Mercersburg Academy Magazine, Winter 2025

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Empowering Dreams Through Philanthropy

From dreaming of becoming a surgeon to making it a reality, Dr. Melody Gomez ’13 is living proof of what’s possible with Mercersburg’s support. As the first Arce Scholar, funded by Gabriel Hammond ’97, Melody received a full tuition scholarship—an opportunity that transformed her future. Mercersburg didn’t just help her academically; it equipped her with the values, skills, and confidence to thrive at Columbia, Harvard, and beyond. Her journey showcases the life-changing impact of education and the powerful ripple effect of philanthropy.

When you give to the Annual Fund, you empower the next generation to dream big, achieve greatness, and leave their mark on the world. Join in our mission. Make your gift today!

Volume 51, Issue 1

Editor: Lisa Tedrick Prejean

Contributors: David Bell P ’17, ’18, Andrew Chang ’26, Claire Chow ’26, Debra Collins P ’14, Rick Janssen, Yule Kwon ’26, Megan Mallory, Tyler Miller, Taeeon Moon ’25, Cody Parks, Zally Price P ’28

Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications: Amy Marathe P ’26

Design and Cover Art: LQ Design

Head of School: Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27

Did You Know?

Dancers are enjoying new studio floors, one of many campus updates.

Mercersburg Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, religion, mental or physical disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its admissions, financial aid, and loans, and its educational, athletic, and other programs. From the Head of School 2

Mercersburg Academy magazine informs and connects our community, fosters belonging and pride, inspires engagement, and celebrates achievement. The magazine is published twice a year by the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications.

Magazine correspondence: magazine@mercersburg.edu

Class notes correspondence: classnotes@mercersburg.edu

Alumni correspondence/change of address: alumni@mercersburg.edu | 800-588-2550

Main school phone: 717-328-2151

Read us online: mercersburg.edu/magazine

To receive this magazine exclusively online and to be notified electronically when a new issue is available, email magazine@mercersburg.edu.

© Copyright 2025 Mercersburg Academy. All rights reserved. No content from this publication may be reproduced or reprinted in any form without the express written consent of Mercersburg Academy.

“I am grateful each day for the opportunity to serve the bright and caring kids at Mercersburg. They bring me hope and happiness in abundance.”

What I Love Most About Mercersburg

Trying to decide what I love most about Mercersburg Academy feels a lot like picking a favorite child–impossible. There are so many amazing, inspiring, and joyful things to value and appreciate about a school like ours that, at first glance, choosing just one element seems unfair. But when I really step back and consider the statement, the answer is actually quite easy. What I love about Mercersburg the most is our students. They are our purpose, our reason for being here, and why we choose to live and work at independent schools.

Back in 2005, when I was first approached about applying to work at a boarding school, I remember turning to my then fiancé (now spouse) and saying to her, “What if I could do for a few kids what people like Peter Barnum and Bob Low (two of the most impactful educators in my life) did for me? Wouldn’t that be a life well lived?”

After 20 years in boarding schools, I hope that I have been able to positively impact the lives of more than just a few kids, but more importantly, I have come to realize just how much they have impacted me. Their curiosity, compassion, perspectives, and even their mischief, have made me a better educator, parent, and person. How many people get to say that about their jobs?

I am grateful each day for the opportunity to serve the bright and caring kids at Mercersburg. They bring me hope and happiness in abundance.

Sincerely,

Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27 Head of School

The arrival of our mascot, Thunder, marks a new chapter in the history of Mercersburg, one that has been filled with excitement, camaraderie, and unwavering spirit.

DID YOU FIND THUNDER?

To welcome Thunder to our school community, we played a game in our last issue. We hid a Thunder icon in the magazine and challenged readers to find it. We appreciate those who participated and congratulate those who won a bag filled with Mercersburg swag. Thanks to the winners who sent us photos with their prizes!

In case you’re wondering, the Thunder icon was on the pingpong player’s shirt on page 13. (See photo above.)

Look for another contest in a future issue of the magazine. If you enter, you might win!

Jere Keefer ’65

Jessica Dopkant ’07

Meredith Glah Coors ’95, P ’25, ’27

Thunder was hiding on the T-shirt of Isaiah Marseille ’24.

Barb Magee ’77

Jim Kaurudar ’98

Kristin Butterfield Vickery ’88, P ’18, ’22

Jim Umbdenstock ’75

Campus Happenings

Welcome Back!

We welcomed 452 students to campus from 28 states and Washington, D.C., and 31 countries for the start of the school year.

Staff Awards

Award for Staff Excellence

Tina Koons, grounds maintenance horticulturist

Teaching Chairs

Head of School Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27 appointed two faculty members as holders of endowed chairs.

Archibald H. Rutledge Chair, Dean of Academics

Jennifer Miller Smith ’97, P ’23, ’24

Bess Simon Teaching Chair, Arts Faculty Member and Director of Galleries Syd Caretti P ’24, ’26

School Values Award

Rainelle Dixon, assistant director of information technology

Teaching Awards

Ammerman Distinguished Teaching Award for Religious and Interdisciplinary Studies

English Faculty Member Todd McGuire P ’24, ’26

Zern Excellence in Teaching Award

Mathematics Faculty Member and Dormitory

Dean Kristi Magalhães P ’28

Syd Caretti P ’24, ’26

Jennifer Miller Smith ’97, P ’23, ’24

Rainelle Dixon

Tina Koons

Todd McGuire P ’24, ’26

Kristi Magalhães P ’28

Leadership Lab

Student leaders returned to campus early at the start of the 2024-2025 school year for Leadership Lab.

» More than 90 student leaders were on campus to participate during the first weekend. They were asked to consider this question: “What kind of leader do you want to be?”

» The symbolism of an oar helped students

Oar: Where is Your Paddle?

• Rowing toward the goal

• Out of the water

• In the water creating drag

• Rowing in the opposite direction

“We

all must row to reach where we need to go.”

Erin Jackson

Family Lecture

In September, the Mercersburg Academy community had the unique privilege of engaging with Olympic Gold Medalist Erin Jackson, who gave the Ammerman

LEADER

“We’ve tasked our student leaders with leadership everywhere on campus. Leadership isn’t a part-time job.”

–Andy Brown, dean of students for community life

New Faculty

At the start of the 2024-2025 school year, Mercersburg welcomed 15 new faculty members to various departments.

Admission Open House

During the Admission Open House in October, we hosted 164 prospective students and their family members.

Julia Stojak Maurer ’90, P ’18, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’28

National Merit Scholars

The National Merit Scholarship Program recognized four Mercersburg students as semifinalists and four as commended students for their performance on the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Mercersburg’s semifinalists are Collin Jin ’25, Daniel Liu ’25, Yiting Sun ’25, and Isabella Tai ’25. Mercersburg’s commended students are Max Friedman ’25, Jiayi Hu ’25, Ava Guzic ’25, and Amanda Xi ’25

Maurer Named RoboCup Trustee

Associate Head of School for School Life Julia Stojak Maurer ’90, P ’18, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’28 was appointed a RoboCup Federation trustee. Trustees typically consist of university robotics professors and robotics industry professionals, which makes this a major accomplishment for a high school educator. At the time of her nomination, she was one of just two females in the group of more than 20 individuals.

Homecoming and Family Weekend

More than 600 family members and alumni gathered on campus during Homecoming and Family Weekend to experience school traditions like Step Songs and the bonfire, attend classes, enjoy the talents of various performing arts groups, and cheer on our Storm athletes.

Gene Luen Yang

Jacobs Lecture

In December, Gene Luen , a world-renowned cartoonist and teacher, presented the Jacobs Residency Lecture in the Burgin Center for the Arts’ Simon Theatre.

Inaugural College Fair

Mercersburg hosted its inaugural College Fair in October for all high school students in the surrounding area. The fair included 25 colleges and universities from across the nation, such as Drexel University, the University of Rochester, Trinity University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Rhodes College.

Student Awards

Students Recognized for Being True Blue

Grace Chi ’25 of Palo Alto, CA, received the Robert Michelet ’30 Prize, and Jazlyn Garnett ’27 of Waynesboro, PA, received the John Culbertson (1924) Prize. The Michelet Prize recognizes distinguished scholarship, character, and school spirit during the previous 11th-grade year, while the Culbertson Prize recognizes the exceptional promise and outstanding accomplishment of a student entering the 10th grade.

Several students were recognized as being True Blue, an initiative designed to reward students for making good choices and living the school mission. True Blue nominations are submitted by students, faculty, and staff. Each student who is designated as “True Blue” receives public recognition and a commemorative pin. From left, Matthew Brennan ’28, Lucy Barker ’28, Madeline Chu ’27, Lucia Gamble ’25, Cam Gierasch ’26, and Germany Johnson ’25. Missing from photo: William Shen ’27

Grace Chi ’25

Jazlyn Garnett ’27

INAUGURAL

HONORS HISTORY, COMPETITION, AND COMMUNITY

By Lisa Tedrick Prejean

Had William Mann Irvine walked down the hill behind Main Hall the afternoon of October 8, 2024, he might have been perplexed.

Runners in dinosaur costumes? Singers who weren’t singing? Students eating pastries from a string? A big, blue eagle mascot answering to the name of Thunder?

Yet the sounds of laughter and loud swelling cheers would sound familiar to Irvine, who in the fall of 1893–with 40 boys, four instructors, and four acres of leased ground–launched a school known as Mercersburg College. The school adopted the name Mercersburg Academy in 1897.

The dinosaur costume race, lip-sync contest, and doughnut-eating relay were part of Mercersburg’s inaugural Founder’s Day celebration, planned to honor founding headmaster Irvine, who believed participation in athletics encourages hard work, fair play, and a clean life.

Following an afternoon of competitions, the senior class was named the victor of the day. The 11th-grade class came in second place, the 10th-grade class came in third, and the 9th graders placed fourth.

Along with bragging rights, the winning class walked away with the Founder’s Day gold championship belt, befitting of World

Wrestling Entertainment’s finest. The prize seemed to go with the flow of the afternoon. There was a tug-of-war contest, after all, and there might have been some flexing and showboating thrown in here and there.

The true motivator for the afternoon was a head’s holiday in the form of a half day off of class, with the coveted prize of being able to sleep in on the designated day.

“We really want to pause in the busyness and mania of boarding school to have fun,” said Head of School Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27.

In addition to the class competitions, the day also provided an opportunity for the school community to hear a “Why Mercersburg?” story.

“The understanding is that we’re going to celebrate not only the founder of the school, but also the people who have made contributions to the school in many arenas as time goes on,” said School Archivist Doug Smith P ’23, ’24, who was part of the Founder’s Day planning committee.

Earlier in the day, Deborah Simon ’74 gave the inaugural Founder’s Day address. Simon spent two years as a Mercersburg student as the school was transitioning to a coeducational institution.

Simon likened Founder’s Day to a

beginning, whether it be a birth, an organization’s start, or a career being launched.

“I think there are two kinds of people–those who let things happen and those who make things happen,” Simon told the students. “I hope you become part of the latter and make things happen in your life.”

Simon is the most generous female philanthropist in the history of independent schools, McDowell said. Mercersburg’s Simon Student Center and Simon Theatre are two of the many projects her generosity funded.

“I want the kids to connect the names that they see with the human beings who name them,” McDowell said, noting that it’s important for students to hear from those who have given time, talent, and treasure to organizations that have made an impact on their lives.

During a Q&A period after her remarks, Simon was asked what inspires her to support Mercersburg so deeply.

“This was a true place where I found myself. I really did. The memories here that I had, the family that I developed here, have never been replaced. Mercersburg is hard to overcome,” Simon said. “To have that experience with family and friends and

teachers who really know you and care about you, I’ve never found that anywhere else again, so that’s why. Also, the fact is that kids deserve–you guys all deserve–an education befitting your dreams.”

Leading up to Founder’s Day–which the school intends to make an annual tradition–student leaders provided input for the activities planned.

“The goal is to make it fun and spontaneous,” said Dean of Students for Community Life Andy Brown. “We’re hoping to switch some things up every year, and also continuously give our student government and class councils a chance to formulate some of the competitions.”

In addition to class games, students were treated to Rita’s Italian Ice served by faculty and staff members.

Right page, clockwise from top left: Our eagle mascot Thunder was on hand for all the hype. Following an afternoon of competitions, the senior class was named the victor of the day. Deborah Simon ’74 gave the inaugural Founder’s Day address.

The 10th-grade class won the lip-sync contest.

Left page: Lilly Killinger ’26 showed her school spirit during the lip-sync contest.

Civics Conference Promotes Timely Dialogue

Students, faculty, and staff attended Mercersburg’s first Civic Engagement Conference on October 28, giving the community a fresh breadth of perspective paramount for the 2024 election.

The idea for the conference tied in with Mercersburg’s “overall program on civic engagement, which really has to do with trying to respond to the climate of uncivil communications and the lack of engagement in the greater society,” said Allison Stephens P ’11, ’13, history teacher and one of the faculty members spearheading civic engagement initiatives at Mercersburg. “It also seemed to be clear that in trying to prepare students for the election, we really wanted to give them some agency and information.”

The goal was not to influence student thought but to encourage students to ask questions and listen to understand. “Our

student advisory board was instrumental in trying to create and ideate the conference model where we recognize that part of the experience students are having is that they don’t always feel comfortable talking about different issues, because they feel like they don’t know enough,” Stephens said. “So we wanted to start to create conversations by having guests come in to outline their work and invite students to ask questions or engage in discussion.”

Throughout the course of the day, more than 25 guest speakers connected with students through keynote addresses and small group discussions. The day started with a keynote address moderated by Head of School Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27 about navigating freedom of speech on campus with guests Jill Klein P ’11 and John Jones III ’73. The conference concluded with a keynote about disinformation in the digital age with guest Alec Harris ’00. In

between these addresses, students broke into small groups to attend sessions on topics ranging from political campaigns and the media to community policing to the role of the United States immigration system to what it means to advocate and lobby on Capitol Hill and more.

Mercersburg will continue to foster these conversations through the growth of the civic engagement initiative, including weaving the themes of identity, community membership, and understanding bias throughout the 9th-grade curriculum.

