The Bulletin Summer 2021

The Masters School T H E B U L L E T I N | S U M M E R 2 0 21

INNOVATORS

ON THE COVER

CONTACTS

Juliette Chollet ’20 was one of 10 students who participated in The Masters School’s third annual TEDx event in 2019. Her talk, “How Climate Change Infected My Life,” considered the correlation between climate change and Lyme disease. Chollet, who has chronic Lyme disease, used her unique worldview to encourage the public to reconsider notions of environmental issues as “distant,” with the goal of shifting the general American mindset toward how our effect on the Earth is affecting us.

The Masters School 49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522-2201 914-479-6400 mastersny.org Send letters to: Communications Office communications@mastersny.org Send alumnae/i news to class notes editors or to the Office of Alumnae/i Engagement at alumni@mastersny.org

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The images included in this issue of The Bulletin were provided by the individuals profiled, captured prior to the pandemic, or taken in a safe and socially distanced setting.

CONTENTS COVER STORY

DEPARTMENTS

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02 FROM LAURA DANFORTH 24 SNAPSHOTS 30 ALUMNAE/I UPDATE 36 CLASS NOTES 68 IN MEMORIAM/ REMEMBRANCES

INNOVATORS

FROM LAURA DANFORTH

Celebrating Innovation Dear Friends, The Masters School’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IE) program has experienced tremendous growth since its inception five years ago. Enrollment is steadily climbing in courses such as App Creation for Entrepreneurs and AP Computer Science, and students are thriving in an environment where they are emboldened to imagine, strategize and solve problems.

An innovating mind is an absorbent mind — and vice versa. Our IE program enhances other disciplines in our academic program: Enterprising middle schoolers are exploring physics while building Rube Goldberg machines, math is less abstract when a custom-made robot’s mobility is at stake, and burgeoning architects rely on 3D modeling and design skills in their Foundations in Architecture course.

INNOVATION AT MASTERS IS DEEPLY AND DELIBERATELY ALIGNED WITH OUR SCHOOL’S MISSION — TO BE A POWER FOR GOOD. IT IS GROUNDED IN AN INSISTENT AMBITION TO IMPROVE THE WORLD OUR STUDENTS WILL SOON INHERIT.

So robustly has this relatively new academic field emerged that in this issue of The Bulletin we are celebrating the many ways that innovation takes shape in our community. As you will read, innovation at Masters is deeply and deliberately aligned with our School’s mission — to be a power for good. It is grounded in an insistent ambition to improve the world our students will soon inherit.

If necessity is the mother of, well, innovation, its other parent is the unbridled nature of the human imagination. Both sources of inspiration came together during the pandemic for so many of our faculty, who deftly adapted to a new teaching reality. Innovation is the generative force, too, of the alumna who marries her marketing ingenuity and love of art to launch a new business. And it’s at the heart of the parent who identifies the harmful narratives we tell ourselves and promotes a new, healthier approach.

In these pages, you will be introduced to some members of the Masters community who are bringing their bold and inspiring ideas to fruition. Though we are only able to share the stories of a handful of individuals, there are myriad community members who are engaged in exciting and creative ventures. We dedicate this issue of The Bulletin to all in our community who are committed to finding innovative ways to be powers for good in the world.

Albert Einstein once said: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Indeed, we are having fun.

Join us and read on.

Sincerely,

LAURA DANFORTH Head of School

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Over the past year and a half, Masters faculty have brought their innovative mindset to math, English, history and everything in between. Here, Department of Performing Arts faculty member Jason Reiff thinks outside the box — and the classroom — when working with middle school students on their acting techniques.

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INNOVATORS Guided by Department of Performing Arts faculty member Sean Breault, students in Theater Tech classes combine creativity with technical know-how to build dramatic sets.

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INNOVATION IS AT THE HEART OF THE MASTERS SCHOOL EDUCATION. This courageous spirit was first displayed by none other than the School’s founder, Eliza Bailey Masters. In having the tenacity to open the doors to her own institution in 1877, The Misses Masters’ Boarding and Day School for Young Ladies and Children, Miss Masters embodied the fortitude that is instilled in students to this day.

“From the first, Miss Masters envisioned a national boarding school,” wrote Pamela Daly Vose ’47 in “The Masters School: 1877-1977, A Retrospective Portrait for the One-Hundredth Anniversary.” And so it was: The nascent school welcomed students from “an astonishingly wide geographic diversity,” Vose noted. The curriculum, too, was far broader than that of the traditional finishing school, with subjects in history, math and philosophy.

Miss Masters’ groundbreaking ethos lives on in our students, alumnae/i, faculty and parents. On the following pages, we celebrate just a few of the many innovators in our community who so boldly live our motto — Do It With Thy Might — in pursuit of their ideas and passions.

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LEARN, STRIVE, DARE, DO

NATASHA BANSGOPAUL ’04

Natasha Bansgopaul ’04 had been working at PepsiCo for more than seven years when she made a life-altering decision: “I left corporate America to go into entrepreneurship full time.”

And, she says, “I have not looked back.”

Why would she? In addition to the accolades she’s received for her leadership in the fintech (financial technology) industry, she was recently named a 2021 Presidential Innovation Fellow.

The prestigious Presidential Innovation Fellows program pairs the industry’s top technologists, designers and strategists with federal changemakers to co-create bold solutions for the public good. During her fellowship, Bansgopaul is assigned to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where she is working on artificial intelligence and bias.

Bansgopaul is co-founder and chief operating officer of VegaX Holdings, which develops asset management tools and critical data streams for the cryptocurrency industry, and DarcMatter, an award-winning global fintech platform for alternative investments. She’s a board member at EmTech, a fintech firm that focuses on blockchain, digital currency, data analytics and artificial intelligence, and a board advisor for Live! From Tomorrow Media, which includes a weekly podcast that offers “a bold, humorous perspective on what’s next across business,

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technology, politics and entertainment.” Bansgopaul has also stayed connected with her alma mater and is currently a member of the School’s Dobbs Alumnae/i Association Board.

“A large part of my job is creating financial technology innovations,” she says. “We come up with ideas by asking the question ‘Why?’ when it comes to the way processes or systems are traditionally used or built. In my experience, when the answer ends up being ‘Just because that’s the way the industry does it,’ that’s usually an indicator that something more efficient can be created.”

This curiosity was essential to building VegaX Holdings and DarcMatter. Bansgopaul shares: “We asked, ‘Why is it hard for traditional investors to explore the digital assets market to earn returns?’ When we took a closer look at the process, we found it took a lot of steps and there was a lack of education.” VegaX was born out of that desire to provide the tools for investors interested in digital assets. “We asked, ‘Why don’t people raise capital online?” she says. The result was DarcMatter, which the alumna notes is “one of the first fintech platforms focused on capital raising, and became a global award-winning platform for alternative investments.”

Her goal isn’t just to create fintech solutions — it’s to “build businesses that create transparency, access and efficiency in the traditional world of financial services.” And what she’s

“ We come up with ideas by asking the question ‘Why?’ when it comes to the way processes or systems are traditionally used or built.

In my experience, when the answer ends up being ‘Just because that’s the way the industry does it,’ that’s usually an indicator that something more efficient can be created.”

doing has been recognized across the industry with numerous awards, including Startup of the Year (NextMoney Global FinTech Finals), Best FinTech Solution for Hedge Funds (HFM Technology) and Best Blockchain Technology Provider (2019 wealthmanagement.com Industry Awards).

classes like American Studies that encouraged discussion and debate,” Bansgopaul recalls. She also explains how being exposed to students from different countries and cultures “helped me navigate my career as I have expanded businesses abroad, particularly throughout South Korea.”

Bansgopaul’s resume is all the more impressive when one considers that she graduated from Masters only 17 years ago.

When she reflects on the way her Masters School education prepared her for her current career, a few skills are at the top of her mind: learning to express her opinions and listening to the opinions of others. And, being part of a global community with students hailing from across the world. “I particularly remember

In keeping that ever-important question — “Why?” — at the heart of her work, Bansgopaul isn’t just making an impact on the fintech world. She’s living the four essential words at the heart of her alma mater’s mission: learn, strive, dare and do.

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BREAKING BARRIERS, ONE PATENT AT A TIME MARY-ELLEN MORAN DEVLIN ’69

“ I cannot tell you how many meetings or events that I participated in over my career where I was the only woman. I was never intimidated.

I was there to do the job, and I had the skills to get it done.”

Mary-Ellen Moran Devlin ’69 uses one word to describe her Masters School education: pivotal.

“The environment there promoted a sense of ‘you can do anything you want to do,’” she says. “There were no limitations on where you could go and who you could become. You just needed to put in the effort.”

The Class of 1969 alumna embodies that intrepid spirit. An accomplished intellectual property attorney who retired in 2017, Devlin chose to pursue law “in order to use both my writing skills and my technology background.” When she received her Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law, fewer than 10 percent of the students in her class were women.

Devlin spent most of her notable career as executive counsel for intellectual property at Boehringer Ingelheim, a research-driven pharmaceutical company whose goal is to improve the health and quality of life of humans and animals.

In addition to her role at Boehringer Ingelheim, she was an officer and member of the Board of Directors of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association from 1984 until 1989; had two terms on the Committee on Patents with the New York City Bar Association; and served as a trustee of The Masters School in 1988 and 1989.

As she navigated a male-dominated field, Devlin was well-served by the confident mindset that her alma mater instilled in her. “I cannot tell you how many meetings or events that I participated in over my career where I was the only woman,” she recalls. “I was never intimidated. I was there to do the job, and I had the skills to get it done.”

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While intellectual property law supports and protects innovators, the field itself is rife with opportunities for creativity. “You have to determine how best to stake a claim to something that is basically an intangible,” Devlin explains.

“You have to be very creative in coming up with the words to describe what you are claiming exclusive rights to.”

Indeed, an intellectual property attorney has to avoid an untold number of pitfalls, and an ability to think outside the box is a must. “The intellectual property attorney works with the innovator to design the best protection,” Devlin says, noting that choosing the right is always “the biggest risk.” Whether it is protection that comes in the form of copyright, trademark, trade secret or patent protection, she says, “each right has certain advantages and drawbacks, and each has a different legal procedure for obtaining and perfecting the right.”

Devlin deftly brought that innovative framing to her work. For example, when drafting and acting as lead advisor on a patent right covering a swine vaccine, “I opted to focus on the method of manufacturing the vaccine,” she says. “This is the opposite of how most pharmaceutical products are protected. Most patents look to cover the product and not the method of making the product.” Her patent survived several challenges and, once licensed, “was transformative for the industry.” That patent right remains the professional accomplishment of which she is most proud.

