Andover magazine - Summer 2017 by Phillips Academy

Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts 01810-4161

SUMMER 2017

Periodicals postage paid at Andover, MA and additional mailing offices

SUMMER 2017

Households that receive more than one Andover magazine are encouraged to call 978-749-4267 to discontinue extra copies.

May 10, 2017, will go down in BIG

BLUE history.

Our first PA Giving Day raised more than $1 million for today’s students. A record-breaking 2,932 donors from across the global Andover community rallied together to give and to promote this special event, all with one goal in mind—provide an extraordinary education for every student. Making the day even more memorable, Trustee Louis Elson ’80, P’12, ’15, ’17, created a $100,000 challenge to fund four term scholarships, inspiring us to unite and surpass our goal of 1,778 donors.

THANK YOU for making PA Giving Day an amazing success!

Equity and

Access Need-blind admission welcomes youth from every quarter

Making a Difference Everywhere

“Expressing gratitude through philanthropy is the ultimate way to thank someone.”

An Artist in Residence: Stella Returns to Andover

Art aficionados from near and far—as well as scores of Phillips Academy students, faculty, and staff—attended the Friday night opening reception. Stella, unpretentious and approachable, could be seen in various galleries, mingling with guests and signing an occasional autograph. On Saturday, Judith Dolkart, director of the Addison Gallery, moderated a panel discussion that included Stella; exhibition curator Richard Axsom from the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art; Kenneth Tyler, a printmaker who has collaborated with Stella since the early sixties; and art collector and Stella patron Jordan Schnitzer. The majority of the works featured in the retrospective are on loan from Schnitzer’s personal collection and family foundation.

—Jana Paley ’81

1. Judith Dolkart, Addison Gallery director, introduced art connoisseur and collector Jordan Schnitzer. Most of the exhibition’s Stella prints are on loan from Schnitzer and his family foundation. 2. Frank Stella quietly circulated among the galleries, surprising and delighting many of the 400 or so visitors on hand for the opening festivities.

Kezi Barry ’02

In the canon of great American artists, Frank Stella ’54 stands as an influential 21st-century painter and printmaker, best known for his colorful geometric patterns and shapes. So it was with much fanfare and excitement that the Addison Gallery of American Art welcomed this esteemed alumnus back to campus in April for Frank Stella Prints, a retrospective featuring more than 100 of his works. Along with many critically acclaimed viewer favorites, the exhibition included Stella’s lesser-known oeuvre: his decades-long exploration of printmaking in all of its technical variations.

3. Stella graciously paused for photos, conversed with art lovers of all ages, and autographed exhibition brochures. 4. Frank Stella Prints curator Richard Axsom, pictured here next to Stella’s 1984 piece, Then Came a Dog and Bit the Cat, discusses the artist’s remarkable career.

A real estate developer, art collector, and former competitive golfer, Jana Paley ’81 is a woman of varied interests. So it comes as no surprise that her philosophy of philanthropy is just as diverse. For more than 36 years, Paley has given to various Academy programs and initiatives, helping to enhance the Andover experience for thousands of students in ways that are meaningful to her and that recognize special people in her life.

“We were so excited to welcome Frank Stella back to the Addison and to Phillips Academy, where he has so generously shared his experiences and collections with the Phillipians who have followed in his footsteps,” said Dolkart.

“By giving to Andover, I’m able to make a difference everywhere,” Paley says. “Thanks to the transformative power of the PA experience, students go on to have an impact in every imaginable field, from the arts and medical research to international relief and more.”

Stella has been a steadfast supporter of the Addison Gallery throughout his career, donating a number of works by other artists from his personal collection and helping lead the gallery’s capital campaigns. He credits Andover—particularly the influence of art instructors Patrick and Maud Morgan—for his becoming an artist.

To hear Stella talk about his student days at Andover, visit Every Quarter, PA’s official podcast: podcast.andover.edu.

Photos by John Kennard

—Amy J.M. Morris ’92

Because sports and physical activity have been such an important part of Paley’s life, she recently chose to designate a major gift to the Snyder Center for the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms. Paley specifically chose the locker rooms because all students will benefit from these facilities, regardless of their sport or level of competition. Paley also has made gifts in honor or memory of someone who’s played an important role in her life. A gift to support Jewish life at PA was made in memory of her father, who

passed away during her first year of college, and in gratitude to Andover’s longtime Jewish rabbi Everett Gendler, who “went above and beyond, making a very, very hard time manageable.” To honor classics instructor Nick Kip ’60, Paley called her former teacher to ask for input and eventually made a scholarship gift in his name to help middle-class students attend Andover. “Expressing gratitude through philanthropy is the ultimate way to thank someone for the difference they’ve made in my life and in the lives of others,” she says. Paley takes pleasure and pride in the gifts she has made to Andover, confident that her support is enhancing the Andover experience for students today and in the future. “I always encourage other alumni to give as generously as they can—and to give now—so they can see the impact of their gifts.” —Mary Ann Hill

For additional information on how your philanthropy can make a difference, please contact Nicole Cherubini, director of development, at 978-749-4288 or ncherubini@andover.edu.

11 FEATURES 14 Thoughts on Teaching: Vic Svec

A Russian instructor for nearly 40 years, Vic Svec has seen a lot at PA: thousands of students, advances in teaching, and many hard-fought battles on the volleyball court.

10 22

15 Equity and Access

Andover’s need-blind admission policy is a modern expression of youth from every quarter. 18 The Impact of Non Sibi

Connecting alumni and communities, Non Sibi Weekend has grown far beyond Andover Hill. 22 For the Love of Teaching

Andover bids adieu to seven retiring faculty members.

Access these sites at www.andover.edu/intouch

Cover illustration by Daniel Hertzberg

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Andover | Summer 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SUMMER 2017 Volume 110, Number 3 PUBLISHER Tracy M. Sweet Director of Academy Communications EDITOR Allyson Irish Director of Editorial & Creative Services DESIGNER Ken Puleo Art Director CLASS NOTES DESIGNER Sally Abugov CLASS NOTES COORDINATOR Laura MacHugh CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alessandra Bianchi P’15, Vin Broderick ’71, Jill Clerkin, Judith Dolkart, Neil Evans, Mary Ann Hill, Marisa Connors Hoyt ’99, Amy J.M. Morris ’92, Elizabeth O’Brien, Kristin Bair O’Keeffe, Adam Roberts ©2017 Phillips Academy, Andover, MA All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Andover, the magazine of Phillips Academy, is published four times a year by the Office of Communication at Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street, Andover MA 01810-4161. Main PA phone: 978-749-4000 Changes of address and death notices: 978-749-4269 alumni-records@andover.edu Phillips Academy website: www.andover.edu Andover magazine phone: 978-749-4677 Email: andovermagazine@andover.edu Periodicals postage paid at Andover MA and additional mailing offices. Postmasters: Send address changes to Phillips Academy 180 Main Street Andover MA 01810-4161 ISSN-0735-5718

Seeing two Naval Academy officers on the cover of the winter 2017 Andover magazine inspired me to write about my husband, Art. He was not an Andover grad, but he did graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1953. His standing was 113 in a class of 926 graduates. He spent 23 years in the nuclear submarine service, mostly at sea. He served in six nuclear submarines and had a submarine command. After his command, we went to Holy Loch, Scotland, where he was the squadron training and readiness officer. He retired after 31 years of service in the Navy as a captain. My hat is off to Naval Academy graduates Becky Calder and Laurie Coffey, and to their remarkable service.

—Marcy Bivens ’48 Fairfax, VA Thanks for the fine article about Cmdr. Becky Calder and Lt. Cmdr. Laurie Coffey [winter 2017 Andover magazine]. Their story is typical of the commitment to service shown by Andover graduates throughout the ages. Even during the height of the Vietnam War, Andover graduates were compelled to serve their community. In my class of 1968, three of us went into service: one to West Point and one to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he participated in NROTC, eventually becoming a career Naval officer and submariner. I went to Yale in NROTC.

I enjoyed your article “A Boy, a Book, and Years of Memories” [winter 2017 Andover magazine]. When I arrived at Andover in the fall of 1951 as a scholarship boy, I was assigned to work in the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library. One of my duties was related to the book Birds of America, which was always on display in the reading room, safely enclosed in a locked glass case. Each week on the appointed day, I would unlock the case and carefully change the page being displayed. I always examined the new page, but was unaware of its significance as a work of art. I have since learned some significant facts regarding the book. First, until the 1950s and ’60s, there were numerous works of art scattered about the campus that were neither cataloged nor under the care of the Addison. Those pieces have since been gathered and cataloged and all are now in pretty much the same place. Second, the book sold for $100 in the middle of the 19th century and did not sell out because of a lack of hard currency in our country. I’m sorry the Addison doesn’t display it more often; however, I did get to see it in its original case the last time it was displayed.

—Donald Oasis ’55 Sudbury, MA Editor’s note: According to Judith Dolkart, director of the Addison Gallery of American Art, Birds of America was moved from the library to the Addison Gallery sometime in the early 1980s for safety and security reasons. A volume from the set is currently on view at the Addison until July 30.

One of my proudest moments was marching with the Andover contingent in the annual local Memorial Day Parade, when I was in command of USS L. Mendel Rivers (SSN 686). There is no question that service to our country will always be part of the Andover legacy.

—Rusty Pickett ’68, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Charleston, SC Letters to the Editor Policy Andover magazine welcomes letters of 200 or fewer words from members of the Andover and Abbot communities addressing topics that have been discussed in the magazine. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, and civility. Opinions expressed in the Letters to the Editor section do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the editorial staff or of Phillips Academy.

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Cert no. SW-COC-002508

Andover | Summer 2017

Dave White

From the Head of School

TRACING THE LIFECYCLE OF NON SIBI “The path I am on runs through the Great Lawn and will take me far. I have been inspired and challenged, welcomed and—most importantly—supported. I realize I am not here by my own doing. I attend this beautiful school because of the faith placed in me by teachers, parents, friends, and you.” Chiamaka Okorie ’13 offered that inspiring tribute her senior year, during my first year as head of school. It was one of the earliest hints of a refrain I have come to hear often: Andover’s strength resides in an unyielding commitment to non sibi. The lifecycle of non sibi begins with access—our need-blind admission policy honors talent and promise over ability to pay tuition. Financial aid support opened doors for Chiamaka and has benefited thousands of other students since 2007. Our non sibi ethos fortifies everyday acts and extraordinary moments. It’s seen as activism: Following this year’s Boston Marathon, I was reminded of two students—now young alumnae—who ran from Andover to Boston and back to raise awareness and funds for victims of the 2013 bombing. It shines when we join forces: witness the historic success of PA Giving Day on the back cover of this issue. We stretch closer to realizing our founders’ vision when we extend ourselves outward. Central to our community engagement and Learning in the World programs is an obligation to examine societal issues such as the environment, political systems, poverty, or disparity in education access.

