KnightTimes Spring 2015

S P R I N G 2 0 15

+

T H E M A G A Z I N E O F PA C E A C A D E M Y

THE ASSAF DECADE

Alumni Writers AND

Winter Arts Coverage

BOYS BASKETBALL

TO THE ELITE EIGHT

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPRING 2015

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Whenever we begin work on a new issue of the KnightTimes, Head of School FRED ASSAF inevitably asks, “What’s on the cover?” He often has an opinion, and cover images have changed a time or two under his direction. Needless to say, he doesn’t know about this one.

If Fred had his way, the 10th anniversary of his arrival at Pace Academy would pass unnoticed. Unfortunately for him, others have taken charge—and we’re celebrating! Sorry, Fred.

In this issue, we look back at the past 10 years, at the milestones that have shaped the Assaf decade. Certainly, there have been ups and downs, but Pace is better for them, better for Fred’s leadership.

Fred would be the first to tell you that an individual does not define an institution. In a community like ours, students, faculty, staff, parents, grandparents, alumni and friends form the rich tapestry that enables growth. So as we reflect—on thriving programs, new buildings and big ideas—let’s take a moment to give the Pace community a collective pat on the back.

It’s been a pretty awesome decade. Here’s to many more!

Caitlin Goodrich Jones ’00 DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

On the cover: Jason Kofke, an Atlanta-based artist, created this visual tribute to FRED ASSAF. See Kofke's other work at jasonkofke.com.

PACE CARES When our families and staff are in need, Pace Cares.

Contact us to deliver a meal: 404-926-3727 or pacecares@paceacademy.org

TH E M A G A Z I N E O F PAC E A CA DEM Y

KnightTimes

CONTENTS 6 NEWS 10 AROUND PACE 18 WINTER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

36 THE ASSAF DECADE Ten transformative years

www.paceacademy.org

42 ALUMNI

22 ICGL The year of water continues

28 GLOBAL LEADERS Honoring students who set the pace outside of school

32 BOYS BASKETBALL All the way to the Elite Eight

42 Updates

Head of School

46 Out and About

FRED ASSAF

47 Class of 1973 The inaugural Spirit Week Challenge winners

48 The Writing Life

RICKS CARSON reflects on teaching and catches up with former students

CONTRIBUTORS Ricks Carson In high school, Upper School English teacher RICKS CARSON wrote stories. He wrote his first real poem as a college junior. After graduating from Washington and Lee University, he became a teacher, got fired, took a freighter to Europe, returned two years later and eventually found his way to Pace. He began publishing in 1982, and his poems have appeared in a score of publications. He writes every day.

“Most anything stimulates me,” Carson says. “I may misplace my glasses all the time, but never my impressions of everyday people and things. I’m never bored— writing increases my interest in the world. Writing gives me pleasure in being alive.

This kind of enthusiasm for writing is what I hope will catch on in my students.”

Division Heads MICHAEL GANNON Head of Upper School JOHN ANDERSON Head of Middle School SYREETA MOSELEY Head of Lower School

Communications Department CAITLIN GOODRICH JONES ’00 Director of Communications, Editor RYAN VIHLEN Creative Services Manager, Graphic Designer LELA WALLACE Digital Communications Manager LIZ WIEDEMANN Stewardship Manager, Staff Writer

Robin LaLone ’12

Contributing Photographers

ROBIN LALONE graduated from Pace with honors and is now in her junior year at Auburn University, majoring in communications with a minor in Spanish. She is a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and volunteers with Reading is Fundamental, an organization that provides literacy resources to children and families. LaLone plans to graduate in December 2015 and hopes to pursue a career in public relations.

FRED ASSAF

Hayley Shoji ’12

To create prepared, confident citizens of the world who honor the values of Pace Academy and who will preserve the legacy of our school for future generations.

HAYLEY SHOJI graduated from Pace with honors and, this spring, will graduate from the University of Alabama with a degree in public relations. In the fall, she will begin pursuing a master’s in marketing at the University of Alabama. Shoji works for University Programs, Alabama’s campus programming board, as marketing manager and for WVUA-TV as a public relations specialist. She is a member of Delta Gamma Fraternity.

4

966 W. Paces Ferry Road NW Atlanta, Georgia 30327

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

GEMSHOTS PHOTOGRAPHIC LAURA INMAN

Our Mission

To contribute ideas for the KnightTimes, please email Caitlin Jones at cjones@paceacademy.org.

Upper School students traveled to Romania in March. Read about it on page 24.

L E T TE R FRO M THE HE AD O F SC HO OL

Dear Pace Family, In late March, I stood before the Parents Club to deliver my annual “State of the School” address. Believe me, it’s a lot less fancy than it sounds.

My yearly PowerPoint presentation includes photos from recent events, program updates and a look at what’s in store for Pace Academy. Much of what I covered is included in this magazine—artistic and athletic accomplishments, Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL) adventures, springtime festivities, student leaders and our annual college tour.

To be perfectly honest, the presentation is typically something I pull together in the 24 hours prior to the meeting. This year, however, the Pace Academy Board of Trustees is drafting a new five-year strategic plan, and we’re in the midst of our accreditation process with the Southern Association of Independent Schools. These practices require self-evaluation; they mandate that we take a step back, ask ourselves who we are and who we want to be as a school.

That’s not something that happens overnight—and it’s not something I can do on my own.

So, when I addressed our dedicated parent body this year, I did so confident in the knowledge that our leadership is thinking strategically, critically and creatively about the future of Pace Academy. Individuals much smarter than I care a great deal about our institution and our students, and that makes me excited for the years to come.

This academic year marks my 10th at Pace, and as I enter my second decade as Head of School, I am more grateful than ever for a school community that values introspection and innovation while holding true to its core values. Thank you for being part of that community. Here’s to Pace Academy’s bright future!

Sincerely,

Fred Assaf HEAD OF SCHOOL

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

5

NEWS What you need to know

Clockwise from top left: Duncan, Herman, Rubin and Lieberman

Literary Meet Competitors Place in Region, State It’s been more than a decade since Pace students have participated in the Georgia High School Association’s Literary Meet but, under the leadership of performing arts teacher SUSAN WALLACE, the Knights—once a perennial powerhouse—are back.

The competition includes categories such as Dramatic Interpretation, Extemporaneous Speaking, Essay, Solo, Trio and Quartet. Students’ preparation, knowledge and technique influence their final scores, which in turn determine their rankings among competitors from across the state.

At the region meet on March 4, Pace students won four first-place prizes. Senior COOPER DROSE took home the top prize in the Boys Solo category, while sophomore AVERY HERMAN won first place in the Boys Essay category. The Girls Trio (sophomores ELLIE DUNCAN and WILLIE LIEBERMAN and junior LEXI RUBIN) placed first, as did the Boys Quartet (seniors DYLAN ABBOTT and Drose, and juniors RYAN DUVALL and JARED GOLDMAN). Senior CAILLIN COOKE placed second in the Girls Solo category, and senior ALYSSA CALLOWAY was third in the Girls Dramatic Interpretation category.

First-place finishers advanced to the state meet on March 14. When all was said and done, the Girls Trio’s performances of Bizet’s Ouvre Ton Coeur and Billingsly’s Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree took the top prize in the state, and Herman’s essay, On the Trial of Dzozkhar Tsarnaev, won the Boys Essay category.

6

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

LOWER SCHOOL ART ADORNS PATH400 TRAIL On Jan. 24, nonprofit organization Livable Buckhead opened the first segment of PATH400, a planned 5.2-mile multi-use trail, and unveiled the winners of the Playing with Shadows on PATH400 Art Contest.

The creative works of 10 students from five local schools were selected from more than 150 submissions to grace 6-foot-tall steel panels along the trail. Each panel is backed in different colored Plexiglas, allowing sunlight to shine through and light the design from behind, casting colorful patterns on the trail.

With guidance from Lower School art teacher SUSAN EDWARDS, third-graders WILL MOORE and ISABELLE WILHELM, fourth-grader VICTORIA HADLEY and fifth-grader MARIELLE FROOMAN were among the 10 winners. Fourth-grader ELIZABETH FEAGIN and third-grader ANNIE MARKS were selected as two of 27 finalists.

NEWS

Equestrian Season a Runaway Success

Williams

On Feb. 21, the Middle and Upper School equestrian clubs braved rain and cold to participate in the regional competition at the Georgia International Horse Park, marking the first time in the club’s five-year history that both Middle and Upper School riders have qualified.

The Middle School team finished first, bringing home the region title and advancing to the Zone 4 finals for the first time. The Upper School team placed second—just points behind Cooper Hills High School—but defeated rivals Westminster and Lovett to be named reserve champion. Junior PAIGE WILLIAMS and seventh-grader EMILY CATON were nominated for sportsmanship awards.

Freshman ASHLEY YOFFEE competed as an individual in the Zone 4 finals and became Pace’s first Upper School student to move on to the national competition. The 2015 Hunt Seat National Finals takes place April 24–26 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

MODEL BEHAVIOR Pace community members who live in Atlanta may start to notice some familiar faces as they drive around town or flip through local publications. This past fall, the school played host to a creative team from LASPATA DECARO, the New York-based creative marketing agency hired to brand Buckhead Atlanta, a new livework-play development.

During a half-day photo shoot, an army of photographers, stylists and production personnel descended on campus to capture model Viktoriya Sasonkina donning designer duds as she posed with junior-varsity cheerleaders and members of the Middle School baseball team.

The resulting advertisements are currently running as part of Buckhead Atlanta’s spring campaign.

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

7

NEWS

A RECORD YEAR FOR PACE ARTISTS, WRITERS Each year, students from across the U.S. submit work to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for the chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published.

Five Gold Key writing entries are chosen as American Voices nominees, a prestigious prize that honors the “best in show.” Senior ANNA HOFFMAN is the first Pace writer to receive a nomination.

Pace students honored with 2015 Scholastic Awards are:

Anna Hoffman, personal memoir/essay

GOLD KEY

Hof fm an

GOLD KEY, AMERICAN VOICES NOMINEE

Juliana DeRosa, ceramics

SILVER KEY

Jeri Brand, personal memoir, poetry (2) Juliana DeRosa, ceramics Richie Everett, personal essay/memoir Elena Hill, personal memoir/essay (2) Tanner Lewis, personal memoir/essay Cooper Peery, poetry Lindsey Sample, poetry

DeRosa

Phillips

Much

HONORABLE MENTION

Jeri Brand, poetry, writing portfolio Juliana DeRosa, ceramics, painting Lane Dikeman, poetry, flash fiction Haley Hartman, digital art Lydia James, photography Tanner Lewis, personal memoir/essay Daniel Lipman, short story Ashley Little, poetry Maryellen Malone, poetry Rachel Much, art portfolio, painting Cooper Peery, poetry Ella Phillips, photography, photography portfolio

Erin Rawls, critical essay, personal memoir/essay

Lexi Rubin, poetry Lindsey Sample, poetry (2) Lian Shepherd, poetry Paige Williams, poetry

8

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

Hartman (detail)

NEWS

A POTTER OF NATIONAL RENOWN Each year, the National Council of Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) coordinates an exhibition in conjunction with its annual conference. NCECA solicits submissions from ceramics students across the country in kindergarten through 12th grade. Out of several thousand entries, 150 works are chosen for inclusion. Senior JULIANA DEROSA’s piece (pictured) was selected and included in this year’s exhibition, which opened on March 26 in Providence, R.I.

FITZGERALD JOINS ALL STATE ORCHESTRA In January, sophomore violinist WHIT FITZGERALD was named to the Georgia All State Orchestra. The Orchestra, a program of the Georgia Music Educators Association, recognizes the state’s most talented musicians. FitzGerald faced tough competition and endured two rounds of auditions to make the cut.

LETTES, DAY NAMED 2015 STARS Each year, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators Foundation, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Department of Education partner to present the STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) program.

The program requires that nominees achieve the top SAT score on a single test date and be in the top 10 percent of their classes. STAR Students then choose as STAR Teachers educators who inspire them to strive for excellence. Senior SARAH LETTES is Pace’s 2015 STAR Student, and she selected Upper School Science Department Chair JONATHAN DAY as her STAR Teacher.

Lettes, one of four Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL) Global Leaders, lives out her passion for the outdoors and the environment as founder of the Pace Academy Green Team. She launched Pace’s composting program, interns with the Green Schools Alliance, participated in the 2014 Student Climate and Conservation Congress and spent part of her sophomore year at the Outdoor Academy.

Lettes also serves as student body treasurer, runs with the cross-country and track teams, assists with The Temple Breman Religious School, is a member of the Cum Laude and National Honor Societies, and is an AP Scholar with Honor and a National Merit Finalist.

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

9

AROUND PACE A look at what's happening at Pace

Students take a break in front of the Morehead Planetarium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

COLLEGE TOUR CRUISES THROUGH THE CAROLINAS * Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2013).

Digest of Education Statistics, 2012 (NCES 2014–015), Table 5.

10

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

With nearly 3,000 four-year colleges in the U.S.* and countless more beyond our borders, choosing a post-high-school home can be a daunting task for even the most mature students. Enter Pace Academy’s Office of College Counseling.

Under the leadership of Director GAVIN BRADLEY, the college-counseling team aims to demystify and simplify the college search so that when it comes time for Pace students to make that critical decision, they’re not only prepared, they’re confident.

