KnightTimes Winter 2018 by Pace Academy

ARTS UPDATES ANDâ&#x20AC;¦

FALL SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

Theatrical Spectacular! Pace's Unique Approach to the Dramatic Arts

STEAM DESIGN IN THE ICGL

Volleyball Reigns Supreme The Knights take the title for the first time in school history.

PACE ACADEMY PARENTS CLUB CASINO AND AUCTION

Saturday, April 7, 2018 INTERCONTINENTAL BUCKHEAD ATLANTA

WWW.PACEACADEMY.ORG/AUCTION

Snow began to fall on Pace Academy Dec. 8, forcing a premature end to the school day. By evening, 6 inches had blanketed the Atlanta area.

From the Editor

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As a past participant in Pace Academy theatre, I’ve watched with interest as the award-winning program has grown and evolved in the nearly two decades since I graduated. I’ve enjoyed my move from the stage to a seat in the audience as new generations of Pace performers have showcased their talents in the Fine Arts Center. In this issue of the KnightTimes, we take a look at Pace theatre today in both the Middle and Upper Schools (page 50). Under the leadership of directors SEAN BRYAN and PATRICK CAMPBELL, our student-performers present outstanding productions while gaining a complete understanding of the many pieces required to bring a play or musical to life—from set design and construction to makeup and marketing. Students report that their immersive, hands-on experiences develop confidence and creativity, as well as leadership and collaborative skills—not only on stage but also in life. I’m grateful to Pace theatre for cultivating these characteristics in me, and I’m excited to see what future generations of Pace performing artists do with the valuable tools they gain by venturing beyond their comfort zones and into the unknown.

Caitlin Goodrich Jones ’00 DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

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

TH E M A G A ZIN E OF PA C E A C A D EM Y

GUEST WRITERS HANNAH KELLY ’15 HANNAH KELLY is a junior at Duke University studying English and computer science. While at Pace Academy, Kelly was a member of the Barbara and Sanford Orkin Society, the National Honor Society and the Cum Laude Society. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running and playing with her cat.

JILLIAN SNYDER is a sophomore at Wake Forest University, where she studies communications and journalism. While at Pace, Snyder was a cross-country and track team captain, peer leader and member of the National Honor Society. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, hiking, camping and spending time with friends. Snyder interned with the Pace communications department this past summer.

06 NEWS 08 AROUND PACE A look at what's happening on campus 09 TALKING RACE, POLITICS & THE PATH FORWARD Enlightening conversations with Van Jones and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi 12 HOMECOMING 13 FALL FAIR 14 LIFE TRUSTEE PROFILE GREG DEXTER 16 PACE FUND DONOR PROFILE JOLIE and STEVE CUNNINGHAM

18 ALL ABOUT PACE ARTS 18 STUDENT-ARTIST PROFILE MATTHEW SKOP ’26 19 CELEBRATING PHOTOGRAPHY 20 HOLIDAY PROGRAM 22 HOLIDAY CONCERTS

24 FALL SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS Football, cheerleading, cross-country, softball and water polo 27 MIDDLE SCHOOL MAGNIFICENCE Cross-country and football celebrate historic seasons.

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

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

HEAD OF SCHOOL FRED ASSAF

JILLIAN SNYDER ’16

CONTENTS

KnightTimes

28 ICGL The Isdell Center for Global Leadership 28 YELLOWSTONE The Isdell Global Leaders explore conservation in one of the world's most scenic locales. 30 CONSERVATION UPDATES

34 GLOBAL LEADERS Highlighting inspiring individuals within our community 38 FACULTY PROFILE DIANNE WILBUR

40 VOLLEYBALL WINS STATE The Knights capture the title for the first time in school history.

44 STEAM & DESIGN IN THE ICGL Preparing global citizens within the ICGL's engaging framework

50 PACE THEATRE Our immersive program puts the student at the center.

54 ALUMNI UPDATES 61 HOMECOMING & REUNION WEEKEND 62 OUT & ABOUT 64 ALUMNI PARENT PROFILE SALIMA FETTER ’94 65 ALUMNI PROFILE KELLY BIRKENHAUER ’03

DIVISION HEADS MICHAEL GANNON Head of Upper School GRAHAM ANTHONY Head of Middle School SYREETA MOSELEY Head of Lower School

COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT CAITLIN GOODRICH JONES ’00 Director of Communications, Editor OMAR LÓPEZ THISMÓN Digital Content Producer RYAN VIHLEN Creative Services Manager, Graphic Designer LELA WALLACE Digital Communications Manager

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS FRED ASSAF GEMSHOTS PHOTOGRAPHIC www.gemshots.com LAURA INMAN SMAX PHOTOGRAPHY www.smaxart.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DANA RAWLS HAYLEY SHOJI ’12

OUR MISSION To create prepared, confident citizens of the world who honor the values and legacy of Pace Academy. To contribute ideas for the KnightTimes, please email Caitlin Jones at caitlin.jones@paceacademy.org.

Alumni (with their incredibly strong children) gathered during the Homecoming & Reunion Weekend tailgate. Read about it on page 61.

Dear Pace Family, In previous issues of this magazine, we’ve saluted Pace Academy’s early leaders and their roles in creating the culture that defined our school and enabled future growth. In this issue, we share the story of a more recent leader, Life Trustee NEVILLE ISDELL, and how he and his family have inaugurated a new era at Pace through the Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL). STEAM & Design in the ICGL: How Young Minds Take on Global Problems (page 44) digs deep into the ways today’s Pace students engage in global issues—exploring complex and interrelated problems and developing 21st-century skills and mindsets to address them. Integrating the ICGL’s multi-faceted annual theme with STEAM & Design cultivates within students empathy and resilience, promotes collaboration and inspires innovative thinking; ultimately they understand how to take action to effect change. These are lessons students apply beyond the ICGL—in the classroom, their extracurricular activities and their daily lives. Our varsity volleyball players displayed perseverance and character in bringing home the Knights’ first-ever state championship (page 40). In fall theatre productions, student-artists bravely explored new avenues of creative expression (page 50), and students of all ages felt empowered to tackle problems they have encountered in their communities and the world (page 34). I’m thankful for Isdell’s vision, grateful to those who have enabled its fruition and excited to see what the future holds for our citizens of the world. Sincerely,

ON THE COVER The Upper School theatre department wowed audiences with its wild, wacky and utterly joyous presentation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Nov. 9–12. Read about our Middle and Upper School theatre programs on page 50.

FRED ASSAF HEAD OF SCHOOL

Photograph by LAURA INMAN

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

NEWS What you ne ed to know

STUDENTATHLETES RECEIVE NATIONAL HONORS Two Pace Academy Knights recently garnered national recognition for outstanding athletic performance. The U.S. Army All-American Bowl presented by American Family Insurance Selection Tour visited Pace to recognize senior offensive lineman JAMAREE SALYER as a 2018 U.S. Army All-American. This elite group of players excels on the football field while being both mentally and physically agile and adaptable to challenging situations, similar to U.S. Army soldiers. Salyer played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio’s Alamodome in January. In addition, United Soccer Coaches named junior soccer player HANNAH WHITE to its 2017 Youth All-South Region and Youth All-America Teams. White’s inclusion on the All-America list places her among the top 50 players in the country. Not since 1997 has a Pace soccer player achieved recognition at this level. White was honored at the United Soccer Coaches All-America Luncheon in Philadelphia in January.

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

ALL-AMERICANS

ZEENA LATTOUF, GIVER

“I aim to connect young people from vastly different backgrounds, cultures and abilities in the hope that they learn to love those that are both similar and dissimilar from themselves,” Associate Director of Pace Academy’s Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL) ZEENA LATTOUF ’12 told Buckhaven Lifestyle. Lattouf, one of five individuals recognized on the magazine’s annual “Givers” list, was honored in its December 2017 issue. The publication highlighted Lattouf’s work for Pace and ICGL partner Peoplestown Academy, in addition to her commitment to Syrian refugees. Volunteering under the auspices of the Syrian American Medical Society, Lattouf has traveled several times to Zaatari, a refugee camp in Jordan. As a result of her travels and interviews with refugees, she founded the Hope Education Project, an organization that connects Syrian refugee families with American buddies for supplemental English education.

Salyer with head football coach CHRIS SLADE

White in last year's statechampionship game against Westminster

NEWS

DELMAN NAMED TO 2018 “20 UNDER 20” Each year, the Reporter Newspapers and Atlanta INtown Paper publish a list of the city’s “20 Under 20,” recognizing young people “who have been active volunteers in their communities.” Senior SAMANTHA DELMAN represents Pace Academy on the 2018 list. Delman, an executive leader in Pace’s community engagement program, is working toward her Girl Scout Gold Award. Her project will provide education regarding testing for sexually transmitted diseases to teen girls in communities with limited health resources. Delman’s goal is to create a sustainable program that will provide “health equity” throughout Atlanta. She was inspired to launch the initiative as a result of her work tutoring and mentoring with Peoplestown Academy. In her role, Delman recruits students to participate in the program and tutors three afternoons per week throughout the school year. She also serves as a tutor and counselor for Keeping Pace, an academic summer program for underserved youth from Peoplestown and other neighborhoods. In addition, Delman makes volunteer work a priority when she travels. She participated in an Outward Bound/Girl Scout service trip to Costa Rica and Panama in the summer of 2015, and spent spring break of 2016 on an Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL) study tour to Lesotho and South Africa. There, Pace students partnered with the third half, an adventure soccer travel company, and Kick4Life, a soccer club dedicated to social change, to use soccer as a forum for HIV/AIDS education. Following the trip, Delman and several friends launched The Universal Language, a group that supports Pace’s relationship with the third half and Kick4Life by collecting and sending soccer equipment to the organizations. This past summer, Delman participated in a medical mission to Haiti in partnership with Emory University, where she provided non-medical support to surgical personnel. She is now taking part in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Student of the Year fundraising program and also raising funds for Pace’s second annual Covenant House Georgia Student Sleep Out. When she’s not serving others, Delman is a Pace admissions ambassador, a member of the Baking for Breast Cancer club, a copy editor for the Pace yearbook and a peer tutor.

THE KNIGHTLY NEWS WINS GSPA WEBSITE AWARD The staff of The Knightly News, the Upper School student newspaper, made its annual trek to the Georgia Scholastic Press Association Conference at the University of Georgia this past fall. More than 600 students from around the state participated in the conference, where The Knightly News won the award for best homepage for a news website. Check out the students’ awardwinning work at knightlife.paceacademy.org/knightlynews.

THE BRUTE BRINGS HOME REGION ONE-ACT TITLE The cast of the Upper School’s one-act play, Anton Chekhov’s The Brute, participated in the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAA region competition in October. The production earned the competition’s top prize, and senior PAIGE DEMBA was named to the GHSA All-Star Cast. The cast took its show on the road to compete at the state level in November. “While the production did not place at state, we succeeded as a department,” says Upper School Theatre Director SEAN BRYAN. “The future of Pace theatre is bright!”

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

AROUND PACE A look at what's happening at Pace

IN NOVEMBER, eight faculty and staff members and two Upper School students traveled to Anaheim, Calif., for the National Association of Independent School’s (NAIS) joint conferences: the People of Color Conference (PoCC) and the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC). Celebrating 30 years in partnership, the conferences focused on the theme Voices for Equity and Justice Now and in Every Generation: Lead, Learn, Rededicate and Deliver. PoCC strives to provide independent-school faculty and staff of color and their allies “a sanctuary and networking opportunity as [they] build and sustain inclusive school communities.” Workshops and speakers, including Anita Sanchez and Ta-Nehisi Coates, examined and advanced educational issues through the lens of people of color and their experiences. The intent of the event is to develop a culture of racial equity, social justice and inclusion in independent schools. “PoCC was a time of self-reflection,” says first-time attendee and Upper School math teacher JEWELL MARABLE. For Administrative Assistant to the Head of Upper School and Transitions Advisor NIKKI MCCRARY, “networking and building bridges within the independent-school community” brought her back to PoCC for another year. “It was exciting to attend PoCC and connect with colleagues who are doing the same work; to collaborate and exchange thoughts and ideas that we can bring back to our school communities,” says Director of Diversity and Inclusion JOANNE BROWN. As faculty and staff connected over shared experiences, those participating in SDLC—a multiracial, multicultural gathering of student leaders focused on self-reflecting, forming allies and building community—did the same. “SDLC gave me the valuable and often rare opportunity to meet young people of all backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses who are ready and willing to work toward building a better future,” says sophomore EMERSON BARRETT. For sophomore RHUNA GIBBS, the time at SDLC was “rejuvenating and thoughtprovoking,” she says. “I was exposed to an array of cultures, perspectives and experiences that altered my view of the world and of myself.”

LEAD, LEARN, REDEDICATE & DELIVER 8

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

Students, faculty and staff explore equity and justice at NAIS conferences.

DAYS OF LIGHT EACH YEAR, Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, marks the triumph of good over evil during a five-day celebration. The Pace Academy community extended this year’s Diwali festivities and celebrated with a series of assemblies and activities in the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools. Student and parent leaders assisted Director of Diversity and Inclusion JOANNE BROWN with planning and helped educate the community regarding the traditions, foods and festivities associated with the holiday.

AROUND PACE

DR. IBRAM X. KE NDI

VA N JONES

TALKING RACE, POLITICS & THE PATH FORWARD

THIS FALL, the Pace Academy community welcomed two distinguished speakers, Van Jones and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, for conversations on history, race, the current political climate and our country’s future. In October, Random House and A Capella Books hosted an evening with Jones in the Fine Arts Center. The social entrepreneur, CNN political commentator and host of The Messy Truth with Van Jones discussed his just-released book, Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together, a “passionate manifesto that exposes hypocrisy on both sides of

the political divide and points a way out of the tribalism that is tearing America apart,” Random House says. During his conversation with bestselling author and Pace parent EMILY GIFFIN, Jones reflected on the 2016 election as well as the need for thoughtful and respectful discourse and finding common ground. Pace then partnered with The Center for Civil and Human Rights to welcome Kendi, professor of history and international relations and founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. Kendi’s second book, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, won the 2016 National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest individual to win the award in nonfiction in more than 30 years. During his visit, Kendi met with Pace faculty, staff and student leaders, and addressed Upper School and eighth-grade students during a special assembly. Kendi answered student and faculty questions during the assembly and after at a more intimate gathering. An evening event hosted by The Center for Civil and Human Rights and moderated by WABE reporter Jim Burress included dialogue on race, ideology and policy.

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

AROUND PACE

THE ART OF ARGUMENTATION A SEMESTER OF DEBATE IN REVIEW PACE ACADEMY’S tradition of excellence in policy debate continued throughout the fall semester under the leadership of coaches SHUNTÁ JORDAN and ED WILLIAMS. The duo of juniors TYLER HENDERSON and BEN NOTTINGHAM, ranked 22nd in the nation, led the varsity team. Henderson and Nottingham placed third at the Chattahoochee Cougar Classic, qualifying for the Georgia Forensic Coaches Association’s (GFCA) Varsity Speech and Debate State Championships. They then claimed third at the New Trier Trevian Invitational, tied for 17th at the University of Michigan High School Debate Tournament and were fifth at the University of Michigan Juniors Round Robin. Pace’s novice team also found success. Freshmen ISABEL BATTISTA and MADISON MARTIN finished as co-champions at the Chattahoochee Cougar Classic and were second at Carrollton High School’s Peach State Debate Classic. Freshmen SOPHIA ELLIS and ASHLEY MYERS claimed the Peach State Debate Classic title and were fifth at the Chattahoochee Cougar Classic. Debating in the Lincoln-Douglas style, freshman DYLAN KAMINSKI placed fifth at the Chattahoochee Cougar Classic, while sophomore Lincoln-Douglas debater FRANCESCA VANERI won the Peach State Debate Classic and was ranked second speaker overall. Middle School debaters competed in four fall tournaments, amassing 16 individual medals and 14 team medals. Twenty students in the seventh and eighth grades participated in at least one tournament. “I am very excited by the progress the team is making this year,” says Williams.

N& HE ND E R S O M N O T T ING H A 10

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GRANDPARENTS & SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY VIP visitors packed the Lower School cafeteria on Nov. 21 for Grandparents & Special Friends Day. The morning kicked off with a continental breakfast and a special program featuring performances by Lower School musicians. Following the program, guests visited classrooms and learned about life in the Pace Academy Lower School. The evening before Grandparents & Special Friends Day, all Pace grandparents were invited to a cocktail reception at the Atlanta History Center.

AROUND PACE

A NIGHT OUT WITH K E E PING PAC E A NIGHT OUT with Keeping Pace brought Pace Academy parents, faculty and friends together in October at the Urban Tree Cidery, located on Atlanta’s Westside. They sipped cider, sampled delicious fare from local eateries and bid on silent auction items.