Connecting these efforts and spawning new initiatives, the Alumni Council founded Non Sibi Day in 2007. Hundreds of projects took place in 27 states and 13 countries and on five continents. Acts large and small leave lasting imprints. Chiamaka discovered this the moment she arrived on campus and was welcomed by her prefects and Af LatAm friends, who would later become mentors. She extended herself to others as an SSAT prep mentor, PACE senior, and Blue Key head. A recent graduate of Boston College, she was drawn to its motto “men and women for others” and was awarded a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship for demonstrating selfless leadership. Service missions to Jamaica, Ghana, and Haiti, where she studied inequities in health care quality and access, have inspired her to pursue a career in global health. Reflecting today on her 2013 Andover tribute, Chiamaka is eager to sustain the lifecycle of non sibi. She wrote recently to say, “I really feel that because I have been given so much, by so many, I have a responsibility to pass on what I can.” I trust and hope this is a familiar refrain for Andover alumni.

John Palfrey P.S. Please enjoy an exploration of our founding motto on page 18.

Andover | Summer 2017

Moroccan

Coastal Caravan

It was a spring break they’ll never forget. Fifteen students, accompanied by French instructor Libby Poland and art instructor Emily Trespas, explored Morocco in March as part of a 10-day Learning in the World program. The group traveled from coastal Essaouira to Marrakesh to the mountain village of Titsi Aouadou, and then north to the city of Fes to visit artisan souks (markets). According to Poland, the best part of the trip was “watching our students engage with local people, leaving all preconceptions behind, and seeing this very different part of the world with eyes wide open.”

Andover | Summer 2017

Sunset

Andover | Summer 2017

D ATE LI N E AN DO V ER

The Addison Gallery’s new strategic plan will use the nearly 18,000 objects in its collections, exhibitions, and programs as points of departure for discussions about the past, present, and future of the United States.

What Is America? by Judith Dolkart When I arrived at the Addison Gallery of American Art in 2014, I was struck immediately by the poignant admonition carved on the building’s pediment: Respice Artem Patriae (Respect the Art of Country). Though not a collector himself, Addison founder Thomas Cochran, Class of 1890, made a visionary choice to narrow the collecting focus to American art, defining this largely overlooked material as worthy of concerted study and aesthetic enjoyment. Indeed, the savvy Cochran established the Addison just a year before Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney founded the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. When my colleagues at the Addison and I recently turned to writing a new strategic plan, we decided to heed this inscription and ask our community—students, faculty, staff, and the public—to help answer a question of enduring and global resonance: “What is America?” As part of a constellation of convenors on campus, we propose to use the nearly 18,000 objects in the Addison’s collections, its exhibitions, and its programs as points of departure for discussions of this complex question encompassing the past, present, and future of the United States. We view artists as agents. Immigrants and

Andover | Summer 2017

native-born citizens, advocates and critics, innovators and traditionalists. The artists represented in the Addison’s collections have created provocative and stirring images and objects that chart the birth and evolution of the United States as political and social ideal, as place, and as abundance. These artists have captured disparate and unified peoples, lush and desolate landscapes, tidy suburbs and bustling cities, fertile farmlands and teeming factories, products and technologies, and native species of flora and fauna. Chronicling the American narrative over the course of three centuries, these artists actively participated in the expression of our nation’s aspirations and accomplishments, and they bravely protested its unjust acts. Moreover, in their creative explorations of their media, they have defined styles that have established the United States as an important creative force. Our strategic plan “What is America?” begins this year with some powerful programs and projects already in the works. For example, this fall students in Art 300: Discovering the Addison Collection will curate an exhibition drawn from the collections in the Museum Learning Center with the help of Addison staff. New additions to the Addison’s

holdings, such as Wanderer by the contemporary artist Yinka Shonibare MBE, add further texture to this complex question. The first addition in decades to the Addison’s distinguished ship model collection, Wanderer flouted the 1807 prohibition of the importation of slaves by making one of the last deadly trips across the Atlantic with slaves destined for the southern states. This model adds powerful complexity to a collection that explores the colonization of the United States and the histories of technology, trade, and design. Taking an interrogatory, discursive approach to the Addison’s strategic plan, we believe this method dovetails well with the pillars of the Academy’s Strategic Plan: creativity and innovation, equity and inclusion, and empathy and balance. The Addison aspires to serve the school’s exceptional programs, partner in its development, and share its collections and projects with broader audiences in the spirit of a private school with a public purpose. Judith Dolkart is the director of the Addison Gallery of American Art. A specialist in French painting, Dolkart was deputy director of art and archival collections and Gund family chief curator at the Barnes Foundation from 2010 to 2014.

Steve Porter

Gil Talbot

Jessie Wallner

NEW LEADERSHIP IN ACADEMICS AND FINANCE Clyfe Beckwith, Fernando “Ferd” Alonso, and Andrea Nix have recently assumed new responsibilities at Andover. A 25-year faculty member, Beckwith will succeed Patricia Russell July 1 as dean of studies. Currently assistant dean of scheduling, Beckwith has made numerous contributions to the Academy’s academic and residential life—most notably as physics department chair (1997–2005), house counselor, and cluster dean. Beckwith holds a BA degree from Dartmouth College and MS and PhD degrees in physics from Boston College. He has taught physics, German, and mathematics during Andover’s academic year and for Summer Session and (MS)2. He also has been head coach since 1998 of the girls’ and boys’ varsity volleyball teams with 19 winning seasons. Beckwith and his wife, Mary, live on campus and have two sons, Benjamin ’15 and Jakob ’17. Also Beckwith popular members of the community are Babe and Hazel, the family’s Bernese mountain dogs. Beckwith’s appointment is for six years and comes as Russell prepares to become the interim executive director of the Mastery Transcript Consortium. Alonso and Nix began their new roles last July after the retirement of Steve Carter, former chief operating and financial officer. Alonso is now dean of administration and Alonso finance, overseeing the Academy’s human resources, business services, information technology, facilities, risk management, and finance functions. Alonso joined the faculty in 2005 as director of (MS)2 and instructor in mathematics. In 2009, he was appointed director of Summer Session and coordinator of outreach programs; in 2013 he became director of all summer programming. In those roles, Alonso demonstrated a talent for setting strategy and managing people, programs, and finances. Nix An educator for more than 25 years, Alonso has taught in his native Puerto Rico, in Pennsylvania, and at Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. He earned a BS degree in engineering from Cornell University and a master’s degree in school administration from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Nix, former director of finance and assistant treasurer, is now chief financial officer. In her new role, she continues to manage the comptroller and treasury functions in addition to overseeing the Academy’s New York City– based investment office. Nix joined Andover’s business office in 2012 and collaborated across the Academy on financial operations, planning, compliance, and reporting. She also was a key member of the planning committee that recently transitioned Andover to the new iMax database. Prior to Andover, Nix spent 11 years in financial management positions at the Arnold Arboretum and Brandeis University. She also served as CFO at Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield, Mass. An alumna of Dana Hall School and Smith College, Nix earned an MBA degree from Golden Gate University and received her CPA license in 1984.

EQ: Andover on iTunes Launched last year, Every Quarter: The Voice of Andover is a new podcast that showcases Andover thinkers, leaders, doers, and makers. Recent episodes have included conversations with renowned abstract artist Frank Stella ’54; Hollywood producer Bobby Farrelly ’77, best known for There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber; and Head of School John Palfrey talking about his new book, Born Digital, with coauthor Urs Gasser. Subscribe on iTunes or visit podcast.andover.edu.

The Green Scene Andover’s first Climate Action Plan (CAP) will be presented to trustees later this year with targets to reduce greenhouse gases, waste, and water use on campus. The CAP is an underlying priority in both the 2014 Strategic Plan and the Campus Master Plan, which was unveiled last year. It is being led by Russell Stott, senior manager of campus design, sustainability, and grounds; and Allison Guerette, campus sustainability coordinator. “The CAP will serve as a road map for addressing climate change at Andover,” said Stott. “It will demonstrate our commitment to sustainability.” Working with faculty, students, and staff, Stott and Guerette already have benchmarked energy and water use on campus, conducted detailed energy audits, and assessed Andover’s rates of recycling and waste diversion. They are currently exploring opportunities for energy efficiency and renewable energy, and considering options to reduce water use and increase waste diversion. The end result will be a set of customized CAP targets and strategies. Although the creation of the CAP has put an increased focus and urgency on sustainable actions, many efforts are already underway on campus. Recent renovations and new construction projects have included three buildings with green roofs and several with LEED certification, geothermal heating and cooling, or solar panels. A recent analysis shows that in 2016, Andover diverted 66 percent of all waste on campus from a landfill or incinerator. Looking ahead to implementation of the CAP, Stott says that some strategies will require physical changes, while others will be related to behavior. He hopes the plan will encourage people working and/or living on campus to incorporate more sustainable practices into their daily routines. “Simple behavioral changes we make as a community—combined with a commitment to energy efficiency and renewable energy—can have a big impact,” says Stott.

Andover | Summer 2017

D ATE LI N E AN DO V ER

Jessie Wallner

Chase House: A Fitting Tribute to 14th Head of School

Barbara Landis Chase and husband David Chase in front of the recently dedicated Chase House

The dedication of Chase House on May 5 brought to light a belief strongly held by 14th head of school Barbara Landis Chase: Excellence at Andover must not be exclusive to the academic program; it must permeate the entire experience. Through residential life and “education of the whole student,” Chase sought to complete that paradigm. The naming of a residence hall in her honor recognizes 18 years of leadership and her unyielding dedication to this ideal. Chase was touched by the outpouring of gratitude from former deans, faculty emeriti, alumni, and students who filled the Underwood Room for the celebration. She was especially excited to tour the building (formerly Isham Infirmary) and meet the residents of Chase House—29 girls from more than a dozen different states and countries, along with a skilled and enthusiastic residential life team.

“It’s the people who live there who endow it with character and life,” Chase said. Head of School John Palfrey thanked a number of people who made the project possible, including key donors: Mr. and Mrs. Kyoo Wan Cho P’14; Trustee Chien Lee ’71; Trustee Scott Mead ’73, P’18; Mr. and Mrs. Richard Penley ’62, P’01; Board President Emeritus Oscar Tang ’56; and the anonymous lead donor. “Barbara, I can think of no more fitting way for you to be remembered, in perpetuity, than to have your name on a dorm,” Palfrey said. “It is a commitment in bricks and mortar in the form of these renovations, and all the things you’ve done to strengthen this community over a generation. We thank you and we honor you.”

