Nobles THE MAGAZINE OF NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL
WINTER 2018
Andrew Kouri ’10 and George Tall ’09: Making a Map
PHOTO OF THE DAY November 16, 2017 Sixies Skylar Stadhard and Chayil Mauristhene peel apples for the annual Middle School Pie Drive, which funds The Single Parent Family Outreach Center in Boston, Cor Unum Meal Center in Lawrence and the Dedham Food Pantry. This year, proceeds also supported two urban agriculture locations in Boston: Oasis on Ballou and Urban Farming Institute. PHOTO BY BEN HEIDER
contents WINTER 2018
IN EVERY ISSUE 2
Letter From the Head
3 Reflections What Nobles folks are saying on campus and online 4
The Bulletin ews and notes N
16 Development On the campaign trail 18 By the Numbers Just how hot is a soldering iron? 19 Sports Girls cross country runs away with it 22 Off the Shelf All about the books we read and write 44 Graduate News What, where, when, why and how Nobles grads are doing
FEATURE 24 Baker’s Dozen Since 1996, Baker Science Building has been a hub for inquiring minds. Its 2017 renovation is a great excuse to celebrate with 13—yes, that’s a Baker’s dozen—stories about grads in science.
Cover Photograph by Saroyan Humphrey
64 Archive A still life of Stillman
Nobles
letter from the head
WINTER 2018
Exploring Through New Spaces MY FIRST SEMESTER AT NOBLES has been filled with
opportunities to learn and explore the people, traditions and culture that make Nobles what it is and that define what it means to graduate from this extraordinary school. I have had so much fun getting into classrooms, cheering on our teams and watching our tremendous thespians and musicians in action. I have been welcomed to campus in such an incredibly warm and enthusiastic way by students, faculty and staff, parents and graduates. The October installation ceremony captured the spirit of this incredible welcome. It was a wonderful day for Nobles, and I was honored to be a part of the celebration and to witness the coming together of the people and history that have made this school so special. The day for me symbolized an important moment in the school’s journey, as we embrace our history and culture and also begin our next chapter and look ahead to where our future will take us. One very visible sign of our future growth lies in the completion of the Baker Science Building renovations in September and the opening of our new academic center in January. These new spaces provide us with an exciting platform for students and teachers to explore, innovate, collaborate and learn in new and dynamic ways. It is very exciting as a new head of school to have this unique opportunity to capitalize on new learning spaces. We have been in the science building since the opening of school, and the impact of the renovation is powerful. Our science faculty immediately began to use the space to transform the science program. Our classrooms are significantly more open, technologically rich and highly conducive to innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Our glass walls provide a view into the engaging work happening in our classes. We also added new classrooms to provide room for interactive project-based work, expansion of our robotics program and the potential for us to explore what else is possible as we think about our STEM programs moving forward. The new academic building will also open up possibilities for us to think and explore. This new space will serve as a home to the Putnam Library, expanding the notions of what a library can be. This research hub provides us with new opportunities for teachers to collaborate within and across disciplines, for students to study and explore and for our faculty to pilot new pedagogies and practices in our highly innovative classroom spaces. This center will also serve as a place for students and faculty to gather, providing a much-needed common space for the school community. As exciting as the current uses of these new spaces are, the possibility of what we can learn from them, and what that can inform as we look ahead at our program excite me the most. Campus is buzzing with conversations about how time and space can impact teaching and learning. We have the gift of these new spaces as a platform as we continue to dedicate ourselves to providing Nobles students with the best possible experience. I hope you are able to visit campus soon, and to see firsthand the amazing things happening here at Nobles! —CATHERINE J. HALL, PH.D., HEAD OF SCHOOL
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Editor Heather Sullivan DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Assistant Editors Kim Neal
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Ben Heider
DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCER/WRITER
Alexis Sullivan
WRITER/CONTENT MANAGER
Design 2COMMUNIQUÉ WWW.2COMMUNIQUE.COM
Photography Tim Carey Jared Castaldi Kathleen Dooher Michael Dwyer Marisa Guzmán-Aloia Ben Heider Leah LaRiccia Kim Neal Paul Rutherford The SnapBar Nicole Wolf The Editorial Committee Brooke Asnis ’90 John Gifford ’86 Tilesy Harrington Bill Kehlenbeck Nobles is published three times a year for graduates, past and current parents and grandparents, students and supporters of Noble and Greenough School. Nobles is a co-educational, non-sectarian day and five-day boarding school for students in grades seven (Class VI) through 12 (Class I). Noble and Greenough School is a rigorous academic community that strives for excellence in its classroom teaching, intellectual growth in its students and commitment to the arts, athletics and service to others. For further information and up-to-the-minute graduate news, visit www.nobles.edu. Letters and comments may be emailed to Heather_Sullivan@ nobles.edu. We also welcome old-fashioned mail sent c/o Noble and Greenough School, 10 Campus Drive, Dedham, MA 02026. The office may be reached at 781-320-7268. © Noble and Greenough School 2018
We can’t see without our sunglasses because we’re surrounded by such bright people. —MAGDALENA BLAISE ’18, DISMISSING ASSEMBLY BEFORE ASSESSMENTS ALONGSIDE PAUL APOSTOLICAS ’18, BOTH WEARING SUNGLASSES
The only reason I could fix that motor was because you so clearly believed I could do it. — SENIOR MASTER NICK NICKERSON, RETELLING A FAVORITE PARABLE FROM FORMER HEAD OF SCHOOL TED GLEASON, IN ASSEMBLY
Ireland mustn’t be such a bad place, so, if sharks want to come to Ireland.
These people are no longer remembered, their names, jobs and lives are forgotten, but when I found two fitting pieces of the same pot, as I was looking at them, I could tell that they actually had remnants of human finger marks that shaped them. It was mind boggling to me that they were almost 1,000 years old, and I could still imagine the fingers that made them. —EMMA GUSTAVSON ’18, DESCRIBING AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG AT ARBEIA ROMAN FORT IN “UNDERCOVER PASSIONS,” IN THE DECEMBER 2017 NOBLEMAN
Suddenly and unexpectedly, through the voice of a teenager we barely knew, the reality of the very human cost of war and our vulnerability became apparent.
—JOE HARRINGTON ’19 PLAYING JOHNNYPATEENMIKE IN THE FALL MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION OF THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN
—DIRECTOR OF EXCEL BEN SNYDER, DESCRIBING A VISITING JAPANESE STUDENT’S INFLUENCE ON HIS MODERN AMERICA AT WAR CLASS, IN “IT’S GOOD TO BOTH GIVE AND RECEIVE,” IN THE NOVEMBER PARENTS’ E-NEWSLETTER
Knowing you are at the helm of a community that has meant so much to so many for so long is an awesome responsibility, to be sure. It is clear that you have embraced it.
VIA INSTAGRAM, OCTOBER 30: Devon Minor and Jack Schwartz, both ’19, prepare for Mr. Manzo’s physics class.
VIA FACEBOOK, SEPTEMBER 29: Dr. Cathy Hall joins a lighthearted debate about the nature of water.
It’s cute!
—MATTHEW SALOMON ’18, DEFENDING HIS HALLOWEEN COSTUME, WHICH WON “WORST COSTUME” IN ASSEMBLY FOR THE EARS TAPED IN HIS HAIR AND HIS DRAGGING BELT “TAIL”
—BETH REILLY ’87, PRESIDENT, NOBLES BOARD OF TRUSTEES, WELCOMING DR. HALL ON INSTALLATION DAY WINTER 2018 Nobles 3
the bulletin
Dr. Hall’s children, Matthew, Thomas and Evelyn, joined her for the day’s celebration. Pictured at right are Hall and Bob Henderson ‘76, sixth head of school.
Nobles Welcomes Seventh Head DR. CATHERINE J. HALL was officially installed as head of Noble and Greenough School on October 2, 2017, in the Rappaport Gymnasium in the Morrison Athletic Center. Participants in the celebration included Beth Reilly ’87, president of the Nobles board of trustees; T.J. Locke, head of school at Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia; School Life Council co-presidents Emma Majernik and Uche Ndukwe, both ’18; Madi Shaer and Arnav Harve, both ’23, representing Nobles’
assembly highlights Welcome Back On the first assembly of the school year, new Head of School Dr.
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Catherine J. Hall shared some facts about herself. “I was a tomboy before being a tomboy
youngest students in Class VI; faculty members Nick Nickerson and Deb Harrison; former Nobles heads of school Dick Baker and Bob Henderson; Greensleeves and Nobleonians singers, under the direction of Michael Turner; and Bobby Strzetelski ’21, who performed “Hail to Nobles.” Reilly welcomed guests and shared her excitement for Hall’s leadership. She traced the school’s history to the present, noting the hallmarks of each headship. “Dr. Hall’s chapter has yet to
be written,” Reilly said. “A hallmark of Nobles’ history has been that at each key moment in transition, Nobles has always chosen the right person at the right time. The board of trustees knows that to be true in the appointment of you, Dr. Hall, as Nobles’ seventh head of school. “Your winning combination of smarts, character, intuition, humility, compassion and humor has been evident to all who have met you.” Locke, who is head of school at Episcopal Academy, where Hall formerly served as assistant
was even remotely cool,” she laughed. She eventually learned how to fit into the box of a good student, an experience that
students back from their semester or year studying away from Nobles. He encouraged the assembly audience, “When you see these
continues to influence her as an educator. A Story Ben Snyder, director of EXCEL, welcomed eight
students, welcome them back, then ask them to tell you a story.” Sweet Start SLC Co-presidents
NEWS FROM OUR CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
head, delivered the keynote, honoring his friend and former colleague. “If you have ever read the position description for the head of a prestigious independent school, you know that we are searching far and wide for superheroes,” said Locke. “I am honored to share with you that I think you have found one of those rare leaders in your new head of school, Dr. Cathy Hall. As her friend, I am just so proud of her. As an educator, I am giddy with excitement to see what she will accomplish here.”
Hall also addressed the audience, sharing the story of former head Charles Wiggins, who optimistically assumed the role, then approached the board with a bold option for the future: the purchase of land with a Castle in Dedham, Massachusetts—the property that since 1922 has been the home of Nobles. “This turning point would set the tone for Nobles’ story over the next hundred years,” Hall said. “As I begin my headship, and as we look ahead to Nobles’ next hundred years, I am mindful of three guiding principles I believe we need to keep very clearly in our sights.” The three principles she identified are remembering, embracing and aspiring. “Aspiration embodies the essence of our mission. Leadership for the public good is deeply dependent upon an aspirational approach to learning and living. Our mission speaks of ‘motivating students to achieve their highest potential and to lead lives characterized by service to others.’ Leading and serving in this increasingly complex world necessitate a growth mindset, one that is agile, empathetic, resilient, inquisitive and relentlessly focused on improvement.” Hall officially assumed her position in July 2017, upon the retirement of Robert P. Henderson Jr. ’76. She brings more than 20 years’ experience in education to her work at Nobles. She served as assistant head of school at the Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, where, as a
member of the leadership team since 2004, she was involved in curriculum development, strategic planning, enrollment, financial sustainability and professional development for faculty. She also established a twoweek interdisciplinary program, JTerm, for upper school students and created the Hirtle Summer Program for Innovative Schools, for educators. In addition, Hall taught upper school English courses and coached the varsity girls soccer team. Hall earned a bachelor’s in economics from Princeton University. She earned her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Virginia. Hall lives on campus in Summe House with her children, Evelyn, Thomas and Matthew. In addition to her children, Hall’s siblings and parents also attended the installation. Seven area heads of school also joined Nobles for the celebration. Also in attendance were current and former members of the board, including past presidents Bob Lawrence ’44, Bob Morrison ’49, Bob Bland ’58, Fred Clifford ’54 and Jeff Grogan ’74. As head of school, Hall succeeds Henderson, who retired after 17 years. Previous heads of school at Nobles include Richard “Dick” H. Baker (1987–2000), Edward “Ted” S. Gleason (1971–1987), Eliot T. Putnam (1943–1971), Charles Wiggins II (1920–1943) and George Washington Copp Noble (1866– 1920). Hall is the first female head of school in the history of Nobles.
Emma Majernik and Uche Ndukwe, both ’18, offered students “a sweet start to the school year” by tossing candy to
of trustees, described the trait common to both successful leaders and happy people: optimism. “Optimism is a choice,”
The Plan Dean of Students Mark Spence shared the challenges along his path to becoming a student at Middlebury
the front rows of assembly. A Common Trait Beth Reilly ’87, president of the board
she said. “Things will get better, if you make them better.”
College and reiterated, “Life doesn’t go according to plan, but you all have adults in this room who are ready to help you
WINTER 2018 Nobles 5
the bulletin
AS A 6-YEAR-OLD in Long Island in 1969,
Massimino, a NASA astronaut, mechanical engineering professor at Columbia University, and the recipient of numerous honors for flight and technology, openly confesses to being scared of heights, fast cars and roller coasters. In spite of those unlikely obstacles, what he has learned (and shared with the Nobles community at assembly on September 20) is the difference between unlikely and impossible. Massimino, who holds
multiple degrees from MIT, reasons that mathematically, his dream of becoming an astronaut wasn’t impossible—just unlikely. “The probability was something like .0000000000...00000...but there was a one out there somewhere. The only way that one turns into a zero is if you give up.” Massimino grew from an idealistic child into a high school student interested in math and science, with more practical expectations for his future. When he was at Columbia and then MIT, his desire to be an astronaut deepened. Stories about the space program always drew him in. He said, “All of a sudden, it wasn’t just pilots anymore. There were women, people of color, engineers, scientists and other civilians. I realized I could watch it and read about it, or I could try to be a part of it. The only way I could be happy in my life was to at least try.” While at MIT, he applied to NASA—and was twice rejected. When he was a mechanical engineer at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, his third application secured him a weeklong interview with NASA. “They got to know me really, really well...and then rejected me,” he quips. The fourth time was the charm, and Massimino proudly joined NASA’s Class of 1996. “Rejection can be hard to take, but it’s important sometimes to get used to it. I’m lucky enough to have met lots of successful people: astronauts, athletes, rock stars, businesspeople, politicians. One thing they have in common is not that they’ve never failed, but that they didn’t let failure stop them. You can’t always control the outcome, but you can control your effort.”
through any mistakes you make, even big ones.”
Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey. The students took turns expressing their gratitude for new friendships formed and
Jamie ’18 and Henry ’21, kicked off the year’s musical performances with their version of “Appleseed,” by
Mike Massimino captures the assembly crowd’s imagination with stories from space.
Between Unlikely and Impossible Mike Massimino was spellbound seeing space pioneers Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong on his black-and-white TV, walking on the moon. It set a lifelong dream in motion. “I thought astronauts were the coolest, and that people leaving the planet was the most important thing to ever happen. I wanted to be one of them, but a little voice in the back of my head told me I’d never get the chance,” he said.
Pioneers “These are the pioneers
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of this program,” modern language faculty member Amadou Seck said, as he introduced three students visiting from
experiences had during their time in America. With a Guitar and a Cajón The Patterson brothers,
Jason Polley. Leaders Among Us Modern languages faculty member Tomoko Graham
Massimino described the magic of seeing Earth from space, and the majesty of metropolises glittering like jewels in the night. He recounted nerve-wracking missions from nearly 600 hours logged in space, showed breathtaking images from the Hubble Telescope, and described the perils of gravity-free eating (cookie crumbs
pose an eye hazard!) and the blinding pure whiteness of the sun’s light. Students asked him about the future of space travel, as scientists and engineers—some of them Massimino’s own students—explore the potential not only through government-funded programs like NASA, but private companies like SpaceX and Virgin Galactica.
“We may be on the cutting edge of a Golden Age of space travel,” Massimino said, with the same gleam of excitement of that 6-year-old boy with his eyes set on the skies. Massimino’s autobiography, Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe, was released in October 2017.
Acts of Courage: An American Hero On November 8, Nobles welcomed Medal of Honor recipient and U.S. Army Specialist Kyle White to long assembly. White received the highest military decoration as an acknowledgement of his acts of courage during the Battle of Aranas in Afghanistan on November 9, 2007. On that day, a heavily armed Taliban force ambushed White and his team of 14 American and Afghan National Army soldiers. At the beginning of the attack, a rocket-propelled grenade knocked White unconscious. When he woke up, 10 of his 14 team members had been killed in action. The remaining members of his team slid 150 feet down the side of a rocky cliff to find cover. Responding to a potentially fatal injury, White placed a tourniquet on the arm of his friend Spc. Kain Schilling. Then, White sprinted 30 feet through open fire to recover Marine Sgt. Phillip Bocks. After four separate runs through a hail of bullets, White dragged Bocks out of the line of fire. Bocks later succumbed to his wounds. After recognizing that Schilling had again been severely wounded, White placed a tourniquet on Schilling’s leg. White then crawled through intense fire to reach his platoon leader, 1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara, who was lying face-down on the hill. When White realized Ferrara was already dead, White returned to Schilling’s side and used his radio to call for help. After the radio was blown out of his hand and disabled, White used Bocks’ radio to call for support. A mortar round then knocked White off his feet and gave him his second concussion of the day.
After nightfall, White assisted the evacuation of the surviving members of his team, refusing to leave until everyone had been rescued. On May 13, 2014, President Barack Obama presented White the Medal of Honor. White told the Nobles assembly crowd that, on that day almost exactly 10 years ago, he thought, “I know this is a bad situation. I’m likely going to die, but I have a job to do.” Since coming home, he continues to honor the fallen members of his military family by speaking out about post-traumatic stress disorder as well as the need to destigmatize the “invisible injuries” our soldiers bring home. He encouraged Nobles students to serve their country and community through whatever cause inspires their passion. For White, he speaks about his experiences in the military, hoping to “encourage even just one person to come forward and get the help they need.” He said it is not just the service members themselves who need support, but also their families. White explained, “There’s a big disconnect in recognizing that family members need support too.” At the end of the talk, White’s presenter, Bob Jerome, asked the assembly crowd to acknowledge a “true American hero who [nearly] gave his life so that we could be free.” The assembly crowd gave White a second standing ovation of the morning for his incredible acts of courage.
accepted her K-12 Teacher of the Year award from the American Association of Teachers of Japanese.
neighbors weren’t looking. Apparently, chestnuts pop when they burn, so they were always a surprise for unsuspecting
On an Open Fire Provost Bill Bussey had a lively way of introducing an announcement about clubs and
organizations on campus: describing the fun he had as a child in Maine, tossing chestnuts into burning leaf piles when his
neighbors. “Not much to do back then,” Bussey laughed, “but now we have clubs and organizations to keep us busy.”
Wearing Red Bows Greensleeves, the school’s all-female a cappella group, sang the national anthem in honor of the victims of
WINTER 2018 Nobles 7
the bulletin
Sheryl WuDunn Speaks About Women, Girls On October 25, Sheryl WuDunn spoke at morning assembly in Lawrence Auditorium. She is a Pulitzer Prize winner and co-author of four best-selling books. Paul Apostolicas ’18, whose mother is WuDunn’s first cousin, introduced WuDunn to the Nobles community, highlighting her broad accomplishments and dedication to helping girls and women throughout the world. While at the New York Times, WuDunn and her husband, Nicholas Kristof, won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1990, for their coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. When the pair reported on a young
Chinese girl, Dai Manju, whose parents could not pay her rural school’s $13-a-year tuition, the reporters’ work began to evolve. The story prompted many Times readers to send $13 checks, while one significant donation began to change the girl’s whole school and community. WuDunn told students and faculty that Dai Manju’s life was transformed. She finished school, got a job, and helped support her family and improve their living conditions. “What we had was a natural experiment with girls’ education,” she said. WuDunn and Kristof have supported causes for women and girls ever since, focusing particularly on the power of education to effect major social and economic change. The education of
girls has the power to lift their whole communities, WuDunn said: “It is a path for social change.” With Kristof, WuDunn has coauthored four best-sellers, including Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide and A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity. Yet WuDunn, who had initially planned on being a doctor, said she had no idea that her career would unfold as it did. At Nobles, WuDunn shared statistics on worldwide poverty, which has decreased overall, and on global health: Child mortality rates have decreased, and vaccination rates have sharply increased. “In some ways, we are doing remarkably well,” she said. But she acknowledged that some might say we are in a moment of international crisis by many other measures. But, she suggested, with danger or crisis can also come opportunity. “The biggest success will come about when we solve the biggest challenge— gender inequality. One of the best ways to fight poverty and terrorism is to educate women. They can become a stabilizing force.” She also encouraged the Nobles community to help others as they can. “[Contributing to social change] doesn’t have to be formalized. It doesn’t have to be far away,” she said. WuDunn has been a commentator on numerous television and radio programs. In addition to her work as a writer and speaker, she is a senior banker focused on emerging markets and technology.
song “The Rising.”
Harvey and Irma.