For Bradley, Associate Director AMY SECOR and Associate Director LEE NUCKOLLS, “fit” is at the forefront of the selection process.

“We try to introduce students to all different types of colleges long before the end of high school,” Bradley says. “They need to visit a variety of schools so they know what feels right for them.”

To that end, over Presidents Day weekend, Bradley, Secor, College Counseling Assistant SHANNON MEYRING, and Upper School faculty members JOE SANDOE and TOMMY HATTORI set out across the Carolinas with 50 sophomores and juniors in tow. The trip marked the Office of College Counseling’s fifth and largest tour.

In just four days, the group visited eight schools: Furman University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, Elon University, Wake Forest University, High Point University, Davidson College and Clemson University.

“During our visit to each school, we tried to replicate the student experience as much as possible,” Secor reports. That meant free time in college towns between information sessions and, whenever possible, tours led by Pace graduates.

“I especially enjoyed the opportunity to speak with Pace alumni at the schools we visited,” says junior LINDSEY SAMPLE. “It gave me very realistic insight into what it would be like to come from Pace and go to each of the colleges we saw.”

Junior DARBY COCHRAN had a similarly positive experience. “The trip really helped me narrow down the kind of university I’m looking for,” she says. “It offered a range of schools—from big to small, private and public. Now I can go forward with my college process with a clear idea of what I want.”

And that, says Bradley, is music to his college-counseling ears.

AROUND PACE

For Upper School students, the week after winter break offered a chance to explore topics they might not typically encounter in a traditional science class. Through the science department’s “minimester” program—back for the third consecutive year—students selected courses that interested them and spent an eight-day academic cycle discovering more with their peers.

Courses included Pharmacology; Big Bang Theory; Origami, Paper-Making & Science; Climate Change & Ocean Chemistry; Introduction to Engineering; Cooking Science; Beaver Swamp Ecology; Woodworking for Wildlife and Hydraulics.

Several teachers outside the science department participated as well; English teacher RICKS CARSON offered Renegade Writing, while history teacher EMILY STEVENS partnered with science instructor JULIE HALL to present Storming the Castle, “a hands-on investigation that explores the features of Crusades-era battlements and weighs the relative merits of the catapult versus the trebuchet.”

BEYOND THE BEAKER

JAN. WE’VE GOT SPIRIT

9

Nothing signals the start of the New Year like Spirit Week at Pace Academy.

In January, the Upper School’s weeklong competition between grades took over campus. Disney and fantasy reigned supreme—with themes ranging from 101 Dalmatians and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to The Hunger Games and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not surprisingly, the week culminated in a win for Peter Pan, the Lost Boys and the Class of 2015.

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

11

AROUND PACE

The Allegra Family

FUQUA DEBATE CHALLENGE

WHAT'S IN A NAME? Families who named spaces in The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School continue to dedicate their classrooms, halls and offices. We are forever grateful for these individuals and their support of Pace Academy.

In an effort to endow Pace Academy's outstanding debate program, The J.B. Fuqua Foundation will match any gift you make to debate until the end of the 2016 school year.

For more information, please contact Director of Advancement Heather White at hwhite@paceacademy.org.

Pace Debate 2014 –2015 Highlights: •

Pace squad earned the Debate School of Excellence Award for the fourth consecutive year

•

Pace senior duos have won five major tournament victories this season

•

One duo finished the regular season ranked third in the country and was GHSA state runner-up

• Three Pace teams qualified for the National Debate Coaches Association National Championship

THEY’RE PRETTY GRAND Every three years, Middle School students invite their grandparents and special friends to Pace for a day, giving them a glimpse of life in the Garcia Family Middle School.

This year’s festivities took place in conjunction with the Middle School musical, Mulan Jr., and included a cocktail reception, a special assembly featuring performances by a multitude of Middle School musicians, and classroom visits.

From left to right: Elisa Ezor, Zack Ezor '06, Bobby Ezor, Lara Goodrich Ezor '06 and Danielle Ezor '09

LIFE TRUSTEE SPOTLIGHT:

ELISA EZOR Whenever Life Trustee ELISA EZOR drives by Pace Academy, it brings back memories.

“I see my now-adult children [ZACK EZOR ’06 and DANIELLE EZOR ’09] as 5-year-olds, running to the front door of the Lower School to shake [former Head of Lower School] MIKE MURPHY’s hand,” Ezor says.

Ezor and her husband, BOBBY EZOR, chose Pace for their son when they realized how well the school’s “personality” matched Zack’s. “Pace was secular and very welcoming,” she says. “By the time Danielle was ready to apply, she was in love with Pace based on her brother’s [experience].”

Zack went on to marry his high-school sweetheart, LARA GOODRICH EZOR ’06, and the couple now lives in Boston. Danielle is working toward her master’s in art history at Williams College.

Ezor remembers Murphy reiterating that at Pace, “No child will slip through the cracks.” She believes that student-centered culture separates Pace from its peer schools.

During much of her time as a Pace parent, Ezor owned and operated five Atlanta locations of Crème de la Crème, the renowned early learning center. She spent 20 successful years there and sold the business in 2004, ready to enjoy a hiatus. Her active career never hindered Ezor’s enthusiastic involvement in all areas of Pace life, though.

Both Elisa and Bobby served as annual fund volunteers and have been avid supporters of Pace’s financial-aid and college-counseling programs. As a member of the school’s Board of Trustees in the early 2000s, Ezor also chaired the first diversity committee. The group explored the ways in which embracing inclusivity and an open-minded approach to learning about other people and cultures could enrich individual experiences and the school community. “Pace has certainly come a long way since those days,” Ezor says.

When Ezor reflects on Pace’s tight-knit community, she says it really does feel like her whole family attended the school. All five of her parents’ grandchildren went to Pace, which meant that JACK and SOPHIE ZWECKER attended 17 consecutive Grandparents and Special Friends Days!

“When my youngest graduated, I was so happy to have one more year

on the Board, so I wouldn’t have to leave ‘cold turkey,’” Ezor recalls. Now as a Life Trustee, she has found meaningful ways to remain involved.

One such opportunity arose when Ezor befriended a first-generation Asian-American family with a rising ninth grader. Both parents spoke little English and wanted the best education possible for their son, who showed obvious aptitude and drive. Recognizing Pace as a possible fit for the boy, Ezor introduced the family to the school.

From there, she assisted in every aspect of the application process, complete with recommendations, interview preparation and facilitating financial-aid information. When the student was accepted to Pace, the Ezors even funded the portion of tuition not covered by financial aid. Later, Bobby took the student on college tours, providing guidance and reinforcing Pace’s College Counseling Office’s services in a personalized way.

As a result, Ezor encourages Life Trustees to become involved in their varying areas of interest at Pace; she believes it’s important for those who shaped the school’s path to remain connected.

“Life Trustees who may not be in a position to make a large financial contribution can give back in so many other ways,” she says.

“Whether volunteering in the College Counseling Office or helping navigate a complicated application, there are opportunities to get involved, and many of us have the time to contribute.”

Like so many of her fellow Life Trustees, Ezor does not spend her time idly. Her non-compete agreement with Crème de la Crème has expired, and she’s jumping back into the early learning space. In August of 2015, she will open the doors to Ahavath Achim Synagogue’s new preschool, Ahava Early Learning Center (ahavalearning.org).

“When my rabbi came to me and asked if I would start a preschool at our synagogue, how could I refuse?” Ezor says. Already, putting to use her decades of experience in education in this way has been tremendously rewarding.

Looking to the future, Ezor has two wishes for Pace. First, she hopes that the school will continue to be welcoming to all, and that it never becomes so large or so busy that a child slips through the cracks.

The second wish is more personal: “I would love for my future grandchildren to attend Pace!”

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

13

AROUND PACE

Pace Arts

In January, the Upper School staged performances of The Real Inspector Hound and The Funeral Parlor, both hilarious one-act plays.

The Upper School chorus took the Big Apple by storm in March, performing at Carnegie Hall and other venues throughout New York City.

The pace never slows when it comes to Pace Arts. From murder mysteries and musicals to concerts, cross-country tours and creative exhibits, Pace’s artists and performers kept audiences engaged, entertained and inspired throughout a chilly winter and into the spring.

Students in the new seventh- and eighth-grade visual-art classes shared their work with friends and family during a March exhibition.

14

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

The Pace community celebrated its visualart faculty with an exhibit of their work.

AROUND PACE

Photography by LAURA INMAN

Collaboration Makes a Musical Recreating ancient China in Mulan Jr. required an army.

Eighth-graders GRACE POTTORFF and CARTER FERGUSON

True ensemble work is the heart of the Pace Academy Middle School drama department’s mission. Certainly the quality of each production is important, but educating students about theatre—and life in general—is even more significant. That’s why the program employs students to do as much as they can to make shows like Disney’s Mulan Jr., this year’s Middle School musical, possible.

To bring Mulan Jr.’s ancient China to life, more than 65 students in both the Middle and Upper Schools helped construct set pieces, ran lights and sound, worked backstage moving scenery and setting props, engineered pyrotechnics, did actors’ hair and makeup, promoted the production throughout the school community and even helped choreograph dance numbers.

“Middle School productions may not be perfect all the time, but that’s the point,” says director PATRICK CAMPBELL. “We want students to grow through their actions onstage, offstage and in the classroom. Our productions are about far more than the performances; they’re about the experience and about providing an outlet for creative learning.”

When a task exceeds students’ capabilities, Campbell calls in the professionals —in this case, a lighting designer, Tai Chi consultant GINNY PARRINO and—thanks to the Pace Arts Alliance—a master puppeteer from the Center for Puppetry Arts and a costumer. These experts don’t just do the work themselves; they teach students the tricks of the trade and then pass on responsibility for each task.

“Working side by side with professionals in the industry bridges the gap between school and the professional world and prepares students to take that first step toward becoming global citizens,” Campbell says. “This kind of collaboration truly takes learning up a notch.”

Indeed, Campbell rarely misses an educational opportunity. Mulan Jr. coincided with Chinese New Year, so he incorporated diversity education for the cast and crew and even enlisted Middle School art students to construct a Chinese dragon.

The result of this collaborative effort was a colorful, imaginative string of performances—a celebration of the Pace family and of the power of community.

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

15

AROUND PACE

“KNIGHT OF JAZZ” On March 2, the third annual Knight of Jazz had audience members dancing in the aisles. The concert, a unique collaboration between the Upper School chorus and band, exposes singers, instrumentalists and the Pace community to a wide variety of jazz styles.

During the weeks preceding the event, jazz professionals worked with individual students and groups to perfect their jazz techniques. Georgia State University professor Dr. Geoff Hayden was among the visiting professionals, and with his band, Mango, Dr. Hayden advised students in jazz, funk, soul and blues.

“What a great group of kids with lots of talent,” says Ian Michael Bruh, Mango’s head vocalist. “Our group was so pleased to work with these kids and give back to the community.”

16

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

Mango’s gift of time and talent was evident in students’ performances. Senior CAILLIN COOKE’s rendition of Minnie the Moocher brought the house down, and senior ALEXANDRA GARTON, who usually plays flute and piano, wowed the audience with her vocal solo, Don’t Know Why. Other showstoppers included Break Down, Steppin’ Out With My Baby and In the Mood, and Mango performed four numbers that had everyone singing along.

“Knight of Jazz is my favorite night of the year!” says Pace parent ANNA DANCU. Clearly, Pace performers aren’t afraid to let the good times roll.

— With contributions from Pace parent KATHY SHEERIN

AROUND PACE

STRINGS ENSEMBLE TAKES SAN FRANCISCO

Shining a spotlight on the growing Upper School strings program When strings instructor TARA HARRIS arrived at Pace Academy seven years ago, 10 students were enrolled in her Upper School class; this year, 30 musicians make up the thriving ensemble.

“The Upper School class now has to be split into two sections because we’re out of space,” Harris reports. “That’s a good problem to have.”

And while the strings program’s numbers have increased, so has the musicianship of its participants. “Several students take private lessons and participate in top youth orchestras around the city as well as the All State Orchestra,” Harris says. “There are many moments in rehearsals and performances when their playing gives me chills.”

Without a doubt, Harris experienced many of those chill-worthy moments during the ensemble’s four-day trip to San Francisco, Calif., in February—the group’s first-ever tour.

“I love San Francisco, and I figured it would be a very cool and interesting cultural experience for my students,” Harris says —not to mention the fact that the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Symphony call the Bay Area home.

During a daylong visit to the Conservatory, Pace students toured the school and participated in a master class with conductor Scott Sandmeier and his students—a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“The San Francisco Conservatory was amazing,” says freshman DANIEL BLUMEN. “It was great to see all of the college kids, their daily life and their playing ability.”

Students also performed at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, took in performances at the San Francisco Symphony and BATS Improv Theatre, jammed with street performers in Chinatown, explored Alcatraz and strolled across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. “[Our trip] was simply the most incredible experience for us all,” Harris says. “Amazing weather, the best kids and an incredible experience made for some lifelong memories. I can’t wait for the next tour!”

At the ory at Conserv

n

Chinatow

Alcatraz KnightTimes | Spring 2015

17

WINTER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

WINTER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS The Knights’ move up to the Georgia High School Association’s (GHSA) Class AA still hasn’t fazed Pace Academy studentathletes—they just continue soaring! Read on for season recaps.