The fundraiser supported Keeping Pace, a summer program offered at Pace in partnership with United Way. Youth from underserved Atlanta communities attend the program. With nearly 100 guests mingling in the cidery’s tasting room, the first-year event raised more than $25,000 and awareness of Keeping Pace, which will welcome campers for the 12th summer in 2018. The enrichment program offers activities including academic classes, one-on-one tutoring, chef-led cooking lessons, athletics and field trips. The program develops relationships between Keeping Pace Scholars and the Pace community, including teachers and student-counselors.

CELEBRATING NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH recognizes “the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.” This year, the Lower School marked the occasion by incorporating Hispanic-heritage lessons into classroom activities, participating in a dance workshop facilitated by Calo Dance Studio and serving a celebratory lunch including traditional foods from Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Lower School students also raised $2,890.95 for The Pulsera Project, an initiative that supports struggling families in Nicaragua through the sale of colorful hand-woven bracelets, or pulseras. This year’s sale brings the Lower School’s four-year total to $8,200, making Pace one of the

top five pulsera-selling schools of all time. In the Middle and Upper Schools, observation of National Hispanic Heritage Month included a series of assembly presentations from faculty and staff members representing the Latino/Hispanic community, recitations of Hispanic poems and songs by students. The month-long celebration was brought to a close with salsa lessons in the Gardens and empanadas and croquetas from the Buena Gente food truck. KnightTimes | Winter 2018

AROUND PACE

WE’VE GOT SPIRIT! the big game

queen & king

alumni tailgate

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

Pace Academy fans big and small put on their blue and white and turned up in droves to cheer on the Knights at the Oct. 6 Homecoming football game against neighborhood rival Westminster. The Homecoming festivities began with a school-wide Friday-morning pep rally, during which the pep band performed, cheerleaders tumbled and Director of Athletics DR. TROY BAKER recognized fall sports teams. Pace families and alumni gathered at Walsh Field later that evening, where food trucks served up game-day fare. Fans from both sides packed the stands as the Knights and Wildcats battled it out in a hard-fought matchup that went into double overtime before Westminster ultimately prevailed, 15–14. The celebrations continued at the Upper School dance, where the 2017 Homecoming Court assembled. The group included freshmen LILY KAHN, EVE KOGAN, JAYDEN THOMAS and RIVERS GRAHAM; sophomores EMMA SZWAST, MEGHAN MCMILLIN, JASON ROSENBLOUM and GABE WRIGHT; juniors BAY BRICKLEY, MARGARET BETHEL, CHARLIE WARREN and WILL ZOOK; and seniors AMY BUTLER, EMME MANER, JORDAN SHOULBERG, JAMAREE SALYER, ISAIAH KELLY and JACK DOUGLASS. At the end of the evening, Shoulberg and Salyer were crowned 2017 Homecoming queen and king.

pep rally

Homecoming festivities inspire Pace pride.

AROUND PACE

SUPERSIZED FUN AT THE PACE

FALL FAIR SUPELREY MOSE

Sunny skies and perfect fall temperatures set the stage for the Pace Academy Parents Club’s 2017 Fall Fair, themed “Knights Assemble.” During the 54th annual event, which took place Oct. 21, superheroes of all ages descended on the Pace campus to enjoy inflatables, rides, karaoke, laser tag, sports and other activities. Thousands of visitors shopped the Street Market, grabbed lunch at the Knights Grill or one of the many food trucks on site, and enjoyed a day with family and friends.

Fall Fair co-chairs NICOLE ALLEN and ELENORE KLINGLER assembled a team of super-powered volunteers who, with the help of the Pace facilities team, made the day possible. Funds raised through the Fall Fair benefit the Parents Club, which provides opportunities above and beyond Pace’s annual operating budget—innovative programs such as the Citizens of the World Travel Grant, environmental initiatives and professional development for faculty and staff.

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

AROUND PACE

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

AROUND PACE

It doesn’t take long for Life Trustee GREG DEXTER’S passion for Pace Academy to become evident. “I love the opportunity to talk in detail about Pace, one of my favorite subjects,” he says. Although today he frames his role at the school mostly in terms of being a Pace grandparent to Pre-First grandson TRACE DEXTER and fourth-grade granddaughter SUMNER DEXTER, the contributions Dexter made during his tenure as a Pace parent and volunteer shaped the Pace of today. With more than two decades of active involvement with the school, Dexter took on roles ranging from chair of the first Auction to chair of the Board of Trustees, over the years working with former headmasters GEORGE KIRKPATRICK, PETER COBB and MIKE MURPHY. Dexter, who is the founder and chairman of the full-service real estate firm Dexter Companies and a Georgia Tech alumnus, joined the Pace community in 1981 when he and his wife, MARGO DEXTER, enrolled their son, BLAKE DEXTER ’90, in third grade and their daughter, BARCLAY DEXTER ’94, in Pre-First. Blake Dexter, now CEO of Dexter Companies, and his wife, HEATHER DEXTER, CEO of Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, are the parents of Trace and Sumner. Barclay Dexter, who is a clinical social worker, lives in Jackson, Wyo., with her husband, Jeremy Hopple, a computer programmer, and their two sons. She still finds a way to reunite with seven close Pace friends, affectionately nicknamed “the gang of eight,” every year. The strong bonds of friendship that develop between members of the Pace community, in addition to Pace’s family environment, have been important to Greg and Margo Dexter. In fact, he says, they “picked Pace because of its reputation as a family school.” They weren’t interested in sending Blake and Barclay to a school where you “carpool in, open the door, get the kid out and drive off campus.”

“Pace was exactly the opposite,” he says. “It was ‘go park your car, we’ve got some things you can do here to help, get involved and so on. And they were serious about that.’” So that’s what they did. “We became extremely involved,” Dexter says. In their early years at Pace, they headed the Parents Club; joined with other families in founding the first Pace Auction, serving as chairs; and chaired the Fall Fair. He continues, “Then George [Kirkpatrick] had a meeting and started talking about the future of Pace. The problem at that time was that we were landlocked. We were proud of our smaller student body, but the school was being held back with no room for expansion for athletics or any other programs.” He adds, “When George learned I was a contractor with development experience, he asked me to take a position on the Board. And I did.” Immediately Dexter began assisting the school with financials. “It was very simplistic back then,” he recalls. The system, although unsophisticated, had worked, but times were changing and called for a new approach. “I recruited [former Pace parent] BUDDY METCALF, a CPA, to the Board, and together we did a number on the books, ensuring we were operating on a financially sound basis,” Dexter says. As a result, Dexter was asked to serve as Board treasurer, which led to positions as secretary, vice-chair and eventually chair.” The late 1980s began a time of rapid expansion for Pace, and Dexter was handson in leading the growth. “I was pursuing acquisitions of land around the school that represented change,” which didn’t always make him popular, he explains. However, his dedication and perseverance contributed to creating the campus his grandchildren enjoy today. Dexter served as project manager overseeing planning and construction of the Fine Arts Center, which opened in 1990. A “frustrated architect at heart,” he was intimately involved with the design, after studying and visiting performing arts centers around the country. During construction, he was on campus almost daily and held weekly status meetings. He is especially proud of acquiring the scenery loft, which operates

the professional sets used on the Fine Arts Center stage. “It cost a lot and wasn’t in the original budget—yet we still came in undertime and under-budget.” In the late 1990s, Dexter played a key role in soliciting the first seven-figure contribution to Pace. As HUGH and BETTY ANN INMAN—former Pace parents who’d become Pace grandparents—were contemplating their personal philanthropic goals, Dexter engaged them in a conversation about a major opportunity for supporting Pace. They responded with extraordinary generosity, making the largest gift Pace had ever received and providing the foundation for a capital campaign that brought to campus the Inman Student Activities Center in 2000 and, four years later, the Middle School (named the Garcia Family Middle School in 2014). The Inman Center, which remains a vital hub of student life at Pace, was named in recognition of their gift. Dexter calls rewriting the 30-year-old Board bylaws his parting contribution. He believed that Board governance would benefit from delineated terms for Trustees, and describes leading the committee that revised the bylaws—incorporating term limits—as “my last big hurrah.” He adds, “That was one of the more important things I felt I did because it gave more Pace parents the opportunity to join the Board and become involved.” Despite his long list of accomplishments for Pace, Dexter values the personal relationships most. “One of the best rewards of being chair was having the opportunity to know so many of the teachers and staff,” he says. “The almost daily interaction with the headmaster was also a valuable experience.” He believes “taking an active role in any group you join leads to more friendships.” Many of the Dexter family’s closest friends today are from Pace ties. When they aren’t spending time with family and friends, Margo and Greg Dexter explore the world. Dexter, who traveled extensively throughout his career, has visited 112 countries—and with four more trips planned, is closer to seeing all 150 on his bucket list. Commenting on the many facets of his life, he says, “My wife and family are the most important things to me.” He laughs, “They’ve put up with me.” l

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

PA C E FUND DONOR S P OT L I G H T

JOLIE & STEVE

CUNNINGHAM

AROUND PACE

“Pace has supported us as a family for all of these years, so in turn, we support Pace.” JOLIE CUNNINGHAM

hen STEVE CUNNINGHAM moved from Pennsylvania to Atlanta in his early 20s, he knew he’d find warmer weather. However, he couldn’t have predicted that his new position as a teacher and gymnastics coach for Pace Academy would turn into a decadeslong career matched to his passions. Nor did the former high school and college gymnast know that the Pace family that welcomed him in 1981 would be a school home to his actual family—the woman he’d marry 12 years later, Pace physical education teacher and coach JOLIE CUNNINGHAM, and their daughter, Pace Lifer CALLIE CUNNINGHAM ’14. “Jolie and I have spent the better part of our adult lives with Pace,” Steve says. Jolie began her Pace career in 1991; collectively the couple, married 25 years, has given Pace more than 60 years of service. He adds, “It’s woven into the fabric of our family.” “Family” is also the word Jolie uses to describe Pace. “The saying that Pace is a family is so true,” she says. “People outside of Pace might think this is just something we say; you have to walk through the doors day in and day out to have a true understanding.” Jolie, who attended a small private school from kindergarten through high school in her hometown of Albany, Ga., is a University of Georgia alumnus. She began her teaching and coaching career in a public-school setting. “Though I enjoyed it, I longed to get back in the private-school world,” she says. As the close friend of a Pace family, she knew about the school, she explains. “I’d

heard wonderful things that paralleled my own school experience, and I was looking for the opportunity to teach in a private setting after having been a student in one.” When she learned of the Pace teaching position from her friends, she had to apply. “It included coaching the two ‘best’ sports— cross-country and track,” she says. “It was an incredible opportunity that I still love today.” Steve came across his Pace opportunity while coaching gymnastics at his alma mater, Slippery Rock University. MARK WILLIAMS, a fellow alumnus three years his senior, had been coaching at Pace and reached out about an opening. “Mark contacted me because the school was seeking someone to teach PE and start a varsity girls gymnastics program,” he says. “Well, the rest is history!” Though Steve and Jolie both found jobs at Pace, they’d met long before through their mutual interest in Atlanta’s running world, Steve explains. Once both were at Pace, the meaning of Pace family grew. Steve recounts, “From our wedding shower to our reception, Pace was there. After Callie was born, the headmaster’s assistant, MARY ELLEN BAUMIE, was who we picked to be her godmother.” Jolie continues, “We dearly miss Mary Ellen; she will forever be in my heart. She took on the role of wedding planner! She helped me choose flowers using the Pace florist and plan the reception using a Pace family that catered for the school; she organized a Home Depot wedding shower for us in the Fine Arts Center.” She continues, “The Pace bond runs deep. After my parents lost everything in the [1994 Georgia] flood, the Pace community packed boxes of food, dishes, furniture, clothes and cleaning supplies for us to take to them.” Steve shares a more recent story: “This past summer while I spent time up north taking care of my mother, Pace was there with food and prayer,” he says. While the Cunninghams focus on all they’ve received from Pace, their dedication to the school sets a high bar. When reflecting on the teaching and coaching roles they’ve held, they are equally passionate. “Teaching PE to grades Pre-First through eight, we get to see students grow up,” Jolie says. “PE also is a fun way to be with the kids and to teach them to be active for

life. This spills over into cross-country and track. The children learn so many life lessons in these two sports: dedication, motivation, having good days and bad, fighting through tough times and depending on yourself.” Steve joined the Pace faculty for PE and gymnastics, but two weeks into his new job, he took over the cross-country program following the unexpected death of Pace coach RAY BUCKLEY. “I’d planned to volunteer until they found a veteran cross-country coach, but that was 37 years ago. I’m still at it, and I’ve loved every minute of it.” Between gymnastics and cross-country, Steve is proud to have coached nine Pace studentathletes whose parents he also coached. Steve has firm beliefs about coaching. “I am old school,” he says. “I believe in the ‘tough love’ thing. Everyone, regardless of ability, deserves to be held to the same standard: to try your very best each and every day. Everyone can’t be the smartest, fastest or strongest. But everyone can and should be expected to give their best.” Callie’s senior-year cross-country team lived up to this expectation, winning the state title. “They were a talented group, but no one thought they’d be on the podium, much less the state champs,” Jolie says. “But they proved that if you want something bad enough, if you believe in each other and the process, and if you leave everything you have on the course, then anything is possible.” Beyond giving of themselves to the Pace community, the Cunninghams choose to give back to the school each year with a contribution to The Pace Fund. They are recognized as Pace Together 15+ year donors for their consecutive years of giving. “Pace has supported us as a family for all of these years, so in turn, we support Pace,” Jolie says. “The school has done so much for our family; we give what we can to thank the school. Our one gift won’t put the school over the top in funding, but if we all contribute, we can continue to grow and support these wonderful programs.” Steve adds, “By giving to The Pace Fund, you are saying to the outside community that you believe in Pace and what it stands for. Nothing speaks louder to the outside world than a diverse group of people all stacking hands and giving to a cause that they truly believe in.” l

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All About PACE ARTS

FEW 10-YEAR-OLDS can explain how ISO, aperture and shutter speed affect photographs; yet fourth-grader MATTHEW SKOP not only has the terminology down, he knows how to employ the three pillars of photography to produce stunning images. “I fell in love with photography when I went to the Galápagos Islands,” Matthew recalls. During the family vacation, Matthew explored the volcanic archipelago with a Canon point-and-shoot camera in hand, documenting the marine lizards, birds known as blue-footed boobies, and tortoises he encountered. He found that taking photographs helped him remember what he’d learned about the islands’ myriad species, and that he paid more attention to his surroundings when observing them through a viewfinder. Following the trip, Matthew’s father, MICHAEL SKOP, also a photography enthusiast, gifted his old camera, a Nikon D500, to his son, and the family began to plan photographyfocused trips. Canada, Yellowstone National Park, New York City, Cuba and Russia provided spectacular subject material for the talented team, and they’ve enjoyed learning the ins and outs of the art form together. Matthew’s images are objectively beautiful. They capture the vibrant colors and intricacies of their subjects: polar bears in the Arctic, Yellowstone’s geologic wonders, New York’s Statue of Liberty. “You don’t really need a super-good camera to take supergood pictures,” Matthew says. “You can take awful pictures with an amazing camera. The important thing is to find the object you want to take a picture of, then find the right angle and the right light and try to make pictures—not just take pictures. You have to make it happen, and you have to care about what you’re taking a picture of. Sometimes you have to take hundreds of photos to get a good one.” Michael credits photography for developing the spirit of perseverance his son describes. “It’s taught him that not everything has to be perfect the first time,” he says. “It’s exciting to see him just go out there and experiment.” Photography isn’t the only arena in which Matthew enjoys experimenting. “I also want to make movies,” he reports, adding that he’s enlisted the help of friends to produce short trailers for his yet-to-be-created video projects. Regardless of the medium he pursues, there’s little doubt that Matthew’s future will include travel and significant time behind a lens. “I’m interested in anything you can do with a camera,” he says. “And I want to go to Antarctica.”