In pursuing her passion, this trailblazer exemplifies her alma mater’s motto: Do It With Thy Might. “I cannot emphasize enough that one should really love their work,” Devlin says.

“I love being an intellectual property attorney.”

PROVING THAT INNOVATION ADDS UP HANK KIM

“ For me, being an ‘innovative’ teacher means making the most of all the resources available to us, to enhance the collective learning by blending what had been working well with new approaches to meet the demands of the changing world.”

Problem-solving is no problem for upper school mathematics teacher Hank Kim. In fact, his ingenious ways date to his growing up in what he describes as “a typical Korean American immigrant household.” Kim helped out in his parents’ deli business and, he recalls, “whenever food products’ dates expired, I felt compelled to make something with them instead of throwing them out.” This childhood resourcefulness has served him well into adulthood, and, he notes, “was a valuable skill during this pandemic when we had to limit trips to the grocery store and optimize the stock in our freezers and cupboards.”

This beloved educator’s innovative approach in life doesn’t end in the kitchen. In his 14 years at Masters, Kim has taught algebra, trigonometry, discrete mathematics and calculus.

This year he finds himself busy with courses such as Honors Geometry, Multi-Variable Calculus and Random Variables. His years of teaching have helped him hone his “think outside the box” skill set.

“For me, being an ‘innovative’ teacher means making the most of all the resources available to us, to enhance the collective learning by blending what had been working well with new approaches to meet the demands of the changing world,” he explains.

That sensibility was put to the test in the fall of 2020, when he needed to find a way to support the learning needs of students taking classes both in person and remotely. Kim opted to use a mix of digital tools that would allow all students to receive the same information and in a digestible format.

“I can write real-time notes during class that are visible to all students, upload them onto their [online] class pages, and record each class session” and then share it on Google Drive, he explains. Kim is pleased with his bespoke solution, which ensures that all of his students — regardless of location or time zone — continue to learn without major disruption.

Another example of Kim’s ingenuity took place in his Honors Geometry course this year: “The Week of Mistakes.” The idea came to him when he saw that students were hesitant to discuss their weaknesses or mistakes in class, especially when it came to errors on homework assignments.

“In that week, if a student volunteered to present their solution which contained what I deemed a ‘good mistake,’ then that student received praise and an extra-credit point,” Kim says. His definition of a “good mistake” included anything “commonly occurring, leading to exploratory discussions, or utilizing a more creative approach but not complete.”

These “good mistakes” were a welcome learning opportunity.

By taking away “the stigma of revealing one’s mistakes to others” and encouraging “analytical minds to take healthy risks,” he says he saw that “students exhibited greater courage, and more students eagerly volunteered to present their work.”

For Kim, an inventive mindset plus quick-thinking skills have been a formula that ensures his students’ learning and problem-solving success.

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WRITING HER OWN SCRIPT STACEY TISDALE P’23

Stacey Tisdale P’23 doesn’t spend much time thinking about risk.

And yet, Tisdale, an accomplished journalist, financial educator, chief executive and entrepreneur, has spent her career being bold and innovative. “We consider something risky or not by the meaning our mind makes of it,” she explains. It’s that courageous mindset that has led the Masters parent to build a platform that affects the lives of millions.

For Tisdale, it all started on Wall Street. After studying finance and international business in college, she worked as a cash manager with the commodities firm Balfour Maclaine International. She then made the jump to financial broadcast journalism, reporting for some of the world’s top news outlets — The Wall Street Journal, CBS, CNN and more — and was one of the first women and the first Black journalist to report from the New York Stock Exchange.

Years of reporting on money and finances opened her eyes to a stark reality: “I started to become really agitated about how much suffering I saw money caused people and how much we struggle with it,” Tisdale says. With money as one of the leading causes of divorce, substance abuse, suicide and other serious social maladies, the reporter recognized that “There’s clearly a lot more to the story than dollars and cents.”

“My mother used to always say that instead of DNA, I have W-H-Y,” Tisdale shares. Propelled by that inherent desire to uncover truths, she embarked on a six-year research project studying the drivers of financial behavior.

“In my research, I identified the three major areas of conditioning around money,” she shares. They are childhood

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scripts (how we were taught or learned about money as children); social scripts from the media around race and gender; and the scripts we tell ourselves. She compiled her research into her 2008 book, “The True Cost of Happiness: The Real Story Behind Managing Your Money,” co-written with expert financial planner Paula Boyer Kennedy. Shortly after, she joined NBC’s “Today” show as a financial expert, which allowed her to share her wisdom with viewers across the country. “It really connected with people,” she says.

Around this time, the White House asked her to create a behavior-based financial education program for historically Black colleges and universities. And, she says, “That’s when my lightbulb went off.” She decided to pursue a career in financial education.

Her first project was to create Winning Play$, a behavior-based financial literacy program that helps students develop healthy attitudes and behaviors around money. The program won the Department of Education’s Excellence in Economic Education award in 2010 and the National Association of Black Journalists Community Service award. Soon after, Tisdale started her company, Mind Money Media, where she is founder and CEO. A multimedia content provider, Mind Money Media partners with organizations on social impact campaigns.

Tisdale, the parent of Christopher ’23, is passionate about empowering the Black community and expanding the public’s knowledge about wealth among Black Americans. In discussing the wealth and financial history of Black people in America, she is quick to note: “There are tragic elements in it, but it’s a story of resilience. It’s not a story of tragedy.” Indeed, Tisdale shares that Black Americans hold over a trillion dollars in buying power, and Black millennials are one of the fastest-growing groups of new

“ Money reflects where you are and are not living in step with your values.”

homeowners. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Black women were the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs. “I saw that no one talked about that,” Tisdale says. So she’s talking about it.

Recently, after being a guest on the popular syndicated morning radio show “The Breakfast Club,” Tisdale and host Angela Yee launched Wealth Wednesdays. A digital financial empowerment platform dedicated to helping Black people build personal, generational and community wealth, Wealth Wednesdays is distributed through “The Breakfast Club”’s media and social media channels. Tisdale says that the program’s signature virtual events, live gatherings and digital series have “touched millions of lives and helped wealth-building in this community.”

Through Wealth Wednesdays, Tisdale recently partnered with Rocket Mortgage for a three-part series called #RealEstateReset, which delves into the history of racism, systemic segregation and the housing gap. “The wealth gap between Blacks and whites is deeply rooted in that housing gap,” Tisdale explains. “And until we correct that housing gap, you can’t really close the wealth gap.”

Tisdale’s work can be nothing short of life-changing for those who may be struggling with finances. “Money reflects where you are and are not living in step with your values,” she says. “I help people identify their belief and behavior patterns and rewrite those narratives into things that are more consistent with who they are.”

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“ I have an innate art background. I’m able to pair that with the analytics part of online marketing. Creativity and analytics go really well together.”

A PASSION FOR ART MEETS A FLAIR FOR MARKETING LAUREN JOHNSON ’01

Lauren Johnson ’01 always knew that she wanted to start her own company — it was just a matter of what it would be and when it would happen.

the globe, most people have been forced to shop online due to store closures,” Johnson explains. “We essentially turned into a digital, paperless society overnight.”

In 2019, that lifelong ambition was realized when Johnson founded The Hyacinth Group, a Hudson Valley-based online marketing and branding agency, where she is both founder and CEO. “We turn browsers into buyers,” Johnson says. “Our mission is to engage online consumers. We do this by assisting brands in connecting to the digital consumer while enhancing the online customer experience by merging data analytics and creativity.”

This meant that online marketing experts, like Johnson, were needed more than ever, especially to help small businesses survive. She notes that last summer’s renewed focus on the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of supporting Black entrepreneurs and Black-owned businesses afforded her the opportunity to “work with people who might not have been open to partnering and collaborating with me.”

The ability to be creative is an essential part of this alumna’s identity. “I’ve been painting and drawing my whole life,” she explains. In fact, she chose to attend Masters because of the School’s strong art program and won the Lynda Wyatt Chissell ’64 Art Award in her her senior year.

“I have an innate art background,” Johnson explains. “I’m able to pair that with the analytics part of online marketing. Creativity and analytics go really well together.”

After working for more than 10 years in the digital space with top brands such as Victoria’s Secret and Steve Madden and receiving a master’s degree in entrepreneurship from LIM College, Johnson decided several years ago that it was time to strike out on her own as a consultant. Soon after, she knew the time was right to start her business. The company’s name was inspired by her grandmother, whose name was Hyacinth. “It’s a very Jamaican name,” Johnson, whose full name is Lauren Rose-Marie Hyacinth Johnson, notes. “My legacy is my Jamaican roots.”

Six months after The Hyancinth Group was founded, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. “As COVID-19 continues to sweep

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Johnson’s creative director is alumnus Perry Crosson ’02, whom she has known since middle school. And although Johnson, Crosson and her team work with companies around the globe, the founder and CEO is particularly proud of the local businesses that The Hyacinth Group has worked with, including A Little Beacon Blog, Farm2ChefsTable, and fellow Masters alumna and artist Charlotte Mouquin Voznesenskaya ’00.

When explaining her team’s “unique ability to ‘think outside the box,’” Johnson expresses deep pride in the logo they created for A Little Beacon Blog’s Black-Owned Hudson Valley directory.

The black and white logo is inspired by a building in Newburgh, New York, that was home to the Alsdorf Academy, a music and dance school founded by Professor Dubois Alsdorf, the son of a freed slave.

Like the flower that bears its name, Johnson’s company continues to bloom, thanks in no small part to the entrepreneur’s creativity, pragmatism and drive. And, when asked what advice she would give to Masters students who are thinking about their future careers, her recommendation is simple: “Don’t be afraid to learn and grow. With innovation, you’re always learning and you always have to be open to it.”

HITTING A HIGH NOTE JENNIFER SCHANTZ P’22

“ I always see opportunity even when the world appears to be falling apart.”

For Jennifer Schantz P’22, accepting the position of Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleishman Executive Director for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts felt, in many ways, like “a homecoming.” Schantz attended the Juilliard Pre-College for flute and piccolo as a teenager, and so was intimately familiar with the Lincoln Center campus.

But one aspect of this homecoming she couldn’t have anticipated: It was March 2020, and the library had to close its doors due to the spread of COVID-19.

A renowned research and circulating library, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts houses one of the world’s most extensive collections of circulating, reference and rare archives of dance, theater, music and recorded sound.

“Our initial and immediate challenge was determining how to continue serving our public while our doors were closed,” Schantz says. But, ever the optimist, the Masters parent shares that “I always see opportunity even when the world appears to be falling apart.”

Schantz and her team set to work creating “systems and a workflow process to provide copies of archival and circulating materials electronically.” Additionally, they “started to provide online reference services to anyone who needs research support; moved in-person programs, classes, lectures and performances online; and launched online exhibitions.”

