIE: I’m Sophie Rodner. I’m a four-year senior. I’m a day student from Simsbury, Connecticut. I’m one of the head environmental proctors on campus. I also lead a club called Water Warriors, where we teach kids how to swim, and I’m the captain of the swim and water polo teams. AIDAN: My name is Aidan Gillies. I’m from Chandler, Arizona, but I was raised in Granby, Connecticut. I’m a four-year senior, and the activities on campus that I do are I’m the Student Council president and the [student] director of student activities, and I lead a discussion group we have on campus called the Shultz Fellowship. And along with Victoria I am a Model U.N. and debate captain.

Individuals through and through, Simone Moales, Baihan “Tom” Zhang, Victoria Che, Sophie Rodner, and Aidan Gillies distinguished themselves in their own unique ways as scholars and student leaders on the Island, but their bonds as classmates, friends, and loyal companions on the Loomis journey were evident from the moment they gathered for this discussion, as you’ll see for yourself. Their conversation, edited for clarity and space, follows.

BECKY: What were your first impressions of Loomis? AIDAN: My focal point for boarding school in general was the trashy Netflix dramas that I would watch before coming here. Not only was my perception of high school extremely jaded, but my perception of boarding school was super jaded. I came in thinking I was going to have to fight for survival every day. I was prepared to go to war. And that was very much not the case whatsoever. My expectations were very high-energy, high-stressed. Before I was going off, everyone was like, “Oh, you’re going to Loomis, that’s so exciting!” And I’d be like, “Yeah, I’m ready to work.” [Laughs]. And there was a lot of work, but it definitely was not as intimidating or competitive as I thought it was going to be.

BECKY PURDY: Thanks for coming. Tell us who you are and a bit about you. Who wants to start?

SOPHIE: I would agree with Aidan on that. Definitely in the Hartford area, Loomis has a reputation as being this kind of pressure cooker. And I remember thinking that if I went to Loomis, I was going to be a small fish in a big pond and feeling like I’m never going to be able to make my own mark or make this place my own or take leadership in any way, and that was not something I found once I got here. It was less intimidating once I set foot on campus and saw how welcoming and friendly and community-based everyone is here.

SIMONE: I can start. My name is Simone Moales, and I was born and raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut. I’m a four-year senior. This year I’ve served as PRISM [People Rising in Support of Multiculturalism] president, one of the class officers, and I’m an RA [resident assistant] in Howe. TOM: My name is Tom Zhang. I’m from China. I am a three-year senior, and I’ve lived in Flagg for two years. I’m an RA on the alternative housing floor, and I’m a theater kid.

SIMONE: I didn’t have a lot of preconceived notions about Loomis or just

To listen to a podcast of this discussion, visit www. loomischaffee.org/magazine.

Sophie RODNER

Aidan GILLIES

loomischaffee.org

boarding school in general because my mom was gung-ho about me not attending boarding school, not applying to boarding school. She was like, “You don’t even need to fill out those applications. You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying with me for these four years. I’m going to raise you. Who is going to raise you better than me? And my dad was like [whispers], “Just apply, just apply.” And I said, “OK, I’ll just apply.” And then he was college roommates with Adrian Stewart [’90, a faculty member and coach at Loomis], so when I went to the table at my secondary school fair, Mrs. [Ali] Murphy said, “Do you know Adrian Stewart?” And my dad said, “Oh my gosh, this is where my roommate went. So you have to apply now. We’re just not going to tell Mom, and it’s just going to happen.” So because I didn't tell my mom, I wasn’t really researching Loomis. I didn’t know a lot about boarding school in general. I got here, and everything here impressed me. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I love it.” Every night felt like a sleepover for the first two weeks because I wasn’t the kid who went to sleepaway camps or slept over at people’s houses all the time. Dorm life was everything for me, and that’s where I have my core group of friends. I think that coming in not knowing a lot allowed me to take advantage of everything offered at Loomis because I didn’t have the idea of the pressure cooker. I didn’t have the survival-of-the-fittest mentality. I was like, “I’m going to this school. My mom finally said yes. It’s happening. I’m excited.” TOM: [My initial experience] was probably more about the changing between languages. I started learning English in third grade, but when I actually started learning was probably eighth grade when my mom sent me here to a day school in Simsbury. And my TOEFL score at that school was 40. To compare, the score I need to get into Loomis was 110. I didn’t really know about boarding schools before applying, but my friend from eighth grade applied and got in, and that’s how I started learning about boarding schools. My [consultant] back in China said, “You have no chance. You have no shot at Loomis. This is [one of the] prestigious schools in New England, and they’re established by old English people back in the 1800s, and everyone goes to Harvard after they graduate. You have no chance.” And I was just very stressed when I first got in. I didn’t believe I got in. And I got here and I was very nervous about it, very aware of everyone around me. I was learning this is what Loomis kids think is funny, this is how I should joke, how I should talk with them. The first few months I didn’t feel like I belonged here in the community. And as it picked up, I joined groups that I feel really passionate about, and kids are very supportive in the NEO Theater. It was not until really last summer, especially during the Black Lives Matter movement, that I started to realize more and more the definition of being a global citizen. Although I’m not an American citizen, I still really have the responsibility of speaking out when I see something that is unjust. I was really inspired by the movement, and that’s when I really started feeling I belong to, not just to Loomis, but also to the American community. I think the education really prepared me not only to be in America in the future, but really anywhere in the world. VICTORIA: I went to junior boarding school. It feels kind of similar to Loomis, so I knew what it was like to be at a place like this. My roommate is very outgoing. She sent me an email and then found me on Snapchat and added me on Snapchat before we came. When I came into the room, she was so excited, and I was a little overwhelmed. I was like, “Woah, I’m not ready for this level of social interaction yet.” But I really liked it. And it felt like how I imagined high school [would be]. Everyone who graduates from my middle school goes to a school like Loomis. It was a pretty smooth transition for me. BECKY: Do you remember when you met each other? Did you know each

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

other when you were freshmen or sophomores? TOM: Oh, I’ve known Aidan all the way back to the [Loomis Chaffee] Summer Program. So we’ve known each other for more than five years. AIDAN: We lived in Cutler together, right? You were right down the hall. TOM: Yeah, that’s right. AIDAN: It was wild. SOPHIE: When I was in my eighth grade English class, I remember a girl said to me, “Oh, you’re going to Loomis. There’s a kid that I dance with who is going to Loomis too. His name is Aidan Gillies.” And I didn’t really put two and two together until I was in World History with you and we were on the bus going to see the Christopher Columbus statue. And we finally made the connection. And I remember meeting Simone in Bio our freshman year with Ms. [Betsy] Conger. Some good memories there too. SIMONE: Yeah. And then, Vi, I met you in Cutler. I met Aidan and Tom in theater, and then we went over to debate. VICTORIA: I met Aidan in debate. We both started our freshman year. Aidan started debate in middle school, so he was more experienced than I was. And he was a genius in debate. AIDAN: I remember, Sophie, when we were in history class together. I would ask a question before class every day— SOPHIE: Question of the day! AIDAN: Yeah, why did I do that? I loved it. It was such a good vibe, but that was so weird. BECKY: How did you see each other grow here? Simone, tell me a little bit more about Aidan. SIMONE: I think Vi hit it on the nail. In the beginning I thought, “This is my genius [debate] recruiter Aidan, and I’m so scared around Aidan. Aidan is super smart, and I don’t know anything about debate, and I’m scared of him.” And then we became partners. [To Aidan]: But I think the biggest period of growth for you was probably junior year or sophomore year, when you were starting to mentor debaters. You went from a stage of, “I kind of know the ins and outs of debates because I’ve been doing it,” into, “I’m going to help these younger debaters.” And then from being your partner, you helping me out throughout that time, just seeing a lot of mentorship coming from you toward the end of our Loomis career is something that — when I first met you, I thought, “I don’t think I’m ever going to get help from this guy. He’s recruiting me, and then we’re just going to be going our own way.” But that was the biggest period of growth for me. And thanks for that, Aidan. Debate really changed a lot for me. AIDAN: I’m happy that paid off. SIMONE: It did! Big time. What did you see in me? AIDAN: You and I first did theater together. [Speaking to everyone]: I did the winter musical [Shrek] with Simone when she did the incredible performance of Donkey. And I was doing debate at the same time. I would do rehearsal, and then the next day go out to St. Paul’s or something and get on a bus with Mr. [Curtis] Robison. The whole time we’d be in theater, Simone was killing it. If y’all haven’t seen Simone act, she is phenomenal. And I thought, “She has amazing energy.” And Mr. Robison said to me one day, “Do you know this

Aidan in his Harman Hall prefect room, January 2020

Tom surrounded by his castmates in The Old Man and the Old Moon, February 2019

loomischaffee.org

Sophie at Camp Becket for Sophomore Retreat, September 2018 Victoria and two pals, one with feathers, at the Scanlan Center Grand Opening, October 2018

girl Simone? I think she would be really good at debate.” And immediately I said, “Yes, yes, she would be.” And then we started poaching her, got her to sign up for a tournament. SIMONE: Every day after rehearsal, he’d say, “So have you been thinking about debate?” And I was like, “Actually, I don’t know my lines, so I haven’t been thinking about debate at all.” AIDAN: Seeing how good Simone was at theater — I went to a theater school for middle school, so I knew those skills were transferable — and then actually seeing her debate, I feel like she started out amazingly just from presentation. She had some of the best presentations I had ever seen. And then as time went on and she started learning the ins and outs, Simone’s knowledge base and ability to connect topics blew my mind. We would debate things like robots and emotions and whether or not you can be friends with a robot. And she would bring things that I’d never even thought of into the issue, and it was just so good. I knew Simone was a good presenter, and then she just unearthed this whole world of connection and argumentation that I thought was huge. VICTORIA: Aidan and I have known each other since freshman year from debate, and we were debate partners a couple of times. Our sophomore year we both joined Model U.N. It was a rocky start for Aidan because Aidan was not used to not winning awards after going to a tournament. SIMONE: Aidan was like, “We have to stay for awards.” And I said, “Aidan, why?” and he said, “Because I’m going to win an award.” But you always did

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Simone, painting a social justice mural in Windsor, October 2020

though! So I was always like, “OK, I guess we’ll wait. We’ll wait the extra hour for Aidan.” SOPHIE: I think I might have a story about a different side of Aidan. At the end of our freshman year, Aidan and I were both selected to be e-proctors [environmental proctors] for the upcoming year. And Aidan and I had a good time throughout our sophomore year as e-proctors together. Then [at the end of sophomore year] he took a step back from being an e-proctor, and I was very surprised by that because he was just so good. He was so good at everything. Like everyone else said, this kid’s a genius, he’s involved in everything. But I remember thinking that was the most impressed I’ve ever been by something that you did because you were making a choice to prioritize other things. I think that sometimes at Loomis we get so caught up in doing everything, and I was so impressed by your ability to take a step back and take stock of what was important to you and realize when you might’ve been spread a little bit thin and just saying, “Yes, I am passionate about the environment, but there are other ways I want to use my precious resource of time.” And I was very impressed again by that humility. AIDAN: I appreciate that. BECKY: [To Tom] Earlier you mentioned the Black Lives Matter movement. TOM: That’s right. BECKY: How did you get involved in that?