SPOT LIGHT ON

MATTHEW SKOP, PHOTOGRAPHY PHENOM 18

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ARTS

A Picture-Perfect Partnership

Photograph by John Ramspott

SINCE 1998, Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) has enriched the Atlanta arts community through the cultivation of the photographic arts around the city. Each year, the nonprofit organization coordinates a community-oriented photo festival—the largest in the U.S.—including exhibits, lectures and events that showcase local, national and international talent. Pace Academy has been a proud ACP partner since the organization’s inception. As a result of the relationship, the work of world-renowned photographers has hung in the Fine Arts Center; Pace has welcomed members of the Atlanta arts community to campus for ACP events; students have benefited from the wisdom of master photographers; and our young artists have displayed their work in ACP exhibitions. This past fall, Pace hosted two ACP exhibitions. In October, With Animals by Willard Pate (pictured above) transported visitors to Cuba, Brazil, Peru, Argentina and England to explore the interactions between animals and human beings. And in November, Human Tribe, an exhibit by National Geographic photographer Alison Wright (left), hung in the Fine Arts Center gallery. In addition to giving a talk open to the public, Wright spoke with Upper School students during an assembly and discussed her global portraits, which celebrate the diversity and connection of the human tapestry. This spring, photography instructor FRANCE DORMAN and the Visual & Performing Arts department, in partnership with ACP, will coordinate the 27th annual Georgia Photography Awards and Exhibition, a contest including works by student-artists from dozens of independent and public schools around the state.

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ARTS

The Candle Burns On Shepherds, angels and farm animals filled the Fine Arts Center during the 27th annual production of Light One Candle, the Lower Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s holiday program. The production tells the Hanukkah and Christmas stories, with first-grade students portraying the historical figures. Fifth-graders narrate the production, which includes music from both the Jewish and Christian traditions.

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ARTS

Concerts Celebrate the Season

t MIDDLE SCHOOL STRINGS

The Fine Arts Center burst with holiday cheer as Lower, Middle and Upper School musicians presented year-end concerts in November and December. The Middle and Upper School choruses, directed by SUSAN WALLACE and DONNA POTTORFF, kicked off the seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performances with a concert featuring accompaniment by seventh-grader BARRETT HIGHT; holiday favorites, including a piece by the Pentatonix; and performances by an eighthgrade quartet, student soloists and Upper School vocal ensembles. Lower, Middle and Upper School strings students, under the leadership of instructors TARA HARRIS and NIRVANA SCOTT, performed classic pieces like Winter Wonderland and songs from A Charlie Brown Christmas along with new arrangements of seasonal selections. And Visual & Performing Arts Chair DANNY DOYLE and JACK WALKER led the Middle and Upper School bands in their final performances of 2017. UPPER SCHOOL CHORUS q

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LOWER SCHOOL STRINGS p

ARTS

MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND p

MIDDLE SCHOOL CHORUS p

UPPER SCHOOL STRINGS u

UPPER SCHOOL BAND q

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VA R S I T Y FOOT B A L L CHE ERLEADIN G Coached by JOCELYN ROPER The varsity football cheerleaders’ Pace Academy spirit powered the Knights to a fourth-straight state-playoff appearance. The 17-member squad, led by seniors MAGGIE CUSHMAN, JULIA GRAY, IBUM OBU and

NICOLE ORTIZ, wowed fans at Walsh Field, pep rallies and away games. Highlights of the season included outstanding Homecoming and Senior Night performances, an appearance at the Atlanta Sports Awards and a special performance in front of 92,000 spectators at the University of Georgia’s Spirit Day.

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VA R S I T Y F O O T B A L L Coached by CHRIS SLADE, GAVIN BRADLEY, TERRENCE EDWARDS, KEVIN JOHNSON, BRANDON JONES, BILL LELLYETT, LAMONT MCPHERSON, JUSTIN MILLER, CEDRIC OGLESBY and ED WILLIAMS For the fourth consecutive year, the varsity football team advanced to the state playoffs, following a regular season in which the Knights finished 5–2 against region opponents. The Knights notched notable wins

against Stone Mountain, McNair, Redan, Towers and neighborhood rival Lovett before falling to Calhoun High School in the first round of state-tournament play. Seniors JAMAREE SALYER and REALUS GEORGE were named to the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAA Preseason All-State Team. Salyer went on to earn recognition as a member of the

Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Super 11 list, the GHSA Class AAA All-State Team and the 2018 Army All-American team (see story on page 6); George received GHSA Class AAA All-State Honorable Mention. In addition, senior JUSTIN MORRIS was selected to the Northside Neighbor’s 2017 Super Seven, and junior KEASHAWN PERRYMAN, Salyer and George received All-Region honors. The team says goodbye to seniors George, GAVIN GUEST, Morris, Salyer, SCOTT LEVEN, RYAN MAZUR, JUSTON COGBILL, CHRIS MCCAFFREY and JADEN STEAGALL.

VA R S I T Y G I R L S CROS S-COU N T RY Coached by JOLIE CUNNINGHAM, STEVE CUNNINGHAM and GUS WHYTE The varsity girls cross-country team followed its 2016 third-place finish with another trip to the state podium. The region runner-up Knights occupied the No. 3 spot in advance of the state championship and finished with bronze medals. Sophomore PAYTON PAYNE, a MileSplit Georgia Runner of the Week, was the top finisher for the Knights and claimed eighth place overall, earning All-State honors. Freshman LAURA ROMIG, junior VERONICA SANDOVAL, sophomore PAULA SANDOVAL, freshman KATHRYN HOOD, sophomore ERIN HOOD and junior ANN RAFEEDIE followed. Payne went on to compete in the Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional Rising Stars Race, where she finished second overall. The team bids a fond farewell to seniors MELANIE CRAWFORD, KHAKI LOUGHRAN, EMME MANER, MOLLY RICHARDSON and ALEX TOLLIDAY.

VA R S I T Y B O Y S CROSS-COUNTRY Coached by JOLIE CUNNINGHAM, STEVE CUNNINGHAM and GUS WHYTE After a sixth-place finish at the GHSA Class AAA 2016 state meet, the varsity boys cross-country team set its sights on the 2017 state podium. Led by senior JACK DOUGLASS, the Knights finished their regular season as region runnersup to advance to the state championship. Ranked seventh going into the meet, the team exceeded expectations and finished with the bronze medal. Douglass, a MileSplit Georgia Runner of the Week and All-State honoree, finished fourth overall and earned an invitation to the Foot Locker South Regional Championship, where he placed 45th. Sophomores GEORGE ADAMS and SAM ADAMS, senior BEN THOMPSON, freshmen ROBERT HOUSER and JONNY SUNDERMEIER and senior JACK WRAY rounded out the Knightsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; top seven. Following the state meet, West Stride named George Adams its Boys West Strider of the 2017 season. Next year, the team will miss the leadership of seniors Douglass, JACKSON FULLER, Thompson and Wray.

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VA R S I T Y SO F T BA L L Coached by COURTNEY MORRISON, DESIREE KENDRICK, JOHN LEGERE and JEWELL MARABLE The varsity softball team put in a series of impressive performances during its first season on its new home field at the Riverview Sports Complex. The Diamond Knights finished the season with a 16–9 record, defeating the likes of Westminster, Cedar Grove, North Atlanta and Holy Innocents’ along the way. The team advanced to the state playoffs for the seventh consecutive year but fell to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe in the first round. Following the season, senior PRESLEY MARXMILLER, junior CAELAN CORBALLY and freshman SYDNEY SILVERSTEIN were named to the All-Region team. The team bids a fond farewell to seniors Marxmiller, SOPHIA PORSON and SLOAN WYATT.

W AT E R P O L O CLUB Coached by JOHN AGUE and ANDY LOPUSZYNSKI The water polo club notched another winning season, finishing with a 10–7 record and wins over St. Pius X, Calhoun, Wheeler and Wesleyan, among others. The Knights advanced to the third round of the state tournament, tied for ninth place in the Georgia High School Water Polo Association’s (GHSWPA) Division 2 standings and sent four players to the GHSWPA D2 All-Star Game: senior SCHUYLER DROSE, junior ANDREW JENKINS, and sophomores HARRIS GREENBAUM and JACKSON HAMEL. Jenkins had a banner season for the Knights. He set a new Pace record for career scoring and amassed more than 100 goals in a season for the second consecutive year. He was named the GHSWPA All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player and the GHSWPA Division 2 Player of the Year. Jenkins, who led the division in scoring, also received First Team AllState honors, while Drose was named Second Team All-State, and Greenbaum received Honorable Mention recognition. Next year, the team will miss Drose, its lone senior.

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Action photos by Ashford Little

FALL SPORTS Highlights

MIDDLE SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY

Wins State

The Middle School cross-country teams, under the leadership of coaches ERIC WILHELM, CASON GIVEN and COURTNEY HARRIS, made history at the October state meet and returned to Pace Academy with three trophies. “The front-running trio of eighth-graders GEORGE BLAHA, ROBERT MALLIS and EDWARD BLAHA trained harder and smarter, lowering their 2-mile times by an astounding 45 seconds or more from last season,” says Wilhelm. “Combined with eighth-grader SAMUEL BREADY’S brave running, seventh-grader BRIAN LEE’S talent and speed, eighth-grader SAM HOWE’S lucky hat and seventh-grader EASTON KINCAID’S raw ability, these were the best seven boys the school has ever had.” The boys finished first out of 26 teams in the mediumschool division to claim the title, 66 points ahead of second-place Westminster. The Knights also outscored the winning small- and large-school champions, making them the best middle-school squad in the state. The girls state team—sixth-graders EMMY BATTISTA, CAROLINE HOOD, REBECCA THOMPSON and WELLS HOWE, seventh-grader ELIZABETH FEAGIN, and eighth-graders JORDAN WHITE and KATE JONAS—finished third overall. The teams’ outstanding performances combined for the top overall title—and “the biggest of big purple trophies,” Wilhelm says.

Queens OF THE COURT

More than 30 Pace Academy moms took to the tennis courts in October to support the Booster Club in the Queens of the Court Tennis Challenge. The event included morning and afternoon sessions, music, food, prizes, favors and fun!

Congrats,

MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL!

The Middle School football team, under the leadership of coaches SEKOU WALTON and DEMETRIUS SMITH, finished its 2017 campaign undefeated. The Knights tied with Eagles Landing and triumphed over Holy Innocents’, Landmark Christian, Mt. Vernon and Fellowship Christian School to complete their historic season.

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

ICGL A global education for every Student

Photograph by TRISH ANDERSON

UNCOVERIN G CON SERVATION IN YELLOWSTON E OUR 2017–2018 ISDELL GLOBAL LEADERS HEAD WEST

THIS YEAR’S Isdell Global Leaders (IGLs), seniors DONN BODDIE (pictured above) and MOLLY RICHARDSON and junior ABBY RAY, experienced the wonders of Yellowstone National Park firsthand on a 10-day study tour in the fall, the first of two IGL trips planned this school year. Selected through a competitive application process, the IGL cohort of students is pursuing an independent course of study on the Isdell Center for Global Leadership’s (ICGL) 2017–2018 global theme, CONSERVATION—committing time above and beyond what is required for their normal class load. During the trip, led by ICGL Director TRISH ANDERSON and Upper School environmental science teacher KEVIN BALLARD, Ray was charged with delivering the explanatory elevator speech

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when meeting new people. Following a brief ICGL overview, she would explain: “In past years we’ve studied food, water and climate; this year it’s conservation. We meet together every week to discuss conservation, and we’re taking two field research trips, one to Yellowstone and one to Big Bend National Park in Texas, to cultivate a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding conservation.” She would explain that the IGLs were expected to be leaders on the topic at school, and to increase awareness among their peers and teachers about conservation, encouraging a focus on conservation both inside and outside of school. Leading voices on conservation, and on some of the highly charged issues associated with the subject, were recipients of Ray’s speech.

“One was Douglas Smith, a senior wildlife biologist and the project leader for the Yellowstone Wolf Project,” Boddie explains. Smith is known for reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone in 1995 after a 70-year absence, the result of inadequate protections. Matt Hogan, who leads bear conservation activities for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, provided the students insight on Yellowstone’s grizzly population. “He explained that grizzlies had been delisted as an endangered species this year because they have reached carrying capacity in the ecosystem—meaning Yellowstone has the maximum number of bears the ecosystem can support, around 700,” Boddie says. Delisting the grizzly, which decreases bearrelated restrictions and may add a grizzly hunting season [outside the park], is a hotly

ICGL

Photograph by TRISH ANDERSON

debated conservation topic in Yellowstone. Anderson explains, “Now the question becomes, ‘How do we protect the current population from severe loss in the future?’” The students also met Alan Redfield, a member of the Montana state legislature and a rancher, who offered them the viewpoint of cattle farmers, which often differs from that of conservationists. “As a rancher, [Redfield] cares about the land and conservation,” Anderson says. “But he offered a different perspective that helped us understand the conflict of interest between farmers, who are focused on the health and safety of their cattle, and conservationists, who are interested in protecting bison and wolves, which pose threats to the cattle.” Beyond meeting experts, exploring Yellowstone’s remarkable terrain and geothermal features was a top priority and trip highlight for the IGLs. On the first full day, the cohort headed up a mountain, some by car and some on foot, to Mammoth Hot Springs, which Richardson describes as “huge rock formations—like hills or mountains—in the most beautiful colors, with water running down and steam rising, since the water is hot and the air temperature was in the 30s.” In fact, everywhere they traveled, the IGLs noticed steam escaping from openings, or fumeroles, in the park’s rocky terrain. About 4,000 of Yellowstone’s 10,000 geothermal features are fumeroles; it also boasts about

500 geysers—the majority of the known geysers in the world. Ballard has seen how students benefit from immediate experiences and observations like these. As a field biologist who has guided study tours around the world for three decades, he has observed students learning in outdoor settings ranging from Alaska to the Amazon. He explains, “We’re trying to have these students learn the science and issues related to conservation and hopefully become advocates for conserving some of our lands and wildlife. To adequately appreciate and advocate for conserving things, they need to know what they are conserving, to experience it. When they are there—they see, they hear, they smell, they experience, they touch—they aren’t looking at a screen; everything is around them. And that’s invaluable.” He continues, “Hopefully these students will relate to Lower School students, Middle School students and their peers in the Upper School a little bit about that experience— along with the things they’ve learned about conservation by spending a year reading and studying.” In addition to the geothermal sights, seeing the miles of boardwalks stretching across the park, placed to protect the different geothermal features from foot traffic and other human activity, offered the students a lesson in the differences between conservation and preservation. “If people had been walking on the geothermal features, or dropping things into them, they probably wouldn’t exist today,” Boddie explains. “They’re the result of a process that’s taken millions of years—and because of preservation, Yellowstone exists for us to see and enjoy today.” Anderson notes, “Preservation means to not use or touch, and so part of what the parks do is preserve, which keeps nature—specifically geographical features—intact. But we can’t ‘not’ touch the wildlife, the grasslands, etc. Conservation differs as it focuses on management of the fauna and flora. We try to preserve what we can on the ground, and the rest

we try to manage through conservation.” In addition to the geothermal sights, the group encountered wild animals native to the region, ranging from birds and otters to elk and bison. “It was incredible to go from not having seen a bison at all, to seeing them cross the road, right in front of our car,” Boddie recalls. Ray says that seeing and learning about the wildlife was her favorite part of the study tour. “It’s so great to be with people who’ve studied the animals—to get to hear their perspectives on ecology and conservation,” she says. “It’s cool to feel like you’re learning about the animal rather than just seeing it.” In addition to traveling, the IGLs are reading a variety of books to supplement their hands-on learning. Richardson says that Half Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life by Edward O. Wilson was eye-opening. “Conservation is about preserving the ecosystem as a whole. Bacteria, insects—everything contributes to an ecosystem. It’s easiest to associate conservation with big things, like bison and bears—and having a sticker of a bear on your car is more interesting than a microbe,” she says. “Rallying behind an animal like a bear is more appealing to the public, but conservation of bears or bison is just an umbrella for conserving everything that constitutes the ecosystem.” As the students decide which messages to bring to their peers, they will undoubtedly communicate that conservation in the present is important for future generations. “Conservation is a hard thing to preach,” Ray explains. “It doesn’t show immediate results like food or water… you’re giving a voice to something that can’t speak to you in a language you can understand. It can speak to you spiritually and emotionally, but it can’t physically tell you ‘my herd is going to die in 20 years.’ Conservation won’t affect the bison population today, but it might make it so that in 50 or 100 years people will still be able to see them.” Richardson says, “The major thing I took away from this trip is that the parks were created for the enjoyment of the people. While we want to preserve and conserve as much as we can, we also need people to support the cause of conservation, and really the best way to do that is to get people out to the parks.” l

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

A MEETING OF THE MINDS

OUTSMARTING EXTINCTION

CULTURE & CONSERVATION

In November, Pace hosted the Global Education Benchmark Group’s two-day board meeting. Pace is a member of the organization, which promotes the development of global citizens in independent schools and beyond through global curriculum, experiences and institutional support.

Third graders are designing ExtinctionProof Hybrids, new species resistant to real-world threats such as habitat destruction, pollution, poachers and toxic spills. Using 3-D printers and an iPad app, students bring their hybrids to life as they narrate their extinction-proof strengths in English and Spanish.