“ The biggest success will come about when we solve the biggest challenge—gender inequality. ” —SHERYL WUDUNN
September 11, 2001, on the day’s 16th anniversary. Head of School Cathy Hall recalled watching the burning Pentagon from her
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office and feeling “profound uncertainty about what would happen next.” She ended with a clip from Bruce Springsteen’s
Hurricane Relief Week The Community Service Leadership core announced the
beginning of Hurricane Relief Week, a coordinated effort on campus to provide assistance to those affected by hurricanes
This Little Light of Mine Senior master Nick Nickerson gave an
emotional and unifying assembly talk to demonstrate the school’s motto: “Only with hope does anything become
Left: Elizabeth Acevedo and Phil Kaye address the Asian Culture Club and Jewish Culture Club. Right: Acevedo connects with Class I student Kajayla Boyd.
SOMETHING TO SAY After growing up in a vibrant Dominican family of storytellers in New York City, spoken word champion Elizabeth Acevedo felt stifled by her graduate writing program. “I was trying to write myself into existence, to create the stories I wanted to read, to put girls of color at the forefront of these beautiful adventures instead of relegated to the sidelines. I wanted to be the main character in somebody’s narrative—ultimately, it was my own.” Acevedo and fellow spoken-word artist and Project VOICE co-founder Phil Kaye shared some of those personal narratives in assembly on October 18, 2017. Kaye grew up in California as the son of a Japanese mother and Jewish-American father. He fell in love with spoken word while attending the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in high school, where he saw art and identity collide. Project VOICE (Vocal Outreach Into Creative Expression) uses poetry to promote empowerment and literacy, and to encourage empathy and creative collaboration in classrooms and communities. Acevedo and Kaye are YouTube sensations who have made careers out of their love for spoken word and have enjoyed numerous awards and worldwide acclaim, from Lincoln Center to TED Talks.
The artists’ visit was made possible by the Fund for Asian Studies and the Diversity Fund. History faculty member Nahyon Lee and Japanese teacher Tomoko Graham brought Project VOICE to Nobles to promote dialogue about identity. In addition to performing for the middle and upper school, Kaye and Acevedo joined a discussion co-hosted by the Asian Culture Club and Jewish Culture Club, and led two English II classes, where they shared their creative processes. From the page to the stage, Acevedo and Kaye embrace the theatrical aspects of expressing their poetry. Kaye urged students not to be obsessed with perfection, which only exacerbates fear. “Performances can change each time with the energy of different audiences. Stage fright comes from the idea you are alone and people are waiting for you to mess up, when in reality, they want you to succeed. Focus on that positive energy,” said Kaye. Acevedo thanked workshop students “for trying something new and being brave. Keep finding opportunities to say what you feel out loud; it’s transformational.” Ultimately, Acevedo and Kaye showed the next generation of writers that everyone has something valuable to say.
possible.” The lights went off at the end of Nickerson’s speech, only to be illuminated by “the little light” of many assembly
The Pillars of Creation Science faculty member Jen Craft prepared for astronaut Michael Massimino’s visit by explaining
members’ lanterns. Newly married teachers Kelly and John Chung lit a lantern, citing “this little light of ours”
and faculty member Pascal Maharjan lifted his young daughter, Anya, and lit a lantern, celebrating “this little light of hers.”
“The Pillars of Creation,” a photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. “This is a place where stars are born,” she
said to audible “wows” from the audience. Golden Dawgs Caroline Collins-Pisano ’18 explained the
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the bulletin
Mind Over Matter Since 1984, the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference has grown into a global community of individuals presenting “ideas worth spreading” in every conceivable discipline. TEDx was created to support independent local organizers who wanted to create “a new community platform for activating ideas in action.” On November 4 and 5, at the Lincoln School in Brookline, Massachusetts, TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet featured speakers with stories of innovation and courage. Two of them were Nobles students. Bryan Thomas ’20 was
at an eighth-grade graduation party when he was overcome by the worst headache of his life. The bright student and soccer star barely survived a near-fatal brain hemorrhage from an arteriovenous malformation, waking from a coma three weeks later to find himself paralyzed on his left side and partially blind. Thomas is grateful to have regained much of his mobility thanks to dedicated medical teams at Children’s Hospital Boston and Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, the support of family and friends, and his own determination. While his vision remains impaired, he says the way he sees himself and approaches his life now is clearer than before. Thomas said, “I still have a long way to go, but two years ago, returning fulltime to high school like I have was only a vague possibility. Nor would I have imagined I would raise over $40,000 for Children’s Hospital to thank them for saving my life. I try to keep in mind advice given to me from the father of
reasons she started Golden Dawgs, an initiative to connect local senior citizens with the Nobles community. She cited
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research that proved “the health risks of prolonged isolation are equal to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
a friend: I need to look forward to be positive, motivated and to work hard. I also need to remember to look back at those less fortunate to appreciate what I have, what I’ve been given, and what I’ve accomplished. And finally, I need to look within to see how those experiences impacted me, taught me, and have ultimately changed me...and to uncover the ever-evolving true me.” Sammi Janower ’19
was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at age 3, and her childhood was strung together by grueling medical treatments and side effects. Now, she uses the story
of her cancer journey to inspire others and to raise money for research into less toxic, more effective treatments for brain tumors. Inspired by the confidence she gained through crew at Nobles, a sport in which she could excel because of, not in spite of, her “diminutive size,” Janower resolved not to let the effects of her cancer hold her back. In August 2017, Janower biked 165 miles with her father, Andrew, for the Pan-Mass Challenge, to help fund cancer research. As a young cancer patient, Janower remembers cheering on riders like her, but she never imagined she’d be one. “I was overcoming my overwhelming odds. I took control of my situation. I no longer let cancer or anything else tell me what to do.” She encouraged the audience by asking, “What has been holding you back? Everyone has obstacles to overcome. You, and you alone, have the power to push past the artificial boundaries you have set for yourself to help others and make the world a better place. With hard work, determination and confidence in yourself, you can accomplish much more than you know.”
“ What has been holding you back? Everyone has obstacles to overcome. You, and you alone, have the power to push past the artificial boundaries you have set for yourself to help others and make the world a better place. ” — SAMMI JANOWER ’19
Context Collapse Jill Walsh ’96 spoke about the benefits and hazards of growing up in the age of social media. She explained
that social media posts often show “the world through a straw,” with limited, curated context that can skew interpretation.
Sealing the Layers Together Artist-in-residence Tommy Matthews described his artistic process and the
central questions of his work: “What are we born with and what do we pass on?”
Visual Arts Chair John Hirsch discusses his work with students at the opening of his exhibit.
Foster Gallery Opening Visual Arts Chair John Hirsch debuted a solo exhibition of works from his first monograph, And Again: Photographs From the Harvard Forest, October 26 in Foster Gallery. The book chronicles the research, scientists and ephemera from a 3,750-acre research forest in Petersham, Massachusetts. Published by Harvard University Press, the book contains contributed essays and 70 of Hirsch’s photographs, which explore both the quixotic and the beautiful. Hirsch says, “The body of work addresses a desire to understand, describe and predict the evolution of our surroundings, while showing reverence for the possibility of sublime moments in a place. The forest is here a microcosm for the world in which we live, and this work helps us to envision the future we may inhabit, making the book a useful and engaging vantage from which to consider pressing issues of climate change, ecosystem resilience, and land and water use.” To learn more and order, visit johnphirsch.com.
Simple Lunch Day Ben Snyder, director of EXCEL, announced Nobles’ simple lunch day. The dining hall served a simpler meal
than usual and passed the savings on to natural disaster relief. Wow Sixie Jackie Zhang
amazed the assembly crowd with a complex piano solo of Grande Polonaise Brillante in E-flat Major, Op. 22, by Frederic Chopin. After
a stunned silence, the assembly crowd gave a standing ovation, and Paul Apostolicas ’18 said what everyone was thinking: “Well,
that was incredible.” NaNoWriMo English faculty member Gia Batty invited students to
join her in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge to write a novel in one month. “Who knows?” Batty
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the bulletin
with ideas for confronting modern learning challenges. In a meeting of Nobles students taking GOA courses, Anderson and her students demonstrated the benefits of the GOA program. Four Nobles students—Cam Camacho ’18, Harrison Cohen-Harding ’19, Alexandra Weinsten ’19 and Nicole Weinsten ’19—participated in GOA this year. Respectively, they took Number Theory, Introduction to Psychology, Applying Philosophy to
Modern Global Issues, and Medical Problem Solving I. Among the many benefits of these classrooms are the relationships formed among Nobles students and their international classmates and teachers. The GOA students of this semester name South African, Hawaiian, Chinese, Singaporean and Japanese students among their classmates. Cohen-Harding interviewed a Puerto Rico–based classmate for his psychology course and learned of an indigenous dish. Alexandra Weinsten engages with her classmates through online response videos. “I’ve come to know my peers really well,” she says. GOA multiplies Nobles’ curriculum offerings. Alexandra Weinsten learned to apply Platonic, Aristotelian and Confucian thought to the moral question of drone warfare, while Cohen-Harding learned about the influence of environment on personal preference. Camacho learned about cryptography, and Nicole Weinsten diagnosed a hypothetical patient. Layers of support systems throughout the GOA program, including the Learning Design Coaches Cohort, ensure the curriculum remains engaging and current. The program encourages students to pursue their unique interests, take responsibility for their own successes, collaborate with classmates of various backgrounds, and expand their networks to include the world’s best teachers. This online community expands the borders of brick-and-mortar schools like Nobles to encourage, as Anderson says, “a new way of teaching and learning.”
Chicago: “When I moved to Chicago, it was home to the 10 tallest buildings in the world, and it had flatter terrain than I was used
The World’s a Stage “You are, right now and always, playing the lead role in the story that is your life. Congratulations,” said
Ayako Anderson and Jenny CarlsonPietraszek foster international learning through Global Online Academy.
Going Global The Global Online Academy (GOA), a program that connects independent schools around the world through online classrooms, recently honored two Nobles teachers with the designation of “learning design coaches.” HISTORY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE FACULTY
member Jenny Carlson-Pietraszek and modern language faculty member Ayako Anderson earned the titles for their “commitment to excellent teaching and learning in the classroom, the school and the professional learning community.” They will join 11 other teachers from domestic and international schools in the Learning Design Coaches Cohort, a group dedicated to supporting GOA faculty
said. “The next great American novelist might be sitting in this room.”
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Sights on Chicago Visual arts faculty member David Roane advertised the Chicago trip by describing his first impression of
to here on the East Coast. I found myself walking taller and seeing farther than I ever had before in my life.”
Chair of Performing Arts Dan Halperin, motivating community members to see the fall play, The Cripple of Inishmaan.
THIS IS AMAZING FINDING FAMILY
Tomorrow’s Leaders On November 18, at Clark University’s Model United Nations competition, Nobles’ Model United Nations team collected more awards than ever before in the team’s history. Receiving 10 awards by the tournament’s completion, Nobles had the most impressive showing of any school represented. Sarah Jubber ’19, who won Outstanding Delegate in the Russian Council of Ministers Crisis Committee, explains that increased interest in Model UN gave the team leaders the luxury of choice when assembling their delegates. Lev Sandler ’19, winner of Best Delegate in the Gazprom Crisis Committee, says of his team, “No one is there just to have something to put on their college applications. They’re actually trying really hard to be successful, which is something special.” Seasoned Model UN participants created the application process for new team members, and then trained the team to be the most effective negotiators possible. Sandler explains that their faculty advisors, Amadou Seck and Sheila McElwee, guided the students through the process, “but, in terms of actual decision making and forming delegations and working in committees, they’ve given us a lot of freedom.” Julia Temple ’20, winner of Best Delegate in the Sustainable Development Summit for New Zealand and Best Position Paper of the whole conference, found teaching new delegates and watching them perform to be a highlight of the conference. She says, “We really believe that Model UN is training the next generation on how to negotiate, how to compromise, and how to work with other people.”
Circle of Life The seniors celebrated Halloween with a Lion King theme that included inflatable dinosaur costumes,
cotton-ball sheep costumes and a live dog dressed as Simba. Class II friends dressed as Pokémon characters, then
performed the theme song “Gotta Catch ’Em All.”
If you haven’t seen the NBC hit series “This Is Us,” maybe you’re saving your laughing-tears and binge-watching for another quirkily perfect show about family, love and loss. The dramedy, produced by Charles Gogolak ’90, has garnered strong reviews from outlets such as Variety, which, in an August 2017 story, notes the success of “This Is Us” on the awards circuit, earning 10 Emmy nominations, three Golden Globe nods and a Writers Guild Award for episodic drama for an episode penned by Vera Herbert.
SHOLLEY AND MOLLY
A September 12, 2017, AdWeek story celebrates the brandmarketing genius of George Sholley ’04, executive producer of a GE ad featuring Molly, whose life of science begins when she creates a contraption to save her from taking out the trash. “[Molly] grows up,” writes Angela Natividad for AdWeek, “where we find her optimizing movement sequences at GE. That sparkle in her eye, that satisfied grin that follows a job well done, still plays on her face. ‘“That’s amazing, Molly,”’ a colleague marvels. Sholley’s ability to elevate advertising to an art is likewise amazing.
Polar Pooch After a showing of senior Sara Falkson’s positive review of the Polar Pooch dogcooling mat on NBC
Boston news, Patrick McElroy ’18 took the stage to describe the horrors “the love of [his] life,” his dog, suffered at the hands
of a faulty Polar Pooch mat. As his tirade began to crescendo, he revealed the joke: “The Nobleman is here.”
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the bulletin
The Cripple of Inishmaan The Nobles Theatre Collective’s fall mainstage production of Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan ran for four performances in Vinik Theatre in late October. The ensemble cast, all of whom studied with a dialect coach, starred Henry Dolgoff ’19 as Billy Claven (a.k.a. Cripple Billy). Other cast members included Catherine Kasparyan ’18 as Eileen Osborne, Breene Halaby ’19 as Kate Osborne, Joe Harrington ’19 as Johnnypateenmike, Wyatt Sullivan ’19 as Bartley McCormack, Karina Cowperthwaite ’19 as Helen McCormack, Kamran Bina ’21 as Babbybobby, Max von Schroeter ’19 as Dr. McSharry and Sammy Walkey ’20 as Mammy. The story is set in Ireland’s Aran Islands in 1934. The Nobles production was directed by Dan Halperin, performing arts department chair.
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development
Be Nobles Bold Campaign Enters Final Year The Be Nobles Bold campaign, launched in 2013, has transformed the school in substance and spirit. As the campaign enters its final year, the accomplishments, including surpassing the $122 million mark, by the end of 2017, are remarkable. Gifts are supporting a full range of priorities: bricks and mortar, immediate needs through the Annual Nobles Fund and the First Class Fund for Faculty, and the most important priority—the endowment. The total campaign goal is $137 million, leaving $15 million to go. SANDY EDGERLEY P ’11 ’13 ’15 ’19 is a Nobles trustee and campaign co-chair. “It’s been exciting to see the physical changes to the campus,” she said, “beginning with the restoration and expansion of the Castle, which were transformative. The project validated the importance of the Castle—a common thread in our history.” Edgerley also noted the completion of the Baker Science Building and the construction of the academic center, which was completed in January 2018. “With the physical changes, you really do see what’s happening.” She also noted the excitement around EXCEL (Experiential and Community Engaged Learning), which grew out of an examination of the school’s mission statement during this campaign, and the Achieve academic and enrichment program for Boston public school middle schoolers, which has matured during the campaign. “It takes a lot of hard work—the school has to keep advancing and innovating,” Edgerley said. “Nobles is always striving to be even better, and that takes resources of time and involvement. Part of being in this community is giving back, giving what we can to make sure that it stays the excellent and exceptional place that it is. “My whole family feels so lucky to be part of the community. It is a terribly special place, and it will forever have an impact on our kids’ lives.”
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Kristen Roberts P ’15 ’17 ’20 ’22, who is also a campaign co-chair, cares deeply about the ways in which the campaign and the First Class Fund for Faculty supports teachers. “You can see how dedicated these teachers are, and you have to invest in your best asset, which is your teachers. It’s clear that [the school] is a great place to go and that kids want to be there.” Roberts also thinks it’s important for all families to understand the true cost of a Nobles education—that even families that are able to pay full tuition are subsidized because the experience costs more. “It’s important for people to know there’s an infrastructure that helps run schools.” She explains that the hidden costs include capital costs and operating costs, many of which are not obvious. “You have to keep innovating and updating. You can’t stay stagnant and still expect to compete with everybody else,” Roberts added.
Brian Conway P ’9 ’14 ’15, also part of the campaign leadership team, has faith in the Nobles experience. He knows that building the endowment strengthens the school’s overall financial position and ultimately supports faculty and students. “I’m a big believer in relational pedagogy,” Conway said. “This school is exceptional because of the close relationships between faculty and students. We have three boys who graduated—and our boys always had very different interests and attitudes,” he said, explaining that Nobles teachers found ways to bring out the best in each of his kids, recognizing their strengths and personalities. He said that supporting an environment where students are so well-known takes resources, and he tells other graduates and parents that their philanthropic support is key to what happens here. “It all goes back to the financial piece that allows for these great faculty and allows us to make certain that we’re competitive in the market—that we are sustainable and will always be an excellent school. “I tell other parents, ‘There’s going to be at least one campaign while your kids are here, and you are going to want to support it.’”
“ Nobles is always striving to be even better, and that takes resources of time and involvement. Part of being in this community is giving back, giving what we can to make sure that it stays the excellent and exceptional place that it is.”
— SANDY EDGERLEY P ’11 ’13 ’15 ’19
Dr. Hall (far right) presided over her first Nobles Night, an annual celebration for thanking donors and celebrating community.
NOBLES NIGHT A SUCCESS On November 19, 2017, more than 400 graduates, parents and friends of Nobles gathered in Morrison Athletic Center to celebrate Nobles Night. Head of School Dr. Catherine J. Hall thanked guests for coming and shared that the Be Nobles Bold campaign had surpassed $119 million of the $137 million goal. She thanked campaign co-chairs Karen and Brian Conway, Sandy and Paul Edgerley, Tom and Kristen Roberts, Allison and Tom Sargent ’78 as well as Annual Nobles Fund (ANF) co-chairs Christy Pfannenstiehl Bergstrom ’90 and Scott Johnson ’02; young-grad chair Peter Grape ’04; parent co-chairs Carla and Mike Higgins and Lori and Jon Shaer; parents of graduate chairs Helen and Neal Goins; and the Class of 2018 First Class Fund for Faculty (FCFF) committee, including Marion and David Mussafer, Kathleen and
Nicholas Nomicos, and Eloise and Jeff Patterson ’86. Hall also recognized Matt Mittelstadt ’95 and Mark Sullivan ’95, who received the Richard T. Flood Award in honor of Flood ’23, who founded the ANF in 1930. Both Mittelstadt and Sullivan have served in myriad capacities. Mittelstadt’s contributions include serving on the ANF Executive Committee, on the Graduates Council and on reunion committees. Sullivan has solicited leadership as well as participatory gifts on behalf of the ANF. He has been a class agent since 2000, served on reunion committees and on the ANF Executive Committee, in addition to other volunteer work. The evening program concluded with the unveiling of year-to-date combined totals of the ANF and FCFF at more than $4.2 million.
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by the numbers
SCIENCE CLASSES
171
Goggles used in science classes this year
720 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
The temperature of the soldering iron in the Robotics Laboratory
14
Great machines created in Advanced Projects in Physics classes over the years
2
Issues of the Nobelium science magazine printed since its inception last year
16,000,000 Hz (16 MHz) The processor speed of the Arduino chip (the brain) in each robot created for the annual robotics competition
624 Beakers in the science building
24
Years of the Charles River Watershed Study
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5
Large posters in Baker Science Building that show the periodic table, each representing 118 elements
sports
Focus on the Finish Rhys Drout ’18 tied the girls cross country home record on September 29 against the Rivers School with a time of 20:23.
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sports
On the Playing Fields BOYS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY Overall Record: 6-9 ISL Record: 6-8 All-League: Lev Sandler ’19 All New England: Lev Sandler ’19 NEPSAC All-Star: Lev Sandler ’19 Awards: Coaches Award (to the athlete
who demonstrates significant ability, improvement and commitment to the team): David Yeh ’18 2018 Captains: Owen Asnis, Adam Qu, Lev Sandler and Will Whalen, all ’19
GIRLS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY Overall Record: 13-0 ISL Record: 12-0 (1st Place) New England: 4th Place team at New
England Division 1 Championships
All-League: Rhys Drout ’18, Olly Gill ’18,
Grace Hayward ’21, Olivia Hayward ’21, Eliza McPherron ’21, Emily Orscheln ’20 All New England: Rhys Drout ’18, Eliza McPherron ’21 Awards: Class of ’99 Team Award (for the athlete who embodies the true spirit of cross country): Bridget Mussafer and Bella Riehl, both ’18. Coaches Award (to the athletes who demonstrate significant ability, improvement and commitment to the team): Rhys Drout and Olly Gill, both ’18
2018 Captains: Delaney Callaghan and Grace Santoro, both ’19
VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY Overall Record: 12-4-1 ISL Record: 9-2-1 (2nd Place) All-League: Schuyler Edie ’19,
Sara Falkson ’18 and Lily Farden ’19, Honorable Mention: Emma London, Kelly Pickreign and Bailey Turner, all ’18 League MVP: Sara Falkson ’18 All NEPSAC 1st Team: Sara Falkson ’18 and Lily Farden ’19 All NEPSAC Honorable Mention: Schuyler Edie ’19 and Kelly Pickreign ’18 Awards: Walker Cup (to the player who demonstrates a high degree of skill, love of competition and desire to play within the spirit of the game) Sara Falkson ’18 2018 Captains: Schuyler Edie, Lily Farden and Cici Henderson, all ’19 VARSITY FOOTBALL Overall Record: 4-4 ISL Record: 4-4 All-League: Cam Large ’20, Jason
Medeiros ’18, Danny Monaghan ’18, Michael Sullivan ’18 Honorable Mention: Rocco Giandomenico ’18, John Grady ’19, Will Welch ’19, Julian Tarpey ’21
Varsity football players carry the jersey of the late McCrae Williams ’17.