TOM: It was the summer, and I was stuck in the living room of my sister in New York City, and we couldn’t get out. It was just really boring every single day. I was talking to my friend Andy [Cao], with whom I started Renaissance Ensemble. We just wanted to do something with music originally. We didn’t plan to raise money for organizations or that sort of thing. We just wanted to collaborate on something musically. And then I was watching the news and became more conscious of the issues that students were talking about on social media. I was having discussions with a lot of students from a bunch of schools that I met from the two debate tournaments that I did. And everybody had this passion from the movement. And I said, “Why don’t we do something together? If we all love arts, if we all are so passionate about this cause, let’s start something. Let’s make a project, let’s make a concert that’s going to contribute what we can to the movement.” Everybody was on board to do it, and we just made it happen very spontaneously.

from this virus, no one could just get the free pass. It was hitting everyone, and that was the scariest thing. It really made me come back stronger, even more motivated, and definitely trying to be more purposeful about the interactions in each sector of leadership. SOPHIE: I would agree with that. The thing that definitely motivated my leadership choices was a wish to enact change outward and kind of destroy this myth about being an Island and make sure that I am giving back to my community or I am making the community better in a way that can’t be just observed by the 1,500 people who are on campus and associated closely with Loomis, but can be observed by our greater community. That’s one of the things that really drove me to be an environmental proctor and be involved with Climate Action at Loomis. I felt like everything that we were doing made a tangible change. And that was one of the things I really gravitated towards, trying to implement things I could see. We implemented a compost monitoring system this year so that we’re composting most of our food waste on campus. And that’s created a ton of change. When I look back on my four years here, I can definitely look back fondly on some things, some policies that will hopefully be carried out past my tenure at Loomis.

SIMONE: Yeah, BLM really pushed me to go even harder this year with PRISM and Sister Circle [an affinity group for students identifying as Black and female], and even in the dorm as an RA, just making students more aware about what’s going on in and around the community. I think it’s easy for us to be so hell-bent on this island myth and always focus on what’s “in the Loop” and things going on on campus, what we’re individually doing, what we’re passionate about. But I think BLM forced everyone to look outward. And if it wasn’t BLM, you were looking at something else that was going on. You were looking at the inequities of this pandemic and how it’s plaguing socioeconomic status, how it’s plaguing different races, how it’s plaguing different religions. And I think the pandemic forced us to look outward. For me, it definitely made me come back to campus and be extremely intentional about everything that I did in regards to leadership. So with PRISM, I was making sure that at each meeting, we were having new faces and new people come in so that they could be the next PRISM presidents or, even if they didn’t want to take leadership, so that they could continue to bring more people in so that we could have more people aware. As a class officer, I was meeting new seniors and saying, “Hey, while these kids may know me, I don’t know them, so I need to reach out to them.” Because one thing that the pandemic taught me is [that] tomorrow is not promised and COVID had no favorites. No one’s free

VICTORIA: On The Log, we are tasked with reporting on events at the school, and we have limited ourselves to exactly that, to reporting what’s going on on this campus. And I think sometimes we take comfort in the fact that we’re isolated on the Island. But I would agree that this year, a lot of the events, including the presidential election and then the pandemic, sort of forced us to extend our vision. In the fall we decided to run [an] issue with, instead of the traditional features, news, sports, we had a COVID part and a presidential election part. It was something that hadn’t been done in the past several years at Loomis, but the other editor-in-chief and I thought that it was necessary because we are living in a time like this. And this spring in the aftermath of the shooting in Atlanta, along with several other Asian students, we openly voiced our discontent with the way the school deals with its Asian, AAPI population. I felt like this has been building up throughout the course of my four years here. I have always had complaints about the way the school responds to and treats its Asian students and the Asian families, the Asian alumni, but for me personally and a lot of my friends, it took us four years, until our senior spring, to be able to say that to the administration directly. Looking back on it now, I wish that someone or we would have done that earlier on, but at least we are starting this trend. I won’t be here to see what the school does in the future with the DEI and with all the plans that they have, but I feel like at least I was able to start this. You don’t have to feel like it’s you being too sensitive when you think there is something that needs to be changed. My experience with debate and Model U.N. also allowed me to become a person who can articulate my feelings to Dr. Culbert directly. SOPHIE: I would definitely agree with that. [Through] what you learn over your four years at

Sophie and friends on Ice Cream Truck Day on Grubbs Quad, April 2021

loomischaffee.org

Loomis and most of your growth in leadership, you are realizing that Loomis isn’t a perfect place. Loomis is an amazing school, and I love it in so many ways, but because I love it, I’m able to pick out its flaws and identify things that I think that we can make better. I have aspirations for a better Loomis in the future, and I think that is something that comes with the four years of experience. You gain a confidence and an ability to demand better and demand change. AIDAN: It’s almost like a Loomis education teaches you how to maneuver your way through Loomis. SOPHIE: 100 percent. AIDAN: I just really applaud my compatriots in this room, because as we were talking earlier, one of the things that really dawned on me was this idea that we have made a giant movement in the past few years to focus on outside issues. And I feel like that’s in large part due to these individuals — Simone making sure that PRISM is a more open space or Sophie, when you were organizing the climate marches on the Hartford capital. Those are really big things in which we take the resources we have and apply them to the community. And Victoria, publishing that issue, you’re directly saying, “These are things that we talk about in our

classes, but here’s directly how they’re affecting us.” These are all instances in which we take this inward bent and we kind of remove the limitations, right? And that has really been important over the past few years. BECKY: Well said. What have been some of the frustrations or challenges of being a leader here? SIMONE: I wrote about this in my college essay. It’s about the self-imposed expectations of being a leader, just in general but also on this campus. Being one of the only Black student leaders on this campus is also hard because the limitations and the expectations are exacerbated. So I constantly feel the need to take on a lot, and what I take on I do for my community. I feel like I have to speak up for the people in my community who don’t have the ability to articulately stake their claim, who don’t have that background in theater, who don’t have that confidence from the stage or have the articulation from debate. And I feel like it is my duty oftentimes to take on some of these issues. While there may not be instant changes, [school administrators] do want to hear what’s going on. I think that’s coupled with the self-imposed expectations that I have, which is the need to be perfect. When I walk out of my dorm room, it is leader Simone each and every day. And sometimes that mask that I put on, definitely my freshman and sophomore years, kind of prohibited others from seeing the real me. It’s OK to be vulnerable. It’s OK to cry in front of other people. It’s OK to tell people, “Nah, I’m not OK today. I’m very angry. I’m very frustrated with the system. I’m very frustrated with what’s going on, and I can’t fully devote my time to this, and I would like some help with that.” It took me three years [to develop] the ability to ask for help. I thought that it was my duty to take on everything that I had been elected into. If they voted me in, I’m going to do it, and I’m going to do it wholeheartedly. And that might be sacrificing my sleep, maybe sacrificing time with my friends, it may even be sacrificing my own emotions just so that people can see that student leadership on this campus is the epitome of perfection. And I had to disband all of that this year when going through the college process, and the pandemic really shook me. I’m happy that I was able to learn that lesson here and I didn’t have to leave Loomis thinking that as a leader, you can’t ask for help because it is your job to do it yourself. AIDAN: The leadership challenges on campus are a contradiction almost. Because, as Simone said, you feel pressured to say “yes” to everything and to engage in everything that you can, to the extent that if a dorm head or a dean or even your teacher

Sophie and fellow environmentalist Jason Liu ’17 at the Solar Energy Field dedication, October 2019

Simone with her friend and classmate Kennedy Anderson in front of Ammidon Hall, May 2021

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Aidan, floating along with pals Alejandro Rincón and Jake Lotreck during their Sophomore Retreat, September 2018 says, “I thought of you for this. Would you be interested?,” you automatically say “yes” without thinking about the time commitment. But at the same time there’s this narrative that I personally drew up. I was convincing people that I had no failings and that I would never fail, [but] in a lot of situations I was like, “Dang, I just got a D on that Calc quiz.” It was that kind of disparity for me. Also I had the issue of, specifically in junior year, I had a B+ in a class, and I let that get to me — it was Calculus — I let that get to me so hard that I passed out in the middle of the dorm and had to be taken to the Health Center because of the stress that I had put on myself. And I realized the cause of that wasn’t necessarily that I was so upset by the B+, but it was more that I had everyone around me asking, “Are you OK? You’re doing so much. You’re taking such hard classes. You must be overwhelmed. Please lean on us. Please do x, y, and z.” And that’s really helpful because once you learn how to do that, that fixes everything. But at that time, I was perceiving it to be “He can’t do this. He’s going to fall eventually.” So I kept on doubting myself and doubting my ability to do everything. I reached a point where I needed to stop stressing about it. I was like, “Everyone’s going to wonder about whether or not I can do something, and what I need to do for myself is just do all of the things I want to do. If that leads me to fail, I’ll find out after I fail, and I’ll recalibrate for the future.”

the people I looked up to most were these seniors like my captains on the swim team who I saw as these perfect goddesses. They could do no wrong. And I went through the past four years trying to be them. Obviously they were real people with faults too, but I had this narrative in my mind, like what you were saying, Aidan, where this perfect leader has no vulnerabilities. What I’ve been trying to do — and the pandemic gave me a lot of time to reflect on this — is reflect on what I’m vulnerable about and realize that vulnerability makes a good leader. Being able to be vulnerable with a freshman when you’re a senior and open up about something that stresses you out, that gives them the freedom to realize that being vulnerable is OK and that realizing that you’ve taken on too much is OK. We read speeches at the end of the swim season, and the story I chose to share was the time that I had a panic attack and I failed. And I hope that at least sent the message that it’s OK to fail. That experience taught me more than any one of my victories has. Coping with that and realizing that you can still be a leader and still be a good person with failure is the hardest part about being a leader and something that I am still trying to succeed in. VICTORIA: For me, it’s a little different. In two of the three activities I lead, I am in charge of selecting leaders for the upcoming year. And the two of them also happen to be sort of politically oriented. When I was doing the selection with the other leaders and our faculty advisor, I really struggled to separate