The Civic Engagement Conference started with a keynote address moderated by Head of School Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27, far right, about navigating freedom of speech on campus with guests, from left, Jill Klein P ’11 and John Jones III ’73.

Our Report Card

Parents and Students Grade the School in Yearly Surveys

By Amy Marathe P ’26

In 2021, Mercersburg began to survey our students, parents, alumni, and employees on an annual basis. The goal of this effort has been to systematically analyze areas where the school can improve and identify areas where successes can be celebrated. These longitudinal surveys have already proven valuable, as the school has made significant changes based on the results. Because transparency surrounding this research is important, we are providing the following highlights from the student and parent survey data.

What system do we use?

The school partners with Qualtrics and Authentic Connections to deliver the surveys. Qualtrics allows the school to have complete control of the survey questions and analysis, create a custom interactive dashboard to track trend lines, and grow or expand the surveys each year.

How does it work?

Associate Head of School for School Life Julie Maurer ’90, P ’18, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’28 has led this effort since 2021. Working with individual offices on campus, she builds and administers the surveys with a link that ensures anonymity for the respondents. A small statistically-minded team at Mercersburg reviews the results and makes recommendations, which are then reviewed and ratified by the school’s executive team. The results are shared with appropriate teams on campus, the Board of Regents, faculty, and staff. After those results are shared, action plans are put in place for improvement, and those improvements are tracked over time to look for growth.

Survey Timeline:

High-Achieving School Survey (students) October

Parent Resilience Survey (parents) October

Culture Survey (employees) November

Academic Course Feedback (students) December

Inclusivity Survey (students and employees) January

Admission Survey (admitted/declined families) April

End-of-Year Student Survey (students) May

End-of-Year Parent Survey (parents) May

Alumni Survey (reunion alumni) June

THE RESULTS

95% of students, 98% of faculty, 94% of staff said “Yes,” when asked, “Do you feel included in the Mercersburg Academy community?”

Positive Student Satisfaction

The student well-being index score came in at 89%. The national average is 84%.

Responses to the prompt, “The school’s rules and policies contribute to a healthy and safe environment,” continued an upward trend this year with a 17% increase from 2021 of students who strongly agreed or agreed. The lowest rating for this prompt was 2020-2021 at 57%

“School rules are fair and enforced for all students” continued to improve this year with a 13% increase from 2021. The lowest rating for this prompt was 2020-2021 at 41%

The Office of College Counseling helps me to be most successful in my college applications.

Students routinely praised our sense of community, our supportive and caring adults, and our programming:

O “[Adults] are there if we need to talk or need help on work, which is nice. It’s like I have 100 parents.”

O “I think the school offers a lot of resources to improve mental health.”

O “I think the sense of community is truly the best thing that supports my school experience and well-being.”

O “The athletic and dorm environment are very welcoming and inclusive.”

O “The programming options are great. I love having after-school activities and other clubs, it’s great to be involved.”

O “The teachers are very kind and care about the students immensely. They take on a parent role. The [school] accepted really kind kids and everyone gets along.”

O “Fostering a safe environment for all people.”

Positive parent Satisfaction

Parents strongly agreed or agreed that they would recommend Mercersburg to another family.

Parents strongly agreed or agreed that the school community is healthy. Examples of prompts that scored high include, “Faculty and students at Mercersburg display care, respect, and trust,” and “Community members are encouraged to be their authentic selves.”

Parents scored the school’s program quality in arts, English, history, science, math, and the languages as excellent or good.

Parents rated Outdoor Education, the performing arts, diversity of academic courses, and athletics as excellent or good.

Parents strongly agreed or agreed that their child has strong role models among the school faculty and is challenged to learn at an appropriately high level.

Parents strongly agreed or agreed that “Mercersburg is a good value for my tuition dollars.” This is an increase of 5% from 2021.

Parents strongly agreed or agreed when asked, “All students have an equal opportunity for success, regardless of political affiliation.” This is an increase of 14 points since 2021 and a possible connection to the school’s recent emphasis on civic engagement.

Parents strongly agreed or agreed when asked, “Mercersburg helps my child manage stress.” This is an increase of 12 points since 2021.

areas of growth

Scores for food and dining services continued to decrease this year from both parents and students. Mercersburg is taking action in the following areas:

O There has been an increase in snack options at low or no cost to students at various times and locations, including in the dormitories.

O The school selected a new food service provider, Flik Independent School Dining, which started in January 2025.

O The new Dining Center at Ford Hall will open in early 2026.

O We will expand the True Blue Café menu and hours.

The biggest drop in student feedback was the prompt, “The dormitories and communal living areas are well-maintained.” In response, the school is undertaking a complete renovation of all primary dorm common rooms starting in winter 2024. This project will include new furniture, which students chose through a vote after reviewing samples on campus.

The biggest overall drop from last year was in regard to athletics. In total, 74% of students strongly agreed or agreed in terms of the overall perception of the athletic program. This accounted for a 9% drop from last year’s survey. The school has made great strides in athletics this year, including the following areas:

O Improving our athletic digital footprint by increasing each team’s social media presence and enhancing athletic team web pages.

O Incorporating the school’s new mascot, Thunder, to provide more school spirit.

O Increasing the amount of athletic apparel by launching two new online stores.

O Working with coaches on recruiting materials and advertising opportunities.

O Improving our facilities, including the resurfacing of the Curran Track and the tennis courts at Smoyer Tennis Center, and installation of a new turf field at Regents’ Field.

O Increasing our external events–including the Flanagan Squash Invitational in December 2024–to bring more awareness to our sports facilities and teams.

O Promoting and highlighting big wins, such as the girls cross country MAPL championship and the girls varsity soccer Commonwealth Cup division victory in the PAISAA tournament.

Scores decreased slightly as it relates to faculty and advisers communicating with parents in a timely and meaningful manner about their child’s experience. This is something the school has been working on for the past two years, with the following action steps:

O Review of adviser communications and expectations of advisers in general

O Addition of in-person meeting time for parents and advisers at the opening of school and during Family Weekend

O Training on teacher comments

O Review of teacher comment cadence

O Application of adviser review of academic comments

O Expectations of advisers in general

Fall Arts

1 Grace Labans ’26 operated the spotlight for the production of Puffs, Or, Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic in October 2024.

2 Mark Lukiyanov ’28 took this photo, “I Like Green,” as part of a self-directed project in the Digital Photography I class.

3 This landscape photo, “Layered Greens,” was taken by Abby Kendall ’26 for the Digital Photography I class.

4 Stony Batter presented Puffs, Or, Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic in October 2024.

5 Mogere Nyakoe ’25 performed a solo as part of the Jazz Band during the Fall Music Concert in November 2024.

6 Octet members sang several numbers during the Fall Music Concert in November 2024.

7 Renee Jin ’26 created “Daydreaming,” a pastel, in Advanced Studies: Studio Art class.

8 Paris Zhang ’27 and Amanda Xi ’25, left to right, took the stage during the Fall Dance Concert in November 2024.

Fall Sports

CROSS COUNTRY

Cross country set the pace for the fall sports season at Mercersburg with the girls team winning the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) championship on its home course. The boys took second in that same meet, missing out on the title by only three points. Gabriella Cechini ’28 led the girls to the team victory, winning the MAPL race by an astonishing 40 seconds, and teammates Anne Sehon ’25 and Ella Blanco ’26 finished third and fourth, respectively, to join Cechini in earning All-MAPL honors. Three members of the boys

team also earned All-MAPL status with high finishes at the MAPL meet. Top finishers for the boys included Joseph Cechini ’28 (brother of Gabriella), who took second place overall, Ryan Du Plessis ’25 (third), and Winston Watkins ’25 (seventh). The boys finished second in two other large meets, took fifth in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) state meet, and achieved a perfect score of 15 by sweeping the top five spots in a dual matchup against Kiski.

FOOTBALL

Football began its fifth season in the eightplayer Keystone State Football League with a full squad packed with 17 seniors. The players worked hard all year and developed tremendous team chemistry under firstyear head coach Jamar Galbreath ’05, P ’27.

Roundup

TENNIS

Girls varsity tennis had another solid season on the Smoyer Tennis Center courts, finishing with an overall record of 6-5 and going 3-3 in the MAPL. Hisano Enomoto ’25 capped off her Mercersburg career with a strong showing in the MAPL tournament (hosted by Mercersburg), finishing as the runner-up in the No. 1 singles bracket. Meanwhile, the girls JV tennis squad pulled off an undefeated season with six wins and one tie in seven matches.

SOCCER

The boys varsity soccer team finished its regular season with a .500 record that included big MAPL wins over Lawrenceville and Blair and a tie against Kiski, the No. 3 ranked prep school team in the nation at the time. In the PAISAA tournament, the boys suffered a tough 2-1 overtime loss in a first-round game at Shipley. The girls varsity soccer team barely missed a .500 record for the season, but picked up MAPL wins over Hun and Lawrenceville, and won the championship in the Commonwealth Cup division of the PAISAA tournament with a 1-0 shutout at Germantown Friends School.

Joseph Cechini ’28

Hisano Enomoto ’25

Delia McCabe ’25 Gustavo Lisboa Ferreira

GOLF

After graduating a very strong senior class in the spring, the boys golf team had to rebuild much of its roster this season. With three 10th graders regularly among the top four scorers, the team looks forward to a bright future.

FIELD HOCKEY

Over on the turf field, the field hockey team battled through injuries to some key players but developed a reputation as one of the stingiest defensive units in the area.

VOLLEYBALL

Inside on the Plantz Courts, a very young volleyball squad got off to a slow start before finding their footing and reeling off four straight wins late in the year to finish the regular season at .500. Mercersburg later fell to defending state champion Germantown Academy in the first round of the PAISAA tournament.

SWIMMING

In the Lloyd Aquatic Center, the swimmers participated in several warmup meets to prepare for the winter season and their pursuit of another championship at Easterns. During the Mercersburg November Invitational, Caiden Bowers ’25 broke the school record in the boys 100-yard butterfly by completing the race in a time of 48.00 seconds. Bowers eclipsed the mark of Olympic gold medalist Melvin Stewart ’88, who set the previous record in 1988.

Stevie Keck

Hurst Brings Collegiate Coaching Experience to Mercersburg Swimming

Mercersburg is pleased to introduce Matt Hurst as the new head swimming coach.

Hurst, who coached swimming at Penn State University and his alma mater, Southern Connecticut State University, is excited to work with his longtime acquaintance and former coach, Glenn Neufeld, during a transition year.

“When he decided he was moving on, he gave me a call and let me know that the job would be opening,” said Hurst, who grew up in Haverford, PA, and was familiar with Mercersburg. “With the history of the program, strength of the academics, support of the administration and the alums, and obviously, the facility, the sky’s the limit.”

Hurst swam in college, has 16 years of NCAA-level coaching experience, and has coached swimmers who qualified for the Olympics. Two athletes he coached competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics–Shane Ryan represented Ireland, and Gabe Castaño swam for Mexico.

Hurst, who comes to the position from Chelsea Piers Aquatics Club in Stamford, CT, has been working closely during the 20242025 school year with Neufeld, who has been at Mercersburg since 2014.

“First and foremost, he’s a really good person and educator who happens to be a swim coach, and, more than anything else, that’s what you need at a place like Mercersburg,” said Neufeld, noting that Hurst will be working in the Office of College

Counseling. “With his background in college coaching, it’s really a natural fit, because if you’ve done recruiting in the college environment, you’ve got a sense of how kids look for schools.”

Neufeld was Hurst’s coach for two years at Upper Main Line YMCA in Berwyn, PA. During the second year, Hurst was a postgraduate and helped Neufeld with the swimming program.

“I’ve known him for about 25 years,” said Hurst, 41. “The idea of sharing a deck with him again… that’s one of those fairytale, storybook endings, especially if we end up winning Easterns, which is obviously the goal every year. This year, I think it’s a little extra sweet because we’ve got a good team coming in and the opportunity to do

it. That’s exciting from a professional level, a performance level, but it’s also really exciting and heartwarming from a personal level, too.”

As Hurst contemplates his new role, his goal is to build a program where swimmers are autonomous in the pool.

“My most important role as a coach is to make sure they don’t need me,” said Hurst. “I’m supposed to give them the tools and the space to think and learn and fail and create and understand. But at the end of the day, if they don’t need me, I’ve done my job.”

He doesn’t plan to make any major changes but to follow the course that has been set by the coaches who came before him.

“I think I bring an energy and a levity to the pool. Swimming is something we do. It’s not who we are,” said Hurst. “It’s something that complements our daily lives and our goals and our routines, and at times it can be a reprieve from whatever else is going on. That doesn’t mean that life outside the pool is chaotic or troubling, but it can be challenging at times, and the pool can be a place to come and be with friends and challenge ourselves in a different way. I know that’s been done before I got there, but that’s something I look to continue as we again focus on the development of young men and women in the pursuit of their goals.”

Hurst, his wife, Theresa, and their children, Annabelle, 9, and Michael, 7, relocated to Mercersburg at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

A MERCERSBURG MOMENT

During the inaugural Founder’s Day on October 8, 2024, the 11th and 12th graders battled it out in the tug-of-war competition finals. The Class of 2026, dressed in blue, prevailed in this contest, but the Class of 2025, dressed in black, were overall victors for the day.

I LOVE HOW BEAUTIFUL THE CAMPUS IS. IT’S ALWAYS A GREAT PLACE TO GO FOR A WALK.”

ALLISTER CARETTI ’26

I MERCERSBURG ACADEMY

Memories shared. Friendships formed. Opportunities gained. What we love about Mercersburg is as varied and unique as the individuals we are. As Head of School

Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27 shared in his opening letter on page 2, it’s challenging to name only one thing that we love about our school. What should come first or have greatest significance? That varies from person to person and is dependent on timeframe and situation. We’re not going to rank any of these. We’re simply sharing them so you can reflect and remember. Take a look through the next few pages, and as you wander through this alphabetical journey, you might be tempted to take a side trip down memory lane. Go ahead. Indulge and enjoy!