She also found time to go on a comprehensive listening tour.

She met with hundreds of constituents, from the library staff and trustees to supporters and practitioners “to learn about the Library for the Performing Arts, to think about ways to continue to support the performing arts community, and to develop a vision to move forward during the pandemic and in a post-pandemic world.”

An essential part of that vision is creating solutions that ensure equitable access to materials. When the pandemic hit, performing artists had no option but to move online; those who didn’t — or couldn’t, due to a lack of WiFi or other technology — “were silenced,” Schantz says. She notes that recent surveys have “documented the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the livelihood of BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of color] and disabled performing artists.”

The library responded to this information by creating Tech Kits for Performing Artists, a program that “allows adult performing artists to borrow the technical equipment, including iPads with cellular service, headphones, microphones, keyboards, ring lights and other tools they need to document and record new work for one month at a time,” Schantz explains. The program launched in March 2021, and Schantz describes the response as “incredibly positive.” She notes that “As of today, all the tech kits have been checked out, and over 400 library cardholders are on our waitlist. We also have heard from libraries and performing institutions across the country who wish to replicate our program.”

In addition to bringing essential tools to artists in need, this spring, the library headed outdoors: “We are turning our library inside out,” the executive director shares. She and her team transformed the building’s 3,600-square-foot terrace into “the largest outdoor reading and research rooms in New York City.”

In addition to providing access to the library’s materials in a safe, socially distanced environment, they also planned outdoor readings, panel discussions and performances.

“I often tell my children, Alec [’22] and Jordan, that it is important to have the mindset that anything is possible and that perceived roadblocks should be seen as opportunities,” Schantz says. And there is no better example of that mindset than this Masters parent. By orchestrating programming that supports performing artists during the pandemic, Schantz’s efforts are worthy of a standing ovation.

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TAKING THE LEDE LOGAN SCHICIANO ’21

“ As a student journalist, there’s always a unique perspective we can bring to the table.”

It was a love of sports that led Logan Schiciano ’21 to discover a wholly different passion: journalism.

The recent graduate, who roots for the Yankees, Knicks and Jets, got his first real taste of reporting when he started a sports blog in eighth grade. “It kind of all took off from there,” he says.

During the three years he was involved with Tower, the student-run school newspaper, Schiciano was a sports design editor, editor in chief, and, in his senior year, the lead producer of Tower Broadcast Network, a new on-air newscast that he conceptualized and spearheaded.

“I’ve always really admired the broadcasters of my favorite teams,” Shiciano explains. “Sports broadcasting has always been something that I’ve been interested in doing for a career, so naturally the broadcast medium intrigued me.”

Although Tower has traditionally been a print newspaper, COVID-19 upended the reporting and distribution process.

Starting in spring 2020, student journalists began publishing more articles on Tower’s website and providing regular updates on the paper’s Instagram account. Schiciano understood the importance of adapting his reporting to the times and pitched the concept of a regular broadcast to the paper’s faculty advisors, Ellen Cowhey and Matt Ives. The idea, which would bring a new form of reporting to the school community, was met with enthusiasm. So, Schiciano got to work.

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With little experience in video production, the reporter committed himself to learning the ins and outs of the medium.

For the last two summers, Schiciano has participated in Newsroom by the Bay, a program for high school journalists, which he notes has “a pretty heavy multimedia journalism-based curriculum.” That set him on a path to be able to provide the school community with high-quality broadcast news.

“By September, I knew I wanted to hit the ground running,” he says. “I wanted to make an immediate impact.” Armed with a tripod, video camera, lavalier microphones and his newfound video production skills, Schiciano got to work.

Tower Broadcast Network first aired early last fall, with news segments on The Masters School’s remote start to the school year, the anti-racism and anti-bias action plan, and the impact of COVID-19 on college students’ experiences, which included interviews with recent graduates. Since then, the program has covered topics both local and national, ranging from the School’s weekly COVID-19 pooled testing to the presidential election in November. Schiciano’s focus is on local news, and so when covering national stories, he aimed to include community members’ voices. “As a student journalist, there’s always a unique perspective we can bring to the table,” he says.

The community’s interest in the new format has surpassed Schiciano’s expectations. “It’s been really cool to know that we’re a reliable news source that students and teachers are going to for updates,” he shares.

Beyond print and broadcast, Schiciano also has explored podcasting. “Since COVID, one of the things that I and others have improved upon is being aware of what medium is going to be the most compelling for our audience,” he explains. Earlier this year he interviewed James Townsend, a photojournalist who was at the January 6 Capitol riot, for a Tower podcast. “In my opinion, that was the perfect medium for the conversation,” Schiciano says. “I implemented a lot of the sounds that he took from his videos of the day, which really brought the listener to the situation.”

While Schiciano has made a name for himself within the school community, his work also has been recognized outside of Masters. In the 2020-2021 school year, he was named the Journalism Education Association’s New York State Journalist

of the Year and the National Scholastic Press Association’s Multimedia Journalist of the Year. “To see that my work has been recognized in such prestigious competitions has motivated me to look at fellow winners and try to improve my coverage even more,” he said. But the reporter is quick to note that “I couldn’t have gotten to this point without the amazing Tower staff and advisors and the program we have here at Masters.”

Once he leave Masters, Schiciano will continue reporting and pursuing his passion: In the fall, he’ll head to Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism.

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HELPING PARENTS FIND THE WAY NTIANU EASTMOND-VISANI ’92

“ The most rewarding part of working on Wayfinder NYC so far has been getting great feedback and advice from members of the mobility and accessibility communities.”

Traveling to another country and experiencing a new culture can often be eye-opening. And for Ntianu Eastmond-Visani ’92, one element of a 2019 family trip to Japan and Thailand was a revelation: the ease with which she and her husband were able to navigate public transportation — with their 1-year-old son sitting comfortably in his stroller.

“We traveled by plane, train, bus and even a tuk-tuk,” the alumna says. “In spite of the language barriers, it was relatively easy to travel with our toddler, stroller and luggage in tow – because of the consistent, clear wayfinding signage and the availability of elevators.”

That trip abroad led her to create Wayfinder NYC, a digital tool that helps caregivers easily navigate the New York City subway system with children and strollers. The perils of traveling the city with a stroller is an ordeal that Eastmond-Visani and other city-dwelling parents know well. Indeed, only half of New York City’s subway stations provide elevator access, and caregivers are often forced to carry children and strollers up and down the stairs. The result can be tragic: In 2019, a young mother fell and died while carrying her child and stroller down the stairs of a subway station in Manhattan.

When she heard about the fatal fall, Eastmond-Visani took action and began work on Wayfinder NYC. At the time, she was participating in MotherCoders, a nonprofit tech training program that aims to help women with children on-ramp to

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careers in tech. “I’ve been coding since middle school and have been working in the digital space for most of my career,” she explains. “But I wanted to explore new career options in tech.

MotherCoders helped me to reawaken my intellectual curiosity and reframe my skills.”

During her MotherCoders training she created a static version of a stroller-friendly MTA subway map; in 2020, she launched a Google version of the map.

Eastmond-Visani, who runs a digital consulting agency in addition to being founder and product lead for Wayfinder NYC, explains that equity is an important element of the tool. “The vision for Wayfinder NYC has changed significantly over the past year as I have learned more about inclusive design and accessibility,” she says. “I realized that most mobility tools are built for a single, able-bodied user, which excludes so many of us.” She completed “a new version of the full product prototype” at the end of 2020. “It’s currently being refined for user testing,” she says.

“The most rewarding part of working on Wayfinder NYC so far has been getting great feedback and advice from members of the mobility and accessibility communities,” she reflects.

With her innovative — and inclusive — concept, Eastmond-Visani isn’t just mapping a simpler, safer way for caregivers to get around the city. She’s living her alma mater’s mission: to be a power for good in the world.

ENGLISH CLASS TAKES ON NEW MEANING GEOFF NELSON

“ Innovative teachers are learners themselves, exhibiting a willingness to re-examine, deconstruct foundational assumptions, and imagine new ways of thinking and being in the classroom.”

Luckily for Masters, Geoff Nelson didn’t become a stand-up comedian as he thought he would as a kid. Instead, for the past two years, the music journalist-turned-English teacher has injected humor and insight into thought-provoking discussions during his English 10, 21st-Century Black Literature and Gender Literature classes.

With parents who were academics, Nelson found himself trying to avoid the “family business.” His turning point came when he attended an independent Quaker school in Rhode Island. He was inspired by the teachers there who, he says, “encouraged us to think for ourselves, which isn’t innovation in a visible way but it did encourage us to explore the world with curiosity and possibility.”

Nelson, who is chair of the English Department, applies that same ideology in his classroom, where innovation means building “spaces for students to explore their creativity and curiosity.”

Much of his approach is defined by the way he views and is inspired by his colleagues, who he is quick to note are all doing exciting and creative work: “Innovative teachers are learners themselves, exhibiting a willingness to re-examine, deconstruct foundational assumptions, and imagine new ways of thinking and being in the classroom.”

One way he fosters this creativity is by reframing English through “the world of popular and contemporary culture.”

By suggesting that students see the world as text, Nelson says, “contemporary novels, movies, shows, rituals, physical

spaces, structures of social arrangement – all of these cultural productions are ripe for analysis if we just learn to look and see with precision and curiosity.”

During a recent analytical writing assignment, he asked his sophomores and juniors to study Shakespeare’s “Othello” alongside the 2017 Oscar-winning Jordan Peele film “Get Out.” For Nelson, “entering more modern works into conversations with the so-called ‘classics’ helps our students expand the range of what texts and voices are considered worthy of deep thinking and critical conversation.”

This is all his way of saying to his students, “People don’t need to live and then die to be appreciated — they are making art right now that’s relevant to you, and that’s what Shakespeare was doing.”

Nelson continues to break ground by exposing students to celebrated contemporary writers with a diverse range of voices.

This winter, he arranged for Brit Bennett, the New York Times bestselling author of “The Vanishing Half,” to be the keynote speaker during the School’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. He is focused on showcasing “voices that will represent the wide diversity of experiences in our student body and voices that might expand the horizon of possibility in the personal and political imaginations of our students.”

It all comes back to the great creativity Nelson seeks and finds on our mighty campus: “It’s a wonderful place to collaborate and innovate, because there are all these really smart people who are trying to solve problems in new and exciting ways.”

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COVER STORY INNOVATORS

PURSUING HER PASSION CARLY GRIZZAFFI ’21

“ I feel like I can have an impact just by writing code on my computer, and I think that’s pretty special.”

Carly Grizzaffi ’21 is a self-described “tech nerd at heart.”

And so, when she was looking for a new school for her sophomore year, she was clear about her academic needs: “The number one priority on my list was finding a school with a robust engineering and computer science curriculum.”