Seventh-grade Spanish students put their knowledge of Latin American countries’ history, demography, topography, culture, conservation initiatives and immigration trends to the test in Iron Chef Latino. Students in TRACI-LIEGH CURRAN’S classes prepared traditional meals from their designated countries and presented them, along with their newfound knowledge, to faculty judges—all in Spanish, of course!

THE YEAR OF CONSERVATION

GOING GREEN

WATER WIZARDS & AQUANAUTS

ANIMAL ADVOCACY CHALLENGE UPDATE

As part of Knights of the Green Table, a voluntary leadership opportunity for fifth graders, students meet regularly to address tangible opportunities for conservation such as improved recycling in the Lower School and educating their peers on mixed recyclables versus waste. Students chose the name “R3” for the Recycle Reuse Redesign Project, their current initiative. Ashia Lee, from the Department of Public Works for the City of Atlanta, is the “people resource” for this team, helping the young leaders produce a case study designing a new recycle-collection system for the Lower School.

Using iPads and paper-engineered parts, Pre-First students created stop-motion shorts to illustrate the rescue of seals, great white sharks and humpback whales from threats such as chemical spills and line entanglement. First-grade Aquanauts employed similar techniques to rescue endangered penguins and sea turtles. Through the Makers Empire 3-D Learning Program, students in technology classes designed 3-D pieces of Aquanaut storyboards for their digital portfolios. Students will use the 3-D pieces—vessels, original characters or underwater laboratories—in the production of their next stop-motion shorts, “brick” films, which use LEGO building blocks.

The Middle School continues to tackle problems inherent in conservation through the Animal Advocacy Challenge. Crossgrade teams of students and teachers have each chosen one of the seven species selected for the challenge and are studying the problems it faces. As part of their efforts to raise awareness of and funds for the conservation of these animals, teams worked in the Middle School STEAM lab to design and produce items to sell at the Fall Fair. Merchandise included custom coasters and trivets, wind chimes, luggage tags, jewelry and slime. Their efforts generated $1,500 for conservation initiatives.

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ICGL

BAS HUIJBREGTS

GIAVANNA GREIN

OPERATION POLLINATION The second grade launched Pace Operation Pollination as part of its study of butterflies. Students watched caterpillars cycle through stages to become butterflies and sang Spanish songs as the animals were released. In science, students built pneumatic and hydraulic compression systems to use as system prototypes modeling the butterfly body, while in Design Thinking, they assembled wing frames to show bilateral symmetry and protective adaptations. A trip to Callaway Gardens and participation in the National Butterfly Migration Project further inspired their learning.

ERICA RIEDER

Pace Academy’s yearlong conversation about CONSERVATION, the Isdell Center for Global Leadership’s (ICGL) annual theme, continues. From butterflies and bats to 3-D printing and design challenges, here’s how the Pace community is doing its part to preserve the planet… CONSERVATION CARDS Through the Conservanimals Campaign, fourth graders have embarked on a number of cross-curricular projects to raise awareness of animal conservation issues in Central and South America. In Spanish class, they are creating text for playing cards that represent endangered animals and the threats they face. In technology, they are designing the graphic look and feel of the deck, producing a complete deck of oversized cards. Then, in Design Thinking, they are competing in small groups for the product design phase, where one game from each class will be made into real playing merchandise.

VISITING SCHOLARS This past fall, the ICGL welcomed three Visiting Scholars from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Bas Huijbregts, manager of African species conservation, addressed Lower School students’ questions regarding the conservation of the animals each class has “adopted” for yearlong study. Giavanna Grein, program officer for wildlife crime and traffic, met with student representatives from the Middle School’s Animal Advocacy Challenge teams to discuss the challenges facing certain species and the solutions that might ensure their protection.

Erica Rieder, senior program officer for community conservation, twice addressed the Upper School student body and visited Upper School science classes to share the conservation lessons learned as a result of WWF’s work in Africa and with tribal communities in America’s Northern Great Plains. All three Visiting Scholars also spent time with this year’s Upper School Isdell Global Leaders, seniors DONN BODDIE and MOLLY RICHARDSON and junior ABBY RAY (see Uncovering Conservation in Yellowstone on page 28.) KnightTimes | Winter 2018

ICGL

S H O O T I N G F O R T H E S T A R S “MATH IS EVERYWHERE,” says Pace Academy parent and Emory University adjunct professor DR. KIRSTEN TRAVERS-UYHAM. It’s a lesson she constantly conveys to the students in the Lower School’s STEAM Club, a group made up of girls in the second and third grades that aims to “discover the beauty of the math around us through experiments, art, games and projects.” Every week throughout the fall semester, Travers-UyHam and the club’s 10 members explored a hands-on problem from math and science while hearing from women in related fields— a doctor, a Coca-Cola Company scientist and a ballerina. The goal, Travers-Uyham says, is to build a range of core skills such as numeracy, logic, map-reading and problem-solving, and to understand the ways that math has developed across different cultures and is used by children all around the world. The highlight of the program was a multi-week project in which students constructed a high-altitude balloon, the Stargazer 2, and floated it to the edge of space, capturing scientific data and astounding images. “Club members served as the flight crew on this ambitious mission, studying maps and weather forecasts—discovering principles of physics, chemistry and mathematics—to calculate its trajectory, plot its expected course and prepare the equipment, cargo and FAA notice for launch day,” says Travers-Uyham. The group gathered in Pace’s rear parking lot on a clear Saturday morning prior to the Pace Fall Fair and launched the Stargazer 2, which flew for four hours, took thousands of photographs (above) and landed near Highlands, N.C. “Our balloon flight to 100,000 feet was so inspirational and thrilling for all of us,” says Travers-UyHam. “It really brought to life the wonder of science and math, as well as capturing for us the outstanding beauty of our world.”

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ICGL

UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS TRAVEL TO BUDAPEST FOR ANNUAL YMGE CONFERENCE Ten Upper School students chose policy simulation over American Thanksgiving and spent the holiday break abroad. The group traveled with Upper School history teacher HELEN SMITH and Director of College Counseling JONATHAN FERRELL to Budapest, Hungary, to participate in Yale Model Government Europe (YMGE). The fast-moving simulation of political decision-making and crisis in 21st-century Europe attracts students from around the world in an effort to “raise awareness of and foster debate about international relations and global affairs in the European context.” Sophomore INDIA BEHL was recognized as the Best Delegate in her committee, while sophomore FRANCESCA VANERI received Honorable Mention recognition for her work. “Participating in YMGE with students from everywhere, from Mexico to Israel, hugely expanded my horizons,” Vaneri says. “I encountered completely new perspectives and values, forcing me to rethink ideas I took for granted, while being in a different country forced us out of our comfort zones. Whether it was a surprise layover in Paris that gave me the opportunity to apply my French or a committee meeting where I used knowledge from my history classes, this international program gave us the opportunity to put to use the skills we learn in the classroom.” In addition to participating in the Model, students spent several days exploring Budapest, “the pearl of the Danube.”

MODELING INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY “Participating in YMGE is really important to me because it forces students to consider all sides of an argument and broadens our views on culture, customs, religion and history.” INDIA BEHL ’20

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GLOBAL LEADERS

FIGHTING INJUSTICE

Through Art 34

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

IN THE SUMMER OF 2014, following her sixth-grade year at Pace Academy, sophomore INDIA BEHL (pictured below, second from right) moved with her parents, RADHIKA and SANJAY BEHL, and her brother, eighth-grader KARGIL BEHL, to New Delhi, India, on a three-year assignment for Deloitte (Sanjay is president and COO of Deloitte India’s Consulting Division). Over the course of her years abroad, Behl traveled with the American Embassy School and with her family, exploring much of Asia. She documented daily life in India and her adventures in photos; “I didn’t leave the house without my camera,” she says. Behl’s journeys resulted in thousands of images illustrating Indian and Asian cultures and colors—and gave her a growing awareness of the dangers young women in India face. “A woman in India is raped every 22 minutes, and approximately one in 10 rapes is committed against a woman under the age of 18,” the Indian nonprofit SHE (Seeking Her Empowerment) reports. SHE follows individual rape cases and monitors their outcomes while striving to enact institutional change, improve cultural mindsets and grant timely justice to each victim. As Behl learned more about SHE’s work, she saw an opportunity to support the organization through photography. Upon her return to Atlanta and to Pace, Behl produced notecards featuring favorite images from her travels and sold them, along with a cookbook written by her mother, to raise funds for SHE. “Due to the support of Pace and Atlanta friends, we raised $8,800, which will go directly to aid rape victims in Gurgaon,” Behl says.

GLOBAL LEADERS

SU P P LY I NG HOPE INSHA and SHEZA MERCHANT send used school supplies around the globe.

EACH YEAR, Pace Academy’s Cara Isdell Service Award recognizes an Upper School

student for his or her commitment to making the world a better place. Recipients receive a monetary prize, half of which is to be donated to the service organization of the winner’s choice. When sophomore INSHA MERCHANT received the 2017 Cara Isdell Service Award, she knew immediately where she would send the entirety of the funds. “I have visited Karachi, Pakistan, several times in the past few years, and I met students who are academically motivated to succeed but have very few resources,” Insha says. Her most recent visit to the country, in partnership with Global Encounters, an international youth service camp, included the opportunity to develop an English-language curriculum for primary school students. Using her prize money, Insha funded the purchase of more than 20 computers, which have been set up at two schools in the remote city of Hunza in Northern Pakistan, and at three computer-training centers in impoverished areas of Karachi. “The computer labs will teach basic computer literacy to individuals of all ages and provide professional-development training to adults,” she says. Insha’s gift directly aligns with the work she and her sister, seventh-grader SHEZA MERCHANT, have carried out through Supplying Hope Around the Globe, an organization they founded three years ago. As a result of annual school-supply drives in the Pace Lower and Middle Schools, and a used-book drive added last year, the sisters have collected more than 2,100 pounds of pencils, erasers, markers and other materi-

als. The supplies, once organized and sorted into gallon bags for individual students, are

distributed around the world. “We began by donating school supplies to organizations in Atlanta and internationally through friends and family,” Sheza recalls, “but a couple years ago, I went to Costa Rica on the fifth-grade Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL) trip. Leading up to the trip, we learned about the Chilamate Elementary School, which we would be visiting, providing us the opportunity to donate items to help the kids at the school. We realized that through Pace ICGL trips, we could easily get the supplies we collected around the world.” Since then, Supplying Hope Around the Globe has provided school supplies to children on five continents: North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Europe. This past year alone, Pace students delivered Supplying Hope packets to Costa Rica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Ireland. “It’s really exciting to see these supplies get a new life instead of being thrown away and ending up in a landfill,” the sisters say. “It helps our planet and people in need.” For their efforts, Insha and Sheza received the 2017 President’s Volunteer Service Award at the Gold level, which recognizes more than 100 hours of community service in a given year. But they’re not done yet. “This spring, we plan to expand our book drive to the Upper School so that the seniors can empty their bookshelves before going to college,” Insha says. “The goal is that by the time I graduate, we will have collected 3,500 pounds of school supplies and books. We hope that by the time Sheza graduates that number will be 5,000.”

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

GLOBAL LEADERS

ERIC WILHELMSEN

SPENCER WILHELMSEN

MAKING SOCCER ACCESSIBLE

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

TO SAY THAT fourth-graders ERIC and SPENCER WILHELMSEN are soccer fans would be an understatement. The boys began playing at age 4 and unabashedly proclaim that they’re “in love” with Atlanta United, the city’s new Major League Soccer (MLS) team. So, when Georgia Soccer, the boys’ youth league, partnered with Atlanta United’s Alec Kann to support TOPSoccer, the brothers knew they had to be involved. TOPSoccer serves children ages 4 to 19 with physical and/or mental disabilities, taking them “off the sidelines” to provide a unique athletic experience. Georgia Soccer challenged young players to raise funds for TOPSoccer and, as an incentive, Kann offered to lead a two-hour clinic for those who raised $125; $1,000 earned additional clinic spots and one-on-one time with the MLS goalie. Eyes on the prize, the Wilhelmsen boys got to work. “Our initial fundraising goal was $1,000 each so we could bring friends to meet Alec Kann,” Eric says. “We came up with our fundraising ideas by meeting together as a family.” Their resulting strategies included facilitating a neighborhood soccer clinic at $10 a participant and raffling off an Atlanta United soccer ball and playoff tickets, which the boys purchased by combining their allowances. “Eric and Spencer sat for hours at the front of our neighborhood selling raffle tickets for two drawings, which they videoed and then aired on our neighborhood website,” says their mother, Upper School teacher KRISTA WILHELMSEN. At the end of the day, the boys hit their $2,000 goal and, with fourth-grader RORY LEE and a neighborhood friend, attended Kann’s VIP clinic—a once-in-alifetime experience. And while Eric and Spencer gained insight into the world of professional soccer, they also came to understand some important life lessons. “I learned that everything is not just about me,” Spencer says. “It’s about other people, too. And it does not matter what you have—like autism or mental illness, or if you are missing a limb—all that matters is that you are a good person.” Eric agrees, and he and Spencer hope to do more to support those with disabilities. “I plan to do other fundraisers to help kids with different needs,” Eric says. “My advice to other children who want to make a difference is to work hard and don’t give up, even if you get discouraged. If you work hard, eventually you will succeed.”

GLOBAL LEADERS

CAN O N LY N C H

STUDENT LEADERS RALLY T O S U P P O R T C H I L D R E N ’S H E A LT H C A R E O F AT L A N T A. NEARLY A YEAR AGO, an interest in medicine led senior CANON LYNCH to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). “For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to work as a pediatric oncologist,” Lynch says. “While looking for a hands-on summer internship in the field, I called CHOA and learned about Dance Marathon. Immediately, I knew it was something I would love to do because

it connects my interests in oncology, medicine, volunteering and nonprofits.” The nationwide program raises funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a consortium that includes CHOA, by recruiting high school and college students to organize one-day, communitybuilding celebrations, which include dancing, entertainment and games. Student teams, which are paired with patient families, fundraise prior to the event. Lynch knew a Dance Marathon could be successful at Pace Academy and got to work. She spent six months building the foundation for the Pace team, Miracle Knights, and at the start of the 2017– 2018 school year, recruited a committee of passionate students to help organize the event. The group—seniors MARINA HASHIM, ELIZABETH MARR, CAMERON PERCHIK, RACHEL RIBNER, ALY SATISKY, CATHERINE SWEENEY, ERICA TASHMA and SLOAN WYATT, and junior LILY WAGONER—oversaw finances and fundraising, event logistics, marketing, social media, student relations and communications with CHOA. In addition, the University of Georgia’s Dance Marathon team partnered with the Miracle Knights to provide advice and support throughout the planning process. Following months of preparation and fundraising, Middle and Upper School students flooded Boyd Gym on Nov. 11 for the inaugural Miracle Knights Dance Marathon. The event featured a rave, games, free food and performances by the Pace cheerleaders. The highlight, however, was hearing from Tyler, a CHOA patient, and his mother. “Tyler and his mom really put everything in perspective for everyone in attendance,” Lynch says. “They told their story, and Tyler became part of the Pace community when he danced with students to the Pace classic, Disco Pogo.” When the music stopped, the Miracle Knights had raised more than $5,000, exceeding their goal. “The support for this program blew away the entire committee,” Lynch reports. “The money we raised helps cover the things our patient family said are irreplaceable—service-dogs visits, Bingo prizes, toys for the holidays, games in playrooms and even toothbrushes and toothpaste. The money directly impacts these children’s happiness and well-being, and I am happy that Pace and I are able to be a small part of that.”

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

GLOBAL LEADERS

FAC U LT Y SPOT L I G H T

“I think a global education creates divergent thinkers who

DIAN NE

are able to envision ideas to create solutions to problems.”

WILBUR Walk into the Pace Academy Lower School and ask any student what it means to live by the Golden Rule. Thanks to the Noble Knights’ Pillars of Character program, the Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL) and fifth-grade teacher DIANNE WILBUR, the response you’re likely to receive is a slightly modified version of the old adage: “Treat others—even strangers who may appear to be different from you—the way that you want to be treated.” By applying a global perspective to this familiar and meaningful saying, Wilbur demonstrates how she integrates global leadership into every aspect of her Lower School students’ lives. Since coming to Pace in 2014, Wilbur has found creative ways to bring global issues into her classroom, teaching her students to celebrate the differences in others and to find community even in unfamiliar settings. Through academic projects, field trips and an international study tour, Wilbur has combined her passions for teaching, travel and conservation to create a dynamic, engaging environment in which her students become citizens of the world. Wilbur believes that developing global-leadership skills gives students the opportunity to change lives. She explains, “I think a global education creates divergent thinkers who are able to envision ideas to create solutions to problems, who have the skills and mindsets to understand that values and behaviors are related to cultures and who show compassion for others.”