All-New England: Danny Monaghan and Jason Medeiros, both ’18 Awards: Coaches Award (for best improvement and team contribution): Rocco Giandomenico ’18. E.T. Putnam Award (for excellence, leadership and dedication to the team in honor of the former Headmaster Eliot T. Putnam): Danny Monaghan and Jason Medeiros, both ’18. Marinaro 12th Player Award (to the players whose contributions and spirit exemplify excellence): Jack Schwartz ’19, Chidubem Umeh ’18 2018 Captains: Will Welch ’19, Cam Large ’20 and John Grady ’19
BOYS VARSITY SOCCER Overall Record: 8-7-1 ISL Record: 7-7-1 All-League: Sam Hollister ’18 and
Harry Roberts ’20
Season Highlights ■■
■■
Girls varsity soccer and varsity football had impressive Saturday Night Lights wins on a night that honored McCrae Williams ’17 and raised money for the Achieve Program. Girls varsity cross country won the ISL Championship meet and placed fourth at the New England Division 1 Championships.
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■■ ■■
Varsity field hockey, girls varsity soccer and varsity volleyball all qualified for NEPSAC tournaments. Fifty-eight students in the fall strength and conditioning program improved their physical performance and confidence through group workouts and intense team competitions.
caption_whitney_left
Chloe Lelon ’19
Kiley Bertos ’20, Ava Lung ’19 and Allie Winstanley ’19
Honorable Mention: Hayden Cheek ’18 Awards: Coaches Award (for leadership,
sportsmanship and skill): Hayden Cheek ’18. Wiese Bowl (for contribution to team spirit, in memory of Edward Wiese ’54): Sam Hollister ’18 2018 Captains: Brendan Collins ’19, Chris Collins ’19, Skye Henderson ’19 and Harry Roberts ’20 GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER Overall Record: 13-2-2 ISL Record: 8-1-2 (2nd Place) All-League: Kiley Bertos ’20, Maddie
Mills ’18 and Allie Winstanley ’19
Skye Henderson ’19
Honorable Mention: Ava Lung ’19 and
Ella Midura ’20 Awards: Ceci Clark Shield (for a player who best embodies the qualities character and camaraderie that Ceci Clark represented): Annika Harrington ’18. Tim Carey Award (to a member of Class I whose talent, hard work, humility, joyfully competitive spirit and qualities of character have led most directly to the success of the Girls Varsity Soccer team, in honor of beloved mentor and coach Tim Carey): Maddie Mills ’18 2018 Captains: Ava Lung, Emily St. John and Allie Winstanley, all ’19
GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL Overall Record: 8-9 ISL Record: 7-2 (3rd Place) All-League: Lauren MacDonald ’19 Honorable Mention: Chloe Lelon ’19, Alex
Poole ’19 and Sydney Jones ’21
Awards: Coaches Award (to the player
that demonstrates commitment to team and exemplary sportsmanship): Ashley Ducharme and Serena Chen, both ’18. Forever Bulldog (to the player whose spirit and dedication exemplifies the ideals of the volleyball program): Chloe Lelon and Alex Poole, both ’19 2018 Captains: TBA WINTER 2018 Nobles 21
off the shelf
The Kids: The Children of LGBTQ Parents in the USA, by photographer Gabriela Herman ’99, includes beautiful portraits of people with personal histories similar to the artist.
With Pride Brooklyn-based photographer Gabriela Herman ’99 has been featured in some of the most illustrious publications in the world, including The New York Times, Wired and The Atlantic. She has photographed a wide variety of subjects, many of whom, like Miss Rodeo America, have introduced her to completely new worlds. Through her work, she has brought their stories to large swaths of the American public. It is for this reason she loves photography as an art form. “It brings me to places and spaces I wouldn’t otherwise come across, have access to or even knew existed,” Herman said. But her most recent project, a book called The Kids: The Children of LGBTQ Parents in the USA, hits much closer to home. Herman was a student at Nobles when her mother came out, but it wasn’t until many years later, when she started research for this book, that she actually met another person with a gay parent. The experience of finding someone with 22 Nobles WINTER 2018
a similar story was “like therapy,” she said. “Realizing people had shared experiences was incredibly powerful.” Over the course of creating this project, one of her biggest motivations was “to share voices that we haven’t heard much from in the media, [and to] let people know they are not alone.” Realizing that other people who grew up with gay parents had support systems was challenging. “I became so jealous of people I talked to who had support from a young age. They had different ways to deal with their parents coming out, but my experience was isolating and shaming. Now it is very different.” Finding a community of people who reflected her experience as a child of a gay parent validated Herman’s experience and made her realize she was not alone. Through the work she has done with this incredible book, she now provides a window for the rest of us, revealing the stories, experiences and
more of children of gay parents so that their truths become our truths, and their lives become real. Having people in her life to support her was incredibly important for Herman’s growth as an artist. It was through her relationship with Joe Swayze, former Nobles art teacher, that she received the mentorship she needed, and that mentorship is something she believes is vital for artists’ continued growth, even after they leave school. And for all the kids out there considering a career in the arts? Herman stresses the importance of being social, meeting people, and networking. Get out there, introduce yourself, share your story, let your voice be heard. —TALYA SOKOLL, LIBRARIAN
my books...
LIFE, PUNCTUATED BY STORY
MIKE HOE, DIRECTOR OF ACADEMIC SUPPORT, SCIENCE FACULTY MEMBER
I love books because they have an uncanny power to relate to different periods of my life. Thinking back, I can pick two or three books that defined certain times and were relevant then. I’ve selected five books from five periods that will always remain important to me for various reasons. The coolest part about each of these books is that their meaning and relevance continue to evolve even when I read them now. THE OUTSIDERS, BY S.E. HINTON Middle school is awkward, and it can be hard. Socially, everything that you once knew as a kid gets turned upside-down. The Outsiders helped me recognize the normalcy of shifting social dynamics and to understand one of the terms that I now self-define as fiercely loyal. It also helped me acknowledge different interests and people with as little judgment as possible. The meaning of friendship evolved after I read this book for the first time. It sounds like this book was life-changing for me, because it really was. This book especially defined my middle school years, but I tend to read it every so often, and I’m amazed by how relevant it always seems to be.
storyteller. Furthermore, Sacks tells fascinating stories of neuroscience marvels without glamorizing the medical model and focuses on the patient’s story. He humanizes each of his patients with respect and admiration and makes sure to focus on them and their story rather than the diagnosis. This book inspired me to pursue an undergraduate degree in neuroscience and the focus on the patient was something I sought to mirror as I completed my premed requirements.
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, BY STEPHEN CHBOSKY
100 LOVE SONNETS, BY PABLO NERUDA
As hard as middle school is, high school can be even harder. More advanced cognitive functioning and emotions tend to complicate social relationships and friendship dynamics even more. In high school, no matter how popular a kid is or how many friends they have, there are always going to be days when they feel lonely or “not like everyone else.” As tough as those days might be, they’re also incredible learning experiences that help develop resilience and tons of character. This book speaks to that. Furthermore, it also highlights the importance of finding adults in your life whom you trust and who can serve as your mentors. When I was in high school, I valued my relationships with my advisors, teachers and coaches, but now that I’m on the other side of it as the adult, I have an even greater appreciation for the characters and themes in this book.
As much as I joke with my students that I don’t have emotions, I’m really a hopeless romantic (shh...don’t tell them!). My (now) wife and I dated long-distance for the first year of our relationship, and I was never really into poetry until she told me to read some of Neruda’s work. We both bought a copy of this book and read these poems throughout the week as we lived apart from each other. If you’ve ever read Neruda’s work, you know that it is simply beautiful. It is icing on the cake that he writes about love so beautifully. Cheesy? Sure. But love makes you do some crazy things. Not to mention that I gained a brand-new appreciation for poetry.
THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT, BY OLIVER SACKS After not taking any science courses my first year in undergrad, my friend told me that if I missed science, I should definitely read anything by this amazing neuroscientist named Oliver Sacks. What I didn’t know was that Sacks was not only an amazing physician, but an equally (if not more) amazing
ART CREDIT
THE BOOK WITH NO PICTURES, BY B.J. NOVAK The first time my wife and I read this book to our 4-year-old daughter, all three of us were in tears because we were laughing so hard. Reading this book as a parent to your child reminds you to never take yourself too seriously and to be a kid every so often. The book is hilarious and ingenious in the way that it is written. Novak writes in a playful manner and reminds all of us that we should take some time each day to be silly and to laugh. Even though I’ve already read this book thousands of times, neither me, my wife, nor my daughter can get through it without laughing at least once.
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FEAT UR E_BYLIN E | P H OTOG RA P H Y BY L I N E _ F E AT URE
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Baker’s Dozen THROUGH THE TRANSPARENT WALLS of the newly renovated Baker Science Building, students can be seen building robots, experimenting with chemicals, testing the laws of physics and monitoring microbes. Every day, students there learn skills that might inspire them to become engineers, chemists, physicists and doctors. How do we know this? Here’s our evidence: Thirteen stories about innovators. A variety of careers. All with a Nobles science education. We like to think of them as the Baker’s Dozen.
The Baker Science Building is already supporting intensified research, soaring science enrollment and expanded possibilities. With great teaching in a great space, what might our future graduates accomplish? Here, we look back to our graduates’ accomplishments as we anticipate Nobles’ future in the sciences. In Baker Science Building, history repeating itself has some pretty exciting possibilities.
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Saving Our Rivers ANDY GOODE ’76 Vice President of United States Programs, Atlantic Salmon Federation Brunswick, ME
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS MONITOR river health with an eye on Atlantic salmon populations like coal miners watching canaries. When Maine’s native migratory fish populations choked to less than 1 percent of their historic size, the salmon were the first to go. “Of our 12 different migratory fish, Atlantic salmon are the most vulnerable,” Andy Goode ’76, vice president of the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s stateside programs, explains. Due to their treacherous migratory path from the streams of New England to the ocean off of Greenland, Atlantic salmon populations often get hit by environmental changes first. And the past few hundred years have had no shortage of environmental changes. “Dam building in the 1800s led to the first big decline in Atlantic salmon,” Goode explains. “And then it was overfishing and pollution in the 1900s. Over time, we’ve been able to reduce the impact of commercial fishing, end the log drives, and clean up our rivers. “The problem of dams remain.” Smaller dams have often stood for generations, so communities have developed a fondness for them. Dam removal or fishway construction often rely on town votes, so Goode must work alongside the communities to improve fish passage. “When we start off the process, we usually have a fair amount of opposition,” he says. “But, ideally, by the end, we have developed a common vision.” Hydropower dams pose an entirely different problem. In those cases, Goode works in coalitions to coordinate with all the stakeholders to find a solution that makes sense for not only the fish, but also the communities that depend on the river. Goode considers the recently completed Penobscot River Restoration Project the flagship accomplishment of his career, and with good reason. It took 16 years and $65 million dollars, but he and his team managed to decommission three hydropower dams and increase fish passage by 2,000 miles. “The Penobscot was the largest river restoration project ever completed in the United States. The benefits will extend not only to Atlantic salmon, but to all the other species of fish in the river, as well as the wildlife along the river corridor,” Goode explains. In the Penobscot River, Goode can count his team’s successes: an increase to 849 wild salmon in 2017, two million river herring from zero before, and already more than 8,000 American shad, whose numbers are expected to grow exponentially. However, the conservationists have been, as Goode describes, “hit square in the eyes” by climate change. The food chain, from
“ Of our 12 different migratory fish, Atlantic salmon are the most vulnerable.” —ANDY GOODE ’76
plankton, to river herring and capelin, to Atlantic salmon, is timed to seasonal changes in water temperature. Some species, like capelin, haven’t had time to adapt to earlier plankton blooms with warmer weather, so their populations have decreased. As a result, salmon diets now have a higher proportion of squid, which, due to their lower caloric value, limit the fat reserves salmon need to fuel a migration to Greenland and back. What’s a consumer to do? First, consumers can choose Alaskan salmon, which come from a sustainable fishery; these are Goode’s personal preference. Soon, consumers will also have the option to choose land-based salmon farming. This alternative to industrial scale farming in our fragile coastal ecosystems eliminates the potential transfer of diseases and interbreeding with the wild salmon populations. Goode sees a hopeful future for the restoration of salmon populations, mostly because of the increased interest in conservation. “I feel like I’ve been on the frontlines for a long time,” he says. “But I was just looking around at a meeting and saw I was the oldest person there. I realized there are a lot of people coming up behind me. And so, that gives me hope.” —ALEXIS SULLIVAN WINTER 2018 Nobles 27
DESERT HORSEGRANT ’96 Senior Director, Research and Innovation, UCLA Health and David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Los Angeles, CA
Bridging Worlds
“IF THERE’S A BOOK that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it,” said Toni Morrison. While Desert Horse-Grant has not authored a book (at least not yet), there is no better philosophy to describe her approach to her life and career. Ever since she was a student at Nobles, Horse-Grant has forged her own path. Horse-Grant was accepted to Nobles for ninth grade. She needed to board, but had challenges affording it, so Marion Dora Howe-Taylor, then admissions officer, opened her home to Horse-Grant. “I wouldn’t have been able to go to school otherwise,” she says. Howe-Taylor’s generosity inspired her, and Horse-Grant thanks Nobles for her “foundation of compassion.” By sophomore year, Horse-Grant was able to board, then she spent her junior year studying in Dublin, New Hampshire. It was supposed to be one year, but Horse-Grant begged to stay (“I had a boyfriend there—you know how it is”) and she finished high school by extending her stay in Dublin and spending her senior spring doing autopsies at Brigham and Women’s in lieu of classes. Yes, autopsies. Horse-Grant had always been a science kid. As a little girl, she had 6-foot posters of skeletal and skin systems decorating her bedroom. Her interest in health care was personal—Horse-Grant’s grandfather had cancer, and Horse-Grant became his “little caretaker,” even though she was only a child. Later, right before Horse-Grant started at Nobles, her sister was in a car accident—receiving 700 stitches in her face—and, once again, Horse-Grant became the caretaker: “I’ve always had a sense of calmness when other people are panicking about medical issues.” Before Nobles, Horse-Grant won a competition in which accomplished science students could work in Harvard School of Public Health laboratories—and she loved it. Horse-Grant worked at Harvard labs throughout high school. When she arrived at Stanford, it was clear she was going to study something science- or health-related, but no available option seemed quite right—so she designed her own focus within a new major. Horse-Grant pursued Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, concentrating on health status and health policy. Her honors thesis studied the proposal and rationale for a collaboration center on indigenous peoples’ health. She also worked on the Indian Health Service task force.
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Horse-Grant is multi-ethnic—her mother’s family is Native American and her father is of mostly English descent—and her background influenced her views on health care. “I always had in front of me my own case study: the difference of health care and access, different quality of life,” says HorseGrant. Her maternal side has historical and present day human rights’ challenges, like access to clean water and adequate health care; her paternal grandfather was a Nobles alumnus. Horse-Grant used her ability to move between worlds to work in translational research. “I act as a bridge between academia and the hospital system where the patients are,” she explains. Currently, Horse-Grant is the senior director of research and innovation at the UCLA Health and David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Horse-Grant explained that there is a “valley of death” between academic research and the commercialization of novel therapies. “There are technologies that can help patients today, but they are not available for patients to use,” she laments. Horse-Grant helped organize a competition for UCLA faculty to compete for commercial funding for their patents. The winners—to be announced in January 2018— will be given funds to help bring the technologies to market. “I wanted to make a change in our lifetime that we could see and feel,” says Horse-Grant. Just as she forged her own high school experience and designed her own college major, Horse-Grant has used her abilities to bridge worlds and write the book she wants to read. —E.B. BARTELS ’06
Impact Dynamics KATIE COOK ’82 Structures Engineer, Impact Dynamics CIMA Group, Pratt & Whitney West Hartford, CT
ON JANUARY 15, 2009, pilot Chesley Sullenberger, better known as Captain Sully, safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River by Midtown Manhattan, saving all 155 people onboard when the plane hit a flock of geese after takeoff and lost engine power. What’s the likelihood that potentially very bad situation could happen again? Katie Cook ’82 can tell you. Cook is an aerospace engineer, and she studies two things that Captain Sully is all too familiar with: engines and birds. “I do bird strike,” says Cook. “Have you seen the movie Sully?” This is how Cook explains her work to those uninformed about aerospace engineering. “In that case, the plane was taken down
by the engine ingesting a bird,” she explains. “I do the design, analysis and testing for all kinds of situations.” What other situations? Isn’t a plane always taken down by bird strike? “Not necessarily,” Cook says. “Sometimes you don’t notice until you land and find feathers in the engine. Or you’ll be flying, and suddenly it will smell like barbecue.” She pauses. “Maybe don’t put that in the piece.” WINTER 2018 Nobles 29
So how does one end up studying bird strike? “It evolved,” she explains. “I had been an engineer for a while, and I was doing structural analysis. I was looking for a new challenge.” After graduating from Nobles, Cook attended Trinity College, in Connecticut, where she studied math and computer programming. She worked in insurance after graduation and then quit to head out West to become a ski bum. When she got bored of fresh powder and scenic mountains, she decided to study engineering, attending the University of Wyoming. Cook explains, “At one point someone said: ‘You’re asking so many questions about how this works, you should be an engineer!’” Cook’s current position is military lead for impact dynamics, and she has been at Pratt & Whitney for more than 17 years, where she has been afforded many opportunities to try different things— such as bird strike. “Some of the engines I have been involved with designing are out flying around,” says Cook. “There’s a whole new type of engine that is coming out—a gear turbo fan—which will be a step change in terms of performance, efficiency, and it is much quieter. I am proud of what I do.” Additionally, Cook doesn’t live too far from her alma mater, Trinity, and she likes to help and mentor students there who are aspiring engineers. But don’t worry: For all the work that Cook does, she says bird strikes are not as common as they used to be. “Airports have gotten really good about patrolling birds,” she says. When she is not working on jet engines, Cook likes skiing, kayaking, hiking, and biking. It’s funny: At work, Cook is at odds with Mother Nature, fighting off natural phenomena to protect human-made machines. But at home, Cook seems to enjoy nothing more than to be in the natural world, surrounded by mountains, oceans, trees and, well, birds. —EB 30 Nobles WINTER 2018
MAX MANKIN ’07 Co-Founder and CTO, Modern Electron Seattle, WA
Power Problems
IN THE UNITED STATES, steam turbines generate over 80
percent of electricity. Natural gas, coal, nuclear, biomass, solar thermal and geothermal power plants all use them. So what’s the problem? Max Mankin ’07 puts it this way: “Steam turbines are very big, and they cost about a billion dollars. They also don’t scale down well. So as you make them smaller, your cost of electricity goes up.” Furthermore, most power plants cover a vast service area, so they have to transmit electricity over hundreds of miles where power lines cause efficiency drops.
An option for smaller, localized power generation is to use diesel generators, but those also scale down inefficiently, and according to Mankin, “They have a lot of moving parts, so they break frequently. I find this very frightening, because when you don’t have a reliable energy solution at a small scale, you end up with problems like in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.” Mankin sees a big hole in electricitygeneration technology, and that’s where he and his new company, Modern Electron, come in. Introducing his work he says, “We’re building a new electricity generator that’s efficient at a small scale, and it has no moving parts, so it’s more reliable. Our technology will be effectively the first to enable microgrids where the electricity is generated and consumed locally.” When Mankin was earning a Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard, he met the future co-founder of his company, Tony Pan, while they were both Hertz Foundation Fellows. Pan was a theorist and looking to bring on an experimentalist with Mankin’s skill set, so it was a natural fit. They founded Modern Electron in 2015, and even though their first prototypes didn’t work, they showed that they could build, test and iterate on them. With this promising start, they were able to raise $10 million in venture funding, and Mankin and Pan were selected for the 2016 and 2015 “Forbes 30 Under 30: Science” classes, respectively. Two years in, the team has grown from two to 20 people. Remarking on his job transformation, Mankin says, “When I first started this, I was thinking about technical issues 90 percent of the time. One of the things that you learn very, very quickly when you start a company is that it becomes your job to start thinking about people. Enabling a team to accomplish incredible things is much more satisfying for me at this point than achieving technical things myself.”