– Lisa Tedrick Prejean

ALMA MATER BOYS’ GARDEN

A ALMA MATER

A program nears its end. Students rise from the Irvine Memorial Chapel pews, place arms around classmates’ shoulders, and prepare to sing. Introductory notes of the Alma Mater fill the air. The singers realize the shared sense of community, especially when it’s time to shout the last phrase, “With full hearts and loud swelling cheers!” It’s a tradition that never fails to inspire, as noted by Director of Executive Services De-Enda Rotz P ’25. “There’s something so moving about being in the chapel when the community sings the Alma Mater.”

B BOYS’ GARDEN

A longtime campus fixture, the Boys’ Garden—so named because Mercersburg was an all-boys’ school until the 1960s—sits at the base of a beautiful stone staircase adjacent to Traylor Hall. Alex Kaplan ’28 shared that he likes the Boys’ Garden because “it is always nice down there, and it offers peace and quiet.” It’s easy to understand why, with its elegant location and lofty trees. The garden is a popular spot for weddings and for the annual spring Stony Batter outdoor performance. To read more about the Boys’ Garden, see From the Archives on page 79.

WITH FULL HEARTS AND LOUD SWELLING CHEERS.”

LYRICS BY THOMAS CRICHTON ARRANGED BY HENRY READY

CARILLON

COOKIE PIE.

PLEASE BRING IT BACK!!!”

JULIA KRUGH ’26

C CARILLON

When thinking back to his time at Mercersburg, Chris Spurry ’66 remembered the sights and sounds of the changing seasons. “My fondest memory is walking across campus on a crisp fall morning listening to the chapel bells. This felt meaningful and uplifting.” The Swoope Carillon bells in the Irvine Memorial Chapel are made of metal donated by alumni and friends from around the world and include shavings of the Liberty Bell, copper coins that belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte, and fragments of the USS Constitution. The carillon is played during most chapel events, most Sunday afternoons during the school year, and for some school meetings.

DINING HALL TABLES

D DINING HALL TABLES

A staple of the Mercersburg experience, meals in the dining hall provide connection and a sense of community, even to those who have only recently stepped onto campus. For Christopher Bright, who became a member of the science faculty in 2024, conversations around the dining hall tables have become something to love because of all the interesting students, faculty, and staff who can be found there. “Each time I sit down, whether it be a buffet meal or family-style meal, I learn something new. I learn from a colleague about the Archimedes principle and how cement boats float. I discuss season goals with a track athlete, or I learn about the traditions at this school. I am thankful for the conversations that happen around our dining hall tables.”

Looking back, dining hall memories float to the surface for Al Meyers ’74, who recalls “sitting at the dining table drinking hot tea out of huge dented metal pitchers with friends long after dinner was over.” To read about plans to renovate Ford Hall into an upgraded dining center, see page 42.

E EXCELLENCE

An education based in excellence pays dividends for a lifetime. “Mercersburg provides us with amazing sources to pursue our dreams that aren’t offered in other high schools,” said Margaux d’Arabian ’25. “I love the community and the special family that is so strong and incredible.” At Mercersburg, financial aid makes that excellence accessible to everyone, noted Will Willis P ’22, ’24, a member of the science faculty: “I love that about half of our student body is on financial aid, because we are able to attract the best students from all walks of life and so many parts of the world.” While students are encouraged to pursue excellence in and out of the classroom, that pursuit extends well beyond graduation. Our alumni continue to reach the heights of their careers and enable others to do so as well.

EXCELLENCE

DECLAMATION DODGEBALL

ANDREW CHOI ’99 Professor of Medicine, George Washington University

F FRIENDSHIPS

As Mercersburg students get to know each other and resident faculty members in the dorms, lifelong friendships are formed. “One of my favorite things is that I can walk up to my friends’ dorm and hang out with them or see my teachers and adviser more often and form a closer bond with them,” said Mary Maurer ’28. Her classmate, Eve Gunkelman ’28, also shares that feeling: “Having lived here my whole life, the school isn’t really new to me, but one thing I love is the family-like feeling you get when you walk in the doors of your dorm. I love that people in the dorms are so kind. They share, laugh, hug, and spend time with one another. It’s a truly wonderful thing.” Teagan Mewett ’27 said she loves “the family that I’ve found at Mercersburg. From dorm faculty to friends and teammates, I’ve come to love so many people here.” It is the people–students, alumni, faculty, staff, and families–who make Mercersburg a truly special place, said Assistant Dean of Academics Stephen Fowler, mathematics faculty member.

FRIENDSHIPS

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MERCERSBURG IS HOW EASY IT IS TO CONNECT TO PEOPLE. PEER GROUP, ADVISORY, AND PGA ARE WHERE I MEET SO MANY NEW PEOPLE.”

EMILY GUZIC ’28

LOADED FRIES FOR DINNER. IT’S SO DELICIOUS .” ASHER

GAMES IN THE SIMON STUDENT CENTER

G GAMES IN THE SIMON STUDENT CENTER

From billiards to table tennis (or pool and pingpong, if you prefer), there’s always a chance to unwind with friends at the Simon Student Center, or the SSC, as we call it. After finishing a “nice game of pig” on a Friday night inside the SSC, Hadley Frey ’26 loves to take a walk with friends. The Simon Student Center opened in 2013 and was named by Board of Regents president emeritus Deborah Simon ’74 in honor of her parents and all parents who send their children to boarding school.

G GEOGRAPHY

The location of our school makes a difference, said Andrew McCabe ’84, P ’25 “Geographically, where the school is located allows students to focus on development and learn about each other, learning to care and learning to live as a community, which is a lifelong skill, and something to take with you the rest of your life.”

Longing for a HEAD’S HOLIDAY

HEAD OF SCHOOL

H HEAD OF SCHOOL

As a leader, the head of school needs to relay the educational mission to a variety of groups, from students and parents to faculty and staff, all the while connecting and updating alumni on the progress of the school. To be able to accomplish this task with a composed demeanor is no small feat, but one that is received with appreciation. Sophia Jin P ’26 related how it’s comforting to know that Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27 is leading our school: “What I love about Mercersburg is its sense of calmness, whether it’s the campus, the students, the faculty, or especially Head of School Quentin McDowell. This is especially important for a leader. When the world is noisy and fast-paced, with information flooding in from all sides, Mercersburg can maintain and preserve its calmness and composure, without rushing, and that is its charm.”

IRVINGMARSHALL

WEEK

I IRVING-MARSHALL WEEK

Around campus, plans are being made for the beloved Irving-Marshall Week, which will be at the conclusion of winter term in March. From public speaking auditions for Declamation to strategy meetings on team rosters for each sport, the student body is plotting and planning for spirited competition. Every student is a member of either the Irving Literary Society or the Marshall Literary Society. The two societies compete in volleyball, dodgeball, board games, and other contests. The winning society is announced at a school dance on the final night. Annie Mohr ’26 views the week as a bonding experience for team members: “I love Irving-Marshall Week and the spirit and love that I share with my society members and officers.”

JIM MALONE

J JIM MALONE, SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS FACULTY MEMBER

Thomas McNeil ’25 listed “Mr. Malone’s physics class” as one of the things he loves about Mercersburg. Every school has a teacher like Jim Malone P ’01, ’03 who connects across the board with a diverse range of students. When that teacher also has the ability to incorporate fun into learning, the outcome becomes memorable. Malone, who has been employed at Mercersburg since 1979 and is the longest-tenured current faculty member, has that appeal for current and former students. Walk into his classroom to be caught up in collaboration among peers. Just know that you might find him conducting class in the hallway or outdoors. Physics has no boundaries, after all, and his classes learn this firsthand.

K KINDNESS

School Minister Rev. Dr. William Whitmore loves the kindness present in our community. As the featured speaker during Convocation in September, Whitmore emphasized the importance of developing virtues that frame our lives. Whitmore challenged the students to “develop as a person of character who’s more than just something a résumé or a transcript can quantify. I hope you practice kindness. I hope you’re mindful of others, and are willing to give grace, both to yourself and those around you.”

KINDNESS

LEAVES AND LAUGHTER

LONG BLUE LINE

M MARSHALL SOCIETY

Because we put Irving-Marshall Week under “I,” we have to give some love to the Marshall Society here. No bias. We promise.

L LEAVES AND LAUGHTER

From changing leaves to snow-covered branches, Mercersburg’s 300-acre campus is a place where students can discover and explore new paths. Our wide-open spaces provide a respite from the rigor of boarding school life. As noted by Mark Pyper ’83, the beauty of campus can be both calming and inspiring. Stop and listen to students’ laughter as they walk to class. It’s certainly something to love, noted Jessica Doubell, director of operations for the Burgin Center for the Arts. “I love the peace I feel as I walk around campus, while the leaves are changing on the trees and the wind is blowing softly in my hair. Everyone belongs somewhere, and it’s great when they find their place.”

MENTORING

M MENTORING

Mentors are provided to new students to help them adjust to boarding school. At weekly group meetings throughout the fall and part of the winter term, 9th graders participate in Peer Group programs, and new 10th graders take part in Mentor Leadership programs. Discussions cover homesickness, use of technology, exam preparation, use of time, treatment of others, drugs and alcohol, and self-reflection, plus there’s a healthy dose of games and fun activities thrown into the programming each week. Director of Peer Group and Mentor Leadership Betsy Cunningham P ’22, ’24, a member of the science faculty, loves the Monday night meetings she has with the student leaders: “So much laughter! Just an organic connection every week. It makes me look forward to Monday nights.”

M MAGICAL MIXTURE

“Mercersburg Academy is the best of people, wrapped in the most beautiful of places, crowned by limitless opportunity. The mixture is sublime,” said Chip Cutler P ’23 “My Mercersburg moment was watching a video orientation of the school, featuring totally unscripted student testimonials. The students were bright, happy, articulate, respectful, and witty. I thought, ‘I want my daughter to go there and meet them!’ Well, she went there and through the Mercersburg magic, she became them. No one can put their finger on the exact mixture of ingredients that makes Mercersburg Academy so extraordinary, but it’s truly a magic recipe.”

MOVE-IN DAYS

M MOVE-IN DAYS

“I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE move-in days! The anticipation and excitement when new students arrive on campus for the first time is like no other energy throughout the year!” said Kristi Magalhães, mathematics faculty member and dormitory dean. “And when returning students come back, the smiles, hugs, and joy of reconnection are visible across campus. It’s like we are all collectively saying ‘we’re home again, and all is right in the world again.’”

NETWORKING

N NETWORKING

Even though Mercersburg “is tucked away in its very own small-town oasis, as you get out into the world, you realize how far-reaching and connected Mercersburg is,” shared Assistant Director of Admission Electa Willander ’18. The relationships formed at Mercersburg continue to flourish throughout life. Rache Brand ’99 likened it to having a leap forward in a career. As founder and CEO of Superstruct, Brand said Mercersburg is “my forever institution of growth. Mercersburg is a chance to keep broadening my horizon and using the network effects to leapfrog forward in my life and career. I have best friends all around the world from so many classes. Mercersburg keeps showing me how infinite the possibility of exchange can be–the more you give in time and energy, the more you get back in value; there is mutuality.”

OPPORTUNITIES

O OPPORTUNITIES

From unique class options to community engagement to global travel, opportunities abound for students willing to try new things. Each term can bring a fresh perspective for those eager to explore. “I love the opportunities my children have to take enriching classes and to be involved in athletics, the arts, and leadership roles,” said Angela Killinger P ’26, ’28. “I love the independence my children are getting and the confidence that is being developed in them to take on risks and not be afraid of failure.” Killinger and her husband, Krister, chair the Executive Council of White Key, our parent volunteer organization which seeks to utilize a network of volunteers to promote communication, philanthropy, relationships, and support between families and the school. Krister said his favorite thing as a parent is seeing his kids “so happy in everything they do there. They love the students, the teachers, the activities, and their classes.”

PANCAKE NIGHTS

I

LOVE THE AWESOME COMMUNITY WITHIN OUR ATHLETIC PROGRAMS.”

REED WARNER ’25

PGAs

P PGAs

At the end of the school day, it’s PGA time! Performance Group Activities provide students with opportunities to work within teams, casts, and offices to excel in athletic, artistic, and preprofessional pursuits. Each term can provide new options for those wanting to try new things. To Riley Choi ’28, PGA activities are a great way to spend the afternoon: “I love the PGA activities, so that we can exercise every day.”

QUAD

I LOVE THE QUAD.”

ELLIE YANG ’27

Q QUAD

The Prentiss-Zimmerman Quadrangle, or “the quad” for short, is a favorite gathering place for students, faculty, and staff. While most learning begins in classrooms, it continues throughout the intentionally designed landscape of campus. Architect Jeff Blanchard, who worked on Mercersburg’s most recent campus master plan, credits founding Headmaster Dr. William Mann Irvine for his practical and enduring form and organization, that of the “street” and the “square”—two planning forms that have connected people and ideas for thousands of years. At Mercersburg, this campus form and organization have sustained more than 130 years of growth and change.

REUNION WEEKEND

R REUNION WEEKEND

In June, alumni return to campus to reconnect with classmates, teachers, staff, and their memories of the school. The weekend includes educational sessions offered by alumni who have excelled in their fields, time for socializing, and an opportunity to relive their boarding school days by staying overnight in the dorms. Director of Strategic Initiatives Jenn Flanagan Bradley ’99 related that her class had “an amazing 25th reunion.” See “W” to learn how they keep in touch.

SCHOOL STORE

S STEP SONGS

Each fall, the campus welcomes students’ family members and alumni back to campus for class visits, athletic contests, and an evening with a pep rally feel, Mercersburg-style.

Students line the steps of Main Hall to cheer, sing, and show their school spirit before being led by team captains to a bonfire celebration like no other. It’s a great way to get pumped for the next day’s athletic events. Ed Friedman P ’25 expressed the sentiments of many students, alumni, and parents when he shared, “Step Songs is a fantastic all-school tradition that is unique, emotional, and tremendously fun.”