Andover Archives

Farewell to Blanchard House Rolling around campus takes a toll on a big old wooden house—as does heavy snow. This spring Andover said goodbye to its oldest residence, Blanchard House, which most recently was located on Hidden Field Road. The Federal-style building had endured two moves in 70 years, which likely weakened the pegged wooden structure. Then came the record snowfall in 2015, which cracked support beams and would have required repairs costing upwards of $1.5 million. “It’s very difficult to let it go,” said Director of Facilities Larry Muench, calling Blanchard House “one of our most important ties to the school’s history.” Despite the Academy’s best efforts to repair and maintain the building, it simply became too costly, and a tough decision was made. The structure was deemed unsafe by the Town of Andover and razed March 13.

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Blanchard House Facts:

• Blanchard House was built sometime prior to 1789 in the area of Benner House. • PA bought the residence in 1812 for $3,000. • In 1858, Blanchard House was moved to the site of Paresky Commons (above). • The house was relocated again in 1928, per instruction of Thomas Cochran, Class of 1890, to Hidden Field Road.

Non Sibi: Making a Difference in the World

ow entering its 10th year, Non Sibi Weekend has become a rallying point for Andover putting to action a motto that brings so much pride to the PA community. But these activities are not confined to a single weekend in April. Alumni and students spend countless hours year-round helping myriad organizations. “We are teaching students to fully and respectfully engage with communities while they’re here at PA and beyond,” says Director of Community Engagement Monique Cueto-Potts. For students, community engagement consists of 31 weekly options, such as working with the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence or letter writing for the Adopt-a-Platoon program. Alumni projects include close to 40 different options in the U.S. and around the world.

2017 Projects* ALUMNI: Nearly 40 total projects, including

5 11 5

Homelessness & Housing

Environment

Health & Hunger

STUDENTS: Nearly 60 total projects, including

11 17 14 16 Children & Families

Environment

Health & Hunger

Homelessness & Housing

*Numbers represent a sampling of non sibi programs.

400

Nearly one-third

—

of the total student body participates in weekly community engagement programs per term.

Sites where non sibi projects have been performed

218

Nearly all of the

instructors

take part in Non Sibi Weekend each year. Ken Puleo

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D ATE LI N E AN DO V ER

USS Thomas Hudner Christened April 1 It was a special day for the U.S. Navy and for the Andover community when General Dynamics Bath Iron Works christened the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) during a snowy Saturday morning ceremony in Bath, Maine. Dozens of alumni and friends, including Head of School John Palfrey, attended the christening, which was followed by a lunch hosted by Carlos Barrionuevo ’86. During an earlier ceremony, an Andover Bicentennial Coin was placed in the

“mast stepping box,” a maritime tradition by which coins and memorabilia are placed under the mast for good luck. The Arleigh Burke–class destroyer is named for Capt. Thomas Hudner Jr. ’43, who intentionally crash-landed his plane during the Korean War’s Chosin Reservoir campaign in an effort to save

Ensign Jesse Brown, the nation’s first AfricanAmerican Navy pilot. For his brave actions, Hudner has received numerous commendations, including the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Photos by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works

Student Research Leads to Scientific Discoveries In two very different classrooms this past academic year, Andover students made discoveries that could eventually impact the fields of medicine and astronomy. Multiuse Molecule: In Christine MarshallWalker’s yearlong Molecular and Cellular Biology Research class, Alex Emerson ’17 led a project looking at the N-3-Oxo-Dodecanoyl-L-Homoserine Lactone (HSL), a molecule released by the superbug Pseudomonas Aeruginosa that can slow the spread of pancreatic cancer. Curious about the molecule, Emerson wondered whether the same compound might also inhibit the movement of glioblastoma (brain cancer) cells. During the course of the year, Emerson worked on this thesis with minimal guidance from Marshall-Walker. In only a few months’ time, he demonstrated reliable decreases in migration within his cell cultures without compromising cell survival.

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He hopes that one day it will be possible to use the HSL molecule therapeutically in humans to stop the spread of brain cancer without killing healthy cells. Currently, Emerson is working on additional experiments in collaboration with a professor of neuropathology at Columbia University. If all goes well, he may be the first Bio 600 student to have work published in a professional scientific journal. A Space Rarity: Meanwhile, in Caroline Odden’s Astronomy Research class, students made a discovery that Odden likens to hitting a hole in one while golfing for the first time, on your first drive. Students identified binary asteroid 4296 van Woerkom, only the 126th main belt binary asteroid to be discovered. Though finding new asteroids is fairly commonplace, Odden says “discovering a binary asteroid is a big deal for anyone, especially a high school student.”

The binary aspect of this asteroid is actually a large moon orbiting it. Students found the space rarity as they were observing the rotation period for asteroids, essentially taking photos for 15 nights in the fall and winter terms for about 120 hours of total imaging. All asteroids emit a rotation signal, but after watching this particular one for more than two weeks, students identified another signal: a large moon with a diameter that is 30 percent of the primary asteroid. Odden said the discovery was also special because students collaborated with professional astronomers, including Petr Pravec, the world’s leading binary asteroid astronomer. An article written by Odden and her students will appear in the June issue of The Minor Planet Bulletin, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

TH E WO R LD C O MES TO ANDOVER

Mae Jemison

Silk Road Ensemble

Silk Road Ensemble, a music collective comprising approximately 60 musicians, composers, storytellers, and other artists, visited campus in March. Founded by Yo-Yo Ma and inspired by the exchange of ideas and traditions along the historic Silk Road in China, the Grammy Award–winning group has performed in more than 30 countries and recorded six albums. Sponsored by the Kayden Endowed Fund.

David Yeager

An assistant professor of developmental psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, David Yeager is an expert in adolescent development, social cognition, and psychological design. A member of the Mindset Scholars Network, Yeager is particularly interested in understanding the process of adolescent development and how their interpretation of social events can contribute to positive or negative life trajectories. Yeager met with faculty members for a working session at the Tang Institute May 15 and later was the keynote speaker at a faculty meeting, which was open to local educators. Hosted by the Faculty Advisory Committee and the Office of the Head of School.

Amy Baltzell

Boston University professor, author, and former Olympics rowing team member Amy Baltzell visited campus in January as part of the Academy’s Mindfulness@Andover series. Baltzell, who also consults professional athletes and aspiring Olympians, presented “The Sweet Spot and Beyond: The Role of Sport Psychology Mental Skills, Positivity, and Mindfulness for Optimal Performance.” Sponsored by the Sykes Wellness Center in collaboration with the Tang Institute.

John Kennard

After speaking, Jemison spent time greeting the audience. From left are A Better Chance of Andover student Deanna Clark, Jemison, and August White ’17.

The first woman of color to travel in space, Mae Jemison, PhD, visited the Academy this spring to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Town of Andover’s A Better Chance program as well as Phillips Academy’s role in helping to found the organization. A physician, engineer, social scientist, and dancer, Jemison is at the forefront of integrating physical and social sciences with art and culture to solve problems and foster innovation. She also works to build global initiatives that encourage youth to consider STEM careers and was one of five women included in the “Women of NASA” Lego set revealed this spring. Sponsored by A Better Chance of Andover and Phillips Academy; funded by the Elizabeth Rogers Fund.

John Burnside

Award-winning poet, memoirist, and fiction writer John Burnside shared an evening of poetry with the PA community in January. Burnside is one of only two poets who has won both the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry and the Forward Prize for Poetry for a single piece of writing: Black Cat Bone. In addition to teaching creative writing at Scotland’s University of St. Andrews, Burnside writes a regular column on nature for the New Statesman, as well as pieces for the London Review of Books and the Guardian. Sponsored by the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library.

Melissa Harris-Perry

At the Academy’s 27th annual MLK Day celebration in January, the Andover community welcomed educator, human rights activist, and award-winning author Melissa Harris-Perry. During All-School Meeting, Harris-Perry discussed the current dearth of black women leaders and the need for black girls to emerge as future leaders. In addition, she noted how perceptions of Martin Luther King Jr. have changed over time and the important role that social media plays in racial inequality and awareness. Funded by the Hosch Fund and the Palitz Lectureship Fund.

Stephen Meek

“Positive education” pioneer Stephen Meek came to campus in February to discuss how the combination of positive psychology and best-practice teaching helps students to flourish. The principal of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia, Meek explained that successful positive education relies on a holistic approach, meaning that everyone—from educators to administrators to staff—should be trained in the technique. Sponsored by the Office of the Head of School.

Andover | Summer 2017

SP ORTS TALK

by Neil Evans

Enterprising student-analysts hope to be game changers Rolando Rabines ’19 opens his laptop and pulls up the shot chart and film from a January Big Blue basketball win over Worcester Academy. “We were big underdogs in this game,” he says. “You can clearly see here why we won: made three-pointers, high percentage attempts in the paint, and no bad twos.” He then points to Worcester’s breakdown, illustrating the opposite— more missed mid-range attempts (“bad twos”) and failed attempts from beyond the arch. Rabines continues, “This data is invaluable and provides a blueprint for how to win.” A varsity soccer player from Topsfield, Mass., Rabines has learned a thing or two about sports analytics this past year. He is the founder and head of the Academy’s new Sports Analytics Club. The group’s nearly 20 members meet

biweekly to break down game footage from Krossover (a popular scouting software program), plan how to apply their findings with coaches, and debate current sports headlines. The club is working directly with boys’ basketball, soccer, and lacrosse and boys’ and girls’ volleyball, with more teams hopefully on the horizon. Coming out of the Worcester win, Terrell Ivory ’00, boys’ varsity basketball coach, received a report from the club with in-depth analysis and raw data. “If you want to compete in our league, you need as much information as possible,” says Ivory. “When I’m coaching I feel like I’m teaching—just in a different classroom. Having this game data puts me in a position to look at my players objectively, then work to make specific improvements.” Sarah Carmichael ’18, a varsity softball player from Andover, Mass., says the club has opened up a whole new side of sports for her. “Engaging in club meetings has allowed me to learn things that I never would have [experienced] in the traditional Andover education,” she says, adding that she hopes

“This data is invaluable and provides a blueprint for how to win.” Rolando Rabines ’19 12

Andover | Summer 2017

to do an independent project based on Andover sports data. Club advisor and Sports Information Director David Fricke sees the club expanding by attracting more students interested in both mathematics and athletics—and also getting more coaches on board. “Andover has really engaged student-athletes, and many faculty members also coach so the lessons our players are learning in class can have practical applications in competition.” said Fricke Students recently had the opportunity to see how this information is being used professionally when they attended

“When I’m coaching I feel like I’m teaching—just in a different classroom. Having this game data puts me in a position to look at my players objectively, then work to make specific improvements.” Terrell Ivory ’00 Boys’ Varsity Basketball Coach

Neil Evans

Members of the Sports Analytics Club gather to discuss the latest headlines and team assignments.

the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in March and met with New York Yankees scout Matt Hyde ’92 this past fall. Hyde spoke with Andover athletes about the tension in the sports industry related to analytics: Do numbers lie? What’s the value of a scout’s eye and professional experience? How do you measure an athlete’s intensity or passion for the game? Rabines experienced this dilemma firsthand when trying to relay his findings to an Andover player this past winter. At first, the data was received more like a critique than constructive coaching, but once he explained how the calculations could be used to the player’s advantage—in this instance, that driving to the basket more often would draw fouls and ultimately land him on the free-throw line—the value became clear. While the club may be breaking ground at the high school level, sports

“Engaging in club meetings has allowed me to learn things that I never would have [experienced] in the traditional Andover education.” Sarah Carmichael ’18

analytics has been around for decades. Pioneered by baseball writer Bill James in the 1980s and made famous by Michael Lewis’s 2003 book Moneyball, sports analytics is big business and has ushered in a new era of sports management. It is not uncommon for professional teams to have entire departments dedicated to analyzing statistics and optimizing strategies for competitive advantages. But data—and all the possibilities that come along with it—should be used in tandem with great coaching and player development, says Ivory. “When you tell players to work harder, how do you quantify that?” he asks. “If our rebounding differential improves, that’s a tangible outcome and an indicator of effort.” Rabines says he hopes to eventually have sports analytics managers on every team. “I’m fascinated by this world,” says Rabines. “I love it that in my offseason, [analytics] can be my sport.” 