Their technical accomplishments involve building direct heat to electriity vacuum generators. “The unique and exciting thing about these types of devices is that they can scale to almost any power level and still maintain their efficiency,” Mankin says. Though Modern Electron is still in the research and development stage, Mankin says they’re on track to get a product to market in the next few years that’s “double the efficiency of a small-scale diesel generator, so people can generate electricity off the grid, using cleaner propane or natural gas at much higher efficiencies, reliably and quietly.” Even though this new generator still requires the burning of fuel to generate substantial heat, Mankin emphasizes that the technology is fundamentally green. He explains, “Right now, the electricity grid isn’t built for high percentages of power coming from solar and wind.
If a cloud blots out a solar farm unpredictably, the grid isn’t distributed enough to respond in time, and you’ll end up with rolling brownouts. Germany, which has such a high percentage of solar power, has now started emitting more carbon because they have to burn wood chips in order to quickly respond to solar intermittency. So we aim to enable green technology’s becoming a larger and larger fraction of the grid by providing this distributed generation that can turn on locally when it’s needed, where it’s needed. Hence, our motto: Electricity for anyone, anywhere, anytime.” Mankin realizes the magnitude of the challenge to fundamentally change the way electricity is generated. “For big important problems, it takes time and a really talented team of people. That’s been an awesome takeaway for me in the last couple of years.” —BEN HEIDER
Wait, so how does this work? Max explains. “What people have done for 100 years is burn some fuel and use that heat to boil water to create pressurized steam. That pressure turns a giant fan blade, and it spins an alternator, which gives you electricity. “What we’re doing is fundamentally different. It’s known as a direct heat to electricity converter because, rather than go from heat into motion into electricity, we go directly from heat into electrons. “The way our device is configured is you have two metal plates, and you heat one so the electrons inside it are effectively evaporating and becoming electron clouds. These electrons then traverse a very small vacuum gap and land on the cold metal plate. “The negatively charged electrons, moving from isolated hot to cold, build up a charge on the cold plate. Then you’re able to connect these two plates outside of the vacuum gap and power whatever it is that you want to power. “So what we’re doing is inventing, designing, building, testing and ultimately rolling out into the world microelectronics to go on that cold plate to more efficiently suck the electrons across that vacuum gap. This allows us to get to higher efficiencies and higher power density.”
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JOSEPH BEALS IV ’00 Vice President, Informatics, Perahealth Inc. Ottawa and Rome
The Problem of the Reverse Sprinkler
CHANCES ARE YOU HOPE that the things you did in high school are buried deep and are long forgotten. Those moody journal entries? That embarrassing assembly announcement? Failing at team sports? File those away and move on, right? Not so with Joseph Beals IV ’00. Let’s set the scene: It was 1999. He had AP physics with David Strasburger. Strasburger told his students that they could do an independent project for extra credit. So Beals approached Strasburger about a idea: “Have you heard of Feynman’s reverse sprinkler problem?” Record scratch, freeze frame: In college, Strasburger was debating problems with classmates as a young physicist and passing around a copy of Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman. Richard Feynman was a theoretical physicist idolized by physicists of Strasburger’s generation. He had worked on the Manhattan Project and was known as an irreverent prankster. In Surely You’re Joking, Feynman brings up the reverse sprinkler. “It’s not really an important problem,” explains Beals, “but it has become something of a classic physics brainteaser.” Imagine an S-shaped lawn sprinkler shooting out water on a summer day. The sprinkler arms rotate opposite to the direction of the expelled water—an example of Newton’s third law: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. But how would the sprinkler rotate if it sucked in water (or air), instead of expelling it? “The fun thing about this problem is that if you ask two people what the answer should be, you’ll usually get two very confident answers,” says Beals. “But often as not, they’ll be the opposite of each other.” Feynman mentions the problem in his book, tells an anecdote about how he made an underwater reverse sprinkler, but the pressure on the glass tank was too great, and the whole thing exploded. However, “he never tells you the answer to the problem!” shouts Strasburger. “He just leaves you hanging and goes on to the next story!” Back to AP Physics: Beals went to show Strasburger the sprinkler he made. “What I am picturing in my head,” remembers Strasburger, “is something made with bendy straws and Scotch tape”—a typical high school science project. Instead, Beals produced a sprinkler with a walnut base, brass body and copper arms mounted on brass ball bearings. “It looked like something out of a 19th-century science lab,” says Strasburger. He was so impressed by Beals’s craftsmanship that he commis-
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sioned him to make equipment for the physics department—a Kelvin water dropper to demonstrate electrostatics and a device to make waves in a water tank. Beals graduated from Nobles in 2000, studied engineering at Brown, and then received a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Cambridge. Beals is currently the vice president of informatics at PeraHealth Inc. “I work at the intersection of research and implementation to help translate technology solutions into clinical outcomes,” explained Beals. PeraHealth uses predictive analytics to help hospitals sort and gather insights from enormous quantities of patient data. Once he started working for PeraHealth on strategic operations, then in informatics, the reverse sprinkler was forgotten. In 2015, Strasburger found an article about the reverse sprinkler while flipping through the American Journal of Physics. “Joe would get a kick out of this!” he thought, and he sent the piece to Beals. But the writer’s argument didn’t sit with Beals. He wanted to write a rebuttal. Strasburger said he would look at it, but then life happened and Strasburger forgot about it. “And then, this arrived in my mailbox.” Strasburger slams down a copy of the American Journal of Physics. His excitement is palpable. On the bright yellow cover are three photos of the reverse sprinkler Beals made in Strasburger’s class. Could a former student ever make his AP physics teacher more proud? So, what is the answer to the reverse sprinkler problem? Strasburger smiles: “You’ll have to ask Joe.” —EB
“ The natural photosynthesis of a leaf is approximately 1 percent efficient. In our water-splitting work, we have demonstrated 10 percent efficiency.” —XENIA AMASHUKELI ’93
Life Elsewhere and Energy Here XENIA AMASHUKELI ’93 Deputy Director for Strategy and Program Management, Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis Pasadena, CA
WHAT DO THE SEARCH FOR LIFE on other planets and the race for more sustainable fuels have in common? Xenia Amashukeli ’93. After Amashukeli completed her doctorate degree in chemistry, she began her career with a postdoctoral appointment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where she ended up staying for seven years. While there, she developed instruments for extracting materials that are sometimes are referred to as chemical signatures of life (for example, amino acids and sugars) from the regolith, the layer of loose material covering the surface of planetary bodies. Amashukeli explains the need for these extraction instruments, “Some surfaces of these planetary environments may be highly oxidizing and destructive to complex organics. We would have to dig and extract organics from the regolith.” By the time Amashukeli moved on from the JPL, the work had been recognized with a NASA Space Act Award. She is now on the senior management team at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), a Department of Energy Innovation Hub. Established in 2010, JCAP’s objective is to understand the science driving the conversion of solar energy, water and carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuels— the process known as Artificial Photosynthesis. Artificial Photosynthesis involves two main areas of research: water splitting and CO2 reduction. During the Hub’s first five years, the team mainly focused on understanding the process of water splitting, where solar photons were used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen can then be used as fuel. In the second phase, the JCAP research team is now focusing on understanding the CO2 reduction reaction, aiming to convert CO2 into fuels. “We’re applying all the knowledge that we gained in the first five years from the
water-splitting work toward CO2 reduction reactions.” JCAP’s goal and scientific objectives are to fully understand these highly complex processes so that future technology can be developed and then translated to industrial applications. “Right now,” Amashukeli explains, “we’re are focused on building the scientific foundation.” Amashukeli explains her team’s progress: “The natural photosynthesis of a leaf is approximately 1 percent efficient. In our water-splitting work, we have demonstrated 10 percent efficiency.” CO2 reduction reaction is very complex, and the team is now working to overcome many scientific gaps to reach high efficiency and selectivity for the conversion of CO2 into fuels. The skill of collaboration, Amashukeli reflects, is one of the greatest lessons she’s learned in her work as a chemist. In her early experiences at the JPL, she “had to learn how to work with engineers and other scientists from different disciplines. The lesson learned from these types of experiences is that it’s very important to work well in large teams.” Her work at JCAP only reinforced the importance of collaboration for scientific discovery. “When you have big scientific or technological questions that you are trying to address,” she says, “you realize very fast that you have to bring people together with a variety of expertise, different opinions and different ways of looking at the problem in order to answer these questions.” As she says, that collaboration makes the work of large scientific teams important. The scientific goal at JCAP is the search for new materials that can enable efficient and selective conversion of readily available and renewable solar energy into fuels. That would be, as Amashukeli says, “striking gold.” To learn more about JCAP see www.solarfuelshub.org. —AS WINTER 2018 Nobles 33
Uncharted Territory ANDREW KOURI ’10 AND GEORGE TALL ’09 Cofounders, Lvl5 San Francisco, CA
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LVL5 COFOUNDERS Andrew Kouri ’10 and George Tall ’09 hate to
drive, but they’re counting on a world where they won’t have to. These entrepreneurs are mapping the future for self-driving cars, a movement they see as ecologically imperative that will also dramatically increase safety and efficiency on the road— and it’s their approach to gathering data that sets them apart. Best friends since middle school at Nobles, Kouri and Tall stayed close throughout college and during their early engineering careers at Tesla and iRobot, respectively. Tall was optimizing computer vision for the Roomba robot, and Kouri was working on autonomous vehicles when they decided to partner to create better high-resolution maps for those cars. Now, as Lvl5
cofounders and housemates, they start each day with a meeting to discuss their objectives and end it by talking about what they’ve accomplished. It’s a long way from physics with Christine Pasterczyk and robotics with Dominic Manzo, both of whom inspired their scientific curiosity—but they always knew they’d do something entrepreneurial together. For Kouri, the glimmering seed of that idea was sustainable energy. He points to advancements in solar PHOTOGRAPH BY: SAROYAN HUMPHREY
technology as an example of progress. “Five years ago, solar panels weren’t even profitable—they took 40 years to pay off—now it’s closer to 10.” Kouri, encouraged by these implications “for humanity and the world,” envisions a future in which people share autonomous cars instead of driving their own. Among the benefits he cites: Transportation would be much more affordable and accessible. Cars would be safer than with human drivers because of fewer
errors; fatalities on the road would be reduced by 10 times. Also, cities would become cleaner. Parked cars sit idle, but in a city powered by autonomous cars, vehicles would only be needed to get from A to B. The ability to call a self-driving car would negate needing to own one. A self-driving car is only able to autonomously drive in places that have been thoroughly mapped. To build the best data, Kouri and Tall designed Payver, an app that enables drivers to turn their
phones into data-gathering devices for Lvl5’s maps. The information helps Lvl5 program the safest and most-efficient routes, and drivers receive incentives, either through cents on the mile or points to redeem in the Payver store. Traditionally, to gather the data, a single car would need to drive every road. But in the Lvl5 model, Kouri says, “through crowdsourcing, we get the community to contribute video data, then run advanced computer vision algorithms on that data to build up the map in simultaneous chunks all over the world. We have people from Norway to Japan helping us build up maps in places we’ve never even been.” The Lvl5 approach is not only much faster; it’s also much more accurate, because it reflects constantly changing conditions—and that means safer driving. “Car manufacturers have no way to collect this data right now,” says Kouri. “Ultimately, we hope to become a thirdparty data broker: We could combine data from these companies and send them the optimized output so they could all benefit. If a Chevrolet sees a new traffic light installed, the next Toyota to go down the road will also know about it. With our team of data scientists and engineers, we want to unify that map data so that if one car makes a mistake, no other car will have to make that same mistake.” Lvl5 is always seeking talented engineers and interns, and Tall says, “If anyone reading this wants to come join us in San Francisco, we’d love to have them.” Tall and Kouri know from their robotics experience that the technology they’re developing is absolutely necessary, and they care deeply about solving a problem in uncharted territory. “It’s exciting to be part of building a completely new piece of technology that will save lives,” Kouri says. “Every time I look over and see someone texting and driving, it reminds me how fast we need to move on creating fully self-driving cars.” —KIM NEAL WINTER 2018 Nobles 35
Gardener’s Tools HANNAH GARDENER ’96 Founder, A Green Slate Consulting Westwood, MA
AS AN EPIDEMIOLOGIST at the University of Miami Medical School investigating causes of diseases like dementia, stroke, multiple sclerosis and autism, Hannah Gardener ’96 is well aware of earlylife risk factors for neurological disorders. She first studied them for years as a doctoral student at Harvard. “I’ve always believed exposures early in life are the most important in shaping longterm health,” she says. She remembers the day she learned from a colleague about epidemiology, in which her passions for math and health sciences converged, and thought, “That’s my thing.” In 2010, Gardener launched healthy-home consulting business A Green Slate in order to share this preventative knowledge with others who could benefit, especially those with young families or who are trying to get pregnant. “Part of the reason I started my company was that when I was making changes to my own house, I didn’t want to research everything. I wanted someone to help me create a priority list and save me time,” Gardener says. She says her greatest marketing challenge is the misconception that healthy living is too expensive. The last thing families need is a more complicated or costly lifestyle, so she makes going green easy—and saves them what she charges. Gardener offers healthy home, nursery, pregnancy and home-renovation consults. Her clients want a cleaner, safer home, and she provides them with an easy and scientifically rigorous way to learn about reducing their exposure to common toxic chemicals. And there’s no reason to feel sheepish about all those parabenladen lotions and cleaning chemicals. She promises that during
“ You don’t need to change everything. Everyone has different products they are married to, like a red lipstick that makes them feel awesome. So go on, girl, wear that red lipstick. Making changes that impact your kids is far more important.” —HANNAH GARDENER ’96 36 Nobles WINTER 2018
a home consultation, “There’s no judging. My own house isn’t perfect.” There are some common mistakes she sees in many homes. One is storing cellphones bedside, since many people set them as alarms or use their phones just before bed or first thing in the morning. “We’re learning more about electromagnetic frequency radiation from the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health. The research is mixed and ongoing, but to be safe and cautious, switch your phone to airplane mode and turn off the Wi-Fi at night.” Another flub is storing cooking oils near the stove, where heat and light degrade them. She also discourages artificial fragrances, which are harmful to the brain. (For more easy, nontoxic living tips, see sidebar.) Gardener helps clients prioritize what to purchase and what to eliminate. “Some things cost a lot of money but make a big impact, like an organic mattress or a water purifier that works well. In general, most of the advice I give is more telling people what to get rid of or stop using. I try to give lots of shortterm and long-term ideas—product recommendations change all the time,” Gardener says. Many problems can be addressed by streamlining; we all have products in our homes that we don’t use, that cause more harm than good. Purging them can make our living spaces healthier and less cluttered. In a blog post for home website The Spruce, Gardener said that to identify the most important change, “Focus on the areas you’re personally motivated by, that you think will make a difference...
and the exposures affecting women of childbearing age, pregnant women, babies and children.” Gardener has some takeaways for her clients. First, the government and retail establishments aren’t protecting consumers from toxic chemicals. Regulations vary from country to country and state to state, so you need to make informed choices. Second, don’t seek to eliminate all toxins, but try to reduce them in ways that aren’t creating harm. (For example, carseats
contain chemicals, but the benefits far outweigh the risks.) Third, make going green work for you. Gardener says, “You don’t need to change everything. Everyone has different products they are married to, like a red lipstick that makes them feel awesome. So go on, girl, wear that red lipstick. Making changes that impact your kids is far more important.” In addition to her work as an epidemiologist and consultant for agreenslate. com, Gardener does advocacy work: she
testified in Rhode Island in support of a groundbreaking bill that banned toxic halogenated flame retardants in home and baby products, which passed unanimously in the Senate and House. She is also on the board of Massachusetts nonprofit Savvy Women’s Alliance (savvywomensalliance. org). The organization provides community, tools and education for those seeking to learn about nontoxic living. Follow @agreenslateconsulting on Instagram and A Green Slate on Facebook for more practical advice. —KN
Tips for a Healthier, Greener Life Open your windows. The air in most homes is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. If you can, get a good air purifier. Avoid artificial fragrances, which can contain toxic ingredients like phthalates and polycystic aromatic hydrocarbons linked to cancer, hormone disruption, neurotoxicity and respiratory irritation. If you put on perfume, do it after you kiss the kids goodbye. Leave your shoes at the door. In addition to dirt, you may track in pesticides, lead, bacteria and toxic residues from coal tar-based driveway sealants. Don’t microwave in plastic. Even “microwavesafe” plastics can leach toxic chemicals into food when heated. Use glass or leadfree ceramics instead. Wash hands a lot. Our hands are among the worst carriers of toxic chemicals and should be washed frequently, especially before eating. Drink filtered tap water rather than bottled. Plastic can leach from plastic bottles— instead, choose tap water. Use a high-quality comprehensive water filter.
Refuse paper receipts. The fine powder on thermal paper includes carcinogenic hormone disrupting chemicals BPA and BPS that are quickly absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream. Especially keep away from children. Dust frequently with damp cloths. Dusting and vacuuming are the most important home cleaning activities to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals. Strong cleaning agents aren’t necessary; a wet rag will do. Make a list of unnecessary toxic household items to toss. Cling wrap, air fresheners, dryer sheets, fabric softener, oven cleaner and furniture polish should be on that list. Use speaker on your phone and turn off Wi-Fi at night. The World Health Organization has labeled electromagnetic frequency radiation as a possible human carcinogen. While research is ongoing and inconclusive, take a precautionary approach. Rely on corded landlines whenever possible. Turn off your Wi-Fi router at night. Avoid mobile technology for babies and children.
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The Hunger Hormone LIZ LAWSON ’90 Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard University; Neuroendocrinologist, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA
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ELIZABETH (LIZ) LAWSON ’90 is an associate professor of medicine
at Harvard Medical School and a neuroendocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Her office at MGH is in the Bulfinch building—just steps from the Ether Dome, the surgical operating amphitheater that was the site of the first public demonstration of the use of ether as a surgical anesthetic in 1846. Lawson and her colleagues just might be on their way to making medical history of their own. But Lawson studied history in college, not medicine. It was a job in public affairs at MGH that inspired her to take postbaccalaureate courses at Harvard and apply to med school, where she pursued internal medicine and found an amazing mentor, Anne Klibanski, the first MGH female professor of medicine at Harvard. Lawson says she has the greatest job in the world. She teaches at Harvard Medical School, sees patients and conducts research. She is principal investigator for three studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, focusing on the underlying neurobiology of anorexia nervosa; the neurohormone oxytocin as a potential weight loss therapy for obese individuals; and the neurobiological underpinnings of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Much of her research relates to the role of oxytocin, a hormone and neurotransmitter. Its complex role in regulating appetite and metabolism is a major focus of Lawson’s research. “When I started doing research, my focus was on endocrine adaptations to chronic starvation in women with anorexia nervosa,” she says.