During her three years at Masters, Grizzaffi didn’t waste a moment, and took advantage of all that the School’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center has to offer. When she wasn’t pursuing courses like Introduction to Engineering and Design or Advanced Topics in Computer Science, she was a tech blogger for Tower and president of two school clubs: Girls Who Code and Girls in STEM. Grizzaffi’s driving passion is STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — but her other interests are multifaceted: she was co-chair of MISH, a Model UN delegate and mentor, captain of the varsity swim team, a peer leader and a member of Gold Key. “I love how I was able to embrace my interests in engineering and computer science while being able to pursue my love of violin, swimming, community service and more,” she shares.

Her enthusiasm for STEM extends beyond computer science, although that discipline is arguably her favorite. “It allows me to think structurally and analytically about things that matter,” Grizzaffi explains. “I feel like I can have an impact just by writing code on my computer, and I think that’s pretty special.”

Indeed, she isn’t just focused on cultivating technical skills — she recognizes the importance of fostering a creative mindset.

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In her Principles of Engineering class, for example, Grizzaffi and a group of fellow students were tasked with coding and building a mini elevator. A purportedly straightforward project, there was one catch: They had no instructions to work from.

“We were just told to build an elevator and handed a box of materials!” she exclaims. The project pushed her and her team, not just to build a functioning structure, but also to think creatively and innovatively, with each team member utilizing their skills to complete the task at hand. “I found it so rewarding to collaborate with others because we each brought a unique and helpful skill set,” Grizzaffi says. “I am really proud of how it all came together.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Grizzaffi plans to continue studying computer science when she heads to Colgate University in the fall. “However,” she notes, “because of the many different ways I can combine the subject into a career, I am also considering double majoring and/or minoring in another area that has yet to be determined.”

“The ability to ‘think outside of the box’ is one of the most paramount things I’ve learned at Masters through the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center,” she reflects. “It has already made me feel more comfortable voicing my own perspective and I can only imagine that I will become more in touch with my creativity in college and beyond.”

For this determined young woman, her discipline in and dedication to her field — paired with an education that has fostered her creative mindset — are undoubtedly a code for success.

A KNACK FOR KEEPING STUDENTS ON THEIR TOES SHELL BENJAMIN

“ As a teaching artist, creating and crafting classes to enhance the educational experience is an ingrained thrill.”

When it comes to inspiration, Shell Benjamin, the director of Masters Dance Company (MDC), looks to her family tree.

“I have been inspired and influenced to ‘think outside the box’ by my moms, grandmothers and godmothers — African American women born during the Depression and who survived hardships during two world wars,” Benjamin says. “For them, being innovative was necessary to fulfill life’s basic needs.”

Benjamin channels that strength and ingenuity when working with her dance students. For the past five years, in addition to leading MDC, she has taught Dance Tech Levels I to IV and advised the Urban Connection dance groups.

A talented dancer, Benjamin has toured in more than 14 countries. At one time, she decided to hang up her pointe shoes, but, she says, “within a week I ended up as a principal dancer in the newly formed Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance.”

Now, she brings the gift of dance to Masters students. “As a teaching artist, creating and crafting classes to enhance the educational experience is an ingrained thrill,” Benjamin shares.

“While both pre-pandemic and pandemic classes posed different challenges, the outcome in finding innovative solutions remains the same.”

Upon her arrival at Masters in 2016, she noticed that students loved to dance “but were just as passionate about other interests.”

She immediately “created concerts that would weave and link all of these curiosities,” so that students could explore their varied interests using dance as a vehicle. Shell also encouraged students to think of themselves as “dancing advocates” who can use their talents on the stage to bring attention to issues they care about.

And they have. Through performances, the dancers have successfully raised funds for numerous organizations: Seeds of Peace, UNICEF, National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Foundation of America, to name a few.

Benjamin takes great pride, not just in her dancers’ working to improve the world around them, but in their focus on improving their technical skills. When a movement or bit of choreography comes together for them, the teacher confesses that “seeing the light bulbs go off is rewarding.”

“I have developed units that crafted the way for ownership of their progress and a deeper understanding of body mechanics,” she says. “The results: Students have learned the importance of correct anatomical alignment and progressed past their expectations.”

For someone who teaches dance, being able to pivot took on new meaning during the last year. Benjamin directed a Fall Video Showcase where student choreographers created works that focused on the current social climate for in-person and remote students to perform. She invited two guest artists of color, Kim Grier-Martinez and Michela Lerman, both leading figures in their dance disciplines, to teach virtual workshops. To keep an air of levity and fun, Benjamin modeled some of her class components after interactive game shows.

“During the pandemic, remote teaching and learning presented the task of sustaining and generating a sense of community,” she explains.

By encouraging her students to create art with purpose and instilling resilience in them, Benjamin is en pointe.

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COVER STORY INNOVATORS

A FOCUS ON LESSONS THAT MATTER DAVID BECKER

“ Being innovative means not being afraid to do things in new ways, to let go of past assumptions, and to get down to what really matters.”

Sometimes, you just know.

As a high school student, media arts teacher David Becker just knew that filmmaking was in his future. “My biggest inspiration was the TV show ‘Twin Peaks,’ which lit a fire in me that still burns brightly,” he says.

His work as a documentarian over the years, he explains, ignited yet another passion: “working with young people and helping to empower people to find their voice using media arts.” After directing a film about a high school for the arts, Becker realized that his place was in the classroom and decided to pursue teaching full time. He just completed his first year as a teacher in the Visual Arts Department at Masters.

Becker acknowledges that “all teachers have had to innovate this year like never before,” and as a media arts educator, he is used to “staying alert to changes in the industry as new technologies are developed.”

However, teaching during a pandemic meant being even more creative, “whether it was finding ways to connect with remote students or developing ways for students to produce media using phones instead of video cameras.” According to Becker, “being innovative means not being afraid to do things in new ways, to let go of past assumptions, and to get down to what really matters.”

For example, students in his Digital and Social Media class produced YouTube videos and created a YouTube channel. “The students each brought their own unique point of view to the videos, and it’s a project I look forward to building on in future classes,” Becker said.

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Zoom has also allowed Becker to bring guest artists into the classroom to speak with students in his Video Production, Digital Photography, Game Design, and Animation and Motion Graphics courses. Recently, some of his students got to “meet” talented animators and twin sisters Joy Buran and Noelle Melody, whose work is featured on popular networks like Netflix and Nickelodeon, among others. “They walked us through the process of creating the animated series ‘Human Kind Of ’ for Facebook, from the creation of character sketches and color schemes to the finished product,” he shares.

Photographer Geet Sharma also spoke to his students “straight from a cafe in Kathmandu, Nepal,” Becker says, and shared stories “about how he has integrated photography into the first aid and relief projects he organizes, including in the aftermath of the tragic 2015 earthquake in Nepal.” For this dedicated educator and his students, connecting with Sharma from “halfway around the world was an exciting opportunity and sparked some great conversations.”

As both a teacher and a filmmaker, finding inspiration through storytelling is what Becker knows best. He learns “from the people whose stories I have the honor to tell.” One documentary subject who had an impact on Becker was Wavy Gravy.

Becker says he was “one of the original ‘hippies,’ the emcee of Woodstock, a clown, a poet, and the co-founder of the Seva Foundation,” which, since 1978, has empowered underserved communities to provide eye care services to more than 44 million people around the world.

Becker’s takeaway from working on that film comes from one of Wavy’s borrowed sayings: “Put your good where it will do the most.” And Becker shares, “That’s a life lesson I take to heart and that often inspires me to go outside the box.”

SEEING A NEED, MAKING A DIFFERENCE CHRISTOPHER BARNABY ’22

“ The reactions from the health care workers we’ve delivered lunches and dinners to have been so positive. The entire reason for Friends4Frontlines was to support our health care workers, and it was really good to see them benefiting from this cause.”

During spring 2020 in New York, businesses were shutting down, schools were going remote, and hospitals were filled to capacity with COVID-19 patients. With the barrage of news reports describing hospital staff working around the clock to save lives, Christopher Barnaby ’22 and two of his childhood friends, Shane Daughtry and John Prince, knew they had to do something to support them.

And that’s how Friends4Frontlines was born.

The initiative the friends created started to provide meals from local restaurants to frontline medical staff at area hospitals during what is now recognized as the “first wave” in New York.

“We thought this cause was a way to help health care workers during the pandemic,” Barnaby says.

Then sophomores, they began raising money from individuals to purchase meals, which they hand-delivered to hard-working and hungry hospital staff. They focused their efforts on feeding those working the night shift, as those staff members were less likely to benefit from the generous food donations that were often delivered during the day.

“The reactions from the health care workers we’ve delivered lunches and dinners to have been so positive,” Barnaby shares, noting that hospital staff have sent them letters of thanks and shared photos of themselves enjoying the meals. “The entire reason for Friends4Frontlines was to support our health care workers, and it was really good to see them benefiting from this cause.”

When The Masters School shared the story of Friends4Frontlines in the spring 2020 edition of The Bulletin, the nascent project had raised $9,400 and made 15 deliveries to three New York hospitals. One year later, Friends4Frontlines has raised $24,000 and has delivered more than 2,000 meals to five hospitals.

Barnaby notes that “because of how much people supported the cause, we were able to help more frontline workers and purchase more meals from local restaurants.” They even added four new members to the initiative to help with deliveries.

And in December 2020, their cause went national when the three founders were featured on “Good Morning America.”

During the segment, the students learned that Cottonelle was donating $5,000 to Friends4Frontlines, news that Barnaby describes as “a big surprise.” In addition to the national spotlight, Barnaby explains that that local news coverage has “helped us to continue supporting our frontline workers during a really tough and long time. Being able to have so much attention was great for our cause.”

With the COVID-19 vaccine becoming more widely available and hospitalizations decreasing, Barnaby sees their work as drawing to its natural conclusion. Despite the many lives that he, Daughtry and Prince have touched with their creative and charitable work over the last year, Barnaby is adamant that anybody can bring an idea to fruition and make a difference.

“What my friends and I are doing isn’t anything special,” Barnaby said. “Anybody can help in any capacity that they can. We saw a problem and did our best to try and help solve that problem.

Anybody could have done what we did; we just happened to be the ones to do it.”

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COVER STORY INNOVATORS

WITH HER MIGHT — AND A SONG IN HER HEART KATIE MEADOWS

“ I am at my best when I am making art with other people.”

If Katie Meadows had a musical named after her, it might be called “The Merry Multitasker.”