STEP SONGS

T TRANSFORMATION

To Flynn Corson ’99, Mercersburg was unlike any school he attended previously: “Prior to enrolling at Mercersburg, I had never experienced academic success or developed any intellectual confidence. Mercersburg wrapped its arms around me and committed itself to ensuring that my experience there would prove to be a transformational one. For the first time in my life, teachers made me feel smart, like I had something to contribute to their class that was meaningful and relevant. They also made sure I could not avoid or escape a rigorous process of learning that required deep and careful thought,” said Corson, vice president for school and program development at HH4K, which owns and operates private schools for students with special needs, primarily affected by autism. “My first day at Mercersburg was almost 30 years ago, and I haven’t left school since.”

T TRAILS

These trails were made for walking, and biking, and skateboarding.

CATHERINE WAHL ’99

UNIQUENESS

U UNIQUENESS

DID YOU KNOW?

The Class of 1999 has a WhatsApp chat group with nearly 70 classmates.

W WARM WELCOME

The uniqueness of our school transcends expectations and defies description. Dean of College Counseling and Outcomes Michael Conklin sees daily evidence of individual humility and collective pride, which is “unique and essential to the ethos of Mercersburg Academy.”

V VALUE

Mercersburg places value on the abilities of the individual. Xiomara Del Rosario ’26 said she appreciates this emphasis: “I love Mercersburg’s incredible effort to value each student’s strength, which is shown through the school’s academic and athletic achievements.”

Being new at a school can be challenging, but Mercersburg knows how to put out the welcome mat, said Associate Director of Admission Tia Afa P ’27, who joined the faculty at the start of the 2024-2025 school year. “I love how kind, warm, friendly, and truly welcoming people in our community are,” Afa said. “Our community helps our members feel valued and cared for, and not every school successfully accomplishes this!”

Y YOURSELF

We encourage students to “Define Yourself Here.” The emphasis truly is on the individual. Imagine your future. Change your world. You have extraordinary qualities. How will you use your talents? We believe everyone has something to bring to the community, and we encourage all to do so. Jack Hawbaker P ’10, ’14, faculty emeritus, said he receives “great joy watching our student body that represents such a wide diversity of nations, ethnicity, religion, etc., socializing and loving each other as equals.”

X X-BLOCK

OK, so no one said they love X-Block, but students would have to admit that the Wednesday afternoon sessions they attend with fellow students in their grade do promote camaraderie. Where else would they learn all the practical, essential adulting information? Plus, their advisers are on hand to provide additional support.

Z ZONE

A community that is focused, energized, and engaged is staying on course by being in the zone. Whether it’s an academic pursuit or an athletic contest, “in-the-zone” living enables individual and collective goals to be met. The process at times takes all of us out of our comfort zones, which might be exactly what we need to face the challenges life brings.

Z Zzzz’s

Students love their sleep-in days. When will the next Head’s Holiday be?

New Dining Center Renovation Will Transform Space

By Amy Marathe P ’26

Mercersburg Academy is thrilled to announce a renovation nearly 60 years in the making. The new Dining Center at Ford Hall is scheduled to open in early 2026 and will include updates to the kitchen, servery, dining room, lounges, and lobby, as well as new outdoor spaces.

Ford Hall opened its doors in 1965 with a new and expanded dining area that replaced the school’s former dining space in the Edwards Room of Keil Hall. The new building allowed the kitchen staff to offer more dining options to the school community while increasing seating capacity and providing more campus event space.

Over its decades-long history, Ford Hall has hosted family-style meals, semiformal dinners, dances, proms, employee holiday parties, alumni events, and more. But in those nearly six decades, students’ tastes have evolved to reflect a desire for more nutritious foods, international cuisine, and selections that accommodate dietary needs and preferences. Culinary technology has also improved, and the way kitchens operate has changed. While the current kitchen and dining hall have served the school well, they are no longer adequate to fulfill their purpose and function: to serve as the heart and home of Mercersburg Academy.

One tradition that will not change with the renovation is family-style meals. “The most important driver of the student dining experience is–and has always been–the family-style table,” said Head of School Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27. “The new concept for the kitchen and dining room preserves this facet of Mercersburg life that helps build community and foster meaningful connections.”

Mercersburg’s beautiful setting is part of its appeal, and the school intends to keep the windows at each end of the dining room that provide ample natural light and expansive views of campus. The renovation will, overall, provide a more aesthetically pleasing atmosphere for the school community to enjoy mealtime.

What can Mercersburg students, faculty, and staff anticipate? While the seating capacity will remain the same, the dining area will receive a modern renovation to include a new floor and ceiling, new lighting, and new tables and chairs. One noticeable addition will be a pizza oven in the center of the room. All of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems will be reviewed and upgraded or replaced as well.

The outside facade of Ford Hall will remain largely unchanged, but two covered porches will be added in front of the building to be used for special events, backpack storage during lunch, and shady spots to chat.

Renovations are scheduled to begin after Commencement 2025 and be completed in early 2026. During this time, half of the Hale Field House will be turned into a temporary dining room. A team on campus is working on the logistics to ensure the food quality and experience are not diminished. The intention is to make things as easy, consistent, and enjoyable as possible.

Construction projects of this scale can take more time than expected, so the school will continue to provide updates about the dining center in alumni and parent newsletters, as well as on social media accounts.

“This renovation will revitalize an essential space for a new generation to continue the school’s time-honored traditions and to establish new ones,” said McDowell. “I hope the community follows along with the progress as we pay homage to a space that has been the heartbeat of our campus over the last 60 years.”

If you would like to support the new dining center, please contact Chief Advancement Officer John Richardson at 717-328-6109 or richardsonj@mercersburg.edu.

Project Updates Revitalize Several Areas on Campus

When students returned to campus in the fall, they noticed many projects that were tackled over the summer:

» Regents’ Field has new turf.

» Curran Track has been resurfaced.

» Smoyer Tennis Center courts have updated surfaces.

» Four pickleball overlays were added to the courts.

» The dance floors in the Burgin Center for the Arts were replaced.

» Several building exteriors have been cleaned.

» Traylor Hall’s infrastructure was updated.

» Irvine Hall patio has been refreshed.

While some of the work was covered by the school’s capital budget, many of the projects were funded through the philanthropic generosity of alumni and friends via direct gifts or through gifts to the Annual Fund, revealing the impact giving has at Mercersburg.

4 5 1 8 9 2 6 3 7 10

Here’s a brief overview of the projects:

1 Regents’ Field

This is the first time the artificial turf on Regents’ Field has been resurfaced since the field was constructed in 2009. The turf was completely removed, the field was releveled, and new striping was added for soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse.

The typical lifespan for a turf field is about 10 years, said Director of Facilities Brian Nordyke P ’14. “The companies that came to look at it said our athletics crew has done a phenomenal job in their routine maintenance.”

2 Curran Track

Curran Track was resurfaced and striping was updated with markings needed by judges, and for the starting and stopping of various events.

The track was resurfaced and recalibrated–to convert from yards/feet to metric measurements–in 1994, and was resurfaced again during the 20082009 school year, according to Athletic Facilities Manager Michael Collins P ’14. The Plantz Courts wood floor also had a light sanding and refinishing.

3 Smoyer Tennis Center

The Smoyer Tennis Center courts have been resurfaced for the third time since they were constructed in 2001. Four pickleball overlays were installed on two of the courts, and the walkways between the courts were repaired.

4 Burgin Center for the Arts

The floors in both dance studios on the lower level of the Burgin Center for the Arts were replaced, a project that has been in the planning stages for two years, according to Burgin Center Director of Operations Jessica Doubell.

Over the summer, the old flooring was removed, down to the cement. Layers of wood, plywood, and medium density fiberboard were placed on the floor. The entire floor was sanded to eliminate bumps, divots, and dirt. The final layer, a vinyl floor, was placed on top.

5 Traylor Hall

A Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) air conditioning system was installed in Traylor Hall. The project includes the installation of a new heating and air conditioning system, a basement sprinkler system, and updates to the electrical and fire alarm systems. Traylor Hall, built in 1920, is one of the oldest buildings on campus.

“One of the benefits of using the VRF system is that it gives each office individual temperature control,” said Project Manager Ben Martin. “Each space is going to have its own thermostat allowing for individual control, so if you want your space five degrees cooler than the office next to you, the system will have the ability to do that. In the past, we had a lot of issues with the heating and cooling in the building.”

6 Building Exterior Cleaning

The exteriors of three campus buildings–Nolde Gym, Ford Hall, and Irvine Hall–were cleaned and had a fresh look for the beginning of school. In the case of Irvine Hall, the goal was to create an updated space on the back patio, Martin said. “It should be a nice spot to hang out.”

7 Faculty Housing

Heating-oil based HVAC systems in seven faculty houses were replaced with central heat pumps, and new central heating/cooling systems were installed in four additional faculty houses. The new systems will use heat pumps primarily, with electricity for emergency backup heat.

The systems were upgraded for cost savings, to reduce the use of fossil fuels, and to reduce the school’s carbon footprint, Martin said.

8 Rutledge Hall

The Rutledge Hall classroom carpets were replaced, and new vinyl treads were added in the stairwells.

9 Steamline Repair

Steamline piping near the graduation platform was repaired. Blacktop in that area was repaved, and sidewalks and landscaping were restored.

10 Health Center

Gravel paths near the Rutherford Health and Wellness Center were replaced with concrete sidewalks. This will make the paths more convenient for students, and for the grounds department, particularly in the winter when snow needs to be plowed.

“It’s good to see a lot of these projects getting completed,” Nordyke said.

Mercersburg Brings Coaching to the Classroom TEACHING THE TEACHERS:

By Megan Mallory

Everybody deserves a coach. Athletes have them, actors have them. Why not teachers?

Coaching is all about helping someone else and fostering their growth. That’s the philosophy of Steve Barkley, an educational consultant based in Switzerland, and it’s one that Mercersburg Academy has embraced as the school embarks on two new programs to support teachers in the classroom: peer coaching and instructional coaching. Both programs are in their second year, and both build upon Mercersburg’s long history of supporting teachers in their goal to become better at their craft.

“In the 24 years that I’ve been doing this, we’ve learned a lot about how the brain works, how learning happens, and how memory works,” said Julia Stojak Maurer ’90, P ’18, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’28, associate head of school for school life. “As that research has become available, we’ve been able to leverage that to bring it to our teachers and impact our students in the classroom. So it’s pretty simple: it’s all for the benefit of our students.”

Mercersburg has teamed up with Barkley to launch the peer coaching program where Mercersburg teachers partner with one another to offer guidance and feedback. Each pair spends time visiting one another’s classes

and helping each other focus on any particular areas they identify as opportunities for growth. “With peer coaching, [teachers have] been trained on what questions to ask to get you really thinking about how they can be most useful to you,” said Jennifer Miller Smith ’97, P ’23, ’24, dean of academics and director of Mercersburg’s coaching program.

“So it’s all about, what does the teacher whose class the coach is coming into, what do they most want to get out of that experience? It becomes about that teacher, instead of about the observer. It’s all about your own professional growth and goals, and it’s reciprocal.”

Barkley connects with these teaching pairs periodically throughout the school year to help them make the most of their mentoring time. In the first year of the peer coaching program during the 2023-2024 academic year, 22 Mercersburg teaching faculty members signed up to coach one another. This year, 16 additional teaching faculty have joined the program.

“I hear from a lot of teachers that the best professional development is to visit each other’s classes and to see what other people are doing–they always come away with new, good ideas,” Smith said.

While peer coaching is very much

reciprocal, instructional coaching is more guided toward one teacher serving as a mentor and offering advice to another teacher. All new teachers at Mercersburg are assigned an instructional coach, and veteran teachers may also request one. Mercersburg has always had department mentors, but “we wanted to make that support for new teachers more robust,” said Smith, “and so we assigned each of them an instructional coach who also has that really detailed list [of areas to focus on] to make sure you’re going over all these things that are specific to Mercersburg, and then also providing the peer coaching types of conversations but not in the same reciprocal way.” New teachers don’t offer feedback to their instructional coach, for instance, but the conversations and support for the new teacher are still very similar to peer coaching. It’s teacher led in terms of what the new teacher is hoping to get out of it.

The preparation for instructional coaches is also different from the preparation for peer coaches. Mercersburg currently has four trained instructional coaches–Smith; Amy Kelley P ’28, who is head of the mathematics department; Kristen Pixler P ’26, ’28, who is head of the arts department; and Heather Prescott, language faculty. Each coach completed a year of training through a certificate program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

Smith described the coursework and experience as quite intense. “The way we ended up structuring it was that all four of us together would meet as a group all of last year, and we still do this year, but we’d also talk about our coursework, and we would work together on it, and so we were using that course to develop our skills as instructional coaches, but also to work on building our program at Mercersburg.”

While the coaching program is new, Smith sees the initiative as just the next logical step from the foundation Mercersburg has already built in providing support and opportunities for teachers to learn and grow.

“Mercersburg has had a long history of providing professional development for our teachers,” Smith said. “When I first got here, I could tell right away that there was a lot of financial support for teachers to go to conferences and to improve their skills and general knowledge base and to keep working on continual growth.”

Over time, through the generous support of donors, Mercersburg started the Summer Institute, a dedicated week each August when Mercersburg teachers can collaborate and learn from some of the nation’s foremost educational leaders. The Institute is also open to teachers from other schools to come and join in the education and sharing of ideas. Many of the guest speakers continue working with Mercersburg faculty throughout the school year.

“The Summer Institute is honestly one of my favorite weeks of the year,” Maurer said. “It kicks off our school year, and we bring renowned experts in teaching, learning, memory, advising, social-emotional learning, counseling, mental health, and technology to campus to work with our teachers. The goal is really about seeing Mercersburg as a place that teaches teachers and being a beacon for educators, where we’re helping them learn how to hone their craft.”

Now entering its 10th year, the five-day institute in August 2024 included workshops delivered or facilitated by returning guest and technology expert Greg Kulowiec; clinical psychologist, author, and consultant Dr. Christopher Thurber; neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath; and representatives from the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. Maurer is already lining up speakers and presenters for summer 2025.