“I got to thinking about why, in a similar environment, one individual versus another develops this disorder. “I was intrigued by the role of appetite-regulating hormones in eating disorders. These hormones are released by the gastrointestinal tract, body fat and the brain to signal nutrient and energy availability and regulate eating behavior. I became particularly interested in oxytocin, a hormone that is not only involved in the regulation of energy balance, but also has important neuropsychological effects, including pro-social, anti-anxiety and antidepressant properties. In anorexia nervosa, I thought that oxytocin levels would be suppressed in order to reduce the signal to eat and conserve limited resources, and that low oxytocin levels might contribute to clinical sequelae, such as impaired social cognition, anxiety and depression.” Lawson’s research team has confirmed the hypothesis that oxytocin levels are low in anorexia nervosa and that low oxytocin levels are, in fact, associated with the severity of these psychological symptoms. Whether or not manipulating oxytocin signaling in patients with anorexia nervosa would be therapeutic is not yet clear. But another area of Lawson’s research supports oxytocin as a potentially groundbreaking treatment for obesity. In clinical trials, Lawson and her colleagues have shown that after an intranasal dose of oxytocin, healthy weight, overweight and obese men ate less, burned more fat, and handled their blood sugar better. Using neuroimaging techniques, they identified potential mechanisms for oxytocin effects on eating behavior. “If you look at other weight loss therapies that are currently available, [they] primarily act by reducing food intake or reducing food absorption,” she says. “The problem is that when you lose weight, your energy expenditure goes down and it brings your weight back up. What is different about oxytocin is that it not
only affects eating behavior, but it also prevents that drop in energy expenditure that normally accompanies weight loss. “We’re looking at the efficacy and safety of sustained oxytocin administration as a weight loss therapy and the underlying mechanisms. How does oxytocin affect energy metabolism and fat distribution? How does it affect the neural pathways and eating behavior.” ARFID, the focus of the third current study, includes kids and young adults who restrict their food intake not because of body image or weight concerns, but because they have are highly selective eaters. “It’s picky eating to the point where it’s really impairing,” she says. She notes that the effects might include being underweight, having vitamin deficiencies or managing social consequences (e.g., they might avoid parties because of the food). “This is an understudied disorder. We are looking at the neurobiology—the hormones, brain circuitry, psychology and behavior— and how an individual’s neurobiological profile influences their eating behavior over the course of two years.” Lawson says part of what she loves about her job is that it’s interdisciplinary. She works closely with psychologists and neuroimaging experts from the Department of Psychiatry at MGH. Together, they integrate hormone, brain imaging, neuropsychological, and behavioral data to better understand the pathophysiology of eating disorders with the goal of identifying treatment targets. “My work is like a team sport. I love coming up with ideas and the interdisciplinary collaboration and designing studies that allow us to to answer those questions and get closer to treatments,” she says. If one of those potential treatments includes a viable answer to the obesity epidemic, then Lawson will have gone from a college history buff to a history maker. —HEATHER SULLIVAN
KEN MORSE ’64 Chairman and CEO, Entrepreneurship Ventures Boston, MA
Morse Code
WHEN KEN MORSE ’64 DECIDED TO GO TO MIT after his Nobles graduation, “it was not at all mainstream,” he says. “I was only the third in Nobles history.” After earning a bachelor of science in political science in 1968, Morse went on to lead six technologybased start-ups. As he often says, “Five either went public or were successfully merged; one was a complete disaster.” That disaster taught him the foundational lessons for his ensuing career. Morse tells the story: “Our CEO was a total techie. He didn’t love customers, and they could tell. If you are in a company where the CEO is not customer-focused,” Morse warns, “either get them out or you get out, because it will fail. “It’s not enough to invent breakthrough technology. The job isn’t finished until it has been evangelized, usually in a commercial setting, to become a global standard.” This experience inspired him to begin Entrepreneurship Ventures in 2002, aiming to help entrepreneurs refine their technology, create their teams, and, most important, sell their ideas to the global market. Morse focuses his efforts on start-up companies in Québec, Spain, Scotland, Turkey, the Middle East and Pakistan. His parents took him on a trip around the world as a child, and he says, “My drive to build global businesses finds its roots in that voyage of discovery, as well as in Nobles and MIT French classes.” A geography competition he took part in as a Sixie taught him the world’s countries and capitals, which still proves useful in his current international work. His senior year American History class taught him “about the nature of our form of democracy and how to win elections,” leading to his successful run as class president at MIT. His Oral English class and his involvement in the debate club top the list of formative Nobles experiences: “It taught me how to think and defend my position logically.” What advice would he give to budding entrepreneurs wandering Nobles’ halls today? “I do not recommend starting a company right out of school,” he says. “It’s better to work for a well-managed company and learn how to get stuff done in the real world. When you do finally decide to take the plunge, make sure you have a team of equally experienced people. Get advisors with gray hair, or no hair, who have been there and done it before.” And, most important, he says, “Listen to them.” —AS WINTER 2018 Nobles 39
40 Nobles WINTER 2018
Reality Rocks ALEXA ZILBERFARB ’10 Staff Hydrogeologist, S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Bethesda, MD
ALEXA ZILBERFARB ’10 RECALLS an early fascination with the way the earth works. When she was a middle-schooler, rock formations and water cycles captured her interest. At Nobles, she fell in love with photography and history. “I took AP Euro, and my favorite section was the tiny little art history section at the back of the chapter. I thought that I was going to be an art history major.” Instead, it was a geology class at Scripps College that piqued her interest. Zilberfarb says that her professor for that pivotal course was a woman in what is a predominantly male field. “It was great having a female mentor going into geology,” she says. Zilberfarb spent a semester abroad at the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand. She studied geology there as well—just a couple of years after the 2011 earthquake that registered 6.3. Zilberfarb says that witnessing the aftermath of that deadly event heightened her interest in natural hazards. “The city was still reeling,” she says. “There was a huge focus on preparedness and how to rebuild the city. “I took an intro to natural hazards management there. We were learning things like how do you prepare [the population]. You get the community ready—then what do you do in the aftermath?” Now Zilberfarb works for S. S. Papadopulos & Associates, a Maryland-based firm that specializes in hydrogeology. The work she does is soil- and water-based and doesn’t typically cross over into natural hazard research. Instead, her firm works with clients including the Environmental Protection Agency. “Our biggest project right now is working with the government in the Superfund site in Hanford, Washington, cleaning up nuclear reactors. That’s a huge, multiyear project.” Some of Zilberfarb’s work takes her into the field. Often, she spends time aggregating and analyzing data and finding meaningful ways to present findings to clients. She’s charged with transforming the facts into relatable visual presentations. Zilberfarb thinks she might return to grad school in geology or otherwise find a niche at her firm. One constant is her interest in natural hazards and how her profession fits into that field. “I’ve been shocked at how many of these terrible natural disasters have been happening. There’s been terrible destruction of life and property,” she says. “For me, to see how FEMA responds, how communities of all sizes respond, is compelling. I want to think about how I can help these communities.
PHOTOGRAPH: MARIA GUZMÁN ALOIA
“ We need people going into science who understand that there’s going to be pushback, who are willing to push forward and have a sense of how important the facts are.” —ALEXA ZILBERFARB ’10
“It has been really frustrating being in D.C. and seeing the lack of direction from the heart of our government. In some ways, it’s a really crazy, upsetting time to be in science. “We need people going into science who understand that there’s going to be pushback, who are willing to push forward and have a sense of how important the facts are.” Zilberfarb is excited about the potential of computer modeling to help us better understand everything that’s going on beneath our feet. “There are definitely skills that I’m working on now, which are not ones that I thought about going into geology.” She’s learning, for instance, Python and R, coding languages that can be helpful as she furthers her understanding of the the earth. “Even though we all live on the earth,” she says, “there’s so much that we don’t know and we are figuring out now. That’s what’s really important about science. The work is never done.” —HS WINTER 2018 Nobles 41
“ The mission is the betterment of children that up to this point in time have really not benefited from research. They have been in the margins with regard to the benefits of medical advances.” —JOE HORRIGAN ’80
Purpose: Found JOE HORRIGAN ’80 Professor at Duke University School of Medicine and Chief Medical Officer at AMO, Durham, NC, and London
42 Nobles WINTER 2018
ACCORDING TO THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL and Prevention, about one in 68 school-age children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder. Autism is just one of the disorders and conditions that Joe Horrigan ’80, M.D., has dedicated himself to understanding. Horrigan was raised in a large Catholic family in Dedham. Shortly after coming to Nobles, his mother—who was influenced by the Franciscans, he says—died of breast cancer. “‘You are here to alleviate suffering,’” she had told him. “I shrugged my shoulders and said, ‘I guess we all have to do something in this world.’” Horrigan has done plenty of “something.” He is a pediatric neuropsychiatrist and an associate consulting professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Family Mental Health and Developmental Neuroscience at Duke University School of Medicine. Formerly, he was assistant vice president of medical research for Autism Speaks. He is also chief medical officer for AMO Pharma Limited in the United Kingdom, where his firm focuses on treatments for rare genetic disorders. “Small companies like mine have a laser-sharp focus, and they’re trying to grow and be increasingly successful. We’re like SEAL Team 6. The mission is the betterment of children that up to this point in time have really not benefited from research. They have been in the margins with regard to the benefits of medical advances,” Horrigan says. His business is growing, and he says what they look for is people who are imbued with a commitment to get the job done, to complete the mission, no matter what it takes. Horrigan notes that the founders of AMO all have a family
member affected by the disorders they study, such as autism, Fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome and Rett syndrome. Horrigan’s son, for example, has developmental disabilities that require extraordinary care and patience on the family’s part. “Our work doesn’t stop when we leave the office.” Yet Horrigan found his calling long before his son was born in 2005. When he was at Brown University, he got a summer job at a residential camp in New Hampshire run by Wediko Children’s Services for kids with severe behaviorial and psychiatric issues. “When I was 18, I thought I wanted to become a brewer, and a friend challenged me to get off my ass and do something. I went to this children’s services program for the summer, and it grabbed me by the throat. I just knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to spend my life as a child psychiatrist.” Richard Netsky, a Harvard psychiatrist, consulted at the camp, and Horrigan became his sidekick for several summers. After Brown, Horrigan went to the University of Rochester for med school. He did his residency at UNC Chapel Hill, where he found a mentor at the specialty
center in developmental disabilities that studies the effects of medicines on such disorders. “It was almost accidental that I stumbled into probably the leading program in the United States that specialized in exactly what I would ultimately become,” he says. He stayed on as a faculty member after completing his residency. There, he saw patients who had Tourette’s, autism and other challenges, and he learned more about the complicated medication regimens and neuropsychological problems while becoming a principal investigator in clinical trials. Horrigan was involved in teams that produced drugs such as Adderall and Lamictal. He has also consulted with the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense on projects. Horrigan says that his love of science is rooted in his time at Nobles and is a credit to faculty members Bob Kern, who taught him organic chemistry in an independent study, William Hrasky, who taught him Newtonian physics, and Fred Sculco, who taught him about self-contained biological systems. “He taught me about the continuity between cells—cellular biology—all the way up to living organisms such as trees and me. And that kind of contextual way that he taught biology really resonated with the way my mind worked. “I use many, many things I learned from them in my work today,” he says, citing the significance, for example, of Newtonian laws, thermodynamics, and an appreciation of how medicines course their way through the body and ultimately make their way out. “Obviously, everything I learned about three-dimensional molecular design at Nobles touches upon some of the drug discovery stuff I do,” he says. “So there’s a direct line of sight back to these people. “This work is kind of why I walk on the planet. It’s what I’m supposed to be doing.” —HS
JOANNA MEANY OSORIO ’93 8th Grade Science Teacher, Punahou School Honolulu, HI
Inquiring Mind
EVERY SPRING BREAK FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, middle school science teacher and self-proclaimed “super space nerd” Joanna Meany Osorio ’93 has eagerly looked forward to chaperoning Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Osorio, who teaches at Punahou School, in Honolulu, says of the program, “It’s transformed everything that I do. I bring students back because it’s life-changing; they spend a week team-building, building rockets, simulating missions, and making lifelong friends.” The program’s inquiry-based approach challenges students to take on various roles outside of their comfort zone and has helped shape Osorio’s own teaching style. “Learners need to figure out solutions for themselves,” she says, not to be told what to do, when. Osorio’s own passion for science clicked in freshman biology at Nobles. She spent two years as a chemistry teaching fellow at Nobles and continued teaching at the Steppingstone Foundation, the Wheeler School, Buckingham Browne & Nichols, and Upward Bound (UB) at Nobles. Osorio received her B.A. in chemistry from Duke in 1997 and her M.Ed. in middle education from Walden University in 2012. For the past 12 years, she has taught middle school chemistry and biology at Punahou. “Middle school kids generally like science; my students have so much energy and enthusiasm. I try to give them skills and hook them with the content, and in middle school, we have the freedom to be innovative.” One project-based learning example she offers is “The Curiosity Project,” a self-directed inquiry model from educator Scot Hoffman. Some of Osorio’s students’ projects have ranged from developing a pet-feeding reminder app to designing jewelry using items discovered on the beach. “Kids have time to pursue something they ordinarily wouldn’t have time to because of school or sports,” she says. Osorio’s foremost goal for her students is for them to be able to think innovatively and critically. With the overwhelming problems facing their generation, from homelessness to climate change, she feels some proficiency in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education is essential. “In this day and age, media and science literacy is so important—being able to hear what people are saying to decide what is factual,” she says. “When you have a problem, the scientific process helps you break it down, figure it out, and solve it.” —KN WINTER 2018 Nobles 43
graduate news 1940 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Percy Nelson
617-244-4126 percylnelson@comcast.net
1942 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Putty McDowell
781-320-1960 pbmcd2@verizon.net
1946 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Gregg Bemis
505-983-7094 gbemis@swcp.com Several of you ’46ers are very
grandkids—a granddaughter at Sugar Loaf and a grandson at Isle au Haut. (Those are outstanding Maine locations.) This writer also attended two weddings: A grandson got married in Maui, Hawaii, which was a compromise, as his wife was from Australia; and a granddaughter got married in San Jose, where the freeways aren’t free. Meanwhile, Dick Lucas is scheduling a June wedding for his daughter. He has sold his Philadelphia house but didn’t say whether or not this was to finance the forthcoming wedding. He is now a permanent resident of Taxachusetts.
1948 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
successfully married off two
wlbliss@comcast.net
Bill Bliss
781-326-1062
Graduate Notes Policy:
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Please send graduate updates and photographs to your class correspondent (listed at www.nobles.edu/gradnotes) if you have one. Digital photographs must be high-resolution JPEG images (at least 1MB+) to appear in print. Photos should include at least one Nobles graduate. Editorial staff reserves the right to edit, format and select all materials for publication, to accommodate eight decades of classes in the Magazine. For more information, please visit the graduate notes submission page on our website at www.nobles.edu/gradnotes. Please contact us if you’re interested in becoming a class correspondent, to collect and compile news of your classmates to share.
44 Nobles WINTER 2018
CLASS CORRESPONDENT
John Guilbert
520-887-0628
1950 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED
1951 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Galt Grant
781-383-0854 galtgra@gmail.com
1952 & 1953 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
quiet. We want to hear from you. Others report that it seems to be a time for weddings. Phil Baker
■
1949
Winston
“Hooley”
Perry
perrydise@tampabay.rr.com I can only thank my wonderful (actually exceptional) classmates who made our 14th annual ’52 and ’53 and Close Friends’ South Shore Fall Luncheon for making it the amazing, close-knit “Love Fest” that it was. If you were among the few unfortunates who, for one reason or another, could not attend this amazing gathering, please take note that we talked about you in glowing terms, along with remembrances of “the good old days” and how you contributed to this historic group of “tall people helping someone.” We were also doubly blessed by having the delightful company of Tonya Kalmes (associate director of annual giving) and Lisa Rose ’90 (director of development) from the school, who came bearing exceptionally fine
Nobles gifts for everyone who was able to join in the fun. Alas, Ben Taylor’s and Peter Willauer’s fervent wish to create a “Moveable Feast” fell by the wayside, due to the fact that the restaurant’s tables and chairs were placed too close to one another, so that the freedom of moving around and reconnecting was next to impossible. With that in mind, our overnight guests Carol and Peter Hallett, and my wife, Andrea, and I successfully scouted out a much more roomy restaurant with an exceptional ocean view in the area for next year’s event. To review those graduates, wives and children-of-graduates in attendance from the Class of ’52 were Ann Catlin, Carolyn and Bob Cumings, Carol and Peter Hallett, Terry and David Horton, Carol and Hal Knapp and Ben Taylor. From the Class of ’53 were Joan and Sam Bartlett, Jean and John Childs, Grace and Evan Geilich, Susan and Bob Hoffman, Emmie Newell, Andrea and Hooley Perry and David Thibodeau. From the Class of ’54 were Larry Bidstrup and his son, Peter Bidstrup, Barbara and Fred Clifford, Gretchen and Peter Partridge and John Stimpson. It was a toss-up between Benny Taylor and myself as to who traveled the farthest to this most auspicious event, with our newest “close friend” John Stimpson ’54 coming in a close third. Unfortunately, Peter Summers had wanted to come to the luncheon, but being the caring and attentive husband he is, he had to take care of his wife, Carol, who needed his
NOTES & ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLASSMATES
tender loving care. Also, Peter and Carol Willauer felt it necessary to spend time in Italy during our luncheon, which elicited many pangs of envy from this writer. One of our significant and longtime attendees was our very own poet laureate “Wink” and his beautiful wife, Peggy Childs, who always enliven the luncheon event in some unusual way, and even in absentia accomplished their usual surprising poetic contribution. Brother John Childs had the dubious honor of reading Da’ Winks rambling missive, which you had to be there to appreciate. Due to its “sketchy” (aka: borderline) content, Brother John requested I not include it in my usual words of wisdom in the bulletin, so, as always, John’s request was honored. Prior to our luncheon event, I had the pleasure of being in touch with many of our no-shows, whose very best I relayed to everyone in attendance. The next major 2018 event is the Class of 1953’s 65th Reunion Dinner, to be held on Friday evening at the Castle on May 11 and on Saturday, May 12, at the school during the day. So scribble yourself a message on your daily calendar (if you have one for 2018) or write a reminder note to yourself, and don’t forget where you stashed it, or ask your wife to remind you, which is probably the most failsafe way to ensure your attendance at this significant event. Need I remind you that the snow season is upon us and that snow shoveling is best left to grandchildren or neighborhood kids. So save your five- or 10-dollar
bills (or maybe more) because snow-shoveling labor doesn’t come cheap these days. I’ll see y’all hopefully this springtime and take extra-good care of yourselves. Love ya.
1954 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Peter Partridge
508-548-9418 ppart767@comcast.net Fred Clifford, Larry Bidstrup, John Stimpson and I joined members of Classes ’52 and ’53 for a nice luncheon in Plymouth on September 27. It was organized by Hooley Perry ’53, and it was great to get together. I wonder about doing this for our class. Would you make the effort to attend? Peter Vandenberg emailed that he is “blown away” by the quality of the alumni magazine and the students it represents. “I should have come back or written to say something to Messieurs Putnam, Flood, Storer, van Kleek and especially Eaton.” Peter has had a quad bypass operation and encourages us to get good medical advice. I note that several in our class have had cardiac excitement recently, myself included.
1955 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Bob Chellis
781-237-9436 bchellis@campuscontinuum.com At this writing, Tyler and Larry Flood are just back from trekking
As always, Dave ’52 and Terry Horton are at the front of the class while meeting and greeting Dr. Cathy Hall at the school.
in Cornwall—crossing the wild seaside settings of the Poldark series on PBS. Yet another exotic adventure! And we saw Gerry and Sam Gray, as active as ever, just before Sam flew off to a board meeting in Montana, hitting a major snowstorm on the way. We all miss our often exuberant, eccentric and always generous class president Jim Doty, and last week Sandy and I had dinner with their eldest daughter, Koko Doty, Elinor, and Elinor’s husband, Geoff Juviler. It was good to see Koko in her usual good spirits and to catch up with Elinor, who is doing a great job carrying on Jim’s insurance business. I look forward to seeing Bob Taylor and Carolyn in November, and Bebo Gregg too, if all goes well. It’s always a treat to visit Bob’s hilltop in Peterborough— great views, a lavish garden and birds everywhere! For the last class notes, Dick Finlay released some reminis-
cences from his Army days—in successive units with L. Flood— and other post-Nobles evolutions. If you liked those items as much as I did, I wish you’d send me some of your biographical highlights, setbacks or curiosities to work on. Just send along rough notes or whatever you have. Everyone has some good stories! Immortality awaits!
1956 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Gren “Rocky” Whitman
410-639-7551 grenwhitman@verizon.net “Every 10 years,” writes George Waterman, “the Munster Sculpture Show is financed and exhibited in Munster, Germany. And every five years, Documenta is organized in Kassel, Germany, and this year also in Athens. And every two years, the Venice Biennale opens in Venice. They all
WINTER 2018 Nobles 45
graduate news
The boys of ’56 as Fourth Class in the fall of 1952.
coincided this year! Susan Firestone and I spent 12 days looking at perhaps 3,000 curated art selections. It was totally invigorating. We went from Kassel to Munster to Athens, then Venice.” Reports Newell Flather: “For the past several years, I have been part of a group working to save and protect the 1840s home and school of Nathaniel T. Allen here in West Newton. With some recent luck and the benefit of good staff and volunteer leadership, we think we may have turned the corner. Allen was important as a colleague of Horace Mann’s, who also lived here. But as a leading abolitionist and a believer in racial equality, he seems to have parted ways with Mann. My role with the effort has mostly been to help get what remains of Allen’s papers into the Massachusetts Historical Society,
46 Nobles WINTER 2018
where they are being cataloged. Interesting names, such as Frederick Douglass, have begun to surface. One odd thing about the Allen story: There were always foreign students at his school. Seems he believed that international student exchange might help reduce the chance of conflict among nations. Imagine that!” Tim Leland sends word that Spotlight, the full-time investigative team he created at the Boston Globe 47 years ago, has sponsored its first national investigative project under a fellowship program announced last year. Funded by the producers and creators of the award-winning film of the same name, “the Spotlight Investigative Journalism Fellowships support the research of independent journalists working in partnership with the Globe’s Spotlight Team,” he writes.