SOPHIE: I would definitely agree with that notion. When I was a freshman,

loomischaffee.org

Simone and friends on Sophomore Retreat, September 2018

my personal opinions, my personal biases from making professional decisions. Well, first of all, [I had to] recognize that I have biases against certain groups of people because of our difference in political views. But also [I needed to] consider, does their difference impact their ability to lead the group for next year? And if that does, then to what extent is that my bias? These organizations represent Loomis students, and the majority of our student body leans a certain way. Making those decisions was really hard for me because it’s never been my responsibility to decide other people’s fate in that way. Another thing is that the four years that I’ve been here have been four years of very, very turbulent relations between the U.S. and China, and I spent a lot of time trying to renavigate my own identity. As we’ve seen also with the pandemic, the tension used to be just on a political level, but now it’s immersed in the personal level too. A lot of Asian people have felt more pressure or attacks. And [I’m] trying to define who I am and who I want to be. Particularly as a leader it’s hard to do. If you’re just a participant in the group, you can spend all the time you want trying to figure that out, but as a leader I have to be there to teach younger kids, and if the debate topic is about trade war with China, I have to try to separate my own thoughts and my own identity from the training that I have to do. That process has continued for four years, and it’s escalated in the past year because of COVID. The process is still not over for me personally. I feel like I’m still not at an answer that I’m comfortable with. I’m still searching for who I want to be and who I can be in the current environment and being in the U.S. as a Chinese person. As a leader, that has forced me to try and separate my personal identity from my professional identity, especially if I’m with younger people in my group. That process is one that I’ve never been through before but one that I think will continue throughout college. BECKY: I want to ask Tom, as we are talking about vulnerability, what has your experience been like on the all-gender floor? I don’t mean specifically for you but for the people you’re supposed to lead. How do you parse that? TOM: On the vulnerability part of alternate housing, I don’t know, I don’t really have any experiences where I had to have a very vulnerable conversation with a floormate. This year has been especially worrying before we got into school, me and Olivia [Zoga], the other RA in the house, we were planning to have a few conversation panels throughout the term and share some things about our identity and just get closer as a group. But none of that actually happened. A lot of that is because we were only here [on campus] for a short amount of time, and people are busy, and with the masks it’s just awkward to talk on the floor. But I feel like vulnerability for me personally has been something I’ve been struggling with. In fact, I wrote about that for my college essay. It’s something I’ve been struggling with my family about, in fact. I never had a good relationship with my mom and my dad because, just sort of the way I grew up with them, and we were never really in an environment to joke with each other, to have a stupid but fun time together. And we would never really say happy birthday or exchange gifts with each other. I wrote about how in theater, one of the activities we did is just being more vulnerable. And at first I didn’t know what that meant, to be more vulnerable. I was trying to cry, I was trying to be someone who is desperate, who is extremely confused and, in my opinion, vulnerability meant that you were defenseless, you were helpless. But the feedback that I got from that activity is that I didn’t look vulnerable, I just looked like someone who was trying to look sad. That’s being defensive and it’s not being vulnerable. When I tried to really be myself, when I tried to be the

Victoria, enjoying a fall day outside Loomis Hall, October 2018 56

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

defensive guy, to argue back, that made me look vulnerable because I was trying to be, in a sense, real to who I am. Because, you know, in the real world, when you criticize someone, if that person starts looking defenseless and tries to be vulnerable with you, you would actually think that this person is not vulnerable because he is strong enough to show you his real emotions. But in real life we don’t do that. Facing criticism, we give criticism back, and we argue why they are wrong. Theater gives you the chance to realize that that is the reality of the world and how we deal with those sort of relationships. That was sort of a valuable thing that I learned from that exercise.

to change my current condition. Not that I lived in squalor or anything like that, but just growing up the way that I did, I was always told that something was missing in some aspect, and I was trying to find that. Because of that, coming in I had two thoughts: One, “I need to use this to its entirety because if I don’t, I am not taking advantage of the opportunity that I’ve been given, and I’m not sure if I’m going to get another one.” But also I was a bit of a bratty little [kid]. I was like, “Yeah, I got in here, and I did so without all of the advantages of everyone else in my class.” I was really cocky. It was not a good look. The combination of “I need to use this opportunity” and “I think I can,” whether or not that confidence came from a good place, it definitely helped carry me and ended up evolving into something healthy and good in the end. Also, specifically, Sophie, we were in the same history class, and my mom is a history teacher. If I did not do well in history, I would’ve been killed, like murdered.

BECKY: What questions do you have for each other about leadership? What are your burning questions that you’ve always wanted to know? SOPHIE: For Aidan and Simone, I was in two of my freshman year classes with you guys, so you were part of the first group of students that I knew. And I remember coming as a freshman, very overwhelmed and very scared. And I really felt like a freshman. I felt like I was at the bottom of the food chain. But in both Bio and World History, you both had so much confidence and were able to speak with such authority. It seemed like you had figured yourselves out. And talking to you now, obviously you hadn’t, but I was wondering how you formed that confidence freshman year and how that confidence has changed as you’re now a senior?

BECKY: Do you have any other questions for each other? AIDAN: I guess I have one question for Tom. We met during the summer program, and I remember you being such a smiley, nice guy, as you still are today. My impression of you in general has evolved over time, but that initial impression of being smiley and really nice, not having it out for anyone, is something that’s really stuck with me. I’ve always wondered, and this might be a weird question to ask, but is that genuine? You are always a very positive person and I’ve always loved that about you, but I understand that in many situations that can be manufactured because it can be hard to be like that.

SIMONE: I think my confidence is definitely rooted in my upbringing. I was raised by my two parents and my three siblings, and I’m the youngest. So just the discipline that my parents always ingrained in us. You know, “It’s necessary that you do your work on time before you go to sleep. Before you eat, this is what we’re going to do. When you speak, you’re going to hold your head high, and you’re going to act like you know what you’re talking about even though you may not know what you’re talking about. And you’re going to say your name with pride because you are Moales-made.” Different things like that were deeply ingrained in me when I came to Loomis, so I knew that while I may not know everything about bio, I’m going to act like I know everything about bio because it’s going to make me feel better. And when I feel better, I’m going to be able to learn much better. My parents always instilled in me, “You matter to me, and because you matter to me, I know that you’re going to do well wherever you go.” Freshman year, I came in thinking, “What can I lose? I’m a freshman. Just try it all. What’s the worst thing that could happen? I get laughed at? They’re already laughing at me; I’m a freshman. You think you have it all together, and you don’t, and that’s already funny, so just keep going.” And then also Loomis’ advertisement about, “Try new things! Try new things!” That was my year where I really went out and tried new things. Looking back now, I was in soccer, softball, the musical, and I have not done those three things again after that year. So definitely trying those things, while I was not amazing at the sports aspect, just doing theater and knowing that I could find a home in one of the three things that I tried gave me the confidence and that push to continue trying other things and also build the foundation of things I knew I liked, which was public speaking, being on stage, being able to interact with other people about politics, about social issues.

TOM: You saw through me. AIDAN: Well no, I wonder, have you ever felt slotted into this positive personality? TOM: During the summer program I was just clueless about things. I didn’t know what was going on, so I tried to be nice to people so they’d help me out a little. And I don’t think I manufacture it on a daily basis and just try to be happy and smiley. But thank you for mentioning it. Yes, there are times when I struggle and I do still try to put on a positive outlook. I thrive on having interactions with people. If you’re having a good day and if you have a good conversation with me, then if there is something that I’m struggling with, I can still share that good moment with you, and that brightens my day a little bit. That is sort of my philosophy: Why would you ever want to be mean to someone? Why wouldn’t you want to have a positive outlook? I think that has helped me a lot of times. BECKY: Last question: What advice would you give to a freshman coming in who wants to be a leader, who doesn’t think they have the skills? AIDAN: Just apply! If you are looking for specifically leadership, there are so many positions, just apply to all of them and cull them if you get too many. If you want to be a leader, even if you don’t feel qualified, if you’ve got the passion for the position, just do it! VICTORIA: I would say, as a freshman just coming to Loomis, you shouldn’t tell yourself, “I want to be a leader,” but instead ask yourself, “What am I passionate about?” You can be a leader in something you don’t even like, but that’s not going to be a good experience. In fact, that’s going to be a very tiring experience. I agree with Aidan. You should just apply, but in your freshman year, try things and by the end of the year consider what you really like out of the things

AIDAN: I would say I came into Loomis with quite a chip on my shoulder. And I feel like that served me in two ways. I’m a student who’s on a significant amount of financial aid, and I grew up with a single mom, don’t really know my dad, and some other complications. I always viewed Loomis as an opportunity

loomischaffee.org

that you tried. Gaining the skills of how to do better, how to be a leader, is what Loomis is here for. Your teachers are here to help you become better, but passion is something that has to come from within you. None of us knew we were going to be leading these groups when we were freshmen. You can’t really predict what’s going to happen four years from when you were a freshman. But what you can do is try things and try to figure out what you truly like to do. Finding the passion is your job, whereas if you’re worried about not being good enough for something you like, then that’s Loomis’ job. You can seek out help in that way. SIMONE: To add onto that, you have to trust the process. We can all look back at our freshman year and say that we did not do all the same activities and take the same types of classes and hang with the same people as we do right now. It takes a lot of patience to trust the process. If you come in and you think, “I want to be a leader,” rephrase that: “I want to be the best version of myself.” And the best version of yourself is someone who’s willing to seek out those passions. You’re not always going to find it the first week. You’re not going to find it the first term. It’ll probably be the end of the year when you realize, “I really like that. I really like going to those club meetings. And I really like this person, and she’s highly involved in this, so she’s going to be my mentor. I’m going to work towards this leadership.” For me, I found that in Chelsea Offiaeli [’18], who was a PRISM president. She also led Sister Circle. I was like, “I really admire Chels. She’s super humble with everything that she does. She’s hard working. She’s personable. And it looks like she has it all together, but I’ve been able to see her vulnerable moments.” You really need to find those people, trust the process, and be patient with yourself while you’re doing all of that. SOPHIE: I would definitely agree with that. Two phrases that are probably every place that you can look on the Loomis website are “best self and the common good.” I think all freshmen take those two phrases for granted. It’s so ingrained in you that you don’t take a lot of time to think about it. But as I think about my journey through the past four years, what’s guided it has been a search for my best self while working toward the common good. To sum it up, it’s what’s going to make you the happiest and what’s going to help other people. How do you want to contribute to the common good? That’s the advice I would give. Evaluate who you are, which is obviously a super hard thing to do, but I think that you can serve the common good by trying to find your best self and that comes by following your passion. TOM: Bringing back the notion we talked about earlier about having too much on your plate, I was a tour guide and a prefect junior year, and I had exactly a half block free every week. Originally I enjoyed it, but getting into winter term it was just too much and I had to drop something. Then I started looking up to people like Mark Valadez [’19], who wasn’t doing that much leadership besides debate and tech in the NEO, but he did every single job so well. And Ben Laidlaw [’19], who was just an RA in Flagg. He made sure he had a presence in the dorm and opened his doors for people to talk. Find something that you really enjoy doing, and do it really well. And leadership is not necessarily a position that you apply for. Just being someone who contributes in class, being a source of inspiration to your classmates in your projects and your presentations, I think that’s leadership. BECKY: Thank you all so much!