“The lessons our players are learning in math classes can have a practical application for them in competition.”

A H

LET TH

DLI NE

Repeat NE Title Win for Boys’ Swimming & Diving Congratulations to head coach David Fox and the boys’ swimming and diving team, which went undefeated in winter league competition and nailed a second consecutive NEPSAC Division 1 championship. The win marked the seventh New England prep title for the team since 2007 and came just a week after they placed second at the prestigious Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships in Lancaster, Penn. ALUMNI HEADLINERS Andrew Wilson ’12 led Emory University to its first-ever men’s Division 3 National Championship in swimming. Wilson set Division 3 records in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. He was named Male Swimmer of the Meet. His time in the 100 breaststroke is, at the time of this writing, the fastest in all three men’s NCAA divisions. Wilson also was named the University Athletic Association Swimmer of the Year for the second year in a row. Alex Kiss-Rusk ’12 led McGill University to its first national championship in women’s basketball, earning Player of the Game and tournament MVP honors. Kiss-Rusk also was named the Réseau du sport etudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Defensive Player of the Year and to the RSEQ AllConference team. Giovanna Pickering ’13 was named New England Women’s Basketball Association (NEWBA) Player of the Year. Pickering led Babson College to the Sweet Sixteen of the Division 3 NCAA Tournament. Pickering also was named NEWMAC Player of the Year and earned D3Hoops.com All-Northeast Region first-team honors.

David Fricke Sports Information Director Andover | Summer 2017

TH UGHTS on TEACHING Vic Svec

has seen a lot in his nearly 40 years of teaching Russian at PA: thousands of students (and now their children!), advances in teaching, and many hard-fought battles on the volleyball court. An early adopter of technology in the classroom, Svec also believes in a more traditional approach, what he calls the “lessons of learning.” Below is an edited version of his conversation with Andover magazine. by Kristin Bair O’Keeffe What inspired you to become a teacher? Svec: Terrible teachers. Why Russian? Svec: Because it was easy. I started studying Russian my junior year of college. I did an undergraduate degree in Russian in a year and a half. Once I got started, I was obsessed. You say you don’t teach Russian, you teach young people. What do you mean? Svec: I teach students to learn. It’s the only thing I do. I don’t care if students learn any Russian. Yes, I grade them on their Russian, but I’m really grading them on how well they’re taking the lessons of learning. Just today I asked a question and a student answered in a questioning tone. “No,” I said. “You learn nothing if I acknowledge that answer. Tell me what your answer is. If you’re right, your mind will say, ‘Got it.’” What is your secret to constantly learning and growing as an instructor? Svec: I love what I do. I love these kids. They stress me and test me and push me—and they give back, which is why I ultimately switched from carpentry to teaching. I am a carpenter. I can build something beautiful. I can build something strong. I can build something for the ages. But it doesn’t ever really give back. The kids give back.

Andover | Summer 2017

Which is harder, teaching students to speak Russian or volleyball players to spike? Svec: Neither, because it goes back to the fact that I’m teaching them how to figure out how to do something. Whether they can do it or not isn’t my goal. Last year I had this wonderful young man in JV volleyball. Every single match I put him in the game, and every single match I had him serve. It was the week before the end of the season and he finally got a serve in. It put him over the top. That’s the difference between getting a medal and learning how to do something. If you get a medal every time you step on the floor, it’s meaningless. If you continually work and improve and learn how to do something, you ultimately feel the accomplishment. No one has to tell you that you did a good job. What profession other than teaching would you like to try? Svec: If I weren’t teaching, I’d still be teaching. Any plans to retire? Svec: I’m 12 or so years into teaching kids of kids that I taught. I will retire when I teach the first grandchild of a student.  Read Svec’s full conversation at www.andover.edu/SvecQA A freelance writer, teacher, and novelist, Bair O’Keeffe is the former editor of Andover magazine. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @kbairokeeffe.

Photos by Jill Clerkin

You’ve been coaching volleyball since the 1980s, currently boys’ JV. Why volleyball? Svec: When I first came here I was the soccer coach, and you knew when I was coaching because you could hear me from two or three miles away. It wasn’t pretty. I was just learning to learn about things back then. I asked myself, why am I doing it this way? Because the coaches I had had were loud, abusive, rude, and angry.

Then I thought about it. What did I ever learn where I didn’t have a coach like that? Volleyball. My volleyball coach was patient. He was instructive. He was helpful. And he loved the sport. I thought, that’s really who I am. I went to Athletic Director Joe Wennik ’52 and asked, “Can I switch?” Joe said yes, and the rest is history.

EQUITY and ACCESS

Daniel Hertzberg

Need-blind admission welcomes youth from every quarter

by Tracy Sweet

Andover | Summer 2017

It was 2009, just one year after Andover had enacted a landmark policy to remove financial need as an obstacle to admission, and the global financial crisis showed no signs of letting up. Many well-endowed institutions, colleges and universities among them, saw the value of their portfolios suffer record losses. Andover’s endowment closed down more than 15 percent that fiscal year. Nevertheless, the Board of Trustees held firm to its new policy, believing that needblind admission stood for something far greater than scholarships. Need-blind was more than a policy; it was a value statement, a modern-day expression of what it means to extend the Andover experience to the most promising youth from every quarter. “Forging ahead with the plan despite the setback and in the face of fear and uncertainty demonstrated compassion and confidence,” said Jane Fried, former dean of admission, who, along with former head of school Barbara Landis Chase and Oscar Tang ’56 board president emeritus, helped blaze the trail for Andover’s need-blind program. “That strong position made all the difference to our admission program,” Fried said. “The markets of both full-pay and financial aid families swung our way, as we thought they would.” Since 2012, Fried has been head of The Brearley School, a K–12 day school in New York City. Brearley also reaffirmed its financial aid commitments during the economic downturn and retained 100 percent of families impacted by the crisis. “It’s fulfilling and downright fun to work for institutions that know who they are and stick to their mission,” said Fried. What to some may have seemed an overly ambitious decision in the face of market volatility proved to be an attractive opportunity for donors who believed in Andover’s promise of access. Among them were members of the Abbot Academy Association, who, along with Tang and fellow trustees, established the Barbara Landis Chase Scholars Program. “If students possess the promise, the qualifications, the drive and desire, then Andover should be open to them,” said Tang. “Barbara held firm to this belief.” Nearly a decade later, as Head of School John Palfrey and the Board of Trustees seek to safeguard the future of need-blind admission by making it a core priority of the next campaign, the policy continues to have far-reaching implications.

Andover | Summer 2017

Head of School Barbara Landis Chase and Dean of Admission Jane Fried spearhead the Affordability Initiative, resulting in an infusion of funds to the financial aid budget.

2008

Student loans discontinued. All financial aid takes the form of grants.

2007

2006

Strategic Plan reaffirms founders’ commitment to youth from every quarter.

2004–07

2004

“Since 2008 not one student whose family has qualified for aid has left Andover for financial reasons,” said Jim Ventre ’79, dean of admission and financial aid. “And not one student who earned their place has been denied admission because their family could not afford the cost of tuition.” 

Trustees endorse need-blind admission policy.

First class enrolls under new admission policy. Global economic crisis hits.

159m+

Financial aid funds awarded to students since 2008

550+

Scholarship funds and other financial aid endowments that sustain need-blind admission

22m

Financial aid awarded*

48%

Percentage of students who received aid*

39.8k

Average financial aid grant for returning students* *2016–2017 school year

ONE FAMILY’S STORY When Kory Stuer ’15 was applying to Andover, he was keenly aware of his older brothers’ legacies. Shaun ’09 and Erik had both been outstanding athletes, but Kory was different. “They lived and breathed sports. I didn’t have the sports thing my brothers had; I was more focused on academics,” he said. When he was accepted to Andover and received a financial aid package, his welcome kit included a hand-written note from then-dean of admission Jane Fried. The note read: “Kory, I’m confident you can blaze your own path at Andover.” That simple note was incredibly meaningful to Kory and his mom, Tracy. “Kory wanted to be himself, not a carbon copy of his brothers,” Tracy says. “He wanted to walk a different path, and we felt Andover had understood that.” Kory immersed himself in all things Andover. He was a Blue Key head, PACE Senior, and copresident of mock trial. He was on varsity crew and JV swim team and took part in chorus, theatre, and more. He also took to heart the non sibi motto, which has translated into his collegiate activities at Georgetown where Kory is involved with

workers’ rights and sexual assault peer advocacy and is a coordinator for a mobile soup kitchen. Kory said that living and learning with such a diverse student body at Andover and having conversations about topics such as equity and white privilege has helped him in many ways. “A lot came out of those conversations,” Kory said. “It has made me think about what it means— fundamentally and structurally—to have youth from every quarter.” Kory’s mom Tracy acknowledges the positive impact Andover has had on her sons, particularly on the values they embody today. By investing in smart kids from around the globe—from China to the Stuers’ hometown of Chelmsford, Mass.—Andover has provided a place for students to explore diversity in all its forms. “The need-blind admission policy is important because it shows that Andover ‘walks the walk’ of youth from every quarter,” says Kory. “Andover has found a way to materially say you matter, and that has an impact on people.” —Allyson Irish

RETURN on INVESTMENT Since 2007, families who can afford to pay full tuition have applied in greater numbers inspired by the idea that their children will benefit from the inclusive

community Andover seeks to build, reflecting diversity of thought, background, culture, and experience. Financial aid provides

all students with the opportunity to experience different cultures and communities. More than a dozen Learning in the World

programs are offered each year, sending students to places such as Morocco, Peru, and China.