Journalists from all over the world submitted ideas for investigations, and in September, after more than a year of investigative work by the winners, the Globe published “Secrets in the Skies,” documenting how easy it is for drug dealers and others with bad intentions to obtain planes and pilot licenses in the United States. The worrisome reporting comes 16 years after two planes were flown into the World Trade Center. Tim admits that the fellowship program in the name of Spotlight gives him a small sense of pride. “A hardwood tree has grown up from the little Spotlight sapling we planted almost half a century ago,” he jokes. From Dave Carroll: “Such fun to see us in 1952! I remember ‘Couch’ [Tom] Kenney, Charlie Goodell, Mike Sheehey and Bob MacLeod very well but don’t remember Lloyd
Gordon. Of course, Whiz Wheeler was a good friend, and Nimmy Marsh was a best buddy. I was across the lab table from Nimmy in Wilbur Storer’s chemistry class when his science fair exhibit on phosphorous exploded in his face, burning him badly. I think that was the reason he stayed back a year. When the rowing season ended in 1956, the crew gave me a silver belt buckle with the Nobles shield, 1956 and ‘David M. Carroll, Captain’ engraved on it. I’ve had it all these years, and with the future looming and not wanting it to just go into the trash someday, I wrote the school and asked if they’d like it. I was astonished when Allie Trainor answered that Nobles would love it, so I sent it to her. What in the world N&G will do with it, I can’t imagine. ... The belt must have been about a 26inch waist—ah, youth! And there’s no ‘M’ in my name anymore. I never liked my middle name and had it legally excised. P.S.: You know how I came to be called ‘Bun’? Hooley Perry ’53 was in a snit about something before dinner in the Castle one night, and I looked up at him (a long way up in those days) and said, ‘Aw, Hooley, don’t lay a bun over it.’ Cheers!” “I’m supposed to be focusing on hobbies, leisure and simplifying my life,” writes Bill Wiese. “While I haven’t figured out the last, I have been reflecting on the first two. I’ve been riding my hobbies and leisure all along for decades: checking on our sheep and goats a couple of times each day, filling in gopher holes so the irrigation can reach the far end of the hay field, maintaining a couple of rental houses … just because, appreciating
family and close friends, watching grandchildren metamorphose into wonderfully individual and independent lives, and continuing as a local gadfly and mentor, collaborator and occasional leader for the few who aspire to turn crises into opportunities to make things (really) better again.” Last summer, Rocky Whitman and Janice Plotczyk rooted for every team in the Baltimore Orioles farm system—the Aberdeen Ironsides, Frederick Keys (yes, as in Francis Scott!), Delmarva Shorebirds (in Salisbury), Bowie Baysox (eight games in all, actually) and Norfolk (Va.) Tides. Plus the York (Penn.) Revolution and the Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks. Scored ’em all, too!
1957 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
John Valentine
413-256-6676 jvalj1@yahoo.com David Woods writes, “I am settling in to RiverMead, the continuouscare facility in Peterborough, New Hampshire. My wife is in special care, where she receives care 24/7. Her reliable care allowed me to leave for a 10-day trip to Kenya in early September. The visit to Jitegemee, a school in Kenya founded by a Howard colleague’s daughter, was very rewarding, but traveling that far with multiple stops almost defeated me, especially when I missed a connection in London and was rerouted via Doha, Qatar. Jitegemee’s leadership is young and dynamic, and they have built a community for a few hundred kids from the streets of Machakos (its location). I met
and engaged with the kids, the staff and the parents. Wonderful experience.” Eliot Putnam reports, “Just had my left knee replaced, and something made of titanium and other foreign substances is struggling to take hold in there and bring me back to pain-free mobility. I’m told, by those of you who have had this done to knee, hip or whatever, that I will return to a pain-free state with the ability to do anything and everything. That will be most welcome, because the limitations right now, six days after the event, are daunting, and the exercises required to hasten the healing process right now can be excruciating. I’ve always been oddly proud of the fact that my body still held all of its original component parts (tonsils, adenoids, appendix, even a wisdom tooth) with nothing artificial added. But as someone once said, pride goeth before the fall, and now I’m happy to have done this and anxious to hasten recovery. So for the second of several times today, I will struggle to bend my left knee to less than a 90-degree angle. Ouch!” John Valentine says, “Back in the day, casual openings like the weather or sports used to grease inoffensive small talk. Since said topics are now loaded with fear, havoc and outright misbehavior (see “taking the knee and/or money”), the typically terse New England town folk of Shutesbury have been reduced to slight, noncommittal nods. Deprived of gossip, I retreat to that goldmine of all grandparents. I am happy to report mine grow merrily and brighten every day. I marvel at this blessing.”
1958 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS
Chris Morss
knossos@aol.com Tappy Wilder writes, “I’m speaking or performing this fall at Thornton Wilder–related events in Pasadena, Chicago, Miami and New York. (See www. thorntonwilder.com for details.) My goal is to keep moving until I drop in what I hope will be a friendly airport lounge. I want to go out with a latte in one hand and one of the newly retranslated Georges Simenon Inspector Maigret mysteries in the other. Please join me!” Peter Wadsworth reports, “Had an enjoyable visit with Bob Chellis ’55 and his wife, Sandy, at Fox Hill Village as a result of a chance meeting at last spring’s Noblest Dinner. (Kudos to the organizers who created that multiclass format.) It was great fun to visit with an upper-class “god.” Bob was captain of the wrestling team when I was a 115-pound freshman whose primary objective was to keep from being pinned, albeit with limited success. Bob likes to joke that he has a picture of me hanging
on his bathroom wall (along with the rest of the team). He has taken an interest in the governance of and improvements to Fox Hill Village, including an upgraded nursing facility and possible studio space in a nearby historical building, and he would be a great resource for any Nobles grad considering the Village. On another occasion, I spent a delightful evening with Tony Wood ’61, who was a neighbor when we were kids, and his wife, Ann. Looking forward to the next Nobles get-together. Larry Daloz says, “My main news is that in November I am having a show at a local gallery in Langley, Washington, of my macrophotography of mosses and lichens. I am hoping that by then they will be available for viewing on our (still under construction) website, www.newcommons.org.” Mike Whitman writes, “Nothing exciting to report from Lyme, New Hampshire, other than typical cutting back on some activities and preparing for moving into a smaller house in a couple of years—but happily, still in Lyme. We have strong community traditions here, exemplified by Those Guys, a men’s service
Buzz Gagnebin ’59 shared this series of the August 21, 2017, eclipse, shown l-r, t-b as max, last, first, start.
WINTER 2018 Nobles 47
graduate news
group in which I see participation as paying it forward for when I’ll need occasional help myself. My happy place is my woodworking shop. I don’t make wooden toys, tableware or sports benches anymore, but I continue with Shaker-style pine caskets, which I’ve made since 1981. People all over New England find me by Googling. I expect to attend our 60th reunion and hope other classmates will also.” Bill Russell and his wife, Jan, report the news of their second grandson, born to daughter Whitney on September 23. And their daughter-in-law, Jessica, son Jonathan’s wife, is expecting a boy soon.
1959 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Whit Bond
whit.bond@verizon.net Buzz Gagnebin
bgagnebin@mac.com
Buzz Gagnebin writes, “Well, here is the eclipse of August 21 near Dedham. [photo on page 47] I am sure most of you saw some of it somewhere, but this was close to our school. And now about classmate matters: We just said goodbye to three nice young Swiss gentlemen, classmates of a Swiss neighbor living here with his Swiss wife, working at MIT with a Ph.D. in biology from Cambridge in the U.K. The neighbor had stopped by to ask Connie, who was out front gardening, if she knew of any place his three classmates could stay for a few days for their annual reunion. Me being of Swiss ancestry, as you know, we said, “yes, of course,” and we had a really delightful time with them and the neighbor. The Swiss wife is a delight as well. So let us all get together for our upcoming reunion!”
1960 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
John Gibson
Albert Vandam
jgib1963@aol.com
arvandam2@comcast.net
1961 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Jim Newell
802-467-3555 newell43@gmail.com Friends: My next signed column was due to be No. 1,500. I am happy that chance has allowed attaching that number to these two paragraphs, which summarize the values many of us cherish. D.A. Mittell, Jr. ’62, August 6, 2017: “In my plan to trespass on the estates of the 24 living members of the class, I spent the night of July 30 with Ben and Betsy Soule on Little Bustins Island, in Casco Bay, Maine, in a house with no electricity or drinking water. The tiny island is owned by the Soule family. By and by, a high-powered motorboat docked bearing the youngsters Colin Cunningham ’63 and North Lyman Cunningham. The cormorants suspended their diving to make fun of us as we had a lovely dinner and watched the sun set over the Maine-land.
The following morning, I had the privilege of joining the Miles family—Ted ’59, Pete ’61 and Bill ’64—on Mackworth Island as the extended Miles family gathered to scatter the ashes of the boys’ parents, Charles Rogers Miles ’34 and Jean Carpenter Miles. We adjourned for lunch at Two Lights (now one) State Park in Cape Elizabeth, and later for dinner at the Saltwater Grille in South Portland. Old friends remembered, and new ones understood, how lucky we are in the friends we have made.
1962 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED
Please see note from D.A. Mittell, above.
1963 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Jim Lehan
508-520-1373 jblehan@aol.com
1964 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Ned Bigelow
781-704-4304 moe9817@aol.com A few notes for the class of 1964: Frank Cobb reports, “I am in
1964 48 Nobles WINTER 2018
Left: A small fishing port on the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The Bigelows and Lawsons visited the area together in October. Right: 1964 mini-reunion in Nova Scotia: Ned and Sandy Bigelow and Janet and Ned Lawson.
the process of adjusting to life in Texas, which is a whole other country, in many, many ways. The Texas Tourism Board actually uses this phrase in its promotional/ travel materials. I have been a Texas resident since June, but I have a long way to go to become a Texan—not sure that is an objective or even possible.
In a telephone conversation with John Axten, he accused me of having a Texas drawl, which I thought was hilarious. Having lived in New York City, New England, Philadelphia, Florida and now Texas, I think I am somehow immune from adopting or imitating local accents. Well, I guess there is no such thing as a Florida accent, unless using the phrase ‘you all’ counts as some sort of Florida accent or Florida thing, but probably that phrase comes from a lot of Southern states and areas, including Texas. I hope Class of 1964 members are all doing well and send in their news.” The Lawsons and the Bigelows spent six wonderful days traveling around Nova Scotia in early October. This is a place we had all wanted to visit, and we were not let down. From the people to the small fishing towns to the history, it was a fascinating few days. The close connection between Halifax and Boston was something I was never fully aware of, and if you don’t know the history, you might enjoy reading about the great explosion in the harbor in 1917. Hopefully, this finds everyone well. Stay in touch.
1965 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Jim Summers
jimsummers@post.harvard.edu
1966 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Ned Reece
ned4047@sbcglobal.net
1967 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Drew Sullivan
781-461-1477 drewsull49@aol.com
1968 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Andy Lord
617-899-3948 ajliii@yahoo.com
1969 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Peter Pach
860-267-9701 pbp06456@sbcglobal.net Pretty quiet summer and fall for the Class of 1969, maybe because the news of politics, natural disasters and world unrest is coming at us as if delivered by a fire hose.
Friendship sloop Jabberwocky, captained by a humbled Brad Wilkinson ’69, spent ten hours aground last summer.
off at midnight, none the worse for wear. Brad says he once again learned the value of laughing at oneself, and it doesn’t hurt to have an iconic photo to boot. Perhaps we’ve all run aground at one time or another. You don’t have to run aground, however, to get into class notes. Drop me a line.
1970
1973 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Craig Sanger
917-705-7556 craig.w.sanger@gmail.com Can’t wait to see you at reunion!
1974 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Moments disconnected from the information grid are like visiting sanctuaries, especially when you spend your days, as I do, at a newspaper. Anyway, it would be hard to top the note on a sailing adventure sent in by Brad Wilkinson,
CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Kevin McCarthy
Levy Byrd
617-480-6344 kmac56@gmail.com
a well-weathered salt. It’s the photograph that tells the story. Brad writes, “Summer 2017 provided a lesson in humility. I ran my beloved Friendship sloop Jabberwocky aground on a ledge on Eggemoggin Reach in Maine in late July. These are waters I’ve sailed all my life.” Wilkinson
Harry Blackman
blames his “inattention at the helm, [his] over-confidence in his knowledge of the local waters, combined with the capriciousness of the sea.” After 10 hours on the rocks, Jabberwocky floated
Win Perkins
781-449-7555 levbyrd@comcast.net
1971 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS
HBlackma@skadden.com John Dewey
jrdewey@usa.net Nick Mittell
nmittell@artexfas.com
wperkins@airportappraisals.com
1972 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED
In a year when I have not been able to be as engaged with Nobles as much as I might have wanted to, I have spent time with classmates and many other Nobles alumni. I spent the day on Nantucket catching up with classmate Jan Jelleme in September. I have had conversations with Roger Coe and Harry Elam on more than one occasion. Gene Knox is alive and well on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. Fred Heilner reached out and sends his best to all, hoping to become more involved and see us soon on a reunion weekend. Most recently, I ran into Dan Brown at Saturday Night Lights as Nobles varsity
WINTER 2018 Nobles 49
graduate news
football handily defeated Rivers. In the crowd, I had great conversations with André Stark ’77, Bob Pinderhughes ’67 and brother Rick ’73. It has been a busy fall for all with many new challenges. Classmate Rick Holway is enjoying family and being a grandfather. As we enter a new era in Nobles history, I look forward to seeing the traditions of academic and athletic excellence continue.
1975 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS
Andrea Pape Truitt
609-646-5361 apape57@gmail.com Jed Dawson
508-735-9663 Jeddawson711@gmail.com Doug Floyd
781-788-0020 doug_floyd@yahoo.com Bob Phinney writes: “Not much new to relate, but I haven’t posted in a while, so here’s something for our class bulletin. Forty-two years out of Nobles, and I still fondly recall the excellent education I got there. I am still a teacher and administrator at Dexter Southfield School in Brookline, still teaching high school Latin (thanks Chris Arnold) and photography (thanks Joe Swayze), and still director of the school’s five-story science center with a world-class observatory— fun job! I am also an instructor for amateur radio license courses, and some of the people I have trained are now helping provide emergency communications in Puerto Rico after the hurricane knocked out the infrastructure there. Many thanks
50 Nobles WINTER 2018
to Fred Sculco and Wilbur Storer for inspiring me in science. If you are ever in Brookline, look me up and come look through a telescope that can see halfway into the known universe (www.claycenter.org). We do very cool astrophotography and recently imaged an occultation of a star by Neptune’s moon Triton; the data helps prove that there is an atmosphere on Triton. My wife, Susan, is a senior executive of Johnson & Johnson, and my son, Matthew, is an MMA trainer and boxer. I hope to see you all at the next reunion, if not sooner!” Ted Almy writes, “The Almy family got together at our West Simsbury home this summer for my dad’s 85th birthday (Ned Almy ’50), and to a lesser extent for my 60th ... and for my folks to meet Alexandra, my daughter’s first child and their first great-grandchild. Joining the festivities was one of my two sisters, Laura Kaplan ’77, and her entire family. Mom and Dad have been in Savannah, Georgia, for 27 years. Great having them up north for a few beautiful July days.” Jed Dawson ’75writes: “Our grandson Bowen took his first steps on his birthday in Central Park and has been running ever since. Nick and Emily ’04 are making plans for their next adventure, which is Nick’s cardiology fellowship. We will be happy no matter where they end up; four of his fellowship interviews were in Boston. Bowen needs some Red Sox nectar. Sam ’06and Ruby got engaged in August and are planning a wedding next August. Abram ’08 and Hadley ’10are in San Francisco and loving their time there. Asher ’15 is on his semester abroad and is studying art in Florence while flying his drone all
Top: The Almy family gathered to celebrate the 85th birthday of Ned Almy ’50 and the 60th of Ted Almy ’75. Bottom: Paul Vogel ’76 with Roger ’74 and Åke Lindström ’76 in Stockholm this past July.
around Europe. Oktoberfest was in September, and he went for two different weekends. We will be headed for a visit to Florence this fall if Asher can stay home for a weekend to be with us.” Jerry Rappaport notes, “Over the last year, I experienced the joy of walking my daughter Jennifer ’08 down the aisle to marry Rence Coassin, her Harvard classmate and a proud Choate man. Her sister, Liz Rappaport ’09, was an outstanding Best Lady and gave a “rapper” of a toast. My “Ode to Jenny” wasn’t too bad either. Soon
thereafter—more than 10 months later, for those of you who like to tease me—my daughter asked whether I wanted to be a Grampy. I am looking forward to being the happiest doting Grampy she could ask for around this Christmastime. As are all of you, I am turning 60, with a dress requirement at my party of either sports, Halloween or preppy. I never did it that well, did I? In business, I am struggling through the difficulty and satisfaction of designing and building 400 units of workforce housing, affordable housing and supportive-
service housing at Olmsted Green, next to Forest Hills and Franklin Park, proudly supported by Governor Baker and Mayor Walsh. It is really rewarding to be doing well by doing good.” From Mark Aspinwall, a note and column: “I don’t really have anything new for the pages but thought I’d send this message below on the September 19 Mexico City earthquake. I wrote it a few days after the quake, as we were getting a lot of messages from friends and family and we wanted to provide some background and reassurance. One footnote to this message: The (three-story) building that I refer to around the corner from us that partially collapsed is now being taken down by men with sledgehammers, as former residents remain camped on the (closed) street below. Meanwhile, most people continue with their daily lives. Quite a contrast! At 1:14 p.m. on September 19, 2017, the meeting I was in with my research assistant, José Miguel, was interrupted by a sharp jump and then a swirling motion that propelled us all out the door. An earthquake of 7.1 magnitude had just struck Mexico City. Its epicenter was in the state of Puebla. Ironically, it was 32 years to the day from the devastating quake of 1985. Two hours before this latest one, we had all been outside our offices in the annual simulacro. Here we were again, all milling around in the gathering spot outside our offices, this time for real. Within about 20 minutes, José Miguel received a text saying that part of his apartment building had collapsed, and he left in visible shock.
Leticia, Lila and I came through fine, as did Leticia’s wider family and our circle of friends. There was virtually no damage to our house, although we lost most communications— including Wi-Fi, the fixed phone line and TV services. Power was intermittent the first day but then returned. Water continued to trickle into the cistern at the usual snail’s pace. Our minor inconveniences are nothing compared to the profound suffering of many Mexicans. Some of our colleagues and students lost their homes, at least temporarily, some permanently. Some were not even allowed to enter their building to retrieve essential items, such was the level of damage and danger to the structure. None were injured or killed, thankfully. Far worse suffering was felt by those whose safety nets were nonexistent in the first place, who were cast onto the streets or who had to return to families in villages where there is no work. Mexicans here in the capital responded impressively, queueing up at the supermarkets to buy bottled water and all manner of groceries for the rescue efforts. Indeed, the general level of public and volunteer rescue assistance in Mexico City seems very good. There is a great deal of public awareness about the risks and dangers of earthquakes and procedures for evacuation, and collection centers appear suddenly from nowhere. Makeshift collection points sprung up on street corners, especially near rescue or clearing operations. The streets are filled with security forces (including the Army), amateur and professional
rescue teams, and volunteer brigades, many of whom simply ferry blankets, food and water to where it is needed. A panoply of civil society organizations seems to spring spontaneously from nowhere at times like these. The hardest workers are ordinary people—the police tend to hang about on street corners watching the action or playing games on their cellphones. About 200 yards from our house, a three-story apartment building collapsed completely (hence the loss of telecoms and electricity at home). Miraculously, no one was hurt, but crowds (and TV crews) still gathered every day. Perhaps some come to gawp, but many try to help. For every person helping dig at hotspots around the city, four are turned away. Mexico City suddenly became a city of volunteers and donors. Soon enough, it will return to its impatient chaos, but it was a marvel to witness this sea of humanity at its best. Some friends had the misfortune of visiting at the wrong time—a historian friend from Warwick University, and Tanja Börzel of the Free University of Berlin. They are now safely back home in Europe, though we hope they and other colleagues and friends will not be dissuaded from visiting in the future.
After two days, we had all services restored and could communicate again freely. Classes at CIDE and normal schedules, including schools, resumed on Monday, five days after the earthquake. (My daughter’s school did not reopen for two and a half weeks, though was unscathed.) Despite some gentle aftershocks and continuing rescue operations, things seem to have returned to normal for many people. I am back in the office and working on meetings as I write this, three days postquake. Yet Leticia is profoundly shaken and is experiencing a kind of post-traumatic shock. Many other people are going through the same trauma. There is also less traffic than usual, and the discipline of drivers is even lower than usual, as traffic rules are flouted routinely. And the occasional search sites remind us of the continuing tragedy. Driving to a meeting less than 48 hours after the earthquake, I passed a site with a collapsed apartment building, a big one. You can tell they are looking for survivors there still because there were many signs saying “silencio”—though they were still allowing cars to pass. Some streets remained closed because of buildings having collapsed, with rescue workers all over the place. Leticia and I very much appreciate the thoughts and
Mexico City suddenly became a city of volunteers and donors. Soon enough, it will return to its impatient chaos, but it was a marvel to witness this sea of humanity at its best.”