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Tom, contributing to an "End Racism" mural in Windsor center, October 2020

Aidan, enjoying snowcones on Grubbs Quadrangle with senior classmates, April 2021

loomischaffee.org

Jeff Scanlon TURNING THE PAGE ON A LOOMIS CHAFFEE ERA By Becky Purdy | Photographs by Cassandra Hamer

L Back when Jeff was a Loomis student, he wouldn’t have predicted that teaching English would be the centerpiece to his future career.

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

ong before he shared his love of literature and language with classrooms of teenagers, long before he called plays from the coaches’ box of a hockey rink, long before he built community among a dorm full of boys, and long before he was a Loomis Chaffee alumnus, Jeffrey Scanlon ’79 was a little boy from Windsor who played peewee hockey. His dad coached the team, and the boys practiced at the Savage/Johnson Rink. Jeff knew there was a school beyond the rink parking lot, but that was about all he knew about Loomis at the time. One Saturday morning when he was about 8 years old, the team had an early-morning practice at the rink, and Jeff ’s teammate Bobby Howe invited him to spend the day at his house after practice. Jeff ’s dad said OK, and since the Howes lived on the Loomis campus, Jeff walked home with Bobby. Their first stop was the dining hall, where Jeff gaped at the mounds of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and even Cap’n Crunch and at the seemingly limitless supply of orange juice in self-serve dispensers. After the two boys ate their fill and cleared their trays, they walked the few steps to what was then Mason Hall, the dorm where Bobby, his three siblings, and their parents, faculty

members Glover Howe ’48 and Jane Mackay Howe ’49, lived in the dorm head apartment. (Years later, the dorm was renamed Howe Hall in honor of Glover and Jane.) Saturday morning cartoons were followed by an expedition to Shimkus Gymnasium, which was locked. Bobby and his fac brat friends knew how to get in, though, and they played indoor kickball to their hearts’ content. Later that day, they returned to the rink. The varsity hockey team had an away game, so the ice was open — an 8-year-old hockey player’s dream, or at least the dreamcome-true of 8-year-old Jeff Scanlon and his future Pelican hockey linemate Bob Howe ’80. They skated for hours until it was time for Jeff to go home. “I had the greatest day of my life,” Jeff recalls. “I came home, and I said to my parents, ‘I’m going to Loomis.’” More than 50 years later, Jeff is looking back not just on a boyhood connection to and high school education on the Island, but also on a storied career as a Loomis Chaffee English teacher, department head, dorm head, coach, advisor, and Summer Program director, among other roles during his 35 years on the Loomis faculty. He and his wife, Vicky, administrative assistant to the Athletics Department, both retired from Loomis this summer and moved

full-time to their home on Cape Cod. Teaching English was Jeff ’s calling. He delighted in sharing with students his fascination with language and great writing and helping them to develop their own literary and analytical voices. His favorite courses were College-Level Senior Seminar in Literature and Sophomore Writing Workshop. Both courses have reputations as simultaneously difficult and valuable. Jeff ’s reputation as a teacher might be described similarly: tough but fair. Students feared being in Jeff ’s class, yet they wanted to be there, says Associate Head of School Webster Trenchard, who also teaches English. Known for his long comments on student papers, Jeff tried to convey to students that he was on their side even as he held them to a high standard. “I always tried to put the kids first and listen to them and cheer for them when they succeeded and hold them accountable. If they didn't put in enough effort, I called them out on that, I hope as an inspirational thing,” he says. Many of his former students describe him as a mentor in the classroom, a teacher whose praise they savored and whose critiques they heeded humbly. An A+ on a “Scando” paper was a prized possession among his students.

Back when Jeff was a Loomis student, he wouldn’t have predicted that teaching English would be the centerpiece to his future career. He was a good student, but not a great one, in his estimation. “I was more of a grinder than a natural,” he says. Jeff ’s parents helped instill in him the value of hard work. His family was middle class, he notes, and when he told his parents he wanted to attend Loomis, they supported him but said he would need to contribute. He worked in the local tobacco fields during the summers of all four of his years at Loomis. Jeff believes his strengths and weaknesses as a student later helped him to be an effective teacher. He connected with students who worked hard, whether or not they had a deep well of talent. After Loomis, Jeff attended Middlebury College, where he majored in psychology and sociology and had a concentration in Spanish. He also played varsity ice hockey and lacrosse for Middlebury. Upon graduating from Middlebury, he looked for jobs at independent schools. The faculty and coaches at Loomis had made their jobs look like fun, he says, and the boarding school lifestyle appealed to him. The Gunnery School in Washington, Connecticut, hired

him to head coach the varsity boys hockey team and work as an intern. During his three years at Gunnery, the hockey team improved from weak to very good — the team made the New England playoffs in his third year as head coach — and Jeff became increasingly interested in teaching. He began working toward a master’s degree in U.S. history at Trinity College and completed all of the course work, but he never wrote the thesis required for the degree, in part because he discovered an ardent new interest in one of the last courses he took in the program. The course was Literature of the 1920s, and it blew him away, igniting an excitement for literature in general and for F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, John Dos Passos, and other great writers of that era in particular. When Jeff and Vicky married — he proposed on Valentine’s Day in 1986 and they married six months later — the couple settled in Windsor, where both had grown up. Vicky worked in management at Traveler’s Insurance in Hartford, too far to commute from Washington, Connecticut, and Jeff was hired for a new position in the Loomis Chaffee Alumni/ Development Office as director of the Annual Fund. He and Vicky moved into Warham Hall, and in addition to his Annual Fund and dorm loomischaffee.org

1979

In his senior year at Loomis Chaffee. Photo: Loomiscellany

2015

Teaching a seminar in his Hubbard Hall classroom. Photo: John Groo

2020

Leading a class remotely over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

work, Jeff coached his old Pelican hockey team alongside head coach James “Grim” Wilson, who had been Jeff ’s coach. It soon became clear to Jeff that he wanted to work with students full time, and he kept thinking about the 1920s literature course that had inspired him. Three years into his tenure at Loomis, a teaching job opened in the English Department. Jeff applied, then-department head Samuel “Stevie” Stevenson hired him, and Jeff taught in the department for the next 30plus years. Along the way, Jeff earned a master’s degree in English through the five-summer program at Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English, and he served as head of the English Department for 11 years in the early 2000s. He also served as dorm head of Batchelder Hall for nine years then Taylor Hall for seven years, and in addition to hockey, he coached varsity boys lacrosse, again as an assistant coach with Grim. During the fall, Jeff spent his afternoons interviewing prospective students for the Admission Office. In 2011, Head of School Sheila Culbert asked Jeff to create a summer program on the Island. The school had operated and hosted summer schools in the past, but the program that Jeff envisioned, launched, and directed had a different spin, inviting students to pursue topics in depth and with little assessment, sparking their curiosity and inspiration with creative course offerings and outdoor-oriented fun. Since opening in the summer of 2012, the Loomis Chaffee Summer Program has grown and thrived. Jeff returned to full-time teaching in 2015 and handed the reins of the Summer Program to its current director, James O’Donnell. Jeff was a classic “triple-threat” boarding school faculty member — talented and devoted to teaching, coaching, and the dorm in equal measure. Meanwhile, Vicky and Jeff built a family life on campus, raising daughters Mia ’14 and Ana ’16 and maintaining deep local ties. Vicky’s and Jeff ’s parents and several of their siblings and families stayed in the area, and the family is close-knit. (Although they are retiring to Cape Cod, Vicky and Jeff still will have family nearby as Jeff ’s sisters both have homes within a few miles.) During an event honoring Jeff this spring, Webb Trenchard offered a few playful jabs, describing Jeff as “the Prince of Windsor” and noting Jeff ’s “neat and trim sartorial choices,” complete with spectacles, bow ties, carefully pressed shirts, and, for many years, a mustache that made him look like “a combination of the Marlboro Man, Ron Burgundy, Alex Trebek, and Mark Twain.” Webb also spoke emotionally of Jeff ’s wise personal counsel and bedrock support. And he summed up Jeff ’s stature as a teacher: “Just as he gave greatly to our students, he demanded much of them.” On a personal level, colleagues and students describe Jeff as a great listener. Students also sensed that Jeff took a keen interest in them, and he acknowledges that he always wanted to make sure students, especially the hard-working underdogs, felt important and appreciated. Director of Studies Timothy Lawrence, one of Jeff ’s close friends, summed up this quality and its effect on others: “When each of us sits down with Jeff, we have his entire attention and feel valued.”

Jeff was a classic “triple-threat” boarding school faculty member — talented and devoted to teaching, coaching, and the dorm in equal measure.

loomischaffee.org

O bject Le sson

The Artist in the Act of Taking the View By Karen Parsons

Loomis Chaffee History Teacher & School Archivist In early July 1863, Osbert Loomis traveled to northern New England. Like many other traveler artists of the 19th century, he intended to capture broad vistas of the White Mountains and to record details of the distinctive regional flora, rural roads, houses, barnyards, and village scenes. During the next three months, Loomis produced more than six dozen pencil sketches. His primary goal — to gather visual material for future paintings — made this a business trip. Notations written on these drawings provide a further look into where he went, what he saw, and whom he met. Seamlessly melding his dual passions of making art and wayfaring in the countryside, Loomis left behind a nascent travel blog, an invitation to journey alongside him during an era of flourishing tourism in these northern mountains. The entire trip, as well his 1857 excursion there, depended on local economies of transportation, published and in-person guides, hotels, and purveyors of supplies for artists’ and travelers’ needs. Loomis most probably rode north through the Connecticut River Valley on cars of five different local railroads before changing to a stagecoach taking him to Center Harbor, New Hampshire. From there, he headed into the mountains, spending about two months in and around North Conway, Jefferson, and Franconia, most likely traveling on foot and by coach or wagon. On September 13, Loomis was in Danville, Vermont, drawing views of the Green Mountains and beginning his return home. Notations made on sketches throughout the trip identify rivers, roads, hotels, and private homes. On a day he described as “too cloudy to see the dirt,” Loomis bought a pocket compass for 25 cents from George F. Wade on top of Red Hill, New Hampshire. He recorded when he viewed distant sights through his telescope and hints at what happened when he hoped to sketch from the center of Canaan Lake, writing “Frank Buck Jones son tried to get oars for the boat.”