Meadows has had many starring roles on campus since her Masters debut in fall 2005. Her current credits read like this: coordinator of middle school performing arts; sixth grade class dean; dorm director; music director of the middle school and upper school winter musicals; co-director of Preludes, the middle school musical troupe; co-advisor of the upper school cabaret troupe; and co-advisor of Q+, the upper school LGBTQIA+ student affinity group.

For Meadows, a classically trained pianist and multiinstrumentalist, “It doesn’t feel like juggling.” She continues, “There’s a saying that ‘when you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.’ Artists are used to shifting gears and working on multiple projects simultaneously.”

This talented teacher’s knack for nimbly managing her many roles at once was honed by paying her way through music school “by accompanying for voice lessons, working as a church musician, vocal coaching and doing a lot of music directing of shows.” Besides finding joy in playing music at a young age, Meadows also discovered a love of collaboration by “learning how to work on these long-term productions with other artists and building something fresh, new and meaningful as a team.”

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That innovative thinking is how Meadows has been able to keep the performing arts thriving at Masters during a pandemic. She cites last spring’s fifth grade virtual puppet opera and this year’s upper school Zoom winter musical production of “Now. Here.

This.” as examples of successful “learning experiences.”

She explains that last spring’s switch to remote learning and this year’s hybrid model “required all of us to change and rethink the way we do everything: pre-production work, setting the culture and tone, teaching, learning, rehearsing, giving and receiving feedback, creating a sense of ensemble and ultimately how we captured and shared these pieces with our community.”

As music director for “Now. Here. This.,” the School’s first virtual musical, Meadows taught the 42 actors how to record their vocals at home and worked with each student to record multiple versions of their songs. She did this while tackling numerous technological and audio challenges. “The greatest challenge of all was not being able to share the same physical space with our whole cast,” Meadows says.

Meadows, who has significant hearing loss, says that “masking has proved to be challenging both in conversation and during vocal work.” But, ever the problem-solver, the musician notes that “fifth grade students used clear vocal masks for puppet opera rehearsals!”

Meadows’ solution to creating harmony in the company’s collective final performances? To focus on polishing each student’s individual vocal execution by offering instructional videos via the Loom app. The online tool allowed her to share her screen showing sheet music while also viewing a small video of her face for conducting cues and cut-offs. “Students could view these files anytime a rehearsal was missed or even if they just needed a refresher,” she explains. Meadows shares that projects like “Now. Here. This.” encouraged everyone “to stretch ourselves in ways we never imagined — that’s where the real learning happens!”

both in-person and remotely.” Meadows was able to offer a creative music curriculum to her fifth and sixth graders “by exploring everything from Soundtrap, a browser-based recording studio, to Flat, an online music notation software.”

With some students learning in person and others virtually this year, instruction in the music classrooms created its own set of hurdles. The biggest: not being able to sing together in person because of health and safety guidelines and restrictions.

She took it on by becoming “deeply engaged in studying and implementing all kinds of technology to engage my students

Meadows has been inspired “to think outside the box” by her students, colleagues and a childhood piano teacher. But she points to her parents as the ones who first encouraged her creative musical path. “They understood that it gave my life meaning and joy,” she says. “I am at my best when I am making art with other people.”

Teaching her fifth grade music students basic keyboard and harmony skills also required some significant orchestration by Meadows, who taught this unit with an online keyboard. “While nothing can replace that in-person experience of learning how to play an instrument, students were still able to get the practical application of the music theory taught in class,” she says.

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SNAPSHOTS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Prepping a New Generation of Diplomats Zach Battleman ’21 credits Masters’ Model UN (MUN) with helping him become “more outspoken, more outgoing and, most importantly, more confident in my abilities and myself.”

And so, with the news that the Middle School was forming a MUN team, he jumped at the chance to pay it forward as an upper school coach. “I’ve thought for the longest time that I wish I had an opportunity to develop these skills when I was in middle school,” he shared. “With my time at Masters coming to an end, I’m happy to be able to give that opportunity to the next generation.”

Public Speakers With a Powerful Message Take the podium as “a power for good.” That’s what middle school teacher Michaela Boller’s fifth grade students did as they presented speeches that answered the question, “How can I help?”

As part of their public speaking unit, students researched and presented on issues that were important to them, including homelessness, racism, endangered animals and plastic pollution.

“I am beyond impressed with how quickly the students picked brave and bold topics that they were passionate about and how they proudly delivered their speeches at the podium!” Boller exclaimed.

Saliyaah Diouf ’28 presented on LGBTQ+ rights, a subject she wanted to learn more about. Sharing her compassion for this community came easily, but working on her speech was more difficult: “I had to do some serious research,” she explained.

Emmanuel Diamantakis ’28 focused on the value of exercise.

“First of all, I learned a bunch of new types of training, like aerobic training, that I can add to my training,” he said. “I also learned that while some of my friends like to exercise, they don’t really know why it’s important.”

While speaking about “harmful ideas that get spread through the media” was important to Viviana Rolston ’28, she noted that “I do not do that well with talking in front of people.” Despite her apprehension, she accepted the personal challenge with aplomb, saying “It makes me a bit nervous, but it’s still fun!”

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MUN faculty advisor and middle school languages teacher Brittany Farrar was thrilled to get the fledgling group up and running. She explained, “We started this team to give middle school students an edge when they join the upper school team, as they will already be aware of and exposed to different types of committees, and will know which delegate roles suit them best and which topics they enjoy working on.”

After only a few virtual meetings, newcomer Sophie Moussapour ’25 was grateful to Farrar and the upper school students who were “extremely supportive, and helpful in introducing us to the MUN terms, etiquette and culture.” She added, “They have facilitated an incredibly supportive and fun environment for us to learn and make mistakes.”

Teammate AJ Bagaria ’25 echoed that enthusiasm: “As a person who loves debate and an aspiring leader, Model UN has always been a dream to be a part of, even before it was made available to the middle school.”

SNAPSHOTS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Reenactment Brings Immigrant Plight to Life photos, and shared the stories of the immigrants to whom they were assigned to learn about.

Ginger Yancovich ’26 portrayed Concetta, a mother of three from Italy, who was seeking a better life. “She brought money, about $30, her journal and food and water,” Yancovich said. “Concetta brought her journal because I wanted her to be a teacher in the United States.”

Through both virtual and in-person presentations, middle school students in Mary Chappell’s and Paul Friedman’s humanities classes recreated steerage scenes to learn about early immigrant life.

Students wore costumes, took passport

Harry Brass ’26 said: “My character’s name was Jurek from Stolin, Poland. He is very smart but illiterate and timid. His biggest struggle was losing his wife and coping with that. I learned how hard it was for people in their own country, but in America as well.”

Friedman said that learning through role-playing can be a powerful tool.

“It can be a more memorable way of learning about these topics and get the students excited, as well as spark interesting discussions about what it means to immigrate to the United States today, how those processes are similar and different, and how views about immigration and immigrants shift and change over time,” he said.

Lucas Ruiz ’26 played Nicolie from Russia, who fled with his family because civil war was imminent. Ruiz said: “If there is anything I took away from this experience it’s that no matter what you look like, the way you sound, or where you’re coming from, your trip will be difficult and push you to your limits.”

Eighth Graders Design Clever Rube Goldberg Machines Cartoonist Rube Goldberg’s eponymous machines are a delight to watch in action, with the goal of performing a simple task in an indirect or overly complicated way. And eighth graders discovered that the creative machines aren’t just entertaining — they are a fantastic lesson in physics.

As a wrap-up to their physics unit, student groups were tasked with creating a Rube Goldberg machine that used at least one of each type of the six simple machines they recently learned about: a wheel and axle, a lever, an inclined plane, a pulley, a screw or a wedge. Students also tested their knowledge of speed, forces, power and work in building their machines.

“Some types of simple machines are easy to incorporate, while others are a bit of a challenge,” eighth grade science teacher Alise Barrett explained. Anna Ruiz ’25, whose machine’s task was to pop a balloon, echoed this sentiment: “The most challenging part of the project was getting all six simple machines to work with one another. We struggled with getting our pulley to work.”

Barrett, who co-taught classes with fellow science teacher and eighth grade dean Morghan Lewis, enjoyed seeing students work together to solve problems. She said, “It is fun to watch them use some trial and error to see if each machine works and then how to get them to ‘flow’ together.”

The project is the brainchild of Lewis. Last spring, when the School transitioned to remote learning, she challenged students to create Rube Goldberg machines “as a fun way to bridge the various topics and concepts learned in physical science into one activity. It’s physics in action!”

Alex Thorn ’25 and his group made a machine that clicked a pen into a “ready to write” position. Their creation required materials such as wood, cardboard, paper, textbooks, a glue cap, string and, as Thorn said, “a lot of glue and tape.” He noted that because many small variables were associated with the machine, “The hardest part is the fine-tuning at the end of the project.” And that feeling of getting the machine working just right? That’s “by far the best part.”

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SNAPSHOTS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Fifth Graders Reach for the Stars The fifth graders were hard at work studying galaxies far, far away!

This winter, classes included a science unit on planetary systems.

Students were particularly excited to learn about recent developments in space when the Perseverance rover safely landed on Mars on February 18. For their culminating project on this unit, students researched and completed a presentation on a planet of their choice which answered specific questions regarding a planet’s size, number of moons and composition.

“I am especially proud of how the students have been thinking of such creative ways to present their planets,” said Michaela Boller, middle school science teacher and fifth grade dean. “I have learned about Neptune through a comedic skit and about Mars through a colorful and unique mask!”

Middle Schoolers Tinker With Design In the Middle School’s Design, Modeling and Prototyping class, students used Tinkercad, the 3D digital design app, to brainstorm and develop prototype solutions to authentic design challenges.

“I enjoy how limitless the possibilities are when using Tinkercad, and how an idea can become a reality with proper thought, calculations and imagination,” Sophie Moussapour ’25 said.

Innovation and entrepreneurship teacher Rae Johnson ’11 added, “It’s an awesome digital alternative to the traditional building we might have been doing in a ‘normal’ year, so we spent more time on Tinkercad than we would have if we were able to share materials.”

While fifth and sixth grade students learned and explored the fundamentals of the app, seventh and eight graders focused on in-depth projects, from initial designs, blueprint work, model designs and technical sketches to problem-solving by creating functional 3D products and floor plans for 3D printable houses.

“In all of these situations, students were practicing the habits of design thinking, beginning with the problem or opportunity and

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using their math, science and artistic skills to design the ideal solution,” Johnson explained.

Students honed their creative skills to design birdhouses, lanterns, everyday objects and houses. “I have learned how detailed, intricate and exact the science of engineering is, and how much effort, creativity and careful calculations go into the everyday objects we take for granted,” Moussapour explained.

“I enjoy working on Tinkercad because it doesn’t have limitations,” Lorelei Gary ’26 said. “You can build whatever you want given enough time, effort and skill with tools.”