“These are the experts that you would pay to see at a national conference, and we get to have them on campus working in small groups with our faculty.” Maurer said. “We also get to build ongoing relationships with them. A good example of that is Dr. Pooja Agarwal, who wrote Powerful Teaching, a fabulous book on the science of teaching and learning. She’s been back to campus several times. She was at our Institute a couple years ago. She was back for our all-faculty meeting to kick off the year, talking about retrieval practice in the classroom, and several of us are actually working with her on action research in our classrooms, trying to bring the best of what she’s teaching to our students.”

As both Maurer and Smith noted, the ongoing professional development opportunities and the Summer Institute have helped establish a common language for talking about teaching and best practices.

“I feel like our coaching programs are the next step from that,” Smith said. “So now we’ve had the Summer Institute going

long enough that all of our teachers have to do it every three years, and a lot of them do it more. Some of our teachers do it every year. Now we have this common language, this common knowledge base about things like retrieval practice, the science of learning, emotional safety–these things that help our already strong teachers to continue to grow and improve in what they’re doing in the classroom. We’re at a place where we want to really create opportunities for our teachers.”

As Smith considers next steps, she wants to continue being responsive to the needs of the faculty. “I’m thinking one step at a time here, but I want to keep seeing the programs expand so that we have a coaching culture at Mercersburg,” Smith said. “That’s my real goal: I want to make sure that as we continue to meet the faculty’s needs in terms of their own goals for growth, that the coaching programs are being well utilized to support teachers.”

Maurer would like educators across the country to see Mercersburg as a destination for learning. “I often have the experts that we bring in say how much they enjoy working with our faculty, that it just feels different at our school than it feels at other places,” said Maurer. “That is so awesome. I just love that about being here. And so I think growing that network of people who see Mercersburg as a place where really good learning happens–that’s an ongoing goal of mine. Ultimately, I want people to say, ‘Oh, Mercersburg, they do that really, really well.’”

Left: Faculty members Julia Stojak Maurer ’90, P ’18, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’28, left, and Kelsy Rupp collaborated during a peer coaching workshop.

Right: During Summer Institute 2024, Mercersburg faculty and visiting attendees participated in the “Science of Storytelling” session.

Stacie Rice Lissette ’85 to Receive Class of ’32 Award

By Debra Collins P ’14

Mercersburg Academy is proud to announce that Stacie Rice Lissette, Esq. ’85, P ’14, ’14, ’17, ’23, Board of Regents president emeritus, has been selected to receive the school’s highest distinction—the Class of ’32 Distinguished Alumni Award. Presented annually, this award honors alumni who have demonstrated exemplary character, service, and achievement. Notable past recipients include Jimmy Stewart ’28, Gerry Lenfest ’49, Dick Thornburgh ’50, Walter Burgin Jr. ’53, John Jones III ’73, and Deborah Simon ’74.

“I am truly honored to receive this incredible award from a place that means so much to me,” said Lissette. “Mercersburg Academy has made such a difference in

my life, not only during my time there as a student but throughout my life. I am forever indebted for the continued connection with this special place and the many special people it has brought into my life.”

Lissette’s career and lifelong commitment to Mercersburg and other organizations distinguish her as a leader. In 2015, she was recognized with the Alumni Council Prize for Service, which honors alumni who have made exceptional contributions to the school’s mission and success—encompassing its students, faculty, facilities, and financial strength.

As co-founder and director of the Rice Family Foundation, Lissette works to enhance education, health, and family well-being in the Hanover, PA, region and

beyond. She is the great-granddaughter of Bill and Salie Utz, founders of Utz Brands Inc., and has played a vital role in helping grow the company into a publicly traded enterprise. Lissette has served on the boards of the Rice Family Foundation, Utz, and various community organizations, including York Country Day School, The Montessori School of Westminster, Visiting Nurse Association of Hanover & Spring Grove, and TrueNorth Counseling Services.

Her connection to Mercersburg spans more than three decades. She recently concluded her term as Board of Regents president after having served as a board member from 1998 to 2007 and again from 2009 to 2023. During that time, she held several key leadership roles, including vice

I am truly

president, and chaired the compensation, executive, and admission committees.

Lissette has also volunteered as a member of the White Key parent organization and the Alumni Council, serving on two Head of School Search Committees in 1996 and 2015, the latter of which she co-chaired. She has also served as an event host, thankathon caller, and Annual Fund solicitor, and was a driving force behind Mercersburg’s two most recent fundraising campaigns, Daring to Lead and Mightily Onward.

In addition to her time and leadership, Lissette has made significant philanthropic contributions to Mercersburg. She and her husband, Dylan, are members of the McDowell Society and provided the lead

honored to receive this incredible award from a place that means so much to me. Mercersburg Academy has made such a difference in my life, not only during my time there as a student but throughout my life.

I am forever indebted for the continued connection with this special place and the many special people it has brought into my life.

gift for the Hale Field House in honor of former Head of School Douglas Hale. The Lissette Game Room in the Student Center also bears her family’s name.

“I am honored to present Stacie with the Class of ’32 Award,” said Head of School Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27.

“She is one of the most dedicated volunteers I have ever witnessed or worked with. Stacie’s personal and professional accomplishments, her service to Mercersburg Academy, and her commitment to making a difference are truly inspirational. We are proud to call her one of our own.”

As a student at Mercersburg, Lissette was an active member of the Irving Society and served as head of both

“ “

Blue Key and the chapel ushers.

Following her time at Mercersburg, Lissette earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from the University of North Carolina and a law degree from George Washington University. After clerking for a judge in the D.C. Superior Court, she briefly practiced regulatory law before returning to the family business, Utz Quality Foods.

Lissette and her husband reside in Hanover, PA, and are the proud parents of five children—Max ’14, Payton ’14, Alex ’17, Caleb, and Colin ’23.

Lissette will receive the Class of ’32 Award during Reunion Weekend in June 2025, coinciding with her class’s 40th reunion.

Mural, Mural, on the Wall: Nigel Sussman Paints Them All

By Claire Chow ’26

Nigel Sussman ’01 grew up in Waynesboro, PA, surrounded by art–his father is a musician, his mother studied textiles, and both his grandmothers were painters. From a young age, when he wasn’t playing guitar, Sussman would doodle. A product of his environment, he is now an illustrator and muralist in Berkeley, CA.

Prior to Mercersburg, Sussman went to public school, where the arts were not represented well. Sussman said Mercersburg was attractive due to its facilities and resources. He began attending Mercersburg in 1998 and was a day student for three years, boarding his senior year. Sussman said his experience at Mercersburg was valuable because he was encouraged to push limits. Here, he further developed his love for art and took advanced art classes taught by husbandwife faculty duo Mark Flowers P ’01, ’03 and Kristy Higby P ’01, ’03.

Flowers first met Sussman at a gathering for incoming students. “I remember it well because he was wearing clothes that he made himself,” Flowers said. “I immediately liked him and knew he would be a different student.”

Since Sussman was around 11, his father, the executive director of Cumberland Valley School of Music, commissioned him to create designs for summer camp T-shirts. At Mercersburg, Sussman was often asked to design T-shirts and visual collateral for events–his favorite being for Irving-Marshall Week.

If he had to pick a Mercersburg Moment, Sussman’s senior project would be it. He and a couple of other art students, including Flowers and Higby’s son Carson ’01, opened a mini coffee shop and music venue (where they booked acts from all over), known as Second Story Wheat, in Boone Hall–where arts productions were held prior to the opening of the Burgin Center for the Arts.

Sussman took on the role of painting an entire stairwell, and remembers spending a lot of time there. He expressed his gratitude to Mercersburg for allowing him to “be motivated and free-thinking without that much structure.” He also regarded this as a formative experience in becoming a mural artist.

Sussman continued designing T-shirts for his father throughout college. His two years at Carnegie Mellon University allowed him to realize he was more interested in detail and the “pure craft” of art, rather than the rhetoric and persuasion of the artist. As a result, he transferred to California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland for its illustration program, which he found to be a good fit, as it emphasized visual communication. After graduating, Sussman worked in advertising, creating illustrations in his free time.

In 2014, Sussman was offered a job relocation from San Francisco, CA, to Portland, OR, fully funded by the company where he had worked for six years. After a weeklong trial in Oregon, he decided he wasn’t ready to move away from the sunny beaches of California, where he had just bought a new place with his wife, Yasemin. At the same time, he discovered there was so much demand for illustration that he no longer needed his day job, so he quit and started working for himself. He has since worked on murals on both coasts, mainly in California.

Sussman had always intended to pursue a career in the arts. “There’s nothing else I wanted to do, really, and so I would do it in my free time, too, and for fun,” he said, noting that not having to be told to do an activity is a good hint that an interest is really a passion. His advice to current students is to “do something that feels productive and that you like, and if you actually do spend energy on it, the money will come if you’re smart about it.”

Claire Chow, who lives in Hong Kong, was an intern in the Communications Office during the fall term.

Nigel Sussman created this mural titled “Where’s Walnut Creek?” at Tice Valley Gymnasium in Walnut Creek, CA. The mural was a public art project commissioned by the City of Walnut Creek.

Ambition Accelerated: How Curiosity Powered Patricia Rennert’s Global Success

By Andrew Chang ’26

Even though it has been more than 25 years since graduation, Rennert said the lessons she learned at Mercersburg remain.

Patricia Rennert ’99, a pioneer for anyone inspired by her journey, said every student should “change uncertainty to curiosity.” Rennert has proven that doing what seems impossible is possible. Her journey has taken her across multiple institutions, roles, and continents. She has ventured worldwide, stepping into roles she wasn’t expected to fill.

Immersing herself in unique situations this way propelled her to the top of Porsche AG, making her one of the automotive giant’s few female leaders in the mechanical engineering field. From Porsche, Rennert ventured to a startup in digital transformation in Berlin and fostered an expertise in software development as well as exploring technologies such as various artificial intelligence approaches. Combining those two fields, she rejoined the Volkswagen Group to become the vice president at Cariad, a Volkswagen subsidiary, focusing on building the technology stack for automotive software.

Adaptability has been the key to Rennert’s ride to the top of the automotive industry.

“I sometimes dive deep into solving a problem and want to find the technological answer, but then again, it’s the big-picture organizational change where you must consider how it affects people. I really do enjoy the versatility of my job.”

Looking back, Rennert said she couldn’t have done it without Mercersburg. Rennert came to south central Pennsylvania from Germany in 1995, allowing her to experience the first of many unique and life-changing endeavors. Being abroad in a different country is something only a few of her peers

had experienced.

“Not being prepared for this and not knowing anyone and trying to master the language, it was just really about coming to know who you are and staying true to yourself,” Rennert said. “My English was not as good back then as it is now, but I remember saying, ‘It’s overwhelming. It’s overwhelming. It’s overwhelming.’ That’s all I said on my first day.”

With every challenge came a unique opportunity, and Rennert took minimal time seizing each and every one, giving them her all. Some challenges, shared among generations of Mercersburg students, have their way of bringing people together.

“We used to do uphill sprints on Tippetts Hill during track season. It’s not a favorite memory, but it’s a good one. That’s something I remember still, 25 years plus,” said Rennert, reflecting on her earliest high school memories.

As time passed, she followed in the footsteps of many Mercersburg students before her, discovering passions she never knew she had. “I think one of my favorite classes was chemistry. I enjoyed working in the lab and doing my filtrations,” she said.

Her exploration and discovery weren’t limited to school borders. She recalls her first U.S. Thanksgiving: “My friend Amy Jones (Satrom) ’98 took me home to her family because I couldn’t go home during that time. She told me to ‘just come along for the ride. It’s my sister’s birthday, and we’re going to celebrate Thanksgiving!’ So I went with her and then really got to experience a Thanksgiving because, in Germany, we don’t celebrate it the same

way—or back then, it wasn’t as common.”

Inspired by everything she found possible, Rennert completed her senior project on Balancing Family and Profession for Female Businesswomen. Since then, Rennert has focused on women in STEM, passionately expressing her joy in “empowering people, and especially women, to achieve what they want in a technical field. Female empowerment and not being afraid to pursue a career is important to me.” Unbeknownst to her, she would revisit this passion several times in her career.

When asked how Mercersburg prepared her for the next stage in life, she said, “Leaving the ’Burg, I think, I was very much rooted in myself. I had been abroad for two years, speaking a different language, getting to know new surroundings and people, and knowing I could lean on myself and trust who I was. That prepared me for ... well, everything that came after, as I still embrace new situations and meet them with curiosity.”

Every pioneer’s long and outstanding journey starts with a single step, and for Rennert, that step was made on the campus of Mercersburg Academy. “Mercersburg taught me how to process knowledge and to find my own way of working—how I need to study, remember things, put things into perspective, and gather the basic approach to work scientifically. The style or how I work (scientifically) and what I need to do to understand something and find my approach for that is what Mercersburg taught me.”

Andrew Chang ’26 of Kirkland, WA, was an intern in the Communications Office during the fall term.

Patricia Rennert ’99 recalls the uphill sprints she and fellow track team members did on Tippetts Hill. Pictured, from left: Sherette Chambers ’99, Colby Shroath ’00, Rennert, and Emily Miller Joyner ’99, P ’25.

How Nate Fochtman Built FreeMind Network on Authenticity From Nap kin No tes to Co-Founder:

By Taeeon Moon ’25

Nate Fochtman ’03 possesses a natural talent for spontaneous communication, which propelled him to co-found FreeMind Network, a marketing agency dedicated to amplifying the online presence of small businesses. He recalls discovering his aptitude for public speaking during an urgent moment at Mercersburg’s Commencement, when he realized that his opening remarks, hastily written on a paper napkin, had become an unreadable glob due to an unexpected rain shower. The mishap became a defining moment, pushing him toward an authentic communication style grounded in improvisation and genuine connection—traits he carries into his career today.

Fochtman’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2008 when, as a senior at Drexel University, he started a business booking bands in Philadelphia and the Mid-Atlantic region. This initial venture connected him to breweries, distilleries, and other clients in the alcohol industry, where he worked for nearly 20 years. Over time, his business focus evolved from event booking to helping small businesses develop digital media strategies. Today, FreeMind Network

Nate Fochtman ’03, far right, was at the 2024 Jam on the Grass festival in Philadelphia for his podcast. Nate’s children Emma, 14, and Jack, 13, helped at the event.