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Osbert’s drawings feature attractions promoted by popular tourism guidebooks. He sketched the Emerald Pool; the “Profile,” also known as the Old Man in the Mountain; and the look-alike Imp Face outcropping near Mount Washington. He sketched from Artist Hill and made drawings of Artists Falls, Artists Brook, White Horse Ledge, Camels Hump in Vermont, and various perspectives on broad swaths and individual mountains of the Presidential Range. In the language of superlatives common in these guidebooks, Loomis noted the “largest boulder in New Hampshire,” the “highest point of Red Hill place where visitors ascend,” and a “sky perfectly clear of rich warm & beautiful color.” His paintings, “The Source of the Ammonoosuc” and “Artists Brook,” both dated 1864, draw from sketches made during these trips. One presents the spontaneous beauty in the gentle splash of a stream set against foreboding mountains. The other depicts a gathering of well-dressed elite tourists with their parasols in a forest opening, an accurate recording of one impact that tourism had on the region. The surviving fragment of a third painting shows the Waumbek House in 1863. This Jefferson, New Hampshire, hotel expanded soon after to accommodate the ever-increasing waves of visitors to the region. Each painting depicts characteristics that enticed tourists to the White Mountains. A different sketch placed Osbert in this historical landscape, working at an easel in an open-sided, covered horse-drawn wagon with the caption, “July 27, 1863 Mt. Washington with Deacon Droly, the monitor and the Artist in the act of taking the view.” One year later, Loomis inked parts of the pencil sketch, thickening some of the lines of his drawn landscape and adding a new date, perhaps to show to patrons or for exhibition. That intimate glimpse into his work remained a sketch, one entry of many from his sojourn in the mountains.

O bject Le sson

“The Source of the Ammonoosuc” by Osbert Loomis, 1864 Image: Loomis Chaffee Archives loomischaffee.org loomischaffee.org

Photo: Jessica Photo: JessicaRavenelle Ravenelle

De v e l opme n t Ne w s

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Pay It Forward

“One of the more intriguing aspects of celebrating a Loomis Chaffee class reunion virtually (as opposed to in person) is the fact that a virtual celebration can continue for several weeks rather than being squeezed into a single weekend visit to the campus. Having just observed my virtual 50th and having been modestly involved in some of the preparations leading up to our class celebrations, I’ve had numerous recent occasions to look back on my LC experiences and ask myself why my four years at the school continue to be so important to me. “My career at Loomis wasn’t especially noteworthy, and yet I loved each of the four years that I spent on the Island. I’ve continued to feel that way for the past five decades. As I began thinking about the role that the school played in my life, I found myself focusing on my accomplishments outside the classroom and away from the athletic fields since I wasn’t particularly outstanding in either locale. By contrast, the two independent study projects that I pursued during the spring terms of my junior and senior years were fundamental to my future endeavors. “I know my Loomis Chaffee education taught me the difference between learning and thinking, how each begets the other, and how essential it is to be able to do both well. Loomis also introduced me to levels of social, economic, cultural, and religious diversity to which I had not been previously exposed during eight years of elementary education split between a pair of fairly small private schools. Most significantly, my Loomis Chaffee education allowed me to develop as an individual. I never earned a varsity letter, and I didn’t receive a prize at Commencement, but I graduated as a young adult who was not only prepared for college, but who had developed the core interests and values that would define my life for at least the next half century. “It should come as no surprise that I have included Loomis Chaffee in my estate plans for at least the past 30 years. I am delighted to be able to help the school provide similar opportunities to generations of future students as it did so well for me. It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to ‘pay it back’ and ‘pay it forward’ at the same time.” — Bill Pike ’71

Join The John Metcalf Taylor Society For more information about planned gifts and the John Metcalf Taylor Society, please contact Associate Director of Development Heidi E.V. McCann ’93, P’23 at 860.687.6273 or heidi_mccann@loomis.org.

Bill Pike ’71

www.loomischaffee.giftplans.org

loomischaffee.org

De v el opment Ne w s

LC COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER TO RAISE MORE THAN $4.6 Million

Thanks to the generous support of the Loomis Chaffee community, the school raised a record-breaking $4,636,361 for the 2020–21 Annual Fund. We are grateful for the collective generosity of our alumni, parents, grandparents, parents of alumni, and friends who believe in the mission of our school and the strength of a Loomis Chaffee education. Gifts to the Annual Fund provide almost 10 percent of the school’s operating budget, enabling us to fulfill a wide range of needs and to provide our students with a truly transformative educational experience. On behalf of the entire school community,

T hank You!

JOIN LC Connect

Loomis Chaffee’s alumni engagement platform

LC Connect is an online community and resource for alumni that makes it easier than ever for Pelicans to stay connected to each other and with the school. LC Connect is an opt-in networking platform, powered by Graduway, that enables alumni to: Find and re-engage with fellow alumni through the online directory and groups Expand professional connections through mentorship opportunities and a job board Stay up to date with Loomis Chaffee news and activities through an alumni events board and the school’s social media channels Have on-the-go access through the LC Connect mobile app

Register at www.loomischaffeealumni.org LC Connect replaces Loomis Chaffee's Evertrue app and Career Network, upgrading the alumni experience by providing several resources in one platform.

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

STAY IN TOUCH CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook-square twitter-square linkedin

Page name: Loomis Chaffee Alumni Tweet to and follow @LC_AlumniNet Go to LinkedIn and search for “Loomis Chaffee alumni.”

Loomis Chaffee Class Notes

GO SOCIAL

We have changed our approach to helping you share your news with your classmates. Alumni news notes now appear exclusively on Loomis Chaffee alumni social media accounts, which can be viewed publicly. These include the Loomis Chaffee Class Notes Instagram account and the Loomis Chaffee Alumni Facebook page. Follow us and submit your news today!

@LCCLASSNOTES loomischaffee.org

Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

Obit ua r ies

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

1942

1947

Charles Richard Friedrich, on April 22. A four-year student from Holyoke, Mass., Richard was involved in the Concert Orchestra, Band, Stagehands Union, Glee Club, and Advisory Committee. He served as a manager to the football, baseball, and hockey teams. Richard attended Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania before beginning his career at E.H. Friedrich Company, a business started by his grandfather in Holyoke. An involved member of his community, Richard served as a board member for the Holyoke Family Service Society, a corporator of Vanguard Savings Bank, a member of the Holyoke Hospital Association, and treasurer of his church. His favorite pastimes included photography, working in his garden, attending live concerts, and traveling with his wife, Ellen Bindon Friedrich. In his late 50s, Richard learned how to sail and became a member of the United States Power Squadrons. Preceded in death by his wife, Ellen, and brother, Edmund Friedrich ’37, Bill was survived by his daughters, Susan Jubinville and Nancy Neff, and their spouses; his five grandchildren; and many extended family members. A private ceremony was planned at Curran-O’Brien Funeral Home in South Hadley, Mass.

John B. Little, on May 24, 2020, peacefully at his home in Brookline, Mass. A four-year student from Brookline, Jack was involved in the Radio Club, Darwin Club, Rifle Club, and Debating Club, and he served on the Athletic Council. He was active in soccer, tennis, and track and earned a letter as a basketball manager. After attending college and medical school, Jack started his career as an intern at the Osler Service at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He then served two years as a U.S. Army captain in the Medical Corps in Texas and Bussac, France, where he began his training as a radiologist. After returning to the United States, Jack completed his formal radiology training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass. He went on to pursue a post-doctoral fellowship in physiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, where he found his passion for bench research, which shaped his long career pioneering studies on the mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of ionizing radiation on cells and tissues directly targeted by radiation. Continuing his career at the Harvard School of Public Health, Jack founded the Radiation Biology Program and began the Radiation Biology Training Grant in 1975. He was passionate about scientific discovery, generating more than 500 scientific publications, including several seminal observations that advanced the field of radiobiology. Jack was a past president of the Radiation Research Society and chaired the Board of Radiation Effects Research of the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences, the Science Council of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima, and the Board of Scientific Councilors of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Outside of science, he devoted similar passion to the Brookline Historical Society; the Society of the Cincinnati of New

1945 Frank Charles Infanger, on January 27. A two-year student from Maplewood, N.J., Frank was involved in the Bridge Club and Dining Hall Committee. He was active in football, hockey, and baseball. Frank was survived by his daughter, Joan Infanger Waters ’82. A memorial mass and committal service with military honors was held on February 26 at the Incarnation Catholic Church and Sarasota National Cemetery in Sarasota, Fla.

Hampshire, for which he served as president; and the Harvard Musical Association, for which he also served as president. Jack was a vintage automobile enthusiast and owned several, which he frequently drove to antique car shows, especially his 1931 Packard. He was fascinated by radios and collected many early models. In the very first days of television broadcasting, he built his own TV, which remained functional well into his later years. Jack’s love for French culture, food, and wine developed during his time in the military, where he met his wife, Françoise Cottereau. Jack was survived by his wife, Françoise; his sons, John Jr. and Frédéric, and their spouses; his siblings, Selina and Warren; and his five grandchildren.

1948 John Stewart Wilson, on September 9, 2019, at his home in Silver City, N.M. A two-year student from West Hartford, Conn., John was involved in the Glee Club, Stagehands Union, and Bridge Club and served as a volunteer medical aide. He was active in football and earned a letter in wrestling. John attended Trinity College and earned a medical degree at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He went on to complete his general residency as chief resident at Bellevue Hospital and his surgical residency at Hartford Hospital. Prior to moving to Silver City in 1964, John served in the U.S. Army as captain and surgeon, stationed in La Rochelle, France, and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He enjoyed running, cycling, and mountain climbing, and he was a dedicated bird watcher. Preceded in death by his wife, Imogen Falley, and son Stewart Wilson ’73, John was survived by his son Maclean Wilson; his daughter Vanessa Wilson; and many extended family members. A memorial service was held on September 16, 2019, at Terrazas Funeral Chapels in Santa Clara, N.M.

