A2 Fresh

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AAG Grade 4 Play Mirror, Mirror

The Fine Arts Department presented the streaming of the AAG 4th grade play “Mirror, Mirror” by Brian D. Taylor on March 10. The fourth grade girls enjoyed a cast party while awaiting the live streaming of the show! Virtual alumni/ae speaker series kicked off on Jan. 14

Spring Gathering

Spring Gathering was a success as a virtual, live-streamed event. We shared a tribute video of Matt Bender ’49, P’78, ’80, ’82, GP’15, ’18, ’20; a toast to our senior parents; the winner of the $2,500 shopping spree at Frank Adams Jewelers; and amazing auction items.

Head of School visits Alumni & Alumna in Atlanta

Head of School Chris Lauricella and Chief Advancement Officer Ann Wendth made a visit to Atlanta, Georgia this past summer to meet with alumni and alumnae and share the latest news about the Academies. It began with a visit with Jeannine Blanco ’89, a member of the Albany Academy for Girls Alumnae Association and chair of the Alumnae of Color Affinity Group. Jeannine has been instrumental in engaging our alumnae of color from across the country in conversation about their experiences. She has also connected the group with students to begin to discuss how to establish a mentoring program for this upcoming academic year. Chris and Ann also had the opportunity to meet with Mary Wren, a close friend of the Academies and donor of The Virginia O’Cain Wren Scholarship; Elon Johnson ’94, the 2020 Distinguished Alumna recipient and Senior Creative Executive of Production and Development at Tyler Perry Studios; Keenan Nix ’81 a prominent attorney and partner of the law firm Morgan and Morgan in the Atlanta region; and Mark Prichard ’65 (pictured here), to learn more about their experiences while a student at the Academies and how they can engage with the school. Mark is celebrating his reunion in October and plans to make a visit to campus for the events.

Upper School Theatre and Filmmaking Spring Theatre Production

The Upper School students presented the play “13 Ways To Screw Up Your College Interview.” It was available on demand for those interested. We kicked off our virtual Alumni/ae Speaker Series with a great panel on January 14! Thank you to our four very accomplished alumni and alumnae for sharing their military experience with our Upper School students. Lieutenant Frank Blake ’96 (Army), Major Conor Stewart ’05 (Marine Corps), Commander Meghan Poukish-Bodnar ’99 (Navy), and Tara Somersall Parten ’06 (Army) all shared lessons they have learned, the importance of leadership and service, and transition to the private sector. Thank you to Joe Fitzgerald ’74 for moderating the panel discussion. It was a fantastic event for students, alumni, alumnae, and teachers. Pictured above is Commander Poukish-Bodner ’99 on board of the Navy ship she commands.

Winter Musical, The Theory

of Relativity

On March 5-8 the Fine Arts Department presented the streaming of the Winter Musical “The Theory of Relativity” by Neil Bartram and Brian Hill. The Upper School students worked hard on the performance and shared it through a streaming platform.

Kennedy Swedick ’24 ranked #1 in New York State

Kennedy Swedick ’24 is a powerhouse when it comes to girls golf. A junior at Albany Academy for Girls and member of the Varsity AAG golf team, Kennedy is ranked #1 in NYS for girls junior golf, #42 in the nation within her age group, and is an individual medalist for Section II in NYS. Kennedy played in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship this past summer and carded a 1-under-par 69 to qualify for match play at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in Chevy Chase, MD. Kennedy tied for 22nd after 36 holes of qualifying. The top 64 advanced to match play; she had a 36-hole score of 5-over 145. Starting on the 11th hole, Kennedy played bogey-free golf for 15 holes, carding three birdies along the way, until a bogey on the par-3 eighth. The following match, a 36-hole championship match, was televised live on the Golf Channel. Kennedy also played on a sponsor’s exemption in the Twin Bridges Championship, a Symetra Tour event held in July at Pine Haven Golf Course in Guilderland.

Tie Ceremony

Head of School Chris Lauricella P’20, ’22 showed the fourth grade boys how to tie a tie as part of their Moving up to Middle School last spring. This is a long-standing tradition at The Albany Academy, and we were happy to have the opportunity to make it happen again last year. Alumni/ae speaker series focuses on medicine and research

This session was focused on alumni and alumnae in medicine. Dr. Pamela Carroll ’81, Chief Business Officer at Silicon Therapeutics, moderated the discussion. Panelists included Dr. Robert Higgins ’77, President, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Executive VP at Mass General Brigham, and Dr. Seth Wander ’02, a medical oncologist at the Massachusetts General Cancer Center in Boston who has a clinical and translational research interest in breast cancer and cancer genomics. We also welcomed Dr. Meenakashi Gupta ’99, a practicing retina surgeon at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai in New York City (pictured here), and Dr. Alice Kim ’89, a staff cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a member of the Brigham and Women’s Cardiovascular Associates of Care New England in Rhode Island. Alice is also the director of Advanced Valvular Heart Disease of Care New England, and codirector of Women’s Heart Health of Women and Infants in Rhode Island, as well as an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. Our students continue to have amazing opportunities presented by our alumni and alumnae to learn about the many fields they can pursue. Hilary King P’33, Upper School Director

Hilary King P’33 speaks with students on the first day of school as they head out for athletic practices. Hilary has served as the Upper School Director at the Academies since 2020.

Outing at Old Tavern Farm

Nicole “Nikki” Borisenok ’08 hosted a group of Academy alumni and alumnae at Old Tavern Farm in Saratoga Springs, a private thoroughbred breeding farm with a beautiful scenic background overlooking Saratoga Lake. The experience was an auction item donated by Nikki for the Spring Gathering event held in April. Pictured from left to right are: David Buran ’10, Mike Whalen ’16, Sydney Buran ’16, Nikki Borisenok ’08, Bailey Buran ’07, Kasey Buran ’08 and Chris Fron ’10.