Jennifer Hendrickson ’03 and her sister, Rachael ’06, shared a laugh with Nate Fochtman ’03 while taking prom photos when they were students.

specializes in amplifying independent business voices through targeted digital media campaigns.

Central to Fochtman’s work are his podcasts, where he combines his expertise in digital media with a strong focus on authentic storytelling. His flagship show, the FreeMind Network Podcast, features interviews with business founders from around the globe, connecting with them via Zoom to share diverse entrepreneurial insights. Another of his productions, FreeMind Local, takes a more hands-on approach: Fochtman visits small businesses across “Main Street America,” diving into the personal stories that shape a journey.

FreeMind Fridays, one unique project, is co-hosted with Clifford Starks, a former UFC and Bellator fighter and MMA Hall of Famer. Together, they tackle topics surrounding stress, anxiety, and resilience, discussing how to transform pressure into positive energy. These podcasts not only showcase Fochtman’s interviewing abilities but also reflect his passion for human connection, a skill he developed early at Mercersburg.

Fochtman’s time at Mercersburg was foundational for his career. He engaged

deeply with the school communications, working on video editing, scanning archival photos, and documenting events. These experiences sparked his interest in media and storytelling, which he carried forward into his college years and professional life. The transition from Mercersburg to Drexel brought challenges, particularly the need to balance work and academics, yet this period taught him resilience and adaptability—qualities that have been invaluable in his role as an entrepreneur.

Fochtman remains closely connected to Mercersburg, actively volunteering and encouraging fellow alumni to stay engaged with the community that shaped him. For Fochtman, staying involved is a way of giving back to the institution that played such a pivotal role in his growth, both personally and professionally. Through his work and volunteer efforts, Fochtman continues to support the power of storytelling and genuine human connection in a digital age.

Taeeon Moon ’25 of Seoul, Korea, was an intern in the Communications Office during the fall term.

Nate Fochtman ’03 interviewed musician Nikki DiGiorgio for his podcast.

Torchbearers, those with three or more consecutive years of giving, are among Mercersburg’s most loyal supporters. Here we celebrate those whose extraordinary generosity reaches or exceeds 40 consecutive years. Because of their continued commitment to the school, we are able to deliver on our extraordinary education at the most pivotal moments in our students’ lives.

This is a milestone worthy of our collective praise. Here’s a loud-swelling cheer of gratitude from the Mercersburg community!

Torchbearers

Carol Abrams and Howard Abrams ’53

Andrew Ammerman ’68

Harry Apfelbaum ’69

Madeleine Baker and Weston Baker Jr. ’80

Joan Baldwin and Edwin Baldwin ’76

Nancy Moore Banta ’77 and Cornelius Banta

Charles Barndt Jr. ’58

Carol Bayne and Robert Bayne Jr. ’58

Kay Lindsay and Charles Bell ’71

Robert Bell ’67

Stephen Black ’49

Sheila Blair and Clarence Blair ’52

Marilyn Bracken and Jerome Bracken Jr.

Ann Bruch ’76

Barry Bryan ’48

Barbara Burgin and Walter Burgin Jr. ’53

Maureen Cass and William Cass Jr. ’60

Leslie Coates and Raymond Coates Jr. ’67

Lucy Northrop Corwin ’80 and Douglas Corwin Jr. ’79

Carol Crago and Andrew Crago ’67

Alan Crawshaw ’70

Nancy Waite and Thomas Cuddeback ’64

Susan Latham and Val Deininger ’69

Catherine Dickman and Paul Dickman ’71

Richard Dorer ’65

Sarah Dorer and Robert Dorer ’72

Patricia Eynon and Thomas Eynon ’54

Carol Fitch and Daniel Fitch ’49

Linda Flanagan and David Flanagan ’81

Dara Frankel and Jeffrey Frankel ’72

Joanne Frantz and David Frantz ’60

Julia Furnary and Anthony Furnary ’76

Lorelle Pottick Gantt ’76 and Bryan Gantt

Barbara Gerber

Brenda Good and Dennis Good Jr. ’54

Dana Priest and William Goodfellow ’66

Judy Gorsuch and Jeffrey Gorsuch ’63

Laurie Burton-Graham and Alexander Graham ’71

Carol Granet and Michael Granet ’71

Susan Ross and Thomas Hadzor ’72

Janice Hanna and Michael Hanna Jr. ’67

Beverly Harman and Daniel Harman III ’65

Judith Harris and David Harris ’55

Amy Haskell and Richard Haskell Jr. ’72

Thomas Heefner ’57

Yen Vo Hendrickson and James Hendrickson ’67

Jean Hendrickson and David Hendrickson ’66

Dolores Hiehle and Frederick Hiehle ’52

Virginia Higley and Frank Higley Jr. ’70

Sarah Hill and Dean Hill ’84

Linda Hill and Donald Hill

Sara Himes and Lawrence Himes ’64

Angela Holiday and Harry Holiday III ’75

William Holstein Jr. ’47

Thomas Holzer ’61

Judith Hoober and Thomas Hoober ’62

Andrea White Hosbein ’84 and Gregory Hosbein

Louise Huber and Joseph Huber ’64

Carolyn Hultman and Charles Hultman ’58

Richard Ide ’54

Gerry Johnson and William Johnson ’57

Wesley Johnston Jr. ’59 and Joanie Wright

Virginia Kalbach and Joseph Kalbach ’60

Jane Kart and Barry Kart ’61

Linda Keefer and Jeremiah Keefer Jr. ’65

Christopher Kenah ’67

Rebecca Kettering and James Kettering Jr. ’63

Marjory Kiess and Raymond Kiess ’78

Debra Kirby and Donald Kirby ’71

Marian Klieber and Eric Klieber ’68

John Knappenberger ’65

Jessica Kozloff and Stephen Kozloff ’58

Jane Lebouitz and Stanton Lebouitz ’61

Bradley Leisure ’73

Julie Lewis and Robert Lewis ’52

Lynda Lillard and Ross Lillard ’70

Katherine Neff Locke ’80 and Gerald Locke

Julie MacKinlay and Edgar MacKinlay ’54

Ruth Marshall

Karen McDowell Marston ’79 and Robert Marston ’79

Margery Masinter and Edgar Masinter ’48

Paula McClure and James McClure ’69

Claire Cummings and Richard McCombs ’65

Laurinda McEachern and Carson McEachern III ’64

Lynn McIlroy and William McIlroy ’65

Lotta Mellott and Paul Mellott Jr. ’70

Mary Mertz and Oakley Mertz ’62

Margaret Michaels and Thomas Michaels ’72

Hugh Miller ’48

Betsy Mitchell ’83

Susan Corwin Moreau ’85 and Christopher Moreau

Susan Hobbs Nelson ’77 and John Nelson ’77

Vaughn Nevin

Alexander Notopoulos Jr. ’70

Jacqueline Ormrod and Augustine Ormrod ’50

Holly Pearson and Edwin Pearson Jr. ’67

Margaret Perry

Cindy Putnam and William Putnam Jr. ’61

Donna Reif and Eric Reif ’60

Cathy Rice and Joseph Rice ’67

Suzy Rice and Lacy Rice Jr. ’49

Richard Roschli ’52

Lori Bellman and Frederic Rothermel Jr. ’61

Fredrick Schaff ’50

Deborah Seaman and Peter Seaman ’67

Patricia Seltzer-Wagoner ’78 and Frederick Wagoner

Frances Shipper and Frank Shipper ’63

Irene Drabek and Harry Shriver Jr. ’66

Deborah Simon ’74

Ming Siu ’83

Frank Skinner ’49

Edward Smith ’83

Tina Snyder and James Snyder ’69

Pamela Sommerville and Paul Sommerville II ’63

Laura Spears and Paul Spears ’71

Anne Spragg and Scott Spragg III ’82

Bette Strauch and John Strauch ’61

Corinne Sze and Robert Sze ’59

Peggy Tettelbach and Clayton Tettelbach ’80

Sandralee Thompson and William Thompson ’61

Nancy Hoke Trocchio ’74 and Richard Trocchio

Barbara Van Sciver and George Van Sciver ’58

Aleksandra Wagner and Brian Wagner ’84

Kathy Nagle and David Wagner ’81

Jane Walsh and Bruce Walsh ’55

Mary Ann Walton and Robert Walton Sr. ’57

Peggy Way and Lawrence Way ’66

Richard Weaver ’48

Marjorie Weaver and Thomas Weaver Jr. ’51

Karen Weidenfeld and Harvey Weidenfeld ’54

Daniel White ’53

Stanton Wicke ’64

Anne Williams

John Wilson ’51

Myoung Wilson and Richard Wilson ’51

Jean Witmer and Richard Witmer Jr. ’70

Holly Wolff and Rick Wolff Jr. ’73

Karen Wolfinger and Howard Wolfinger Jr. ’55

David Yerger ’82

Judith Zern and Allen Zern ’61

Anonymous

* This list is current as of November 11, 2024.

WHY I SUPPORT MERCERSBURG

“Choosing Mercersburg at 14 was a bit of a blind leap of faith for me. I quickly engaged and embraced all Mercersburg had to offer. The deeply devoted and talented faculty were a constant source of encouragement and fostered a sense of curiosity and confidence. I became a stronger and more purposeful version of myself. The experience shaped my values, expanded my perspective, and connected me with a family of supportive teachers, staff, and friends I value to this day.

Giving back to Mercersburg is an honor and privilege. I love knowing that Mercersburg continues to prepare strong and impactful leaders every day.”

– MICHAELLA HOEHN-SARIC ’13

“The impact of Mercersburg is infinite. I can point to the influence of friendships, mentors, and life lessons from Mercersburg on a daily basis. It certainly has helped shape who and where I am. I hope my gift can allow students and faculty to feel a similar impact.”

–

JASEN WRIGHT ’99

“From the outset of my enrollment at Mercersburg, I knew I had been given an extraordinary opportunity. I have been fortunate to be able to stay connected with Mercersburg in different capacities over many years; my gratitude for that engagement, as with all that came before, has only increased, and the Academy continues to be my most important philanthropic entity.”

– DAVID FRANTZ

’60

Submission Deadline forthenextissueis April3,2025

William Maurer ’20 writes that he was incredibly blessed to share his marriage to Catherine Frazer, now Maurer, on June 2, 2024, with Mercersburg friends, faculty, and family.

Submit class notes via email to classnotes@mercersburg edu or online at mercersburg.edu/classnotes

The submission deadline for the next issue is Thursday, April 3. Submission does not guarantee publication.

Mercersburg reserves the right to edit submissions for space or content, and is not responsible for more than reasonable editing or fact-checking.

Selected submissions could appear on the school’s social media channels as well, unless otherwise indicated by the person submitting the information.

When submitting a photo, please provide the highest-quality version possible, and include the names of all persons pictured and their Mercersburg class years. Due to size and quality considerations, some images might not be suitable for print.

Gabriella Bucci ’15 and Zach Imel were married on April 6, 2024, in Pittsburgh. Erica Borger ’15 was a bridesmaid, and Gabriella’s Mercersburg roommate Teal Tasker ’15 was also in attendance.

Mac Williams ’13, left, and Vini Nobrega ’12, right, traveled to Lucca, Italy, in August 2024 to celebrate the marriage of Enrico Vincenzini ’12, center, and Giovanna Fondrieschi.

WEDDINGS

Abby Voce ’18 married Will Congel on July 6, 2024. Mercersburg friends who attended the ceremony included, from left, Tommy Voce ’17, Campbell Drennen ’18, Sofia Makarova ’18, Brooke Wilten ’18, Abby Voce Congel ’18, Rachel Carter ’18, Ellie Gregg ’18, and Ava Mancini ’18

History faculty member Emily Schoenberger ’15 married Fred Horn on June 15, 2024, at Mercersburg’s Irvine Memorial Chapel. Numerous Mercersburg alumni and employees attended the ceremony.

James Nam ’10 married Sujung Nam in Oahu, Hawaii, on June 2, 2024.

& BIRTHS

Franco Joseph Encapera was born May 9, 2024, to Gina Rendina Encapera ’97 and her husband, Ryan Encapera.

Joseph “JJ” Rendina ’71 is his proud grandfather, and the Mercersburg onesie he’s wearing was purchased by his Aunt Savina Rendina Cupps ’99 at her recent 20th reunion.

Lauren Coates Creighton ’03 and her husband, Rob, are living in Fairfax, VA. Lauren has been employed as a high school counselor with Fairfax County Public Schools for the past seven years. She and Rob welcomed a daughter, Briar Rae Creighton, on Lauren’s birthday, November 29, 2023. Briar’s middle name is for her proud grandfather (“Pop”), Raymond Davis Coates Jr. ’67, and her late great-grandfather, Raymond Davis Coates Sr. ’46

In May 2024, Greg Larson ’06 and Jessie Tippen Larson ’06 welcomed a son, Lincoln, who joins his older sisters, Lexi and Remi.

The Larson family lives in Darwin, Australia.

Ugonna Onyekwe ’99 and his wife, Buffy Youngblood, announce the birth of their second child, a son, Harlem Xmas Onyekwe Youngblood, February 2, 2024.

Jaclyn and Tom Flanagan ’10 announce the birth of a daughter, Harley James Flanagan, May 3, 2024.

Dobish Rutherford ’08

Whitney Pezza ’05 and her husband, Amir Bagherzadeh, welcomed Emilia Lorraine on March 13, 2024. Emilia joins big brother Henry.

Photo by Lauren

Susie Klein Amar ’11 and her husband, Axel Amar, welcomed Raphaël Élie Amar to their family on July 9, 2024, and can’t wait to bring him to Reunion Weekend.

Assistant Director of Admission

Richard Mahoney and his wife, Morgan, announce the birth of their second child, a boy, Murphy Robert Mahoney, July 28, 2024, who joins big sister MacKenzie.

Mark Herring ’09 and his wife, Steph, welcomed a daughter, Rosalind Sophia Herring, on June 6, 2024.