SNAPSHOTS UPPER SCHOOL

Spanish Classes Honor Women Everywhere If the halls of Masters Hall are alive with the sound of music, then one of upper school teacher Roberto Mercedes’ Spanish classes must be in session.

The month of March was no exception, as students paid tribute to influential women and gender equality through song, art, poetry and performance.

“Incorporating lessons about International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month into the Spanish curriculum is an innovative way of learning,” Mercedes explained. “It is an effort of promoting gender inclusion and awareness about social equality.”

Students dove right in to create posters about women’s rights and inspirational individuals like Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, former prime minister of India Indira Gandhi, and LGBTQ+ rights activist Jazz Jennings. During class, they presented impactful videos, shared heartfelt poems and stories, and performed music.

Karina Mangru ’23 noted that it was a fun way to learn. “It has been a great way to tie worldwide celebrations to the language,” she said.

Much of that passion comes from Mercedes. Charlie Cooper ’23 said that Mercedes’ energy “is contagious, and I am always excited for class.”

“I’ve never had a teacher focus that much on a subject truly important to me,” added Madi Brown ’24.

Although Clara Kolker ’22 acknowledged that the pandemic can make activities like this challenging to pull off, she was glad it came together. “I think that having everyone engage with the holiday in such a creative and interactive way was not only fun but very effective!” she said.

Author Brit Bennett Adds Her Voice to Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. The theme may have been “Unheard Voices,” but the message came through loud and clear during the upper school community’s annual celebration to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in January.

“Martin Luther King Jr. talked about unheard voices. Though he stood for peaceful protest, he also spoke for unheard voices,” explained Director of Equity and Inclusion Karen Brown, who spearheaded the day’s events with help from students and faculty.

Bestselling author Brit Bennett was the keynote speaker. She spoke about the inspiration for her latest book, “The Vanishing Half,” which the Masters community had the opportunity to read. Bennett said her mother’s stories about facing discrimination in a segregated farming town in Louisiana had helped with her writing process. “Her stories reminded me that American racism was neither distant history nor history at all,” she said.

“Brit Bennett was powerful, relatable, humble and humorous.

She is an inspiration to all writers and particularly young women of color.” Equity and Inclusion Coordinator Eric Shear said.

The daylong virtual celebration was also filled with passionate and moving student presentations through spoken word, dance, slideshows and conversation. Topics included “Uncomfortable Conversations,” “The Invisible Minority,” “Unseen Violence,” “Antisemitism” and “Environmental Displacement.”

Caleb Jakes ’22, a diversity ambassador and the co-president of ONYX, a club dedicated to discussing and celebrating Black culture, was pleased. “I thought the day went really well online considering our circumstances,” he said. “It still brought the same amount of education and support, and made sure that unheard voices were spoken.”

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SNAPSHOTS UPPER SCHOOL

MISH Auction Is a Win-Win Move over, Christie’s. With a chance to bid on lots such as Dr. Dieck’s homemade butter cookies, an Hermes tie, and the chance to be upper school co-chair for the day, MISH’s March online auction proved to be a winning fundraiser.

Sophomore MISH officer Giselle Meskin ’23 came up with the idea of an auction, which left MISH co-chairs Carly Grizzaffi ’21, Mariano Russo ’21, Logan Schiciano ’21 and Rachel Solomon ’21 thrilled with the results. “We raised $1,565 in total and are so thankful to the Masters community for their generous contributions,” Grizzaffi said.

The money raised was donated to the Loveland Foundation, an organization that brings opportunity and access to healing for communities of color, especially to Black women and girls.

“MISH has been dedicated to supporting POC-founded and run organizations,” Grizzaffi explained. “In one of our meetings, we came across the Loveland Foundation and were moved by their cause and all the wonderful work they do.”

The highest bid was for a tree planting and dedication, won

by Student Activities Coordinator and MISH team member Joe DiDonato. He plans to dedicate the tree to the Class of 2020 which, because of the pandemic, didn’t have an in-person ceremony on Graduation Terrace. “I just wanted to acknowledge that they didn’t get to walk their graduation and give them something more,” DiDonato said. “They were a special class, and I would’ve gone higher with the bidding if I had to.”

Director of Residential Life and MISH Faculty Advisor Dena Torino was proud of the MISH group. “I’ve been really excited about this new and creative fundraising idea,” she said. “From their promotion of it to the execution, the students did a fantastic job of organizing and putting this auction together, and we may turn it into an annual event.”

Paying Homage to French Innovation As students in Ladane du Boulay’s class bid “adieu” to French 2, they ended the school year with a final project highlighting their appreciation of French inventors.

Rather than answer multiple-choice questions on a final exam, students tackled a different test of their French knowledge through research and presentations about historical greats like philosopher, mathematician and scientist René Descartes and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.

Clara Nalle ’24, who researched educator and inventor Louis Braille, embraced the idea. “With a final exam, you take all the information you learned throughout the year and you have to study a lot all for one test, but with a project, you can show what you have learned in a less stressful way,” she said.

That was du Boulay’s intention in assigning this interest-based final project. “Students can showcase their abilities by demonstrating tenses we have used, their mastery of grammatical structures and the vocabulary they have learned,” she explained. “It’s fun because the students have a connection to the project by learning about a variety of inventors who not only contributed to French society, but to society as a whole.”

Hanna Fresca ’23 said she liked the idea of “a project where we can learn more about the culture and apply our knowledge.” She shared that she “chose les frères Lumière (the Lumière brothers) who are best known for their work in cinematography and film.”

In addition to writing an essay about an inventor’s life and contributions, students presented to the class. “I love these ‘aha!’ moments they’re having learning from their peers,” du Boulay said. “It’s a more meaningful and authentic way of assessing the students’ work.”

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SNAPSHOTS UPPER SCHOOL

Students Develop Software for Local Entrepreneur

Students in John Chiodo’s Independent Study in Software Development course learned the ins and outs of software development in a real-world context.

Joseph Diaz ’21 and Matt Nappo ’21 created a web-based customer communication checklist and tracking system.

They worked with a former educator who now owns and operates a financial services firm in Mount Kisco, New York.

As part of the software development life cycle, the students gathered preliminary information to develop a problem statement, which is a document that defines the client’s needs and serves as a springboard for the designers’ plans and experiments.

“Software development is a lot more than just simply coding,” said Chiodo, who serves as Masters’ director of innovation, engineering and computer science. “And what better way to introduce students to the whole process than by having them work with a client who will actually use their product.”

Upper School Virtual Musical a Hit Audiences pressed “play” to experience the School’s first virtual musical, a performance of “Now. Here.

This.” The show, which explores some of life’s most profound questions, aired during the last weekend in February. Because the Masters version of the off-Broadway production was entirely video-based, students could participate remotely or on campus.

Producing a virtual musical was a new experience — both for the students and the faculty. Jiarong Xie ’24, who participated virtually, said that it was “kind of hard to practice the songs and scenes, since there’s nobody I could practice with.” And, since Xie didn’t see or hear performances from other cast members, it was “a surprise when watching the final version.” The show’s director, Meg O’Connor, noted that, for the artistic team, which included fellow performing arts faculty members Katie Meadows as music director and John-Alec Raubeson as audio production engineer, “Between the audio and all the video, there were probably 1,000 files zipping around our Google Drives.”

Participating in a musical in this unique format was “exciting and scary,” Sam New ’21 said. “I didn’t know what to expect!”

New noted that the most rewarding part of the experience was watching the show.

“In stepping out of their comfort zones and working to produce a wholly different show, the students’ faith and hard work were rewarded,” O’Connor said. “They had so much fun. That inspires me, because it takes real bravery to join something that you can’t quite wrap your mind around.”

THE BULLETIN SUMMER 2021 | 29

ALUMNAE/I UPDATE

Honoring Edgar M. Masters H’98 for His Invaluable Service Edgar M. Masters H’98 has worn many hats during his 51 years of service to The Masters School: chair of the Board of Trustees, honorary member of the Class of 1998 and life trustee, to name a few. The great-nephew of the School’s founders, Eliza Bailey Masters and Sarah Wilbur Masters, Mr. Masters is the third generation of the founding family to sit on the Board. On June 30, he retired from the Board that he served for half a century.

“ He’s been an example to us all of what it means to strap in and do your part to be a power for good in the world — a virtuoso in our most dear endeavor.” — EDITH C. CHAPIN ’83, CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

30 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Mr. Masters joined the Board in 1971 and served as its chair from 1992 to 1998. He was instrumental in leading the School through a critical transition period: the introduction of coeducation, implementation of the Harkness table pedagogy and establishment of the CITYterm semester program. Mr. Masters was a strong proponent of reinvigorating the School’s athletics program and expanding the campus to include the science building, Morris Hall, and the Maureen Fonseca Center for Athletics and Arts.

On April 23, current and former trustees, heads of school, and staff gathered on Zoom to pay tribute to the beloved life trustee and honorary member of the first coeducational graduating class.

“My experience with the School for the past five decades has provided me with wonderful friendships, challenges, successes and even an occasional disagreement,” Mr. Masters said. “It is I who should thank all of you. For, if I have been a drummer for issues like coeducation, the School’s official name and athletics, it is all of you who have done the real work to make everything happen, and thus to make Masters the remarkable school that it is — and an unlimited power for good in the world. With all my heart, thank you all.”

Edith C. Chapin ’83, chair of the Board of Trustees, praised Mr. Masters’ achievements, longevity on the Board, and dedication to the School. “True mastery is the high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of practice,” she said. “And that’s exactly how Edgar has led this school over the last 50 years.

Never with ego, never with entitlement. Instead, his mission every day has been to preserve, protect and help the School thrive with clear-eyed thinking. He’s been an example to us all of what it means to strap in and do your part to be a power for good in the world — a virtuoso in our most dear endeavor.”

In a video created for the celebration, members of the Masters community reflected on Mr. Masters’ impact. Fellow trustee and niece Christina Masters Jones opened the video, noting that the School “is thriving because of your passion, because of your dedication, because of your leadership, and because of your vision. You may not have been an educator but you have an educator’s vision.”

Maureen Fonseca P’05, ’08, who worked closely with Mr. Masters during her 15-year tenure as head of school, said: “I wanted to highlight how important you were to me and to moving our School continually to the next level. You were always making sure we didn’t rest on our laurels. You have taught me and so many others what it means to do it with thy might.”

Honorary trustee and former board chair Lynn Pilzer Sobel ’71, P’99, ’05 shared that, when reflecting on Mr. Masters’ contributions to the School, “the first thing I thought of was S.O.S., which is Save Our School.”