JAMES SADLO

JONATHAN TENNIES

JULIAN ALEXANDER

O. Moncino

H. Moncino

LaMastra

Steinfeld, Grenader, Kaye and Drose

VA R S I T Y B O Y S S W I M M I N G & D I V I N G Coached by JOHN AGUE, JULIE HALL and LYNN WILMOTH In early February, the varsity boys swimming and diving team wrapped up a successful season at the GHSA’s State Swimming & Diving Championship at Georgia Tech. In the meet, final scores for both swimmers and divers count towards the team’s overall score, and the Pace divers set the tone.

Senior HARRISON MONCINO earned his third consecutive state-championship title with a score of 578.60 —96 points ahead of the second-place finisher (see sidebar). Junior OWEN MONCINO’s score of 440.85 put him in fifth place in the state. With the combined scores, the Pace team was in second place before the swimmers even hit the pool.

18

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

Several swimmers advanced to the finals.

CONNOR LAMASTRA was first in the 500 freestyle B final, breaking the previous school record and placing 11th overall. LaMastra also swam the 200 individual medley and finished in 19th place. The 400 freestyle relay team of seniors MARK GRENADER and COOPER DROSE, sophomore ALEX KAYE and LaMastra set a new school record and placed 19th.

Out of the 60 scoring teams in Classes A through AAAAA, the Pace boys finished in 19th place overall with 59 points.

The team will lose seniors DYLAN ABBOTT, NOAH BROOKER, Drose, Grenader, AKETE KNIGHT, H. Moncino, KAMRAN SADIQ and DYLAN STEINFELD.

THE BEST THINGS COME IN THREES Harrison Moncino wins state diving title On the morning of Feb. 5, the televisions in the Seaman Family Student Commons— typically used to announce upcoming events and the day’s lunch menu —were tuned in to the GHSA state diving meet.

Throughout the morning, students watched as divers in Classes A through AAAAA from across the state competed for the title. There was no doubt that HARRISON MONCINO, the 2013 and 2014 champ, was the favorite— and he didn’t disappoint. Moncino, a three-time All-American who has committed to dive for Miami University of Ohio’s RedHawks, brought home the title one final time. It was the perfect end to a truly historic high-school career.

WINTER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

VA R S I T Y G I R L S SWIMMING & DIVING Coached by JOHN AGUE, JULIE HALL and LYNN WILMOTH Butler

Willis

JUNE BRENNER

Ferry

Francour

Appel

LINDSEY SAMPLE

One of Pace's largest and most talented varsity girls swimming teams in recent years hit the Georgia Tech pool on Feb. 6 for the GHSA state competition, and eight Knights advanced to the finals.

Junior GRACE FERRY competed in the 500 and 200 freestyle events, finishing second and third, respectively. Junior MADISON GRAHAM brought home the fifth-place prize in the 100 backstroke and finished sixth in the 200 individual medley, breaking her previous school record. The 400 freestyle relay team of junior BRENNER APPEL, Ferry, Graham and junior ANNA VANZYVERDEN finished fifth, setting a new school record. The same team swam the medley relay and placed eighth.

Out of the 58 scoring teams in Classes A through AAAAA, the Pace girls were 10th overall with 142 points.

The team will miss the leadership of seniors ANNIE BUTLER, CHRISTINA DARLAND, GRACE FRANCOUR, CASSADY GREENE, MARIA GRENADER, ANNA HOFFMAN, RACHEL MERKEL, CAROLINE MILLS, KATIE NELSON, CORINNE ORR and ELIZABETH WILLIS.

Hoffman

Grenader

Graham

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

19

WINTER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

VA R S I T Y WRESTLING Coached by MARK SOMMERVILLE, GRADY STEVENS and GUS WHYTE The 13-man varsity wrestling squad finished the season strong. Ten wrestlers competed in the area championship meet, and junior JACK WALSH finished first to become Pace’s first area champion since 2009. Freshman JAMAREE SALYER finished in second place.

Seven Knights advanced to the sectional tournament, where Walsh again took the title. He and freshman FRANK HOUSER then traveled to Macon, Ga., to participate in the state meet.

Houser— the only freshman in his weight class— finished in sixth place. Walsh again wrestled well, bringing his season to a close with an impressive third-place state finish.

Next year, the team will miss senior DUSTIN HADLEY’s leadership.

Walsh

Houser

D. Hadley

VA R S I T Y G I R L S BASKETBALL Coached by BRIAN JONES, JOE SANDOE and RYANN SMITH

L. Hadley

20

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

Ferry

O'Connell

Under the leadership of head coach Brian Jones, the varsity girls basketball team welcomed several new players and spent the season gelling as a unit. The Knights ended the regular season with a 9–14 record.

In the Region 6AA tournament, the girls defeated KIPP Atlanta Collegiate 61–24 in the first round before falling to Lovett 28–44. The team bids a fond farewell to seniors HANNAH FERRY, LAUREN HADLEY and OLIVIA O’CONNELL.

Johnson, Cefalu, and Spencer with coaches and supporters on National Signing Day at the College Football Hall of Fame

STUDENT-ATHLETES PLAY ON

The Booster Club’s annual celebration of coaches and student-athletes took place on a chilly January evening in Boyd Gymnasium. During the event—chaired

by Pace parent AMY NELSON and made possible by an energetic committee of Booster Club members and the Pace Advancement team—more than 225 Knights fans enjoyed tailgate fare, a live auction, drawings for great prizes, music and good conversation. Designed to be more of a “friend-raiser” than a fundraiser, the Booster Bash nevertheless generated more than $17,000 for Pace Athletics.

l

nnel

O'Co

Ferry

k Blan cer

Spen

son

y

Denn

John lu

Cefa

SPOTLIGHT ON ANDREW PACE

o

cin Mon

man

Had

Dike

Eleven of the 106 members of the Class of 2015 have committed to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. Congratulations to the following student-athletes!

JOSH BLANK Elon University, soccer TREVOR CEFALU

University of Pennsylvania, football

CAROLINE DENNY Trinity College, rowing LANE DIKEMAN Middlebury College, softball HANNAH FERRY Emory University, basketball

BOOSTER BASH APPLAUDS ALL THINGS ATHLETIC

ley

LAUREN HADLEY Bucknell University, softball KEVIN JOHNSON

University of Richmond, football

HARRISON MONCINO

Miami University of Ohio, diving

BLAKE MURPHY (not pictured)

University of Notre Dame, fencing

OLIVIA O’CONNELL

Sewanee The University of the South, basketball

Dec. 29, 2014, was a big day for eighth-grader ANDREW PACE. Pace was one of hundreds of middle- and high-school students from around the country to participate in the Dixie Nationals American Crown tournament.

Pace’s 32-man bracket included wrestlers from eight states, and when all was said and done, Pace took home his first national championship, pinning all of his opponents before winning 2–0 in the finals. Pace, who trains with Compound Wrestling Club and The Wrestling Center, travels with Team Georgia and the Georgia Minions.

JACK SPENCER

Sewanee The University of the South, football KnightTimes | Spring 2015

21

ICGL A global education for every Pace graduate

PATAGONIA

Photo by senior CAROLINE MILLS

March 5–15 & March 6–16 “There’s something very compelling to me about traveling to a foreign place and going completely off the grid for a few days without any connection to the outside world,” says junior JILLY PAUL. Apparently, many other Pace students agree.

Interest in exploring Patagonia—the remote and geographically diverse portion of southern Chile and Argentina—was so great that Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL) Director TRISH ANDERSON decided to send two groups to accommodate all interested parties.

One group, led by Upper School teacher and Assistant Athletic Director GUS WHYTE and coach JOLIE CUNNINGHAM, included 14 students. An additional 15 students made up the second group, with Director of Alumni Relations and The Pace Fund COURTNEY LUNDEEN and facilities team members WES FORTIER and MATT FORTIER at the helm.

The trips, coordinated with the help of travel company Adventure Life, began in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, where students toured the city on foot and by bike, caught a tango show and kayaked the Tigre River.

From there it was off to the southern mountain village of El Chaltén, the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park. For four days, students trekked throughout the breathtakingly beautiful wilderness, camping in tents two of the nights.

“The highlight of the trip for me was climbing to [Lago de Tres] on the first day of hiking and seeing the breathtaking views at the top,” recalls sophomore CARSON MYERS. “On one side there were rolling hills, and on the other side, there was an icy blue lake with snowy mountains surrounding it.”

The adventures continued as the groups crossed Lago Argentino, Patagonia’s largest freshwater lake, explored the Perito Moreno Glacier on foot and took in swaths of the Argentine countryside on horseback.

For Paul and her fellow travelers, the adventurous, unplugged nature of the trip facilitated new friendships. “I really enjoyed getting to know guys and girls in other grades who I wouldn’t normally get a chance to know very well at school,” Paul says. “One of the best parts of ICGL trips—especially adventure trips where we aren’t staying in fancy hotels but in a more intimate setting, like the confines of small tents—is becoming very close with people you may not have even spoken to much before the trip. I think everyone in our group became such good friends as a result of the setting. That was definitely a highlight for me.”

Senior DUSTIN HADLEY feels the same way. “The trip was great not only because of the fantastic location, but because of the people I went with,” he says. “They were all awesome. I couldn’t have had a better time.”

“In Patagonia, I learned that ICGL trips are amazing, that there are a bunch of cool kids at Pace I had not met, and that there are many places in the world I need to see.” sophomore MAX IRVINE

ICGL

The

Academy Abroad Germany, Patagonia, China, Romania and Italy welcome Pace students.

23

ICGL ROMANIA March 5–17 For the past four years, Upper School dean TOMMY HATTORI and fifthgrade teacher REBECCA RHODES have spent spring break traveling the world with Pace students in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International. This year took them to Romania along with Upper School teacher JOE SANDOE. Several of the 19 participating Upper School students took part in the previous year’s build in Cambodia—a testament to Hattori and Rhodes’ leadership and to the power of the Habitat experience.

The group’s journey began in Bucharest, Romania’s capital. Students spent time exploring the city’s historical center, shopping, and taking in the sites before traveling by train and bus to the northwestern city of Rădăuţi, the site of the Habitat build.

During the four-day build, students installed sheet rock and dry “Traveling to Cambodia wall, mixed cement, sealed seams [in 2014] and to Romania between walls and sanded dry made me realize what cement—work vital to the conI want to do with my struction of several homes.

More impactful for the Pace life… My dream is to students, however, were the relastart my own nonprofit tionships they formed with their organization to further the education of children Habitat hosts and the homeowners they worked alongside. in poorer countries. My Through intentional cultural expassions have always changes and outwardly trivial been travel and working banter, students came to know the with kids, and going on community of Rădăuţi in a very these trips made me meaningful way. aware of exactly what I “The highlight of the trip for me want to do. They helped was when the homeowners surme learn more about prised us by making us dinner and myself and plan the rest hosting us in the house we were helping them build,” says junior of my life!”

TORY DANCU. “It was so touchsenior CLAIRE SNYDER ing because we were experiencing that house turn into a home. I had this really cool moment where I “On the trip, I learned that remembered that I had helped put happiness is a matter up the wall that I was now being of perspective. The served dinner next to. That’s when homeowners we worked it hit me that the seemingly simple with [through Habitat for drilling and lifting we were doing Humanity] were some of during the day was making a the most genuinely happy huge difference for these families people I have ever had the that we had come to know fortune of meeting. They and love.”

The study tour conweren’t happy because cluded with stops in they had the newest product or the most money; the Transylvanian cities of Sighișoara they were happy because and Brașov and they knew how to find Bran Castle, comhappiness in the simple monly known as joys that surrounded them Dracula’s Castle.

every day.”

junior Tory Dancu

Pompeii

ITALY March 5–14 Middle School Director of Global Education KIM PETERSON could very well be the next Rick Steves. Her passion for traveling—and for planning! — certainly rivals that of America’s leading authority on European travel. This past spring break, Peterson, along with Middle School art teacher JANE SIBLEY, put together another outstanding Italian adventure for 11 Middle School students.

The trip began in Rome, where students hit all of the must-see spots—from the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona to the Colosseum and the Forum. They explored the Vatican Museums, climbed to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica’s dome and attended gladiator school. Peterson even arranged a visit to the Vatican’s famous Sistine Chapel before it opened to the general public.

Then it was off to Sorrento by way of Solfatara, a volcanic crater complete with natural steam vents and sulfurous fumes. A street-food tour through Naples introduced students to Neapolitan market life and historical sites, and they went underground to explore ancient aqueducts and the Catacombs of San Gennaro.

Greek temples at Paestum and the well-preserved ruins of Pompeii provided a window into the past before the group returned to Rome to conclude the trip with a regional cooking class and visits to the Capuchin Crypts and the Borghese Gallery.

For many Middle School students, ICGL study tours mark their first time traveling internationally or without their families, but the post-trip reports are unfailingly positive. “The trip was a new experience for me, mainly because it was my second plane trip ever and my first time overseas—and it was so fun,” says seventh-grader SYDNEY THOMAS. “I loved the unique architecture [in Italy], for example, the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel. But the highlight was either Pompeii or gladiator school. We all ‘graduated’ and got diplomas!”

at the ian R omans ite build

ICGL CHINA March 4–16 “The pictures don’t do it justice,” is a phrase all ICGL study-tour advisors hope to hear. It means they’ve done their jobs, exposed students to a world beyond the classroom, made the pages of a textbook come to life. It’s also how senior DEAN PAPASTRAT felt atop the Great Wall of China.