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Wilbur, who has been an educator her entire career, was originally attracted to Pace because of its sense of community. She knew even before college that she loved teaching, so when the time came to pick a major at Presbyterian College, education was the natural choice. Wilbur went on to earn a master’s in educational leadership with a concentration in technology from Kennesaw State University before taking a job at Dunwoody Elementary School, where she was recognized as Teacher of the Year. After her time at Dunwoody, Wilbur taught at Vanderlyn Elementary School. Through each of these transitions, one thing has remained constant: her love for teaching math. “Teaching math to fifth graders is my passion,” she says. “I feel so lucky to be able to provide students math instruction in small groups at the level that they need.” Wilbur’s coworkers describe her as a flexible and willing team player always on the lookout for new ways to bring global issues and compassion into her classroom. Although she has a natural talent for finding these opportunities, Wilbur credits fifthgrade teacher and Director of Lower School Global Education REBECCA RHODES with helping her further develop this ability. “Rebecca has helped me see the amazing global experiences that Pace offers to its staff and students,” Wilbur says. “Her goal is to make sure that everyone in the Lower School has the chance to participate in explorations all over this incredible earth.”

Through the ICGL, Wilbur traveled to South Africa with the Lower School faculty conservation cohort in the spring of 2017, a journey that transformed her worldview and inspired new conservation-themed classroom projects. After the trip, Wilbur and her colleagues started a school-wide project in which every class adopted a South African animal to research, with the goal of identifying why it is important for that animal to be protected. For her own class, Wilbur selected the lemur—the most endangered mammal in the world. She “fell in love” with the creature in South Africa during a visit to Monkeyland, a wildlife sanctuary and, with the help of associate teacher SALLY FORB, she has created countless opportunities for her class to learn about lemurs and their preservation. As part of this exploration, fifth graders embarked on an educational journey to the Duke Lemur Center at Duke University (see Cultivating Empathy in Pace’s Youngest Global Thinkers on page 49). Regardless of her location—South Africa, North Carolina or a Pace classroom—Wilbur defines her success by that of her students. “If they are successful academically, learn to live by the Golden Rule, and show that they are global leaders through their thoughts and their actions, I feel that I have done my job as an educator,” she says. — by HANNAH KELLY ’15

GLOBAL LEADERS

VIDEO

E X T R A! Learn more about Wilbur at www.paceacademy.org/media.

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

VOLLEYBALL

BUILDING ON EXCELLENCE 40

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

VOLLEYBALL

Director of Athletics DR. TROY BAKER reflects on the varsity volleyball team’s first-ever state title.

ccording to varsity volleyball head coach ANNA BUSH, it all started with the Pace Academy Class of 2017. As juniors, volleyball Knights MCKENZIE BAKER, KATE BETHEL, MEGHAN BOTSCH, SUMMER BROWN, KAKI COX and KENDALL KIRKMAN brought home the 2015 Area Championship, but fell short in the Elite Eight, losing a hard-fought match at Savannah's St. Vincent’s Academy. In the fall of 2016, with the addition of then-freshmen LUCY FERRY, ADA JANE AGOLLI and DOMINIQUE TURNER, Bush felt this team had the chance to do something special. In fact, the Pace community had no idea just how special this group was until a packed house witnessed one of the best sporting events ever to take place in the Inman Center: a five-set Final Four match in which the Knights defeated rival Lovett. Although the team subsequently fell to Westminster in the 2016 Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAA State Finals, these outstanding student-athletes gave their fans a glimpse of the mountaintop. They were the best to ever play for Pace—and they set the stage for the future.

CHARACTER-DRIVEN “Our goal was to be character-driven,” Bush says when asked about the 2017 season. “We were going to represent ourselves, our families and our school, both on and off the court.” The members of the 2017 team were obviously talented, but there were big shoes to fill on the front line and in the setter position. More importantly, any team losing six seniors has questions to answer in the area of leadership. After graduating the most successful group of volleyball seniors in school history, many outside the program viewed the season as a rebuilding year. Most teams would take exception to being overlooked, but the absence of pressure may have been a blessing in disguise. “Nobody thought we would do much with all of the seniors graduating,” Bush says. “No one was talking about us. We didn’t feel we had the same pressure as the previous year.” Bush didn’t burden the team with expectations of a repeat state-finals appearance. Rather, she concentrated on personal accountability, consistency, gradual improvement, teamwork and communication. Instead of focusing on proving the skeptics wrong, she drilled down on relationships, togetherness and character. As the season progressed, adversity reared its ugly head in the form of injuries. The coaching staff and the team accepted the challenge; some players were called on to play out of position, while others were asked to assume more responsibility than in the past. By the end of the regular season, the team was battle tested. The Knights were ready for anything.

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VOLLEYBALL

THE ROAD TO STATE Anyone who has attended a Pace volleyball game has witnessed Bush’s calm and, at times, stoic demeanor on the sideline. When the Knights traveled to North Hall High School for the GHSA Class AAA Final Four match, her sideline presence was exactly what the team needed to pull through in a hostile environment. Despite several close calls, the team battled its way to a four-set victory over North Hall, propelling the Knights to a state-championship rematch. They had earned another shot at rival team Westminster. A lot of great things happened during the state finals. Pace students and parents arrived early and donned white-out-themed T-shirts in a show of solidarity. The Knights also won the game in five sets—it was a nail-biter that came down to the wire. Most importantly, the student-athletes and fans represented themselves, their families and their school in a commendable manner. It’s no coincidence that the qualities Bush and assistant coaches SCOTT MCEWAN and JENNIFER JONES stressed throughout the season were those exhibited by the entire Pace community. The finals match proved once again that attitude reflects leadership— not only for the team, but also for the school as a whole. We will always celebrate the 2017 season and the fact that this team brought home the first state championship in school history. We will honor those players who helped pave the way, and we will remember the excitement and pride that we felt as a result of their hard work and accomplishments. My hope is that we will continue to follow Bush’s lead and double down on relationships, teamwork and character. Wins and losses are fleeting, but the important things last a lifetime. Thanks to Bush, McEwan, Jones and the 2017 volleyball team for providing a great example of what it means to be a Pace Knight. l

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

VOLLEYBALL

AGOLLI

BUSH

FERRY

TURNER

BAKER

GREENE

INDIVIDUAL ACCOLADES ANNA BUSH

LUCY FERRY

• GHSA Class AAA Volleyball Coach of the Year

• GHSA 5-AAA All-Area

ADA JANE AGOLLI

KALISSA GREENE

• GHSA Class AAA All-State • Prep Volleyball National Sophomore of the Year Award finalist

• GHSA Class AAA All-State • Prep Volleyball National Freshman of the Year Award finalist

ALEXANDRA BAKER

DOMINIQUE TURNER

• GHSA 5-AAA All-Area

STATE CHAMPIONS: THE ROSTER ADA JANE AGOLLI #11 ALEXANDRA BAKER #8 SOPHIE BECK #12 LUCY FERRY #15 PAIGE FLEMING #7 KALISSA GREENE #10 DAVIS MATHIS #4 HANNAH PACE #9 CAMERON PERCHIK #3 NICOLE PETROSKY #2 LILY RECKFORD #13 MARISSA SCHWARZ #6 MEGGIE STEIGER #5 DOMINIQUE TURNER #1 CAROLINE SINGLETON statistician

“Our goal was to be character-driven. We were going to represent ourselves, our families and our school, both on and off the court.” — Head Coach ANNA BUSH

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

STEAM & DESIGN IN THE ICGL

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

STEAM & DESIGN in the ICGL How young minds take on GLOBAL PROBLEMS Preparing Students for a Global Future More than a decade ago, NEVILLE ISDELL (pictured, top right), former CEO of The Coca-Cola Company and a Pace Academy Life Trustee, began a conversation with Head of School FRED ASSAF that would catalyze new energy and momentum around Pace’s mission: “To create prepared, confident citizens of the world.” Isdell and Assaf discussed what global leadership means today, how it might evolve in the future and how to go about creating opportunities for Pace students to develop “a more global view as we prepare them for a more globalized world,” Isdell says. Both recognized that in order to succeed, students must be ethical, culturally competent and adaptable. “You develop these characteristics through exposure,” says Isdell, the father of CARA ISDELL LEE ’97 and grandfather of her son, fourth-grader RORY LEE ’26. “You learn not be caught up in your own cocoon.” Their conversations culminated in the creation of the now four-year-old Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL), established through the generosity of the Isdell family. The ICGL brings global issues and experiences to the forefront of a Pace education, and at the same time, supplies a springboard for incorporating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) & Design into curriculum and programming across the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools. Today, the ICGL is a cornerstone of the Pace educational experience—providing students in all divisions cross-disciplinary opportunities that foster their growth. “[The ICGL] has far exceeded our ex-

pectations,” Isdell says, and he remains passionate about Pace preparing students

for a globalized future and “graduating kids who can compete not just in the U.S., but in a broader world.” As the ICGL grows, Pace recognizes that global leadership is not a stagnant concept. Therefore, the school continues to dig deeper into questions around global issues and to focus on fostering global awareness, cultural engagement and critical problem-solving, and on generating innovative opportunities.

The STEAM & Design Connection TRISH ANDERSON, director of the ICGL, says that at its outset “we questioned what it would mean to help students develop into competent global citizens.” She explains, “We realized they’d need more than a knowledge base—they’d need to develop capacities to succeed in a world where information is not in silos and everything is increasingly interconnected. This is on the global scale, but also locally, in workplaces and knowledge areas.” Through the exploration of an annual global theme (CONSERVATION for 2017–2018) from all angles and across all areas of the curriculum, the ICGL facilitates the broad and open-ended thinking processes that Pace’s future global leaders require—creating in them global awareness, understanding and engagement—and cultivating their leadership capabilities. Studying the theme using STEAM & Design approaches, students develop mindsets and employ strategies and tools to help them address the complex and intertwined problems that emerge.

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STEAM & DESIGN IN THE ICGL

Isdell says that mindsets, or “attitudes—a spirit of inquiry; an embracing of the new and the different”—are vital in “a world that is, like it or not, becoming more globalized.” He says the ICGL offers a process to develop these attitudes: “It should engender in students a sense of global inquiry so they keep intellectually exploring what the world at large really means.”

“Our job as parents and educators is to get our children ready for the road, not the road ready for our children. STEAM & Design education enables kids to problem-solve as a group, to experience failure together and to invent new ways of thinking about things. These lessons are often lost in a traditional curriculum and in many of the organized activities kids participate in—everything is planned for them. We want our students to take on the kind of problem-solving that they’re going to have do as members of our 21stcentury society.” FRED ASSAF Head of School “Most schools have STEAM and Design Thinking programs. But these are programs. What sets Pace apart is the marriage of the ICGL and STEAM & Design. We are implementing a teaching methodology that can be leveraged, not just in a Design Thinking studio or science and technology lab, but on a much broader scale. We’ve established a framework for teaching, whether you are teaching science or literature, that keeps students engaged in problem-solving and collaborating—ultimately finding ways to make positive differences in the world.” TRISH ANDERSON Director of the ICGL

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The Importance of “Why” Isdell traces his beliefs to an experience as a young boy that prompted him to begin asking “why.” “Why is one of the most important questions,” he notes. “How comes afterwards.” He continues, “Living in Ireland, I was 7 or 8 the first time I saw someone black. He was a Nigerian visiting Ireland for a training course with my father, a fingerprint ballistics officer, who was staying with us in our home for the weeklong course. He was great with me as a child; he talked about Nigeria—he was one of those human beings who just makes a kid feel good.” The guest made a lasting impression, and memories of him resurfaced after Isdell’s family moved to South Africa. Living there during apartheid, 10-year-old Isdell noticed benches on the streets for whites and nonwhites. He saw separate seats on the trains as well. He recalls his reaction: “When I saw those seats, I said, ‘Do you mean that [my Nigerian friend] couldn’t sit with me?’” “What happens,” he explains, alluding to his own experience, “is that, as you move out of your frame of reference, you ask the question why.” DR. KIRSTEN BOEHNER, director of STEAM & Design in the Middle School, says Isdell’s experience of noticing, then asking why, is analogous to the goals of STEAM & Design within the ICGL. “You can’t downplay the experience of noticing—some of the biggest ‘aha moments’ are when you say, ‘Hey, this is not right’—and you don’t take things for granted; for example, that people of color must sit on different benches. The next step is to question it—to ask ‘why’— and then say, ‘I’m going to do something about it’ and commit to change.” Noticing, thenquestioning, and

ultimately, doing, constitute what Boehner refers to as Design Activism.

Setting the Foundation in Lower School “Students notice what is dramatic, compelling, personally relevant or socially meaningful,” says MARY BETH BONGIOVANNI, director of Design Thinking in the Lower School. “This is naturally what we do—we notice when our hearts and minds loop ideas together, and we want to talk about it.” Which happens, Bongiovanni says, as Lower School students arrive for class in her Design Thinking studio. “They know they are entering a ‘thinker space,’ where we first have to grapple with new information and understand the problem before we can evaluate possible solutions.” Linking STEAM & Design approaches to the issues brought forth by the ICGL is a powerful way of developing Pace’s youngest students into thinkers who question, explore, experiment, take risks and experience failure—building the foundation for subsequent learning in the Middle and Upper Schools. As the school year began, Lower School faculty narrowed this year’s ICGL theme to ecosystems and the animals that inhabit them, establishing an animal advocacy focus for Pre-First through fifth-grade students to implement STEAM content & Design approaches. “When we frame the learning with a powerful global theme like conservation, we can launch projects that enable students to grasp the context and complexity of real problems and threats species face here and around the world,” Bongiovanni says. The results have been embraced across the grade levels. “The students’ conversations in and between classrooms, and at home, have developed into beautiful narratives capturing what they’ve noticed as the threats to animals they love,” she says. “They’ve put into words what the animals would say if they could talk—while considering essential questions such as: ‘Where in the world are species at risk? What are people already doing to help protect the biodiversity of animal and plant life? What do I need to know to protect what matters most to me?’” Using the ICGL frame and collaborating

STEAM & DESIGN IN THE ICGL

with others to move the frame so that it includes multiple perspectives and big, central ideas, distinguishes STEAM & Design at Pace, she says. “It makes it a ton of fun for students and faculty and provides a series of engaging, academic challenges.” (See The Year of Conservation on page 30.)

Lower School Director of Design Thinking Mary Beth Bongiovanni works with students in the Design Thinking studio, a space that facilitates questioning, exploration and experimentation for Pace's youngest learners.

Uncovering the Right Questions in Middle School “Pace’s approach to the study of these global issues lines up nicely with our different divisions,” Boehner says. “In Lower School, it’s about the children being sponges to the world that’s around us— noticing, taking in everything they see, then going through the process of questioning and finding their own activist spirit.” “In Middle School,” Boehner explains, “we also cycle through noticing, questioning and action, but we train our focus on questioning. Middle School students are in the throes of identity formation and experimentation, and we can parallel these questions about identity, beliefs and practices to the world around us. In Upper School, students continue to build on the mindsets and skills required for noticing and questioning, while emphasizing an orientation toward engagement. Students at this age can notice what is, question what could be and then activate a course of change.” Head of Middle School GRAHAM ANTHONY says that reinforcing the importance of questioning and encouraging focus on “the process, rather than being results-oriented” are valuable components of STEAM & Design. “A lot of it’s just trying to figure out how to get as good as we possibly can at getting from A to B, rather than being at B.” Pace Middle School students, who’ve centered on “animal advocacy” as a conservation project this year, are discovering the truth in this, Anthony explains. “Being able to identify problems as well as problem-solve has been crucial to the students’ animal advocacy projects. Using the STEAM lab and the Design process, we’ve been able to help kids not just come up with solutions but to get really good at identifying what the problems are.” He adds, “Kids are often eager to rush that step. They want to build something;

they want to make phone calls; they want to run a bake sale and raise money. What has been great this year is intentionally pulling the reins and asking them to think about the most effective way we can help—questions like: ‘Is the need actually money? Is there a way we can be more directly helpful?’” Advancing STEAM & Design in the Middle School in conjunction with the ICGL has been exciting, Anthony says. “One has fed the other, and our kids are excited about it. There are kids in the STEAM & Design lab every recess, after school— Kirsten keeps expanding the lab schedule because the kids want to be there.” Anthony explains that part of Boehner’s role is helping teachers understand how to apply STEAM & Design concepts to different areas of the core curriculum. “The faculty is learning how to incorporate STEAM & Design and taking advantage of cross-disciplinary project opportunities. It’s happening organically,” he explains, as teachers of different subjects find that STEAM & Design approaches can help “to emphasize a point or present ideas in a different way.” Boehner says incorporating STEAM & Design is an open-ended process at Pace. This means resisting the urge to “codify” the process, where steps and tools become rigid, and constraints confine instead of ignite discovery. “We want our students and teachers to approach the tools and stages of the Design process as prompts,

not as check boxes. Completing an ideation worksheet,” Boehner suggests, “is less important than the conversations that emerge around the tool.” “For example, we didn’t want teachers to feel they had to be experts on elephants or whale sharks to lead the animal advocacy process,” she says. “Rather, the challenge was about discovery work. Asking, ‘What does conservation look like through the lens of this particular animal?’ The teachers are there as guides, to learn alongside the students.”