Continued support from annual fundraising and the endowment

is crucial to sustaining need-blind admission. Since 2008, support has risen from $13 million to $22 million annually.

Market turbulence continues; trustees protect need-blind policy, which now includes additional support for current families affected by the recession. Campaign for Andover launched, with support for financial aid its most ambitious fundraising goal.

2017

John Palfrey’s tenure begins as 15th Head of School. He reaffirms commitment to need-blind policy. Campaign for Andover closes, raising $72 million for financial aid.

2014

2009

2012

Read more about financial aid on page 30.

Alumni, faculty, staff, and parents rank need-blind admission No. 1 among the Academy’s financial priorities.

Strategic Plan positions need-blind admission as a “defining characteristic of Phillips Academy.”

Andover | Summer 2017

Non sibi 7 Letters. 10 Years. Thousands of Lives Impacted.

ust two words. Seven letters. But the impact of this simple Latin phrase written on Andover’s seal more than 230 years ago continues to influence generations of students and alumni, inspiring them to think beyond themselves. The spirit of non sibi is woven into Andover’s academic courses and into its yearlong community engagement programs coordinated through the Office of Community Engagement (see infographic, page 9). The Academy’s annual Non Sibi Weekend (formerly Non Sibi Day) is perhaps the bestknown manifestation of the motto. During this weekend the entire campus community and alumni around the world participate in meaningful service activities. Now entering its 10th year, the event has become a rallying point for the community and a way to celebrate the non sibi spirit. by Alessandra Bianchi, P’15

Running for Joy a managing director at a global A sasset management company based

Andover | Summer 2017

Submitted

in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, Alicia Eastman ’93 runs all over the globe. Literally. When we caught up with her in January, she had recently competed in a triathlon in the UAE. “Nothing too serious,” says Eastman, who was on PA’s cycling team and won the New England Championships from 1991 to 1993. The key to her continued positive outlook and drive? Twice a week she hikes and runs with a unique group of individuals—50 or so refugees of all ages from countries such as Yemen, Iraq, Nepal, and Ethiopia—through a program called Free to Run. “I find these individuals amazing— they have survived and continue to encounter so much difficulty but remain resilient, even happy,” Eastman says. Eastman is all-in when it comes to PA and non sibi. In fact, she hosted the very first—based on her time zone— Non Sibi Day event in the world

Alicia Eastman ’93 (second from left in her Andover hat!) with refugees and volunteers during their first 32K Hong Kong mountain race 10 years ago: a birthday party for children in a Hong Kong orphanage. Last year, Eastman began inviting members of the PA community to her Free to Run outings. At the track, Eastman has gathered a wide range of Andover participants, including alumni and alumni children, siblings, and parents. She marvels that

people from around the world—even those who presumably know nothing about Andover—proudly wear non sibi T-shirts and hats while they walk or run around the track. “No matter what’s going on in your life, this gives you perspective,” she says. “It’s remarkable.”

An Andover Day speak volumes. N umbers Andover’s first Non Sibi

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Day, held September 15, 2007, saw nearly 3,000 members of the extended Andover community volunteer their time to projects in 27 states and 13 countries on five continents. “The launch and ongoing success of this initiative is due, first and foremost, to our culture and history of non sibi,” notes Tom Beaton ’73, who chaired the steering committee for the first Non Sibi Day. “Programmatically, we rely upon a committed, collaborative effort among alumni, faculty, students, and parents. This includes leaders from the Alumni Council, Office of Alumni Engagement, Office of the Head of School, Office of Community Engagement, and the student body. All of these people, at their core, live non sibi all year,” Beaton says. “From the beginning, it was really an Andover Day.” Fellow Alumni Council members describe Beaton, a successful executive coach in Boston, as the “animating force” behind launching PA’s global day of service. But Beaton gives credit to some “very meaningful, highimpact, high-visibility projects that kickstarted things.” Some of the 2007 projects included the reopening of a girls’ school in Hillah, Iraq; providing 10,000 outfits to an orphanage in Djibouti; and the opening of “Non Sibi playgrounds” in FARC-dominated

Tom Beaton ’73 prepares food at The Pine Street Inn.

villages in Colombia. The key to all these projects, Beaton says, is that they captured the imaginations of and engaged multiple Andover constituents—alumni, family, and students. “That’s what this is all about,” he says. Closer to home and for more than 10 years now, Beaton has been working at Boston’s Pine Street Inn alongside other alumni and PA community members. Whether preparing or serving food or lending a sympathetic ear, Beaton and the folks from PA make themselves useful however they are needed at the iconic inn, which provides shelter, nourishment, and compassion to more than 1,600 homeless men and women every day. Beaton says the various Non Sibi Weekend programs do more than

inspire community engagement— they expose people to complex issues of social justice, homelessness, poverty, and the environment and act as a catalyst for learning. Then, like a seasoned coach, he adds, “We can do so much more.”

“From the beginning, it was really an Andover Day.”

Andover | Summer 2017

The 2015 Andover contingent on Thompson Island in Boston Harbor included students, faculty, alumni, and Mike Koehler ’94, who is behind the camera!

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The Seed Was Planted M

ike Koehler ’94 easily remembers one of his favorite PA courses. It was Urban Studies Institute, taught by Susan Lloyd. As part of the class, Lloyd matched each PA student with a Lawrence High School student, and the pair would tutor local elementary school children. “It was endlessly interesting, cross-cultural, and tremendous,” says Koehler, who found the course to be an excellent capstone for his involvement with community engagement at PA, which included spending his upper and senior years helping to coordinate projects and hosting individual reflection periods with his peers. This work, says Koehler, was his most formative experience at Andover. “The thing about community service on campus is that it’s studentdriven to a large degree. Andover relies on students to lead, motivate, and participate,” he says. Five years after graduating from Andover, Koehler returned as a teaching fellow in community service and

Andover | Summer 2017

then became interim director of the department. These roles, he says, taught him more about the importance of encouraging people to “connect their everyday lives and communities with PA.” Given his background, it’s no surprise that Koehler has been involved with Non Sibi Day since its inception. For the past 10 years, rain or shine, he has volunteered with fellow PA alums and community members as well as Boston public school kids at Boston Harbor’s Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center, where he has served as an instructor and is now a trustee. As an energy and environmental lawyer working on cutting-edge energy and climate issues, Koehler is keenly focused on trying to make a positive impact. “When I chose this profession I asked myself, ‘What’s something I can make a living at while contributing something positive to the world?’ That’s what I try to do every day.”

“The thing about community service on campus is that it’s studentdriven to a large degree. Andover relies on students to lead, motivate, and participate.”

Caption goes here A photo of the 2016 Book Fair at the Goddard Riverside Community Center in New York. For 10 years, Chris Auguste ’76, P’09, ’12 (inset), has brought a PA group to the center to help prepare for this important annual fundraiser.

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Paying It Forward immigrant from Trinidad, Chris A nAuguste ’76, P’09, ’12, grew up in

Harlem. He attended Andover as a graduate of the Wadleigh Scholars Program, an organization that helps talented eighth-graders gain admission to boarding schools. After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he became a corporate lawyer and partner in a Manhattan law firm and served a term as a PA alumni trustee. Despite his long list of accomplishments, Auguste maintains that “nothing I have achieved has ever been done without the help of someone else.” Auguste doesn’t recall focusing on non sibi while at Andover. “I was just trying to survive” is more how he remembers it. But in his adult life, he has spent a great deal of time helping and mentoring others—including future Wadleigh Scholars and Andover students of color—to become future leaders through the nonprofit organization YouthBridge-NY.

Auguste also has worked extensively with the Goddard Riverside Community Center. Formed by the merger of two of Manhattan’s original 19th-century settlement houses, Goddard serves 17,000 people annually from its location on the Upper West Side. The center provides housing for senior citizens and the homeless, education centers for children, and college access and counseling for high school students. For the past decade, Auguste has been sharing his connection to Goddard with others from PA, bringing groups to the Goddard Book Sort, a vital precursor to the center’s annual book sale and key fundraiser. Donated books are sorted and boxed by category for streamlined setup the day of the sale. The three- to four-hour commitment has “a tangible impact on folks who live in my community,” Auguste says. Like many alumni who volunteer regularly, Auguste is not looking for

recognition. “I don’t do this to get into magazines,” he says. “I do it because it matters.” 

“Nothing I have achieved has ever been done without the help of someone else.”

Alessandra Bianchi, P’15 writes about business, lifestyle, and culture.

Andover | Summer 2017

For the

love of teaching With a combined total of nearly 220 years at Andover, this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seven retiring faculty members will be deeply missed. Whether in the classroom, on the playing field, in the dormitory, or over a calming cup of tea, each teacher has provided students with just the right combination of inspiration, encouragement, and compassion. As evidenced by tributes from alumni, they are also role models whose impact will continue to echo far beyond the Hill.

Read more online at enews.andover.edu/retiringfaculty.

by Jill Clerkin & Allyson Irish Photos by Dave White

Andover | Summer 2017

Thomas E. Cone III

Thomas Edward Cone III Instructor in Biology PA Start Date: 1966 Attributes: “Kind, patient, caring; a great man all around” Likes: Birds, snakes, honeybees, giant pumpkins Legacy: Cookies under the blooming cherry tree near Sam Phil each spring Retirement Plans: A move to Carrboro, N.C., where he plans to garden, volunteer, substitute teach, and join the Audubon Bird Club

Cone had a simple but effective way of connecting with his students. “Getting to Bio by 8 a.m. was a grim way to start the day, until I entered your classroom,” said Marc Sevastopoulo ’15. “You’d smile the warmest, most welcoming smile I’ve ever seen. It was as though the arrival of each of your students, one after the other, had made your day.” A menagerie of reptiles, amphibians, and honeybees (and several unruly plants) populated Cone’s biology classroom, there not only to teach students about animals, but also to remind them that they are sharing this planet with others. “What a pleasure it was to have work duty with Mr. Cone in the old science building [Evans Hall], learning about his research on chrysanthemums and huge pumpkins and taking care of Oscar, the alligator,” says David Carnes ’89. “Mr. Cone made science fascinating, fun, and accessible, even to me— someone who ended up an artist,”

says Sara Bright ’99. The much-loved PALS outreach director for nearly 25 years, Cone also was a house counselor at Eaton and Andover cottages for 17 years and a dedicated boys’ squash coach. He and his wife, Julie—who ably assisted in many of Tom’s endeavors—raised three children on campus. circa 1975

Andover Archives

n spring 1966, more than half a century ago, Headmaster John Kemper interviewed Tom Cone’s father. It was about the younger Tom, of course, who was seeking a teaching position at Andover, but he was still in Africa, finishing up a two-year stint with the Peace Corps. Kemper took a leap of faith and signed young Tom on—sight unseen—for a two-year appointment. The rest is a rich and wonderful slice of PA history. “I’ve always had a love for animals and the beauty of nature,” says Cone. “All my life I have tried to inspire a similar passion in students of all ages.” A few treasured student memories of Cone’s popular ornithology courses: watching the swifts at dusk as they swooped and then dived into a Borden Gym chimney to sleep for the night; sanctuary walks and birdsong quizzes; learning about cardinals, downy woodpeckers, and hawks; and observing a woodcock mating ritual.