“The Great Wall looked relatively unimpressive at first,” Papastrat wrote on the Student Travel Blog. “It wasn’t until we actually stood on top of it that we realized how it was a feat of epic proportions… We realized, ‘Wow. If it’s tiring to just walk up these stairs, it must have been nearly impossible to build them!’ The view at the top of the watchtower made it all worth it.”

The journey along the famous Chinese fortification was just one of the stops on Upper School teachers HELEN SMITH and SCOTT SARGENT’s study tour through the Asian nation. With 11 Upper School students in tow, Smith and Sargent explored Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai over the course of their 12-day trip.

Temples, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and Purple Mountain’s tombs were among their many stops.

Along the way, students marveled at the structures, historical landmarks and artistry they observed: “The highlight of the trip for me was definitely the Summer Palace in Beijing,” says senior RACHEL MUCH. “The architecture in it was breathtaking.”

“Beijing is full of ancient history, which was absolutely phenomenal for a history geek like me,” recalls senior PETER HURLEY. Even more phenomenal was the juxtaposition of modern technology with centuries-old sites. Students traveled 630+ miles from Beijing to Nanjing via a Maglev or “magnetic levitation” train in just over three hours, passing modern hotels and ancient temples along the way.

Modern-day history came to life when the group met with Lijia Zhang, a factory worker turned journalist who wrote about Chinese oppression, organized demonstrations and advocated for political reforms. “[Zhang] explained her life to us, and we had discussions about how life was different in China from the rest of the world,” Papastrat wrote. “It was an absolutely amazing experience to be able to sit in her house and learn—one that we will remember for a lifetime.”

lte at the A ek Pinakotnhich in Mu

GERMANY Jan. 10–18 Upper School history teacher TIM HORNOR’s annual study tour to Germany—now in its fifth year—has become a mainstay on the ICGL calendar.

This year, Whyte and Stewardship Manager LIZ WIEDEMANN accompanied Hornor and 12 Upper Schoolers on the trip.

The study tour takes students to Munich, Berlin and into the Alps on a journey through history. “I’ve wanted to go on this trip since the first time I saw [Hornor’s] presentation about it freshman year,” says senior ANNIE BUTLER. “Germany just has an incredible mix of compelling history and culture—from concentration camps to the Berlin Philharmonic to some of the most famous pieces of artwork in history.”

Among their many adventures, students explored the hunting grounds of the 19th-century Wittelsbach rulers, watched the famous Glockenspiel, toured Neuschwanstein Castle in the snow, took in an opera, paid tribute to Holocaust victims at Dachau concentration camp, walked the path of the Berlin Wall and visited Checkpoint Charlie.

“Everyone seemed to enjoy getting lost in German history, culture and language,” Hornor wrote in an email to students’ parents. “This sort of experience is simply not reproducible in the classroom or the textbook, though it does bring alive those events that many of our students have studied and analyzed while at Pace.”

For Butler, the experience was life changing. “I had never been out of the country before, so this trip really opened my eyes to everything that’s out there.

Now I’m addicted to traveling,” she says. “Everything was new and interesting—from hearing people and not understanding a word to making sure we respected German customs. I think it was an important lesson to me to meet people who are so different yet so incredibly similar to us.”

Read more about these ICGL study tours on the Student Travel Blog at knightlife. paceacademy.org/ travel.

latz's Odeonsrprnhalle Felde

Beijing KnightTimes | Spring 2015

25

ICGL

INTRODUCING THE ICGL ADVISORY BOARD Everyone wants in on the action happening within Pace Academy’s new Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL). Thanks to the vision, strategy, financial support and “big thinking” of the school’s dedicated leaders, that wish is becoming a reality.

As the demand for and accessibility to ICGL programming continues to grow, so does the call for strategic partners and leadership. Tremendous interest and attention from students, faculty and parents alike surrounds ICGL programs like international study tours, service learning, Design Thinking, and the expanding curricular areas of robotics and coding.

Over the course of this school year, ICGL Director TRISH ANDERSON, Pace’s Board of Trustees and Head of School FRED ASSAF have worked tirelessly to appoint an ICGL Advisory Board, the next step in a strategic plan for the ICGL. The board, finalized this spring and headed

by BRENT HASTIE, is made up of 10 Pace parents with diverse professional backgrounds, representing each of the ICGL’s five organizational pillars: Science & Technology, Culture & Arts, Social Entrepreneurship & Business, Service & Environmental Sustainability and Public Policy & International Relations. Members will serve three-year terms.

“We were looking for some of the best and brightest who sit at the crossroads of some of the big trends in their professions but also have that broader global perspective,” says Hastie.

The board is charged with generating and prioritizing ideas relative to the ICGL mission, continually rethinking Pace’s approach to global-leadership programs and establishing evaluation processes that effectively measure success. Essentially, their challenge will be to focus all of that “ICGL energy”—but not constrain it.

After all, energy from a passionate idea planted the seed for the ICGL in the first place. Years ago, NEVILLE ISDELL, former chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company and a Pace grandparent and Life Trustee, wanted to see a greater connection at Pace between learning in the classroom and exploring the wider world. Isdell and his wife, PAMELA ISDELL, instilled the same desire in their daughter, Pace parent and Board member CARA ISDELL LEE ’97, who serves on the new Advisory Board.

Hastie says several elements make the ICGL initiative unique. Neville Isdell’s passion was the primary building block, and other factors include “Pace Trustees, who always try to think differently and progressively; the incredible global-education work already happening under Trish Anderson’s leadership; the global-travel program’s recent Parents Club support; and the unique Pace quality of being so good at what it does, while small enough to try new things.”

One of the ICGL goals is to increase awareness, understanding, and engagement in and outside of the classroom. The annual ICGL theme (water, for 2014-2015) helps to integrate and facilitate learning via a global lens. The board will help initiate ideas for each school-wide theme annually.

Hastie has great faith in the future success of the ICGL because of the organic way that students have jumped in and helped to drive the program.

“The students are ready for anything—they’ll make [ICGL programs] happen and keep making them successful,” he says. “Real credit should go to the faculty for embracing new ideas and to Fred [Assaf] for supporting and energizing them,” Hastie says.

26

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

ICGL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Neal K. Aronson

Founder and Managing Partner, Roark Capital Group

Kirsten Boehner

Technology and Design Research, Georgia Institute of Technology

Khalid Hamied

Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Xtarta Solutions

Charles B. Hastie

Vice President, Strategy & Planning, The Coca-Cola Company

Gregory C. Kelly

Director, Global Consumer Sector, McKinsey & Company

Sergei Kouzmine

Entrepreneur; Founder and Managing Partner, QWave Capital

Cara Isdell Lee ’97

Trustee and Head of the Isdell Family Foundation; Community Volunteer

Wenke Lee

Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology; Director, Georgia Tech IT Security Center

Robert A. Sharpe II

President and CEO, CSM Bakery Solutions Limited

Gail Starr

Marketing Strategy Consultant; Community Volunteer

ICGL

LOWER SCHOOL STUDENTS BECOME “JUNIORPRENEURS”

LIEBMAN ’00 JOINS ICGL TEAM It’s no surprise that the Pace Academy Class of 2000’s “Most Spirited” member has returned to her alma mater. In January, MARY LIEBMAN ’00 joined the Pace faculty to oversee Pace Summer Programs and service learning, initiatives that fall within the ICGL’s umbrella.

With a master’s degree in nonprofit administration from the University of Notre Dame, work experience with AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and a previous stint in Summer Programs, Liebman is uniquely qualified for her new role.

She plans to expand Summer Programs throughout all of Pace’s divisions and to view the service-learning program from a school-wide perspective, working with community partners and Pace parents to facilitate meaningful opportunities for service. One of her first initiatives? Middle School ServicePalooza, a weekend of volunteer activities for Pace Middle School students and their families.

Lower School students just can’t get enough of Design Thinking. The humancentered approach to problem solving increases innovation through hands-on activities, ultimately teaching the four Cs: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication.

The methodology has been incorporated in the Lower School curriculum, and all Lower School faculty participated in Design Thinking workshops over the summer, but Director of Design Thinking JASMINA PATEL and Spanish teacher POLI APARICIO have taken it a step further.

Each Friday afternoon during the spring semester, fourth- and fifth-grade students gather in the Design Thinking lab for JuniorPreneur Club. These budding entrepreneurs undertake invention challenges that urge them to think outside the box, work as a team, and turn simple ideas into marketing plans and business proposals.

Through the club, which was generously funded by Pace parents KARA and ANAND DUTTA, students develop business literacy, build confidence and resilience through success and failure and experience the entrepreneurial journey.

Demand for the club has been so high that Patel and Aparicio will offer a JuniorPrenuer Camp through Pace Summer Programs. June and July sessions will be open to students entering the third through eighth grades. For more information, visit www. paceacademy.org/summerprograms.

THESE WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS In 2014, senior LARINE HAMIED was one third of the team that won the inaugural Pace Academy Social Entrepreneurship Challenge. Scootle, the app that Hamied and seniors MATT TANENBLATT and TANNER LEWIS created to simultaneously improve traffic flow, encourage volunteerism and healthy living and promote local businesses, sparked a flurry of conversation around entrepreneurship, leading to increased participation in this year’s Challenge— particularly among female students.

To foster that spirit of innovation and enterprise, this year, the Isdell Center for Global Leadership has partnered with SunTrust Bank to create the Women’s Business & Entrepreneurs Group in the Upper School. Once a month, SunTrust professionals visit Pace (with pizza, of course!) and lead small groups of students in discussions regarding business issues—topics such as interviews and budgets.

"I'd like to go into the predominately male field of biomedical chemical engineering,” says sophomore EMMA DOWNEY. “The Women’s Business & Entrepreneurs Group is a great way to learn how to deal with that.”

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

27

GLOBAL LEADERS

An Independent Learner

SILVER-MEDAL SISTERS For the Merchant family, serving others is just part of daily life. Seventh-grader INSHA MERCHANT and fourth-grader SHEZA MERCHANT frequently volunteer with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Project Open Hand Atlanta, Meals by Grace and other local nonprofit organizations.

Sheza devoted more than 12 hours of her spring break to volunteer work, and in 2014, Insha coordinated a school-supply drive, donating more than 400 pounds of pencils, paper and pens to I Care Atlanta Inc. It comes as no surprise then that the girls have been recognized for their philanthropic work; both are 2014 recipients of The President’s Volunteer Service Award at the silver level.

The silver award recognizes children who have volunteered more than 70 hours during a 12-month period. Recipients receive a personalized certificate, an official pin, medallion or coin and a congratulatory letter from President Barack Obama.

28

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

When senior MARK GRENADER expressed an interest in delving deeper into chemistry research through an independent-study lab course, Upper School science teacher JULIE HALL knew just what to do.

Hall, a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, connected Grenader with Dr. Mark Prausnitz, head of Georgia Tech’s Laboratory for Drug Delivery. Prausnitz in turn arranged a partnership with Dr. Andrey Romanyuk, a research scientist with a focus on microneedles. The microscopic needles used for vaccine delivery and diagnostics take up significantly less space than traditional hypodermic needles. They are also painless, pose no biohazard after use and require little to no expertise for administration.

Grenader began exploring the world of microneedles in the summer of 2014 and has continued his research throughout the academic year, leaving Pace early multiple times a week to spend several hours at Georgia Tech.

Beyond a love of science, Grenader and Romanyuk share a common heritage; Romanyuk is a Russian national, and Grenader is a first-generation Russian-American. They conduct all of their lab work in Russian.

“I’ve been involved in projects related to glucose level detection, tetanus and Ebola vaccine distribution and ocular medication delivery,” Grenader says. He’s also been published. Collection of Analytes from Microneedle Patches appeared in an October 2014 edition of Analytical Chemistry and listed Grenader as a co-author.

While Grenader —who hopes to pursue engineering—does not foresee a career in academia, his time at Georgia Tech has augmented his respect for technicians in the field. “I know it sounds sort of cliché, but science is very complicated,” he says. “So many factors go into even the simplest tasks. Every day is incredibly interesting.”

Meet Our 2015 Youth Activism Fellows

Johnson, Holifield and Jordan

As part of Pace Academy’s affiliate partnership with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, junior XORI JOHNSON, sophomore KATIE JORDAN and freshman CALEB HOLIFIELD were selected as 2015 Youth Activism Fellows.

In partnership with The Center and Price Waterhouse Coopers LLC, the 25 Atlanta-area Fellows are exploring the intersection of culture, community and human rights—with a particular emphasis on human rights leadership. The hope is that Fellows will raise their potential as individuals who play significant roles in making social change possible.

In June, Fellows will travel to Washington, D.C., and upon completion of the program, will receive a stipend and financial literacy information to support their futures as agents of change.

GLOBAL LEADERS

Rhodes in Jordan in 2012

Faculty Spotlight

Rebecca Rhodes “Life is more enriching when you get to experience it with and through other people,” says fifth-grade teacher REBECCA RHODES, and that mantra rules in her classroom.