—MARK ASPINWALL ’75
WINTER 2018 Nobles 51
graduate news
1976 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS
Tom Bartlett
+44 1908 647196 tom_bartlett58@hotmail.com Rob Piana
617-491-7499 robert.piana@vanderbilt.edu From Bob Henderson: “After
1984
Top: Edward Fenno ’84 with his son Brant, who is on his way to play tennis at Wake Forest, the second-ranked team in the nation. Middle: Ginny Bride, Christine Todd ’84 and Jim Bride ’84. Left: Jen Scott Fonstad ’84 hosting Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker on his visit to California in June.
support of our friends and family outside Mexico, and we thank you all very much. We are in good jobs with understanding employers whose instinct in cases like these is to be generous with leave and recovery time. We also have a very dense net-
52 Nobles WINTER 2018
work of family and friends inside Mexico in case of emergency. It’s worth reiterating that we are very fortunate in comparison to the vast numbers of those in desperate poverty whose precarious plights have only been made worse.
spending the last 17 years on the Nobles campus, and after spending the last 37 years of my life as a ‘ward of the state’ living in campus housing at four different schools, I am finally a homeowner as I close in on the age of 60. I moved out of the head’s residence late last April and moved into a home in Dedham, not far from campus as the crow flies, but still a world away. I am now working as a consultant for a partnership called Resource Group 175, specializing in searches for new heads of school, mentorship and coaching for heads of school, governance consulting and strategic planning. I like the work, in particular because it allows me to work with schools and school leaders but, as a consultant, leave all those problems behind when I head home. I miss the community of Nobles and especially time with kids and teachers, as well as teaching my class and attending morning assemblies—yet not enough to be a school head again! That job is exponentially more complex than in the days when the Class of ’76 was at Nobles, and the stresses take a far greater toll. I loved it, and loved my time back at Nobles, but I am happy now with my life supporting schools and trustees striving
to find direction and success for their communities. From now on, when I see classmates at reunions and elsewhere, it will be as a ‘private citizen.’ In a related piece of news, our classmate Ralph Wales, who has had a highly distinguished career as the head of school at Gordon School in Providence, Rhode Island, will retire in June 2018. Best wishes and congratulations to him.” Paul Vogel writes, “My wife and I had a terrific reunion with Roger ’74 and Åke Lindström in Stockholm this past July. After nearly 40 years (yikes!) of no communication, the conversation picked up as though we had been students at Nobles last week. It was a real treat to see them both.”
1977 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Linda Rheingold
licorh@comcast.net
1978 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Christopher Reynolds
Cell: 800-444-0004 Home: 508-358-7757 chreynolds@comcast.net
1979 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Dan Rodgers
212-423-0374 drodgers@wfw.com
1980 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Rob Capone
781-326-7142 robcapwest@comcast.net
1981
1984
CLASS CORRESPONDENT
CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Kim Rossi Stagliano
Christine Todd
203-610-1750
christinetodd@me.com
krstagliano@charter.ne t
Jen Scott Fonstad had fun hosting
1982 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Holly Malkasian Staudinger
914-925-2340 hmalkasian@verizon.net Andrew Dolan writes, “It’s been a wonderful year (with the exception of a few Phil Reilly visits). Great to see many of you in May. Our daughter, Lila, turns 6 soon. I can be seen on many of the NYC TV shows these days. Give a holler if you’re in Manhattan (unless you are Phil Reilly).”
1983 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Nancy Sarkis Corcoran
781-492-5576 NLSC3@me.com Hope to see everyone at our 35th Reunion on May 11 and 12, 2018!
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker on his visit to California in June. George Lee was too busy to make it but rallied a good crowd, who were all very impressed with Charlie. On the homefront, oldest is back east at Brown University and only three are still at home. Let Jen know if you are ever in the Bay Area—come by for a visit! Trip Sargent’s daughter has had her first adult job for almost a year, counseling those hooked on heroin, and his son will graduate from CU Boulder this year. Trip’s wife is busy doing all things craftlike and growing in her spiritual beliefs. Trip recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and has been busy visiting the game parks nearby. Edward Fenno’s eldest son, Brant, recently earned an ITF world junior tennis ranking and is in the throes of deciding where he wants to play college tennis. Surely Brant has surpassed his father’s
prowess on the court! Edward and his wife, Becky (Princeton ’88), and I celebrated their 25-year wedding anniversary this summer. He can’t believe she has stuck with him this long! Edward was in Boston for the Roger Waters concert at the Garden with his brother. Pink Floyd was formative music, and Waters played all of his great Floyd songs at the show. John “Ozzy” Osborn shares great news about his life and family: “Life for us seems to be accelerating as time passes. It sounds clichéd, but we are cherishing the moments as the kids get older. Caroline is 13 and enjoys softball and basketball. John is 11, and he’s started an online retail business selling slime (no joke). Lesley works part time at JoyRide, a local spinning outfit. I ride the rails to and from New York every day, or at least days when I’m not on the road. I made a job shift from the creative side of advertising to the media-planning and buying arena (OMD USA). I hope all of our classmates are doing well. If anyone passes through New York or Fairfield County in Connecticut, please give us a call.”
1985 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED
1986 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS
Heather Markey Zink
508-359-9553 hjzink@mac.com Jessica Tyler
781-934-6321 jessicaytyler@gmail.com Eliza Kelly Beaulac
703-476-4442 embeaulac@verizon.net
1987 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Emily Gallagher Byrne
781-721-4444 egbyrne@verizon.net Elise Gustafson
elise_gustafson@yahoo.com
1988 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED
Left: Left to right: Class of ’89 members Brian O’Neill, Tim Jones, JP Plunkett and Derek Boonisar played their second annual Richard T. Flood Jr. Classic on August 8 in honor of their beloved former advisor and coach. Boonisar was the victor. Jones won last year’s inaugural event. Plans are underway for the third annual, to be held next summer. Middle: Jordan Kimball ’91. Right: The Laferriere family at Fenway. Left to right: Zoe, Max, Rick ’87, Luke and Kelly ’91.
WINTER 2018 Nobles 53
graduate news
setts to see Nobles friends, teachers and the campus. It is amazing how much has changed and how much remains the same!
1989 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Rachel Spencer
917-921-5916 spencerw@georgetown.edu rachelwspencer@yahoo.co m
1992 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Lynne Dumas Davis
1990 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED
703-623-4211 LynneDumas@aol.com
1994
1999
CLASS CORRESPONDENT
CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Annie Stephenson Murphy
Stephanie Trussell Driscoll
415-377-4466 annie_stephenson@yahoo.com
stephdriscoll32@gmail.com
1995
2000 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
CLASS CORRESPONDENTS
Lisa Marx Corn
Kelly Flaman
lisamarx@gmail.com
kflaman@gmail.com
CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Kelly
Dalena C. Matthews (Nguyen):
Rachel Levin writes, “I live in San
1991 Doherty
Laferriere
kellylaferriere@icloud.com Jordan Kimball writes, “Working as an Agroforester in Maine, Minnesota, and West and Central Africa has taught me many hard lessons on soil fertility and watershed management, as well as on human nature. Farmers have a wise saying: ‘The Soil does not lie.’ The work has also instilled in me a passionate belief in science and rational administration. This belief is based on the fact that when there’s real trouble, say, drought, flooding, failed crops, no food to eat, social breakdown, military coups or an Ebola outbreak, we depend on the realitybased community. No one else matters. It’s a question of life or death. Simply want to say thank you to all of the Nobles teachers and friends who continue to inspire me. ‘You will be graded on the quality of your thinking.’ –Headmaster Baker, Intellectual History, 1990-91.” All is well in Southport, Connecticut. I’m happily the mom of teenagers now and an 8-year-old girl. Rick and I always enjoy our trips back to Massachu-
54 Nobles WINTER 2018
Francisco but was in New York in April and was writing a fun little story that required me to spend a morning following around a chef, along with a photographer. Her photos were fab (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/t-magazine/ wylie-dufresne-dus-donuts-fooddiary.html) Last night I was flipping through the new Nobles mag and realized Gabriela Herman ’99 went to Nobles too! No wonder
Alex Slawsby
ads@alumni.brown.edu
1997 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS
Bobbi Oldfield Wegner
617-980-1412 bobbiwegner@gmail.com Jessie Sandell Achterhof
781-990-3353 jessie.achterhof@gmail.com
we made a great team.”
1993
1998 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Dave Klivans
Sam Jackson
dave.liquid@gmail.com
“I’m finishing up my final year in nurse practitioner school at Boston College. In the past year I gave birth to twins, Liam and Audrey. They are doing well despite being born three months early. Life has been crazy busy, but I love it.” Sarah (Clabby) Schroeder: “Ryan and I welcomed our son, Crosby James Schroeder, on August 4, 2017, in Boston. Upon my return to work, I am very fortunate that he will be able to attend school at my workplace, Little Sprouts. I feel lucky to work in the field of early education!”
2001 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
978-409-9444
Lauren
sambjackson@hotmail.com
Lauren.kenney1@gmail.co m
Kenney
Murphy
Left: A sample of the intricate, striking album artwork Caroline Harrison ’06 is doing for bands like Pyrrhon. Right: Star Wang, Koysta Sheftelevich and Max Mankin, all ’07, recently had dinner in Seattle.
2002 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
William N. Duffey III
617-893-1040 williamduffey@gmail.com
2003 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Laura Garcia
laura.marholin@gmail.com
Bostonian and maybe a future Nobles student!” Marya Stansky married Greg Seaman on September 3, 2017, at the Castle Hill Inn in Newport, Rhode Island. Marya and Greg were college classmates (Princeton class of 2009).
2006 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
E.B. Bartels Andrew Tibbetts married Laura Lacayo this August in Nicaragua. Lyman Johnson, Jason Schwartz, James Paci and Heather Peterson all made the trip to Managua for the ceremony. Andrew and Laura met in business school at Northwestern and currently live in Chicago.
2004 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Carolyn Sheehan Wintner
781-801-3742 carolyn.sheehan@post.harvard.edu
2005 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Saul Gorman
617-447-3444 saul.gorman@gmail.com Brittany Hatfield (née Oliver) writes: “My husband and I are moving to Boston at the end of this month for a position that I started earlier this year at Amazon. After 12 years in L.A., I’m looking forward to coming home and being closer to my family. We’ll be living in downtown Boston (Bay Village) and look forward to reconnecting with old friends! We’re also expecting a baby boy in January, so we’ll be training him to be a proper
Three wise monkeys (left to right): Jay Romano, Caroline Holland and Lydia Paine Hagtvedt, all ’06.
ebandersenbartels@gmail.com The Class of 2035 is going to have some serious admissions competition for legacies. On July 4 (at 3 a.m. on the nose), Lydia Paine Hagtvedt and her husband, Henrik, welcomed Elana Skye Paine Hagtvedt. “More important than anything else,” writes Lyd, “the biggest news is that she has slept five-hour stretches for the first time the past three nights.” For a photo of the very awakelooking Elana, check out page 63. On August 23, Julie Flynn Bartlett and her husband, Dan, welcomed Madison Blair Bartlett. “We are so in love with her and enjoying every second of exhausted, clueless, new-parent bliss,” writes Julie. On August 25, Mariah Rich Collins and her husband, James, welcomed Hadley Rebecca Collins. Mariah informed me that Hadley was 8 lbs., 4 oz. at birth and that the photo she emailed me didn’t have to get included in the class notes, but I am 100 percent putting it in (see page 63). On September 7, Scott Runyon and his wife, Emily, welcomed Eleanor Runyon. She was 6 lbs., 13 oz. and 21 inches. Scott writes, “Her two main interests are eating and bouncing.
Working on sleeping. Can’t wait to take her to reunion!” Congratulations to all the new parents! I hope you’re not too sleep-deprived. In addition to creating human life, our classmates are also doing excellent things professionally. After graduating from Wharton in May, Cory Rosenfield and his fiancée, Aysha, moved to Seattle to be closer to Greg Croak, who recently had to relinquish his SLC position to take on a full-time gig as the assistant director for advancement and alumni services at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. And Caroline Harrison is making super-awesome album art! She started out by working with her boyfriend’s band, Pyrrhon. Caroline writes, “As Pyrrhon has gotten more well-known, other folks have started taking an active interest in my work, so I’ve gotten a few interesting new clients and opportunities as a result. With the resurgence of vinyl (yep, actual records), I’ve designed full vinyl packaging and recently drew an etching for an unplayable b-side for a short release. I didn’t know this was a thing, but apparently it’s a thing! I guess it’s time to invest in a turntable?” Check out page 54 for
a sample of Caroline’s work. Really cool stuff, lady. Congrats! Congratulations are also in store for Queen of Dunkin’ Donuts Jilly McVicar, who married John Nelson on September 23. A solid crew was in attendance, including Jay Romano, Caroline Holland and Lydia Paine Hagtvedt, who re-created that iconic ’06 photo (above). Jay Kelly was also present, though apparently too cool to be in the wise monkey pictures. Congratulations also to Caitlin Fang, who married Daniel Woodward on September 9 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, featuring Emily Reid as the maid of honor, with Erin Bruynell, Erin Greene, Janna Herman, Will Widen, Rob Linsalata ’04 and me in attendance (see photo on page 62). As if that alone wasn’t epic enough, Janna, the Erins and I road-tripped down to Virginia, and we spent the entire car ride exclusively listening to an amazing collection of old mix CDs that Bruynell had found while cleaning out some closets at her parents’ house in Milton. It felt like we had gone back in time to 2004, except that we were in my blue 2010 Subaru Impreza (“The Bluebaru”) instead of my maroon
WINTER 2018 Nobles 55
graduate news
1993 Cadillac DeVille (“The Caddy”). Many a classic hit was rediscovered, plenty of singalongs were to be had (apparently I still know every word to every song on Jagged Little Pill) and, it should be noted, Caitlin kept up with the theme of the weekend by hiring a DJ for her wedding who played songs almost entirely from before 2006. Great job, Caitlin. So I present to you, with the help of the Erins, Janna, Caitlin’s wedding DJ and everyone who humored my mass email request for favorite songs, several nostalgia-inducing playlists for your enjoyment.
The Illegally-Driving-YourCar-to-the-MAC Playlist: “The General”—Dispatch “Suga Suga”—Baby Bash “Yeah!”—Usher “Live Like You Were Dying” —Tim McGraw “Toxic”—Britney Spears The Driving-to-Dunkies-Duringa-Free-Period Playlist: “Ignition (Remix)”—R Kelly “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” —Fall Out Boy “Everytime We Touch”—Cascada “Hey Ma”—Cam’ron “What Would You Do”—City High Yeah, you’re welcome.
The Getting-Ready-forthe-MSA-Dance Playlist: “Get Low”—Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz “Ms. New Booty” —Bubba Sparxxx* “Jumpin’, Jumpin’”—Destiny’s Child “Hot in Herre”—Nelly “Tipsy”—J Kwon *FUN FACT: One of Lydia Paine Hagtvedt’s high school- and college-era passwords was based on this song. The Walking-to-AssemblyFrom-Sketchy Playlist: “Lose Yourself”—Eminem “Float On”—Modest Mouse “I Want You”—Savage Garden “Short Skirt Long Jacket”—Cake “Feel Good Inc.”—Gorillaz The Brooding-and/or-Journalingin-the-Alcoves Playlist: “District Sleeps Alone Tonight” —The Postal Service “Brick”—Ben Folds Five “Teenage Dirtbag”—Wheatus “Drive”—Incubus “Woke Up in a Car” —Something Corporate
56 Nobles WINTER 2018
2007
Maddie Pongor was promoted to associate director at the Education Advisory Board (EAB). EAB is a higher-education research, technology and consulting firm that serves close to 2,000 universities across the United States, Caribbean and Canada. Her work primarily consists of designing and launching two platforms that help advisors better support their students in order to improve retention, persistence and graduation rates. She has worked with universities as far south as the border of Texas and Mexico, and as far north as Newfoundland, Canada. “If any other Nobles graduates are working in the higher-education industry, or are interested in EAB, let’s talk and nerd out together,” she says.
CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Kat Sargent
katharine.sargent@gmail.com
2008 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Caitlin Cassidy is on a Global
Aditya Mukerjee
Cultural Fellowship with D.C.’s Lab for Global Performance and Politics and the Edinburgh Institute for International Cultural Relations and spent August at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival with her fellow Fellows. September returned her to Saudi Arabia (she’s been hopping back and forth between New York and Riyadh for the past few years), where she makes theatre with local high school students. When she’s not making art abroad, she’s making it in NYC. Her nonprofit LubDub has a show opening off-Broadway in January 2018, and nothing would make her happier than if y’all would come hang out! Learn more at www.lubdubtheatre.org. Max Mankin, Star Wang and Koysta Sheftelevich recently had
212-935-5637 aditya.mukerjee@gmail.co m
dinner in Seattle. Photo on page 54.
2009 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Liz Rappaport
617-413-6070 lizrap@gwmail.gwu.edu Maddy Cohen writes, “I recently finished my master’s in education at the University of Pennsylvania and moved to Washington, D.C.” She is working as a first-grade teacher at the Langley School. Hanna Atwood recently moved to Eleuthera in the Bahamas to work as the director of arts at the Island School, a semester-abroad program for high school students. Hanna spends her time teaching the en-
vironmental art class, building the mentor program with a local middle school, advising students, coaching students for the half marathon, and leading kayak camping expeditions. Hanna loves being part of this small community and has embraced many new experiences thus far. This past year, Lauren Martin ran the Boston Marathon in support of the Nobles Marathon Fund, raising more than $5,000 from generous Nobles alumni in support of scholarships. In reflecting on this experience, Lauren was humbled by the overwhelming sense of community that lives on far after our time on campus. In March, Jamie Shulman got engaged to fellow University of Michigan alum Marc Weiner. The two reside in New York City and will wed next summer in Boston. This past summer, Jamie took Marc back through her SYA experience in China 10 years after her year living abroad in Beijing. They visited her host family and witnessed the unbelievable development across the country. Jamie recently moved to a new job at Goldman Sachs within their new digital consumer banking division, continuing her path in financial technology. Donna Farizan lives in NYC and works as a producer and correspondent for Kathie Lee & Hoda, on NBC’s Today show. Hannah Roman married Max Pasterczyk (Belmont Hill Class of 2008) this June at First Parish Church in Weston, Massachusetts. The two met at Tulane University and now live in Manhattan. In July, Alexandra Conigliaro Biega married fellow Harvard alum Danny Biega at the Harvard Memorial Church followed by a reception at the Boston Public Library.
After retiring from a post-college hockey career with the Carolina Hurricanes organization, Danny moved back to Boston to pursue a career in private-equity real estate. The two live together in Back Bay. Alexandra works in residential real estate in Boston and recently partnered with top producer Rob Kilgore of Coldwell Banker in Back Bay. The Biega + Kilgore Team focuses on the downtown real estate market, specifically Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, Midtown, Seaport/Waterfront and South Boston. The team services sellers, buyers, tenants, landlords and developers of many different types of properties, including brownstone and full-service high-rise condos, single-family homes, multifamily buildings as well as development projects ranging from first-time condo buyers to sellers of $8 million new construction condo conversions. Carey Favaloro has called Aspen, Colorado, her home for four years. She writes, “In the summer season, I teach biology with a summer enrichment program, lead nature hikes, tutor students, and travel. Last winter, I joined the Aspen Mountain Ski Patrol, and I’m looking forward to another season honing my medical, snow safety and skiing skills this upcoming winter. I spend as much time as possible playing in the mountains: I’ve recently discovered the sports of rock climbing and mountain biking, and I am hooked. A highlight of my last visit to the East Coast was visiting Kristy Giandomenico and Corey Stearns in Boston.” Claire Hickey Gramza married Kevin Gramza this past August in Cape Cod. They are living in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Claire is finishing up her nurse anesthesia
Left: From left to right: Zander Gomez ’19, Hanna Atwood ’09 (art department head/environmental art teacher), Nalani Dziama ’19, Paul Henderson ’13 (Histories fellow) at the Island School in the Bahamas. Right: Lauren Martin ’09 ran the Boston Marathon and raised more than $5,000 in scholarships, thanks to fellow Nobles grads.
program at Northeastern and will graduate this May.
2010 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Holly Foster
508-404-4616 hatherly.a.foster@dartmouth.edu Hi, all! Here are some notes with updates from our class. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Hadley Dawson writes, “I am enjoying life in SF by going on lots of camping, skiing and road trip adventures. I work at Lyft on the health-care team to provide transportation to patients.” Julia Hermann writes, “I have just started my third year of teaching at the Healey School in Somerville. Since we loop, I have the same students I had last year in third grade, now in fourth grade. I feel fortunate to be working with such a wonderful group of kids who are eager to learn. Last spring, I started a running club at my school for students in grades 3-8. This year, we are partnering with four
different organizations to provide structure and incentives for our club. I am still running a lot outside of work as well. I will be running the Philadelphia Marathon in November and have qualified to run Boston this spring.” Tori Goyette writes, “What’s new with 2010? Counting the days until our 10-year reunion. But what have we been up to? A few of us got married (Nobles wedding dance floors, wow). Many are crushing cool careers or new degree programs. Lots are doing impressive things that I don’t know about but look forward to hearing about the night before Thanksgiving. What about me? I can be found roaming Southie with Willy, Tommy, Nick Shoelson ’10 and the others who live within a mile or so of each other. I venture four times a week to Turnstyle, a spin studio founded by Nick Resor ’08. I just bought a new bed with the help of Wayfair employee Dor Burns ’10. I combined two things I love— Nobles and my employer Year Up— at the Summer Graduates Event in August. This week, Cam
Rahbar ’11 is bringing his colleagues from Boston Private to Year Up to provide students with free financial counseling. In October, I’m heading to NYC to celebrate the birth of my senior prom date, Greg “Bat Boy” Corrado ’10. I guess you could say I’m still a little attached. At least I didn’t do anything crazy—for example, acquire a Nobles-inspired tattoo.” Caitie Meyer writes, “I’m still living in Boston, and I am finishing up my post-bacc pre-med program, working at MGH, and getting ready to apply to medical school next year.” Dylan Cowley writes, “I just moved into North End of Boston, am currently working at Brown Brothers Harriman, and am excited to visit the Nobles campus for some soccer/football games this fall!”