Pursuing Action in Upper School ZEENA LATTOUF ’12, associate director of the ICGL, says, “In Lower and Middle School, students practice Design Thinking skills, which include questioning, discovery and collaboration, and they begin to practice a little bit of action. By Upper School, they have the foundation in place for Design Activism. The ICGL presents them with opportunities to get involved where they can discover that they have the power to make a difference.” As an example, Upper School students each year can participate in the ICGL’s Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, where they work in small groups to develop innovative solutions to issues related to the annual theme. Mentored by professionals, they create and refine business plans that consider four interrelated elements: purpose, people, planet and profit. Local business leaders

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STEAM & DESIGN IN THE ICGL

EMPATHIC THINKING AT PACE EXTENDS TO ALL DIVISIONS

“I feel extremely connected to elephants and their cause—I want to continue making a difference.” GRACE HEINEMAN eighth grader, who worked with other students to create the Chokatagua elephant jewelry line as part of the Middle School’s Animal Advocacy Challenge “Upcycling is important to me because there are so many items in our world that are wasted that could actually be useful and practical. Upcycling connects to conservation by raising awareness about waste, limiting what products we use, cleverly utilizing items we already have, and constructing designs that are green and positive for the environment.” ALLISON SILVERBOARD eighth grader and one of the founders of the Middle School Upcycling Club “The most influential way I can support the students of Peoplestown Academy is by being an empathetic and active listener. I have grown immensely as a result of my participation, and I believe that empathy and open-mindedness are crucial instruments in modern-day society as we make steps toward social change and education reform.” SAMANTHA DELMAN senior, who volunteers with Peoplestown Academy, an after-school tutoring program

judge the plans, and the winning team receives funding to launch its venture. Anderson adds that Upper School students, whether in class or through opportunities afforded though social entrepreneurship or other ICGL programs, internalize the mindsets and skills they’ve built over the years: “ways of investigating the world, the desire for discovery, the desire to innovate, the desire to have a vision around something you’re passionate about.” She says the Upper School faculty increasingly seeks to tie the curriculum to the ICGL theme, often through project-based assignments that engage students in the study of complex theme-related issues. “KAYLAN HAIZLIP’S advanced science research students are doing research and writing grant proposals for funding to address a problem related to conservation,” she says. One of Haizlip’s students, senior CANON LYNCH, looked at nitrate levels in the Chattahoochee River, drastically increased— due to urban runoff—to levels potentially lethal to fish. Her research postulates that introducing mussels, filter feeders that take in water and can process nitrate into their shells, “would be a more cost-effective solution to cleaning the water than infrastructure changes to the City of Atlanta, which would cost about $3 billion,” Lynch says. “If the project is successful, the cost would be dramatically less.”

PHOTOS: 1/2 Middle School students have partnered with Zoo Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium, Cochran Mill Nature Center and Blue Heron Nature Preserve to execute this year's Animal Advocacy Challenge. Using STEAM & Design principles, student and faculty teams are working to create interventions advocating for the conservation of seven threatened species. 3 Dr. Kirsten Boehner has opened the Middle School STEAM & Design lab during recess, lunch and afterschool hours to accommodate student demand.

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Through these opportunities, Anderson says, “kids interact locally with people and issues, and discover how local issues connect to the theme.” Complementing these are the ICGL’s domestic and international study tours, which provide opportunities on the global front “to go to places where they can interface with different kinds of people and issues—building a new level of awareness and encouraging them to pay attention in a new way to things that require action,” she adds. The breadth and depth of the ICGL goes far beyond study tours, although they are perhaps the most concrete element of the ICGL. A linchpin within the program, study tours provide value to students that Isdell believes is not available in the classroom. “You can teach, but you have to feel,” he says. “That’s what the travel experience gives. It’s very enriching; it’s part of my experience. It’s what developed me. I was 10 years old when I first went to Africa— and it opened up my mind.” As the Year of Conservation unfolds in each division of Pace Academy, broadening the ICGL in new ways and encouraging faculty and students to embrace STEAM & Design approaches and opportunities, Isdell says he feels pleased. “I take a great deal of satisfaction out of just watching this program grow. It’s grown because of so much enthusiasm from the kids, the parents, and in particular, the faculty and the leadership,” he says. “[The ICGL’s] success has many mothers and fathers,” he adds. “I can take conceptual credit, financing credit, but not implementing credit. At the end of the day, it’s all about implementation, and it's being done superbly well.” l

CULTIVATING EMPATHY in Pace’s Youngest Global Thinkers

“If

you want to help somebody else you have to first read their emotions and understand why they have they have those emotions,” fifth-grader DYLAN HIROKAWA says. “It’s like stepping into other people’s shoes.” BENJAMIN GANZ, also a fifth-grader, adds, “Empathy is a big part of Design Thinking.” Hirokawa, Ganz and the rest of Pace Academy’s fifth graders have been learning what it means to be empathetic and how empathy applies to Design Thinking during this year’s grade-level study of lemurs, an endangered species endemic to the island nation Madagascar. Fifth-grade teacher DIANNE WILBUR, part of the cohort that studied the Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL) theme of conservation during the faculty study tour to South Africa last summer, brought back a love for lemurs that she imparted to her students and team members. Her class in turn adopted the lemur as its class animal, and fellow teacher SALLY FORB spearheaded a deep-dive study of the animal for the entire fifth grade—including a trip to the Duke Lemur Center at Duke University, which boasts the largest lemur population in the world outside of Madagascar. Feeling empathy for animals, like lemurs, is harder than feeling it for humans, who “think in a similar way,” Hirokawa explains. “We can’t read their thoughts.” Nonetheless, the boys’ affection for the lemur and concern for its welfare are evident. Ganz says that lemurs, facing extinction, are now only found in Madagascar. He is fascinated that “there are 100-plus species of them” and adds that hunting is a major threat. “People in Madagascar [use the lemur as] one of their sources of food.” As students have developed empathy for lemurs, they’ve also developed compassion

for the people of Madagascar. And they’ve discovered that global issues are complex and interrelated, and often without easy solutions. “Another source of [the Malagasy people’s] food is crops,” Hirokawa explains. “They use a tactic called slash and burn, where they take axes and cut down the trees in an area and then burn them to use the land for farming. But that’s the lemur habitat, and this is cutting down on that habitat.” Fifth-grade teacher REBECCA RHODES, who serves as director of global leadership in the Lower School, says, “The students have learned that there’s not an easy solution. We can’t just say, ‘We don’t kill lemurs.’ It is important that we see conservation from every angle and perspective.” Hirokawa adds, “Because the people who live there are trying to survive.” Learning to care about lemurs and the people of Madagascar has helped cultivate empathy, fundamental to Design Thinking, Rhodes says. She reports that all students in the Lower School are learning “to design for someone or something else, who might be from a different place, and to apply this knowledge to problem-solving.” “For our kids to understand global problems they need, first and foremost, to be strong thinkers. By starting in Pre-First and carrying Design Thinking skills throughout their experience in the Lower School, we hope to prepare them for the older grades and beyond, and ultimately to help them become good citizens of the world.” She adds, "We want students to develop ways to problem-solve for others. In my reading class, we look at what the character or a real-life person is experiencing, talk about how we examine his or her problems,

and then look at possible solutions. We discuss what we might do if we were a friend of the character.” Teachers of other subjects take a similar approach, she explains. “LAURIE ELLIOTT, who teaches fifth-grade science, says, ‘Let’s look at this endangered plant: What does it need to survive? What are the current problems it faces? How can we brainstorm solutions and create change?’” Other grades are doing the same thing in developmentally appropriate ways, she adds. From saving their classes’ animals to creating extinction-proof species, all Lower School teachers have risen to the challenge of teaching students how to problem-solve using empathy. On the trip to the Duke Lemur Center, Rhodes says, “We learned the reasons lemurs are endangered, such as deforestation, slash-and-burn farming and climate change. And we saw how the Duke lemur experts study the issues and problem-solve. We saw conservation working for this specific species. While we were there, we also toured the Sarah Duke Gardens so students could learn about plants and endangered plant species.” Hirokawa says threats like deforestation have changed the environment, for both lemurs and humans, from the “beautiful pictures we see of nature from the past.” He adds, “Being a global thinker for kids means embracing the world and preserving it for generations in the future so that they can also see that beautiful picture.” In addition to helping lemurs, Ganz believes that global thinking will help people and the environment—and that “the earth will be in a better condition for a long, long time.” l

KnightTimes | Winter 2018

PACE THEATRE

PACE THEATRE’S IMMERSIVE, ALL-HANDSON-DECK APPROACH TO LEARNING CREATES A COMMUNITY OF WELL-ROUNDED STUDENT-ARTISTS— AND INDIVIDUALS.

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“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” This well-known maxim, most often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, may date back to the 18th century, but it certainly holds true today, particularly as it relates to Generation Z—those born between 1998 and 2016. “Today’s students refuse to be passive learners,” Forbes contributor Sieva Kozinsky writes in How Generation Z is Shaping the Change in Education. “They aren’t interested in simply showing up for class, sitting through a lecture and taking notes that they’ll memorize for an exam later on. Instead, they expect to be fully engaged… Gen Z students tend to thrive when they are given the opportunity to have a fully immersive educational experience and they even enjoy the challenges of being a part of it.” Full engagement is the goal as Director of

Middle School Drama PATRICK CAMPBELL and Director of Upper School Theatre SEAN BRYAN build on Pace Academy’s longstanding tradition of excellence in the performing arts. That means that students bear much of the responsibility for ensuring the success of the program, and that students who choose to be involved must immerse themselves in all aspects of a production, ensuring they are prepared for the road ahead—wherever it may lead. The Middle School drama department’s mission statement asserts, “We will do our best to keep students doing as much of the work as possible, knowing that, beyond performance experience, life experience is the main focus of our program.” The Upper School department shares that philosophy. As a result, students’ experiences inevitably involve trying new things—a lead actor

PACE THEATRE

in one production might work props for another, while an ensemble member might decide to give working the sound booth a try for the next show. While having students step outside their comfort zones doesn’t necessarily guarantee perfection, it certainly ensures learning. “If students are going to fail, I’d rather see that they fail here,” Bryan says. “Our program should maintain a high standard, but it should also present opportunities to learn through trial and error.” Ultimately, challenges lead to greater rewards and perpetuate an “all-in-thistogether” culture and community, say Bryan and Campbell. Achieving that culture is easier said than done. “The analogy I use is that it’s easy for me to make my son’s bed because I know

how to do it,” Bryan says. “It’s more difficult for me to bug him about it every day, but he has to learn to do it on his own.” Similarly, Bryan could hire professionals to manage lights, run sound, sew costumes, or do performers’ hair and makeup prior to a performance—but that’s not the point. Instead, as the directors announced their 2017–2018 seasons this past fall, they looked to students to execute the myriad tasks required to bring their lineups to the stage. For the Middle School’s fall play, The Rules of Comedy, Campbell worked with Technical Director SCOTT SARGENT to recruit a tech crew made up entirely of Middle School students and relied on Upper School stagecraft classes to construct the set. He looked to eighth-grader NIKKI BYRNE to serve as his assistant to the director for the season and, during rehearsals for this

spring’s Lion King Jr., asked that she train sixth-grader EMMA BETH NEVILLE to take on the role. Campbell also requires that his cast and crew—not their parents—keep up with their rehearsal schedules. “It’s all about finding a balance, taking the kids and pushing them beyond what they would normally be comfortable doing,” Campbell says. “It’s my job to put them out there in their best light, so we figure out when an adult needs to step in and provide guidance, but at the same time, the kids need to have their own adventures.” Similarly, Bryan mandates that all Upper School students involved in a production work on a committee—marketing, T-shirts, makeup, costumes or food for the green room, for example. “I brought some committee ideas to the table,” Bryan says, “but students came up with others on their own. This spread: The finale of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

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PACE THEATRE

For example, students are coordinating our end-of-the-year theatre banquet. They’ve set the date, created a theme and are working out all of the logistics.” Some students thrive in that type of self-driven environment; others become frustrated. However, more often than not, added responsibility and exposure to something new leads a student to discover a passion or find a niche. For example, seventh-grader FINN SZWAST decided to try operating the followspot, the manually controlled spotlight used during a stage performance, for last year’s Middle School play. He wound up working five productions—both Middle and Upper School—throughout the year. “As a sixth-grader!” Campbell exclaims. “As far as I know, Finn is the only student who has ever done five shows in a year.” When Bryan selected Anton Chekhov’s play The Brute as the Upper School’s entry into the Georgia High School Association’s (GHSA) One-Act Competition, sophomores JULIA KELLY and LAUREN O’SULLIVAN, 1 Junior ANNABELLE CRITZ, senior PAIGE DEMBA and freshman JACK BROWN in this fall’s award-winning production of Chekhov’s The Brute.

both actors in previous productions, volunteered to design and sew costumes for the three-person period piece. Later in the year, they’ll take their designs to the 2018 Georgia Thespian Conference and present them to a panel of judges. And junior ABIGAIL LUND, Bryan’s assistant director for this past fall’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, led the charge for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids and organized a fundraising drive, including a competition between Upper School classes during the musical’s run, ultimately generating $563.69 for the nonprofit organization. Because the Middle and Upper School departments employ this all-hands-on-deck approach to theatre, and because many students transition from Pace’s Middle School program to the Upper School program, collaboration between divisions is essential. “I frequently ask Sean what students need to know before they get to the Upper School,” Campbell says. “We coordinate what 1

we teach, and Upper School students become involved in Middle School productions.” Bryan chimes in: “We want to build a culture of stewardship—of students passing down knowledge and the systems they’ve created to those who follow them.” As a result, you’ll find Upper School students offering support to their Middle School counterparts: designing makeup for Middle School shows, styling hair in the dressing room or offering tricks of the trade to calm nerves. “It helps to have someone other than a teacher reiterate the things I try to instill in my students,” Campbell says. “My Middle Schoolers look up to and admire their Upper School counterparts, and I think the older students really enjoy giving back to a program they were once a part of.” Students do, in fact, appreciate the opportunity to branch out and take on a variety of roles within the theatre program. “I never thought I would end up on a tech crew, but when the musical rolled around 3

2 Junior ABIGAIL LUND and sophomore JACKSON GRAY work behind the scenes to bring to life the Upper School production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. 3 Music Director SUSAN WALLACE and Upper School Theatre Director SEAN BRYAN collaborate during rehearsals for the Upper School fall musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. 4 Juniors CHLOE NELSON and ANIA BRISCOE handle props for the Upper School’s fall one-act play. 5/6 Scenes from the Middle School's The Rules of Comedy. 7 Director of Middle School Drama PATRICK CAMPBELL. 8 Eighth-graders JAYLA WIDEMAN and MADISON AUCHINCLOSS portray the Dramaturges in the Middle School fall play. 9 Costume designers extraordinaire LAUREN O’SULLIVAN and JULIA KELLY will present their designs at the 2018 Georgia Thespian Conference. 10 Seventh-grader JEB BRING as Claudius in The Rules of Comedy.

“Being involved in drama has helped me in my leadership skills, and the improv skills I’ve learned have helped me be a better communicator. Pace drama means working as a team to put on something to make people happy.”

“Pace theatre has had an incredible impact on me. It has made me more outgoing and creative and has given me so many opportunities to try new things.”