Rhodes has taught in the Lower School for the past decade. She has a passion for travel and aims to share her love of other cultures with her fifth graders. Her enthusiasm for exploring the world led her to join the faculty committee that formed Pace Academy’s global education program—now part of the Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL)—in 2007. Since then, Rhodes has traveled with Pace students and faculty to Romania, Jordan, Bolivia and Cambodia in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International.

Most recently, Rhodes spent spring break with a group of 19 students in Romania (see story on page 24). While there, they lived among a community in which Habitat for Humanity volunteers built three quarters of the homes. Rhodes’ favorite part of the trip was watching Pace students “serve for the greater good.”

Rhodes grew up at Darlington, a boarding school in Rome, Ga., and says she was more than prepared to support students who had never before traveled without their parents. In fact, her attentiveness has earned her the nickname “mom of the trip.”

“I think it’s because I bring so much stuff with me, like medicine, Band-Aids, wet wipes—you name it,” Rhodes says. “I’m happy to care for students in any way; it’s fun.”

Rhodes aims to instill a love for global education in her students at an early age. She believes that children are naturally curious and want to learn about the world outside their own front doors. So Rhodes and her fellow Lower School teachers take pride in educating their students to become prepared, confident citizens of the world.

She uses each study tour as a learning opportunity, which she later relays to her fifth graders. “Honestly, when you have an experience like a Habitat build, it kind of becomes ingrained in you, and you just want talk about it. Stories from these trips have become the fabric of my classroom,” Rhodes says.

“By sharing my stories of travel, I hope to encourage [my fifthgrade students] to see the world in a different way and then help them begin to think about where they want to go, who they want to be, how they will influence the world as they grow. Ultimately, I want them to have a thirst to learn about others.”

Rhodes encourages parents to have “intentional conversations about the world” with their children. She’ll endeavor to do the same as she leads the first-ever Lower School study tour to Costa Rica this summer.

“As an educator, the privilege of watching a student learn, grow and change is hard to describe. I know that these experiences shift the way I view the world, and it’s humbling to watch students go through the same experience.”

— by ROBIN LALONE ’12

Above and right: Rhodes in Cambodia in 2014; Top right: Rhodes with a Pace group in Bolivia in 2013 KnightTimes | Spring 2015

29

GLOBAL LEADERS

SETH SWIECICHOWSKI and Dylan Steinfeld

Baking for Breast Cancer Raises $20K

HANNA GREENBERG

From a young age, ZACH STEINFELD ’13 loved being in the kitchen, trying out recipes for brownies, cookies and cupcakes and then sharing his treats with classmates. He decided to use his hobby for good and, in 2010, channeled his affection for all things culinary into Baking for Breast Cancer, a Pace Academy club benefitting the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).

With the help of many club members (read: volunteer bakers), Baking for Breast Cancer raised more than $7,000 in its first two years through monthly bake sales. And in 2011, Zach’s younger brother, senior DYLAN STEINFELD, officially joined the Baking ranks. “Not only did I want to help Zach, but I also realized how great it is to be a part of a school club that makes a real difference in the world,” Dylan says.

Dylan took over as club co-president his junior year, a role he shares with seniors CHRISTINA DARLAND, GRACE FRANCOUR and CLAIRE SNYDER. Together, they serve up homemade brownies, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies, and cupcakes to Pace students while raising awareness and funds to fight the pernicious disease.

On Feb. 23, Baking for Breast Cancer hit a major milestone: the club topped $20,000 in donations to the NBCF. “Amazing!” the organization tweeted in response to the announcement. “Thank you for your continued support, [Pace Academy]! Together, we are #HelpingWomenNow.” While $20,000 is quite an accomplishment, Dylan says Baking for Breast Cancer won’t slow down anytime soon. “The club will indeed continue next year without a Steinfeld at the helm,” he reports—and he has a succession plan in place to prove it. “Hopefully when I visit Pace in 15 years, Baking for Breast Cancer will still be thriving.”

THANK YOU! Knights of the Round Table Gift Society To our Knights of the Round Table Gift Society donors, we extend heartfelt appreciation for your gifts of $1,500 or more to The Pace Fund 2015: uKnight campaign. You lead the way in support of Pace Academy, contributing more than $750,000 annually.

GLOBAL LEADERS

Thank you to the 2015 Pace Race sponsors!

Baker One of “20 Under 20” Each January, Atlanta INtown recognizes young people who have “gone above and beyond to give back to the community.” This year, senior MORGAN BAKER (pictured above in white shirt) was chosen from more than 70 nominees for inclusion in the paper’s “20 Under 20” list.

Baker was selected as a Pace service leader for My Sister’s House in 2012 and is now one of five Upper School executive service leaders. In March 2014, she founded the Atlanta Shoe Bank to provide shoes to homeless children. Baker created a website and process for shelters to request shoes, and she reached out to local shoe stores to build her inventory.

BOYS BASKETBALL

E. Holifield

Swain

Carter

Photography by FRED ASSAF

THE COURT WAS THEIR CASTLE Varsity boys basketball advances to GHSA Elite Eight in historic season

Sheft

The Knights may be Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AA’s new kid on the block, but they sure are making an impression on their new neighbors.

Coming off a 14–12 season in Class A, the varsity boys basketball team hoped “to compete at the highest level every moment of competition,” says head coach DEMETRIUS SMITH. But the team’s goals were a little more specific than just contending: “In the region, we wanted to beat rival Holy Innocents’ and other Class AA teams like Lovett and Greater Atlanta Christian,” Smith reports.

And they did. One by one, rivals fell to the Knights. In key region matches, Pace defeated Lovett (62–35, 76–59), Holy Innocents’ (59–48, 68–66) and GAC (73–57, 71–42).

Kaminsky

Standouts like sophomore WENDELL CARTER, senior ELIJAH HOLIFIELD, junior ZACK KAMINSKY and freshman CALEB HOLIFIELD certainly contributed to the wins, but the legions of Knights fans that came out game after game (see sidebar) inevitably commented on the team as whole.

It was not unusual for each player on the Knights’ roster to take the court at some point during a game—and that was intentional. “It was a collective effort to compete night in and night out,” Smith says. “We had different guys step up in different games.”

Smith credits senior captains Elijah Holifield, ELIJAH SHEFT and WAIDE SWAIN with cultivating that team spirit. “Our 17 players cared more about one another than about winning games,” he says. “They never talked about playing for a [state-championship] ring; they talked about playing for each other.”

Region Champs The Knights went into the region tournament with a 23–2 record—undefeated in region 6AA play—and defeated Wesleyan 77–58 and Lovett 76–59 to advance to the finals.

In the battle for the gold cup, Pace once again faced GAC, the 2013 and 2014 region champion.

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

33

BOYS BASKETBALL

“Our game against GAC was probably our toughest given that our two leading scorers [Carter and Elijah Holifield] were out of the game in foul trouble,” recalls Sheft. By the second quarter, both players had taken their seats on the bench, each a foul away from permanently exiting the game. But the Knights were not defeated. “Everyone else stepped up,” Sheft says.

The teams battled for the lead in the game’s final minutes. With 17 seconds remaining, Caleb Holifield’s jumper put the Knights up 64–63, and the Spartans failed to score on their next possession. Carter then drained a pair of clutch free throws to give the Knights a 66–63 lead. The Spartans’ final shot fell short, and the Knights were region champs.

“I’ll always remember hoisting the region cup and having our fans storm the court and celebrate with us,” Sheft says.

The moment was special for Elijah Holifield as well. “Ending GAC’s streak of regionchampionship wins was the highlight of my season,” he says.

Kaminsky

The Road to State

DEON JACKSON

Sheft

On Feb. 18, the No. 1-seeded Knights entered the state tournament and took on Temple High School in the Round of 32. Their 62–35 win over Temple secured a spot in the Sweet 16, and their region-championship victory gave the Knights the home-court advantage. In front of a standing-room-only crowd, Pace came away with the Sweet 16 win, defeating Region 4’s No. 2 seed, the Lamar County Trojans, 82–51.

It was on to the Elite Eight. On Feb. 25, as snow threatened the metro-Atlanta area, and businesses and schools closed, the Knights traveled south to Vidalia Comprehensive High School to face the Indians, also a No. 1 seed.

The gym was packed, the boundaries between fans and players virtually nonexistent, the home crowd hostile. Vidalia had a 28–23 lead at the half, but by the close of the third quarter, the Knights were back on top, 38–37. Sadly, it was not to be. With 25 seconds remaining, the Indians led, and the Knights could not recover. The team fell 48–46.

“As a captain, my goal was to lead the team to a state championship,” Sheft says. “Unfortunately, we came up a little bit short.”

The season’s close reminded Smith of a quote from basketball great Michael Jordan: “Champions do not become champions when they win an event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it.”

“Next year,” Smith says, “We’ll prepare ourselves to be even better than we were this season.” •

PHILIP MARKWALTER

MARK ANTHONY SOMMERVILLE

34

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

BOYS BASKETBALL

THE SIXTH MAN There’s no doubt that talent on the court contributed to the varsity boys basketball team’s success this season; but another group of Knights had something to do with it as well.

The Knights of the Round Table, a student group formed in 2012 and now led by seniors JOSH BLANK and MATT TANENBLATT, coordinated the student fan section at basketball games— orchestrating theme nights, leading cheers, taunting opponents and generally making a ridiculous amount of noise.

“As a Pace lifer, I vividly remember being a 6-year-old and watching Upper Schoolers pack the stands [at home basketball games],” says Tanenblatt. “It was just something that I always wanted to be a part of.”

He isn’t the only one. Students came out in droves to support the Knights, often traveling long distances to cheer at away games.

“It’s very rare that you find a 400-person high school that brings more than 100 fans to any sporting event,” Tanenblatt says. “It’s especially crazy to have all of us pack into one small section at the center of the court. I think we really helped out this year.”

The basketball team agrees. “Fan support this year was unreal,” recalls senior cocaptain ELIJAH SHEFT. “Without the Knights of the Round Table, we would not have won games in which we were down and facing adversity. We could always look to the fans to have our back.”

Those outside the Pace community took notice as well. In an article following the Knights’ second-round win over Lamar County High School, HoopSeen.com reporter Justin Young wrote, “Kudos to Pace’s student section. They were spirited. They were in sync with the action. The entire Pace Academy home-court experience was terrific.”

That level of spirit didn’t just happen; it required planning and coordination. “In order to ensure everyone knew the cheers, we posted and handed out a cheat sheet for every single cheer,” says Blank, who with his fellow members texted classmates, made announcements in assembly and tweeted about each game.

It was time that the Knights of the Round Table were more than happy to contribute.

“Supporting Pace is something that I take great pride in, and I always hope that Pace Athletics excels,” Blank says. “There’s something special about having one of the best home-court advantages in the state.”

A SEASON OF ACCOLADES The Knights’ stellar performances did not go unnoticed by the basketball community.

The following players earned post-season accolades:

DEMETRIUS SMITH, ALL-METRO COACH OF THE YEAR Head coach DEMETRIUS SMITH (pictured above with WENDELL CARTER) is no stranger to state-playoff pressure. A member of the Callaway High School squad in Hogansville, Ga., Smith was the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Class A Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000. He led his team to four consecutive region championships, to the Class A Elite Eight in 1999 and the 2000 Final Four.

Smith went on to play for the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide, where he was a cocaptain and Defensive Player of the Year. His team made an appearance in the 2004 NCAA Elite Eight.

Smith’s state-playoff experience as a player informed his coaching this season. “I just wanted to make sure that the guys were enjoying the moment and each other on and off the court,” he says.

The focus on teamwork, character and camaraderie paid off. The Atlanta JournalConstitution named Smith its All-Metro Coach of the Year for Atlanta/South Fulton.

WENDELL CARTER

ELIJAH HOLIFIELD

ZACK KAMINSKY

CALEB HOLIFIELD

• Atlanta JournalConstitution Atlanta/ South Fulton AllMetro Player of the Year • Region 6AA Player of the Year • Naismith Trophy Metro Atlanta Boys Second Team • Ranked 10th in the Class of 2017

by ESPN 25

• Atlanta JournalConstitution Atlanta/ South Fulton AllMetro First Team • Region 6AA’s No. 2 player

• All-Region Honorable Mention

• All-Region Honorable Mention

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

35

THE ASSAF DECADE Reflecting on the past 10 years at Pace Academy

THE ASSAF DECADE

“I feel like the luckiest man in the world,” Head of School FRED ASSAF told a standing-room-only crowd in the Pace Academy Fine Arts Center.

It was Aug. 21, 2005, one of the hottest days of the year, and moments before, Assaf had been installed as Pace Academy’s fifth headmaster.

“I believe that schools are places we ‘enter to learn’ and ‘leave to serve,’” he went on.

“Pace knows this well. We value service to others not only for the attributes it lends to our college applications; we value service because it is transformative.”

Over the course of the past 10 years, Pace has had no greater servant than Assaf, and his service has been beyond transformative. But Assaf was mistaken. We—the Pace community—are the lucky ones.

The Beginning “The Pace head position was a real prize in the private-school world,” recalls Life Trustee

STEVE ROGERS. “I was on the search committee, and the search firm we hired gave us five very qualified candidates, including Fred. Our contact at the firm said he added Fred to the mix even though Fred might be too young for such a significant position.”

At 37, Assaf was in the final year of a fiveyear contract as principal of La Salle College High School in Philadelphia, Penn. He and his wife, MARTHA DOWNER-ASSAF, had five boys under the age of 10.