Logan Craig ’08 and Sarah Craig are thrilled to announce the arrival of their daughter, Caroline Craig, who was born in June 2024, and joins big sister, Annie.

Logan shares, “She has already brought so much joy to our lives, and we’re excited for all the adventures ahead as we embark on this new chapter.”

Alexis Royal-Eatmon ’14 and her husband, Adi Williams, welcomed son, Julius, January 23, 2024. They moved to New York City and are looking forward to connecting with other alumni.

’58

Alan Wein is a professor at the Desai Sethi Institute Of Urology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and is director of business development and mentoring for the institute.

’60

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

65th

Regent Emeriti Hank Spire received West Nottingham Academy’s honorary alumnus distinction during the school’s 280th commencement ceremony. He served as headmaster of West Nottingham from 1984 to 1989.

’63

Joel Stein retired in December after more than 53 years of “very satisfying and rewarding work” as a criminal defense attorney in New York City.

Mercersburg Mayor Michael Pedersen ’95, Borough Council member Tom Heefner ’57, and several faculty emeriti went to Richmond, VA, in July 2024 to visit faculty emeritus Karl Reisner and present him with the James Buchanan Award. The award is given annually by the Borough Council in recognition of an individual who has served the community in outstanding ways. Front row, from left: Heefner, Reisner, and Pedersen. Back row, from left: Faculty emeriti Jack Hawbaker, Brent Gift, Ron Simar, and Paul Galey.

’75

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

50 th

’80

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

45th

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

60 th

Cynthia Goldsmith is looking forward to reconnecting with classmates for the 50th reunion. She shares: “Tony Tito has been hard at work planning several events which will set us apart from all the other classes. All we need is for us to return! I am personally looking forward to seeing some of my best friends. You know who you are! I can’t believe it has been 50 years. I have returned for a few reunions, and have always loved seeing everyone. There have been so many wonderful changes to the campus and the school community, which always makes me so proud of our alma mater. I’ll update y’all when I see you at our reunion!”

’81

Board of Regents and former Alumni Council member David Wagner was named to the Juniata College board of trustees. His three-year term of service began September 1, 2024.

’85

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

40 th

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

55th

Robins McIntosh Jr. is completing 45 years in the international shrimp business, having worked and lived in Brazil, Guatemala, Belize, Myanmar, India, Ghana, and Thailand. He says he’s contemplating retirement, “but not until I make it to the 55th class reunion at Mercersburg.”

William Whitaker says he is looking forward to seeing friends, especially fellow 50th reunion classmates, next June, and perhaps solving a few mysteries of the 1975 Senior Prank Day.

’79

Delores Jean Decker, mother of Gretchen Decker Jones and Michael Decker ’84 and grandmother of Grey Pierce ’09 and Katherine Pierce ’12, died on July 7, 2024. She is also survived by her husband, Richard “Dick” Decker, Mercersburg faculty emeritus.

Glenn and Mindy Hershey Houck are looking forward to reconnecting with classmates for lots of fun and laughter at the 40th reunion in June.

’87

David Madgwick is beginning his 23rd year in education. Dave serves as a special education teacher with Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). In addition to teaching at Stone Bridge High School, he had the privilege of coaching with the boys lacrosse program, winning a Virginia state championship during his tenure. Dave and his wife, Barbara, have four children. Two are

July

Russell Gee ’64 says he had to make a decision about whether to attend his 60th class reunion in June 2024 or participate in a six-hour endurance race at the famed Watkins Glen International racetrack with his co-driver Aaron Nash. He thinks he made the right decision as they finished in second place out of a starting field of 22 Porsche GT4 race cars.

Members of the Class of 1966 recently reunited in Charlottesville, VA, to tour Monticello and the University of Virginia where they met some Mercersburg grads enrolled there. They also heard a Mercersburg school update from Board of Regents

President Tom Hadzor ’72. They enjoyed reminiscing and are excited for their 60th reunion in June 2026. Front row, from left: Bill Gordon, Fred Stenger, Rob Robison, and Phil Yates. Back row, from left: Tom Steiger, Steve Helms, Jack Seto, and Bill Goodfellow.

In May, Lou Prevost ’67 completed the 40-miles Five Boro Bike Tour in New York City. He shares that he has retired from the hospitality industry, including the past 34 years with Main Line Hotels. He was re-elected to another four years as a Wellsboro Borough councilman. He’s looking forward to more time with his eight grandchildren, ages 4-18. His oldest grandchild, James, was accepted with early admission to Villanova University business school.

In

2024, Jim Kettering ’63, left, and Paul Sommerville ’63 got together for some reminiscing and kayaking in Colfax, WV, near the Kettering ancestral home in Fairmont, WV.

teaching with LCPS, the third went into nursing, and the last is studying to be a teacher. Dave heavily credits his days at Mercersburg for pointing his compass toward education. He gratefully carries with him the impact of the Mercersburg experience. He was inspired by several teachers and staff, including Tom Earley ’80, the late Jackie Powell, Jack Hawbaker, and Karl Reisner. Their influence often finds its way into Dave’s classroom. Dave says, “Go Irving!”

’88

Mark Hjelle shared that in 2022 he started a new journey as CEO for Protos Security, a disruptive innovative security services firm in North America. He continues to try to stay in shape with Masters Swimming in Suburban Maryland and also Naples, FL. He hopes to see some classmates within the next year.

James Snyder ’69, who is the Helen Goldsmith Menschel director of the Jewish Museum in New York City, introduced contemporary American artist Alexis Rockman before the annual Class of 1969 Global Engagement Initiative Lecture in April. According to James, their paths had crossed in New York throughout the years, and they finally had the opportunity to meet in collaboration for the lecture at Mercersburg. From left are Head of School Quentin McDowell, Alexis, and James.

’89

In June 2024, Jenna Heller’s first book, The End of the Beginning, a collection of flash fiction that she describes as “a little dark, a little twisted, and with queer themes,” was published by New Zealand-based publisher At the Bay | I Te Kokoru. Jenna also had a poetry manuscript accepted by Sudden Valley Press for publication in 2025.

’90

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

’91

Janelle Denny Cwik contributed to Dr. Randall Hansen’s book The HEALing Revolution Diet, which includes her suggestions for intermittent fasting and medicinal mushrooms to accentuate healing. Janelle’s new business, Twin Lions Global Health, is also highlighted in the new book. Janelle returned to Virginia after a trip to Patagonia, Chile, and planned to visit the Galápagos Islands.

’95

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

’96

30 th

Cliff Anderson writes from Flat Rock, NC, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene. He has been inspired by the work of his community and hopes that classmates and other alumni are OK in the aftermath of the hurricane.

’97

Leah Long is one of the authors of Roman Decorative Stone Collections in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, a book published by the University of Michigan Press. Leah has a Ph.D. in classical art and archaeology and is a member of Mercersburg’s language and history faculty.

’98

Paul Yun became a specially appointed professor in the Department of Military Studies at Seokyeong University in Seoul, Korea, in August 2024. He is scheduled to teach courses including Understanding Drone/ UAV and Introduction to the Defense Industry.

Nine classmates from the Class of 1971 gathered in June 2024 at High Mesa Ranch in Colorado for their 53rd reunion. They came from as far west as Hawaii and as far east as Vermont. Photographed in the front yard of the ranch at 9,000 feet elevation, with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at 14,000 feet in the background, are, from left, Host Scott Cummings, Dan Whiteman, Bob Bonham, Tom Wohlsen, Charlie Scammell, Ranch Owner and Hostess Philae Dominick, Reid Kellam, John Lent, Michael Broder, and John McClure. For those who made the effort, Scott shares that this event exceeded expectations and was a rewarding experience for everyone.

’99

In the ongoing fight against heart disease, Andrew Choi, M.D., co-authored a research publication on long-term heart plaque in patients with elevated lipoprotein (a) in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Cardiology with collaborators in the Netherlands. He was recently promoted to full professor of medicine and radiology, one of the youngest in recent memory at George Washington University.

’05

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

20 th

Jeff Sellman moved to Anchorage, AK, and has taken a physician job at Alaska Native Medical Center. He looks forward to seeing his classmates on campus in June!

’06

Mike Crump joined Moore, the world’s largest firm focused on the nonprofit marketing and fundraising space, as vice president, digital media, this year. Additionally, he is thrilled to be singing again, having joined the Washington Men’s Camerata this summer. He noticed that a few of the arrangements in their repertoire are the same ones Octet has in its library!

’14

Shelby Smith is moving to the Pacific Northwest to work as a conservation engagement manager with the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

’18

Kat Patterson moved to Philadelphia where she is teaching kindergarten at a public charter school.

At the age of 25, Charlie Bell ’71 followed his dream of becoming a world-class marathoner by running throughout the United States–every border state in the lower 48 in 19 months. He and his daughter, Amelia, share stories from his exceptional journey via a podcast that launched on August 13. Find out more at longrun.us.

’19

During the fall 2024 term, Mary DiLalla visited a science class taught by Jim Malone where she gave a presentation about coral restoration research in the Florida Keys. Mary is a graduate of the University of Tampa with a bachelor’s degree in marine biology.

’20

Reunion: June 6-8, 2025

5th

Will Maurer graduated from the University of Dayton with a mechanical engineering degree. His senior capstone group worked with fourth-grade elementary teachers and students on a project that focused on reducing cafeteria noise, offering handson learning and sparking excitement for engineering.

In September, North Stamets ’73 and his wife, Veronique, traveled from their home in Lyon, France, to Italy and visited friends in Tuscany and Rome. During the trip, they took a photograph at the Colosseum in Rome.

Alumni Council members, from left, Jasen Wright ’99, Schelley Hollyday ’72, and John Mancini ’14 connected during a Mercersburg gathering in Avalon, NJ, hosted in August 2024 by Dylan and Stacie Rice Lissette ’85.

’22

Jade Matthias earned College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America Team honors for the 2023-2024 season. Jade qualified for first team Scholar All-American by posting a grade point average of 3.5 or better and participating in her national championship. She has been a first team Scholar AllAmerican in both of her two seasons at Hamilton.

’23

Holden Walker received the 2024 Washington County Museum of Fine Arts’ Jean Cushwa College Internship, which is offered to a qualified college student who is majoring in fine art, art history, art education, museum studies, or a similar field. Holden is a sophomore in a five-year program at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio where he is a fine and studio arts major.

Honoring Andrew Wilkinson

Family members of Judge Andrew Wilkinson ’89, P ’23, ’26 have created a Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson Endowment to honor Drew, who was murdered at his home by a disgruntled defendant in a domestic case on October 19, 2023. The fund is to honor Drew and the difficult decision he made on behalf of the mother and children involved in the case. The endowment provides funds to programs Drew supported, with a focus on domestic violence. The Community Foundation of Washington County, MD, Inc. manages the endowment, and contributions can be made to the endowment by visiting the foundation’s website at secure.qgiv. com/for/cfowcmi. Your support and thoughtfulness are greatly appreciated.

Carol Furnary Casparian ’79 recently visited her daughter, Liz Casparian ’13, who lives in California, and was also able to catch up with her classmate Lynn Tchobanoglous Anderson ’79 when they all met for lunch at Lynn’s residence in Palo Alto. From left are Liz, Carol, and Lynn.

Cate Vickery ’22 met Christopher Hill ’82 in Melbourne, Australia, while she was studying abroad through Syracuse University. Her class went on a tour of the Great Ocean Road, where Chris was their tour guide for the day. It was a completely random encounter along the Long Blue Line!

Don Lundy ’84, far right, hosted Jenn Flanagan Bradley ’99, second from right, and her family, from left, her husband, Tom Bradley, and sons, Beau and Trey, at the Little League World Series in August. The Lundy family of Williamsport, PA, is one of the original and longest supporters of Little League Baseball, with Lundy Lumber Company being one of the first three sponsors of the organization in 1939.

Lowe

Keith Lutman ’85, at right, met up with Sean Divine ’85 in late July in Harpers Ferry, WV, when Sean was in town to play some local gigs with his band. “We’ve been in touch via Facebook but haven’t seen each other in person since our graduation party almost 40 years ago!” Keith shares. “But as always happens with Mercersburg friends, it seemed like no time had gone by at all. We had a great time catching up.” Sean is living in Seattle, working in tech, and playing in bands. Keith is in the D.C. area, working in tech and being a “father” to way too many baby goats!

Rebecca

’99, center, connected with Nancy and Shawn Meyers ’86 at the Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

City. Hector traveled from Guatemala for the event. Liz traveled from France for the event.

Andy Choi ’99 of Washington, D.C., recently connected with fellow classmate and Fowle Hall dorm mate Eddie Kang ’99 in Eddie’s hometown of Seoul, Korea, after celebrating their 25th reunion with their families and daughters. Eddie presented the art show “Companions” in July and August 2024 at Gana Art in Los Angeles.

Alumni gathered at One North Coffee and Bake Shop in Mercersburg during Homecoming and Family Weekend in September. Pictured from left are Andrew Barker (Laura Linderman Barker’s husband), Luke Prugh (Eileen Sheffler Prugh’s son), Eileen Sheffler Prugh ’92, Tearl Bradley ’91, Bower Himes ’91, Laura Linderman Barker ’91, Lucy Barker ’28 (Laura’s daughter), and Alex Pollinger ’89.

In September 2024, Christy Basa Chambers ’89, right, received the national 2024 Brittany Wagner Social Media Advocacy Award from Tamika Felder of Cervivor Inc., the world’s leading cervical cancer patient advocacy organization. The award recognizes patient advocates who use social media to inform and inspire others. As a three-year cervical cancer survivor, Christy shares her journey through regular videos and blog posts and has made it her mission to foster hope: “If my online content can encourage someone to visit the Cervivor website, get vaccinated, schedule a screening, or learn more about HPV and cervical cancer, then I know I’ve made an impact.”

Victoria Cork Sisson ’90 attended Mercersburg as an exchange student from the United Kingdom. Now that she and her friends have teenagers, they’ve discussed how nice it would be for their children to participate in the same exchange program. Her friends are fascinated by Mercersburg and bought her a school T-shirt, which she is wearing in this photo with her friend Dan Jeffrey, who gave her the gift. She noted, “I thought you might enjoy seeing that the memories of Mercersburg live on in many far-flung places, continuing through to the aspirations for our next generation! Best wishes to you all from England!”