Andover | Summer 2017

Elaine Crivelli Elaine Crivelli Instructor in Art PA Start Date: 1997 PA Family: Crivelli says one of the most gratifying aspects of living and working at PA was being able to watch her daughter, Gina Lauren Crivelli ’05, grow as a student and to share this special connection. Retirement Plans: Crivelli plans to move back to her home in Philadelphia. She will travel to places she’s never before seen and visit with friends and family in the United States and abroad. Lifelong Learning: Crivelli will continue her life as an artist— creating and exhibiting, conducting workshops, and attending workshops and lectures.

Andover | Summer 2017

and bringing new technologies into studio classrooms. Also rewarding, she says, were her collaborative ventures with other programs and disciplines, such as her work with the Addison Gallery to develop the curatorial museum studies course Discovering the Addison Collection and coteaching with Seth Bardo, emeritus instructor in English. A complementary house counselor at Eaton Cottage, Crivelli worked with mathematics instructor Shawn Fulford to make the dorm a welcoming home. Crivelli considers the “Garden of Eaton”—Fulford’s abundant and colorful plantings—a piece of living art. “I thank Shawn for bringing such visual joy and ever-changing beauty to the dorm and to the community through this garden.” But mostly, Crivelli says she has enjoyed helping students grow into creative thinkers and encouraging them to discover something about themselves through art. Kay Xia ’15 took a full year of drawing

classes with Crivelli and now is studying visual arts in college. Xia credits Crivelli with providing “just the right balance of technical rigor and creative space to explore. Ms. Crivelli’s dedication to the medium and to our class was inspiring and motivating. I will always appreciate the care she put into our learning.”

1999

Andover Archives

laine Crivelli and the six other retiring faculty members have much in common with this year’s graduating class: both groups are stepping away from the familiar and comfortable; both are excited, a bit nervous, and filled with bittersweet memories. “I call us the other graduating class of 2017,” she says with a laugh. Her fourth-floor Draper Hall loft apartment, where Crivelli has lived for 11 years, offers an expansive view of the Abbot Maple Walk, which she has enjoyed photographing in all lights and every season. Down below is the daycare center play area, which has provided a different sort of entertainment. “Watching the little ones running around laughing and screeching—it’s so funny,” she says. These are just a few of the many sights and sounds she will miss after leaving Phillips Academy in June. Crivelli found great satisfaction in leading the art department as chair, working to revamp the art curriculum

Thomas S. Hodgson Thomas Salkald Hodgson Instructor in Philosophy and Religious Studies PA Start Date: 1976 PA Family: Son Tad ’99 Personal Hero: Socrates Grading Process: One M&M allowed after each paper is graded. Hobbies & Retirement Plans: Hodgson will move to his house in the Berkshires near Mount Greylock. He will continue spending time in Massachusetts, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, where he plans to fly-fish, hike, read, raft, canoe, play squash and banjo, and enjoy time with grandchildren.

and boys’ and girls’ tennis. Then, at age 45, he found a new sport: squash. Hodgson quickly became hooked and soon was the PA squash coach. He also helped establish the Academy’s SquashBusters program, which brings Lawrence middle schoolers to campus to learn the so-called “sport of privilege” and for help with academics. “Mr. Hodgson taught me the importance of winning with grace and losing with dignity,” says Jess Tory ’02. “It took me beyond my years at Andover to truly appreciate the meaning and value of living up to the spirit of those words.” “It has been a full life in a creative, supportive community,” says Hodgson who, in this next phase of life, plans to develop and teach hybrid courses in applied logic and applied ethics. In his office, located in the basement of Cochran Chapel, Hodgson displays memorabilia from his personal and professional lives, including a banjo, a bust of Socrates, and framed photos of

fly-fishing in his beloved Montana. Hodgson noted that he spent his entire 40-year PA career in two basements (the squash courts are located in the basement of Borden Gym). “If I ever write a memoir, it will be called New Notes from Underground,” he says with a grin.

1978

Andover Archives

aking a cue from the philosopher he admires most, Tom Hodgson has helped generations of students examine their lives fully, deeply, and logically. It’s a career that Hodgson says has been satisfying and fun, and filled with a few surprises. Hodgson’s lessons—on ethics, logic, and reasoning—impacted all of his students, whether they took his RelPhil classes or had him as a house counselor, advisor, or coach. Former students say the life lessons he imparted resonate with them years after they have left the Hill. “If I pulled the thread of your class on existentialism now, 25 years later,” says Karen Wachs ’91, “I would see a different life unfold. I’m not sure how to describe it, but the thinking I did in that class, and subsequently in other classes in your department, fundamentally altered the lens through which I see the world.” Through the years, Hodgson has coached boys’ basketball and baseball

Andover | Summer 2017

J. Peter Watt

James Peter Watt Instructor in Physics PA Start Date: 1988 Student Accolades: “A genius with a joy and passion for teaching; inspirational, enthusiastic, and engaging; supremely entertaining” Feat: Made physics fun Motivational Tool: Chalk— known for tossing it at students and even eating it!

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“Dr. Watt’s sense of humor, remarkably clear explanations, and passion for the subject made me look forward to his class each day,” said Emily Adler ’12. Watt also coached intramural basketball and recreational tennis and was a house counselor in Carter House for his entire 29-year PA career. “Dr. Watt took care of five of us as we made our way 1994

Andover Archives

ecades of students no doubt will credit Peter Watt for their love of physics or, at the very least, helping them pass it. “Man, was his Physics 580 class hard,” says Sam Green ’13, “but the experience taught me to be fearless academically as well as to revel in the joy of working with others to solve tough problems.” His palpable and “wonderfully nerdy” passion for physics brought a potentially dull subject to life, says Ethan Liebermann ’00, whose college physics experience, he says, paled in comparison. Watt challenged his students—mostly uppers and seniors—to keep up as he scrawled complicated calculations on the chalkboard. “If we found an error, Dr. Watt would reward us with a piece of chalk,” recalls Janis Scanlon Rice ’03. “We would scream out the error in hopes of getting the first piece—to throw back at him or at his coffee. He made physics class a game.”

through all of high school’s dramas,” says Dan Ankeles ’00. “On Wednesday nights, he’d let us gather around his TV to watch a new show on Comedy Central called South Park. We really felt like we were getting away with something.” For a few weeks each summer from 2007 through 2014, Watt headed west to the mountains of Colorado. There he directed PA’s ACE (Accelerate, Challenge, Enrich) Scholars Program for juniors and new lowers. “ACE gave me the opportunity to work with younger students. It was a lot of fun,” Watt said. In all his varied roles, Watt left a positive mark on his students and their futures. “With his boundless patience and infectious enthusiasm, Dr. Watt was a mainstay in my Andover experience,” says Piers Platt ’98. “He helped shape me into the person I am today.”

Elizabeth G. Korn Elizabeth Gail Korn Associate Dean of Studies and Registrar PA Start Date: 1986 Favorite Role: House counselor High Praise: “She was my Andover mom.” Students Remember: Homemade brownies and tea; Friends and The Bachelor viewing parties Retirement Plans: A move to San Francisco to be close to daughter Laura Schoenherr ’04, plus frequent trips back East to spend time with her parents, daughter Karen Schoenherr ’07, and Andover friends

“The fact that she made a comfortable and judgment-free space for 40 teenage girls with hugely varying backgrounds is truly amazing,” said Gloria Odusote ’09. “She invited all of us into her home, whether for advice about study skills, baking in her kitchen, or late-night discussions,” recalls Erin O’Hern ’03. “She circa 1997

Andover Archives

ind, caring, selfless. Those three words are often used by students and colleagues to describe Betsy Korn, wearer of many, many hats at PA. Korn began her Andover career as a college counselor. “In the ’80s and ’90s, there were challenges in being a nontraditional faculty member, i.e., a young mother who lived off-campus and didn’t teach, house counsel, or coach—but much has changed at PA,” she says, “and I’ve changed, too.” Hard work and determination coupled with her skills and flexibility ensured Korn’s success in various roles, including assistant dean of studies for advising and assistant director of the Academic Support Center. Being a track official— well, that was just plain fun, she says. In 2000, Korn became a Stevens Hall house counselor, a role she wholeheartedly embraced and fully enjoyed. In doing so, she made Andover feel like home for the dozens of students in her care.

helped me, a young girl from Iowa, navigate the opportunities at Andover, and I will always be grateful.” Korn’s active roles in a plethora of campus groups and committees— including chairing the working group on gender equity and inclusion and serving as a member of the Access to Success, Academic Support, and Disability Support Services committees—speak to Korn’s character and values. She also founded the Science Club for Girls and led the working group that helped establish the Brace Center for Gender Studies. “There is so much that is so important happening here,” says Korn. “It was enlightening and empowering to be part of it.” And through her involvement, Korn learned—and shared. “She encouraged us to see ourselves as able, resilient, and confident young women,” says Jeanette Park ’03. “Thank you, Ms. Korn.”

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Carol J. Israel Carol Jane Israel Instructor in Psychology, Psychological Counselor, Wellness Educator PA Start Date: 1985 Qualities: “Thoughtful, engaged, humble; a guiding light and a great listener” Key Roles: Director of the Graham House Counseling Center; chair of psychology and psychological services Favorite Things: Traveling with husband Mark Guerin and children Emily ’04 and Jonah ’07 to coastal Maine and the red rocks of Utah

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draw on to this day.” Israel feels deeply honored to have been entrusted with her students’ personal stories: “They have given me as much as I have given them and made this career of mine something incredibly special.” Highlights of her 32 years at PA include being part of the dynamic “Graham House trio” with colleagues Max Alovisetti and Maggie Jackson; evenings with PA students in Lawrence at Project Voice, helping immigrant adults learn English; coteaching The Brain and You with biology instructor Jerry Hagler; measuring the long jump at hundreds of PA track meets; and working with a visionary team to create the Rebecca M. Sykes Wellness Center. Her greatest satisfaction, says Israel, has come from “helping adolescents better understand human behavior, both their own and others’, through psychology, biology, neuroscience, evolution, and lots of conversation.”