“We were very happy, but we knew that if Fred signed another contract, we’d be at La Salle for life because of the ages of our kids,” says Downer-Assaf. “So Fred started to explore other options. He came home one day and said that he wanted to apply for a job at a school in Atlanta. My first thought was, ‘Wow, I’ve never been to Atlanta… that’s really far south!’”

The “Dapper Dandy” stood out to the search committee, Rogers says, and Assaf soon made his first-ever trip to Atlanta.

“Fred brought to his interview the energy and enthusiasm with which—we soon found out—he approaches every task,” remembers MARK PIRRUNG, then chair of the Board of Trustees. “We were blown away and frankly incredulous at first. Driving Fred to his hotel late in the evening after his first grueling day of interviews and meetings, I expected him to relax and show a little bit of fatigue. Not so… the next morning, I even started to count his cups of coffee!”

Needless to say, the initial interview went well. “I remember taking down some notes using the following words to describe Fred: intelligent, compassionate, charismatic, energetic and inspirational,” Rogers says.

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

37

THE ASSAF DECADE

Assaf returned to Atlanta on his 38th birthday for a second visit, this time with his wife.

Downer-Assaf felt right at home. “I liked the idea that Pace was still in growth mode,” she says. “It seemed like a place Fred could grow up with. It was young and vibrant. We thought our kids could be happy at Pace.”

The second round of interviews required that Assaf give a presentation to the search committee. “I was very moved… I think a few tears were running down my cheeks,” Rogers remembers. “I looked around, and the other members were just as emotional.

In fact, [longtime faculty member] CHARLIE OWENS had more tears than me.”

The search committee enthusiastically recommended that the Board of Trustees hire Assaf.

“When the Board asked me to present our offer, I was traveling on business,” Pirrung recalls. “I immediately called Fred before boarding a flight. It so happened that he had also received a verbal offer that same day to head a school in Ohio. Fred wanted to accept our offer, but he had been advised, wisely, to make sure any offer he accepted was in the form of a written contract.

“Fortunately, by that time, we had connected personally, only partially because we both were graduates of the University of Virginia, where we were indoctrinated in the honor code. Fred suggested that if I would give him my word as a Virginia gentleman as to the terms that was fine with him. The rest is history.”

Assaf was officially installed on August 21, 2005. More than 650 members of the Pace community attended the ceremony, and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin delivered the keynote address.

“Fred, you are arriving when all of your skills and incredible academic background are needed not just in the lives of those who attend this school, but by the entire community, and we welcome you.”

Then, Assaf got to work.

Everything’s Local In 2004, Pace filed a special-use permit application with the city of Atlanta to build a track and lacrosse field at the back of its

38

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

campus, adjacent to the existing upper field.

To say that the plans were met with opposition from the surrounding neighborhood would be an understatement.

Rumors swirled that Pace—which did not have a football program at the time—would build a stadium on its W. Paces Ferry Road property, leading to noise, traffic and unwanted light; vocal community members believed that physical expansion would lead to an increase in enrollment; others speculated that Pace owned all of the property around its campus and had secret plans to expand further.

The controversy received significant media coverage, and signs reading “S.O.S.— Save Our Streets: Stop Pace Academy from ruining our neighborhood,” could be found up and down nearby streets. With Life Trustee PAUL GARCIA, who succeeded Pirrung as chair of the Board, Assaf jumped into the fray upon his arrival.

“Managing neighborhood relations was a 40-hour-a-week job in addition to Fred’s normal job,” Downer-Assaf recalls. “He and Paul took a political approach to repairing the situation. They had fireside conversations with any neighbor who would meet with them. Paul can sell ice to Eskimos and had the insight to know that the school would be a little bit stagnant until those relationships were restored.”

Over the course of weeks, months and countless meetings, neighborhood relations improved, and in the October 2007 issue of the KnightTimes, Pace announced that it had reached an agreement with its neighbors that would allow for the implementation of its 20-year master campus plan—with the full support of neighborhood leadership.

The agreement preserved the school’s small family feel and expanded its facilities to accommodate a moderate increase in enrollment. Together with an ambitious long-range plan, it outlined Pace’s vision for the future.

That same month, Pace launched SHINE. The capital campaign called for the creation of new athletic facilities on a 23-acre tract of land on Riverview Road in Cobb County and on an 8-acre plot on Warren Road, as well as renovations and an addition to the Lower School.

“That was a defining moment,” says Downer-Assaf. “It was a turning point for the school. I really think that the rebuilding of neighborhood relations allowed Pace to do everything that’s happened since.”

And much has happened.

A Period of Unprecedented Growth When searching for a new headmaster, the Board of Trustees hoped to find someone amenable to starting Pace’s first-ever football program. Its members believed that the program would bolster school spirit, unite the Lower, Middle, and Upper School communities under the Friday-night lights and help retain the students who often left Pace to pursue football at neighboring schools.

Assaf was on board and hired coach MATT HALL to launch the program. Pace formed a Middle School team in the fall of 2006; the varsity program took the field three years later.

It was the first in a series of milestones for Pace. In the subsequent years, the school opened the first phase of its Athletics Complex—a baseball facility and multipurpose fields for football, lacrosse and soccer—as well as a softball field on Warren Road.

Once complete, the Lower School renovation funded by the SHINE campaign allowed for growth within the student population.

The changes to Pace’s footprint were physical manifestations of the growth taking place within its academic, athletic and artistic communities.

The Upper School added new Advanced Placement classes and increased staffing in the Office of College Counseling to provide a more individualized approach. In 2007, the school officially opened an Academic Resource Center to support all students in all divisions, specifically those struggling with learning differences. SAT scores continued to climb, and Pace strategically focused on diversity, partnering with organizations such as The Goizueta Foundation and The Coca-Cola Foundation to increase access and resources to students of diverse backgrounds.

Pace continued to grow its outstanding arts and athletics programs, adding teams, ensembles and performance opportunities.

Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Assaf and Pirrung at Assaf's installation

Garcia, Assaf and Pirrung

Sheft, current chair of the Board of Trustees, Walsh and Assaf

THE ASSAF DECADE

Pace debate dominated; admissions applications for all grades increased exponentially year after year; parents, faculty, and students introduced Pace LEAD to educate the community about drug and alcohol use; and in 2009, the Board of Trustees approved the launch of a global education program to provide co-curricular opportunities for international travel.

Aiming High Despite Pace’s unprecedented growth, one final piece of the master campus plan remained: Pace was in desperate need of a new Upper School classroom building. The original facility, built in 1961, lacked the space, technology and amenities one would expect from an institution of Pace’s stature.

JEFF SEAMAN, then chair of the Board of Trustees, believed Pace could raise the funds necessary to build a state-of-the-art Upper School that would match the quality of the education provided inside.

“Jeff is such a visionary,” says DownerAssaf. “He imagined the Upper School and got the ball rolling in an efficient and productive way.”

By the time the Aim High campaign officially launched in August of 2012, TIM WALSH ’81 had taken over as Board chair and, with campaign co-chairs ELIZABETH RICHARDS and ROBERT SHEFT, he and Assaf pounded the pavement in an effort to reach the campaign’s lofty $32-million goal.

“The worst they can say is no,” is a phrase Assaf often employs—never more so than during the Aim High campaign. When all was said and done, the campaign exceeded its goal by more than $3 million, allowing for the construction of the Upper School and the completion of Pace’s satellite athletic facility on Riverview Road.

The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School opened its doors on August 13, 2014, and Walsh Field, a state-of-the-art stadium and track, welcomed fans for the Knights’ first home football game of the 2014 season.

Nearly 2,000 people of all ages attended.

Curricular and co-curricular additions complemented these physical changes—the

40

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

Upper School launched the Pace Academy Social Entrepreneurship Challenge (PASEC); the Lower School implemented the Design Thinking program; and faculty members in all divisions participated in MyTeachingPartner, a professional-development program piloted by the University of Virginia.

In the fall of 2014, these innovative initiatives found a home under the umbrella of the Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL).

The collaborative, cross-divisional program supports a well-rounded global education for every Pace graduate by exploring an annual, school-wide global theme. Curricular, co-curricular and hands-on activities, a scholar-in-residence program, leadership fellowships, internships and study tours support education around these themes.

Today, Pace students travel the world; they learn in 21st-century spaces supported by the latest technology; and they compete, perform and create at the highest levels.

People Make the Place Whenever Assaf addresses the Pace faculty and staff, he thanks them for their service to the school. “You are the heart of Pace,” he often says. “People want to come here because of you.”

It’s true. Assaf has surrounded himself with talented individuals who care about the Pace community just as much as he does.

“He’s built a great team, and he lets them do their jobs,” says former Pace parent and Life Trustee GARY SCHAEFER. Downer-Assaf likens her husband’s hiring mentality to Lincoln’s Team of Rivals, made famous by author Doris Kearns Goodwin.

“Fred hasn’t always hired people who are going to be yes-sir people,” she says. “His leadership style is not to micromanage. He looks at personality and character, and that’s served him well. It’s been fun to see individuals he’s hired come into their own.”

Assaf has no doubt come into his own at Pace as a result of his personality and character. “I knew working with Fred would be a great adventure,” Head of Middle School JOHN ANDERSON says. “Fred’s vision for what the school needs, his intelligence for how

to bring it about and his energy for getting it done are unsurpassed in my experience.”

He’s just a fun guy to be around. “Isn’t everyone’s first impression of Fred based on the volume of his laugh?” asks Head of Upper School MIKE GANNON. “Fred’s sense of humor and huge heart make him a great leader,” says KATHERINE PATRICK, Assaf’s assistant for nearly nine years. “He has an incredible ability to connect with and unite all members of our community—from the youngest children to the oldest grandparents and everyone in between.”

Even Assaf’s children appreciate his effective leadership. “[My dad] creates the optimal environment for learning and growing,” says JACK ASSAF ’13. “He does a great job pushing for the new and exciting aspects of Pace while holding on to those things that define the Pace culture he loves.

“Although there are many faculty children at Pace, everyone knew that I was ‘Mr. Assaf’s son.’ As a student, that was a good and bad thing. But after it was all said and done, I believe it was a great thing—not because my dad was the head, but because Mr. Assaf was in charge of the school I attended.”

Pace Academy Today “Today, Pace is the school in Atlanta,” Schaefer says. “Fred has had a huge hand in making Pace the wonderful, all-around, diverse family school that it is.”

Garcia agrees. “We always had a great school, but we now have a truly outstanding school,” he says. “Not only has the physical environment grown tremendously under Fred’s leadership, but our students continue to benefit from our policy of including the entire family in their education. We field competitive teams in multi-sport activities, our arts programs have never been stronger, and our students almost universally earn enrollment into their university of choice—a great school even greater by virtually any measure.”

So, Fred, happy 10 years. And thanks. •

MAJOR MILESTONES: 2005–2015 • FRED ASSAF becomes Pace Academy’s fifth headmaster • Pace acquires property for two satellite athletic facilities

Clockwise from top left: TOMMY '21, Fred, SAM '19, Martha, Jack '13, HANK '15 and MICK '16 Assaf

20 1

• For the first time in school history, the Knights field a football team

5

• The Academic Resource Center opens to support students in all divisions • Pace enters into a historic agreement with the surrounding neighborhood • The Lower School building expands • Phase I of Pace’s Athletics Complex opens on Riverview Road • Pace launches Aim High, a $32-million campaign to build a new Upper School • Bridges Hall is demolished to make way for a new Upper School

20 0

• The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School opens

5

• Walsh Field welcomes fans for the first home football game of the 2014 season • Pace Arts experiences unprecedented growth • Pace launches the Isdell Center for Global Leadership

The Assaf Family!

41

ALUMNI

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? UPDATES READE CODY ’85 has completed his debut novel, Dawn of Eve. The book, the first in a series, follows spy Eve Pemberton, a “truly modern woman, confident in her intelligence, independence, and abilities, but truly tested for the first time. Eve demonstrates not only that she can run with the boys, but she can outwit them as well.” Dawn of Eve is now available through Amazon and Kindle.

WHEELER BRYAN ’98 is now sales and marketing manager for C. Parks Catering and Events. He and his wife, Katy, live in Atlanta.

KELLEY HARRIS ’00 recently started HINT | Harris Interiors, an Atlanta-based commercial interior design business (www. hintatlanta.com). Kelley graduated from the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art with a degree in Interior Design. He spent the past 10 years designing commercial projects, specifically private golf and country club

42

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

interiors, and continues with HINT. Kelley worked most recently at Cherokee Town Club, as well as Capital City Club and Peachtree Golf Club. His current projects span the Southeast and Midwest. Kelley and his partner, JARED PAUL ’90, live in Atlanta’s East Lake neighborhood.

MARY LIEBMAN ’00 recently returned to Pace as director of service learning and Pace Summer Programs (see page 27.)

ERIC SILVERSTEIN ’00 (pictured above) recently opened The Peached Tortilla, a restaurant in Austin, Texas. The award-winning restaurant is a leader in the local and national food scene, bringing traditional Southern cuisine with an urban Asian flair to the city of Austin.

Initially launched as a food truck in 2010, the brand has expanded to multiple food trucks, a full-service catering business and a 2,500-square-foot restaurant. The restaurant

Silverstein

menu focuses on urban Asian and Southern comfort food with a modern twist, expanding on the sophistication and complexity of existing food-truck favorites.