In September 2024, Rache Baird Brand ’99, left, connected with Hector Leal ’90 and with classmate Liz Mertz Lugnier ’99, right, during Climate Week in New York

In August, Laura Linderman Barker ’91 and Bower Himes ’91 connected when they both dropped off daughters who are 9th graders at Mercersburg.

Seth Brewer ’97 and Jason Huntsberry ’96 were able to reconnect at the Railbird Festival in June 2024. Jason says it had been almost 28 years since they have seen each other, and they ran–almost literally–into each other at Railbird in Lexington, KY.

Amer Al-Nimr ’93 shares that 2024 was a great time to reconnect with Mercersburg. His daughter Mimi, 13, attended Mercersburg’s summer swim skills camp with her bestie, Joy. His family also went to a Taylor Swift concert in Hamburg, Germany, where his daughter, Hannah, 12, was “in heaven.” Then they went to the Olympics in Paris to watch multiple events, including swimming. In honor of Mercersburg’s historic swimming program, Amer proudly wore his M’burg T-shirt. He sends love from the Children’s Hospital at DartmouthHitchcock, where he practices pediatric gastroenterology. From left, Amer, Hannah, Amer’s wife, Rima, Mimi, and Joy on the Mercersburg campus.

In August 2024, Peter Isling ’93 visited campus with his family, from left, Maja, Jessica, Peter, and Hugo. It was Peter’s first time back to Mercersburg since graduation. He and his family live in Sweden.

When John Marquiss ’97 realized that Aurelius Dunbar ’20 was at the 2024 Olympics in Paris to support five of his teammates from Penn State wrestling, they were able to connect for dinner. In a separate event, Aurelius was selected to represent the Penn State team in a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mia Wright, the wife of Alumni Council President Jasen Wright ’99, was in China for alumni engagement work on behalf of her employer, Columbia University. She was at a table with Otto (Phuris) Bunjapamai ’13, who volunteered to represent Columbia, where he received a master’s degree.

In September, Ugonna Onyekwe ’99 was inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame Class XIII. Ugonna graduated from UPenn second on the program’s all-time scoring list, with 1,762 points, and was eighth on the alltime rebounding list with 759 boards. He was a four-time All-Ivy and twotime first-team All-Big 5 selection, led the Quakers to the Big 5 title his junior year, and was inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 2015.

Mercersburg English and theatre teacher Matt Maurer, front center, shared this group selfie of his Intensive class, “Dungeons & Dragons: Level Up!” which was assisted by DEl faculty member Jamar Galbreath ’05, top right, and also taught by Dianna Lora ’00, bottom right. For the second year in a row, Dianna returned to campus to share her gaming expertise with students. She has 15 years experience in the industry as a writer, host, producer, and licensing and partnership professional. Thank you again, Dianna!

From left: Kara Alvarez Bennett ’13, Matt Kranchick ’99, and Denah Marano D’Annunzio ’99 met up at the West Virginia University home opener against Penn State on August 31, 2024, in Morgantown, WV. Penn State came out with the win, beating WVU, 34-12.

After years of hearing about each other, Capt. Clint Lawler ’97, left, and Cmdr. Jac Ullman III ’02, both officers in the U.S. Navy, now work together at PEO Ships, PMS 500 - ZUMWALT Class Destroyer Program at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

Sarah Powell ’05 has been promoted to co-chair of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli & Tipton’s Corporate & Business, Commercial Real Estate, and Cannabis Practice Groups. Sarah, who is a partner, joined the firm in 2018 after practicing for several years at a large law firm based out of Philadelphia. She earned a Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Haverford College. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Georgia.

HanhLinh Ho ’11 and MaiLinh Ho’s business, Gateway, was among seven Virginia startups that were invited to participate in the fall 2024 cohort of the Lighthouse Labs accelerator program in Richmond. Participants were selected from a field of nearly 200 applicants, with 18 selected for interviews. Program participants receive $20,000 in equity-free funding and participate in weekly educational programming. They also receive mentorship from Lighthouse’s mentor network and connect with local partners and investors. Gateway, a McLean, VA, startup, offers an onboarding and training platform that provides personalized content to streamline onboarding and speed worker productivity.

McGloin ’14 and Magdalena Kala ’09 connected at the New York Sail Grand Prix in June.

Romone Penny ’03 is writing and investing in his first feature film, 7 Spurs. Since 2022, he has pursued his passion of acting and writing and has been involved in several successful projects, including creating short films, participating in the 48-Hour Film Festival, hosting Filmapalooza, working on a Netflix project with Kate Hudson, and being cast for Abbott Elementary, a television series created for ABC.

Phil

Kiersten Sydnor ’12 celebrates her medical school white coat ceremony with her father, Skip Sydnor, Mercersburg’s director of campus safety. Kiersten is attending Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans.

James Boggs ’14 is finishing a Ph.D. in computer science with a focus in AI at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. During a visit to campus in August 2024, he connected with his former adviser, Jack Hawbaker.

Three alumni, from left, Luca Albisetti ’13, Tony Balzebre III ’03, and Michaella Hoehn-Saric ’13, made an unexpected Mercersburg connection at a wedding in Medellín, Colombia. Luca is friends with the groom, who happens to be Tony’s cousin, and nephew of Frank Balzebre ’72, who was also at the wedding, but not in the photo.

Aicher Hearon ’19 is on a culinary tour of Asia, having made stops in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and Singapore. He’s hoping to connect with Mercersburg alumni and friends along the way. Here he is in Vietnam with Khoi Pham ’22, left, who invited Aicher, second to left, to join him at the Angel’s Fighting Championship in Ho Chi Minh City with some friends.

Ashley Frederick ’13 recently traveled to Argentina. She says it was the most beautiful landscape she has ever seen. Ashley is standing in front of the Perito Moreno Glacier.

FORMER FACULTY

Former faculty member Joel Chace P ’97, ’01, ’03, who was employed at Mercersburg from 1976 to 2005, has published a poetry book, Underrated Provinces

Cynthia Suzanne Sauer, who taught English, coached tennis, and served as a dormitory dean from 1979-1982, wrote First Serve: Acing Life, a novel about perseverance, fair play, and human decency, featuring a young person’s journey of friendship, prejudice, compassion, resiliency, and service.

Correction

The name of John “Jack” Bennett’s college was incorrect in the summer 2024 issue of Mercersburg Academy magazine. Jack ’58 graduated from the University of Richmond.

From left, Crystal Yuen ’24, Sihyeon Bae ’24, Ivy Chan ’24, and Jordan Yuan ’24 recently met up in New York City.

Matt Beehler ’24 recently completed his plebe summer and celebrated with some Mercersburg friends, from left, front row: Juan Mora ’23, Matt, Sebastian Tith ’27, Nick Green ’25, Mason Green ’23; back row: Jackie Scheneman ’23 and Crystal Yuen ’24.

Colin Adams ’17 was named to the Mid-Atlantic Conference lacrosse second team for DeSales University.

Alum’s Gift Enhances Chapel Lighting

By Debra Collins P ’14

As night falls over the town of Mercersburg, the 150-foot spire of the Irvine Memorial Chapel stands as a luminous beacon against the sky.

With its intricate architectural details beautifully highlighted, the chapel’s iconic spire now shines brighter than ever, thanks to the generous support of environmental advocate jim lampl ’70*, who funded the costs associated with a June 2024 chapel lighting project. Design and installation services were provided by Parlights (owned by Walt Dowling P ’21, ’21, ’23 and faculty member Kelly Dowling P ’21, ’21, ’23).

The new LED lighting significantly reduces horizontal light spill, consumes half the energy, and focuses directly on the chapel. This improvement enhances star visibility while supporting the wellbeing of nocturnal wildlife, which depends on darkness to forage and evade predators.

“Two years ago, we recognized the need to replace the two 1,000-watt spotlights that had illuminated the chapel spire for many years,” said Will Willis P ’22, ’24, Mercersburg’s director of environmental initiatives. “The new lighting greatly reduces light pollution, uses less electricity, and provides coverage to more sides of the spire.”

This project has afforded a marvelous working example for students and the community of how beneficial the correction of light pollution can be, according to Willis.

A commitment to environmental sustainability began during lampl’s tenure as conservation director for Giant Eagle supermarkets in Pittsburgh, where he championed the first LEED-certified grocery store in the country.

Now semiretired and residing in Sarasota, FL, lampl owns small businesses and continues to champion environmental causes through consulting and solar energy investments.

A dedicated supporter of Mercersburg’s Environmental Stewardship Fund, lampl also served as a volunteer for the Daring to Lead Campaign and is a consistent and loyal donor to the Mercersburg Annual Fund.

“The timing of this project is ideal,” Willis said. “As the school seeks ways to minimize its environmental impact while honoring its rich history, it’s fitting that the Irvine Memorial Chapel, which celebrates its centennial in 2026, is now more beautifully illuminated than ever while maintaining our commitment to sustainable solutions for our environment.”

*jim lampl prefers that his name begins with lowercase letters.

jim lampl ’70

IN MEMORIAM

We express our sincere condolences to loved ones who are grieving the loss of those with ties to our Mercersburg community.

Grayson Hunter “Pete” Bowers ’42

April 10, 2024

Hugh Robinson ’42

October 21, 2022

Brother of the late Homer Bast ’32

Arnold Schwartz ’42

March 1, 2022

James “Jim” Critchfield Jr. ’44

May 12, 2024

Grandfather of James Critchfield III ’11

Edward “Tim” Peters III ’44

June 27, 2024

Father of Terry Peters ’75 and grandfather of Nicolas “Nick” Vögele ’12

William “Bill” Gillespie ’46

January 9, 2022

John Mulford Jr. ’46

June 25, 2024

Frank Parish ’46

September 19, 2024

Lawrence Hitchins ’47

June 6, 2024

Theodor “Ted” Jones ’48

April 18, 2024

Bennett Markel ’49

September 10, 2023

William Markley ’49

August 19, 2024

James “Jim” Ramey ’49

May 26, 2024

Robert “Bob” Weissert ’50

February 24, 2024

Robert “Bob” Williams ’50

April 16, 2024

William “Bill” Thurston ’51

December 31, 2022

John “Jack” Connolly Jr. ’54

August 22, 2024

Yorke “Buzz” Peeler Jr. ’54

August 25, 2024

Tristram “Tris” Coffin ’55

January 18, 2024

Son of the late Dean Coffin ’28 and brother of Howard Coffin II ’55

George Lewis ’55

July 26, 2024

Father of Dorothy Lewis ’87 and cousin of Christopher Croninger ’83

John Reinhardt ’55

November 13, 2023

Father of Peter Reinhardt ’93

John Slavcoff ’56

April 22, 2024

William “Bill” Garwood Jr. ’57

March 28, 2023

William “Bill” Heintz ’58

May 21, 2024

Marcus “Marc” Katzen ’58

December 4, 2022

Father of the late Harry “Hank” Katzen ’78

Frederick “Fred” Robins ’58

January 30, 2023

Bruce Gimmy ’61

May 1, 2023

John Hench ’61

April 10, 2024

Brother of the late Kahler Hench ’48

Howard “Jay” Jones Jr. ’61

July 16, 2024

Eugene “Gene” Homicki ’63

August 31, 2024

Former Alumni Council member

Frank Tracy ’64

July 29, 2024

Charles “Charlie” Gardner ’67

March 2, 2024

Robert “Bob” Sanz ’68

July 13, 2024

Robert “Bob” Schellhase Jr. ’69

August 2, 2024

James “Jim” Williams III ’69

February 28, 2023

David “Dave” Etnyre ’72

July 20, 2024

Peter Johns ’72

July 6, 2024

Steven “Steve” Moll ’74

April 25, 2024

Harry “Hank” Katzen ’78

January 26, 2024

Son of the late Marcus “Marc” Katzen ’58

Judith “Judi” Quinn Sullivan ’80

April 10, 2024

Sister of Ruth Quinn ’79, John Quinn III ’81, and Ann Quinn ’84; and daughter of the late Jay Quinn, faculty emeritus

FACULTY/STAFF/FRIENDS

Betty Miller

April 23, 2024

Former staff member in the Office of Advancement, serving for 36 years

Betty Morefield

August 10, 2024

Former Board of Regents member

Wife of the late Fred Morefield ’53, mother of Hans Morefield ’88 and the late Raimo Morefield ’74, and grandmother of Noora Morefield ’05

@Mercersburg /MercersburgAcademy

Emily Parsons P ’21, ’22, ’26, our director of experiential education, was named Volunteer of the Year by the Tuscarora Area Chamber of Commerce for her work with the community. She brought a few students along to speak on her behalf during the award dinner.

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Mercersburg Regent Betsy Mitchell ’83 delivered an inspiring talk to students, drawing highlights from her book, More Than Medals. She shared lessons from swimming at the YMCA to collegiate dominance and winning Olympic medals in 1984 and 1988, along with experiences from her time at Mercersburg.

#MburgAlumni #MburgFamily

@MercersburgAcademy

7:35. IYKYK. #Mburg #BoardingSchool #SchoolBus #BusSafety #Bus #CapCut

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New students arrived on campus August 26, settling into their dorms and taking part in orientation activities. It’s always exciting to welcome our newest members of the Mercersburg family!

#BoardingSchool #MoveInDay #Registration #Inbound

#DefineYourselfHere

The Boys’ Garden Provides Serenity, Rest

The Boys’ Garden was a gift from the Class of 1933 and was constructed south of the Class of 1931 steps, between the chapel and the administration building, Traylor Hall. The garden was designed by the late Lucien Bareham, a member of the arts faculty who taught drafting. Mrs. Edwards, wife of Headmaster Boyd Edwards, was responsible for the development of the garden, which has become one of the most delightful and restful spots on Mercersburg’s campus. Today, the Boys’ Garden is a quiet place for students to study, relax, and enjoy the spring Stony Batter performance.

This photo was taken by Michael Makari ’16 in 2014 for the school’s Beat the Pros photography contest.