1949 Beverly Sandbach Heminway, on February 15, peacefully at her home in Middlebury, Conn. A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Beverly earned the First Scholar in Class award and served as class president for all four years. She was involved with the Chaffers and the Library Committee and was active in basketball. Beverly earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Connecticut College in 1953. The following year, she married Andy Heminway and settled in Middlebury, Conn., where they raised their three children. Beverley began working for H&R Block, eventually becoming an enrolled agent for the Internal Revue Service. She later opened her own tax business in Watertown, Conn., and retired in 2011. Beverly enjoyed playing tennis, puzzles of all kinds, relaxing by the pool with her friends, and spending time with her family. She was an avid bridge player who adored dogs, croquet, theater, classical music, and whistling. Preceded in death by her husband, Andy, Beverly was survived by her children, Katherine Heminway, Molly Moseley, and Merrit Heminway, and their spouses; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

1951 George Dealey Edwards Sr., on January 4. A four-year student from Providence, R.I., George was involved in the Chess Club, the Glee Club, the Reportorial Board of The Log, the Loom Board, Le Cercle Français, and Student Council. He was active in baseball and tennis and served as football captain and wrestling captain, for which he earned a letter. After attending Wesleyan College, George served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He received a master’s degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. George served as assistant town manager of Bloomfield, loomischaffee.org

O bi tuar i e s

Conn., and later became the town manager of Granby, Conn. In 1968, he shifted to working for housing development programs in Middletown, Conn., and Albany, N.Y. After returning to Connecticut as an executive director for the Connecticut Housing Investment Fund, George decided to focus on commercial real estate brokerage before finishing his career as the director of the Connecticut State Properties Review Board. In his free time, George enjoyed gardening, playing tennis, sailing, spending time with family and friends, and visiting his favorite summer destination, Westport, Va. He is remembered for his gregarious personality and broad smile, which he freely shared. Preceded in death by his brothers Charles Edwards Jr. ’47 and James S. Edwards ’49 and cousin Knight Edwards ’41, George was survived by Beverly, his wife of 43 years; his children, George Edwards Jr., Anthony Edwards, Marian Pierre-Louis, and Rachel Edwards; his stepdaughter, Roz DesJardins; and his 10 grandchildren. Robert Herrick Trewhella, on May 5, peacefully at his home in Natick, Mass. A one-year student from East Hartford, Conn., Bob was involved in the Senior Dormitory Committee and the Senior Reception Committee. He was active in football and track. In 1954, Bob graduated from Babson College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. After college, he began a successful career in banking at Hartford National Bank and First Federal Savings and Loan in East Hartford, Conn., where he rose to the level of vice president. Bob later assumed the role of president and chairman of the board of the Harrisburg Savings and Loan in Harrisburg, Pa. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Bob lived in South Windsor, Conn., where he was actively involved with the congregational church and Rotary Club and served as a town

treasurer and council member. A lifelong sports enthusiast, Bob coached the town’s youth basketball league for several seasons and was a passionate golfer and Red Sox fan. After retiring to Estero, Fla., Bob and his wife, Audrey “Kay” Trewhella, enjoyed an active life for almost two decades with numerous friends, children, and grandchildren. Preceded in death by his wife, Kay; his daughter Ruth Trewhella; his sister, Martha Trewhella; and his uncles, Alfred Driggs Jr. ’35 and Woodruff Driggs ’37, Bob was survived by his siblings, Jane Wagner and Edward Trewhella; his daughter Tracy Trewhella; his stepsons Robert Woodard, Stephen Woodard, and Eric Woodard; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Alden Geer Valentine, on February 2, in Seneca, S.C. A four-year Honor Roll student from West Hartford, Conn., Alden was involved in the Political Club, Glee Club, Student Foreign Policy Association, Business Board for The Log, Jazz Club, Handbook, and Le Cercle Français. He was active in tennis and basketball and earned a letter in soccer. Alden graduated from Trinity College in 1955. Following active duty in the U.S. Navy, he served in the U.S. Navy Reserves and retired as commander in 1976. Alden was an active member of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Clemson, S.C., where he sang in the choir. He served as sexton for the St. Paul’s Episcopal Churchyard in Pendleton, S.C., for several years. Traveling and hiking were among Alden’s favorite pastimes, but he especially enjoyed gardening. Alden remained connected to Loomis Chaffee as a class agent, reunion volunteer, and member of the Common Good Society. Preceded in death by his wife, Judith Riefstahl Valentine; his brothers, Robert Valentine and Elliott Valentine ’49; and his sister, Natalie Ricci, Alden was survived by his

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2021

two daughters, Susan Valentine and Karen Morgan.

1952 Zane Hickcox Kotker, on February 8. A four-year student from Hartford, Conn., Zane was involved in the Chaffers, the French Club, the Glee Club, and Dramatics. She served as class secretary and as business manager and reporter for Chiel. Zane earned a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College in 1956 and a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1960. For 20 years, Zane worked as a researcher, teacher, reporter, editor, and writer in New York City. She is the author of critically-acclaimed novels: Bodies in Motion (1972); A Certain Man (1976); White Rising (1981); Try to Remember (1997); and The Inner Sea (2014). Zane also published a poetry chapbook, Old Ladies in the Locker Room and Pool (2011); a novella, Goodnight Ladies (2016); and a collection of short stories, The Boy Who Walked to Distant Lands (2018). Under the pseudonym Maggie Strong, Zane wrote Mainstay: For the Well Spouse of the Chronically Ill in 1988, recounting her experience as a caregiver for her husband, Norman Kotker, who had multiple sclerosis. With readers of Mainstay, she founded the Well Spouse Association, a nonprofit organization that provides peer-to-peer support for the wives, husbands, and partners of people who are chronically ill or have disabilities. Zane’s novel Queen of the Mountain will be published posthumously. Preceded in death by her husband, Norman, Zane was survived by her children, David Edward Kotker and Ariel Kotker; her brother, Edward S. Hickcox; her cousins, Maryann Hickcox Gow ’60, Curtiss Hickcox ’64, Edward Hickcox ’73, and Patricia Hickcox ’63; and many extended family members. Celebrations of Zane’s life were planned for a future date.

1954 Edward Easton III, on August 28, 2019, due to complications following a stroke. A three-year student from Riverside, Conn., Ed was involved in the Press Club, Circulation Board for The Log, Nautical Club, Automobile Club, Political Club, and Chapel Choir. He served as co-captain for the football team, manager for the hockey team, and barbell supervisor. Ed earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in architecture from Yale University. While living in North Carolina, Ed became a licensed architect and served as director of housing and physical planning in Charlotte’s Model Cities Urban Renewal Program until he joined the staff of the National Wildlife Federation to create a leadership development program. In 1988, Ed founded the Institute for Conservation Leadership, a nonprofit organization with a six-year grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts. After retiring to the Santa Barbara coast with his wife, Ky, Ed served as mayor and city council member of Goleta, Calif. He also served as a member of the Goleta Planning Commission, the Design Review Board, the City of Goleta Old Town Project Advisory Committee, and the Gaviota Coast Conservancy Board, and he founded Friends of Coal Oil Point Reserve, located adjacent to the University of California’s Santa Barbara campus.

1955 Earl Russell Sandstrom Jr., on April 8, 2020, at his home in Madison, Conn., due to complications of cancer. A three-year student from Bellefontaine, Ohio, Earl was involved in the Glee Club, Loomistakes, Chapel Choir, Pelicans, and Loomis Athletics Association, and he served as chairman of the Wolcott Intramural Athletic Club. He was active in baseball and served as captain

of the football team and co-captain of the wrestling team, earning two letters. Born in Kolkata, India, Earl and his family moved to the United States in 1940 to escape World War II. Following a brief return to Asia after the war, Earl relocated permanently to the United States in 1952, settling in his mother’s hometown of Bellefontaine. He lived nearly the entirety of his adult life in Madison, Conn., and neighboring towns, working various jobs, including as a sportswriter, machinist, and bookseller. According to the family obituary, Earl was a “scintillating conversationalist” and enjoyed recommending and discussing books with friends and family. He and his brother, Richard Batch Sandstrom, were lifelong friends, sharing books, life stories, and a midwestern sense of humor. Earl remained connected to Loomis Chaffee as a reunion volunteer. Preceded in death by his first wife, Lois Stannard Sandstrom; his second wife, Margaret Erwin Bell; and his brother, Dick, Earl was survived by his daughter, Krysten Sandstrom, and his two grandchildren. A memorial luncheon for both Earl and his wife, Margaret, was held at Friends and Company in Madison, Conn.

1956 David W. Egee, on May 30. A one-year student from Newtown, Conn., David was involved in club hockey and intramural track. He graduated from Boston University and, after a period of working with the International Red Cross in Alaska, earned a graduate degree from Columbia University. David then reconnected with the love of his life, Dale Richardson, and they married in 1967. While pursuing their careers in hospital administration and art, David and Dale lived in Lebanon, Libya, Rome, and Dubai, eventually settling in London with summers in their Chateau de Olmet in the south of France. David’s career as a hospital administrator for the Hospital

Corporation of America, owner of DaleCare Nursing Homes, and business director of ASN were important to him, but his life was truly lived through his adventures, family, friends, and outside interests. Throughout his life, David worked on a dairy farm, negotiated with Yasser Arafat, escaped the civil war in Beirut, learned to fly a plane, became a jockey and raced horses, rode a unicycle, ran a jazz club, wrote an autobiography, and most recently drove his 1929 Model A Ford from Massachusetts to California. He also spent much of his life overcoming obstacles, including a number of near-fatal diseases and learning disabilities. David lived by the motto “wake up running” and didn’t allow any of his problems to slow him down. According to the family obituary, even at his death, David’s calendar was filled for months to come. A more detailed story of his life is available in his book, named after his motto, Wake Up Running. Preceded in death by his wife, Dale; and his brother John Egee, David was survived by his siblings Elaine Pratt, Leslie Woolery, and Paul Egee; his children, Corinna Lewis, Adam Lewis, Tony Lewis, and Eliza Dash Egee; his three grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

1957 Christopher S. Rhines, in December 2020, in Annapolis, Md. A four-year student from Glastonbury, Conn., Chris was involved in the Sailing Club, Scholarship Committee, and Supervisory Committee, and he served as business manager for Loomiscellany and The Log. He was active in baseball, football, and basketball. Chris also was a Merit Scholarship Finalist. While at Loomis, Chris enjoyed his classmates, teachers and intramural sports, but he was especially excited by George Warren’s course Problems of Democracy. This class set in motion his lifelong love for politics, history, and political science. At Amherst College and

Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

Johns Hopkins graduate school, he studied the French Revolution. Chris later had a long career in teaching an expanded view of political history. Music also was a big part of Chris’ life. While in college, he disc jockeyed at a local radio station, frequently rubbing elbows with modern jazz performers. His love of opera music led him to become the founder and manager of the Annapolis Opera, where he oversaw 27 performances and encouraged and befriended singers from New York as well as locally. After college Chris converted from football to rugby, which he played as long as his body was willing. According to the family obituary, when reminiscing about Loomis Chaffee, Chris “always had a twinkle in his eye; how intensely it had opened up the mind of a rural boy from farm country.” Chris is survived by his children and grandchildren, who carry on the family homestead in Chesapeake Bay, and by his brother, Peter Rhines ’60.