She explained that shortly after Mr. Masters joined the Board in 1971, a fire ravaged much of Masters Hall. “Edgar raced to the School, and immediately started a bucket brigade, with a line of people moving books from one person to the next to save our library. To me, that’s a metaphor for the way that Edgar has so thoughtfully and carefully ministered to our School.”

“Remarkable, quiet and thorough” is how former board chair and fellow life trustee Susan Follett Morris ’57 described Mr. Masters. She highlighted many of his successes, including the creation of faculty housing and new athletic facilities, and said that she “supported and fully applaud what you have accomplished.”

Among the other community members who offered their thanks and praises were Director of Facilities Craig Dunne; former Chief Financial Officer Lew Wyman; former Head of School Pamela Clarke; Chief Financial Officer Ed Biddle; David Powell ’98, the first boy to graduate from Masters; former board members Susan “Spark” Cremin ’65 and Ruth Mitchell Freeman ’51; honorary trustee and former board chair Jeannette Sanford Fowlkes ’58, P’87; and board member and former board chair Tracy Tang Limpe ’80, P’18.

Head of School Laura Danforth closed the ceremony by stating: “Edgar, you are famous in the best possible ways. You’re famous for your kindness, you’re famous for your humility, and for your dedication to our shared cause of excellence in ethical education. And famous for your clear-minded, good-hearted leadership.”

THE BULLETIN SUMMER 2021 | 31

ALUMNAE/I UPDATE

A Half-Century of Sisterhood The foundation of their lifelong friendship was laid when they met at Dobbs in the early 1960s. Since then, the bond between Binky Bennett ’66 and Janet Richmond ’66 has only grown stronger.

Ask any Masters School student or graduate about their classmates, their dormmates, their friends, and chances are you will hear the response: “We’re like family!” Or, “We were always there for each other.”

A case in point is the longtime friendship between Binky Bennett ’66 and Janet Richmond ’66. Nearly 60 years after they met at Dobbs, they still have what Janet describes as “an immutable bond, a family bond.” While boarding was a new experience for them, both of their families had a Masters School legacy: Binky’s mother, sister and several cousins attended, as did Janet’s mother, aunt and sisters.

“We immediately bonded,” Binky remembers. “We were very trusting, loyal friends from then on. Janet always understood, never judged, and liked me for me. I was there for her the way she was there for me, no matter what.” The two remained close after graduation and in the years following — through the birth of Janet’s children, Binky’s coming out and other important life events.

And in 2017, a mutual love of animals led to what Janet describes as “the trip of a lifetime.”

Shortly after their 50th reunion in 2016, Binky asked Janet to travel with her to see Asian wildlife. “I Friends for some 60 years, Binky, right, thought,” Binky recalls, “‘Who and Janet, left, traveled together to China, could I possibly go with who would Borneo and Papua New Guinea. enjoy it as much as I will?’” Janet enthusiastically agreed to join her on a multicountry excursion. Over three weeks and 14 flights, When Janet was 18 months old, her mother, Janet Van Vranken they visited China, where they volunteered at panda reserves.

Angle Mays ’38, and father died. She was adopted by her They traveled to Borneo and saw orangutans living free in the aunt, Eleanor (Nell) Angle Richmond ’34, and uncle, Tom wild, and went to Papua New Guinea to see the spectacular Richmond, both of whom were school trustees and for whom birds-of-paradise, along with a panoply of insects, butterflies, the alumnae/i service award, the Richmond Bowl, was named. trees and flowers.

Nell Angle Richmond also served as head of the Alumnae Association for many years.

The experience, which Janet describes as “unreal,” only Binky and Janet got to know each other during their first year at school. “A lot of our bond came out of hardship,” Janet, who arrived at school several weeks late for medical reasons, remembers. Still dealing with the loss of her parents, she was shy and found that “Dobbs, in a way, was overwhelming for me.” But she soon made friends, including Binky, who also lived in Second House. Like Janet, Binky, too, had her struggles: “It was a very hard time for me because, it turns out, I’m gay. I didn’t know what that was. I just knew I was different,” she explains.

32 | MASTERSNY.ORG

brought the friends closer. “We are so compatible,” Janet explains, noting how well they traveled together during their adventure. “We just know each other so well. It’s exactly like we are family.”

“We have a huge, huge history,” Binky says. “A very meaningful history.”

For these Dobbs “sisters,” the history of a friendship that took them from Second House to countries across the globe is still being written.

The Estherwood Society recognizes alumnae/i, parents and friends who have chosen to honor The Masters School through their estate, trust or other gift planning vehicle.

The thoughtful planning of society members provides an ongoing legacy for future generations of Masters students and helps the School remain on solid footing during times of economic uncertainty.

For more information about the Estherwood Society, gift planning or to notify The Masters School of your intentions, please contact Director of Amunae/i Engagement Sujata Jaggi ’01 at 914-479-6611 or sujata.jaggi@mastersny.org

STRONGER TOGETHER To support the 2021-2022 Masters Fund, visit mastersny.org/makeagift or contact Associate Director of Institutional Advancement Mary Ryan '00 at 914-479-6433 or mary.ryan@mastersny.org.

THE BULLETIN SUMMER 2021 | 33

ALUMNAE/I UPDATE ­— AUTHOR’S CORNER

“Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History” An Alumna Dives Into the History of Commercial Shrimping When most people order shrimp scampi or enjoy a shrimp cocktail, they aren’t thinking about the people who cast the nets into the ocean and caught the crustaceans.

But Beverly Bowers Jennings ’64 isn’t most people.

Jennings compiled a decade’s worth of her research on East Coast commercial shrimping into the impressive “Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History,” published in 2020.

“

THE RESEARCH OF THE EAST COAST COMMERCIAL SHRIMPING INDUSTRY AND ESPECIALLY THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEIR LIVING FISHING THE OPEN WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC HAS BECOME A MAJOR PASSION FOR ME,” JENNINGS WRITES IN THE BOOK’S AFTERWORD. “WITH THIS BOOK I WANT TO HONOR THEM.

”

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The alumna’s interest in the industry’s rich history was piqued when she and her husband, Keith Jennings, purchased a home on Hilton Head Island 20 years ago. She enrolled in Clemson University and the Lowcountry Institute’s Master Naturalist Program, which led to her involvement with the Port Royal Sound Foundation Maritime Center. There, she conducted research, collected photographs and interviewed fishermen to create exhibits on the history of shrimping, crabbing and oystering.

“This book is a natural extension of the ten years I spent researching and writing about the Lowcountry,” Jennings explains in the book’s afterword. “My goal is to preserve the history of the shrimping industry, which has much less written about it than oystering and crabbing.”

The result of those many years of dedication can only be described as a true labor of love: The 320-page hardcover book is filled with more than 800 historical images and is informed, not just by her extensive research, but also by interviews Jennings conducted with “well over 100 fishermen, biologists and other people involved in the shrimp industry.”

“Shrimp Tales” begins in Fernandina and St. Augustine, Florida, where the United States’ commercial shrimping business got its start. Ensuing chapters cover the history of shrimping in a number of Georgia’s and South Carolina’s coastal areas. “Each chapter has the history of families and shrimpers, operations of shrimping, such as boat building, net sewing, how turtle excluders work” and much more, Jennings says. “Some people might be surprised by how much the shrimpers enjoyed their work. They liked being their own bosses.”

One chapter is dedicated to the Blessing of the Fleet, a centuries-old, predominantly Catholic tradition that came from Mediterranean fishing communities, during which

All proceeds from the sale of “Shrimp Tales” go to the South Carolina Seafood Alliance, which is committed to increasing production and enhancing consumption of local, fresh South Carolina seafood.

Beverly Bowers Jennings ’64 with her husband, Keith Jennings

boats are “blessed by a local priest or minister for a safe and prosperous new season.” Jenning writes: “This event also honors those lost at sea with a blessing and the throwing of a ceremonial wreath into the water.” Another chapter covers the shrimp industry’s opposition to the building of a Badische Anilin & Soda Fabrik AG manufacturing facility in 1969 and 1970. “The plant would have ruined the shrimping industry and Hilton Head would probably not be what it is today,” Jennings writes of the pivotal protests.

Sprinkled throughout are what Jennings describes as “‘small bites of history,’ such as the leadline for measuring the depth of the water, the importance of fiberglass” and even why some shrimp, shortly after being caught, are “engulfed in an eerie flickering blue-green flame” — and may even explode. (The answer has to do with phosphorus contaminants that remain in some mud from the days of phosphate mining.)

And for those readers who might have a craving for shellfish after taking in all these tidbits of information, Jennings has included mouth-watering recipes, many of which were shared

by fishermen, such as bacon-shrimp kebabs; zucchini stuffed with shrimp, tomato and feta; and the author’s personal favorite, feta and shrimp terrine.

“The research of the East Coast commercial shrimping industry and especially the people who make their living fishing the open waters of the Atlantic has become a major passion for me,” Jennings writes. “With this book I want to honor them.”

Jennings accomplished this feat with her well-researched history of the trade, and she has found another important way to support those who, she notes, do “very hard and dirty work.”

All proceeds from the sale of “Shrimp Tales” go to the South Carolina Seafood Alliance, which is committed to increasing production and enhancing consumption of local, fresh South Carolina seafood.

And while “Shrimp Tales” offers an array of historical information, the author hopes that readers take away one simple fact: “Local shrimp is tasty, safe to eat, and I hope they support the local industry.”

THE BULLETIN SUMMER 2021 | 35

IN MEMORIAM

Panton Adams (1956-2021) Adams joined The Masters School as a member of the Security Department in February 2013.

A familiar and warm presence on campus, his gentle spirit, caring ways and dedication to the students made him a fixture in the community.

He will be greatly missed by all.

The Masters School family mourns the loss of Panton Adams, a beloved colleague and friend. After a courageous battle, Panton Adams died from complications related to COVID-19 on the morning of Monday, February 1.

∫ 68 | MASTERSNY.ORG

“Panton represented the embodiment of our School’s mission. A true ‘power for good,’ he greeted students and teachers by name every morning with a warm and welcoming smile and radiated joy in all that he did,” Head of School Laura Danforth said. “Panton made every member of our school community feel safe, valued and cared for. Even as we grieve Panton’s loss, the love and light of his memory remain an enduring source of comfort and solace.”

Adams, who was 64 years old, leaves behind his wife, Crecencia, and two daughters, to whom he was a loving, doting father.

∫

Eleanor Torrey West ’31 (1913-2021)

In 1924, Mrs. West’s parents, Henry Norton and Nell Ford Torrey, purchased Ossabaw Island, the largest of Georgia’s barrier islands, and Mrs. West spent time between Grosse Pointe and Ossabaw Island.