Harpswell, Maine, Israel’s new hometown, is fortunate to be gaining a part-time psychologist and enthusiastic community volunteer. She also looks forward to taking courses at Bowdoin College, hiking with her husband and their two dogs, and kayaking with friends.

1998

Andover Archives

sychologist, mentor, and everpatient listener, Carol Israel will be warmly remembered for helping to make the former Graham House Counseling Center a sanctuary for struggling students. Hundreds found solace in the peaceful “pillow room,” a mug of hot cocoa, and Israel’s gentle, welcoming smile. “My first year at Andover I was painfully homesick and badly wanted to leave school,” said one 2008 alumnus. “Rather than punching my ticket back to Cleveland, Dr. Israel challenged me to embrace the opportunities offered at Andover. She provided much-needed comfort, inspiration, reflection, and encouragement. Ultimately, Andover was the greatest experience of my life—and Dr. Israel is an enormous reason why.” Another alumna remembers a tough stint of academic burnout: “Dr. Israel took the time to sit with me and help me work through my writer’s block. It was a therapeutic, healing process that I

David A. Stern

David A. Stern Instructor in Chemistry PA Start Date: 2001 Notable Theatrical Performance: Played a lobotomized patient in PA’s 2009 performance of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest As a Coach: Ninth-grade soccer and BJV tennis Retirement Plans: Will move back to Newbury, Mass.; travel throughout New England, and, eventually make his way to the Abruzzi region of Italy, where his wife has family

school and college before PA, he is not a career academic. For nearly 20 years, he worked in the chemistry industry doing contract work for the EPA selling high-end science instruments to schools across New England. It was in the latter role that Stern was introduced to Phillips Academy. In spring 2001, looking to sell a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer to then-chemistry chair Temba Maqubela, Stern inquired if there were any teaching positions open. “That question,” says Stern, “happily evolved into one of the best decisions of my life.” When he started at Andover, Stern knew his students would be well prepared and ready for challenging work, so he put a lot of emphasis on classroom rapport and creating an “amiable teaching environment.” Students describe Stern as patient, enthusiastic, crazy, creative, kind, and fun. He describes himself as “tough but

fair, enthusiastic with good humor, and Stern” (his go-to joke!). Says Theresa Faller ’11, “Dr. Stern’s passion and enthusiasm inspired a lifelong love of chemistry. Thank you for helping me shape my Andover experience with your craziness and creativity, both in and out of the classroom.” 

2004

Andover Archives

n his first day of class upper year, Marcello Rossi ’16 trudged up the three flights of stairs in the Gelb Science Center and plopped down in the front row of Chem 550. Aiming for a good impression, he was the first one there. Soon, the rest of the class arrived, and then the instructor walked in. “Dr. Stern entered the room with a brisk walk and an aura of swagger, wearing pink pastel chinos with a white polo, and aviator sunglasses,” Rossi recalls. “This man radiated charisma and amicability, which instantly created a comfortable classroom environment as he joked around with us and told stories. In that instant, I knew this would be no ordinary science class.” As far as Andover instructors go, Stern is an unusual character. Tall, with an unruly crew cut, Stern speaks loudly and with a tinge of a New York accent, revealing where he was born and raised. Though he taught both high

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P H I LA N TH R O P Y H IGHLIGHTS

Broad Donor Support Marks a Decade of Need-Blind Admission

o d l l i w I “ n a c I g n i h anyt ” . r o v a f e h to return t T

hose words, from Nicole Okai ’10, resonate with students and alumni. Like many before her, Okai benefited from the generosity of thousands of donors who sustain the Academy’s need-blind admission policy. Since 2007, all applicants have been considered for admission to Andover solely on merit, not on their family’s ability to pay tuition (see story, page 15).

by Adam Roberts “Our donors are passionate about needblind admission and how it shapes Andover today,” says Secretary of the Academy Thomas P. Lockerby. “It ranks as one of the top reasons why they give to the school and is undoubtedly a point of pride.” Andover is one of very few U.S. schools—elementary, high school, or college—to have such a policy, and it is the only private residential secondary school to have maintained need-blind admission for a decade. The policy extends beyond tuition: Need-blind also covers room and board, travel, books, technology, and other necessary expenses, enabling each student to fully experience Andover. In 2016–2017, 48 percent of all students at Andover received financial aid and 13 percent received full scholarships.

Returning the favor Like many other alumni, Okai is grateful for the financial aid she received and has shown her gratitude as a head agent and seven-year consecutive

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donor to Andover. “I give every year to support financial aid because it made attending Andover a reality for me. The need-blind program keeps the school truly diverse and draws kids from every corner of the world.” Tracy Stuer, P’09, ’15, an 11-year consecutive donor, also appreciates the power of such aid. “Two of my three boys went to Andover, something our family simply could not have afforded if not for this program,” says Stuer.

One life, forever changed “I know it’s cliché to say that one person can change another person’s life, but that’s what happened,” says Esther Muradov ’11. The person who changed Muradov’s life was Oscar Tang ’56, board president emeritus and a strong proponent of Andover’s need-blind policy. Hailing from a small town in Florida, Muradov was a violin prodigy who planned to attend a music conservatory—until she heard about Andover. Muradov applied and, much to her

surprise, was accepted. Then reality hit: The cost of tuition would be prohibitive for her family. That’s when she discovered, among her acceptance documents, notification that a Tang Scholarship would fully fund her Andover education. “When I found out, I screamed, ‘This dream really can now be a reality!’” she recalls. That first spring, Tang accepted an invitation to hear Muradov play in Carnegie Hall, and they have maintained a strong connection ever since. Now in graduate school, Muradov credits Andover for opening her eyes to new and different opportunities and for influencing her decision to study at Tufts Medical School. “Andover really gives students a chance to explore their interests. If I hadn’t gone to Andover, I probably would not have pursued a career in medicine.” Muradov says she will never forget the generosity shown by Tang and so many other Andover donors. She hopes someday to have a similar impact on the lives of other Andover students. To make a gift in support of Andover’s need-blind admission program or to learn more, visit giving.andover.edu or contact Nicole Cherubini, director of development, at 978-749-4288 or ncherubini@andover.edu.

Loyalty Matters: Academy Recognizes Consistent Donors Consistent support is the lifeblood of any successful institution. It is in that spirit and with great excitement that Phillips Academy recently launched its first-ever consecutive donor recognition program: the Bulfinch Loyalty Society. The new society celebrates alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends— Andover and Abbot alike—who give to the school in any amount for two or more consecutive years. “We wanted to express how truly grateful we are for every consistent donor,” says Stephen Rodriguez, director of annual giving. “Membership in this society puts you in a large and devoted family.” Bulfinch Hall is one of Andover’s oldest and most revered buildings.

Bulfinch Loyalty Society It therefore felt fitting to name this new society after such an important part of the school’s history, one that is familiar to so many Andover students.

“Those who make annual gifts— at any level—express confidence in Andover’s mission by providing the consistent support that allows us to strategically shape initiatives in teaching and learning,” says Head of School John Palfrey. “Such loyalty has the power to inspire others to join in support of Andover’s ever-important mission.” In the past fiscal year, an impressive 72 percent of alumni and parent supporters were consecutive donors, contributing more than $30 million to the Academy. For more information about the Bulfinch Loyalty Society, visit www.andover.edu/bulfinch. —Adam Roberts

An Andover Legacy, a Lifetime of Service

Andover Archives

learning Italian at Harvard When Tony Hewett ’72 before joining the Allies attended the Andover and in northern Africa. He the Military Committee participated in the landmeeting last fall, inspiraings in Italy and followed tion struck. “My father was just behind the front lines, a veteran, I was a scholarhelping to reestablish civilship student, and the comian control as towns were mittee’s work to expand liberated. He received access to an Andover eduthree Bronze Stars for his cation really spoke to me.” service in World War II and Three generations of finished his 20-year miliHewetts graduated from tary career as a lieutenant Andover: George H. colonel in the U.S. Army Hewett, Class of 1919; son Reserves. Tony; and granddaughters “Our family history Marilyn ’11 and Andrea ’13. drew us to Andover,” says Each has loyally supported Andrea. “Continuing that the Academy. tradition of service is very Conversations on important.” that chilly November “We’re extremely proud day spurred Tony—and 1918 Senior Officers. Cadet Major George H. Hewett, Class of 1919, is middle row, right. of our grandfather’s later, his daughters—to legacy,” added Marilyn. direct their support to the vice to Andover and this country,” says “I love to tell his story, and it’s wonderLCDR Erik Kristensen ’91 Scholarship, Tony. “I’m certain that if he were alive awarded annually to a Summer Sestoday, he would be an enthusiastic sup- ful that it will live on through this scholarship.” sion student with a military parent. In porter of this scholarship.” addition, they established the Andover —Adam Roberts George Hewett’s life of service began and the Military Challenge, which asks at Andover in 1918, when he and many the greater Andover community to also other boys enlisted in the U.S. Army. For more information about supporting Andover donate to the scholarship. While World War I ended prior to his and the Military, contact Nicole Cherubini at “It seemed like a thoughtful way to deployment, in 1941 he was called 978-749-4288 or ncherubini@andover.edu. honor my father and his lifetime of serup for service and spent eight weeks Andover | Summer 2017

C ON N E CTIO N

LEARNING the hard way by Vin Broderick ’71 The van turned in tight circles, took random lefts and rights, then settled into a steady direction, taking only occasional turns. A group of us sat blindfolded, trying to guess where we were headed. After about 20 minutes, the van stopped. I was told to remove my blindfold and get out. The van pulled away. The instructions were the same for all of us: Find a route—without maps—into Lawrence, Mass., figure out a way to get lunch without any money, and then walk back to campus. The license plates I saw in driveways told me that I was in New Hampshire, and the snowy car tracks indicated the direction of the main road. I started walking. Twenty of us lived in the Log Cabin between Thanksgiving and December break in 1970 as part of Tom Lyons’s and Wayne Frederick’s Man and Society course, which studied urban America and revolutionary Mexico. The experience in the Log Cabin was to prepare us for community service work in Boston and Mexico that winter, and our instructors instilled in us the Outward Bound ethos that “through shared challenges, adversity, failure, and success, students discover and develop new skills, confidence, and passion.” At the time, Outward Bound was based in Graham House on the Andover campus. The program was brought to the United States by PA physics instructor Josh Miner, with encouragement from Headmaster John Kemper. Barry Crook, a Search and Rescue instructor during the school year and Outward Bound instructor during the summer, manufactured various group challenges for us at the Log Cabin, including walking to Crane Beach using topographical maps and floating down the Shawsheen River in the dark through snow flurries on one- and two-man rafts. We concluded the two weeks with a five-day snowbound stay in another cabin near the summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Cardigan. Most of the stories I tell about my time at Andover are about Man and Society. As I reflect on that course and my experiences, I am struck by the many ways the course goals later became my own goals in teaching: Enlist students in their own education by giving them responsibility in the direction of the course, help students feel needed and known (as Mr. Lyons did by interviewing each student), and make each step in their education an exploration and adventure. I remember all of us walking back to the Log Cabin from Lawrence one by one late in the afternoon, with dark settling in early, as it does in December. Many of us had shoveled sidewalks to earn money for lunch. Classmate Fred Puzak ’71 had cleared a sidewalk for an older woman who paid him five dollars, then gave him lunch. Brian Balogh ’71 had asked a restaurant owner if he could work for food. The owner sat him down, fed him, and then told Brian he did not need to work for the meal. Instead, he directed Brian to the homeless shelter up the street and provided directions to the job placement center.