2011 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Katie Puccio
508-446-0726 krpooch@gmail.com
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Andrew Kenealy ’11 writes, “I’m still living in D.C., where I work as a research assistant at a think tank and coach a high school girls’ rowing team. I’m quite busy between two jobs but am loving both. One update: My younger sister, Diana ’13, recently graduated college, joined me here down in Washington, and moved into my house! It’s been a lot of fun living together as young adults. Best wishes to all, and please do let me know if you find yourself in the capital.”
2012 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Coco Woeltz
woeltz@bc.edu
2013 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Caroline Thayer
carolinejthayer@gmail.com See Class of 2011.
2014 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED
2015 CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Natalie Hession
Hessionn@bc.edu 617-515-4800
2016–2017 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED
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memoriam Mark Forbush Emerson ’65, of Tequesta, Florida, passed away September 20 at age 70. At Nobles, he embraced student life, serving as coin club and library committee president, singing with the glee club and Christmas Choir, and enjoying his memberships in the debating, political and dramatic clubs. He was also baseball team manager, assistant editor of the Nobleman and a member of the student council, Çercle Francais and Societas Latina. Born in Duxbury, Massachusetts, Emerson graduated from Cornell University with a degree in hotel administration and was a sports reporter for the college newspaper. He embarked on a career in the restaurant business that took him to Texas, Colorado, California and Pennsylvania before he settled in Columbus, Ohio. There, from 1980–2003, he was a partner and chief operating officer for Max & Emma’s, a casual family restaurant chain located in 12 states. A renowned golf historian and collector of golf memorabilia who was respected for his knowledge and passion for the game, Emerson excelled on the links, achieving an 8-handicap despite serious physical limitations. He was co-author of Gilchrist’s Guide to Golf Collectibles and was a contributor to the United States Golf Association and the World Golf Hall of Fame. A lifelong Red Sox fan, Emerson enjoyed sharing his knowledge of the finer things in
life, including cooking, entertaining, fine wine and travel. He wrote in his 50th class reunion report that “I’ve enjoyed some lovely relationships and have loads of fine memories.”
in Quincy, Massachusetts, and volunteering at the Hanover, Massachusetts, food pantry. She is survived by her daughter, Olivia; her sisters, Audrey and Jane; and her brother, Louis ’84.
Mary Joyce Hoffmann ’85, of Milton, Massachusetts, passed away August 4 at age 50. At Nobles, she participated in basketball, ice hockey, field hockey and cross country, and was a member of the ISL champion and undefeated girls tennis team in 1985. She served on the literary board of Calliope, Nobles’ literary magazine, and was its art and photo editor her senior year. Born in Boston and raised in Milton, “MJ” graduated from Skidmore College, where she was a Spanish major. She also enjoyed family time playing tennis and swimming at the Milton Hoosic Club. She earned a paralegal certification at Suffolk University in Boston. Hoffmann worked in insurance sales with her father’s firm, the Louis P. Hoffmann Agency, in Boston. Hoffmann had a gift for producing beautiful poetry based on her life’s experiences. She enjoyed landscape painting and jazz dance. She also played piano and guitar. Beloved for her kind heart and warm smile, Hoffmann had a soft-spoken and gentle presence, and a positive outlook on life. She shared her love of music and the beach and gave back through volunteerism, teaching English as a second language at the Thomas Crane Public Library
Howard Kellogg ’33, of Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, passed away September 19, at age 102. At Nobles, “Hal”was voted “best all-around fellow in the class.” He was a member of the football, crew and track teams. Kellogg was also on the dramatic and glee clubs, and was a member of the Nobleman board and student council. Born in Keokuk, Iowa, and raised in Boston and New York City, Kellogg graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He spent his entire career at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia, specializing in real estate law. After serving in the Army and Navy during WWII, he was named a partner in the firm. As a boy, Kellogg loved to climb the Squam mountain range in New Hampshire, and he met his wife, Frances Saunders Perkins, when she was a member of the Alpine Club of Canada. A former resident of Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Kellogg, within a week of his retirement, hiked the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail—a five-month trek. At age 80, he climbed every 4,000-foot-high mountain in New England. Kellogg and his wife traveled to the Canadian and American Rockies, the Alps and the Himalayas. In 1999, three generations
of his family climbed 11,120 feet at the Continental Divide. A reader for the Associated Services for the Blind, Kellogg, in 1975, was recipient of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations’ Human Rights Award. In addition to Frances, Kellogg is survived by his daughters, Jane, Elizabeth and Molly; and his sons, David and Thomas. Richard Thomas McCabe ’50, of Cotuit, Massachusetts, passed away May 28 at age 85. At Nobles, he was a member of the football, soccer and ice hockey teams, and the dramatic, glee and science clubs. His classbook profile noted that “Butch” “is one of the most perceptive members of the class in politics, the ball field and the world situation” and “a thorough thinker.” McCabe’s scoring touch for Nobles on the ice was noted in a Boston Globe story in February 1949 after his two goals and three assists in a 9-0 win over the former Browne & Nichols School. Born in Boston and raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts, McCabe was a Bowdoin College graduate and former president of the family-named contracting firm Joseph P. McCabe Inc., of Boston. He also served as director, treasurer and secretary of the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts. He stated in his 25thanniversary report that his most important job was to instill his children with the “proper values in an ever-changing world.” McCabe enjoyed sailing his
catboat on Vineyard Sound and was a book collector and naturalist. He was a longtime supporter of the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League, one of the nation’s elite summertime collegiate baseball leagues. In retirement, he spent his winters in Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida, enjoying golf, tennis and collecting seashells. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; his daughters, Suzanne and Lisa; and his son, Andrew ’86. Yante Amen Neufville ’98 passed away July 6 at age 38. At Nobles, he was a senior prefect and participated in the Multicultural Student Association. Born in Boston, he graduated from Emory University and received a Master of Arts in government from Johns Hopkins University. Neufville moved to Washington, D.C., in 2005, where his professional career focused on government affairs related to media and telecommunications. He worked at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Goodwill Enterprises of Greater D.C., and most recently for the Comcast Corporation, specializing in government and regulatory affairs. Neufville was involved in numerous service activities, including spearheading a clothing drive for Comcast Cares Day. He was baptized into the Concord Baptist Church in Boston at age 9, and his faith and relationship with God grew. In Washington, he participated in a men’s group and Bible study at
Grace Covenant Church. He and his wife, Malika, were members at Reid Temple AME Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. He will be remembered for his infectious laugh and for being a positive, warm soul who reflected upon and enjoyed each day. Neufville was a talented artist and lover of international travel who served on several boards, including the Hillcrest Community Civic Association in Washington. He was also a founding member of the Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor East Organization and mentored African-American men through Concerned Black Men of D.C. and the Just Say Yes program. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his mother, Mamie, and his sister, Weddee. William Dana Sewall ’66 passed away September 12 at age 69. At Nobles, he played on the football team and was a member of the rifle, debating and philosophy clubs. He was also on the Nobleman board and received the biology, improvement, chemistry and Sheldon prizes. His classbook profile noted his “determination on the football field,” “volunteering for everything” and “willingness to help.” Born in Boston, Sewall graduated from Dartmouth College and was an elementary school teacher before graduating Boston College Law School. He then moved to San Francisco, where he was a real estate lawyer and also enjoyed sailing in San Francisco Bay. He changed
careers and was a risk-management consultant at Citigroup in San Francisco and Tampa, Florida, for 28 years before his retirement eight years ago. Sewall moved back to San Francisco, where he lived on his sailboat for a short time and also traveled on a pilgrimage to Camino de Santiago, in Spain, on two occasions. That inspired him to join the interfaith Chaplaincy Institute, in Berkeley, California, which, according to his family, brought fulfillment to his life as a confidante who brought comfort to the dying and their families during their palliative care. A writer of inspirational poetry, Sewall also loved gardening, hiking and biking. At his funeral, one of his poems, entitled “Color Me,” was read. He is survived by his sisters, Bea and Cathy; and his daughters, Rebecca, Alyssa, Holly and Madeline. Jay David Storer ’65 passed away June 3 at age 70. Son of the late and legendary Nobles science teacher, coach and athletic director Wilbur Storer, Jay was coached by his dad as a wrestling team captain. Storer, a Dedham native, graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in journalism. After graduation and a job with the Petersen Publishing Company, he moved to Los Angeles. He was previously a Northeastern co-op intern at Petersen. Storer, who most recently resided in Davis, California, had a
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memoriam lifelong passion for automobiles and spent 50 years authoring and photographing automotive articles, manuals and how-to books. They included pieces in Hot Rod Magazine and the popular Chilton and Haynes books. He built and raced a landspeed race car at the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting records in his class. A Renaissance man, he enjoyed stand-up comedy, magic, historic reenactments of the Mountain Man era, refurbishing antiques, and living his dream of building his family’s former home in Volcano, California, located in the Sierra Foothills. Storer also operated an advertising agency, Ink-Credible, in Ventura, California, specializing in automotive clients. He was admired for his integrity, high energy, infectious laugh and keen sense of humor— and, most of all, his enthusiasm for life. He also enjoyed annual Storer family picnics at Nobles in front of the Castle. Storer was described in Street Rodder magazine as “leaving many friends and followers, and an indelible contribution to the automotive world.” He is survived by his wife, Gloria; his daughter, Elizabeth; and his sister, Bonnie. Jonathan Varnum Taylor ’65 passed away July 24 at age 70. He attended Nobles for five years and was a member of the Class of 1965, but he transferred after his junior year to the Tilton School in Tilton, New Hampshire, and graduated from there.
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A graduate of Boston University, he worked summers at a manufacturing company in Milton Lower Mills while in college. Taylor was a zone finance supervisor at International Harvester Credit Corporation and credit manager at the Charrette Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the well-known former architectural supply company. After leaving Charrette, he was employed at Hunnemann & Co., a large real estate firm where he was the top-earning residential broker his second year with the firm. He subsequently opened his own agency, Taylor Real Estate, in Dedham. Known for his candor, forthrightness and loyalty, Taylor, a longtime member of the Dedham Country & Polo Club, supported and encouraged many local organizations and charities. He served as treasurer of the Dedham Visiting Nurses Foundation and as an officer with the Masonic Lodge of St. Andrew in Boston. After his passing, friends remarked that he made you laugh, made you think, and that you could always count on him, and that he was a wonderful mentor in philanthropy, with a special fondness for the Masonic Angel Foundation Fund. An expert skeet-shooter, Taylor was a gun collector and dealer. He also enjoyed his monthly poker group and boating on Cape Cod. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie; his daughters, Rebecca
and Holly; his brother, William; and his sister, Sarah. With appreciation to the Williams family for their remembrance of McCrae, upon which the following is based, published in the Boston Globe. McCrae Williams ’17 unexpectedly passed away on September 12 at the age of 19. From an early age, Williams showed incredible compassion for animals, a curiosity for how things worked and a talent for portraying the world through art, photography and video. From age 2 to 6, he lived overseas, his parents nurturing his love of travel and adventure early on. Reaching nearly every continent on their travels, Williams artfully documented his family’s adventures, earning a World Wildlife Federation Award for two of his photos. Williams also excelled at lacrosse. By 6th grade, he played in the 7th- and 8th-grade division, scoring on defensemen and goalies who were easily a foot taller—his team loved the “little guy” in the net. He played both club and high school lacrosse and committed to Lafayette College as a Division I goalie while in Class II. As Nobles varsity lacrosse captain his senior year, he led the Bulldogs to their best record in years. He received the Arnold Lacrosse Prize as the player whose skills, passion and dedication best exemplify the love of the game. For nine years, Williams and his brother,
Chase, also spearheaded “Stick to Your Goals,” an organization that collects used lacrosse equipment and uniforms for those in need. Williams also played football and soccer. Off the field, Williams was a strong student with an infectious smile who connected with people of all ages, and a great friend who could always lift one’s spirits. He loved Nobles and led admission tours as a Shield head. Most important to him was his family: He treasured his parents and his brother, Chase, and they were his ultimate team. Williams’ organs have been donated to a handful of recipients who now have a new chance at their lives. As a goalie, his saving now takes on new meaning. Williams is survived by his parents, Chris and Dianne; his brother, Chase; grandparents Antoinette Nesto of Milton and Roberta and Bruce Williams of Greenville, South Carolina; uncles and aunts Dr. Richard Nesto and Kathy Bickimer of Weston, William Nesto and Fran Di Savino of Milton, Dr. Michael Filosa and Anne Marie Filosa of Medfield, Brian and Kathy Williams of Oxford, and Michael and Dana Williams of Holliston, as well as nine cousins.
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1. Jamie Shulman ’09 and fiancé Marc Weiner. 2. Hannah Roman ’09 and Max Pasterczyk on their wedding day in June. 3. Alex Conigliaro ’09 and her husband, Danny Biega, in front of the Boston Public Library on their wedding day. 4. Nobles graduates at the wedding of Hannah Roman ’09 to Max Pasterczyk. Top row, left to right: David Roman ’77, Bill Roman ’73, Carter Roman ’03, Duncan Balsbaugh ’77, Will Richardson (attended during Hurricane Katrina ’05-’06), Will Cunningham ’14. Middle row, left to right: Ian Jarrett ’81, Bill Bliss ’79, Willy Bliss ’10, Jack Bliss ’14, Edward Roman ’14, Henry Muggia ’14, Ryan Smith ’14. Front row, left to right: Melina Chadbourne ’09, Sophie Tyack ’09, Hannah Roman Pasterczyk ’09, Maria Montes ’09, Sarah Roman ’11, Anne Jarrett Richardson ’77, Fiona Jarrett Roman ’79, Thomas Soule ’14. 5. Marya Stansky ’05 and Greg Seaman’s Newport wedding. Left to right, front row: Emily Dawson Palmeri ’04, Lilah Aubrey ’04, Molly Valle ’05, Sarah Cantin ’05, Lauren Daniels Lampen ’05, Kathy Stansky (parent), Marya Stansky ’05, Jim Koningisor (parent), Trish Koningisor (staff), Eddie Stansky ’09, Jenny Koningisor ’05, Joanne and Rick Spillane (parents). Second row: Bob Stansky (parent), Pat and Chris Burns (parents), Andrew Fine ’05, Lucy Minott McCall ’06, Kate Gormley Saeli ’05, Kayvon Tehranian ’04, Matt Glazier ’05, Phil Stansky ’11, Matt Stansky ’07.
announcements Engagements
Marriages
Cory Rosenfield ’06 to Aysha Majeed Jamie Shulman ’09 is engaged to fellow University of Michigan alum Marc Weiner.
Andrew Tibbetts ’03 married Laura Lacayo in August 2017 in Nicaragua. Kate Parizeau ’05 married Daniel Foran in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on June 10, 2017.
Marya Stansky ’05 married Greg Seaman on September 3, 2017, at the Castle Hill Inn in Newport, Rhode Island. Jilly McVicar ’06 married John Nelson on September 23, 2017. Caitlin Fang ’06 married Daniel Woodward on
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6. Claire Hickey ’09 and Kevin Gramza on their wedding day on Cape Cod. 7. Lots of good Nobles cheer last June 10 on a beautiful and sunny day in Nantucket, Massachusetts, at the wedding of Kate Parizeau Nobles ’05 to Daniel Foran. Front row, left to right: Brendan Collins ’19, Chris Collins ’19, Molly Parizeau ’11. Middle row, left to right: Maddie Lazaris ’05, Sarah Snyder, Kaitlinn Goode ’05, Kate Parizeau Foran ’05, Jess Hatch ’05, Becca Starr ’05, Lauren Bresnahan Witlen ’05. Back row, left to right: Ben Snyder, Daniel Foran (Olin College), Sarah Churchill ’05, Doug Parizeau ’07. Missed the photo-op but were at the wedding: Sam Parizeau ’15, Michael and Emily Denning, Baylor Tyrie ’15, Jack Tyrie ’19, Devon Tyrie ’21, Reese Tyrie ’23, Jed Dawson ’75. 8. From the wedding of Caitlin Fang ’06 to Daniel Woodward (left to right): Rob Linsalata ’04, Will Widen ’06, Janna Herman ’06, Erin Bruynell ’06, Caitlin Fang ’06, Emily Reid ’06, E.B. Bartels ’06 and Erin Greene ’06. 9. At the wedding of Alex Conigliaro ’09 to Danny Biega. Top row, all Class of ’09: Bobby Kelly, Casey Griffin Giudicelli, Claire Hickey Gramza, Brooke Hammer, Liz Rappaport, Ben Knott, Peter Owen. Second row: John Muse ’07, Hanna Atwood ’09, Lexi D’Angelo Nichols ’07, Jennifer Rappaport Coassin ’08, Alexis Lazor ’17, Nick Resor ’08. Bottom row: Andrea Mackey ’88, Danny Biega, Alexandra Conigliaro Biega ’09, Lauren Martin ’09. 10. At the wedding of John Nelson to Jilly Nelson (née McVicar) ’06: Left to right, Caroline Holland, Jay Kelly
announcements September 9, 2017, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Hannah Roman ’09 married Max Pasterczyk in June 2017 at First Parish Church in Weston, Massachusetts. Alexandra Conigliaro Biega ’09 married Danny Biega in July 2017 at the Harvard
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Memorial Church. Claire Hickey Gramza ’09 married Kevin Gramza this past August in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
New Arrivals: Dalena C. Matthews (Nguyen) ’00 and husband Richard welcomed twins Liam and Audrey on August 26, 2016. Sarah (Clabby) Schroeder ’00 and husband
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and Jay Romano, all ’06. 11. At the wedding of Marya Stansky ’05 to Greg Seaman. Left to right: Molly Valle ’05, Clark Lampen, Lauren (Daniels) Lampen ’05, Greg Seaman, Marya Stansky ’05, David Andersson, Andrew Fine ’05, Lilah Aubrey ’04. 12. The Nobles group at the wedding of Claire Hickey ’09 and Kevin Gramza. Back Row: All ’09, unless otherwise noted: Curt Nichols, Will Randle, Bobby Kelly. Front row, left to right: Maddy Cohen, Jennifer Donnelly, Jamie Shulman, Alexandra Conigliaro Biega, Andrea Holland, Brooke Hammer, Kevin Gramza, Claire Hickey Gramza, Julia Hickey ’07, Julie Daniels, Donna Farizan, Connor Hickey and twin Meghan Hickey ’12. 13. Andrew Tibbetts ’03 married Laura Lacayo this August in Nicaragua. Back row: James Paci ’03 (left) and Lyman Johnson ’03 (right). Front row: Laura Lacayo, Andrew Tibbetts ’03 (center) and Jason Schwartz ’03. Not pictured but in attendance was Heather Peterson ’03, former Nobles classics teacher. 14. Jed Dawson ’75 sent this photo of daughter Emily Dawson ’04 with her son, Bowen. 15. Mariah Rich Collins ’06 and husband, James, with daughter Hadley Rebecca Collins. 16. Dalena C. Matthews (Nguyen) ’00 and husband Richard with twins Liam and Audrey. 17. Elana Hagtvedt, daughter of Lydia Paine Hagtvedt ’06 and husband, Henrik 18. Emily and Scott Runyon ’06 with daughter Eleanor. 19. Dan and Julie Flynn Bartlett ’06 with daughter Madison.
Ryan welcomed son Crosby James Schroeder on August 4, 2017, in Boston. Eliza Drachman-Jones Quincy ’01 and Rich Quincy ’99 welcomed Hannah Elisabeth Quincy, on May 8, 2017. Lydia Paine Hagtvedt ’06 and her husband,
Henrik, welcomed Elana Skye Paine Hagtvedt on July 4, 2017. Julie Flynn Bartlett ’06 and her husband, Dan, welcomed Madison Blair Bartlett on August 23, 2017. Mariah Rich Collins ’06 and her husband,
James, welcomed Hadley Rebecca Collins on August 25, 2017. Scott Runyon ’06 and his wife, Emily, welcomed Eleanor Runyon on September 7, 2017.
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LEGACY OF THINKING BIG This lab was part of the Stillman Wing, which opened in 1956. (Note the state-of-the-art technology at the top right corner of the photograph.) This wing, housed in Shattuck Schoolhouse, included three laboratories and was named the Ernest G. Stillman Science Wing in honor of Ernest Goodrich Stillman, who was a parent of three Nobles boys, a trustee and a major benefactor in the 1930s. In 1931, he made a gift of $85,000 to fund an infirmary and kitchen addition to the Castle. Stillman was a college classmate of Charles Wiggins II, headmaster from 1920–1943. He was also a research physician, philanthropist and Japanese art collector. Stillman’s gift was anonymous until his death in 1949.
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Gather ’Round When you make a gift to the Annual Nobles Fund, you support programming that builds community. Visit nobles.edu/giveonline or contact Director of Annual Giving Allie Trainor at Allie_Trainor@nobles.edu or call 781-320-7005.
Noble and Greenough School 10 Campus Drive Dedham, MA 02026-4099
NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID BOSTON MA PERMIT NO. 53825
Around We Go Karina Cowperthwaite and Michaela Sylvia, both ‘19, perform their self-choreographed ballet routine, “Last Summer,” at the fall dance concert.