1961 Owen D. Nee Jr., on May 7, in Concord, Mass., after a short battle with pulmonary fibrosis. A four-year student from Rye, N.Y., Owen was involved in the Key Society, Student Endowment Fund, Student Council, and Chapel Committee and served as an editor for Handbook. He was active in football, basketball, tennis, and soccer. Owen earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in 1965. Through the Princeton-in-Asia program, he spent two years teaching English at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, where he met the love of his life, Amber Wong. Owen returned to the United States in 1967 to begin law school at Columbia University, which he attended for one year before being commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1968. He served in Military Intelligence in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971, earning a Bronze Star for “sound judgment, versatility, and stamina

under conditions of stress and hardship” and for contributing greatly “to the effectiveness of Allied intelligence operations in the Republic of Vietnam.” Owen returned to Rye in 1971, where he married Amber in December, and resumed law school, graduating in 1973 as an editor of The Columbia Law Review. After graduation, he joined the international law firm Coudert Brothers, entering the firm’s new office in Hong Kong a year after Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China. From there, Owen launched a career that featured a series of firsts: participating in the March 1979 conference where the Equity Joint Venture Law was written to allow commercial relations between China and the United States to resume formally for the first time since 1949; leading the opening of the first foreign law office in China; completing the first equity joint venture in China; advising on the automotive joint venture between General Motors Corporation and the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation — now the largest automobile manufacturer in China; writing the contractual joint ventures that brought Coca Cola and McDonald’s to China; structuring the first limited recourse project financing in China, the first U.S.-PRC petroleum contract, the first mining concession, the first syndicated loan to China, and more. Before he retired, Owen oversaw the merger of Coudert China with Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe, and worked at the law firms of Jones Day and Greenberg Traurig. In his retirement, he established his own firm, InReNee, which specialized in pro bono legal work for fellow U.S. veterans. Additionally, Owen wrote four textbooks on shareholder agreements and joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, competition law, and tax laws in China, and he taught courses on commercial and investment transactions with China at Columbia Law School and New York University Law School for years. Outside of the field of law, Owen relished his

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2021

role as a mentor and trustee for the Princeton-in-Asia program; a deacon in the Union Church, Hong Kong; a deacon and trustee of the Rye Presbyterian Church; and a volunteer in the Coming Home Program run by the church in Rye to assist those formerly incarcerated in their transition back to their communities. Owen remained connected to Loomis Chaffee as a class agent, reunion volunteer, and member of the Common Good Society and John Metcalf Taylor Society. Preceded in death by his son, David Nee II ’94; and his brother David Nee ’58, for which the Nee Room in Founders Hall was named, Owen was survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Amber; his brother John Nee; his children Alexandra Nee and Claire Nee Nelson; and his three grandchildren.

1965 George Bailey Katz, on March 25, following a long illness. A four-year student from Manchester, Conn., George was involved in the Student Council, Glee Club, Handbook, Religious Life Committee, and Pelicans. A talented athlete, George served as cross country captain and was active in track, earning two varsity letters. After his time at Loomis, George attended the University of Pennsylvania and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He worked for Travelers Insurance Company for almost 30 years in information technology. An avid golfer, George enjoyed playing many rounds with friends over the years at Keney Park, East Hartford Country Club, Blackledge Country Club, and Glastonbury Country Club. Preceded in death by his parents; his step-mother, Caroline L. Katz; and his step-sister, Laurie Ann Ganzer, George was survived by his sister, E Jennifer Katz; dear friend James Miller; and step siblings Jenifer Gately, Jon Ganzer, and Sharon Lawler.

1966 Edward Jacob Behney Jr., on May 30, in New London, Conn., with family by his side. A fouryear student from Groton, Conn., Ed was involved in the Darwin Club and The Log. He was active in tennis, hockey, and lacrosse. After earning a degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ed served in the U.S. Navy from 1970 to 1972 as a commissioned officer aboard the USS Independence. In 1976, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut. Ed began his career at Electric Boat in 1974, where he met his future wife, Linda Stowe Behney. He worked for 32 years as a financial analyst and retired in 2006 as chief of business planning. Ed had a strong interest in electric boat and patrol torpedo boat history. He donated a vast treasure-trove of patrol torpedo boat memorabilia to the National PT Boat Museum at Fall River, Mass. In his early years, Ed had a passion for fishing and racing Blue Jays at his beachfront family home that he shared with his parents and six siblings on Fisher’s Island Sound. He loved his Harley Davidson motorcycles, and a vacation would never be complete without a visit to a Harley store for a T-shirt. Ed was an avid Red Sox fan and enjoyed attending annual games with his family. He excelled at table tennis, a skill he learned while in the Navy, and taught his grandsons so well that they beat him, but only seldomly. Ed and his wife, Linda, enjoyed life together, traveling to many places, including Italy, London, Brussels, Paris, Hawaii, and the Caribbean. Five years ago, they retired to Naples, Fla., to play golf and enjoy the sunshine. Ed also had a love for gardening, amassing a large postcard collection of local attractions, researching family trees, and discovering stories about relatives from the past. He was survived by his wife, Linda; his stepson, Ryan O’Connor; his stepdaughter, Stefanie

O bi tuar i e s

O’Connor Montejano, and her husband, Apolonio Montejano; his grandsons, Ryan Alexander O’Connor, A.J. Montejano, and Max Montejano; his siblings, Philip Behney, Joyce Gardner, Doris Watson, Jean Behney, Helen Behney, and Kristen Behney; and many extended family members. A funeral service was held on June 5 at the Byles Memorial Home in New London, Conn. A private burial with military honors was planned for a later date. Benjamin B. Whitcomb III, on April 23. A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Benjie was involved in the Admissions Committee, Senior Scholarship Committee, and Ski Club, and he served as advertising manager for The Log. He earned letters in both cross country and track. After graduating from Loomis Chaffee, Benjie studied art history and architecture at Bowdoin College. An active sailor all of his life, Benjie was captain of the schooner Harvey Gamage and relief captain of the sloop Clearwater in 1994. He worked as a craftsman in his business, Captain’s Carpentry, was a devoted “band dad” for the Kingston High School Tiger Band, and used his skills to design and assemble the stage for Phoenicia Festival of the Voice in Phoenicia, N.Y. Benjie knew every mountain in the Catskill mountain range and loved to study maps, ski, hike, and enjoy the outdoors with family and friends. He was survived by his wife, Lisa Whitcomb; his daughters, Rose and Maria Whitcomb; his brother, Stuart “Una” Whitcomb; his sisters, Katherine (Paul) Dudzinski and Judith Whitcomb; and several nieces and nephews.

1968 David Rainsford Wawro, on February 21 while cross-country skiing, with family and friends beside him. A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., David

was involved in the Junto Executive Committee and Religious Life Committee, and he served as Student Council secretary, Glee Club librarian, and editor-in-chief of The Log. He was active in soccer and tennis. With a scholarship from the English-Speaking Union, David spent a year at Wrekin College in Shropshire, England. He graduated from Brown University in 1973 and spent the following year working at Rhode Island Legal Services. In 1977, he received his juris doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and was admitted into the New York bar in 1978. David worked as the head of litigation at Torys LLP in New York, where he was an expert in a broad range of legal disciplines, ranging from antitrust and commercial law to human rights and constitutional law. He had a passion for social justice and pro bono cases. David balanced his work as a lawyer with his love for the outdoors, often arriving home after work to feed animals, go skiing, or, when the moon was bright enough, take a late-night ride on his horses. According to the family obituary, David’s sense of adventure was unmatched. In addition to being an avid and accomplished horseback rider, he was also a back-country skier and cyclist and loved hiking, camping, whitewater kayaking and canoeing, tennis, squash, and ice skating. David traveled extensively with his family, visiting places like Ukraine, Syria, and Russia. He had a love for music and enjoyed playing the piano. David was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Walker; his daughter, Leah Wawro; his mother, Judith Wawro; and his siblings, Geoff Wawro ’78, Mark Wawro ’70, Gillian Wawro Weatherhead ’73, Peter Wawro, and George Wawro.

1971 Howard Glaves, on March 27. A three-year student from Laurelton, N.Y., Howard was involved in the Student Council and Dining Hall

Committee, and he served as secretary-treasurer for the Afro-Am Society and vice president for the Foreign Policy Association. A talented athlete, Howard earned two letters in track and a letter in football. He came to the United States from Jamaica in 1960, and after attending Loomis Chaffee, he graduated from Tufts University with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Howard started his career in investment banking with Weedon and Company. He went on to become one of the first Black stockbrokers on Wall Street at Kidder Peabody, eventually expanding his career by opening up his own investment banking firm, Glaves and Associates. Howard and his wife, Maria Angelica Glaves, resided in Kinnelon, N.J., with their family for more than 20 years before moving to the Poconos. Apart from close, lasting relationships made at Loomis Chaffee and college, some of Howard’s best memories and friendships were formed while playing rugby. He also enjoyed playing bid whist with college friends and family. In his free time, Howard loved playing golf and watching sports, especially his favorite football team, the New York Jets, as well as western and action movies. He was survived by his wife, Maria; his mother, Vernice Dahlia Glaves; his uncles, Rupert DePass and Harold Glaves; his children, Anayancy, Jonathan, and Danielle; his nine grandchildren; and many extended family members.

1976 Jamal Bulter, on February 15, with loved ones at his side. A fouryear student and talented athlete from Hartford, Conn., Jamal earned two letters in football and a letter in lacrosse and basketball. He was survived by his daughter, Jasmine Marie Butler; and his brother, Timothy Butler ’78. A memorial service was held on March 20 at Bible Way Temple Nation in Hartford, Conn.

1980 David Lee Trares, on December, 23, 2019, after a long battle with itochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). David was a three-year student from Manchester, Conn. Following his time at Loomis Chaffee, David graduated from Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Conn., as a machinist. Prior to working as a machinist, he was a land surveyor for 19 years, working frequently with Tarbell Heintz Associates in East Hartford, Conn. Spending time with family was the most important thing to David, he especially enjoyed taking vacations and camping with them. He loved to read, make people laugh, and build things for his family and friends. Preceded in death by his siblings, Collete and James Trares ’77, David was survived by his wife, Donna Trares; his children, Joshua Trares, Kali Tyler, and Jordan Trares; his sister, Janet Trares, and his stepmother, Leonore Trares. A private Celebration of Life was planned for a later date. Mark T. Wilson, unexpectedly, on January 27. A two-year student from Glastonbury, Conn., Mark served as a photographer for The Loom and a physics lab assistant. He was active in soccer. Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture at the Boston Architectural Center and worked for many years as a commercial architect. He was a member of St. Patrick–St. Anthony Church in Hartford, Conn. A man of many hobbies, Mark enjoyed glass-blowing, distilling salt, and wood-turning. He named his dog Echo after one of his favorite places, Echo Lake in Vermont. Most of all, Mark loved his family. He was survived by his wife, Mitzi Wilson; his mother, Jean Wilson; his daughters, Lyssa W. Becho and Ashley M. Wilson; his brothers, Jeffrey Wilson, Donald P. Wilson, and Peter Wilson; his sisters, Kathleen Wilson

loomischaffee.org

Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

O bi tuar i e s

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

O bi tuar i e s

Galley ’84, Jeanne Farrell, Kristen Wilson, Ann Marie LeDuc, and Elizabeth Cameron; and many extended family members. A private funeral service was live-streamed on February 4.

1983 Michael S. Cohen, on June 10. After graduating from Loomis Chaffee, Michael attended Union College. Recently, he was awarded a scholarship to Norwich University to pursue a degree in actuarial science with the goal of becoming an actuary. According to the family obituary, Michael was a kind and gentle soul with a quick wit who enjoyed books, movies, classic rock, dogs, and tango dancing. He was survived by his sisters, Suzanne Cohen Hard ’80, Amy Cohen Paul ’85, Leslie Cohen Silverman ’86, and Shayna Luciani, and their spouses; his nephew, Jacob Hard ’10; his nieces, Alison Hard ’08 and Lindsay Silverman ’12; and many extended family members. Private family services were planned at the Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center in Avon, Conn.