Alumni Out of the Blue features true Abbot- or Andover-related stories about issues of class, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, geographic origin, and/ or (dis)ability. Please email your 350-word story, a brief bio, and a high-resolution photo of yourself to alumnioutoftheblue@gmail.com. Submitted

That class—and particularly that day—gave me a sense of what it means to live, if only briefly, without ready access to resources such as food, money, or transportation. The experience challenged us all to solve problems on our own and to appreciate the kindness of strangers.

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Vin Broderick ’71 taught high school English for 20 years in Richmond, Va., and Dedham, Mass., before moving to Hebron, N.H., where he runs Camp Pasquaney, a nonprofit summer camp.

Submitted Photos

Pasadena, CA

Upcoming Alumni & Parent Events National & International Events

Texas

July 2

Los Angeles, CA

July 4th Fireworks Spectacular, featuring Pentatonix

July 19

Boston, MA

Red Sox vs. Blue Jays

July 24–28

Boston, MA

Non Sibi Project at 826 Boston, with Jessica Drench ’95

Sept. 9

Boston, MA

Red Sox vs. Devil Rays

Campus Events Sept. 14–16 Alumni Council fall meetings Sept. 16

Campaign launch

Oct. 20–22 Family Weekend

For the most up-to-date listings, visit the Office of Alumni Engagement event calendar at www.andover.edu/alumnievents.

New York City

Hong Kong

Taipei

Andover | Summer 2017

C ON N E CTIO N

the Buzzzzz

The smash hit La La Land, this year’s winner of a remarkable six Academy Awards, has an Abbot alumna to thank for at least one of them. Sandy Reynolds-Wasco ’72 and husband David Wasco won the Best Production Design award. The couple has collaborated on other big movies, notably Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Kill Bill (volumes 1 and 2).

Proving that you are only as old as you feel, John Corse ’42 (former captain of the Andover swim team) set a new world swimming record at the Rowdy Gaines Master Classic Meet in Orlando, Fla., this past December. John is 92; his teammates were 93, 89, and 88. “Just shows what you can do if you outlive the competition!” wrote Corse.

Congrats to two ’90s grads who have landed bigtime editor gigs. In April, John Swansburg ’96 was named senior editor of The Atlantic, coming from Slate magazine, where he served as deputy editor. Not to be outdone, Nick Thompson ’93 was named editor in chief of Wired magazine this past winter. Thompson previously worked at The New Yorker.

In religious news, two ’70s alumni have recently been promoted and are heading up large congregations. Pope Francis named John Barres ’78 bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, the eighth-largest Roman Catholic diocese in the United States. John Taylor ’73 was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Los Angeles, which oversees some 70,000 Episcopalians.

Sookyoung Shin ’92 was recently nominated to the Massachusetts Appeals Court by Governor Charlie Baker after having served as an assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 2005. Shin graduated from Brown University in 1996 and from Harvard Law School in 1999. It’s probably not a version of her children’s book that author Anna Dewdney ’83, P’09, ever expected. But the beloved Llama Llama Red Pajama recently got a hip-hop makeover when rapper Ludacris, a father himself, did a freestyle jam of the book while on Power 106 radio’s The Cruz Show. Sadly, Dewdney passed away in 2016.

A writer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, funny guy Jonathan Adler ’08 has a new podcast with coworker Tarik of The Tonight Show house band The Roots. “The Tarik and Adler Show” is a hilarious study in contrasts. Check it out on YouTube. Foreign Policy magazine recently recognized Hafsat Abiola ‘92 as the 2016 Citizen Diplomat of the Year. Abiola is the founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), a nonprofit organization based in Lagos, Nigeria. KIND works primarily with young women on leadership development and collaborative projects “aimed at removing barriers to women’s public participation and ending violence against women.”

Harvard graduate and newly minted Marshall Scholar Julius Bright Ross ’13 is headed to Oxford to pursue a PhD degree in zoology. Ross was one of three Harvard students—and only 40 nationwide—to receive the prestigious scholarship, which funds postgraduate study in the United Kingdom. “I’ll be looking at the CO2 flux in forest soils and the effect badgers have on it in the U.K.,” he told the Harvard Gazette.

The Buzz features recent notable accomplishments by Andover and Abbot alums. Please email suggestions to andovermagazine@andover.edu.

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The CEO of Pvilion, Inc., Colin Touhey ’06 was recently named to the 2017 Forbes magazine “30 Under 30: Energy” list. Pvilion is a solar technology company based in New York City. Touhey is also on the faculty of the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

Mozhan Navabi Marnò ’97 continues to find success as a writer, director, and actor. She has appeared on seasons 2 and 3 of the popular Netflix series House of Cards, and is now on NBC’s The Blacklist with another PA grad: James Spader ’78.

A N D O V E R BO O KS H ELF

Where Divers Dare: The Hunt for the Last U-Boat by Randall Peffer (faculty emeritus) Berkley Publishing Group Finding the wreck of German U-550, the last remaining diveable World War II U-boat along the Eastern seaboard, was for years the holy grail of deep-wreck diving. In 2012, an intrepid team of divers found it—along with secrets about the ship’s sinking that had remained as elusive as the wreck itself. Peffer’s new book details the 20-year search for the lost U-boat and the surprising aftermath of the discovery. A Psalm for Lost Girls by Katie Bayerl ’96 Putnam To the people of New Avon, Mass., 17-yearold Tess da Costa is a bona fide saint who has been performing miracles for two years. When Tess dies suddenly, her sister and secret boyfriend set out to prove that Tess had been nothing more than a regular— albeit really great—girl. As their search leads to a dark family secret and the trail of a local girl’s kidnapper, the mystery unravels and the two learn much more than they ever expected. Home Front to Battlefront: An Ohio Teenager in World War II by Frank Lavin ’75 Ohio University Press In this biography of his father, Lavin tells the story of an American teenager who became a foot soldier with the U.S. Army in World War II. Using his father’s personal letters, recollections of his father and fellow soldiers, private papers, official military history, and more, Lavin follows his father’s path through enlistment, training, overseas deployment, and combat. The resulting narrative is, at once, humorous, revealing, and agonizing. Swimming in Hong Kong by Stephanie Han ’82 Willow Springs Books The short stories in Han’s first collection lead readers into a club in Hong Kong, a high school in the United States, a hotel in Korea, and a number of other cultural hubs. They crisscross geographical and emotional boundaries and dig into the complexities of race, gender, culture, and class. Her characters pulse with longing and a desire for connection, and, like so many in the world, they seek answers to the question: where is home?

Dais by Francis Klein ’66 Finishing Line Press Each of the four sections in Klein’s finely honed chapbook of poetry—Parsha, Argentine Tangos, Ferncliffe, and Dais—pulls readers deeper into his acknowledgment of his connection to this world. The collection celebrates both the visible and invisible—the scent of sandalwood, the broken arm of a starfish, the music of fire trucks, hammerheads thrashing on the planks, sunbreaks in the canopy—and pays homage to the gift of wonder. The Inconceivable Life of Quinn by Marianna Baer ’89 Amulet Books Sixteen-year-old Quinn Cutler is pregnant, but doesn’t remember ever having sex. As rumors spread and her story becomes public, much of her life gets put into jeopardy: her father’s run for Congress, her relationship with her boyfriend, and pretty much everything she’s ever known or believed. Is she pregnant with the next messiah? Is she a virgin? Is everything what it seems to be? The questions will keep you turning the pages until the very end. Grove Art Guide to Photography Edited by Tanya Sheehan ’94 Oxford University Press This fully illustrated go-to guide for students, instructors, historians, and scholars offers an overview of photography’s history from the early 19th century to the present. In significant ways, it broadens both the geographic and cultural scope of Grove’s photography coverage, pushing beyond the traditional boundaries of the United States, France, and Britain. National and regional histories include East Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and others. Reclaiming My Spirit: Beyond the God of Shame by Rev. T McKinley ’80 CreateSpace As McKinley states in his introduction, “This is a book of God-talk written for people who don’t like talking about God.” In the pages that follow, he explores the current crisis of spirit and continues the work he began in Boy in the Ivy by examining how traditional religions and our own images of God can actually promote disconnection, rage, and self-loathing. Both witty and honest, McKinley offers a model for spiritual healing. —Kristin Bair O’Keeffe

One message we heard loud and clear from the summer 2016 alumni survey, was that you want to receive information sooner and more frequently. In response, we are making several changes including sending Class Notes to you via our Andover Enews email prior to the magazine being mailed. We also will begin to publish “Andover Bookshelf” both online and in print. If you would like your book to be considered for publication, please email a high-resolution image of the book cover along with a brief 75-word summary of your book. Books will be included at the discretion of the editor.

Andover | Summer 2017

Making a Difference Everywhere

“Expressing gratitude through philanthropy is the ultimate way to thank someone.”

An Artist in Residence: Stella Returns to Andover

—Jana Paley ’81

Kezi Barry ’02

To hear Stella talk about his student days at Andover, visit Every Quarter, PA’s official podcast: podcast.andover.edu.

Photos by John Kennard

—Amy J.M. Morris ’92

For additional information on how your philanthropy can make a difference, please contact Nicole Cherubini, director of development, at 978-749-4288 or ncherubini@andover.edu.

Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts 01810-4161

SUMMER 2017

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SUMMER 2017

Households that receive more than one Andover magazine are encouraged to call 978-749-4267 to discontinue extra copies.

May 10, 2017, will go down in BIG

BLUE history.

THANK YOU for making PA Giving Day an amazing success!

Equity and

Access Need-blind admission welcomes youth from every quarter