—EMMA BETH NEVILLE Sixth grader

—ANIA BRISCOE Junior

PACE THEATRE

and I couldn’t fake singing anymore, I tried it,” says sophomore JACKSON GRAY. “It took me a while to get used to the change, especially with the light board and all the setting up that that requires, but it’s given me insight into how difficult being on the tech crew actually is. Now, I try to help the crew when I’m acting and respect the long tech rehearsals.” And Gray’s exploration hasn’t stopped there. This past January, he ventured into the world of directing, overseeing a scene in the Upper School Winter Showcase. “Directing gives you new chances to really understand a scene and all the characters—whereas, when you’re acting, you only focus on one.” Junior CHLOE NELSON has had a similar experience. “Since my freshman year, I’ve acted in five productions and worked on tech, mostly props, for six,” she says. “Working tech really expands your view of all the effort that goes into a show—things that aren’t necessarily apparent. That alone has made me more appreciative and more aware as an actor.” Junior ANIA BRISCOE, who has played leads in Upper School productions and worked with Nelson on props for The

Brute, agrees. “Taking on multiple roles has definitely made me appreciate theatre as a whole,” she says. “It makes you realize how many different moving parts are involved in a show—whether it’s a 15-minute scene or a two-hour musical. There’s always something you can learn from being on the other side.” And that, Campbell and Bryan say, is the point. “My goal is not to make actors,” asserts Campbell, who works with students’ schedules to ensure they are able to participate in a variety of Pace activities. “I’m not here to create the next generation of great entertainers. I’m here to make students better communicators and to teach them skills that they can use in any area of life—regardless of what they want to do.” It seems to be working. “When I was on vacation, we met up with one of my mom’s old friends,” recalls sixth-grader WALKER SMITH, a member of The Lion King Jr. cast, who also participates in wrestling and robotics. “I didn’t seem to have anything in common with her kids, so I suggested we play an improv game I learned in drama class. Through the game,

we got to know each other very well and became good friends—all thanks to what I learned from our amazing drama program.” Eighth-grader MAGGIE POPE, a soccer player and theatre veteran, can relate. “I’ve done every show in Middle School so far, and it’s helped me grow as a person,” she says. “It’s prepared me for speeches and helped me in conversations. Acting forces you to take risks and perform in front of tons of people, which really helps with your communication skills.” As performing arts programming in the Middle and Upper Schools grows, Campbell and Bryan, under the leadership of Visual & Performing Arts Chair DANNY DOYLE, will continue to seek out opportunities to fully engage Generation Z and to create prepared, confident citizens of the world—not only on stage but in all walks of life. “When I joined the Pace faculty in 2015, I inherited such a strong program,” Bryan says. “My goal was not to change it, but to maintain that level of quality with the students at the forefront, constantly striving to improve. Man, if we do that, I will have done my job.” l

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ALUMNI

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

NI ALUMTE S A UPD

DIANE BAKER ’73 joined MendenFreiman LLP as a partner in the firm’s estate planning, trust and estate administration, and business practice areas. Diane has more than three decades of experience working with families to develop personalized wills and estate plans and guiding clients through the complexities of probate and the challenges of estate disputes. Her business law practice includes corporate law, limited liability companies, new business formations, contracts and other general business law matters. Prior to joining MendenFreiman, Diane had her own law firm, Baker Law Group, for more than 15 years before joining Taylor, Feil, Harper, Lumsden & Hess, P.C. She is a graduate of the Emory University School of Law and Oglethorpe University. A member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and ElderCare Matters, Diane is a past president of the Estate Planning Council of North Georgia. She is also active in the community and frequently speaks at estate and financial planning seminars. MICHELLE KREBS LEVY ’97 was named to the Atlanta Jewish Times 2017 40 Under 40 list for her work as the founder and CEO of The Sixth Point, an independent, non-denominational Atlanta Jewish community for young professionals. Michelle received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in 2001 and an MBA from Georgia State University in 2010. She has spent her career working in the nonprofit sector and founded The Sixth Point in 2013. She has served as CEO of The Sixth Point ever since, building the organization from the ground up. Michelle and her husband, Rich, live in Brookhaven with their 2-year-old son, Dylan, and are expecting a second child in April 2018. They enjoy traveling, listening to live music and quiet nights at home when their son spends the night at his grandparents’ house. Work by award-winning photographer KRISTI ODOM ’98 is featured in Nature’s Best, a photography exhibition on display through September 2018 at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

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“Being on stage at the Smithsonian to say thanks was a highlight of my life!” Kristi writes. “The Nature’s Best exhibit is beyond beautiful, and 7 million people will get to see photography that celebrates our natural world! Now more than ever, the world needs artists and conservationists.” Kristi’s work has been featured in publications such as Outside, The Knot and Rangefinder magazines, as well as on NationalGeographic.com, RollingStone.com and Kodak.com. She frequently lectures and conducts master classes, and most recently, she spoke on behalf of Nikon at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Learn more about Kristi’s work at kristiodomfineart.com. LAUREN HARTMAN ’00, her husband, Peter, and daughter, Sparrow, traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, in August 2017 for the opening of Lauren’s solo exhibition, Northern Passage. The exhibit, on display at the Arctic and Antarctic Museum, featured embroidered works, sculptures and banners that examine the Northern Passage’s changing landscape and ecology. Once considered an impassable frozen landscape, the Northern Passage is now an area of increased scientific research and a tourist cruise route open to commercial shipping. The exhibit traveled to Moscow’s Darwin Museum, where it opened in January 2018. Lauren, Peter and Sparrow live in Oakland, Calif., where Lauren teaches art at California State University Maritime Academy. TODD CARTER “TC” DEVEAU ’01 was one of 49 photo finalists from 52,000 entries in The Weather Channel’s 2017 contest It’s Amazing Out There. TC took photos of Jokulsarlon, a large glacial lake in Iceland, in May 2017 while traveling with his wife, Hannah, to see the northern lights. Many of his largescale landscape images can be viewed on his website, www.deveauphotography.com. “Photography is a hobby I have enjoyed since my days at Pace,” says TC, who also won an arts award at Emory University while in graduate school. He earned a bachelor’s in neuroscience at Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Emory Univer-

ALUMNI

sity. Since 2015, TC has worked as a patent agent with Thomas Horstemeyer in Atlanta. BRAD HUNTER ’03 recently accepted a position as a Google Financial Services Vertical senior account manager. In this position, Brad partners with major financial services companies to strategize, ideate and execute on their marketing goals across the Google suite of advertising products. “The platforms we support are the ones many people engage with every day in some capacity, from Google search to YouTube to Gmail and the Google Play store,” Brad says. Brad is finishing his MBA at New York University. He and his wife, Jennifer, will soon welcome their first child. In the spring of 2017, KAT BELINFANTE ’10 graduated from the William Esper Studio, an acting conservatory in New York City. With fellow Esper alumni, she founded a theatre company, Studio 7, which recently debuted its first show, Studio 7 Presents: A Night of One-Acts. While in New York, Kat also began pursuing standup comedy and now runs a monthly standup show, Too Much Hot Sauce. She has performed standup up and down the east coast and in Tel Aviv, and she brought her show to Atlanta’s Highland Inn & Ballroom Lounge this past December. Kat studied theatre and film at the University of Southern California and went on to train at the improv school the Upright Citizens Brigade, where she formed her own improv team, False Identity.

MORGAN BATEY ’12 is in the first year of a two-year master’s of public health program at Vanderbilt University. In addition to her studies, Morgan serves as a graduate fellow in the athletics department, where she works directly with the assistant athletic director on a variety of initiatives covering all aspects of collegiate athletics. One of her current projects is honoring the late Perry Wallace, who, 50 years ago, became the first African-American to integrate the Southeastern Conference. Morgan graduated from Vanderbilt in 2016 and was a captain of the women’s basketball team. “I am so excited to be back at my alma mater and give back to the program and university that has given me so much,” she writes.

KITTY COOK ’12 received a master’s in accountancy from the University of Mississippi and passed the CPA exam this past spring. She recently accepted a position as a staff auditor at Montgomery Coscia Greilich LLP, a public accounting firm in Dallas, where she interned in 2016. “MCG is a great firm to work for,” Kitty writes. “The office environment is exciting and fun. I work with great people, and I am learning a ton from them. I love living in Dallas, but I see myself one day moving back to Atlanta.” In May 2017, ALEX PARÉ ’13 graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a major in broadcasting and electronic journalism and

PATRICIA SABULIS ’08 is starring as Rachel in FRIENDS! The Musical Parody, running Off-Broadway through March 2018 at St. Luke’s Theater in Midtown Manhattan. The musical celebrates and pokes fun at the wacky misadventures of the beloved group of 20-something pals from the hit TV show as they navigate the pitfalls of work, life and love in 1990s Manhattan. 1 Diane Baker 2 Kristi Odom 3 Patricia Sabulis (Rachel), Lisa Graye (Monica) and Katie Johantgen (Phoebe) 4 Morgan Batey 5 Brad Hunter 6 Kat Belinfante 7 One of TC Deveau's photographs

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Have something to share? email alumni@paceacademy.org a minor in entrepreneurship. She has since accepted a position at L’Oréal USA Headquarters and moved to New York City. Alex is part of L’Oréal’s Management Development Program, where she works on the Yves Saint Laurent beauty brand in operational marketing. She does everything from statistical market analysis to choosing new shades of lipstick, and she wishes she had taken more French at Pace. “I love life in New York, my job, and am working hard to learn what it takes to run a business and tackle the corporate world,” Alex reports. WILSON ALEXANDER ’14 was one of five winners of the 2017 Jim Murray Memorial

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Foundation Award, which honors excellence in undergraduate journalism. A panel of nationally known judges, including Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins, adjudicated the nationwide competition. Wilson, a senior at the University of Georgia and former sports editor of The Red & Black, wrote his winning article about the university’s mascot, Uga, an English bulldog. Wilson attended an awards ceremony in Los Angeles, where he and his fellow Murray Award winners toured Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium. He returned to the famous venue to cover UGA’s 2018 Rose Bowl victory over the University of Oklahoma for The Macon Telegraph. Wilson will graduate in May.

GWYNNIE LAMASTRA ’14, a senior swimmer at Johns Hopkins University, broke her own school record in the 100 breaststroke at the Big Al Open meet in December. She also secured NCAA Division III qualifying times in all three of her individual events: the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. NATALIE MARCRUM ’15 spent the fall as a marketing and distribution intern with Music Box Films, a leading distributor of foreign-language, American-independent and documentary films. Past releases include The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Oscar-nominated A Man Called Ove, 2015 Academy Award-winner Ida and A Quiet Passion starring Cynthia Nixon.

ALUMNI

Natalie’s duties included grassroots marketing efforts—from researching and contacting organizations and businesses; disseminating marketing materials to the press, publicists and exhibitors; and drafting press releases and social media copy. The internship confirmed Natalie’s desire to work for an independent film distribution label when she graduates from DePaul University in 2019. Natalie will study abroad in Budapest for the remainder of her junior year. DEAN PAPASTRAT ’15 works for Sideqik, a startup where he first interned through Pace’s partnership with the Atlanta Tech Village. Dean works alongside fellow alumnus BEN HIRSCH ’13. At the ATDC FinTech/RetailTech hackathon in November, the Sideqik team won the Worldpay prize for Best Use of Payment APIs (Application Program Interface). Sideqik uses a unique subscription and credit-based payment model that was only possible using Worldpay’s service. The ATDC FinTech/RetailTech hackathon brought together entrepreneurs, developers, designers and businesspeople from across Atlanta to innovate new startup ideas while focusing on using state-of-the-art payment and voice APIs from the sponsors, Google Cloud and Worldpay.

CONNOR LAMASTRA ’17 was named a 2017 USA Swimming Scholastic All-American. Connor is a freshman at Dartmouth University, where he swims the individual medley and butterfly for the Big Green. He recently broke the school record in the 200 butterfly. ANDREW THOMAS ’17 was one of the University of Georgia football team’s Offensive Newcomers of the Year and was selected to the SEC All-Freshman Team, the 2017 Freshman All-America Team and the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team. “A year ago, Georgia’s offensive line was a major weakness,” David Hale of ESPN writes. “In 2017, it was the foundation of the team’s offensive game plan. That was due, in no small part, to Thomas, who started all 13 games at right tackle. At 6-5, 320 pounds, Thomas fit in from day one, working with the Bulldogs’ first team throughout preseason camp. His impact was obvious. Georgia allowed eight fewer sacks this season, despite playing with a freshman quarterback, and UGA runners averaged nearly 6 yards per carry when going to Thomas’ side of the line.” Thomas, teammate TREY BLOUNT ’17 and the Bulldogs advanced to the College Football National Championship.

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Alex Paré Wilson Alexander Connor LaMastra Gwynnie LaMastra Natalie Marcrum Dean Papastrat (fourth from left) Andrew Thomas, photograph provided by the UGA Athletic Department 8 The Chick/Carpenter wedding 9 The Kaufman/Dabiero wedding 10 The Allen/Scott wedding

Congratulations, CATHERINE WOODLING ’00 and JULIANNA RUE CAGLE ’03, two of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2017 40 Under 40!

MARRIAGES HARRISON KAUFMAN ’06 married Brianne Dabiero at Ansley Golf Club in Atlanta on April 29, 2017. The wedding party included PERRY ELLISON ’05, MATTHEW CHOYCE ’05, SAM SABULIS ’05, PEARSON WEEMS ’05, JOHN PARKER ’06, ANDY JORDAN ’06 and CARSON TURNER ’06. KATHERINE RANKIN ’06, ALLISON KESSLER ’06, MAGGIE REYNOLDS ’06, EMILY EVENSON HANLEY ’06, JONATHAN RIX ’06, JOEL COHEN ’06, EMILY HISHTA COHEN ’06, JOHN HAWKINS ‘05, AARON DUCOFFE ‘05 and PHIL MASUI ‘05 attended. KRISTIN CHICK CARPENTER ’07 and Danny Carpenter married on May 17, 2017, in Amelia Island, Fla. The couple celebrated with IAN MCNAY ’07, CAROLINE NADAL ’07, OLIVIA MILLS ’07, PEARSON MATHEWS ’07, MOLLY DALY ’07, LAUREN KRAVITZ ’07, COURTNEY SCHAEFER ’07 and JOE SAVARESE ’07. AMANDA ALLEN SCOTT ’08 wed Colin Scott on Oct. 7, 2017. The ceremony took place at Temple Sinai followed by a reception at Summerour Studio in Atlanta. Pace alumni in attendance included several members of the Class of 2008: VIRGINIA BEASLEY, LAURA COBB, BLAIR GILLESPIE, JASMINE LITTLE, ELISABETH QUINTRELL, LAUREN WILKES, ALI LEBLANC DOWD, SUSANNA BARMLETT, SARAH NALLE, HANNAH ALEXANDER and MELANIE PAPADOPOULOS. Amanda works in corporate social responsibility at ArcelorMittal, and Colin works in flight operations at United Airlines. They reside in Chicago, Ill.

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1 The Griffin boys 2 Cooper Clinkscales 3 Audrey Elizabeth Hennessy 4 Collier Jane Dunagan 5 Eloise Williamson Baumann 6 The Franconi children 7 The Hooff family 8 The Hastings children 9 Carole Mae Ford 10 Charles Frederick Meyer III 11 Bennett Pratt

BIRTHS COURTNEY CLINKSCALES ’97 and her wife, Jennifer, had a son, Cooper, on May 22, 2017. “He is the light of our lives,” says Courtney. SANDI COHEN HENNESSY ’97 and SEAN HENNESSY ’94 welcomed a daughter, Audrey Elizabeth, on July 22, 2017. She weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces. BRITT JACKSON GRIFFIN ’00 and ANDREW GRIFFIN ’99 had a son, Charles “Charlie” Dent, on Sept. 29, 2017. Big brother William, 5, could not be more excited about the new addition. ALISON WOOD MEYER ’00 and her husband, Charlie, welcomed son Charles Frederick III on Aug. 3, 2017. He joins big sisters Frances, 7, Tate, 5, and Susan, 3. The family lives in Houston. ALISON WHEELER DUNAGAN ’01 and her husband, Bryan, welcomed a girl, Collier Jane, on Aug. 11, 2017. Collier Jane has older twin siblings, brother Wheeler and sister Annie, age 4. The family lives in Dallas where Alison is a nurse practitioner, and Bryan is a pastor at Highland Park Presbyterian Church. MEGAN FOX FORD ’01 and her husband, Bill, had their second child, daughter Carole Mae, on Feb. 1, 2017. She joins brother Jack, 2. The family recently moved back to Atlanta, where Bill works in Coca-Cola’s Ventures & Emerging Brands group, and Megan continues her role as a marketing director with E&J Gallo Winery.