Mrs. West dedicated her life to the conservation of the island, co-founding the Ossabaw Island Project and Genesis Project, two interdisciplinary programs for creative endeavors on Ossabaw Island. These projects were innovative for their time and engaged young people in sustainability as well as arts and sciences. She also funded intellectual and artistic retreats on the island, with writers including Ralph Ellison and Annie Dillard spending time there.

On January 17, 2021, Eleanor (Sandy) Torrey West ’31 passed away at the age of 108. She was the oldest living Masters School alumna.

Mrs. West entered Dobbs in the fall of 1929 as a boarding student from Grosse Pointe, Michigan. At Dobbs, Mrs. West was a member of the yearbook staff and Phoenix, the honorary drama society.

In 1960, she and her brother’s children inherited Ossabaw, where she lived until she was 104 and moved to Savannah, Georgia.

In what would foreshadow her life’s work, Mrs. West chose to quote the English poet Robert Herrick in her senior yearbook: “Attempt the end and never stand to doubt.” Indeed, Mrs. West’s extraordinary life, which she so passionately dedicated to conservation efforts, was the embodiment of Herrick’s words.

THE BULLETIN SUMMER 2021 | 69

REMEMBRANCES

Faculty & Staff William Andres of York, Maine on June 24, 2020 Panton Adams of Bronx, New York on February 1, 2021

Alumnae/i 1931

Eleanor Torrey West of Savannah, Georgia on January 17, 2021

1934 Hilde Seelbach Rohde

of New Canaan, Connecticut

on May 27, 2020 1935

Gale Crouse Gilbert of Barneveld, NY on June 9, 2020

1937

Adele Stevens Vail of Ignacio, Colorado on November 26, 2020

1938

Anne Barbara Hesse of Salisbury, Connecticut on January 17, 2019

1938

Elizabeth Small Watson of Fresno, California on July 28, 2018

1938

Jane Stuckey Rowan of Leicester, North Carolina on September 21, 2020

1939

Betty King Eddy-Lidgerwood of Chilmark, Massachusetts on June 30, 2020

70 | MASTERSNY.ORG

1940 Cathleen Dugan Riley

of North Branford, Connecticut

on August 24, 2020 1943 Josephine Baker Waterman

of Crestone, Colorado

on April 4, 2021 1944 Ann Spokes Symonds

of Oxford, England

on December 27, 2019 1945 Anne Rice Berntsen

of Rye, New York

on December 27, 2020 1945 Sally Gifford O’Brien

of Pinehurst, North Carolina

on September 1, 2020 1945 Evelyn Niedringhaus Williams

of St. Louis, Missouri

on October 25, 2020 1945 Betty Ann Drake Shook

of Westmoreland, New Hampshire

on November 24, 2020 1946 Ann Morgan Kelly

of Redding, Connecticut

on April 8, 2020 1947 Joan King O’Reilly

of Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania

on January 13, 2021 1947 Alice Roberts Pierson

of Lincoln, Massachusetts

on November 24, 2020 1947 Georgiana Taylor Thoman

of Rochester, New York

on January 21, 2021

1947 Anne LeBlond Harding

of Scotts Valley, California

on November 9, 2020

1955

Jean MacDonell Weis of Lima, Ohio on September 29, 2020

1948 Carol Angell Coleman

of Lake Oswego, Oregon

on February 1, 2021

1955

Barbara Damgard Gates on February 24, 2021

1948 Alice Belin Fish

of Hickory Corners, Michigan

on August 24, 2020 1948 Hilary E. Whittaker

of Laguna Woods, California

on January 10, 2021 1949 Mary Boyer Taylor

of Grosse Pointe, Michigan

on November 26, 2020 1950 Cynthia Keating Doolittle

of Buffalo, New York

on August 20, 2020 1950 Diana Thoma Knox

of Annapolis, Maryland

on February 7, 2021 1951

Constance Odquist Wilkinson of Williamsburg, Virginia on April 20, 2020

1951

Louise Whittaker Hines of West Palm Beach, Florida on February 25, 2020

1953

Mary Amesbury Stabler of Skillman, New Jersey on December 14, 2020

1956 Sheila Beynon Fowler-Watt

of West Sussex, England

on January 2, 2021 1956 Barbara Elliott Niles

of Salisbury, Connecticut

on February 11, 2021 1965 Consuelo Russell Judson

of New York, New York

on November 8, 2020 1972

Lynn Weldon Trimper of Watertown, New York on September 16, 2020

1998 Laura J. Robbins

of Tulsa, Oklahoma

on February 18, 2021

THE BULLETIN SUMMER 2021 | 71

THE MASTERS SCHOOL

LEADERSHIP 2020 -2021 Head of School Laura Danforth

T H E

B U L L E T I N

Laura Danforth Head of School laura.danforth@mastersny.org COMMUNICATIONS

ADVANCEMENT

Meredith Halpern Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications meredith.halpern@mastersny.org

Seth Marx P’23 Director of Institutional Advancement seth.marx@mastersny.org

Isaac Cass Digital Communications Coordinator isaac.cass@mastersny.org

Judy Donald Advancement Associate judy.donald@mastersny.org

Christina Ha Communications Associate christina.ha@mastersny.org Bob Horne P’15 Director of Marketing bob.horne@mastersny.org Jen Schutten Associate Director of Communications jennifer.schutten@mastersny.org Design: Kelsh Wilson Design

Hilary Finkelstein Senior Annual Fund Manager hilary.finkelstein@mastersny.org Sujata Jaggi ’01 Director of Alumnae/i Engagement sujata.jaggi@mastersny.org Aishling Peterson P’18, ’20, ’22 Director of Parent Engagement and Special Events aishling.peterson@mastersny.org Maryann Perrotta Database Administrator maryann.perrotta@mastersny.org Mary Ryan ’00 Associate Director of Institutional Advancement mary.ryan@mastersny.org Amie Servino ’95, P’26 Advancement Operations Manager amie.servino@mastersny.org

Board of Trustees Edith C. Chapin ’83, Chair Keryn Norton Mathas P’19, ’21, ’22, Vice Chair Katherine A. Henry ’94, P’25, Treasurer Suzie Paxton ’88, Secretary Lisa Bezos P’21 Martin Bjäringer P’17 Jonathan Clay P’19 Laura Danforth Michael D’Angelo P’15, ’19 Marie Fabian P’22, ’26 Michael Greene P’10, ’13 Christina Masters Jones Philip Kassen Shaojian (Richard) Li P’20 Tracy Tang Limpe ’80, P’18 Sydney Shafroth Macy ’70 Edgar M. Masters H’98, Life Trustee Hannah Miller ’10 Allison Moore ’83, P’17, ’19, ’24 Susan Follett Morris ’57, Life Trustee Beth Nolan ’69 Dana W. Oliver P’22 Hillary A. Peckham ’09 Steven Safyer P’04, ’07 Margarita Sawhney P’20 Diana Davis Spencer ’56, P’84 Mirna A. Valerio ’93

Honorary Trustees Marin Alsop ’73 Cynthia Ferris Evans ’52, P’76, ’86 Jeannette Sanford Fowlkes ’58, P’87 Ruth Mitchell Freeman ’51 Nancy Maginnes Kissinger ’51 Claudia Boettcher Merthan ’51 Lynn Pilzer Sobel ’71, P’99, ’05

Dobbs Alumnae/i Association Board Hannah Miller ’10, President Ricardo C. Oelkers ’03, Vice President Justina I. Michaels ’02, Clerk Natasha Bansgopaul ’04 Lucas Buyon ’11 Sharon Nechis Castillo ’84 Ellie Collinson ’98 Karen Feinberg Dorsey ’84 Austin O’Neill Dunyk ’98 John McGovern ’07 72 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Parent Association Executive Committee Officers Marie Fabian P’22, ’26, President Monaqui Porter Young P’23, ’25, Co-Vice President, Upper School Madeline Seguinot P’20, ’24, Co-Vice President, Upper School Jose Camacho P’26, ’28, Co-Vice President, Middle School Brooke Nalle P’24, ’27, Co-Vice President, Middle School Committees and Chairs Gabrielle Rosenfeld P’24, Co-Chair, Admission Support Saloni Singh P’27, Co-Chair, Admission Support Erick Blanc P’23, Parent Chair, Annual Fund Andrew Barnes P’26, ’26, Parent Vice Chair, Annual Fund Sally-Jo O’Brien P’21, Boarding Parent Representative Irma Pereira-Hudson P’21, Co-Chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee Madeline Seguinot P’20, ’24, Co-Chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee Susie Williams P’26, Co-Chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee Jennifer Nappo P’21, ’23, ’23, Co-Chair, Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day; Co-Chair, Parent Programs Joelle Resnick P’26, Co-Chair, Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day Jordana Manzano P’23, ’26, Co-Chair, Parent Programs Class Representatives Jose Camacho P’26 ’28 Marla Evans P’24 Debra Mangru P’21, ’24 Staci Marlowe P’23, ’23, ’25 Jillian Miller P’22 Lindsay Mortimer P’26 Brooke Nalle P’24, ’27 Jennifer Nappo P’21, ’23, ’23 Jennifer Neren P’28 Rini Ratan P’22, ’24 Richard Rosenberg P’22, ’28 Gabrielle Rosenfeld P’24 Elizabeth Stein P’22 Liz Tarter P’25, ’27 Cori Worchel P’19, ’21 Natasha VanWright P’25 Monaqui Porter Young P’23, ’25 Cara Zukerman P’21

Eliza Bailey Masters wrote in a 1919 letter to alumnae, “you own the School.” Inspired by her call to action, the alumnae raised the money for a new school building, completed in 1921, and named it Masters Hall in her honor. Today — nearly 100 years later — The Masters School still relies on the generosity of our community to continue Miss Masters’ legacy and support our School’s mission, students, programs and future.

Here are just a few of the ways that alumnae/i and parents can give back to our School:

Financial Support

Volunteer Opportunities

Annual Giving

ALUMNAE/I

PARENTS

Endowment Support

Reunion Committee

Parent Association

Capital Projects

Alumnae/i Giving Day

Annual Fund Volunteer

Planned Giving

Admissions Volunteer

Phonathon Caller

Class Notes Editor

Admissions Volunteer

Class Agent Event Host

Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day Committee

Contact: Sujata Jaggi ’01, Director of Alumnae/i Engagement, at 914-479-6611 or sujata.jaggi@mastersny.org

Contact: Aishling Peterson P’18, ’20, ’22, Director of Parent Engagement and Special Events, at 914-479-6639 or aishling.peterson@mastersny.org

Contact: Mary Ryan ’00, Associate Director of Institutional Advancement, at 914-479-6433 or mary.ryan@mastersny.org

There are numerous ways to get involved and give back to Masters.

If you have an idea that is not listed above, please let us know.

49 Clinton Avenue | Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522-2201