Recently, Pace alumni may have seen a familiar face on BBC News. COURTNEY FREER ’04 provided commentary regarding the possible hostage exchange deal between Jordan and the Islamic State.

A Princeton University graduate, Courtney received her Master of Near and Middle Eastern Studies from George Washington University. She did fieldwork in Jordan as part of the program and later worked as a research assistant at the Brookings Institution Doha Center in Qatar. She published a paper on Jordanian politics with the Brookings Institution.

Courtney plans to complete her Ph.D. in politics at the University of Oxford this spring. Her work there focuses on Muslim

ALUMNI

Brotherhood movements in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. She hopes to return to the Gulf after graduation.

SHELBY PALMERTON ’10 graduated from nursing school summa cum laude and lives in Savannah, Ga., where she is a labor and delivery nurse at Candler Hospital.

On Jan. 20, the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) named ALEX DAVIS ’11 its Men’s Player of the Week for the second time in the season. Alex, a senior at Oglethorpe University, had a “standout performance” in the team’s game against Berry College, scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds. As of Jan. 20, Alex was second in the SAA in assists with 4.0 per game and had an impressive 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.

BILLY SELMON ’11 and the Bates College basketball team were selected to participate in the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship for the first time. The Bates Bobcats have the second-most victories in team history against one of the toughest schedules in the country.

In her first pageant experience, SYMONE SOMMERVILLE ’14 was named first runner-up in the Miss Kappa Alpha Psi Pageant at Georgia Southern University. Her energetic tap and jazz routine won Best Talent.

Each contestant was required to secure a minimum of $300 in sponsors and advertisements, and Symone went above and beyond, raising $1,050.

Harris

1) Steinfeld meeting President Obama (photo by Reuters); 2) Palmerton; 3) Sommerville with her father, Pace coach MARK SOMMERVILLE; 4) Freer

ZACH STEINFELD ’13 is a Dean’s Scholar at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, where he is majoring in business administration with a concentration in finance, while working toward a minor in engineering and business and a certificate in operations and supply-chain management.

Zach is very active on campus. He holds leadership positions in Consult Your Community, a nonprofit organization that consults small businesses, and the Georgia Tech Student Foundation’s Investments Committee, the largest student-run philanthropic endowment in the country. Zach is also a member of Sympathetic Vibrations, Georgia Tech’s premier male a cappella group, which will soon release a new album.

He recently competed in the Deloitte Consulting Undergraduate Case Competition, in which his team placed first in the local round and third in the national round, out of 250 teams. This summer, Zach will intern with Deloitte’s Strategy & Operations practice. In March, Zach met President Obama during Obama’s visit to Georgia Tech.

JACLYN LUND ’14 is a busy first-year student at the University of Virginia, but she’s somehow found time to launch her own business. Jaclyn makes collegiate-themed pillowcases and sells them on her Etsy store, PersonalizedbyJL. Check out her products at www.etsy.com/shop/PersonalizedbyJL.

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

43

ALUMNI

BIRTHS Hazel and MARC BOURGET ’97 welcomed Andre Parker Antonio on Nov. 3, 2014. The family lives in San Francisco, where Marc works for Brightroll, a video advertising technology company recently acquired by Yahoo! Hazel runs Blu Bungalow, an event-planning studio.

KIMBERLY TUCKER HOOPER ‘97 and her husband, Brian, welcomed Austin Sinclair on May 3, 2014. The family, which includes big brother Langley, moved back to Atlanta in Dec. 2014.

ALI TRAUNER BEBIAK ’98 and her husband, Alex, had a boy, Brooks Robert, on Dec. 13, 2014. Ali is director of marketing and events for Ray’s Restaurants in Atlanta.

SARA and BRENT EDEN ’98 welcomed a baby boy, Miles Louis, on Feb. 6, 2015. He was 6 pounds, 10 ounces and 19 inches. Sara is the Upper School guidance counselor at Pace, and Brent is an advisor at Nease, Lagana, Eden & Culley, a financial services firm.

LAURIE GAY BEARD ’99 and her husband, Charles, welcomed daughter Amelie Valentine on Nov. 3, 2014, at Atlanta’s Piedmont Hospital, where Charles and Laurie were also born. Amelie was 7 pounds, 11 ounces.

The family lives in Atlanta.

Charlotte Mears was born to DORSEY STINSON BRYAN ’00 and her husband, Austin, on Feb. 2, 2015. Charlotte joins big sister Ellie. The family lives in Atlanta.

LAUREN PAULLIN GODFREY ’01 and her husband, Derek, welcomed daughter Vivienne Marie on Dec. 2, 2014. She weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 21.5 inches.

Vivienne joins big sister Taylor Elizabeth, 4, and shares the same birthday as her mother.

The family lives in Lawrenceville, Ga., with their German Shepherd, Salem. Lauren works for Selling Solutions, Inc., where she runs strategic customer relationship planning programs for key accounts at SABMiller Latin America and MillerCoors.

44

1) The Gurley twins; 2) The Beard family; 3) Ella Palmer Hendrix; 4) Vivienne Marie Godfrey with her mother, Lauren; 5) Andre Parker Antonio Bourget; 6) The Hooper family; 7) Charlotte Mears Bryan; 8) Brooks Robert Bebiak; 9) Ophelia Antoinette Wilson; 10) Bennett William Watters; 11) Miles Louis Eden; 12) Merritt Elizabeth Lunati; 13) Bradley Malcolm Hastings

ALUMNI

Former Pace Lower School teacher ELIZABETH BALENTINE GURLEY ’01 and her husband, Hank, welcomed Elizabeth “Libby” Haywood and Sarah “Sally” Batson on Feb. 13, 2015. “Davis, 1, is an amazing big brother,” Elizabeth writes. “We couldn’t be more thrilled about our newest additions.”

MARTHA ALLGOOD HASTINGS ’01 and her husband, Patrick, had a baby boy, Bradley Malcolm, on Dec. 11, 2014. He joins big brother Pierce. The family lives in Baltimore, Md., where Martha sells investment properties throughout the Mid Atlantic for CBRE. Rebecca and DAVID WILSON ’01 welcomed Ophelia Antoinette on Dec. 1, 2014.

David is a student career development specialist at Virginia College Online. The family resides in Birmingham, Ala. BOWEN HENDRIX ’03 and his wife, Jordan, had a baby girl, Ella Palmer, on May 30, 2014.

Kristen and MARSH LUNATI ’03 welcomed daughter Merritt Elizabeth on Jan. 18, 2015. She was 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Kristen and Marsh are settling into life in Atlanta after moving back from Dallas, Texas. Kristen teaches at the Atlanta Speech School, while Marsh works for CharterEnergy, an oil and gas risk consulting firm.

Katie and WILLIAM WATTERS ’03 welcomed their son, Bennett William, on Dec. 8, 2014. He was 7 pounds, 12 ounces.

MARRIAGES SCOTT SHAPIRO ‘96 married Dee Dee Musto Shapiro in San Francisco, Calif., on Oct. 11, 2014. JOHN GARLAND ’96 officiated the wedding, and JIM COMBS ’96, JORDAN CLARK ’96, CARTER PHILLIPS ’96 and LAURA SHAPIRO ’99 were in the wedding party.

Other Pace alumni in attendance included TED TERRY ’96, BRIAN BEEGLE ’96, JOEY ALLEGRA ’96, DAVID HANSON ’96, MICHAEL HANSON ’99, THORTON HOWARD ’96, JEREMY CRUTCHFIELD ’96, CHRIS HARDWICK ’96, COLLEEN HARTMAN ’96, LAURA WHEELER STEIN ’96 and BOBBIE COMBS FERNANDEZ ’97.

SANDI COHEN ’97 married SEAN HENNESSY ’94 at Canoe, a restaurant in Atlanta’s Vinings area, on Dec. 31, 2014.

EDRA MATTHEWS ’97 attended and helped Sandi pick out her wedding dress. Sandi is a dentist in Dunwoody, Ga., and Sean is a pilot for Delta Air Lines. The couple lives in East Cobb but plans to move to Atlanta’s Peachtree Hills neighborhood this summer.

BROOKE BEADLE ANDERSON ’00 married Chris Anderson on Sept. 27, 2014, at High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, N.C. ALAINA BEACH ’00 was a bridesmaid, and other attendees included KATHERINE COLBATH BISHOP ’00 and ANNE CORBITT ’00.

Brooke is a sustainability manager at Novelis, and Chris is a business valuation manager at Adams Capital. The Andersons enjoy spending time outdoors and honeymooned in Patagonia.

BRIGHTON KELLY COLEMAN ’03 married Phillip Renal Coleman Jr. on Feb. 21, 2015. The ceremony took place at Atlanta’s Northside United Methodist Church, and a reception at Ansley Golf Club followed. MOLLY PATTERSON ’03 was a bridesmaid.

Phillip is a graduate of Woodward Academy and is in sales for Starke Carpet. Brighton is the recruiting manager for Aquesst, a strategic sourcing company.

IN MEMORIAM DOROTHY CHAPMAN FUQUA passed away at the age of 93 on Jan. 23, 2015. The grandmother of FRANCES FUQUA ’12, Dorothy was a community volunteer, philanthropist, visionary and great Pace supporter.

In 1999, she and her husband, the late J.B. FUQUA, made a $1.2 million gift to Pace to endow the J.B. Fuqua Chair of Public Speaking and Debate.

The endowment significantly enhanced opportunities for Pace students in the areas of public speaking and debate, and benefitted local and national debate programs through tournaments and programs offered at Pace.

The J.B. Fuqua Foundation recently gave an additional $250,000 to the endowment fund, with the understanding that the school will match the gift within five years.

The Fuquas also endowed the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, the Fuqua Heart Center at Piedmont Hospital, the Fuqua Center for Late Life Depression at Emory University, and the Dorothy C. Fuqua Conservatory and Orchid House at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Dorothy served on more than 20 boards, was a founding member of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Research Center and was very involved with Skyland Trail, a nonprofit mental health treatment organization.

1) Brighton Kelly Coleman '03 and Phillip Renal Coleman Jr.; 2) Brooke Beadle Anderson '00 and Chris Anderson; 3) Sandi Cohen '97 and Sean Hennessy '94

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

45

ALUMNI

Alumni Out And About

Are you interested in helping coordinate your class’s upcoming reunion? Email:

1: Over the holidays, members of the Classes of 2003 and 2004 gathered at The Family Dog in Atlanta’s Virginia Highlands neighborhood. Pictured left to right are CAROLINE FAULKNER SHIRLEY ’04, STEVE SHIRLEY ’03, JON BIRDSONG ’03, PETE GOODRICH ’03, KATIE DALY JOHNSON ’03, LAURA RIDALL TORBERT ’03 and JOHN BELLE ’03.

alumni@paceacademy.org

2 & 5: In November 2014, longtime Upper School history teacher HELEN SMITH reunited with INGRID LIEVENS VAN DAMME ’85 and former faculty member MARIA DE POORTER while traveling with Pace students in Budapest on a Model United Nations study tour.

3: In March, MCCREA O’HAIRE ’08, LUCY SCHAEFER ’08, CALLY PIRRUNG ’08, SAMANTHA MOVSOVITZ ’08, KATE HEYER ’08, SCOTT JOSPIN ’08, NICK RHODES ’08, FENWAY MERLINO ’08 and CHASE BROWN ’08 reunited for a fun-filled weekend in Washington, D.C. Over the weekend, Lucy, who recently became engaged, asked the Pace girls on the trip to be her bridesmaids!

4: WILL FRAMPTON ’99 and WILL BRUER ’99—“two Wills from the Class of 1999,” says Frampton—recently introduced their daughters. Bruer and his wife welcomed Maggie in July 2014, and Frampton and his wife, Sarah, welcomed Becca in October 2014.

SEND YOUR NEWS AND PHOTOS TO alumni@paceacademy.org

46

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

Alumni Gather in New Orleans and Boston

in Alumnoiwn t Bean

Hanging The Big out in Easy

When Pace teachers or staff members travel for work, they often host informal gatherings for alumni who live the area.

Two such gatherings recently took place.

In January, members of the advancement team hosted brunch in New Orleans, and in February, Director of College Counseling GAVIN BRADLEY and Head of Upper School MIKE GANNON enjoyed cocktails with alumni in Boston.

Spirit Week Challenge Participation: THE TOP THREE 1) CLASS OF 1973 2) CLASS OF 1997 3) CLASS OF 1980

A LEGACY OF GIVING BACK The Class of 1973 wins the inaugural Spirit Week Challenge Spirit Week, the annual contest between Pace Academy’s Upper School classes, is always memorable. Rivalry runs deep, and class bonds are cemented in the wee hours of the morning. This year, class competition transcended Pace’s walls to incorporate the school’s extensive alumni network.

Calling on the memory of camaraderie and rivalries, the 2014–2015 Pace Alumni Challenge turned up the heat to see which graduating class could achieve the highest percentage of participation in The Pace Alumni Fund.

This year, the title of Most Spirited Class went to the Class of 1973 with 54-percent participation. While the class didn’t actually have a Spirit Week (the tradition began after they graduated), it didn’t stop JILL PINKERTON HUITRON ’73 and SHERYL FOWLER BUTLER ’73 from rallying their classmates’ competitive spirits to give back to Pace.