1984 Megan Reese Edwards, on April 6, after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer, surrounded by family in Mission Hills, Kan. A two-year student from Newark, Ohio, Megan was involved in the Student Activities Committee and served as a tour guide and dorm prefect. She was active in field hockey and earned letters in tennis and swimming. Megan earned a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., in 1988. Nearly 10 years later, Megan met her future husband, Eric Lee Edwards, during their involvement with Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Lawrence, Kan. They married on September 4, 1999. Megan had many passions in life, especially for art, design, and her family. She cared deeply about her children, their educations, and their happi-

ness as adults. Megan loved beauty in all forms and, according to the family obituary, “she was the most talented designer with impeccable judgment, taste, and creativity with an ability to execute on complicated projects. She was unselfish in sharing her many talents. Megan’s impact on every space she touched was immeasurable, and those of us fortunate enough to live in or visit those spaces have a lasting reminder of her talents and her beautiful touch.” Megan remained connected to Loomis Chaffee as a class agent. She was survived by her husband, Eric; her children, Reed Lehr Edwards, Edward Lucius Edwards, Helen Reese Edwards, and Phoebe Wells Edwards; her mother, Martha Grace Reese; her siblings, Sarah Reese Wallace, Gilbert Hodges Reese, and Lucius Everett Reese; her cousin, Brad Lewis ’83; and many extended family members. A celebration of Megan’s life was planned for a later date.

enough to raise hard questions. Jane has always known how to negotiate the fine lines between the best self and the common good.” In her 50 years of teaching English, Jane had an impact on thousands of students and kept up with many of them well into their adult lives. The retirement tribute included this comment from a former student: “Mrs. Bronk was more like a caring friend in the life of a confused and nervous high school student. She leaves that impression on you — she stays with you even after 10 years since graduating from high school. It’s not hard to care about Mrs. Bronk because she cares so much about the people around her.” Jane loved traveling, all things literary, music of many kinds, gardening, entertaining, her Labrador retrievers, and summers — or any time of year — on Cape Cod. Her daughter, Andrea

Barton ’83, shares that her mother could “make a killer apple pie and the best shortbread Christmas cookies on earth, knit a complex patterned sweater, walk out on the bowsprit to grab the boat mooring, play Cole Porter on the piano, and did the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen.” Preceded in death by her husband, retired faculty member Adrian Bronk, Jane was survived by her daughter, Andrea; her granddaughter, Macy Athorne; her brother-in-law, Mitchell Bronk, and his wife, Jeanne; her niece, Helen Bronk; and her nephew, Peter Bronk, his wife, Yuen, and their son, Matthew. A memorial service was planned for a later date.

Former Faculty Jane Moseley Bronk, on March 21. Daughter of Gilbert School Principal Henry S. Moseley and Hazel (Arnold) Moseley, Jane grew up in Winsted, Conn. After graduating from Brown University and Trinity College, she devoted her entire working life to education. Jane taught at Windham High, Sedgwick Jr. High, and finally, at Loomis Chaffee, from 1970 to 2006, continuing as a tutor until 2011. While at Loomis, Jane created a developmental reading course, led a gender studies discussion group for faculty, held the Independence Foundation chair for six years, and was the associate director of college guidance for another six years. In a retirement tribute to Jane, her English Department colleague Jane Archibald described her as a centering force through “her sense of tradition, her loyalty to our department’s larger calling, and her unwavering sense of fair play.” She went on to say, “We have made fewer mistakes because Jane has been dedicated and loyal

Photo: Loomis Chaffee Archives

loomischaffee.org

Photo: Loomis Chaffee Archives

O bi tuar i e s

Spencer Y. Grey, on April 24. Spencer was born in Boston, Mass., and grew up in Beverly, Mass. Beginning in the early 1900s, his mother’s family spent summers in Chatham, Mass., where they owned one of the oldest houses on Stage Harbor, opposite Hardings Beach. The family moved to Chatham year-round in the 1940s to start a general store on Bridge Street that soon became a clothing store, the Sail Loft. In his teenage years, Spencer attended Avon Old Farms in Avon, Conn., and Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., returning to Chatham to work various summer jobs, including waiting tables at the Wayside Inn. After graduating from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Spencer worked for the United States Lines on trips that took him several times around

the world. In 1951, he graduated from Dartmouth College and taught briefly at St. Paul’s School in Concord, N.H., before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, where he served as lieutenant and communications officer during the Korean War. After his time in the Navy, Spencer married Ann Foote in 1954. They lived in New York City while he earned a master’s degree in English at Columbia University. In 1956, he taught at Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass., before taking a job teaching English at Loomis Chaffee. He continued to teach at Loomis, serving as head of the English Department as well as drama director, until 1975. Spencer later moved back to Chatham with his family to take over his parents’ store. They continued to run the Sail Loft for another 20 years, during which time they opened additional

branches in Cotuit and Duxbury, Mass., and, briefly, Annapolis, Md. In later years, the Sail Loft empire reverted back to the original store on Bridge Street, eventually closing its doors in 1996. Following two decades teaching at prep schools and another two decades in the retail clothing business, Spencer became an avid chronicler of Chatham and Cape Cod history. He served as president of the Chatham Historical Society for eight years and as chairman for another three. During this time, Spencer was involved with the renovation and considerable expansion of the society’s premises in the historic Captain Joseph Atwood House. The Spencer Y. Grey Maritime Gallery in the Atwood House & Museum was named for him. Between 2000 and 2012, Spencer collaborated on three book collections sponsored by the Historical Society chronicling and illustrating the history of Chatham. In 2014, Spencer initiated a column in The Cape Cod Chronicle, “At the Atwood House,” featuring stories from 300 years of Cape Cod history. Chatham recognized Spencer’s lifelong connection to the town by appointing him grand marshal of the annual 4th

of July parade in 2017. Spencer was survived by his wife, Ann; his children Nicholas Woodbury Grey, Thomas Spencer Grey ’75, and Julia Ann Grey Humphrey; and his five grandchildren.

Former Staff Ann B. Palmer, peacefully on February 10. Ann had many interests, including music, theater, reading, her beloved Red Sox, and the UCONN women’s basketball team. Starting in high school and continuing after her graduation from Vassar College, Ann was involved in the theater, including community groups as well as being a multi-decade patron of the Hartford Stage Company and the Bushnell. As a lifelong reader, Ann pursued her library science degree and became a school librarian in the New Hartford schools and then at Loomis Chaffee’s Katharine Brush Library for many years. Later in life, she continued to volunteer at the New Hartford Public Library. Exploring the world was another one of Ann’s true pleasures. She spent a year in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, longtime Loomis Chaf-

Photo: Loomis Chaffee Archives

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

O bi tuar i e s

Lucille Parker, on March 26, surrounded by family and friends at her home in Cromwell, Conn. Born and raised in Georgetown, Ky., Lucille graduated from Georgetown College. She received her master’s degree in Christian education from Scarritt College in Nashville, Tenn. She was director of children’s ministry at Hyde Park Community Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she met her future husband, the Rev. F. Van Gorder Parker ’47. From then on, she was Van’s partner in ministry at churches in Michigan and Massachusetts and for 27 years in Windsor, Conn., at First Church in Windsor UCC. Lucille worked in the Loomis Chaffee Office of Admission for many years before her retirement. She is remembered as a great friend, wonderful listener, skilled gardener, avid basketball fan, excellent cook, and international traveler. Lucille was survived by her husband, Van; her daughters, Susan G. Parker and Elizabeth Parker Murnaghan; her son, Douglas H. Parker ’82; and several grandchildren. A memorial service was held on June 1 at the First Church in Windsor UCC.

More News The school has learned of the passing of Archibald C. Doty ’38, on January 27, 2021; Anna Marie Carmon ’39, on June 23, 2021; Emily Schoenfuss Smith ’40 on January 30, 2021; Frederick Wheldon Brown ’46, on June 1, 2021; Frank E. Dully Jr. ’50, on March 12, 2021; Lochlin Gates Syme ’52, on September 16, 2020; John B. Stewart III ’54, on May 6, 2019; Eugene J. Gaisser ’55, on April 30, 2018; Michael Sienkiewicz ’55, on August 5, 2020; James L. Trudeau ’56, on Janurary 23, 2021; Linda Kipness ’60, on April 16, 2021; Stephen Roy Dahl ’63, on February 5, 2021; and former faculty member Bernita Woodruff Sundquist, on November 17, 2020. More information, as available, will be printed in future issues.

Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

fee faculty member Keith Palmer, while on a sabbatical from Loomis. Later, they spent another short sabbatical at the Dune School in Dehradun, India. Ann and Keith enjoyed countless summers in van campers traveling throughout North America — always enjoying the scenery and taking advantage of local museums to learn more about a particular area. They also traveled throughout Europe and Southeast Asia, focusing on areas of historical and cultural importance. Ann was continuously learning about history and the world in which we live. Preceded in death by her first husband, Roy Benjamin, Ann was survived by her husband Keith; her sons, Philip and Fred Benjamin, and their spouses; her 11 grandchildren; her six great-grandchildren; and many extended family members.

loomischaffee.org

R ef l ect ions

A Rolling Campus Tour

Photographs by Cassandra Hamer | Map by Stacy-Ann Rowe ’97

No campus tours? No problem. The Office of Admission got creative this spring, offering a drive-through visit to the Island on April 3 for accepted students and their families, most of whom had never seen the campus in person because of more than a year of pandemic restrictions on visitors. The campus community turned out in force to welcome the 80 touring families, who followed a route that took them around the Loop and through the center of campus. Stops along the way offered information, swag, enthusiastic greetings, and to-go snacks.

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

PELICAN

legend

stop #3 faculty row/the way

Dorms academic classroom buildings student center/phi library athletics center performance/visual arts buildings

SPRING SATURDAY RD

DRIVE THROUGH TOUR STOPS

B AT C H

ELDER

stop #6 corner of clark/ volleyball court/ greenhouse/ the way

OOP

BATC HE LD ER RD

stop #5 japanese garden/ clark

THE L

stop #7 rock quad

stop #4 corner of chaffee lot/sellers field

stop #2 the meadows

TH E LO O P

IS L A N D

ISLA

BAT CHE LDE R RD

stop #8 athletics center/ palmer

T H E LO

stop #1 Founders circle

stop #9 longman lot question station

welcome to loomis chaffee

ND R

The Loomis Chaffee School 4 Batchelder Road Windsor, Connecticut 06095 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Members of the Class of 2021 on Commencement morning: Andy Cao, Elizabeth Chapman, Jake Lotreck, Kendall Rice, Sophie Rodner, John Howley, and Alejandro Rincón Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Loomis Chaffee School

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Summer 2021

Articles inside

Faculty & Staff News

Reflections

Island News

Obituaries

Development News

Object Lesson

From the Head