MARTHA ALLGOOD HASTINGS ’01 and her husband, Patrick, welcomed their third son, Renwick James, on Sept. 23, 2017. His big brothers, Pierce, 4, and Bradley, 3, are “crazy proud, love to help and are (usually) gentle(ish),” Martha writes. The family lives in Baltimore, Md., where Martha is in multi-housing investment sales for CBRE, and Patrick chairs the English department at the Gilman School. GENNA GADDY FRANCONI ’02 and her husband, Peter, welcomed their third child, daughter Eleanor James, on Sept. 5, 2017. She joins sister Virginia, 3, and brother William, 2. Genna works at 22squared, an advertising agency in Midtown Atlanta, heading up The Home Depot account. LINDSEY WILLIAMSON BAUMANN ’04 and her husband, Dan, had a daughter, Eloise Williamson, on Sept. 23, 2017. She weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces. Lindsey is a product manager at Halyard Health, a medical device company, and Dan is a project manager for Patterson & Dewar, an engineering firm. In their spare time, they like to walk their wheaten terrier, Rosie, and go to Georgia Tech football games. LIA MORAITAKIS HOOFF ’05 and her husband, Easley, welcomed son Robert Easley Jr. on Sept. 30, 2017. KELSEY ANNE JONES PRATT ’06 and her husband, Tyler, welcomed son Bennett on March 20, 2017. “Bennett loves eating food, playing peek-a-boo, crawling, pulling up to explore every corner of the house and practicing cruising,” Kelsey Anne writes. “We love being a family of three.” The family lives in Princeton, N.J., where Kelsey Anne works for a Washington, D.C.based healthcare advisory services company, and Tyler is completing his Ph.D. in political science at Princeton University.

IN MEMORIAM SCOTT SELIG, father of junior COOPER SELIG and freshman SAM SELIG, passed away on Oct. 27, 2017, following a brave battle with cancer. As executive vice president of Selig Enter-

prises and president of Selig Development, Scott was intently focused on the future and growth of the business for his family, his colleagues and his city. His hard work, dedication and leadership were widely known and recognized throughout the business and philanthropic communities. “Scott’s life was a mosaic of great proportion,” his family writes. “Colorful pieces of personality, character, intuition, intellect, clothing, and an abundance of inspiration were woven together over an adventurefilled and often trailblazing 47 years. He left a profound mark on those whose lives he touched directly and indirectly.” Scott often said that he was determined to “die with cancer and not from cancer,” and he certainly lived life to the fullest, inspiring individuals through the ScottStrong movement his illness inspired. He gave back to the Atlanta community through his involvement with organizations such as the Ron Clark Academy, Camp Twin Lakes and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. Pace also topped Scott’s list of priorities, and he supported Cooper and Sam in whatever endeavors they chose to pursue. Scott was an enthusiastic Knights fan, often tuning in to KnightFlix when he could not attend games. “There is no underestimating Scott’s resolve to do what he could to make the lives of others, often strangers, better,” his family says. “Countless friends and a large family cherished Scott and loved him for his unique spirit, his independence and his authenticity. Their lives have been and will continue to be illuminated by the rich, colorful life that Scott Selig lived.” Scott is survived by his sons and their mother, AMY SELIG; his parents, STEVE and LINDA SELIG and JANET SELIG and JEFF BERNSTEIN; siblings MINDY and DAVE SHOULBERG, Blake and Stephanie Selig, Michael Shenk, STACEY and DAVID FISHER; Mara and Justin Berman; and Bret Bernstein; nieces and nephews CARLY SHOULBERG ’16, JORDAN SHOULBERG ’18, CASEY SHOULBERG ’21, McKenzie, Ansley, Parker, Zachary, Alison, LINDSAY FISHER ’17, Molly, Aaron, Justin, Ella, Avery, Davis, Max and Parker; and special friend, Samantha Wexler. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial contributions to The Scott Selig Scholarship Fund at The Ron Clark Academy.

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HOMECOMING

Reunion Weekend

1977

Knights fans came together to show their Pace Academy spirit during Homecoming & Reunion Weekend on Oct. 6 and 7. Festivities kicked off with a tailgate at the Riverview Sports Complex, where alumni and their families enjoyed dinner from Low Country BBQ before watching the Pace Knights take on Westminster. The next morning, alumni gathered for brunch, a service project benefiting Second Helpings Atlanta and a tour of the Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School. The following classes celebrated reunions:

C L A S S O F 1972 Members of the Class of 1972 gathered at Slopes BBQ in Sandy Springs for their 45-year reunion. SUSAN REGENSTEIN MCMILLIN organized the event.

C L A S S O F 1977 RAY WHITE opened his home to celebrate the Class of 1977’s 40th reunion. LISA ALLISON BARNHART, BILL CHANDLER and PATTY HEERMAN PERKINS helped coordinate the evening.

CLASS OF 1982 MERIDY WERDER KING hosted the Class of 1982 at her home for a 35th reunion. Food was provided by 101 Concepts, owned by classmate CHRIS SEGAL. GINNY GREENE DOLAN, JULIE DENNIS MAXWELL, JULIE RASCOE and JODY BECKMAN RUSHTON assisted in planning the event.

1997

C L A S S O F 1987 The Class of 1987 came together for an energetic and (late!) evening at the home of RENA ANN PECK STRICKER. MARTHA THOMAS MCGOURK and TINSLEY SMITH helped plan the evening.

CLASS OF 1992 Fado Irish Pub hosted the Class of 1992’s 25th reunion. STACEY JACKSON BLOOM, LISA MORRIS CAYCE, ELIZABETH DANGAR CLEVELAND, JORDAN GILLIS, BRIGHT WOODRUFF OWENS, JENNIFER KREBS SPINDEL, DEWEY THOMAS and HEATHER HARDWICK TRAINOR organized the event.

C L A S S O F 1997 The Class of 1997 gathered at Sports & Social at The Battery for its 20th reunion. KIMBERLY TUCKER HOOPER, MICHELLE KREBS LEVY, AUSTIN MCDONALD and SHARI OBRENTZ planned the evening.

C L A S S O F 2007 GUS BARCHERS, JOHN BENTLEY, ROSS BROWN, KRISTIN CHICK CARPENTER, LAUREN KRAVITZ and COURTNEY SCHAEFER were the driving forces behind the Class of 2007’s December reunion.

Have you liked or joined us yet?

CLASS OF 2012 The Class of 2012’s five-year reunion drew quite a crowd at Orbsmy’s, in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood. CARTER BALDOVSKI, ERIC ESTROFF, HAILEY HEBEBRAND, ZEENA LATTOUF and HAYLEY SHOJI organized the event.

www.facebook.com/paceacademy alumniassociation www.linkedin.com/groups/160587

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2012

1972

1992

1987

2018 KNIGHT CAP BOURBON & WINE TASTING THE FAIRMONT (1429 FAIRMONT AVE. NW) 7–11 P.M. FRI. MARCH 23

Save the date for the fifth annual Alumni Knight Cap! Benefiting need-based student financial aid, The Pace Alumni Fund’s dedicated cause, the evening will include a bourbon tasting and delicious fare from Dennis Dean. There will be a silent auction featuring art from Pace faculty, students and fellow alumni. Chaired by CHAFFEE BRAITHWAITE HEILMAN ‘95 and DORSEY STINSON BRYAN ‘00 If you are interested in contributing or want to learn more about the event, please email alumni@paceacademy.org.

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Out & About

1 TAHIRA DOSANI ’00, managing director of Accion Venture Lab, visited Pace in November and spoke to Upper School students during a special assembly. Accion strives to build “a financially inclusive world—one in which every individual has access to highquality, affordable financial services.” Tahira leads Accion Venture Lab’s work on portfolio engagement, which entails working with its portfolio companies to provide strategic and operational expertise that accelerates their growth trajectories. Additionally, she supports investment decisions, manages portfolio relationships and drives strategy and growth. Tahira delved deeper into her experiences during visits with Upper School economics and comparative politics classes and the Women Mentoring Women club. 2 ALEX GADDY ’03, ANDREW ALEXANDER ’04, PETE GOODRICH ’03 and JOHN BELLE ’03 reunited at Atlanta’s Krog Street Market over the holidays. Alex’s daughter, Margeaux, and Pete’s children, Louisa, August and Ellis, joined the fun.

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3 CHRIS PAYNE ’86, LARRY CUMMINGS ’86, BRIT DARBY ’86, SUSAN WEBSTER PARKER ’86, AUDREY HILL MCMENAMY ’86, CHRIS GLENN ’86 and MICHELLE ROOKS USEY ’86 recently enjoyed a fun night out at bartaco (left to right: Usey, Payne & Parker). 4 ANDREW THOMAS ’17, MOLLY JACOBY ’17, CARLY SILVERSTEIN ’17 and TREY BLOUNT ’17, all freshmen at the University of Georgia, celebrated the conclusion of the Bulldogs’ regular football season at the UGA Football Gala. Molly and Carly, former managers for the Pace varsity football team, spent the fall semester as interns in UGA’s recruiting department. Thomas and Blount both play for the Bulldogs (see Updates). 5 While at a conference in Seattle, Alumni Relations Manager HAYLEY SHOJI ’12 ran into CHRISTIE ANTONIEWICZ ’99, who was the conference coordinator.

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RAISING THE BANNER AT ALUMNI BASKETBALL NIGHT

6 ALERON KONG ’99, ASHLEY BROWN ’99, JEANEVA HOLLINS ’00, KEVIN LINDER ’94, MARC BOURGET ’97 and LAUREN LINDER GRUNBERG ’00 celebrated with DANIELE BOURGET SIMON ’00 and her husband, Matthew Simon, the imminent arrival of Baby Simon at an October baby shower. 7 Duke University freshman WENDELL CARTER JR. ’17 visited with fifth graders on their conservation-themed study tour to the Duke Lemur Center (learn more about the field trip on page 49). Wendell is a starting forward on the Blue Devils basketball team and was the ACC Rookie of the Week twice in 2017. 8 Retired Middle School art instructor JANE SIBLEY crossed paths with MAX BARAB ’13 during a Habitat for Humanity build in November. “It was so great to catch up with Max,” Jane says. “He is a wonderful young man.” 9/10 Members of the Class of 2017 stopped by campus over the Thanksgiving break to catch up with a few of their favorite Pace faculty and staff.

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here is a growing population of Pace Academy community members who have experienced the school through two lenses: student and parent. They’ve transitioned from cheering on their peers from the sidelines to cheering on their own children as Pace’s athletics and arts programs continue to flourish. They‘ve watched with excitement, and a little envy, as the Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL) has developed. Through all this change and growth, one thing, however, has remained the same: Pace still feels like Pace. “Walking into the Randall House after so many years, it felt like home. It was comfortable,” says SALIMA LADHA FETTER ’94 about touring Pace for her now first-grade daughter, SOPHIA FETTER ’29. For Fetter, it really was a homecoming. As a Lifer, she spent 13 years in the Pace community, where she now sees Sophia learning many of the same lessons and having many of the same experiences that she did. Fetter had the quintessential Pace experience—involved in a little bit of everything and graduating as a well-rounded individual. During her 13 years at Pace, she participated in gymnastics, chorus, debate and studio art; she volunteered as a tutor;

and she was the editor of The Knightly News. She sat in the classrooms of beloved Pace teachers—JANE SIBLEY, CHRIS WHEATLEY and DEB COOK, to name a few. She took AP Physics before it was offered in the curriculum with the help of MIKE BROWN, who created an independent-study course for her to follow on her own after school. Fetter’s time as a student is why she chose Pace for her daughter. “Pace gives a well-rounded experience,” she says. “While academics are important, it’s not all about grades. It’s also about extracurricular opportunities, friendships, travel and leadership. You can find your own way and your passion.” Fetter’s passion for creativity can easily be traced back to Sibley and studio art. The exposure and encouragement around art Fetter received at Pace led her to a career in marketing, a 180-degree switch from premed, her original major at Emory University. After graduating from Emory and joining the workforce, Fetter obtained an MBA from her alma mater, where she met her husband, MATT FETTER. And now, as a parent, Fetter’s life has circled back to Pace. When looking at schools for Sophia, it

ALUMNI PARENT SPOTLIGHT

SALIMA LADHA FETTER ’94

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was Pace or bust, Fetter says. “There were so many elements of Pace that I wanted my daughter to experience as well. It wasn’t just the academics; what I’ve always loved is the small family feel. Pace encourages its students to be kind human beings and look beyond their bubble.” Before the admissions process, Fetter was careful not to say too much about Pace so that her husband could experience the school on his own. Matt, who grew up in the Midwest, had only known Pace through reunions and stories Fetter had told him. After the tour, she says, “It was good to see [the school] through his eyes and to hear his unbiased opinion. He felt the same things that I do about Pace and agreed that it was the right place for Sophia.” Pace may still feel like Pace, but it definitely hasn’t stayed the same. Fetter sees the ICGL and STEAM & Design as great new ways to engage students and better prepare them to be well-rounded citizens of the world. The growth in arts and athletics has offered her family another avenue to spend time together, and with the rest of the Pace community. “I love the Lower School’s lunchtime concerts!” says Fetter. “I think it’s great that these little kids have the courage to stand up in front of their peers. I love that Pace is an environment that is open and accepting. I think the concerts are an amazing tradition.” “There are so many opportunities to find your way, and Pace encourages you to try new things,” she adds. “Who cares if you fall on your face? It helps you grow into a resilient person who isn’t afraid to branch out—even if you fail.” While the curriculum has been revamped and programs added, and many new teachers fill the Lower School, Fetter sees the joy and excitement that she still feels for Pace growing in her daughter. Sophia wakes up excited to go to school and learn with her friends. She is becoming a responsible 6-year-old with an agenda and homework, walking in the same hallways as her mother a generation before. As for Sophia’s thoughts on attending the same school as her mom? “I like it because I love my mommy, and she went to the same school that I go to now.”

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CULTIVATING CONSERVATION Kelly Hishta Birkenhauer ’03 ensures environmental stewardship on behalf of her clients.

s a geologist, KELLY HISHTA BIRKENHAUER ’03 studies the earth at its very core, including its formation and how organisms thrive in its many environments. Conservation, Pace Academy’s Isdell Center for Global Leadership 2017–2018 global theme, plays a vital role in Birkenhauer’s career and is an initiative close to her heart. After all, without conservation of the earth and its resources, her work would lose its purpose. Birkenhauer always knew she wanted to work in consulting to establish personal connections. She graduated magna cum laude from Washington & Lee University with a degree in geology and environmental studies and, through the university’s alumni network, received a job offer from Shaw Environmental Inc. A “full-service environmental and facilities management company,” Shaw assists clients with contamination remediation, land restoration, safe disposal of hazardous waste and emergency responses. While working as an environmental consultant, Birkenhauer earned an MBA in geology with a concentration in finance

from Xavier University in Cincinnati. In 2013, Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (CB&I)—now rebranded as the Fortune 500 Company APTIM—acquired Shaw. Two years later, she and her boss left APTIM to work for Trihydro Corporation, a smaller, Wyoming-based engineering and environmental consulting firm. Trihydro tackles challenges related to air quality and process management; engineering and surveying; the environment, health and safety; information technology; and water resources. Its clients span the spectrum—from the mining and natural resources industries to industrial and commercial entities and the government. Birkenhauer, a leader in Trihydro’s Cincinnati office, plays a variety of roles. “I talk with clients to determine the issues they’re facing and work with them on standard compliance,” she says. “In addition, I compile research reports with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, develop networking events and attend conferences.” She also assists transit authorities to keep them in compliance and helps insurance

companies engineer their environmental risk in their portfolios. With an average of 10 clients at any given time, Birkenhauer stays busy. She particularly enjoys sustainability projects and is analyzing all of Trihydro’s current practices and programs, a project Trihydro hopes will expand its market share in Cincinnati and beyond. When asked to name a favorite project, Birkenhauer cites the opportunity to design a recycling program for the Army’s Fort Benning, where she optimized the military base’s routes and materials-recycling facility. “The primary takeaway from my time in environmental consulting has been to never stop learning,” she says. “The industry is constantly changing, so you have to as well.” Birkenhauer credits her 13 years at Pace with preparing her for global citizenship and her professional journey. She fondly remembers her science and Spanish classes, in particular eighth-grade earth science and AP Environmental Science. Several teachers stand out as especially influential: DEB COOK in the Lower School and Upper School Spanish teacher CAPPY LEWIS. “I still use Spanish today to translate documents for many clients,” she says. As far as the future of environmental conservation, Birkenhauer believes that attitudes are changing. “Many corporations no longer look at sustainability practices as a burden on their bottom lines,” she says and attributes this shift to state Environmental Protection Agencies incentivizing sustainability practices. “At Trihydro, we’ve seen this firsthand as our clients have become more interested in starting sustainability programs,” she reports. Conservation is critical to Birkenhauer’s career, and she is actively working toward a cleaner future. “Where others see trash or waste, there is opportunity to create meaningful change,” she says. To learn more about Birkenhauer’s work, visit www.trihydro.com. — by JILLIAN SNYDER ’16

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RECEIVING MULTIPLE COPIES? 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.

WE NEED YOU! Which area is most meaningful to you? Pace Academy reflects a vibrant community composed of many parts, and we treasure the diverse passions represented within our school family. To ensure that your Pace Fund gift aligns with your Pace priority, you may now elect to support one of seven areas of need. In other words, uCHOOSE. For more information or to make a gift, visit www.paceacademy.org/thepacefund.