Huitron is a part of a long Pace legacy. Her father, JACK PINKERTON, served on the Board of Trustees and is now a Life Trustee.

Huitron’s siblings, MIKE PINKERTON ’75 and KATHARINE PINKERTON WILLIAMS ’78, are grads, as are Huitron’s children, JOHN CADENHEAD ’01 and COURTNEY CADENHEAD ’04. John was the first Pace legacy to become a “Lifer,” and Huitron served the Alumni Board for seven years— three of them as president.

A former Pace tennis player and cheerleader, Butler began another line of Pace legacies. Her younger sister, CLAIRE FOWLER KELLEY ’76, also attended, as did her children, CHARLIE BUTLER ’05 and SARAH BUTLER ’07.

So what was the secret to the Class of 1973’s fundraising success? According to Huitron, there were two important factors: “We are a small class; we stayed close all these years,” she says, and a class email chain “took on a life of its own” after Huitron's initial message encouraging her classmates to donate.

“We have a synergy, and we all just connect. We’re all-in as a group,” Butler says.

“That’s what I love about our class. We would send emails of encouragement to each other.”

Part of the reason the Class of 1973 has maintained a strong bond is because its members get together annually and still enjoy hanging out—even if they tell the same highschool stories year after year. “That is the essence of Pace. You make lifelong friends.

You still stick together and stay together forever,” Butler says.

While Pace has undergone significant remodeling in recent years, some things will never change. The dedication of the faculty and administration, the bond within classes, and parent involvement have always been and will always be at the heart of the Pace experience.

As both alumni and parents of alumni, Huitron and Butler have a soft spot for the Pace they know now and the Pace they knew then. “It says something about Pace that alumni send their children there as well,” Huitron says. “Being a Pace parent really solidified our love for Pace and our appreciation for when we were there.”

This love is what inspired Butler and Huitron to donate to The Pace Alumni Fund.

54% 20% 17%

To give to The Alumni Fund, visit www.paceacademy.org/ alumni-fund.

Left: Members of the Class of 1973 at their 40th reunion; Huitron is seated in white; Butler is seated in black.

Below: The class on graduation day

“The experiences that I had at Pace and that my children had at Pace were priceless,” Butler says. “If I can give something back, then that is my gift. I don’t know how else to thank the school for what it has done for me, for my children and for the community. This is my thank you.”

“It’s the people,” Huitron says. “Pace transformed our lives and our kids’ lives. The teachers, parents and administration come together so differently than at other schools.

It’s amazing to watch. I want to support that.”

All participation in the 2014—2015 Pace Alumni Challenge supports need-based student financial aid, providing the experiences and opportunities our alumni hold so dear to a new generation of Pace students.

“Our goal is to increase overall alumni participation to 10 percent this year, so we need all alumni to give,” says COURTNEY LUNDEEN, director of Alumni Relations and The Pace Fund. “It doesn't need to be a large gift, just a meaningful gift from each alumnus!”

— by HAYLEY SHOJI ’12

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

47

ALUMNI

THE WRITING LIFE Upper School English teacher RICKS CARSON reflects on teaching and catches up with his former students.

The students make their way in. A joke or two, a rumor, book bags thumping on the floor. There’s a bit of buzz: mid-morning, this is creative writing, and it’s a turn-in day for the newest poem. We have some light talk, like, “Did you have a thought today that snagged in your mind?” or, “Did you notice anything a little odd or out of the norm?” Meanwhile, new work is passing around the room. I shuffle my set, turn the top page over and announce, “Okay, it’s Andrew’s.” Andrew reads his poem aloud, everyone ponders it for a few minutes, then somebody says, “I like this part.” I ask why, and the ball is rolling.

Who wouldn’t envy me this “work”? This opportunity to laugh, groan, chat, cajole, encourage, threaten and otherwise persuade kids they have something to say that no one has ever, or will ever, say just the way they’ll say it. That the only competition they face looks back at them from their mirror. That they might learn more about themselves than they ever realized.

In many ways it’s a course grounded in writing and reading and rewriting, but when it works right, it’s about a person’s

48

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

life. All of us, me included, bring exactly the same thing to the room: the lives we’ve had. It’s true, I believe, that writers can’t get onto the page anything that wasn’t first within them. Sure, a writer can fake it, but then it reads just like that: a fake, an attempted fooling of oneself that doesn’t fool others, either.

In essence, once everyone learns the ropes, often the class all but teaches itself.

The give-and-take can be brilliant, occasionally tedious, seldom dull, and everyone is welcome to chip in. Consistently, in student evaluations of the course, it’s the interaction with their peers about things that really matter that dominates the other categories. Sure, a young writer can make actual mistakes in executing a piece of writing, but as in life, the writer’s emotion can never be wrong. The room is nicknamed “The Sandbox.” Children go to the sandbox to make, out of their imaginations and whatever stuff they find on hand, creations never made before. In this updated sandbox, there’s no telling what things will come to the light of day.

Over the 25 years or so this course has operated, hundreds of aspiring, or maybe just curious, juniors and seniors have had a shot at writing poems, stories and the occasional script. For some, the course is a fun experience they hope will punctuate their rigorous day. For others, it becomes a matter almost of life and death: they need it for their well-being. Many pursue writing in college, and a few keep at it for the rest of their lives.

As the teacher, my guiding principle is one I knew and practiced, but I found William Styron saying it perfectly: “Young writers need to be taken seriously.” Why? Because it’s no joking matter to write from within yourself and lay it out for others to see. This act takes courage and demands respect in return.

When I circulated a request that Pace alumni who were involved in writing beyond their high school years be in touch, I got quite a few responses. What follows is a briefly annotated list of some of the many Pace writers.

ALUMNI

KIM FLINT ’83

NIDA SOPHASARUN ’95

Bachelor’s in English and creative writing from Duke University; shared her dynamic senior thesis with me

Bachelor’s in English and history from Wellesley College, master’s in creative writing (poetry) from Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars; worked at National Geographic Magazine; works for the Department of State in Myanmar

HILLARY SMITH CURRIER ’87 English and creative writing degree from Duke University, where Reynolds Price was her mentor; former high-school English teacher DAVE LIEBMANN ’87 English major at Middlebury College; writes On the Wing, a column for the Pittsburgh Quarterly, about birds, his great love; published in Independent School, Birding magazine and www.TeachersofColor. com; former high-school English teacher; currently assistant head of school at Fay School in Southborough, Mass.

JANE SHIPPEN LEVINGS ’90 As a senior, won a national Scholastic Gold Award and had the final reader call her up and recite her quite moving poem as he wept; creative writing major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Master of Fine Arts from the University of Virginia; published in the Best New Stories from the South; 2000 U.S. Fulbright Fellow in Creative Writing to Argentina; writer in residence at Sweet Briar College, Randolph College and Lawrence University ZACK FINCH ’91 His poems and/or essays about poetry have appeared in publications such as Boston Review, Jacket2, The Wallace Stevens Journal, Denver Quarterly, Poetry and Tin House; assistant professor of English at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

DAVID HANSON ’96 Studied English and geology at Washington and Lee University; published in Canoe & Kayak, Southern Living, Garden and Gun and Sierra, among others; published Breaking Through Concrete (University of California Press, 2011); wrote the narration for Who Owns Water, 2014 documentary film LAURA WHEELER STEIN ’96 Majored in creative writing at Florida State University, studied under Mark Winegardner and Elizabeth Stuckey-French; currently collaborating on a screenplay with THOMAS RYBERT ’96 DAVID SCALES ’97 A doctor; published pieces on emerging infectious diseases on www.HealthMap.org; currently writing about a malaria vaccine BEN WISE ’97 Bachelor’s in history and English at Auburn University, master’s and Ph.D. in history at Rice University; taught in the Harvard College Writing Program and spent a postdoc year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; now a tenured associate professor at the University of

A WORD ABOUT THE MASTER

JANE SHIPPEN LEVINGS ’90 on RICKS CARSON No other teacher I have had has the ability to bring voices out of nowhere from his students the way RICKS CARSON does.

He asks the deep questions, the random questions. I remember him storming into the room, knocking a desk over and storming out, just to see if he could shock us. He does what it takes to open the minds in front of him. He is a complete oddball original. He assumes every student who walks through his doors has the ability to write something new and astonishing— and he is correct.

Ricks’ instruction in high school opened the doors for me to study with some amazing poets during graduate school—three Pulitzer Prize winners, three National Book Award winners and two U.S. Poet Laureates among them — and I learned from all of them, but not one of them taught writing the way Ricks does. They all fine-tuned.

Ricks blows the whole ship apart and rebuilds it midstream — and the ship is not the poem you’re writing, it’s the kid you are. It’s the way you think and how you put that into words.

I’m not the only one who feels this debt to Ricks Carson. There are hundreds of Pace alumni who have gone a lot farther in their careers than I have—artists, academics, attorneys, businesspeople, ministers, rabbis, teachers — who found their voice in his classroom. And we’ll all tell you, you really can’t explain Ricks. That would be like trying to explain a poem or song. You have to be there—in it. His teaching is art.

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

49

ALUMNI

Florida; author of William Alexander Percy: The Curious Life of a Mississippi Planter and Sexual Freethinker ANDREW NURKIN ’99 While at Pace won first prize in the Southern Voices poetry competition; studied English under Reynolds Price at Duke University, Master of Fine Arts from Vermont College of Fine Arts, Ph.D. from Yale Divinity School; published poems in North American Review, The Massachusetts Review and Cimarron Review, among others; says creative writing class at Pace was “the most generative and interesting” he has taken

MARY LOGAN BARMEYER BIKOFF ’01

NICOLE TAY ’10

Bachelor’s in journalism and international affairs from the University of Georgia; Master’s in American studies from Columbia University; freelance writer for Glamour, Paper Magazine and Style.com; currently associate editor of Atlanta Magazine

Bachelor’s in English and creative writing from Wellesley College; third place in Wellesley’s Florence Annette Wing Prize in English competition for her poem, Let Me Get This Straight

PHILLIP GATINS ’01

KATHERINE KIBLER ’12 English major at the University of Georgia; currently foreign service officer for the Department of State in Beijing; writes cables, a recent one of which was “flagged for Secretary Kerry’s review”

EMILY WITHROW ’99 French major at Bryn Mawr College, master’s in reporting and writing from Northwestern University; while living in Paris, wrote about film, arts and culture for Time Out; has worked as a writer and editor for the Associated Press, CBS, the McKinsey Quarterly and The A.V. Club (arts/entertainment arm of The Onion); currently working on interactive narrative ANNE CORBITT ’00 Bachelor’s in English/creative writing from Elon University, Master of Fine Arts in fiction from the University of Mississippi; published stories in One Story, The Greensboro Review and Fourth River; lecturer of English at Kennesaw State University CAITLIN GOODRICH JONES ’00 Creative writing major at Rhodes College; received the Allen Tate Creative Writing Award for Fiction and second place in the 2004 Southern Literary Festival; editor of the magazine you’re reading right now

50

KnightTimes | Spring 2015

SETH PERLOW ’01 Studied comparative literature at Brown University, Master of Humanities from the University of Chicago, Ph.D. in English language and literature from Cornell University; edited Tender Buttons: Objects, Food, Rooms, by Gertrude Stein; published book reviews; published poems in The Carolina Quarterly, The Common Three, Carousel and Opium 6, among others; 2014–15 N.E.H. Postdoctoral Fellow in Poetics at Emory University

Creative writing major and advanced research assistant at Colby College; maintains the department web site and introduces visiting writers ALEXANDRA JULIENNE SUGARMAN ’12 English and creative writing major at St Andrews University in Scotland; vice president of Inflight, the university’s creative writing society; part-time reader for Winter Tangerine Review; has published poems in Octavius and had a story recognized by glimmer train

So, teaching writing turns out to be a fun and meaningful way to make a living!

Alumni, we know we’ve missed some of you!

If you took Carson’s creative writing class and have pursued writing professionally, please let him know.

Email rcarson@paceacademy.org

ALUMNI

SAVE THE DATE

SEPT. 18–19 Reunion Gatherings for the Classes of 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 & 2010 A VALENTINE FROM THE ACADEMY On Feb. 5, the Office of Alumni Relations organized parents from the Class of 2014 to help assemble Valentine’s Day care packages for Pace alumni who are now college freshmen.

Parents stuffed 100 care packages, which included an assortment of candy, gum, salted treats, cough drops, beach balls and other items that all college freshmen love to receive. It was a fun opportunity for parents to reconnect and reminisce.

More information at www.paceacademy.org/ alumni/reunion

#ReuKNIGHT2015

Have you liked, followed or joined us yet?

www.facebook.com/paceacademyalumniassociation www.linkedin.com/paceacademyalumniassociation www.twitter.com/pacealumni

966 W. Paces Ferry Road NW Atlanta, Georgia 30327 www.paceacademy.org

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED If you have received multiple copies of this publication, please contact the Advancement Office at 404-240-9103 or advancement@paceacademy.org to update your address.

JOIN US AND UKNIGHT! Those who donate $1,500 or more are considered part of the Knights of Round Table Society.

Today’s the day to be counted! Make your gift to The Pace Fund 2015 now. Each gift from our family of parents, alumni, grandparents, faculty, staff, and friends enhances the student experience and preserves the dynamic community life that defines Pace Academy.